Explain to me the differences in the three French Republics

[SPJ]

I'm currently studying the history of 19th centuary France and I was wondering if anyone hear could help me by explaining the key differences between the three French Republics of that era.

[yourworstnightmare]

You do realize France is currently in her 5th Republic

But the three first:
First: Revolutionary Republic. Unstable, several government takeovers and coups. Factional fighting. Ended with Napoleon being crowned emperor.

Second: Short lived republic after the overthrow of the July Monarchy. Ended because they elected Napoleon's nephew as president. (Thus the 2nd Empire began).

Third: A more long lived Republic, created after the Franco- Prussian war. Guided France to democracy, but grew unstable, especially in her later days. Survived World War 1, but was destabilized due to increased antagonism between the Left and the Right in the inter-war years. Fell when the Nazis invaded.

[SPJ]

Originally Posted by yourworstnightmare

You do realize France is currently in her 5th Republic

But the three first:
First: Revolutionary Republic. Unstable, several government takeovers and coups. Factional fighting. Ended with Napoleon being crowned emperor.

Second: Short lived republic after the overthrow of the July Monarchy. Ended because they elected Napoleon's nephew as president. (Thus the 2nd Empire began).

Third: A more long lived Republic, created after the Franco- Prussian war. Guided France to democracy, but grew unstable, especially in her later days. Survived World War 1, but was destabilized due to increased antagonism between the Left and the Right in the inter-war years. Fell when the Nazis invaded.

Yes I realize its in its 5th right now but like I tried to explain in my OP I want to know about the three republics in the 1800s. Also could you explain how each handled social problems differently, which were more liked, and which provided the greatest benefits (legel or economic) to the French people?

[LSCatilina]

First one was a revolutionnary state. Depending of the faction in power, it changed things a lot.
With Montagnards, it was an anti-elitist, regime of war (more because being attacked than actual warmongering). Mix of urban popular and little bourgeoisie interests.
With Thermidoriens, more upper bourgeois and big land-owners.
With Bonaparte, more importance given to rural landowners and military, as well little bourgeoise (with recuperation of former Montagnards.

It's not really ONE regim, more some following each other.

The Second Republic was something like that as well.
First, an uneasy alliance between little bourgeoisie and workers, then rural land-owners (led by big ones) and industrial bourgeoisie that culminated into the II Empire.

The third Republic was at first concieved as a transitional regime to reinstaure the monarchy in France. So it gave little power to executive, the monarchist hoping to stay majoritary in the chambers (thanks to war and fraud, they managed to be majoritary in 1870).
It was institutionally a conservative regim, not allowing big institutional reforms and the turnover of radical ideologies (radicals, left radicals, socialist) is partially explained by that.

Basically a constant struggle between progressists and conservatives with the first being supported by upper workers, little land owners and little bourgeoisie, the other by big landowners, industrial and financial bourgeoisie, army and clergy.

It was uneasy to remove something applied by a majority, whatever which one, so the result was more a patchowrk than a planned feature.

[black angel]

Originally Posted by SPJ

Yes I realize its in its 5th right now but like I tried to explain in my OP I want to know about the three republics in the 1800s. Also could you explain how each handled social problems differently, which were more liked, and which provided the greatest benefits (legel or economic) to the French people?

thats kind of asking a lot, whole books are written on such questions,

The First Republic is kind of hard to define, basically it was born in 1789, with the National Assembly, however France was still a Monarchy (at lest on paper) till September 1792, when the Republic was founded and after 3 different governments (The National Convention 1792-95, The Directory 1795-99 and the The Consulate 1799-1804) the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor, the whole thing was a hot mess of coups and conter-coups and killing in the street and new Constitutions every weekend, so it didn't handle anything very well, other than war, it was good at that

the Second "republic" was a joke really Bonapartists used it to put Napoleon Bonaparte's Nephew (and heir) in the President's office, the whole thing lasted 4 years (1848-1852) after Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte lost Parliament elections (he was President so wasn't voted out) to Parti de l'Ordre in 1849 he set off a coup in 1851 getting rid of the Parliament and paving the way to ditch Republic for a Second Empire like good old uncle Napoleon I

the 3rd republic lasted from 1870 till 1940 and thus can not really be summed up