What Exactly Were the French Thinking Throughout Their Long History?

The French history is very long and drawn out which is why it is so important to explain the many mistakes and governments throughout the French history. The French history begins with in Gaul with the Roman Empire and in 800 with the great Charlemagne ruler.�Between 1337- 1453 the Hundred Years ocurred and the French hero of Joan of Arc appeared on the scene. When the Hundred Years war ended which accomplished nothing at all, Henry IV ruled in France.�Of course, his reign did not last long as�Civil War broke out in France between the Hugenots and the Catholics in a battle of religions.��

The period following this early history of France was dominated by strong willed personalities and individuals. State building ocurred under Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Cardinal Richelieu was responsible for giving the king who held absolute power advice. Colbert and Mazarin helped the king with collecting weath and taxes. This also set up the role of intendants who were tax collectors in France and were fiercly hated by the French people.

What most people already know about French history was the French Revolution in 1759. The French Revolution was not only a national revolution, but it was a liberal revolution, a democratic revolution, and an internal revolution. France was in complete chaos in this decade as the Reign of Terror took over and all of the aristocracy and royalty were being killed by the guilitine. When General Napolean Bonaparte finally took over, his rule lasted from 1802- 1815. In Napolean's� counter revolution, Napolean become the emperor and was beloved by most of the French people. Napolean extended the revolution outside the borders of France. While he was eventually defeated in the Battle of Waterloo, he made some sweeping changes including increasing bureaucratic effectiveness in France and he created the Napoleanic Code which was used as the basis for French law.

In the 19th century in 1815 the French monarchy was restored and in 1830 the Bourbon monarchs took over with some constitutional beliefs. In 1848 to 1852 the Second French Republic was created which was short lived but did have some good ideals incorporated such as universal�suffrage. In 1852 Napolean Bonaparte's nephew took over, Louis Napolean Bonaparte who was elected by the plebiscite. Bonaparte ruled in a constitutional monarchy but power was still� centralized in the king who was still very powerful.�

In 1870 France suffered another setback as they were badly defeated in the Franco-Prussian War. This would be a recurring theme in France as the French would struggle greatly when it came to military battles. In 1871 commununists in Paris tried to take over the government and their rule was very short lived, lasting only 2 months.�

The 3rd French Republic was created in 1871 and this republic lasted a relatively long time for a French Republic as the government lasted until the Nazi invasion in 1940�during World War 2. The 3rd Republic was filled with problems long before the Nazis�took over. There was instability within the government, ideological polarization, the government was ineffective, especially when it came to the Great Depression and the economic collapse in France and the world. Finally, there was always that lingering temptation to succumb to facism.�

The period during World War 2 was known as the Vichy government. This period of time was marked by French resistance to the German forces which occupied the region. The German forces occupied Northern France while the Vichy government existed in the Southern part of France. In this Vichy government, the weak French coexisted with the German and it wasn't until Charles De Gaule came�onto the scene in France that the resistance movement formally began. Most French people blame Marshall Petain for the lack of resistance to the German forces. In addition to De Gaule, other resistance to the German came from the communist party and the Catholic Church.�

When World War 2 finally ended, a 4th French Republic was created in 1946 that lasted until 1958. This period of time was marked by the electoral system of proporttional representation which proved to be weak and ineffective. The most problematic feature was that there was a very low threshold of only 5% of the vote needed in order to gain�seats in the legislature. This led to 24 different governments within a 12 year period. To make matters worse, the French suffered even more military defeats. In 1954 the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. In addition, the weak French forces in Vietnam prompted American involvement in Vietnam which was a disaster. In 1958 the defeat to the Algerians formally brought�down the 4th French Republic.

The�5th French Republic started�soon afterwards and was led by war hero and leader Charles De Gaulle. DeGaule demanded a new French Constitution and he became their first leader. Problems continued in France as student riots occurred in 1968. Muslim riots�have occurred in the past couple of years in France. France's population totals 62.3 million and the Muslim population is 5-6 million Muslims which make�up 8-9.6% of the French population. The Muslim riots were caused by two Muslim men who were running from the police and were electrocuted at an electricity substation. ��