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| Period |
Years |
Key Events and Characteristics |
| First Republic |
1792-1804 |
- Established after the French Revolution and abolition of monarchy
- Characterized by the Reign of Terror (1793-1794)
- Rule of the Directory (1795-1799)
- Coup of 18 Brumaire by Napoleon Bonaparte (1799)
- Ended with Napoleon crowning himself Emperor in 1804
|
| First Empire and Bourbon Restoration |
1804-1848 |
- First French Empire under Napoleon I (1804-1814, 1815)
- Bourbon Restoration under Louis XVIII and Charles X (1814-1830)
- July Monarchy under Louis Philippe I (1830-1848)
|
| Second Republic |
1848-1852 |
- Established after the Revolution of 1848 and fall of King Louis-Philippe
- Universal male suffrage introduced
- Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte elected as President
- Ended when Louis-Napoleon declared himself Emperor Napoleon III
|
| Second Empire |
1852-1870 |
- Rule of Emperor Napoleon III
- Period of industrial expansion and economic growth
- Ended with defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
|
| Third Republic |
1870-1940 |
- Proclaimed after the capture of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War
- Survived the Paris Commune uprising (1871)
- Dreyfus Affair (1894-1906)
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Ended with the German invasion in World War II
|
| Vichy France |
1940-1944 |
- Authoritarian regime led by Marshal Philippe Pétain
- Collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II
- Opposed by the Free French Forces and French Resistance
|
| Fourth Republic |
1946-1958 |
- Established after World War II
- Characterized by a parliamentary system
- Faced challenges of decolonization (Indochina War, Algerian War)
- Frequent changes in government
- Ended with the return of Charles de Gaulle to power
|
| Fifth Republic |
1958-present |
- Established by Charles de Gaulle
- Strong presidential system
- Withdrawal from Algeria (1962)
- May 1968 protests
- Adoption of the Euro (2002)
- Multiple constitutional reforms
- Current system of government in France
|
