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Monarchism in France is the advocacy of restoring themonarchy (mostlyconstitutional monarchy) inFrance, which was abolished after the1870 defeat by Prussia, arguably before that in 1848 with the establishment of theFrench Second Republic.The French monarchist movements are roughly divided today into three groups:
Following theFrench Revolution, the execution ofLouis XVI in 1793 and the establishment of theFirst French Republic, monarchist sentiment still remained strong among many elements in France as well as among the now large exiledémigré community abroad. The rise ofNapoleon Bonaparte and the creation of theFirst French Empire further complicated monarchist politics, as some former royalists supported Bonaparte as a stabilizing figure, while others remained loyal to the deposedBourbons. With the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the monarchy was restored in theBourbon Restoration underLouis XVIII andCharles X, only to be overthrown again in theJuly Revolution of 1830, which replaced the senior Bourbon line with the more liberalHouse of Orléans underLouis-Philippe I. The overthrow of Louis-Philippe in theFrench Revolution of 1848 marked the end of the July Monarchy and the beginning of theSecond French Republic. Monarchist hopes revived with the rise ofLouis-Napoleon Bonaparte, whose declaration of theSecond French Empire in 1852 represented an alternative,Bonapartist form of monarchy.
The monarchist movement came back into force only after the 1870defeat by Prussia and the crushing of the 1871Paris Commune by OrléanistAdolphe Thiers.Legitimists andOrléanists controlled the majority of the Assemblies, and supportedPatrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, as president of theOrdre moral government. However, the intransigence of theCount of Chambord, who refused to abandon thewhite flag and itsfleur-de-lis against the republicantricolore, and the16 May 1877 crisis forced the legitimists to abandon the political arena, while some of the moreliberal Orléanists "rallied" throughout years to theThird Republic (1870–1940). However, since the monarchy andCatholicism were long entangled ("the alliance of the Throne and the Altar"), republican ideas were often tinged withanti-clericalism, which led to some turmoil duringRadicalÉmile Combes' cabinet in the beginning of the 20th century.
Concerns about monarchists caused the French government tobury the Unknown Soldier of World War I at the Arc de Triomphe, because thePanthéon was associated with the Republic.[2][further explanation needed] TheAction Française, founded in 1898 during theDreyfus affair, remained an influentialfar right movement throughout the 1930s, taking part in the6 February 1934 riots. Some monarchists, such asGeorges Valois who founded theFaisceau, became involved infascism after the 1926 Papal condemnation of theAction Française byPius XI.
Monarchists were then active under theVichy regime, with the leader of theAction FrançaiseCharles Maurras qualifying as "divine surprise" the overthrow of the Republic and the arrival to power ofMarshal Pétain. A few of them, such asHenri d'Astier de la Vigerie, took part in theResistance out ofpatriotic concerns. TheAction Française was then dissolved after thewar, butMaurice Pujo founded it again in 1947.
Some legitimists had become involved in thetraditionalist Catholic movement which arose in the aftermath of theSecond Vatican Council and some ultimately followed the 1970 foundation of the traditionalist CatholicSociety of Saint Pius X byMarcel Lefebvre.Bertrand Renouvin made a breakaway movement from theAction Française in 1971, theNouvelle Action Française which became theNouvelle Action Royaliste, while some legitimists joinedJean-Marie Le Pen'sFront National, founded in 1972.
The most recognisedpretenders to the French throne for each group are:
Monarchism continues to exist in France. The historianJulian T. Jackson wrote in 2001 that "Indeed in theVendée there are still families today who will not receive descendants of people who boughtbiens nationaux during the Revolution."[2] Falling into one of the three main monarchist streams, some of the active groups in France today are:
The onlyentrenched clause in theConstitution of France, carried on from an 1884 addition to theConstitutional Laws of the Third Republic, prevents anyamendment on "the republican form of government",[3] therefore a restoration of the monarchy. As this provision is not itself entrenched, a restoration would be possible within the present legal framework in two stages, the first to remove the entrenchment, the second to alter the form of government.[4]
However, a little-known, non-sovereign form of monarchy remains in France, with the threetraditional kings of Wallis and Futuna, a small Pacific archipelago organized as three kingdoms, who are granted recognition underarticle 75 of the Constitution.[5] It became French undercolonial status in 1917, from an earlier control as aprotectorate, before beingincorporated in 1946.
Occasional references to the king or the emperor remain inFrench law, although they are interpreted as applying to thepresident, who has replaced the monarch under the present constitution. One famous example used to be article 1 of theCivil Code, which provides for whenlaws take effect: until 2004, it had remained as last amended at the start of theRestoration in 1816, with updated mentions in brackets in most editions: “Laws are enforceable throughout the French territory by virtue of the promulgation made thereof by the King (the President of the Republic). They shall be executed in each part of the Kingdom (of the Republic) from the moment when their promulgation can be known.”[6] It was rewritten in 2004.[7]
In addition, a local civil servant of the French government carries the additional responsibility of "viceroy ofPheasant Island", a small, uninhabited island on theborder with Spain organized as acondominium of the two countries, six months a year. The French authorities have stated that this is in a parallel with Spain, whichhas a monarch.[8] The president of France is alsoex officioco-prince of Andorra, a sovereign Pyrenean microstate; the position was passed on from the last French kings, who had held it sinceHenry IV, who upon his French accession was already co-prince asCount of Foix.[9]
Constitution of the Fifth French Republic — Title XVI: On Amendments to the Constitution. 4 October 1958, as amended 23 July 2008.
