John Morris Roberts (1989) on Third Republic France

Résumé du document

In 1880, France was the only European republic. Nonetheless, the Third Republic conserved many elements of the former regimes, such as the Loi Le Chapelier or the Napoleonic livret. Morris argues that France changed less than England or Germany between 1880 and 1914.

French economic life before 1914 showed great expansion and prosperity, from which stems the name given to this period: La Belle Epoque. France was for example the biggest exporter of iron ore. Communications were improved. Meline imposed an heavy tariff in 1892 on the foreign goods, to favor the French production, which symbolized a general trend toward protectionism in the fin de siècle Europe.

There was a growth of an industrial proletariat, bourgeoisie benefiting from the industry and proprietors peasants. It created a solid conservative base for the Republic. The most important division between the Frenchmen was the question of belief. Can Atheism be seen as the cornerstone of Republicanism or possibility to conciliate Catholicism and an acceptable society?

Extraits

[...] The administration was highly centralized. The prefects had a very high power in the departments, with the local representative powers being very limited. The Third Republic was seen by the foreign observers as depriving its citizens of their liberties: o No liberty of association o Trade unions were still illegal before 1880 o Government could hold prisoners without trial French political forces Two political temperaments were distinguishable at the time o The Order, which distrusted the use of democracy that might be made by politics. [...]

[...] The next government was based on Boulanger's rejection. Boulanger had lost every parliamentary and political support - The general thus led an anti-parliamentary campaign. He was seen as a patriotic symbol and placed above the sordid political struggles in the mind of the public opinion. This feeling grew when Grévy was forced to resign after the breaking of the Wilson affair. He was even seen by the legitimists as somebody who could lead a coup for the restoration of monarchy. [...]

[...] The lack of political consensus was the main weakness of the Third Republic. After Grévy's election at the head of the State, the Opportunists were favored, led by Jules Ferry, which strongly attacked the religious institutions. He reintroduced divorce, and proceeded to the laicizing of school teaching in 1886, after that the education has been made compulsory in 1882. He was also focused on the colonial policy. Boulanger's failure Boulanger was Freycinet's minister of war. He was meant to republicanize the army, and he was a radical. [...]

[...] Violence became a component of the right-wing politics; a new sort of royalism appeared, based on Maurras's doctrine of integral nationalism, associated with the writings of Barres as well. It was highly anti-Semitic, anti- parliamentarian and it foreshadowed the features of Fascism. Their doctrine of direct action contrasted with the political immobilism of the time. Nonetheless, before the great war, the Republic managed to acquire solid foundations. It has assimilated many of its opponents, and raised new generations of Republicans through public schooling and its universal education. [...]

[...] The Ralliement The Catholics were rallied by the Republic: this movement was called the Ralliement. It was the abandonment of the legitimism and the acceptance of the Republic by the Church, after that Leon XIII was struck by the Boulanger's crisis. It was welcomed by many Frenchmen tired of the anticlericalism. In the 1893 election (after the Panama scandal) the coalition of the rallied conservatives and of the moderates was triumphant. Monarchists were overwhelmed thanks to the Ralliement. Nevertheless, socialists also managed to gain seats. [...]