Third Republic

The Third Republic (1870-1940) was France’s first enduring republican regime. Established after the fall of the Second Empire, it asserted secularism (1905 law) and endured two world wars, before collapsing in 1940. Firmly established by the constitutional laws of 1875, it saw fourteen presidents in succession, from Adolphe Thiers to Albert Lebrun. The Ferry laws (1881-1882) made primary school free, secular and compulsory. On 10 July 1940, the vote granting full powers to Marshal Pétain ended the regime.

Figures of this era

  1. Adolphe Thiers (1871-1873) — First president of the Third Republic, suppressed the Paris Commune (1871)
  2. Patrice de Mac Mahon (1873-1879) — Marshal of France, president of the Third Republic, in open crisis with the republican majority
  3. Jules Grévy (1879-1887) — Republican president, implicated in the decorations scandal, resigned in 1887
  4. Sadi Carnot (1887-1894) — President of the Republic, assassinated by an anarchist in Lyon in 1894
  5. Jean Casimir-Perier (1894-1895) — President of the Third Republic for a few months, resigned in the face of political instability
  6. Félix Faure (1895-1899) — President of the Republic, died in office in 1899
  7. Émile Loubet (1899-1906) — President of the Republic, appointed Waldeck-Rousseau, laid the foundations of secularism (1905 law)
  8. Armand Fallières (1906-1913) — President of the Republic, continued the policy of separation of Church and State
  9. Raymond Poincaré (1913-1920) — President of the Republic during the First World War
  10. Alexandre Millerand (1920-1924) — Former socialist turned moderate, president of the Republic, resigned in 1924
  11. Gaston Doumergue (1924-1931) — Popular president nicknamed “Gaston”, last to hold the office during the interwar period
  12. Paul Doumer (1931-1932) — President of the Republic, assassinated in 1932 by a deranged man
  13. Albert Lebrun (1932-1940) — Last president of the Third Republic, removed from power by Pétain in 1940

← All political figures