French Revolution: freedom bought with blood. Vivos voco: l.a

The French Republic is one of the first states in Europe that abolished the traditional monarchical form of government and thereby gave impetus to great changes in the public consciousness of the people of many countries.

Economic background of the French Revolution

The emergence of the French Republic was led by a revolution that lasted from 1789 to 1794. The causes of the revolution can be considered the deep social and economic crisis that struck France at that moment. The country was dominated and could not solve all the problems, protecting only the interests of the privileged elite of society. The history of the French state has always been a history of royal rule, but by 1789 it became clear that this could not continue. A large landed aristocracy ruled the country; there were a huge number of peasants who were economically dependent on the feudal lords. Meanwhile, the development of industrial production began, workers were needed for factories. Freedom, equality, fraternity in French were understood as an opportunity for the common man to work not only in the village, but also in the city.

In addition, the peasants continued to go bankrupt, while the monarch and his entourage emptied the treasury for their entertainment. This fact caused great discontent among the people.

Spiritual background of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was prepared by the works of the eighteenth century enlighteners. Philosophers such as Voltaire and La Rochefoucauld preached great ideas. They believed that the main meaning of the transformation of society is freedom, fraternity, equality. All people should have equal rights, regardless of what class they are and what their financial status is. Preventing the exploitation of one part of the people by another, the abolition of serfdom - these are the basic principles that were promoted by the French enlighteners.

Driving forces of the revolution

The French Revolution was prepared by three main forces. The first of them can be considered the French peasants, for whom it was very difficult to pay feudal duties, the second is the population of the city - artisans, workers, in general, working people. The third force can be considered the bourgeoisie, which owned industrial enterprises and was engaged in entrepreneurship. All of them were united by the motto of France: “Liberty, fraternity, equality.”

All these forces were united in the fact that the king should be removed from power and the people should be given a constitution that would outline the rights of man and citizen. But there were also disagreements. Thus, representatives of the bourgeoisie believed that freedom, fraternity, equality are good up to a certain point, and then they can begin to concentrate capital and wealth in one hand.

The progress of the revolution. States General

King Louis XVI decided that, due to the difficult financial and economic situation in the country, it was necessary to assemble the States General, and instructed Minister Necker to do this. On May 5, 1789, they were assembled and led by Minister Mirabeau. He believed that the slogans of the French Revolution could frighten most of the population, so it was necessary to agree on an alliance between the king, the clergy and the people. But then it turned out that the king did not want to make concessions and carry out reforms. Moreover, he tried to disperse which by that time had turned into the National Assembly. The French motto “Liberty, equality, fraternity” was not suitable for everyone.

Since Minister Mirabeau refused to dissolve the assembly, foreign troops consisting of German and Swedish mercenaries were brought into Paris. Minister Necker was dismissed, and this was the impetus for the start of a large-scale popular uprising. "Liberty, brotherhood, equality!" - shouted the Parisians who wanted to overthrow the almighty monarch.

Storming of the Bastille

July 14, 1789 is considered an outstanding date in the history of France. On this day, eight hundred Parisians went to storm the prison, that is, the Bastille, with two more Russians with them.

The Bastille was initially considered a prison for aristocrats, but then, during the time of Louis the Sixteenth, it was turned into an ordinary prison. Its peculiarity was tolerable living conditions; here prisoners had the opportunity to work and read. The Bastille was mostly empty - at the time of its capture there were only seven prisoners in it.

It was hailed throughout the world as a triumph of freedom and justice. Many believed that freedom, brotherhood, and equality had finally become a reality after the destruction of this prison.

Celebration of the Republic

At this time, the municipality of Paris was abolished, and the city began to be ruled by the Commune, which believed that it was subordinate only to the National Assembly. Under popular pressure in August, representatives of the clergy and nobles abandoned their privileged status. On August 26, the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen appeared. Freedom, fraternity, equality became its key concepts. The free will of each individual and his right to self-determination were recognized. Many taxes were abolished, and the peasants breathed freely. Church tithes and the obligatory payment of taxes to feudal lords were abolished.

King Louis the Sixteenth became a hostage of the new authorities, and his brother and other representatives of the French nobility emigrated. On June 20, 1791, she tried to escape abroad in a carriage, but failed and was returned back.

Overthrow of the monarchy and accession of the Republic

In August 1792, elections to the National Convention were held, the situation was turbulent. On September 20, its first meeting took place, and the monarchy was abolished by the first decree.

Soon King Louis was executed, and a war between France and other countries began. “Freedom, equality, brotherhood” - residents of other countries wanted to see a token with these inscriptions. On February 1, France went to war with Great Britain. The English minister Pitt William the Younger began an economic blockade of France, and this affected the state of the country. Famine and uprisings against military mobilization began in France. Then the Jacobins and Girondins, two parties in the Convention, began to quarrel with each other. One of the leading revolutionaries, Danton, created the Committee of Public Safety, which for several years effectively resolved economic and political issues.

Peasant reform

In 1792, the Convention initiated a major reform to redistribute land in favor of the peasants. The peasants received other privileges. They realized that the main motto of the French Republic is to help city workers and agricultural workers. All were abolished, the estates of the emigrant nobles were divided into small plots and sold, so that even not very wealthy peasants could buy them. This reform firmly connected the peasants with the revolution, and they no longer dreamed of restoring the monarchy.

Land reform turned out to be the most durable in French history, and the new administrative division of France remained for a long time, while the central one was unstable.

Further changes in the power structure of France

In 1794, the country was governed by Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre executed Hébert and other revolutionaries. On July 27, Robespierre's regime was liquidated and he was sent to the guillotine.

The convention was dispersed in 1795, and royalist emigrants began to look for ways to return to their homeland. Freedom, equality, fraternity in French were understood by them as an opportunity to regain part of their former power.

On October 28, 1795, the new French Republic began to exist. It was headed by the Directory. At this time, France was waging wars of conquest in Europe, and the Directory tried in every possible way to find means to continue the war.

At the end of 1795, Count Barras recruited the young general Napoleon Bonaparte to suppress the uprising in Paris. Bonaparte believed that “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” was the slogan of the French mob, which must be silenced. His brother, Lucien Bonaparte, was an intelligent and far-sighted politician who helped Napoleon seize power.

On October 16, Napoleon and his troops came to Paris, and there they considered that these were symbols of the French Revolution. Therefore he was greeted with delight. Under Bonaparte's rule, the Directory created a series of satellite states around France that supported the reigning regime there. The country's territory became larger, and a new strong leader appeared at its head - Napoleon Bonaparte.

The point of the French Revolution was that it finally overthrew and helped establish capitalism. It was the most powerful shock of the eighteenth century, and with its help, radical transformations of the country's social system were achieved.

This name makes us smile, but with the French it’s different. According to the official version, this name stuck because the French consider themselves descendants of the Gauls (those same Asterix and Obelix), and in Latin, “Gauls” and “roosters” sound the same - galli.

On the other hand, the national character of the French is best described by the behavior of a rooster. It seems only in France there were such a large number of revolutions. The French themselves, when asked “why a rooster?” Not without irony they answer like this:

– What other animal, standing in the shit, can proudly ruffle its feathers and sing war songs?

The flag of France has three vertical stripes: blue, white and red.

The national motto of France is: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!” His personification is Marianne, as France began to be called during the Great French Revolution. She is usually depicted as a young woman wearing a Phrygian cap. Her sculptural image must appear on government institutions, courts, etc.

Marianne or "Freedom Leading the People."

The Marseillaise, the anthem of France, also appeared during the Great French Revolution and at first was the anthem of the revolutionaries, until it finally reached the state level. There have been attempts to ban Marseillaise more than once, most recently by the Vichy regime during World War II (from 1940 to 1944). But already in 1944 everything returned to normal and La Marseillaise again became the anthem of France.

La Marseillaise, listen online:

Interesting fact: La Marseillaise became the anthem of freedom fighters not only in France, but throughout the world. Even after the 1917 revolution in Russia, it was used for some time as an anthem.

July 14 is a national holiday in France, Bastille Day:

Another rather comic symbol of France is the croissant; it was invented in Vienna after the victory over the Turks and copied from the image on the Turkish flag.

Speaking about the symbols of France, one cannot fail to mention

France - G state in Western Europe. Official nameFrench Republic.

The country borders Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium in the northeast, Spain and Andorra in the south, and the Principality of Monaco and Italy in the southeast. The country is washed by the North and Mediterranean seas, the waters of the Bay of Biscay, as well as the English Channel and Pas de Calais.

Administratively, the country is divided into 27 regions, 21 of which are located on the European continent, one on the island of Corsica, and the rest in overseas territories that are possessions of France.