History of Modern France - Essay Example

History of Modern France 1. Discuss the Paris commune of 1871 a). What where the origins and composition? After the rise of Emperor Napoleon III, the regime seemed strong but with economic crisis and the reawakening of the labor movement, the regime became weakened. The regime therefore saw an opportunity of reviving its fortune through wars and gain of territory against its rivals. The Paris Commune of 1871 therefore came about as a government consisting mostly of socialists, which ruled Paris for a short period of time starting in March 1871 until 28 May 1871 (Popkin, 2013). The Paris Commune of 1871 started because the laborers and workers of Paris joined the National Guardsmen who had mutinied and helped in the proper reorganization of the city in a manner that appreciates the interests of the workers. The origins of the Paris Commune started on March 18 1871 after France had been defeated by Prussia in a war and the French government deployed troops into the city of Paris to take back the Parisian National Guard (PNG) before the revolting workers got hold of it. However, the citizens had hold of it and were not willing to surrender it up after which the soldiers refused to use the cannon to fire on its own citizens but instead turned it against their officers. Popkin (2013) states that after the occurrence of this act, the PNG conducted free elections whereby Parisians elected a council whose composition was the Jacobins and Republicans as well as a few socialists and anarchists which declared Paris and independent commune. The commune consisted of members who could be recalled by the voters at any time, paid average wages and was equal in terms of status to other members who were within the same commune. b) What reform measures were implemented, attempted, or planned? The Paris Commune of 1871 introduced such reforms such as turning places of work into co-operatives, which was mainly making the anarchist theory practical, which culminated, into forty three workplaces becoming co-operatives by May of 1871. For instance, the Louvre Museum became a factory run and managed by a large worker’s council and the belief by the Mechanics Union and the Association of Metal Workers that they could only be emancipated if they formed a worker’s association (Popkin, 2013). The reform envisaged also believed that the need to abolish the exploitation of men by fellow men was through the organization of labour in associations and capital that could not be separated from the organizations. Through this, the Paris Commune would achieve equality for all the individuals concerned in the nation. The commune therefore did away with bureaucracy in the government and focussed on having government where officials are elected and not appointed with the possibility of replacing them any time. The major reforms however were geared towards making the state move towards a progressive, secular and social democracy as a political practice through the implementation of certain reforms in the form of decrees (Popkin, 2013). The commune was able to make a clear distinction between the church and the state and the abolition of working at night in the bakeries that were to be found in Paris. The commune also granted pensions to companions and children of national Guards who had been killed in the course of active service as well as remitting the rent owed during the siege. It also postponed the commercial debt obligations as well as interests that had accrued on such debts while at the same time confirming the right of employees to take over and run premises that had been abandoned by the owners while at the same time compensating the owners. More importantly, the commune prohibited the imposition of fines on workers by any employer within the commune which was a common practice the. c) What was its fate? The Paris Commune of 1871 had kept the same democratic ideals of the old regime, which stressed on representation whereby governors exercised power on behalf of the citizens. As time went by, the council that had been formed to run the city lost touch with the citizens that had elected it due to its authoritarian rule and tendencies. It later set up a committee to deal with the safety of the public that used terror to shore up the achievements of the revolution. At first, this committee met great opposition from those within the council that leaned towards the anarchists while the citizens also ignored it as they were more preoccupied with defending the city of Paris from invasion by the French army (Popkin, 2013). When the government troops stormed the city of Paris, there was serious fighting in the streets for a period of seven days. The council that runs the commune exercised its last authority at Montmartre cemetery and after the troops were subdued and defeated, the capitalist class ruled the city killing the Communards. The casualties numbered about thirty thousand lives and those that were killed were dumped and buried in mass graves. It is important that the commune is celebrated much for the heroism showed by the workers but had numerous short-fallings which made it more vulnerable to attacks by the bourgeoisie. In addition, the National Guard failed to pursue the French army as well as the fleeing government officials, which later came to haunt it leading to its downfall. d) What were the consequences and significance? After the Commune fell on May 28, there was massive blood-letting as people were shot aimlessly, while the working class women of Paris and their children were captured and detained or shot. With the streets filled with dead and rotting bodies, diseases spread through Paris while the working class districts were torched as almost forty thousand people were imprisoned (Popkin, 2013). Those in prison were executed or alternatively died while in detention, which led to a loss of about one hundred thousand Parisians alone. The Commune had a significant impact on the lives of the working class as they took the initiative to show what could be done in the process stirring a social movement within France and outside the nation. Workers could therefore run the society through a socialist agenda, which put the interest of workers first and appreciated their role in the society as a whole (Popkin, 2013). The Paris Commune of 1871 was significant in the sense that it had inspired revolutions and uprisings in other parts of the world such as the communes in Moscow, Budapest, Canton and the uprising in Saint Petersburg. Through the Paris Commune, France was able to establish laws that separated the church from the state and enhanced the rights of women to participate in an electoral process or vote. This was groundbreaking law that has been applied everywhere in the world which focuses on ensuring equality for everyone including workers and women amongst other special interest groups. 2. Discuss the developments that occurred in France from February through December 1848 a) The short- term causes that led to revolution in February With the French middle-class closely following the changes that were occurring in Britain such as the Britain Reform Act of 1832 with keen interest, they decried the state of unemployment, which pushed even the skilled laborers to be classified as proletariats (Popkin, 2013). The only amendment that they could see was the abolishing of child labor especially those under age of eight years though night labor was still acceptable to those over thirteen years old. In 1846, there was poor harvest and financial crisis, which led to economic depression while the poor rail network made it difficult to secure relief efforts. Further, the economic depression of 1848 had seen the number of businesses reducing significantly and the loss of trade and difficulty in credit and luxury business. When this occurred, the government tried to reassure the bourgeoisie by imposing taxes that affected those who owned land and the peasants as well as the farmers, which made the government lose the support of those in rural areas. The rural folk therefore felt a strain in propping up the city folks and felt the urge to revolt against the government. As demonstrations and political gatherings were outlawed, there were banquets organized by activists to raise funds, which were aimed at putting the regime on toes. This continued until 1848 but when the ruler of the time Louis Philippe outlawed the banquets, the people started a revolt that brought together the initiatives of the Republicans and the Orleanists (Popkin, 2013). At this time, any rebellion was forcefully crushed and at this time the press became more involved in the affairs of the France. The revolution led to the king abdicating his responsibility and fleeing to England as he feared for his life and could no longer govern the nation. b) The collection of groups that initially supported revolution The French Revolution of 1848 had a myriad of groups that supported it and its attendant ideals. First, there was King Louis Philippe who was the head of the provisional government that consisted of the educated elites with moderately liberal ideologies. King Philippe was at this time supported by the Orleanists, but faced stiff opposition from the Legitimists who were former royals as well as the Socialists and the Republicans, which made it difficult for him to surmount a challenge to the revolution (Popkin, 2013). However, what is in agreement is that the French Revolution of 1848 consisted of the liberals who wanted a republican constitution to apply in France at the time, the working class group whose main aim was social and economic reforms and the workers. The main objective of the workers was that they acted as a compromise between the demands by the socialists for work and the determination of the moderates to provide alternative for the unemployment bedeviling France at that particular time. c) How and why those groups subsequently divided Due to the evident lack of order in the provisional government, the conservatives called for order, which led to the April election that elected a constituent assembly consisting of moderates and conservatives. When the government imposed taxes and they were widely ignored, it lost the support of the rural citizens of France who did not want to shoulder the burden of unemployed citizens in Paris. When the provisional government closed the national workshops, the working class in Paris got annoyed which led to an uprising known as the "June Days Uprising" (Popkin, 2013). At this time, the army attacked and assaulted the citizens of Paris and this marked the departure between the petite bourgeoisie and the working class who now fought on opposite sides. The politicians who were now ruling the provisional government had abandoned the working class and the Second republic therefore collapsed. In addition, the difference between the ideologies put forth by them bourgeoisie revolutionaries and the radicals led to the fall of the revolution. When the right to work was mishandled by the government, the radicals organized demonstrations while the elections in April led to a majority for the conservatives. d) The June days The June Days was the uprising that occurred between the period June 23 and June 26 whereby the army carried out executions of the citizens of Paris in a systematic manner especially the areas that hade been blockaded. Initially, the petite bourgeoisie consisting of the workers and the unskilled laborers had worked in conjunction with the working class but in the present circumstances, the politicians who belonged to the bourgeoisie class had abandoned the workers. The June days of the uprising were majorly evident of a conflict of classes majorly directed by the desires of the middle-class. This is because while the bourgeoisie fought for the real participation of the citizens, the working class had different agenda. The major participants of the 1848 Revolution were those who owned small properties or the shopkeepers which consisted of a higher number than the working class majorly the unskilled laborers working in factories. These groups of people were paid for their ability to carry out tasks through their hands rather than their expertise and did not fully support the government. Through the support of these large lower classes, the 1848 Revolution was carried out successfully despite the desires of the liberal bourgeoisie who were opposed to the working class having an important role to play in the governance of the society. e) The outcome of the presidential election in December In the period when the revolution had occurred, politics continued to lean towards the right that marked the slow terminal of the revolution. The Napoleon lineage continued to rally support under the iconic name, which led to elections meant to return France to the old order that had the main aim of putting control and extinguish the Republican ideologies (Popkin, 2013). On December 2, 1851, a coup had been carried out and the National Assembly dissolved despite the fact that the ruler had no constitutional duty to do so. At this time, there was the establishment of the universal suffrage that allowed every person the civic duty to vote. At this time, Louis Napoleon became Emperor Napoleon III and began the exercise of power under the Second Republic. This occurred after the completion of the Republican constitution when elections were held and Prince Louis Napoleon was elected the president. Reference Popkin, J. D. (2013). A history of modern France. Boston, Mass: Pearson. Read More