Hundred Years War
France battled England to retain control of its lands during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) and coupled with the bubonic plague came close to being divvied between the King of England and the Duke of Burgundy but for the awaking rally of Joan of Arc in 1429.
Avignon Papacy ~ Great Schism of 1378
From 1305 to 1378, the Roman Catholic Pope was French and resided in Avignon, France until Pope Gregory XI moved the papal residence back to Rome. The following election resulted in the second “Great Schism” of the church, the first schism being the church split between Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy in 1054. In 1378, leaders elected Italian Pope Urban VI who proved within five months to be intolerable so leadership split to elect rival French Pope Clement VII, dividing the papacy between Rome and Avignon as well as Europe between contending allegiances, causing serious turmoil until the Council of Constance in 1414.
The Reformation Movement ~ Huguenots ~ Wars of Religion
As for the reformation movement in France, pro-reform started with the Gallican Catholics, such as Jacques Lefevre, who translated and published the Bible in French in 1530. The “Huguenots” shared the reformation beliefs of the Lutheran movement and that of John Calvin, a home-born Frenchman from Noyon who led a church in Strasbourg, France attended by Huguenots. Unfortunately, Huguenots often voiced their Protestant faith through destructive opposition to the Catholic establishment by attacking altars, icons and church buildings. They were initially protected from persecution at the outset (1515) by Francis I. However, after the “Affair of the Placards” of 1534, an incident involving anti-Catholic posters distributed in Paris titled “True articles on the horrible, great and insufferable abuses of the papal mass,” the king no longer restrained Parliamentary measures designed for their extermination. Numerous Protestant leaders were forced to flee, including Calvin who joined William Farel in Geneva. Regardless, the movement grew rapidly among nobles and city-dwellers with nearly two million by 1562 in south and central France, a concern for the sixteen million French Catholics. Though both the Edict of Orléans (1561) and Saint-Germain (1562) declared an end to growing persecution against the Huguenots, the strain between Protestant and Catholic erupted in civil wars which took on political dimensions between Houses of Bourbon (allied to the Huguenots) and Guise, both with stakes for the French throne. March 1562 saw a massacre at Vassy where nearly 1,000 Huguenots were killed launching the Wars of Religion that would last until 1598. The most horrific account occurred in 1572, the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, when Catholics massacred Protestants in Paris and towns yielding 70,000 deaths followed by amnesty granted to the murderers. In 1598, Catholic King of France, Henry IV, issued the Edict of Nantes granting Protestants equality, religious and political freedom while simultaneously protecting Catholic-controlled regions. But then in 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict and declared Protestantism illegal with the Edict of Fontainbleu resulting in a mass exodus estimating between 200,000 and 500,000. Barred from settling in French settlements, many found homes in North American British colonies, among them a silversmith whose son was Paul Revere. Historical genealogy has proven numerous American Presidents, such as Alexander Hamilton, to originate from these exiled Huguenots.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/134/59.0.html French Revolution ~ EnlightenmentSome historians claim the Protestant exodus was a “brain-drain” from France and a contributing factor to the French Revolution of 1789. Of course, 18th century French-born Enlightenment contributed through philosophers such as Voltaire and Rousseau, who redefined man’s place and attacked the existing institutions of both Church and State. Under the Revolutionary motto “Freedom, Equality, Fraternity,” the new Republic and its reforms impacted the rest of Europe as well as reinstated Protestants as full-fledged citizens by ushering in a cry for democracy.
Though the French Revolution of 1789 ended the absolute monarchy, it failed to provide France with a stable political environment that continues to be volatile today. Since 1789, France has seen two empires (Napoleon Bonaparte I and III), three brands of royal power, the Vichy government during WWII with German occupation and five republics.
Current Political System ~ The Fifth Republic
Since 1945, French politics have wavered between socialist, capitalist, and communist influences and are now in their Fifth Republic begun by Charles de Gaulle. It is a semi-presidential system, where the President of France has a strong influence, but a majority vote from the French National Assembly ultimately is the deciding factor. The executive branch is uniquely headed by two officials: the President and the Prime Minister. France is currently led by elected President, Jacques Chirac of the right-wing coalition RPR party (Rassemblement pour la République) and a new Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin appointed May 31, 2005 after French voters rejected the European Constitution for the European Union, a ratification of the 2004 treaty.
French Islamic Colonies fight for independence
In 1946, Indochina revolted forcing France to withdraw by 1954, just in time to face the Algerian revolt, which led to war and the commitment of 500,000 French soldiers. In 1956, Morocco and Tunisia were granted their independence. Then in 1962, Alergia gained its freedom through negotiations. All former colony citizens were allowed to retain French citizenship and as a result France has seen significant Muslim immigration, especially from Algeria.
Used by permission from Linda Guest
Posts
