A Brief History of France continued

With the end of Napoleon, the monarchy was restored and remained until the uprising when the Second Republic was declared. The army intervened and instituted the Second Empire (1852-1870) with Louis Napoleon (a nephew of the first Emperor Napoleon) as Emperor, which further expanded France's colonial possessions.

France now faced a new enemy in the emerging power of Germany. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 ended in defeat for the French.

The Third Republic established after 1871, maintained an uneasy peace with its new powerful neighbour. As events proved in the late 19th and early 20th century, Europe's early diplomatic attempts at peace were fragile.

The interlocking network of treaties and alliances finally collapsed in August 1914. This was the trigger for World War I.

Still under the Third Republic the inter-war years saw the election of a series of socialist governments. After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, France declared war on Germany.

The Third Republic collapsed with the German invasion of 1940, after which France endured four years of Nazi occupation.

Two years after liberation from Nazi rule in 1946, the Fourth Republic was established, but came to an end in 1958 as a result of the Algerian crisis.

The Fifth Republic which followed has lasted from 1958 up until the present day. The constitution which underpins it is characterised by the strong executive powers vested in the presidency.

Back to A Brief History of France page 1