Birth of the Third Republic
After the French defeat at the hands of the Prussians in 1914, France was in a state of flux. Napoleon III had abdicated, the Communards had been executed or exiled, and French Republicans held some sort of power. Though Frenchmen had just elected a National Assembly France was not yet really a Republic. Of the 650 deputies over 400 were Monarchists. The problem the Monarchists had was that they could not agree on a King. Some wanted a Bourbon King, and others wanted an Orleanist one. Even a few still held out hope for a Bonapartist. The Republicans were hardly in a position to create a Republic sans a king.
A Republic hardly held a position of high honor in France. The French Revolution had produced a Republic that was associated with a murderous Reign of Terror. That Republic later devolved into an oligarchy of three, a military dictatorship under Napoleon Bonaparte and finally to the Napoleonic Empire. The short-lived Second Republic that was created in 1848 fell to a bloodless coup d’etat in 1850 under Napoleon’s nephew, Louis Napoleon, who later proclaimed himself Napoleon III. Only recently, French Republicans had been a major factor in signing the Treaty of Frankfurt which gave away Alsace-Lorraine and French honor.
As if the Republican track record were not enough, whole sectors of French society held nothing short of contempt for a Republic. Monarchist viewed it as a fig leaf for mob rule by incompetents and a way for greedy businessmen to steal money. Monarchists may have known they were snobs, but they hardly were tempted by money the way the petty businessmen and tin-horn Republicans were. One hardly heard of bribes for Monarchists in the slimy way Republicans could be bought-off. Just imagine, a Republican could have his favor influenced by receiving a vacation in the South of France.
The Church also hated the idea of a Republic. For centuries the blueprint for all law and government in Europe had been based on Christian Principles. The King must follow the same Commandments as his subjects and he, too was subject to Church criticism for neglecting to do his Christian duty. In a Republic, the only blueprint was something called a Constitution which was a purely fabricated document that the writers hoped would work. The only real limit on the powers of anything was a voting process where nearly any incompetent was equal to the most learned person. On top of that, most Republicans were anti-clerical (anti-Church official). Many advocated a separation of Church and State that would free up Republicans from almost any meaningful criticism of their rapacious ways. Republicans also demanded that Church schools be closed and controlled by the government
Another group who openly despised Republicans was the Army. Staffed with Monarchists and devout Catholics, the Officer Class was composed of the elite of French Society. Men of Honor and Duty staffed the Army and they despised the idea of a shirt-manufacturer giving them orders because enough ignorant clods "voted" for him. On top of this, most Republicans were anti-military and especially anti-officer. To finish it off, many Republicans spoke of "worker solidarity" —an idea that a French worker had more in common with a German worker than he had with a French nobleman. This contemptible rubbish annoyed the Officer Class to no end.
With such a huge Monarchist majority in the Assembly and most of society hostile to Republicanism it was clear what France would do: She would have a Republic.
In 1873 the Bourbon and Orleanist houses compromised to select a King. The Bourbon King, Chambord, was selected to be King and the Orleanist Comte de Paris would become the heir. That way all could be happy. However, this was France and the Bourbon Candidate seemed to be a role model for a future German Kaiser. After amazingly announcing that the Tricolor (Red, white and blue flag of the Revolution) was to be replaced by the Fleur de lis of Louis XVI’s time, he then announced that he did not "wish to become the legitimate king of the Revolution." His Bourbon backers wanted him to be more flexible, but the Bourbon Candidate only said, "I have neither sacrifices to make nor conditions to accept."
Upon hearing such obstinacy, Adolph Thiers, (the Provisional President and no huge Republican) said that Chambord would be remembered as the "French Washington" and the Founder of the French Republic.
By 1875, France still had only a Provisional Government and time was running out. Either France decided a government soon, or there would be either anarchy or a coup d’etat. However, even the French had enough of that by now. France voted on an amendment that the author, a man named Wallon, introduced. It said: "The president of the Republic is elected by absolute majority vote of the Senate and Chamber sitting as the National Assembly. He is elected for seven years and is re-elegible."
This set off a huge debate so hot that Wallon publicly apologized to God and the Assembly for even introducing it. Wallon was not even a Republican. On January 30, 1875, this measure passed by one vote, 353 to 352—Partly because a Monarchist delegate was a few minutes late and missed the vote. However, with this vote was born the French Third Republic.