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Charles De Gaulle

Day of the Jackal 1973 Poster.jpg

On this day in 1958, the voters of France made Charles de Gaulle the first President of their country's Fifth Republic.

Just so I will never regret never having listed them all in one place, here are the five Republics.

1. The First Republic was the creation of the Great Revolution. It was formally established in 1792 by the National Convention and it was overthrown 12 years later when Bonaparte made himself an Emperor.

Interlude. That Empire was overthrown, the Bourbon dynasty restored. Then the Bourbon dynasty morphed into a brief Orleanist monarchy, and that in turn gave way, in 1848, to ...

2. The Second Republic was the shortest-lived of the bunch. It was declared by Alphonse de Lamartine, lasting only from 1848 to 1851. Long enough to inspire satirical lithographs by Honore Daumier though, so that's something.

Interlude. The Second Republic was replaced by the Second Empire, which in turn would last long enough to be overthrown by Bismarck from without and Communards from within.

3. Third Republic began ... well, it's tricky to date it because in the chaos of the early 1870s there were only provisional arrangements for a while. These arrangements didn't organize themselves into a new constitutional system until 1875. And that system lasted until 1940, when it fell with a nasty crash.

Interlude. German occupation in the north and Vichy collaborators in the south.

4. Fourth Republic, established in the wake of the Second World War, lasted just as long as the First Republic had, 12 years. It is best remembered for the shocks administered to its system as its overseas empire collapsed, from southeast Asia to northwest Africa. In 1958 such shocks forced a constitutional crisis and (without interlude this time) the creation of ...

5. The Fifth Republic. A public referendum in October brought it into being and the election of De Gaulle 59 years ago today gave it a defining leader. It continues in our new millennium.

Now we may adjourn and watch Day of the Jackal on Netflix.
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