FRANCE
French soldiers observing the German border in the short Franco-German War.
Shortly after Emile Loubet took the Presidency, scandal once again rocked the French Government! Not only had the
European Republic collapsed, with the French parliament taking over the responsibilities of it, but Felix Faure, discontent with the corrupt state of the French government, exposed the true nature of the Paris government. He showed that the de facto head of the military, Nationalist Chief of Staff Charles Freycinet, had obtained virtually all power concerning Foreign Policy. He had dreams of France conquering the world!
Parliaments vote to declare war had mostly been rigged. Although about 25% of the legislature would have accepted, most of those who voted for it had been forced to do so, influenced by threats from mostly officers loyal to Freycinet. When news of this was exposed, the planned spring offensive for 1899 was called off. Massive protests broke out, and in some poorer areas, such as Portugal and Iceland, riots even began. Parliament, seeing no choice, impeached Emile Loubet, since there was overwhelming evidence that he was a part of the plot, and on December 27, 1898, parliament
dissolved the Second Republic of France, agreeing to replace the government with a temporary bi-partisan counsel of 8 members to oversee affairs until a new constitution could be written. The temporary Administrative Counsel consisted of members from each of the three largest parties, 3 National Liberals, 3 Conservatives, and 2 Socialists. It's executive powers were almost as wide ranging as the previous government, but it's legislative powers were restricted to enacting temporary emergency measures in case of crisis. The Courts, always separated from the Government, were not affected, except for trying the corrupt members of the old government for their various crimes.
Soon a constitutional convention was called for France. The National Liberal party had once again split, into the Française First, and the Démocratique-République. However, the Française First soon fell apart, since heavy Nationalism was almost taboo in French society after the recent events. The Conservateur and the Libre Socialiste, as well as the communist Front Populaire was represented. The Fonds Français Pour (ultranationalist) had all but disappeared. Eventually, a constitution was written, that everybody could agree on. It eliminated the military's influence in politics, but keeping the core semi-presidential system, although fixing a few apparent flaws. Presidential terms stayed at 6 years, with a 12 year maximum, and parliament still had the power to call an presidential election after 3 years had passed from the previous one. However, now parliament could not impeach the President, the court system must. Parliament however could bring a case before the courts. The court system was also made a leading central core part of the government.
The President gained more control and restrain over the military. Parliament gained more control and restrain over the President. Ultimately, on August 3, 1899, the
Third Republic of France was formed, consisting of Mainland France and Corsica. The various former ER members under it were reorganized. The Lowland Republic remained unchanged, consisting entirely of the Benelux. The Italian Republic was a new addition, consisting of mainland Italy. The Confederated Mediterranean States, consisting of Sicily, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islans was formed. The Republic of Portugal remained unchanged. Spain was reorganized into the Republic of Castile, consisting of the west sections, with its capitol at Madrid. The Republic of Aragon consisted of East Spain, with its capitol at Barcelona. To the North, the Irish Republic remained unchanged, with the Socialists still in power. However, the Republic of Great Britain was formed out of the isle of Britain.
Each of these various republics had their own democratic governments, as well as their own constitutions. They were however part of the
French Co-Prosperity Sphere, an alliance administrated by the Third Republic, and the French government retained a high degree of control in the economics of the republics. Domestic affairs were handled entirely by the individual republics government. All foreign affairs are handled by the French Government, however, a defensive pact exists between all members. The Grande Armee was dissolved, with each member now responsible for maintaining their own defensive forces. Membership in the French Co-Prosperity Sphere is hard coded into their constitutions.
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President Armand Fallieres, the first President of the Third Republic, and the seventh President of France
The first elections brought Armand Fallières and his Conservateur party into control of the government. He was elected on November 3 and sworn in on November 5, 1899, due to high speed communications making vote counting quick. His first act was
signing white peace with Germany, although the war had quickly gone to a stalemate. The military had suffered greatly from the collapse of the government, and was terribly ineffective. He gave a key speech from the Eiffel Tower on January 1, 1900, proclaiming it "Morning in France" and promising a golden century, insuring the populace that the instability of the Second Republic was behind them. Surely this was true. The government began massive investment into the economies of Co-Prosperity Sphere members, finally bringing them up the the standards of France and the Lowlands. Some areas began to see population growth, with the cities of
Luxembourg emerging into a major trade center in the Lowland Republic, and the city of
Porto emerging as a key industrial center in Portugal.
