Napoleon III, the Second Empire and the Third Republic (1852–1914)

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Authoritarian Empire (1852–1859): censorship, controlled elections, suppressed opposition. Liberal Empire (c.1860–1870): press freedom, worker rights, real parliamentary debate — conceded under pressure.

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As prefect of the Seine, Haussmann rebuilt central Paris (1853–1870): wide boulevards, sewers, parks, the Opéra. The works also served to prevent barricade warfare like that of 1848.

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It was a free-trade agreement between France and Britain that significantly cut tariffs. It boosted French trade and was part of Napoleon III's economic modernisation policy.

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France and Piedmont defeated Austria; France gained Nice and Savoy. But Napoleon stopped short of full Italian unification, angering Italian nationalists and alienating French Catholics who feared for the Pope.

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Napoleon III installed Archduke Maximilian of Austria as emperor of Mexico. After US pressure following the Civil War, France withdrew. Maximilian was captured and shot by Mexican republicans (1867) — a public humiliation.

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Bismarck manipulated France into declaring war on Prussia. Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan (2 September 1870). The Empire was declared finished; France lost Alsace-Lorraine and paid 5 billion francs in reparations.

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A radical working-class government that controlled Paris from March to May 1871. It was crushed by the French army under MacMahon; approximately 17,000 communards were killed in 'Bloody Week'. It left a deep scar on French politics.

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A movement around General Boulanger (war minister from 1886) uniting nationalists, monarchists and anti-republicans. After winning the Paris by-election (January 1889), Boulanger failed to seize power. He fled abroad and shot himself in 1891.

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Dreyfusards (Zola, Jaurès, republicans): civil rights, rule of law, justice for Dreyfus. Anti-Dreyfusards (army, Church, Drumont, Action Française): army honour, anti-Semitism, nationalism, hostility to the Republic.

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An open letter published in the newspaper L'Aurore in January 1898 by the novelist Émile Zola. It accused the army and government of covering up Dreyfus's innocence and falsely convicting him. It was a turning point in the Affair.

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The Loi de séparation ended the Concordat between France and the Catholic Church, removing the Church's official role in public life and education. It was a direct consequence of the Dreyfus Affair: victorious republicans blamed the Church for backing the anti-Dreyfusards.

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The collapse of the Panama Canal company revealed that ministers and deputies had been bribed to cover up its financial problems. It caused massive public outrage and damaged trust in republican politicians — a key example of the corruption that plagued the Third Republic.