FRANCE

The chief characteristic of the second empire established after Napoleon III's coup d'État in 1852 was expansion. Napoleon III's ambition in this direction was twofold. He desired to make the French Empire not only the most advanced and strongest state in Europe, but also to have it count as the strongest influence in world politics. In regard to the first part of his ambitious plan, both the emperor and his various governments were quite successful. For during the twenty-odd years of the existence of the second empire, the progress of France along industrial, commercial, and agricultural lines was, perhaps, greater than in any other similar period in its history. In regard to the second part, it also seemed for a time as if Napoleon's ambitions were to be realized. It was under his reign that the French nation's interest in colonies which had gradually disappeared or had at least been submerged by England's immense undertakings along that line was aroused again, and a considerable part of the present very expansive colonial possessions of France is one of the contributions of the second empire. Furthermore in the early part of his rule he was fairly successful, not only in expressing the desires of France in regard to conditions and policies of other European countries, but also in forcing their fulfillment. It is very doubtful if, had it not been for Napoleon III's interest and assistance, a united Italy could have been formed. The part which he played in the unification of Italy has already been touched upon in the latter country's history, and we have also heard how his support of Italian ambitions for unity brought France into conflict with Austria-Hungary. It was, therefore, quite natural that when the French Government was approached in 1865 by Prussia in regard to the proposed Prusso-Italian treaty he should be found a supporter, even if an inactive and silent one, of this new arrangement. And it was equally natural that during the short war of 1866 between Austria and Prussia he kept aloof from any actual interference. It might even have been possible that France indirectly would have been found at that time on the side of Prussia, for there can be no doubt that Napoleon III would have liked to assist at that time Italy against Austria. But the Mexican War, which he had started in 1862 and which had been going against France during 1865 and 1866, prevented any active French interference in European affairs at that moment.

Satisfactory as it was to Napoleon III and France to see Austria forced to relinquish its Italian provinces to Italy, it was almost as unsatisfactory, or perhaps even more so, to notice at the same time the immense and unexpectedly rapid increase of Prussian power and influence. Immediately after the war of 1866 Napoleon III took a number of steps with the object of counteracting Prussia's new power or, if possible, of destroying it. As we have already seen during the consideration of German history of that period, he met with a fair degree of success. It looked very much, immediately after the Prusso-Austrian War of 1866, as if Prussia could not count then or for some time to come on the support of the south German states in any enterprise in which Prussian influence would be predominant. The attitude of these south German states toward Prussia at that time was of such a nature that the French Government could hardly be blamed in thinking that in a possible conflict between France and Prussia they might be found on the side of France, or at least could be counted upon not to be on the side of Prussia.

This conflict, it was clear, was to come soon. For under the able leadership of the Prussian Prime Minister, Bismarck, Prussia was gradually more and more increasing in power and influence and intruding on the French leadership in European affairs. That it came as early as 1870 was partly due to the French expectations of support on the part of the south German states which we have just mentioned, and partly to the general unrest which made itself felt in France as a result of the lack of success of the recent foreign policy of Napoleon III.

It is unnecessary to recite here the immediate causes as well as the details of the result of this war, all of which have been considered in the history of Germany of this period, and we shall, therefore, content ourselves with the repetition of the fact that the south German states disappointed French expectations by not only refusing to support France, but by openly and actively supporting Prussia, because the immediate cause of the Franco-Prussian War was considered by them a matter of national importance affecting all German-speaking people alike. The fall of Sedan, resulting in the capture of Napoleon III himself, brought the downfall of the second empire and the end of the monarchistic form of government in France.

The next few years are among the darkest in French history. In February, 1871, M. Thiers had been made the executive head of France, and it became his task to conclude the peace with Germany which was ratified by the French Assembly on May 18, 1871. Previous to that, on March 18, 1871, insurrection had broken out in Paris, and a separate government had been set up by the people known as the Commune. This revolution was put down only after the hardest kind of fighting between the forces of the Commune and the Government troops, and after more than $150,000,000 worth of property in Paris had been destroyed.

On May 31, 1871, however, Thiers was finally elected president for a term of three years. Considering the many and difficult problems which the new Government had to solve, it is rather surprising that it lasted as long as it did, even if its end came before the appointed time. For in May, 1873, both the president and his ministry resigned, and General MacMahon was elected president by the Assembly. Early that fall (1873) the last parts of the German army of occupation left France after the last installment of the war indemnity had been paid, and in the latter part of the same year President MacMahon's term was extended to a period of seven years.

The part which England had played during and immediately after the German-French War was typical of England's cleverness in playing foreign politics. Intimate as at that time were the Prusso-English relations, and inactive as England remained during the war, it still managed to impress the French nation with a strong feeling of gratefulness for the apparently friendly attitude which England felt toward France. In a way this is very remarkable, for after the fall of the empire, England extended its hospitality to ex-Empress Eugenie and her young son, and then, later, after Napoleon Ill's release from German captivity, to the ex-emperor himself.

In 1876 France had sufficiently recovered from its apparently complete breakdown of a few years ago to be able to dispose of the largest revenue that had ever been at the disposal of any French Government, and this fact is of interest to us chiefly because it is one of the most definite and most significant proofs of the remarkable inherent strength of the French country and people.

In spite of this quick recovery, France for the next few years played an absolutely inactive and comparatively unimportant part in European affairs. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1876, for instance, the republic declared and maintained a strict neutrality. Internally, the republic continued to have to contend with many difficulties. Again and again strong opposition to the republican form of government showed itself, expressed at one time by the followers of the Bonapartist party, at another by those of the Royalist party. However, all of these dissensions had no actual result, and in spite of them the republic continued to progress and to flourish to such an extent that, only seven years after one of the most disastrous defeats that any European nation had ever suffered, France was able, in 1878, to invite the rest of the world to witness at Paris the most wonderful international exposition that had ever been staged in the history of mankind. Early in the following year President MacMahon resigned, having been practically forced to this step by public sentiment which disapproved of and feared his monarchistic leanings. M. GrÉvy was elected as his successor. The early summer of this year (1879) brought death to the only son of Napoleon III while he was fighting under the English flag during the campaign against the Zulus in South Africa, and this event practically ended all danger of a Napoleonic restoration, because the representatives of the Napoleonic family left were neither closely enough related to Napoleon III nor possessed the necessary ability to accomplish a change of government.

The year 1880 brought the beginning of a strong anti-Catholic movement in France. At first this movement was directed only against the Jesuits, but it rapidly spread and in a way may be considered the forerunner of the radical legislation along this line which was passed in recent years. Throughout these years the life of the different ministries was very short and in most instances measured by months rather than by years. To go deeper into the causes for this condition is not necessary; but one of its results undoubtedly was that France continued to refrain from active participation in European politics because it stands to reason that a continuous change of the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs made it more or less difficult, if not impossible, for France to establish a definite foreign policy. However, in 1881 France began again to take a more lively interest in its colonial affairs. It was in that year that Tunis gave up its resistance to French occupation and from that time on dates the preponderating influence which France has held ever since in north Africa. For our purposes it is important only to remember the fact of this preponderancy, although it may be difficult to understand why this condition should exist, for neither then nor during the years to come has France shown any particular adaptability to colonial problems nor was it able to register in its colonies successes such as England and Germany had to show. The colonial expansion of France, however, continued. In 1882 new territory was acquired in Annam and, in 1884, Cambodia. This aggrandizement of France at the cost of China finally resulted in a declaration of war on the part of the latter country against France in August, 1884, lasting until June, 1885, and resulting in the confirmation of the French possessions in the Far East, not, however, until the French troops had suffered severe reverses. In 1885 a protectorate was established over Madagascar.

The beginning and continuation of French expansion in other parts of the world necessarily brought France into closer and more frequent contact with other countries. French statesmen soon began to see the necessity of making friends amongst the other nations if they hoped to lead France back into the position amongst the great powers which it had a right to occupy on account of its history as well as its extent and ability. Throughout the first twenty years after the Franco-Prussian War, France may be considered to have been on friendly terms with practically all European nations with the possible exception of Germany; but these friendships during that period had not yet ripened into intimacy nor had they even resulted in the establishment of definite alliances with any one of the nations. The feeling against Germany, which was, of course, based on the defeat which France had suffered at the hands of its eastern neighbor, was not particularly pronounced during this period and, unless French interests would finally have resulted in the conclusion of alliances with countries which brought it into commercial and political conflict with Germany, there seemed to be no good reason in the late nineties why France and Germany could not have found a common basis of understanding. In spite of this fact it is true that French statesmen and especially French politicians had never entirely given up the idea of revenging the defeat of 1870, even though in a great many instances the desire for revenge was secondary only, whereas the desire for the reconquest of lost territory was the chief driving power. However, as we have said, in 1889 French relations with the world were pleasant enough to make it possible for the republic to again extend an invitation to all civilized nations to come to Paris for another exhibition which was opened in May of that year, 1889. In the same year a bill was passed making army service universal. In 1890 representatives of the various nations again met at Paris at an international commercial conference. In 1891 the first definite signs of an increasing intimacy with some of the European countries showed themselves. In March, 1891, England and France agreed to arbitrate the Newfoundland fisheries question which had been a long standing cause of difficulties and diplomatic dissensions between the two countries. Some time later in July and August, 1891, a large French fleet paid an official visit to Kronstadt, the port of Petrograd, and was received there with the most remarkable expressions of friendship and good will. This latter event was the beginning of the Franco-Russian alliance. It was followed in October, 1893, by a visit of a Russian fleet to Toulon, which was greeted with similar enthusiasm.

In 1894 the so-called Dreyfus affair was responsible for a revival of the anti-German feeling, because Dreyfus, who was then a captain in the French army, had been accused and found guilty of selling military secrets to a foreign power which was by everybody considered to have been Germany. However, beyond intensifying the anti-German sentiment nothing resulted, and in May, 1895, France found it possible to join Germany and Russia in demanding from Japan the return of the Liao-Tung peninsula to China.

The popular sentiment in France during the South African War was strongly pro-Boer, although the official attitude was one of neutrality. In September, 1896, France arrived at an understanding with Italy concerning the former's desires for political supremacy in Tunis. The next month brought a visit from the newly crowned Czar Nicholas who was received in France with great hospitality. The visit was reciprocated in August, 1897, by President Faure and Europe made up its mind then that France and Russia had become allied. In the next month England, too, as Italy had done before, made arrangements to acknowledge French supremacy in Tunis.

In September, 1898, however, it looked for a short time as if England and France were to go to war with each other on account of further French advances in north Africa. In that month Major Marchand with French troops occupied Fashoda, a town located on the upper Nile in territory which England claimed to belong to its own sphere of interest. Lord, then still Sir Herbert, Kitchener, who was Governor General of the Sudan, demanded the withdrawal of the French troops which demand was refused; but a few months afterward the matter was amicably adjusted and the French withdrew from Fashoda. At that time, however, the popular French feeling certainly was not strongly pro-English; for when Major Marchand returned to France in May, 1899, he was received with the most effusive enthusiasm.

In February, 1899, President Faure died very suddenly and M. Loubet was elected as his successor. Throughout that year the Dreyfus scandal continued to occupy public opinion in France to the exclusion of almost everything else. A second trial was ordered, but, although Captain Dreyfus was again condemned to ten years' imprisonment, the president pardoned him and in the following year, 1900, the Senate passed a bill as a result of which further criminal prosecutions on account of the Dreyfus affair became impossible.

Additional legislation regulating religious orders was passed in the early part of 1901. In April of the same year, 1901, Toulon enjoyed the visit of an Italian fleet which led to considerable discussion among diplomats in regard to the apparently increasing friendship between France and Italy. In August, 1901, the French Government recalled its representative at Constantinople and handed his passports to the Turkish ambassador at Paris because Turkey refused to pay damages which had been adjudged due to some French companies. Although in November, 1901, a French fleet occupied parts of the island of Mitylene and war clouds once more seemed to be gathering, the matter was finally settled amicably by the prompt payment of the damages on the part of Turkey. In September, 1901, the czar repeated his visit to France, where he witnessed both naval and military maneuvers and was again received with expressions of the most enthusiastic friendship.

Another change of ministry took place in 1902 when M. Waldeck-Rousseau was succeeded by M. Combes. The new ministry caused great excitement by closing by force all religious schools that were not conforming by this time with the new Law of Associations. Another difficulty which the cabinet had to face was caused by a speech of the minister of marine during which he made remarks which were considered offensive by England and Germany. The Government, however, disavowed this speech and declared the expressions used to be of a private and not of an official nature. The enforcement of the Law of Associations continued to cause serious difficulties in the next year, 1903. Throughout the country the clergy, which of course resented the new regulations, took a more active interest in politics than ever before and thereby caused many serious dissensions between its members and the Government. A very strong demand for absolute separation of church and state began to crystallize which found its final result in May, 1904, in the passage by the chamber of a bill prohibiting all instructions in religious institutions by the end of a period of five years. The attitude of the French Government toward the Catholic Church, of course, was deeply disapproved by the pope, and when President Loubet paid a visit to the King of Italy at Rome in May, 1904, and thereby aroused the pope to an official protest, the French Government promptly withdrew its representative at the Vatican.

May, 1903, brought to Paris King Edward of England on one of his many visits to the French capital. This time, however, he appeared there in his official capacity and was received with general enthusiasm and expressions of the most sincere friendship on the part of the French nation toward the English people. Throughout 1904 the difficulties between the French Government and the church continued with increasing violence and in November of that year, a bill finally was introduced separating absolutely church and state.

Relations between France and Germany became considerably strained during 1905. France resented the advances which German diplomacy and German commercial institutions had succeeded in making at Constantinople and this resentment found its expression in a refusal to finance any more Turkish loans. As an official explanation of this attitude it was stated that the French Government objected to supplying funds to the Turkish Government as long as the Turkish Government continued to spend a large part of these funds for army and munition purchases from German firms. More serious than this, however, was Germany's official announcement that the empire would insist firmly on an open-door policy in Morocco. But fortunately for the peace of Europe this question at that time was settled by a series of conferences which were concluded in the fall of 1905.

In July, 1905, the French Chamber of Deputies and in September of the same year the French Senate finally adopted a bill for the separation of state and church.

In January, 1906, France again severed diplomatic relations with another power on account of commercial disputes, this time with Venezuela.

In March, 1906, King Edward paid his first visit to the new President, M. FalliÈres, who had been elected to succeed M. Loubet. Other expressions of the growing intimacy between the English and French nations were the visit of the lord mayor of London at Paris, a visit of representatives of French universities at London, and a special invitation extended to General French and other English officers to view the fall maneuvers of the French army. Internally the enforcement of the new Church and State Separation Law caused many difficulties and widened the break between France and the pope. A general strike of miners followed the worst mining disaster of the age, which killed over 1,200 miners at CourriÈres. Captain Dreyfus was finally completely vindicated. Two changes of ministry occurred. M. Rouvier was succeeded as prime minister by M. Sarrien, whose resignation, on account of ill health, brought M. Clemenceau to the helm.

The separation of church and state continued to hold the center of the stage in 1907. Monsignor Montagnini, auditor of the Papal Nunciature, was expelled. The Catholic bishops, though, of course, supporting the pope in his objection to the separation law, finally reached a partial understanding with the Government in regard to the continuation of public worship in Catholic churches. Labor troubles and serious riots in the principal wine districts occurred throughout May and June, but, though they were embarrassing the Government, they did not result in any changes in its composition. France exchanged notes with both Spain and England, establishing the continuation of the status quo in parts of the Mediterranean and Atlantic as far as they affected lines of communication between the contracting powers. A Franco-Japanese agreement of June, 1907, was principally commercial in nature, although it expressed the adherence of the two countries to an open-door policy in China. King Edward and Queen Alexandria again visited Paris.

President FalliÈres, accompanied by M. Pichon, the Foreign Minister, reciprocated with a visit to England in May, 1908, where he was most cordially received. In July, 1908, the president also paid visits to the kings of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, and to the czar. Considerable bad feeling was created between France and Germany on account of the action of the German consul at Casablanca in giving shelter to some men of German origin who had deserted from the Foreign Legion. The matter, however, was finally referred for adjustment to the Hague Tribunal.

Both King Edward and the czar were visitors in France during 1909. The French, Italian, and Spanish fleets passed in review before President FalliÈres at Nice in March, 1909. A general strike, though of short duration only, was indicative of the general feeling of unrest which pervaded the country. The Clemenceau Ministry fell under an assault from the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs, DelcassÉ, and was succeeded by one headed by M. Briand. In February, 1909, a new agreement was signed between France and Germany, embodying the general principles of French political preponderance and German commercial equality in Morocco. This year 1910 again brought signs of the general social unrest in the form of various strikes, the most important of which was that of the employees of the Nord Railway. This threatened to assume dangerous proportions, but was suppressed by M. Briand's prompt action by issuing a mobilization order to the strikers, and thereby, having turned them into reservists, made them subject to military law.

M. Briand resigned in February, 1911, and was succeeded by M. Monis and a Radical Cabinet, which, however, included M. DelcassÉ as Minister of Marine. New wine riots taxed the ingenuity of the new cabinet to its utmost before order was restored. In June, 1911, M. Monis, who had been seriously injured in an aeroplane accident which killed Minister of War Berteaux, resigned on account of ill health and was followed by M. Caillaux, Minister of Finance in the Monis Cabinet. In the late fall, 1911, the German-French difficulties about Morocco were finally settled by another treaty reiterating the general principles of the 1909 treaty, but arranging also for an exchange of territory between France and Germany in the Congo, by which Germany gained some 100,000 square miles to the east and south of its Cameroons colony.

Although this adjustment was not considered as particularly advantageous to Germany in that country itself, it aroused even more criticism in France, and resulted, in January, 1912, in the downfall of the Caillaux Cabinet. The president called upon M. PoincarÉ to form a new cabinet. In the meantime an understanding concerning Morocco had also been reached with Spain, and a treaty between the two countries was signed. It is significant that during the conferences held at Madrid between the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and the French Ambassador, the English Ambassador was present at the invitation of both France and Spain. In March, 1912, a French protectorate was established by treaty. Hardly had this been accomplished when the natives revolted, and it was not until the fall of 1912 that French troops succeeded in reestablishing order. In August 1912, M. PoincarÉ visited Russia, and in September Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia attended the French maneuvers, both signs that the French-Russian friendship was losing nothing in strength.

January, 1913, brought once more the presidential election, from which, after two or three ballots, M. PoincarÉ emerged as M. FalliÈres's successor. He asked M. Briand to form the cabinet and appointed M. DelcassÉ Ambassador at Petrograd. The Briand Ministry resigned as the result of difficulties over a matter of internal policy in March, 1913, and was succeeded by one headed by M. Barthou. The new president paid an official visit to the English court in June, 1913, and to the Spanish court in October, 1913. In August, 1913, a three years' service bill was passed to counteract recent legislative measures in Germany, increasing the army's peace strength. This bill at first encountered considerable opposition, especially on the part of the Socialists.

Like all the other great European powers, France maintained a strict neutrality during the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, and, of course, played an important part in the various unsuccessful attempts of the powers to prevent their outbreak, as well as in the conferences leading up to the final adjustment. In the latter the French representatives worked in conjunction with those of the republic's allies, England and Russia.

The year 1914 brought more than the usual number of ministerial changes. First the Barthou Cabinet fell as a result of financial legislation and of an attack on the part of M. Caillaux. M. Doumerge, a political associate of the latter, formed a new one with M. Caillaux in charge of the Finance Ministry. On March 16, 1914, his wife killed M. Calmette, the editor of the Paris "Figaro," in which he had attacked M. Caillaux most violently and consistently. The Minister of Finance resigned on the evening of the murder, and the rest of the cabinet followed on June 1, 1914. The new cabinet, under M. Ribot, a moderate Republican, lasted one day and was succeeded by another, headed by M. Viviani. In July, 1914, the president paid a visit to Russia, from where he returned barely in time to be greeted by Germany's declaration of war. At last the moment had come when it would be seen what fruit the tree of the Russian-English-French Entente was to bear.[Back to Contents]