AHC: A 20th Century Restoration of the French Monarchy

[Basileus_Komnenos]

Devise a scenario where the monarchy is restored in France in the 20th Century. What sort of political and economic circumstances would be necessary for something like this to occur?

Which house would be restored to the throne? France had three pretenders from the Houses of Bourbon, Orleans, and Bonaparte. Having either one of them succeed the throne is fine for this pod. I think realistically the most likely candidates would probably be from the House of Orleans or House of Bonaparte.

 

[Lalli]

Quiet diifficult but not impossible. Pehraps France loses WW1 and then right-wing parties begin rise popularitu. Action Francaise led by Charles Maurras was quiet monarchist and supported Orleanist pretender. Perhaps it could take power at some point in 1920's and is succesful enough to restore monarchy.

 

[Basileus_Komnenos]

Action Francaise led by Charles Maurras was quiet monarchist and supported Orleanist pretender. Perhaps it could take power at some point in 1920's and is succesful enough to restore monarchy.

Wasn't Maurras and Action Francaise denounced by the Pope because of his agnosticism? This basically killed the movement within France.

 

[da Racontor]

Wasn't Maurras and Action Francaise denounced by the Pope because of his agnosticism? This basically killed the movement within France.

Yes, though I'm sure with the right POD you might be able to butterfly something out of it.

Also for consideration Charles de Gaulle did come from a monarchist family (legitimise-Orleaninst I believe). So you might be able to do something with that.
Maybe he becomes famous much earlier and is more "idealistic" once in power or something.

 

[Lalli]

Yes, though I'm sure with the right POD you might be able to butterfly something out of it.

Also for consideration Charles de Gaulle did come from a monarchist family (legitimise-Orleaninst I believe). So you might be able to do something with that.
Maybe he becomes famous much earlier and is more "idealistic" once in power or something.

De Gaulle just should get power much earlier or at least get more influence already in 1920's. After WW2 monarchism was basically dead and it would be impossible restore that anymore evne if de Gaulle would be monarchist.

 

[yulzari]

The first step would be to have a few marriages that unite the three contending lines into one.

 

[Byzantion]

De Gaulle just should get power much earlier or at least get more influence already in 1920's. After WW2 monarchism was basically dead and it would be impossible restore that anymore evne if de Gaulle would be monarchist.

Maybe a late more authoritarian de Gaulle installs an Orleans-Prince as Roi de France (a representive role). Would require greater instability of the 5th French Rebublic.

 

[Lalli]

The first step would be to have a few marriages that unite the three contending lines into one.

You hardly need find way unite royal families. Orleans and Bonapartes didn't face too much of opposition from other royal families. And uniting all claimant families so that there would be only one claimant would be pretty hard anyway.

 

[da Racontor]

The first step would be to have a few marriages that unite the three contending lines into one.

Your main issue is Salic Law, the crown cannot be passed though a female line. As far as I know the Orleanists Monarchy did not revoke that, and even if I did a large portion of Orleanist support was not because July Monarchy but because after the death of the Count of Chambord many saw the House of Orleans as the legitimist option. So marrying the families doesn't actually do anything.

 

[Welshroyalhistory]

Devise a scenario where the monarchy is restored in France in the 20th Century. What sort of political and economic circumstances would be necessary for something like this to occur?

Which house would be restored to the throne? France had three pretenders from the Houses of Bourbon, Orleans, and Bonaparte. Having either one of them succeed the throne is fine for this pod. I think realistically the most likely candidates would probably be from the House of Orleans or House of Bonaparte.

The Legitimist line is a bit of a joke and would cause complications with Spain.
I don't know how the Bonaparte dynasty is viewed in France currently but Prince Louis, who was the head of the House of Bonaparte from 1926 to 1997 was easily the most interesting and accomplished of the representatives of the three dynasties, although I will always have a soft spot for the Countess of Paris, who would have made a magnificent Queen of France, even if her husband was not particularly impressive.
A scenario like what happened in Spain is the easiest option. It seems at various points the leaders of France (De Gaulle) and the Portuguese dictator Salazar
in the 50s dabbled with something like what Franco actually did and I have read in the late 50s, De Gaulle told the Count of Paris to prepare for a restoration.

 

[Welshroyalhistory]

The first step would be to have a few marriages that unite the three contending lines into one.

They are all already united through blood various different lines.
The current heads of the Orleans and Bonaparte dynasties descend from Louis Phillipe. The Legitimist, Orleans and Bonaparte will also share a common ancestor in Maria Theresa of Austria, various Bourbon Kings in France and Italy and most likely some Bavarian Kings as well.

 

[Comte de Geneve]

Any restoration would be Orleanist and would require some event that completely discredits the Third Republic prior to 1940. The most likely POD is defeat in WWI and a nationalist revival that is able to blame the left for the defeat. Perhaps if Jaures is not assassinated and leads enough Socialist resistance to the outbreak of war to make the Left a focus of blame if the Germans are able to win in 1914, or the left can be blamed for increased mutinies in 1917 that lead to a collapse of the French effort and therefore defeat. A longer shot would be (a handwave here) if Dreyfus was actually guilty and was successfully proven so after the Dreyfusards agitated for a new trial, therefore discrediting the urban and secular left.

 

[Rich Mullins]

What if the 1934 crisis had turned out differently and that ended the Third French Republic? Could that have led to a restoration of the monarchy?

 

[HelloThere]

What if the 1934 crisis had turned out differently and that ended the Third French Republic? Could that have led to a restoration of the monarchy?

For the 6 February 1934 crisis to end the Third Republic you would need an organized right-wing. IOTL it was a bunch of right-wing street gangs rioting in the city.

 

[Rich Mullins]

For the 6 February 1934 crisis to end the Third Republic you would need an organized right-wing. IOTL it was a bunch of right-wing street gangs rioting in the city.

Okay, so let's say the right wing quickly became more organized and non-right wingers joined the opposition. Do you think that would be enough to force the government to fall leading to the formation of some provisional government which would oversee the creation of an assembly to craft a new constitution?

 

[mial42]

Quite difficult, but I think it can be done with three prerequisites:
1) Monarchy needs to be seen as "the wave of the future" so to speak; the most "successful" model around, sort of like Communism for most of the Cold War. The obvious way of doing this is a German victory in WW1, with the monarchies beating the liberal democracies rather than the other way around like OTL.
2) Consolidation of claims. Having only one major monarchist claimant would be very helpful, ideally a claimant viewed positively by the public.
3) Very good leadership and luck for the monarchists.

 

[marktaha]

Maybe a late more authoritarian de Gaulle installs an Orleans-Prince as Roi de France (a representive role). Would require greater instability of the 5th French Rebublic.

Think he did want to have Henri Count of Paris run for President at one time.