Tripartisme

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tripartisme (French:

presidential system
.

The traditional political class, which had included all the

Joseph Barthélémy
.

The political class was considered jointly responsible for the collapse in 1940 of the Third Republic following the disastrous

absolute majority needed to form a government, and an alliance between them was inconceivable. The Three-Parties Alliance was succeeded in government by the Third Force, which comprised the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance
(UDSR), the SFIO and the MRP, with the Gaullists and the Communists forming the opposition.

History

The Provisional Government and the discrediting of the political class

After the

collaborated with the enemy, Gaullism and Communism became the most popular political forces in France. Charles de Gaulle had led the Resistance abroad, while the PCF was nicknamed the "party of the 75,000 executed" (parti des 75 000 fusillés) because it had spearheaded the Resistance in metropolitan France.[5] On the other hand, the Radical-Socialist Party, which symbolized by itself the French Third Republic (1871–1940), was completely discredited for the role it had taken both before and during the war; equally, the conservative
parties were vilified for their role during the Collaboration.

The March 1944 Charter of the

the Depression
.

The GPRF introduced a program of social reforms and laid the foundations of the French

acquis sociaux
(social rights) established in France during the second half of the twentieth century.

Charles de Gaulle led the GPRF from 1944 to 1946. Meanwhile, negotiations took place over the proposed new Constitution, which was to be put to a referendum. De Gaulle advocated a presidential system of government, and criticized the reinstatement of what he pejoratively called "the parties system". He resigned in January 1946 and was replaced by Félix Gouin (SFIO). Ultimately only the PCF and the SFIO supported the draft Constitution, which envisaged a form of government based on unicameralism; but this was rejected in the referendum of 5 May 1946.

The 1946 elections

Further information:
French legislative election, June 1946

For the 1946 elections, the

absolute majority. Georges Bidault (MRP) replaced Félix Gouin
as the head of government.

A new draft of the Constitution was written, which this time proposed the establishment of a

President of the Republic
was given a largely symbolic role, although he remained chief of the Army and as a last resort could be called upon to resolve conflicts.

The PCF won the most votes of any party in the November 1946 elections, achieving 28.8% of the vote and prompting the Communist Maurice Thorez to make an unsuccessful bid for the presidency of the Council.

The Fourth Republic

The

Parliament
, and heavily relied on the formation of alliances between the most popular parties, which in practice meant the MRP, the SFIO and the PCF.

The PCF refused to approve war credits for

Madagascar insurrection, resulting in 90,000 - 100,000 deaths. When Charles de Gaulle created the Rally of the French People
(RPF) in April 1947, the MRP prohibited its members from joining it. The MRP ceased to be the party of Gaullism and instead defined itself as Christian Democrat.

End

Tripartisme collapsed with the

May 1947 crisis in which Ramadier's government excluded the Communist ministers from participating; this was the event that marked the official start of the Cold War in France.[10] The May 1947 crisis could be described as the result of the Communists' refusal to continue support for the French colonial reconquest of Vietnam on the one hand plus a wage freeze during a period of hyperinflation on the other, which were the immediate causes of Maurice Thorez and his colleagues being dismissed from the ruling coalition in May 1947. From this moment on the Fourth Republic was plagued by parliamentary instability because two of France's most popular parties, de Gaulle's RPF and the PCF, remained on the opposition benches.[11]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-9547448-3-0
    .
  2. ISBN 978-1-107-72912-4
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-19-938444-0
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-85973-274-8
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-7190-1083-5
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-8078-6680-1
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-85966-049-2
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-674-68660-1
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-313-30984-7
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-134-97422-1
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-415-28954-2
    .

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