The historical development of France is interesting for its turbulent past. The struggle of the people for their rights led to constant revolutions and a frequent change of power. As a result, France can boast that only its history has five republics.
Revolution
The end of the 18th century was a turning point in history for France. The Great French Revolution, which began with the capture of the Bastille fortress in 1789, laid the foundation for the republican development of the country.
The revolution itself was due to the unstable monarchical regime, which was built on a series of compromises between the government and individual classes. The state protected the interests of the bourgeoisie and privileged groups, while peasant labor was over-exploited. As a result, this led to the fact that France began to lag behind in development from other countries. The intelligentsia could not help but notice this: there were rumors in society, trust in the authorities began to be lost.
The reforms carried out by Louis XVI led the centuries-old system to collapse. The revolution and future republics acted under the slogan: "Freedom, equality, fraternity", which clearly demonstrated how the people managed to suffer under the monarchical system.
Republic of France
The first French republic was proclaimed during the revolution and officially lasted 12 years from 1792 until Napoleon Bonaparte came to power. During this time, three constitutions were adopted that changed the order and name of the authorities, but confirmed the decision of the Decree of the National Convention on the Unitarianism of the State.
Since 1804, when Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor, the republican regime quickly turned into an authoritarian one. And only by 1848 France for a short time managed to return to the republican form of government. The period from 1848 to 1852 is called the "Second Republic" of France, whose president was Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who eventually did the same as his uncle Napoleon I, proclaiming himself emperor.
The "Third Republic" was more successful than the previous ones and lasted 70 years, starting in 1870. The constitutions that were adopted during this time occupied an intermediate state between the monarchy and the republic, but nevertheless, it was during these years that France entered into the Entente alliance.
The "Fourth Republic" took shape after World War II in 1946. The constitution of this republic was characterized by a well-formed parliamentary system and weak presidency.
