French Government History

Ancien Regime of Kings reigned up to King Louis XVI, followed by the French Revolution in 1789. Monarchy was formally abolished in France in September 1792 and King Louis XVI executed in January 1793. His young son (Louis XVII) died at the age of 10 in prison in 1795.

First Republic declared in 1792 and lasted until 1804 with its initial leaders being Georges Danton, executed 1793, and Maximilien Robespierre, executed 1794. After their executions, along with their followers, the Presidents of France were formally appointed from November 1795 on a three monthly rotation until 1799 when military leader Napoleon Bonaparte became France's permanently appointed First Consul. In 1804 he became Emperor.

And from 1795, with members of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) who were elected for five years, the elections were yearly, with just one-fifth needing to be renewed each year.

First Empire 1804-1815 under Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Bourbon Monarchy Restoration 1815-1830 under King Louis XVI's two brothers, Louis XVIII (1755-1824) and Charles X (1757-1836) who reigned from 1824 but abdicated in 1830 and went into exile.

The July Monarchy (1830-1848) followed when Charles left the country in the hands of a distant Bourbon relative Louis Philippe (1773-1850), who subsequently declared himself monarch. King Louis Philippe abdicated in 1848.

Second Republic 1848-1851 followed under President Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon's nephew) who lived 1808 - 1873. Elected as President for a four-year term, but conducted a coup d'etat in 1851, dissolving the National Assembly.

Second Empire 1851-1870 under Emperor Louis Napoleon Bonaparte.

Became the source of one of Karl Marx's most quoted statements, that history repeats itself, "the first as tragedy, then as farce", referring respectively to Napoleon I and to his nephew Louis Napoleon who declared himself Napoleon III. The missing Napoleon II incidentally was Napoleon I's son who was said to have become briefly emperor in 1815 after his father's abdication, though never acknowledged as such, and he died young. Napoleon III's reign ended with France's crushing defeat by Prussia, and Napoleon's capture by Bismarck in the Franco Prussian War. The last few years for Bonaparte were then spent in exile in England.

Third Republic 1871-1940 with the National Assembly appointing the President for a seven-year term as Head of State. Then, during World War 2, Paris was occupied by Germany throughout Northern France. Southern France became known as Vichy France, an unoccupied "free French zone" which was ruled from the town of Vichy under Germany's approval. This area included Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco with its largest city Casablanca in Northern Africa.

Fourth Republic 16 Jan 1947 - 5 Oct 1958 with the President having a largely symbolic role. Dissolved by referendum.

Fifth Republic 1958 onwards, with Charles de Gaulle as its first President, now elected by the people (not the National Assembly) and having significantly increased powers.

The French Parliament in 2024 consists of an upper house the Senate (with 348 members), and a lower house the National Assembly (with 577 members). The leader who has the approval of the majority (289 votes) is appointed as Prime Minister. Elections for each constituency in France every five years is a two-round process. If no member receives 50% or more of the votes, a runoff vote in that constituency is required with low-popularity parties excluded.

The President of France is elected separately using a similar system. If no applicant receives 50% of the votes, all applicants other than the top two are excluded and a runoff vote is held. The winner is declared to be President, since 2002 a five-year post, with just two terms (ten years) permitted. President Macron who has been President since 2017 will therefore hand over the post in 2027.

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