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| French
History : some milestones (5) |
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French revolutions
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The USA had one Revolution but
the French had several, some of them very violent and bloody.
Why ? One could say that the national inability to change progressively
and the reluctance to consensus (read more about the
French and change) makes change unavoidable other than through
violent leaps. In the French collective memory, each of these
revolutions is associated with a major progress or a lost paradise
(and not only on the Left-Wing political side). After these major
dramas, the French society is very similar, by all standards,
to the other European countries which did not go through this
kind of ordeal but the French sincerely believe that without
these revolutions, they would not enjoy what they consider important
(democracy, vacations, etc...). Among these revolutions :
- " The " big French
Revolution started with the storming of the Bastille (July
14, 1789) ; after two years, the attempt to build a constitutional
monarchy (like in England) failed, due to the stupidity of poor
king Louis 16th and the intransigence of the revolutionary "
Jacobins " ; the king (and a few others) was beheaded, the
war was declared on Europe, the " Convention " put
an end to the old society and established the bases of the republic
; after a year of craziness in the name of liberty and purity
(the " Terreur ") under Robespierre " the Uncorruptible
", a calmer (and corrupt) government (the " Directoire
") was established in 1794 and most French citizens were
happy to see a young and brilliant general, Napoleon Bonaparte,
re-establish order and peace in 1799. Then he too became crazy
and attacked the whole of Europe, but this is another story.
It is a fact that most of French democracy comes from the Revolution,
whatever its excesses.
- The July Revolution :
After Napoleon, the kings came back with Louis 18th (1814) but
in 1830, King Charles 10th was so stupidly reactionary that a
brief revolution in July 1830 (" les Trois Glorieuses ")
replaced him by King Louis-Philippe 1rst who tried, once again
to build a constitutional monarchy ;
- The 1848 Revolution :
in 1848, the ideas of republic and socialism were flourishing
all over Europe : the king was banished and replaced by the (second)
French republic ; the nephew of Napoleon was elected president
and two years later after a coup, he became Emperor Napoleon
3rd ;
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- The Commune in 1871:
a modern sovereign for domestic affairs, Napoleon 3rd was obsessed
with the desire to emulate his uncle in foreign policy which
was very adventurous (see the stupid war in Mexico 1862-1867)
and led to a defeat against Germany in 1870 ; after the war,
some idealistic socialists wanted to build a perfect Communist
society in Paris ; it was the Commune de Paris, which lasted
three months and ended into a blood bath ;
- The Front Populaire in
1936 is considered the origin of social modernity in France
; after the victory of the Left in the elections and huge strikes,
it established the obligation for employers to grant paid vacations
and pay for pensions and other social benefits ; most European
countries enjoy these benefits as well, getting them through
simple parliamentary processes, but this is considered boring
by the French....
- The May 1968 Movement
is a soft form of revolution which led, after two months of strikes
and demonstrations to some major changes in the French society
and an adaptation to modern times (divorce, abortion, relation
between the young and their elders, etc) ; here again, why millions
of strikers and demonstrators?
- Today, a political leader, Olivier
Besancenot (5% of the vote),
who says he wants to found a revolutionay movement to abolish
capitalism is not sent to an insane asylum but invited in TV
talk shows.
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Getting mixed up with
all those kings ?
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When touring in France,
you may get confused with all those Louis and Charles. Here are
a few facts to help you situate roughly what century they belong
to and what they are known for !
- Remarkably enough, France had
only three dynasties of kings over a period of 15 centuries
: the Mérovingiens (from Clovis, who became Christian
in 496 and who is the very first French king) then the Carolingiens
(from Pépin le Bref, i.e. The Short, crowned in
752) and finally the Capétiens (from Hugues Capet who
became king in 987 : this dynasty lasted until 1848).
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- Almost all of these kings were
buried in the Basilique Royale de Saint-Denis, near Paris, which is definitely worth
a visit.
- Napoleon tried to found a dynasty, but only his nephew
became emperor in 1852 (after a coup) and was booted out in 1870
- More to come
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Fourteen kings to remember :
| Name of
the king |
Reigned |
Major achievement
(or failure) |
Typical monuments
of the style of each king |
| Charles Irst Charlemagne
Le Grand |
768-814 |
The first
"European Statesman", founder of the Holy Empire, he
is also a German hero |
Saint Philibert
de Grand-Lieu (near Nantes), Sainte Radegonde (Poitiers) |
| Louis IX
Saint Louis |
1226-1270 |
The greatest
king of Middle Age, he died in Tunis on his way back from the
Crusade |
Sainte Chapelle
(Paris), Notre-Dame (Paris), the walled city of Carcassonne,... |
| Philippe
IV Le Bel |
1285-1314 |
Famous for
destroying the Order of Temple |
The Conciergerie
(Paris) |
| Charles
VII |
1422-1461 |
Jeanne d'Arc,
by restoring hope for France in the long Franco-English war,
gave him access to the throne |
Chinon Castle,
... |
| Louis XI |
1461-1483 |
Through
ruse and briberies, he built France almost to her present size,
after a long fight with the Duke of Burgundy |
Hospices
de Beaune |
| François
Irst |
1515-1547 |
Protector
of the artists (including Leonardo da Vinci), the illustration
of the Renaissance king |
Chambord,
Blois and many of the Renaissance castles in the Loire Valley |
| Henri IV |
1589-1610 |
After his
own conversion to catholicism, he put an end to the war between
the Catholics and the Protestants, probably the most popular
of all French kings ; he had countless love affairs |
The Pont-Neuf
(Paris), ... |
| Louis XIII |
1610-1643 |
Known for
his Prime Minister, the powerful Cardinal de Richelieu |
Place des
Vosges (Paris), Luxembourg Palace (Paris),... |
| Louis XIV
Le Roi Soleil |
1643-1715 |
The very
symbol of "Grandeur", he subdued the nobility
by transforming its members into his puppets in Versailles |
Versailles
Castle, Place Vendôme (Paris), the Invalides (Paris), ... |
| Louis XV
Le Bien Aimé |
1715-1774 |
The king
of the XVIIIth Century arts which spread all over Europe, he
lost the American possessions of France (Canada) |
Place de
la Concorde (Paris), any XVIIIth Century palace, ... |
| Louis XVI |
1774-1791 |
A nice fellow
but a poor king, he was beheaded and his wife Marie Antoinette
too |
Parc Monceau
(Paris), ... |
| Napoleon
Irst (Bonaparte) |
1804-1815 |
The most
prestigious of all, he modernized France after the Revolution,
he won many battles and lost the final one at Waterloo ; he sold
Louisiana (a poor deal for France) |
The (most
recent part of the) Louvre (Paris), Arch of Triumph (Paris) |
| Louis-Philippe
Irst |
1830-1848 |
The only
attempt (and failure) of a Constitutional king in France |
The "galeries"
(malls) off the Grands Boulevards (Paris), ... |
| Napoleon
IIIrd |
1852-1870 |
The nephew
of Bonaparte, he was elected President of the Republic and proclaimed
himself Emperor two years later |
Opéra
Garnier (Paris), the total renovation of Paris by Baron Haussmann,
who transformed a medieval city into the city we have now,... |
- Question : why does the current
Constitution refer to "the Fifth Republic" ? The
First Republic was founded by the Revolution and King Louis XVI
was dismissed, then came Napoleon and later a Restoration of
Royalty ; in 1848 (another revolution) the Second Republic was
established and disappeared with a coup by Napoleon III ; in
1870, the Third republic was proclaimed after the war was lost
against Germany, it collapsed in 1940 after another lost war
against Germany ; the Fourth Republic, founded in 1944, was succeeded
by the Fifth Republic after a major constitutional change conceived
by Charles de Gaulle.
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- Question : what was the relation
between the kings and Paris ? Since the very beginning, the
history of France is the history of kings trying to unite its
very diverse elements into a unified nation ; this why the state
is still so strong and this is also why Paris has so many prestigious
monuments to illustrate the glory of the king and the power of
the state (see historical
Paris). The kings were afraid of the population of Paris
and its frequent riots and they often decided to live outside
Paris (Loire chateaux, Versailles, Fontainebleau)
- More to come....
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To French history
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French history
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Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books :
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..)
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