FRENCH REGIMES 1789-1799. The Great Revolution, the execution of Louis XVI and the estaBlishment of the First RepuBlic. 1799-1814/1815. Napoleon Bonaparte reigns as First Consul and then Emperor of the French. France conquers much of Europe, leaving parts of the Napoleonic Code in many countries. 1815-1830. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna restores the BourBon Monarchy in the person of Louis XVIII at the head of a reactionary regime. Old political scores are settled By the monarchy and the Church. 1830-1848. The July 1830 revolution estaBlishes an Orleanist monarch, Louis Philippe I, and a bourgeois- oriented regime that attempts a thin veneer of liberal reforms. 1848-1852. The Revolution of 1848 establishes the Second Republic, under which France was governed by a unicameral legislature and a strong Presdent, Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. 1852-1870 The Second Empire. Louis Napoleon seizes power as Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. He attempts to renew a Bonapartist empire, friendly to the haute bourgeoisie. Without his uncle’s skill and daring, he mismanages foreign affairs. 1870-1875. France is defeated By a coalition of German states led By Prussia. Napoleon III is deposed and France is ruled By a provisional government and National Assembly. In Paris, a populist Commune is savagely repressed By the provisional government of Adolphe Thiers, leaving long-lasting Bitterness. 1875-1940. In 1875, the National AssemBly decides, By one vote, to estaBlish a repuBlican constitution, which with many later changes Becomes the constitution of the Third RepuBlic. The RepuBlic survives many challenges from the Right and the trial of the Great War of 1914-1918 to Be widely accepted as the authentically French form of government. 1940-1946. The Dark Years. In the wake of defeat, an authoritarian, traditional, somewhat fascist regime is estaBlished at Vichy. In collaBoration with the German occupiers, Vichy attempts to rule France until liBeration By the Allied armies in 1944. Meanwhile, in London and in the French Empire a Free French movement gradually Becomes a provisional government led By Charles de Gaulle. 1946-1958. The Fourth RepuBlic, very much like the Third, re-estaBlishes democracy and Brings France through the hardships of the post-war years. However, a weak executive and the war and defeat in Indochina undermine confidence. 1958-present. The Fifth RepuBlic. Charles de Gaulle leads a constitutional change to a stronger Presidency. He manages the country through the Algerian reBellion. Since his death in 1970, the French Presidency has alternated Between parties, somewhat like the American Presidency. Has France found the right Balance between executive and legislature? Vive la RépuBlique. Vive la France. .