French Society
A quick synopsis of the social structures and societies of French history.
Social Structures of Medieval France
During the Middle Ages, France followed the same feudal system seen in much of medieval Europe. A noble class, headed by a king and queen, governed a society of farmers, craftsmen, merchants, and laborers. The nobility employed mounted warriors known as knights to serve them in both warfare and daily life. Various grades of clergymen also held influence, ranging from local monks and priests to powerful bishops and the Pope in Rome.
The king and his nobles claimed absolute authority over their subjects. In reality, however, the king’s grasp on the far corners of his domain could be weak at best. France is home to many regional cultures, including populations like the Basques, who speak their own language. Power over the daily lives of peasants lay with their local lords, who enforced the laws of the kingdom. Provincial nobles conducted their own business and warfare without much repercussion. Feudal peasants had few rights, but their quality of life varied by region as well. While some lived in poverty and fear, others enjoyed relative independence on prosperous farmlands. Freemen, who owned their own land, for the most part saw a higher quality of life than serfs tied to a noble estate.
France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era
The feudal system in France ended with its revolution in 1789. By this time, its urban centers were already well developed. Paris, for example, had been a major hub of Europe since the 12th century. But while a healthy middle class grew in the cities, rural peasants and the working poor grew resentful of the lavish lifestyles displayed by the nobility. Inspired by Renaissance philosophies and their own need, they launched a revolution that ended with the death of Louis XVI and his queen.
The temporary end of the monarchy during the French Revolution broke its society down in fundamental ways. Most notable of these was the abandonment of feudalism and serfdom, leading to a stronger middle and lower class. Men were given the right to vote at this time, but their right would not be fully secured until 1848. Women, on the other hand, would not be able to vote until 1944. Between 1789 and 1799, purges of first the nobles and then the revolutionaries led to an ongoing power vacuum. Revolutionary leaders like Maximilien Robespierre ushered in the Reign of Terror, made famous for its liberal use of the guillotine. Robespierre was himself beheaded in 1794.
The most important figure of this time was Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general who rose to power in the chaotic period of the revolution. While civilian leaders and nobles fell by the hundreds, the French army unified under Bonaparte. He led France on a number of successful campaigns, including an invasion of Italy in 1796-1797. He staged a coup in 1799 and by 1804 had claimed the title of Emperor of France.
Napoleon introduced major reforms throughout his empire, which would set the model for many later nations of Europe. He implemented the Napoleonic Code in 1804, which set aside the variable and poorly organized laws of the monarchy. He emphasized a strong central government unified by a single set of laws, which were based on Enlightenment ideals of rationality and equality among men.
Societies of Modern France
After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815, France entered a bumpy period of monarchies, empires, and republics. It stabilized in 1870 under the Third Republic, which lasted until World War II. During that period, a Vichy government in cooperation with Nazi Germany was opposed by a resistance movement known as Free France. The Fourth Republic oversaw the rebuilding of France after the war, but it collapsed as it lost many of its former colonies. Modern France is also known as the Fifth Republic, established by resistance leader Charles de Gaulle in 1958.
Today, the many smaller regions that make up France are still culturally distinct, but they are all part of a larger modern society. The big cities, particularly Paris, tend to dominate national identity and discussion. Modern French society still values personal liberty and equality, as well as romantic freedom and the pursuit of sports and leisure. Its current government is a constitutional republic headed by a president and prime minister.
References
Haine, W. Scott. The History of France. Greenwood Press. 2000.
Hewitt, Nicholas. The Cambridge Companion to Modern French Culture. Cambridge University Press. 2003.
Simons, Gary F., and Charles D. Fennig. “Summary by Language Size.” Ethnologue, SIL International, www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size.
Small, Graeme. Late Medieval France. Palgrave Macmillan. 2009.
“The World Factbook: France.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 4 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html.
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