1940's France Research Paper

“Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so,” said Charles de Gaulle. (Charles de Gaulle Quotes) Charles de Gaulle had a big impact during his life as a soldier, general, led the Free French during World War 2, founded the French Fifth Republic, and was a French president.

France had a general distrust of Germany. There was a great fear that if more serious measures to stop Germany were not made then the next generation would be seeking a war of revenge. The French public opinion earnestly desired a just peace, and would not take up arms again until compelled by a clear threat.3 This pacifism played an extremely important role in French policy. "Whether from ignorance or misunderstanding, many of the French people were apathetic, or just did not care enough to want action."4 The people were divided into two forces, the Left and Right, the Right favoring

The Great Depression affected France from 1931 through the remainder of the decade. The crisis affected France at bit more than other

The popular front led by Leon Blum, was the socialist government from 1936 which put in place the ‘Matignon Agreement’. Several developments established during the period of governing such as raising wages, and introducing the forty hour working week (James, 2003, p.124). Although they had in a sense united workers and employers, the adverse consequences resulted in a radicalised nation, with strong policing on tax evasion, and the reforms were substantially expensive (James, 2003, pp.124-125). Politically, the poor stability of the French economy didn’t allow Blum and his party to enforce their power across Europe. With the German economy recovering rapidly, and the vast military production, France simply didn’t have the resources to match up to the threat posed upon them (James, 2003, p.125).

The Federalists were opposed to supporting the French, and this belief is backed up by the author’s rash description of the current state of France. France had an opportunity had freedom, but in the eyes of the author, they have squandered that chance. In the event of the violence spreading to the United States the author is optimistic that the people will band together in defense of the government, and all that the country stands for.

There were many early expeditions from Europe to North America, most in search of a

From doing this first assignment project, I learned how focused the French culture is on art and how involved it is in their everyday lives. Art can come in so many forms in the French culture, a few being paintings, sketches, sculpting, and making music. As well as this, I learned about Impressionism which is a form of art that specifically came from the French culture in the 1870s and the 1880s. This form of art was created by a group of Impressionists whom were all French. Lastly, I learned how the French culture is full of elegance and love, which is also displayed through their artwork as well.

Charles de Gaulle was born on November twenty-second, eighteen-ninety in Lille, France. His mother was Jeanne Maillot de Gaulle and his father was Henri de Gaulle. He had three brothers, Xavier de Gaulle, Pierre de Gaulle, Jaques de Gaulle, and one sister, Marie-Agnès de Gaulle

After German’s failed attempt to take France under the Schleiffen Plan in 1914, the war entered into a stalemate between German and French/British forces.1 To break the stalemate Germany attempted to force France into battles that they were required to defend at all cost and in turn exhausting France’s precious resources of men and supplies.2 One such example is the siege of Verdun and the end result for Germany was not the collapse and fall of France as they expected, so the stalemate continued along with the very effective British naval blockade.3 The longer than expected war and the naval blockade left Germany’s interior in shambles. In 1916 Germany suffered from inflation on goods and starvation of its civilian populace, which lead to riots

When the next Great War knocked on the doors of France, they were unprepared for the advancements made by the Germans in the new wave of warfare that would be introduced in Europe. Marc Bloch portrays both the issues of France lacking support in the government and society and that resulting in the French being less modernized when fighting the war before them. The Germans made advancements in major fights from the sky to the lab and the French were not ready to fight it. Bloch knew that him and his fellow Frenchman weren’t prepared and were not even supported by the citizens and public officials back home, with that Bloch uses those experiences as the reason he believed the French were overpowered by the new German regime.

Unless you live in a cave, you know what “La France” is, its idea, its Eiffel tower, its way of life, its universalism.Rival of Britain for centuries, French Empire and European Imperialism, France has marked the world landscape by its specificity. Through the name “La Grande Nation” for the Germans or this “Je ne sais quoi” for the British, France is still enjoying a great image throughout the world.France maybe alternately charming, endearing, irritating, frustrating, but most of all France is admired in our planet. Wine, Fragrance, Luxe, Cinema, Diplomacy and of course the legendary baguette, France is the cradle of the “Art de vivre”.It is merely impossible to do an exhaustive list of what to visit or see in France. From Strasbourg to Bordeaux, from Nice to Paris, without

Following World War II, it was quite clear that France was in need of political assistance. After the French defeat, the occupation of Nazis forced the government to either ally with the enemy, or to be destroyed from the inside out. The government, run by Pétain, decided to ally with the Nazi invaders, which established what is known as the Vichy government. Seeing as this was the official government of France at the time, any Frenchmen who were to speak out against the government were to be seen as heretical, and even charged with treason, under the dictatorial Hitler regime. Luckily for the people of France, there was such a man who decided to fight for a free France. Charles de Gaulle is the reason that France, following a complete overthrow by a dictatorial world power, once again became one of the most powerful and prestigious countries in the entire world. De Gaulle wanted, and pushed for, France to become a strong empire, a rebuild of the national economy, a reconstruction of the broken nation, and to establish a stronger executive power in the government.

During this time in France’s history, then the most feared man in the world, German leader Adolf Hitler, shocked the world with a surprised Blitzkrieg invasion into France. With his Blitzkrieg siege on France, the German troops overwhelmed the French military that was in no way ready for this type of battle in anyway, not in spirit of its men, its equipment, its military tactics or with the new leadership of its highest political offices. Shortly before the eventual surrender of France to the invading German Army, Reynauld would replace its own war minister Daladier with the same man whom warned that France was not ready, a division tank commander named Charles De Gaulle. With the surrender of France, De Gaulle would then flee to Great Britain to lead the ‘Free- French” forces in campaign until the end of the war. De Gaulle would later become the president of France after the war ended. Throughout, France and even before the Second World War, the government of France was set as a Republic. In this Republic, accordingly the President will assume office and elected to office for a term of five years. Upon receiving the popular vote of the people and serving his five-year term, the president is also able to serve a second term of office by winning ultimately the second election. The President also has the power

Have you ever heard about the awesome and amazing country France? It is an amazing country with delicious foods, amazing sights, and much more! France has potential to be the perfect vacation as well. France has so much amazing things to do there for entertainment as well! France Is a truley amazing country. Here are some amazing facts about France.

Intertwined with France’s continual change to government and Republics is their culture of desiring a hero. After the French revolution, Napoleon was voted in as the emperor of France. Napoleon was a war hero after the French revolution and the citizens of France believed he could be the savior that France needed. Because of the hero-worship culture in France, Napoleon was given dictatorial powers. Additionally, the French citizens showed the yearning for a savior after World War Two when General Charles de Gaulle became head of the government. In 1958 the French generals demanded that de Gaulle be named head of the government, and if not they would land paratroopers in Paris and take over the city. The president had no choice and the parliament