Account for the survival of the 3rd French Republic

A detailed Summary of Account for the survival of the 3rd French Republic

Account for the survival of the Third French Republic

When the 3rd French Republic came into being on the 4th September 1870 France was in the middle of the Franco- Prussian war, which they were to eventually lose. When France signed the treaty of Frankfurt in May 1871 Germany imposed 5 billion francs worth of reparations, and the Alsace and Lorraine regions of France were ceded to them. France was also to be occupied by Germany until all the reparations had been paid off. Obviously the French were not happy with this, but they were in no situation to negotiate and they realised that it could have been far worse. This was not the best start that the new republic could have hoped for, but with hindsight, it was probably one of the reasons why it survived the first few years.

In just two years the French had paid off all of the reparations and the German army of occupation had left. This was quite a remarkable achievement and was only achieved through a co-ordinated program of borrowing from the many wealthy individuals that lived in France. Even more remarkable was the balancing of the budget in 1875 and the budget surplus of 1876. These feats undoubtedly made the republicans more popular and more respec

One of the biggest challenges to the Republics stability was the Catholic Church. The church had a stranglehold on education with around 40% of children being educated in a church school. Jules Ferry was the education minister between 1879 and 1883, during this time he introduced reforms that virtually eradicated the churches grip on education. In 1882 he made education for all 6-13 year olds compulsory, with a syllabus that was far more rational and scientific, it also instilled the value of the Republic rather than the conservative Catholic views. It was in 1886 that the most dramatic of changes were made; religious groups were no longer allowed to control or teach in primary and secondary schools or in universities. Tension between the government and the church peaked when in 1904 France broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican. By dealing with the church so ruthlessly France showed that it had grown much stronger under the republic and it had also removed a powerful threat to its authority.

The biggest of all the scandals to hit the republic was undoubtedly the 'Dreyfuss Affair'. The 'Affair' came about when a Jewish officer in the army, Alfred Dreyfuss, was accused of giving classified documents to Germany and was sentenced to a life of exile on the strength of evidence provided by Major Henry. It was then discovered that the real culprit was a close friend of Henry's and that Dreyfuss was innocent. A case was put to the army but Henry produced falsified evidence and the army retained its verdict. When the news of this case reached the public everybody had an opinion, they either thought Dreyfuss was innocent, 'Dreyfusards' or guilty, 'Anti-Dreyfusards'. The majority of Anti-Dreyfusards were conservatives, monarchists, the church, and the military who claimed to defend law and order, but in fact only wanted to discredit the republicans. Most Dreyfusards were republicans and socialists who were defending human rights and justice. The full truth did not come out until 1899 when Henry confessed and committed suicide and Esterhazy, the real spy, fled. The Affair showed just how large the divisions between the various groups in France were.

The survival of the Third French Republic was partly due to success of the republic and also to the lack of any serious rival. The speedy recovery of France after the war and its decisiveness in dealing with the Commune greatly increased its chances of survival because it put paid to the idea that republicans were disorganised and chaotic in their methods and instead associated themselves with law and order. The re-strengthening of the army in such a short period of time was another key factor, as people would begin to feel vulnerable in a country open to attack. Popular policies such as freedom of the press were also important in their survival as the people realised that they did not have to have a monarch to run the country when a president can do just as good a job. The reform of the education system and the weakening of the churches influence helped because people were not told one thing by the church an

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Approximate Word count = 2075
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History