Who ruled France in the 19th century. History of France (briefly). French Revolution of the 18th century

Crisis of the 18th century Throughout the XVIII century. in French society and state there was a deepening crisis, leading at its end to the explosion of the revolution. The economic life of the country needed changes, the development of which was hampered by the persistence of the peasantry's land dependence on the large landowners. Trade and industry needed a release from excessive royal control. In the middle of the 18th century. France lost almost all overseas colonies and lost all wars (except the War of Independence of the North American colonies) in which it participated.

Particularly painfully changing French society perceived the preservation of the old class division into privileged and unprivileged subjects of the king. The financial situation of the state was very deplorable. Taxes were collected several years in advance, and the treasury remained empty. The trade agreement with Great Britain proved to be beneficial only to French wine merchants, but it hit French industry and caused an increase in unemployment in the cities. The poor harvest in 1788 completed the picture of national disasters. It was the attempt of the royal government to resolve the financial issue that made it necessary to resort to a half-forgotten means - the convocation of a representative assembly, which in France was called the States General.

The beginning of the revolution. The king convened the States General to solve the financial problems of the treasury, and the deputies decided to significantly expand the range of their activities and, proclaiming themselves the Constituent Assembly, began to reorganize the whole life of the country. The revolution began in the summer of 1789 and was relatively calm at first. A national representative body was created - the National Assembly, which forced King Louis XVI to come to terms with the adoption of the Constitution and a sharp change in the order in the country, first of all - the approval of free private property. The laws adopted in the early years of the revolution were very good, advanced, correct and reasonable, but they were suitable for a society in calm state... They did not solve the problems of the economy in a state of crisis.

The situation in France by the beginning of 1792 was characterized by an unstable balance of various political components. First of all, the royal entourage did not want to come to terms with the obvious defeat. Louis XVI could not rule as a monarch, limited by the Constitution, not in such traditions he was brought up. For all his gentleness and good nature, he considered himself a king "by the grace of God" and was not able to turn into a king "by the grace of the Law." Therefore, he was only waiting for an opportunity to end the order of the new France.

French revolution XVIII in.

Tension in society. There was also no unity among the opponents of the king three years after the start of the revolution. The peasants never received the land and continued to rebel. As a result, in cities (especially in Paris) there was a catastrophic shortage of bread. And since the government stopped monitoring prices, the price of bread went up terribly. All this further increased the tension in the society. The financial situation continued to deteriorate. All goods rose in price, but the government was still on the sidelines. The urban poor (sansculottes), many of whom were unemployed, were doomed to starvation. Bread was their staple food, and the supply of bread in the cities was getting worse and worse. Ropes were tied to the doors of the bakeries, and people, holding on to them to keep in line, stood all night long.

Revolutionary parties - "clubs". Members of the National Assembly, like-minded deputies have made it a rule to get together to discuss their positions and line of conduct at upcoming meetings. Such associations are called clubs. The deputies of the most influential club gathered in the library of the St. James Monastery. They began to be called Jacobins. At first, among them were people of different political views, and gradually some of the groups stood out from the Jacobin club.

Moderate politicians such as Lafayette, Mirabeau, Barnave advocated the constitutional monarchy as it had developed by the fall of 1789, and tried to prevent other changes. They began to be called constitutional monarchists (feuillans). Feillians expressed the interests of the free-thinking nobility and financial entrepreneurs (primarily bankers).

Among the Jacobins, a group of republicans (supporters of the republican form of government) stood out. They were headed by journalist J. Brissot and philosopher J.A. Condorcet. The leaders of this group came from the Gironde region. They began to be called the Girondins. The Girondins relied on traders and industrialists in large provincial cities, on the emerging middle strata of society. In politics, the Girondins tried to follow the "correct" ideas, and not the requirements of life. At the beginning of 1792, they advocated the "export" of the revolution to neighboring countries, for waging a revolutionary war for the benefit of French trade and industry.

Those who formed the leadership of the Jacobin Club in 1792 advocated the observance of the rights of the people, both political and economic. The Jacobins considered themselves to be the protectors of the people and tried to listen to the demands of the Parisian street. The most prominent figures among them were Maximilian Robespierre and Georges Danton, and in the beginning the leadership belonged to the latter.

Danton (1759-1794), a young provincial lawyer, became famous as an inspirational orator-improviser. Energetic and cheerful, he was distinguished by excellent organizational skills, knew how to inspire and lead the crowd. In personal matters and in politics, he showed himself not always choosy in means. how statesman he was indispensable in crisis situations, and the country had just come to such a milestone.

Read also other topics part V "Struggle for leadership in Europe at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries." section "West, Russia, East at the end of the XVIII-beginning of the XIX century":

  • 22. "Long live the nation!": Cannonade at Valmy, 1792
    • Crisis of the 19th century. Revolution in France in 1789
  • 24. Italian victories of Bonaparte 1796-1797: the birth of the commander
    • Napoleon's Italian campaign. Commander career start
    • Arkolsky bridge. Battle of Rivoli. Bonaparte and the Directory
  • 25. Egyptian campaign of General Bonaparte (May 1798-October 1799)
  • 26. "Battle of the lion and the whale"

Definition 1

France is the largest state Western Europe, along with Germany, Austria and England.

In the 19th century, the history of France developed under the influence of the revolution of 1789-1799. However, over the course of the century, the country has experienced several more revolutions and a series of profound social and political upheavals. In France, the form of government has changed several times.

The consular regime was established in France as a result of a coup carried out by General Bonaparte on September 9, 1799. This event drew a line under the ten-year revolutionary period.

Features of the political history of France

On the principle of strict administrative centralism, a regime was built that relied on the army, bureaucracy, church and police. After that, regional and local self-government was approved. Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 was proclaimed consul for life, and already in 1804 he declared himself emperor Napoleon I. In this regard, the regime of the first empire was established in France, which entailed a change in revolutionary legislation.

In 1804-1811, the following legislative documents were adopted:

  • Civil Code (Napoleon's Code);
  • Commercial Code;
  • Criminal Code.

These codes legalized the redistribution of property in favor of the bourgeoisie and the peasantry. The French economy has received significant development as a result of government subsidies in industry and protectionist policies.

The foreign policy activity of the First Empire was characterized by the struggle to establish hegemony in Europe and France in the colonies and in the seas. This led to continuous Napoleonic wars, which brought massive human losses, and significantly undermined the economic position of France.

In 1812, during the Patriotic War the power of Napoleonic France was undermined, and in 1814 - led to the collapse of the First Empire. In 1814, the Bourbon monarchy was restored in France with the support of the victorious states: Russia, Austria, England and Prussia.

Under pressure from the Russian Emperor Alexander I, Louis XVIII signed the Constitutional Charter on June 4, 1814. This significantly limited the royal power. The intention to return to the former emigrant monarchists of the lands that were sold out during the revolution, and the white terror that began in the country, helped Napoleon to restore his power.

On June 18, 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon's final defeat against the troops of the 7th European Coalition took place. Thanks to this, the Bourbons returned to power.

The economic development of France in the 19th century

Remark 1

The Paris Peace of 1815 allowed France to return to its former borders. The French power was retreating from defeats and Napoleonic wars for 15 years. The country's economic development, which remained predominantly agrarian, perceptibly revived. At the same time, an industrial revolution was born and metallurgical production was growing. Cotton consumption rose from 10 million kg to 35 million kg, while the value of silk products rose to 80 million francs.

Restoration mode during foreign policy focused on the line that was carried out by the Holy Union in Europe. In 1823, the French army took part in the suppression of the Spanish revolution. In 1824, Charles X ascended the throne, which entailed tougher censorship, the introduction of severe punishment for "crimes against religion", as well as compensation for the lands confiscated during the revolution to former emigrants.

The regime of the liberal July monarchy of 1830-1848, which was established in France, represented the interests of the French bourgeoisie - the aristocracy. The country's economy grew upward. The capital that was invested in commercial and industrial enterprises almost doubled. Production increased 5 times coal and 3 times - the production of iron and cast iron. However, the deep crisis of 1846-1847 interrupted the successful development of the French economy.

In the power structures, corruption has acquired a huge scale, which has caused public discontent. In Lyon and Paris, there have been armed anti-government demonstrations by the urban poor and workers for many years.

The foreign policy activity of the July Monarchy in European affairs was distinguished by extreme caution, where France was England's junior partner. With an active colonial policy, the French state wanted to compensate for the weakness of its positions in Europe.

In 1847, France managed to subdue:

  • Algeria;
  • the island of Tahiti;
  • islands in the South Pacific;
  • Marquesas Islands.

The conflict, which escalated between the republican opposition and the corrupt government, was exacerbated by the economic crisis of 1846-1847 and led to the fall of the July Monarchy and the development of February revolution 1848

In 1848-1852, the regime of the Second Republic was established in France. However, the short period of existence of this regime was predicted by the large-scale consequences of the economic crisis, which significantly limited the government's capabilities in the field of social and economic reforms. As a result of coups d'état, the republican system was liquidated on December 2, 1852, and France became an empire for the second time.

The authoritarian regime of the Second Empire enjoyed the support of big capital and relied on the peasantry, which became disillusioned with the weak republic. The establishment of the empire coincided with economic development, which led to the strengthening of the position of the Bonapartist regime. During 1852-1870, industrial production in France doubled, and foreign trade turnover became three times higher. The Paris Bourse has become a pan-European financial center.

Remark 2

The aggressive policy of the second empire initially brought her successes, but the hegemonic aspirations of Napoleon II led to the isolation of France. The Franco-Prussian War, which was fought over the years 1870-1871, led France to national disaster.

Paris commune

In 1871 in Paris, in the face of the capitulatory policy of the government, on a patriotic wave, an uprising of the people broke out, which proclaimed the power of the Paris Commune. In subsequent years, fierce confrontations between republicans and monarchists took place on the question of the state structure of France. The National Assembly in 1875 adopted a republican constitution that established the Third Republic.

"Moderate Republicans", having established themselves in power, carried out a number of progressive reforms:

  • legalization of trade unions;
  • amnesty for the Communards;
  • free secular primary education for children.

However, in the future, their reform activities weakened significantly, and the monopoly on power was challenged by socialists and radicals who expressed the interests of the poor and middle strata.

At the end of the 19th century, France was the first among the industrial powers. The holding of the World Exhibition in Paris in 1990 on the path of industrial, scientific and technological progress became a symbolic recognition of the achievements and power of France.

During the years of the Consulate and the Empire, a lot of work was done to streamline legislation and develop legal norms for the new bourgeois society. From 1804 to 1811, 5 codes were developed and adopted, which together made up the "Code of Napoleon".

The history of the Empire is a continuous war of conquest, as a result of which almost all of Europe was under the rule of Napoleon. After Napoleon's unsuccessful campaign in Russia in 1813, the "Battle of the Nations" took place near Leipzig, and on March 31, 1814, the coalition troops entered Paris. Napoleon abdicated the throne and was exiled to the island of Elba, from where he fled and in March 1815 came to power for the second time. The empire was rebuilt, but only for 100 days. On June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo took place, in which Napoleon suffered a final defeat, after which the second abdication and exile to the island of St. Helena took place on June 22, where Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821.

After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Louis XVIII again ascended the throne. Repressions were carried out against the Bonapartists, but the main provisions of the Charter were respected. The influence of the bourgeoisie grew in the country, but power was in the hands of the old feudal aristocracy, although their property was already bourgeois in nature. Since the beginning of the 1820s. the influence on state policy of the most reactionary part of the nobles and clergy increased, who did not want to adapt to new conditions and thought about returning to the old order. In 1824, after the death of Louis XVIII, his brother Count d'Artois (Charles X), the leader of ultra-reactionary circles, ascended the throne. Charles X began an openly pro-nobility policy and destroyed the balance between the top of the bourgeoisie and the nobility. As a result, there was an increase in public discontent, which resulted in into a new revolution.

Revolution of 1848 and the Second Republic.

On February 23, 1848, a protest demonstration took place in Paris, which resulted in a clash with the troops. This caused an uprising and storming of the royal palace, Louis Philippe was forced to abdicate and fled the country. The Provisional Government was created, which carried out a number of measures, including: the release of political prisoners, the dissolution of parliament, the abolition of titles of nobility, the introduction of universal suffrage for men from the age of 21, the abolition of slavery in the French colonies, the abolition of the money bond for the press, and a reduction in the working day ( until 10 o'clock in Paris), etc. The main task of the Provisional Government was to prepare the elections to the Constituent Assembly, which opened on 4 May and on 4 November adopted the Constitution of the Second Republic (1848).

The preamble defined political and civil freedoms, spoke about the right to work, free initial training, professional education, emphasized equality between owners and workers, stated the inadmissibility of arbitrary imprisonment, exceptional courts, the death penalty, and censorship. The main principles of the state system were proclaimed republican form of government, separation of powers and representative government. Legislative power was entrusted to a unicameral Legislative Assembly (of 750 people), elected for 3 years on the basis of universal suffrage for men over the age of 21. He was engaged in the development of bills and supervision over legislation State Councilelected by parliament for 6 years. The executive power was entrusted to the president, elected for 4 years, who was endowed with tremendous power, including the right to appoint and remove ministers, sign treaties, the right to pardon, command the military, leadership foreign policy etc. The main flaw in the 1848 Constitution was the lack of constitutional mechanisms to ensure the balance of power.

As a result of the elections on December 10, 1848, Louis Bonaparte became president, who set a course for a coup d'état. Gradually, all officials were replaced by Bonapartists at all levels of government. On December 2, 1851, the deputies were arrested and the Legislative Assembly was dissolved.

France in the late XIX - early XX century

After the end of the era of the Second Empire, the political regime of the Third Republic was established in France. It is characterized by active political competition, expansion of colonial possessions, political instability, social contradictions and insufficient rates of industrial development.

Background

In 1870-1871, France is at war with Prussia. The consequences of failure in this war were the loss of vast territories (Alsace and Lorraine), financial losses (France had to pay Prussia a significant indemnity), the removal of Emperor Napoleon III from power and the proclamation of a republic. The French elites had to work out a compromise regarding the future political system and strategies further development country.

Events

1875 - adoption of the constitution of the Third Republic. The term "republic" itself is found in it only in one article, adopted by the National Assembly with a margin of only one vote. This indicates that there was no compromise between the political elites of the period. According to the constitution, the National Assembly consisted of two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies was formed on the basis of a universal secret ballot; women, military and colonial residents did not vote. Elections to the Senate were indirect, some of the senators sat in it for life. All laws were passed only with the approval of the Senate, which played the role of a conservative counterbalance to the Chamber of Deputies. The President of the Republic was elected by the National Assembly.

1879 - the resignation of Marshal McMahon (monarchist) from the presidency; Republican Grevy was elected president. McMahon failed to oust the Republicans from the corridors of power and find a candidate for the throne who could unite the entire nation.

1888-1889 - the political crisis associated with the movement of boulangism. General Boulanger, popular among the people (for more details: Georges Ernest Jean Marie Boulanger), received the post of Minister of War in 1886. They pinned hopes on him for the revival of the army, taking revenge on Germany after the defeat in the war of 1870-1871, and establishing a strong power in the country. Boulanger himself was more of a military than a politician, but various political forces, primarily monarchists, tried to win him over to their side in order to use his popularity to carry out a coup d'etat and establish a military dictatorship. As a result, Boulanger, fearing arrest, fled the country.

1878, 1889, 1890 - holding world exhibitions in Paris.

1891 - the conclusion of an anti-German military alliance between France and Russia.

1906 - the end of the Dreyfus case, which began in 1894, and his acquittal. Dreyfus, a Jewish French officer, was sentenced to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges of spying for Germany. This case once again split France: the majority of political forces publicly spoke out in favor of Dreyfus's guilt or innocence, speculating on this topic. The Dreyfus case exposed such problems in France as the growth of anti-Semitism, closed military legal proceedings, excessive privilege of the army, and led to a large-scale political crisis. The government officials who supported the accusations against Dreyfus eventually lost their posts (more: The Dreyfus case)

Participants

Marshal MacMahon - President of France (1873-1879), who did not justify the hopes of the monarchists for the restoration of the monarchy.

Henry V, Comte de Chambord - the grandson of Louis Philippe of Orleans, Marshal MacMahon offered him the throne, but they could not find a common language.

General Boulanger is the alleged leader of a failed military coup.

Alfred Dreyfus is a captain of the French army, wrongly accused of espionage.

Conclusion

In France at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, there was no national compromise on the issue of state structure (republic or monarchy). The lack of a national compromise on basic issues often hinders state development.

The severity of political competition was manifested in repeated attempts to carry out coups d'etat. A coup d'état is a means of achieving political goals when it is impossible or unwilling to reach a compromise.

A positive feature of this time is the fact that after the defeat from Prussia and until the First World War, France did not wage wars on the mainland. The peace period allowed her to achieve certain successes in the financial sphere and in colonial policy: during these years, France took possession of Indochina, Tunisia, Morocco, vast territories in Western and Equatorial Africa (see Colonies of France).

The colonial successes of France at the same time contributed to the growth of contradictions between the leading European powers, which in many respects became the cause of the First World War.

Parallels

The Boulangism movement is associated with an attempt by political forces to rely on the popular military man and on his shoulders to "enter" power. This is a fairly common political tactic. We can recall an example from the history of the same France: in 1799, members of the Directory invited General Napoleon Bonaparte to lead a coup d'état, thinking to derive their own benefit from it. However, Napoleon's ambitions led to the fact that the initiators of the coup were ultimately left with nothing, and he received all the power. General Boulanger, on the other hand, had no special political ambitions, so the coup d'état did not take place.

In the second half of the XIX century. in France, the long struggle between the monarchy and the republic ended in favor of the republic. France became a developed industrial country, completed the creation of its colonial empire.

Franco-Prussian War and Revolution 4 September 1870

Aggravation of Franco-Prussian relations in the late 60s. XIX century. led to the war that the governments of both countries wished for. On July 19, 1870, France declared war on Prussia.

Napoleon III was poorly prepared for hostilities, although his Minister of War assured: "We are ready, everything is in order in our army, right down to the last button on the gaiters of the last soldier." In fact, no one even knew the exact number of soldiers and ammunition, chaos reigned in the troops.

The denouement came quickly: on September 2, 1870, Napoleon III with an 83,000-strong army surrendered near the town of Sedan. The news of the sedan crash shocked all of France. Everyone considered the emperor to be the culprit of the defeat. On September 4, the people of Paris revolted. A bourgeois democratic revolution took place, which destroyed the Second Empire and established the Third Republic.

The historian and politician Thiers came to the fore in political life. On May 10, 1871, his government signed a peace treaty in Frankfurt am Main, according to which France suffered huge losses. She gave Germany rich regions - Alsace and Lorraine - and pledged to pay 5 billion francs in indemnity.

Paris Commune 18 March - 28 May 1871

During the Franco-Prussian War, in March 1871, Paris was shaken by another, already the fifth revolution.Its main reason was the conflict between the Thiers government, on the one hand, the workers, part of the intelligentsia, the petty bourgeoisie, on the other. Suffering from shelling, hunger and cold, the workers of Paris demanded the establishment new government - Communes and restructuring of the whole society in the interests of the lower classes.

The workers had their own detachments - over 200,000 soldiers of the National Guard, that is, armed citizens. The authorities formed the National Guard in the fall of 1870 to defend the country. Its governing body was the Central Committee (CC).

Large owners could not feel at ease with the half-starved and armed Parisians. Therefore, the authorities ordered the night of March 18, 1871 to disarm the workers and arrest their leaders. But the soldiers, surrounded by crowds of men, women and children, refused to shoot at the people, and the operation failed. Thiers's government fled to Versailles. Power in Paris passed first to the Central Committee of the National Guard, and on March 26 to the Commune of Paris elected by the population. It was dominated by intellectuals and workers.

The commune was the first experience government controlled the proletariat.New governing bodies were created instead of the previous ones. All power, legislative and executive, was exercised by one body - the Council of the Commune.Officials were not appointed, but elected. Some of the enterprises were transferred to working collectives, the working day was shortened, rent debts were canceled, the poor moved to the houses of the rich.

The importance of the Commune was highly appreciated by K. Marx, F. Engels, V. I. Lenin, and its experience was used by the Russian Bolsheviks, who saw themselves as the heirs of the Paris Communards. The opponents of the Commune considered its actions harmful and ill-considered, leading to a bloody massacre.

Meanwhile, Thiers's troops launched an offensive from Versailles on Paris on 2 April and captured the last barricade on 28 May. 30 thousand people were killed, tens of thousands were arrested, convicted, exiled.

The reasons for the defeat of the Commune were primarily in the military superiority of the Versailles. In addition, many mistakes were made by the Communards. They allowed the government to leave Paris, did not establish control over the French bank, which continued to transfer money to Versailles, did not establish strong ties with other cities and the peasantry. There was no agreement in the Commune itself.

Political development of the Third Republic in 1871-1918

Although the revolution of September 4, 1870 established the Third Republic in France, the country was ruled by monarchists for several years, supported by large property owners and the Catholic Church. But in 1875 a new constitution was adopted, which formalized the bourgeois-democratic parliamentary republic.

Under pressure from below, the French governments carried out a series of democratic reforms. Freedom of trade unions, assembly and the press was proclaimed. Introduced universal and free primary education, which allowed by the end of the XIX century. reduce the number of illiterates to 5% of the population. The situation of the workers has improved. The enterprises established a 10-hour working day (1900), introduced one day off per week (1906), began to pay pensions (from 1910). In 1905, a law was passed on the separation of the church from the state and the payment of state money to it was stopped.

A feature of the political life of France was the presence of many political parties.This made it impossible for one of them to win the elections and to form a stable government. Multiparty republican ministries, torn apart by internal strife, were unstable. From 1871 to 1914, more than 50 governments changed, and none of them lasted more than three years.

Foreign policy

After the defeat in the war of 1870-1871. the main task of French politics was to find strong allies to oppose Germany and return Alsace and Lorraine. At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. France overcame its differences with Russia and England and signed allied treaties with them. The allies were preparing strenuously for the impending war.

With unprecedented energy, the Third Republic expanded its colonial possessions. In Southeast Asia, as a result of a ten-year war, Tonkin ( North vietnam), Annam (Central Vietnam), Cambodia and Laos. In Africa, France established control over Tunisia and Morocco, seized the large island of Madagascar and vast territories in the western and equatorial parts of the continent. France became the second colonial power after Great Britain. Her possessions covered an area of \u200b\u200babout 10 million square meters. km, they were home to over 50 million people.

Economic development

At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. France remained one of the most developed countries in the world.But in terms of industrial production, it lagged behind the United States, Germany and England and moved from second place in the world to fourth. Its economy was extremely hard hit by the consequences of the lost war with Prussia and the lack of its own industrial raw materials. The enormous numerical predominance of poorly mechanized small enterprises over well-equipped large factories had a negative effect.


On the other hand, at the end of the 19th century. in France, powerful industrial and financial companies are emerging and playing an increasing role. The Comite de Forge and Schneider-Creusot associations dominated the metallurgical industry, Renault and Peugeot dominated the automotive industry. The Saint-Gobain concern held a strong position in the chemical industry. The banking system has developed greatly.

Most of the French population still lived in the countryside. The volume of agricultural production increased, but in this area France lagged behind the most developed countries. Millions of peasants cultivated their land by hand. There were much fewer large farms (50-200 ha) than small farms (up to 1 ha).

There was a deep stratification of the rural and urban population in terms of the amount of wealth. 15 thousand millionaires (0.1% of all owners) accounted for 25% of the country's wealth.

Labor and Socialist Movement

Between 1870 and 1914, wages increased by an average of 30%, but at times they fell, prices rose, and the average working day was 11-12 hours. The French worker earned less and lived worse than the English and American. Political rights and freedoms were limited. The workers sought to improve their economic situation and political empowerment.

Prominent proletarian leaders were Jules Guesde and Paul La Fargue - adherents, albeit not consistent, of the Marxist theory of socialism. The interests of the workers were actively defended by the prominent publicist and historian Jean Jaures, an implacable opponent of capitalism and war. Unlike K. Marx and F. Engels, he saw the path to liberation not in revolution, but in a general strike and peaceful transformations.

At the end of the XIX century. in France there were several workers' organizations looking for ways to get closer. In 1895, it was decided to create a single trade union organization - the General Confederation of Labor, which became the leading force of the strike movement (under this name it also exists in modern France). In 1905, the socialist organizations formed the United socialist party, which, in a reorganized form, is still valid. French socialists advocated peaceful reforms and devoted much time to parliamentary activities.

Hundreds of strikes were held in France every year. The authorities responded with harsh repression, sometimes even sending troops against the strikers. But the labor movement had already become a force to be reckoned with.

IT'S INTERESTING TO KNOW

The Commune of Paris included prominent workers' leaders Augustin Avrial and Eugene Varlaine, the poet Eugene Potier, the artist Gustave Courbet, the scientist Gustave Flourens - a total of 86 people. Hungarian Leo Frenkel, Pole Yaroslav Dombrovsky, Russian revolutionaries Elizaveta Dmitrieva and Mikhail Sazhin fought on the side of the Commune. Charles Belé, who presided over the first meeting of the Commune, declared that Republican France should become "the support of the weak, the defender of the working people, the hope of the oppressed all over the world and the basis of the world republic."

References:
V.S.Koshelev, I.V. Orzhekhovsky, V.I.Sinitsa / World history of modern times XIX - early. XX century, 1998.