FRANCE RECOVERY FROM THE MILITARY DEFEAT OF 1870 AND THE INTERNAL STRIFE OF THE PARIS COMMUNE - Essay Example

? FRANCE RECOVERY FROM THE MILITARY DEFEAT OF 1870 AND THE INTERNAL STRIFE OF THE PARIS COMMUNE of Institution Date of Submission The Extent to Which France Recovered from the Military Defeat of 1870 and the Internal Strife of the Paris Commune The Franco – Prussian war of 1870-71 and the humiliating defeat at Sedan marked an end of French dominance on the continent, a position that the country had enjoyed since the mid seventeenth century (Evans, Godin 2004, p 63). The republic that was born out of defeat and of the internal strife of the Paris Commune was one of the longest of all the republics, living in peace with its neighbors until the outbreak of war in 1914 and lasting until Nazi occupation and the fall of France in 1940. This period saw the buildup of the greatest empire France had ever possessed, conquering territories such as Indo-China, Madagascar and much of West and North Africa. By the year 1914, France was the second largest colonial power in the World and the most dominant in Africa. The Third Republic saw the development of the arts movement, which was unrivalled in any other era of French history, a period known as the Belle Epoque. There were wide ranging educational and political reforms, centralization of the state, the emergence of a mass media culture and success in engineering, electrical and chemical industries (Gildea, 1996, p 81). Despite the endurance of the Republic, it is regarded as a period of great instability and from its very beginnings was plagued with problems. Governments ‘appeared to fall and be replaced with monotonous regularity’ (Randell, 1986, p. 2) and as various scandals consumed it, the Republic was threatened by deep- rooted political divisions between the left and right that seemed to control events for many years. The Paris Commune although eventually crushed by Thiers (a man who, along with his government exhibited a clear mistrust of the social and political unrest that Paris symbolized) defined working class culture for years to come and created a new fervour for socialist ideals in France, posing a threat to the traditional Monarchist ideals. By addressing the various scandals, issues and concerns that followed the defeat of France and the Paris Commune, we will examine how effectively France recovered from these events. How well did the new Republic deal with the threats it faced after the defeat, and how did the explosion of growth in working-class political activity during the commune affect the country in the subsequent years? Are the criticisms of the Republic truly justified, or did France manage to recover from these events remarkably well considering the multitude of political struggles that she faced? The military decline of France in the Franco- Prussian war was indeed disappointing and devastating to France and its citizens. The war had resulted to loss of material resources and caused many deaths and injuries in addition to bruising France’s pride and ending the continent’s dominance that France had enjoyed since the mid- Seventeenth century. Therefore, from the outset of the defeat, the emphasis in France was on recovering from the defeat. The Paris Commune was without doubt a landmark in modern European History. It was seen by Karl Marx as the first determined attempt by the proletariat to overthrow the forces of capitalism. The extent to which the commune was socialist has however been a matter of much controversy (Fortescue, 2000, p 16) and seen by many at the time as much of a move of patriotism as it was a revolutionary act (Gluckstein, 2011, p. 55). The Commune represented patriotism, republicanism, anti-clericalism and a commitment to the working class along with their fervor for direct democracy. Majority of the French people embraced Paris Commune since most of them were working class compared to the anarchists who were opposed to it. However, the conditions under which it formed, its decrees that were mostly controversial, and the violent end that it had, made its tenure to be one of the most vital political episodes in France. La Semaine Sanglante, when an estimated 25,000 communards were slaughtered signaled an end to the commune and the radical social change that had been desired by the working class was now a mere memory. This meant that France Commune did not achieve its ultimate goal. Apart from that, La Semaine Sanglante brought more devastating and tragic consequences to the French people; over 25, 000 people killed, 7000 exiled and about 50, 000 imprisoned or executed. Because of this, there was need for France to recover in the long- run. Although the commune has been interpreted as a precursor of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and has been celebrated by Marxist historians, the socialist movement in France was subdued for the following decade. With the commune defeated, the recovery of France and the establishment of a new government were now left in the hands of Adolphe Thiers. Chosen as Head of State, it was assumed by the Monarchists that he was merely ‘holding the fort’ until a restoration could take place (Randell, K 1986 p.31). Thiers had other plans, and in November 1872 announced that he would establish a republic, much to the dismay of many of the monarchists in the National Assembly. The monarchists were divided between Legitimists, Orleanists, and Bonapartists each with different demands for a new head of state. Although they managed to gain power and install Marshall McMahon as President, their inability to achieve a consensus amongst themselves and the lack of MacMahon’s political experience eventually led to a triumph of the Republicans in 1876. The defeat of France in September 1870 left the country in a dire situation; France was defeated, humiliated, and suffered a crisis which was moral, intellectual, and military. The effects of the defeat weighed heavily and discomfortingly on French people; there was direct political pressure, religious interference, and immense reparations settlement (Evans and Godin, 2003, p. 36). As a result, there was an upheaval of the political system marked by a split between the various strands of Monarchists and Republicans and the revolutionary Parisians. The warring parties demanded direct democracy rather than power being placed in the hands of elected representatives. The commune, eventually crushed by the Thiers government (partly due to internal divisions) and the intended social and economic revolution did not take place (Randell, K 1986 p.19). In the aftermath of the defeat and the internal strife of the Paris Commune, the need for recovery was of the highest priority. According to Fortescue (2000), Thiers and the Conservative Republic wanted to have a new and prosperous republic (p. 26). He notes that Thiers rallied the French people towards recovery; he insisted that no time should be wasted in proclaiming a revolution. Instead, people’s time should be employed in giving France its desirable and necessary characteristics. Thiers reminded people that they chose a Conservative Republic so that they can live under it (p.27). This was essential in the road towards recovery because France could not afford continue to live continual alarms. Thiers believed that France should be able to live in peace so that it can be able to work and feed itself in addition to facing up any of its huge responsibilities of recovery. He reminded them that France had suffered loss in the war such as the burning of her capital, ruining of her monuments, massacre of hostages, tripling of public debt, and loss of two provinces and that such losses should be recovered and they should never be witnessed again (p. 27). It is important to point out that after Thiers election in 1871 he played a very critical role in the France’s recovery from the two episodes. His government presided over military reforms, successfully raised loans to secure the hastened payment of indemnity to Germany and the subsequent national territory liberation, and national economic recovery. Additionally, it is worth noting that Germany was at the centre of France’s defeat. They were more superior and weighed heavily on France. Therefore, after the defeat, the French were obsessed by a key element and military fact of life that if they were to recover the provinces that were lost of Lorraine and Alsace in addition to regaining the lost national honor, overcoming Germany in the future will be critical. They made this attempt subsequently, which in a greater extent led to the First World War. Fortescue (2000) notes, when the First World War began, the French’s aim was majorly to recover Lorraine and Alsace and other France’s territories occupied by Germany. France was encouraged to develop more ambitious aims of war for herself because of the following reasons; its allies had formulated war aims, it had been anticipated that the war will take longer hence more costly, and more importantly the desire to conquer the colonial territory of Germany (p. 139). Eventually, France managed to get back Lorraine and Alsace territories that had been annexed by German in the Franco- Prussian defeat of 1870 after it was reverted to her through the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. Against all odds, a humiliated and divided country proclaimed a Republic. Although regularly criticized as a period of great political instability, ‘to observers from abroad the political life of France from 1870 – 1914 must have resembled a strange circus act…political scandal was always in the air’ (Randell, K 1986 p2), the Third Republic was a viable government and a relatively stable society until 1914. However, it is crucial to mention that a number of challenges plagued the Third Republic. Fortescue (2000) observes, in the Third Republic, corruptions and scandals featured prominently especially among the political elites. Besides, the Third Republic was characterized by short- lived governments which were simply a reshuffling of the seasoned politicians who had had stints with the previous governments; as a matter of fact, there were very few changes on the personalities in these short- lived governments (p. 212). Most of them had long ministerial careers in different administrations. Moreover, the Third Republic was occasioned by political extremism; there were the Rights, Lefts, and the working class. However, despite the differences, nearly all French people if not all had reasons to continue identifying with the French state. Despite the divisions and humiliation after 1870, France was able to remain one of the Great Powers in Europe with her economy recovering, society becoming more stable, and her military improving significantly (Fortescue, 2000, p. 212). In conclusion, it is evident from the discussion that the recovery of France from the military defeat of 1870 and the internal strife of the Paris Commune was to a remarkable extent, this is despite many challenges encountered. It is agreeable that France did not recover instantly from these two episodes; in fact, the recovery was slow, gradual, and sometimes unforeseen. The challenges faced after the 1870 seemed to derail the recovery of France. As already mentioned, these challenges included short- lived governments, corruptions and scandals, and political extremism among others. However, it is nearly undisputable that the French people overcame these challenges and were able to continue identifying with the French state. This ensured that France remained one of Europe’s Great Powers, challenges notwithstanding. When viewed in the short- term, that is, from the end of these episodes, the extent of recovery is insignificant and slow. However, when viewed in the long- run; that is, until 1918 when the First World War I ended, and Lorrain and Alsace recovered, France can be said to have recovered to a significant and greater extent evidenced by a viable government and relatively stable society. It can also be observed from the discussion that the recovery was dual- focused; that is, recovery from the military defeat and strife of the Paris Commune economically and socially, and recovery in terms of war preparedness in order to counter effectively any future aggression by external entities. Bibliography Evans, M & Godin, E 2004, France 1815- 2003: Modern History for Modern Languages, Hodder Education Publishers, p. 63. Fortescue, W, 2000, The Third Republic in France, 1870- 1940: Conflicts and Continuities, Routledge, p. 16. Gildea, R 1996, The Past in French History, Yale University Press, p. 81. Gluckstein, D 2011, The Paris Commune: A Revolution in Democracy, Haymarket Books, p. 55. Randell, K France: The Third Republic 1870- 1914, London: Edward Arnold, p. 2- 31. Read More