French Government: An Oligarchy Rather Than a Polyarchy Essay

One of the 1st proofs for their problems with the politics in France was, “In order to assure the 3rd estate the influence it deserves because of its numbers… its votes in the assembly should be taken by head…(Doc. 3 “Cahiers”) This excerpt from document 3 explains that the 3rd estates wants more power in government and politics due to the amount of number of people. The purpose for this, is so that they have a say in government and will not get outvoted by the 1st and 2nd estate who have majority of the power during the ancient regime. Another example of the politics in France is in the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), “ Liberty consists in being to do anything that does not arm another person.” (Doc 8, Rule 4 of Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen).

← Doyle, William. The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2001

Louis XIV, the ruler of France from the late seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century, claimed, “I am the state.” He considered this to be absolutism. His goal, also acquainted with absolutism, was, “one king, one law, one faith;” Furthermore, Louis wanted to promote religious unity, royal dignity, and security of the state. In order to achieve this goal, he had to rule with a firm hand, laying down the law for all to see. Louis XIV’s absolutism fostered in four major parts: the building of Versailles to control the nobility, the breeding of a strong military, the improvement of France’s economy, and, while quite harsh, the brutal extinction of religious toleration.

The French Revolution was a time of period where social and political was a disruption in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. This time of period affected Social Structure of France prior to the French Revolution. The factors that caused this revolution was due to having a bad government system, weak superiority, and inequality of the classes of people in France during the war. In this research, I will define and explain how Social Structure contributed to the French Revolution Resentment of royal authoritarianism. The three estates that social structure consists of are first estate which are the clergies, second estate known as the Nobleman, and third estate which are the Bourgeoisie, peasants, and workers. The Revolution did not omit sharp distinctions among the social groups, neither did it alter the distribution of wealth. This caused them to divide into these three groups called as estates.

The UK is divided into parliamentary constituencies of broadly equal population (decided by the Boundaries Commission), each of which elects a Member of Parliament to the House of Commons. The leader of the party with the largest number of MPs is invited by the monarch to form a government, and becomes the Prime Minister. The leader of the second largest party becomes the Leader of the Opposition.

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.

The revolution resulted, among other things, in the overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy in France and in the establishment of the First Republic. It was generated by a vast complex of causes, the most important of which were the inability of the ruling classes of nobility, clergy, and bourgeoisie to come to grips with the problems of state, the indecisive nature of the monarch, impoverishment of the workers, the intellectual ferment of the Age of Enlightenment, and the example of the American Revolution. Recent scholarship tends to downplay the social class struggle and emphasize political, cultural, ideological, and personality factors in the advent and unfolding of the conflict. The Revolution itself produced an equally vast complex of

Question 2: If there is one art the French people perfected, it is the art of ennui. While this is diluted with every new generation, the French people still seem to be perpetually uninspired by their political system. Today, this ennui results in little more than complaining, but historically, it has led to unrest. The paramount result of this is the French Revolution. Before the Revolution, French society had been highly divided by class lines and the Third Estate struggled while the First and Second Estates enjoyed prosperity. After the French Revolution, however, the French did everything they could to distance themselves from this system.

Every country has its own agenda for its people and purpose for it’s military. Looking at the world nations, France is one of the most advanced nations that are currently an ally to the United States (US). Looking at the political, economic, and military situation of France can best describe the type of ideals and direction of focus the society has and will continue to have over the next few years or more.

Since 1789, increasing discontent for food shortage and dire living conditions in France triggered massive protests against the Old Regime. By overthrowing Louis XVI and absolute monarchy, French citizens began to march toward democracy. However, the desire for participating in political decisions became so radical that fueled by internal and external conflicts, people shifted away from the principles they drew up. To restore stability and enforce laws, the government turned more centralized. Unlike what the revolution intended initially, its ending with Napoleon’s dictatorship totally resembled what it was like before. Such turmoil throughout the revolution merely undermined democracy despite its original aim to increase the public voice in politics.

Citizens were not permitted to vote as individuals. Instead one vote was given to each of the three estates, the clergy (first), aristocrats (second), and everyone else excluded from the first two, who were most commonly peasants and the working class (third) (Roberts et al. 646). Unsurprisingly, the Third Estate was outvoted and citizens within became furious. They, “…insisted that those who worked [for low wages] and pay taxes were the nation…” (Roberts et al. 646) Shortly afterward, the National Assembly was born and was determined to take France’s future into its own (Belloc, 93).

France did not enter the Revolution of 1848 for the same reasons that other countries in Europe did. In France at that time equality before law was no longer an issue. The struggle for France then became centered on property qualifications. People in France wanted property and also better working conditions.

     France, which is the largest nation in Western Europe, is a presidential republic. France is a very important nation in Europe and it continues to be involved in contemporary policy issues. Helping the world as one of the great trading nations, France is a very important trading partner with the United States. Not only is France important to the United States, they are also important to countries all over the world. Their abundance of both mineral and agricultural resources make them a very important supplier of products all over the world. I chose to report on France because it is an interesting county and I wanted to learn more about it.

François Guizot was a French historian during the 19th century, known as a powerful person in French politics. He presented one of the first comprehensive stories of Europe, by highlighting pluralism, which is a theory that characterize shared values, cooperation and harmony, also by highlighting antagonism, which is defined as a hostile opposition in a conflict or principle. François Guizot used these two terms as the key factors of the development of the continent of Europe. This essay is going to discuss two examples that will show the strengths and weaknesses of the pluralism and antagonism of Guizot’s thesis. The first example is the history of democracy in Greece, and how other organizations in Europe took after the success of the system. The second example is the regime Fascism, and how it has affected European countries.