1774 Royaume de France

1774 Royaume de France Kingdom of France Révolution française French Revolution Louis XVI
Monarchs rule France since the establishment of Francia in 486 CE
The French Revolutionary government in 1795 gives the Metric System a legal basis.

1799 Premier Empire

1799 Premier Empire Napoléon Bonaparte Consulate for Life

1815 Restauration bourbonienne

1815 Restauration bourbonienne
Louis XVII Charles X

1830 le Roi Citoyen

1830 le Roi Citoyen
Louis Philippe Roi des Français

1848 Second Republic (1848–1852) and Second Empire (1852–1870)

1848 Second Republic (1848–1852) and Second Empire (1852–1870)
President 1 Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
Napoléon III
Empereur des Français

1870 Troisième République

1870 Troisième République
President 2
President 3
President 4

1887 Troisième République

1887 Troisième République
President 5
President 6
President 7

1899 Troisième République

1899 Troisième République
President 8
President 9

1913 Troisième République

1913 Troisième République
President 10
President 11
President 12

1924 Troisième République

1924 Troisième République
President 13
President 14
President 15

1940 French State (1940–1944)

1940 French State (1940–1944)
Philippe Pétain
The office of President of the French Republic did not exist from 1940 until 1947

1947 Quatrième République

1947 Quatrième République (1947-1958)
President 16
President 17

1959 Cinquième République

1959 Cinquième République
President 18 Charles de Gaulle
President 19 Georges Pompidou

1974 Divisions de la majorité

1974 Divisions de la majorité
President 20 Valéry Giscard d’Estaing

1981 Socialisme

1981 Socialisme
President 21 François Mitterrand is the first left-wing President of the Fifth Republic and his tenure is the longest of the Fifth Republic.

1995 Opposition à la Guerre d’Irak

1995 Opposition à la Guerre d’Irak
President 22 Jacques Chirac

2007 Socialisme Nicolas Sarkozy Burqa ban François Hollande

2007 Socialisme
President 23 Nicolas Sarkozy introduces laws to counter illegal immigration and recidivism. Burqa ban.
President 24 François Hollande is the second left-wing President of the Fifth Republic

The phrase Vive la France is mostly associated with Le quatorze juillet (Bastille Day – 14 July). France is a place of great civil unrest in the late 1700s. People suffer from food shortage while the monarchy lives extravagant lifestyles. Things come to a head on 14 Jul 1789 when revolutionaries storm the fortress and prison known as the Bastille in an effort to gain the munitions that are stored there. This moment is considered to be the beginning of the French Revolution and the end of the old feudal system of government. You can commonly hear people exclaim Vive la France! during this holiday as they celebrate with parades, fireworks, and parties.

Pronunciation Guide

You may want to know how to pronounce French terms and names as you scroll through these graphics. Click on the links below for a pronunciation guide: Royaume de France — Révolution française — Première République — Premier Empire — Napoléon Bonaparte —Napoléon Ier, le Grand — Empereur des Français —Restauration bourbonienne — Roi de France et de Navarre — le Roi Citoyen — Roi des Français — Deuxième République — Second Empire — Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte — Troisième République — Adolphe Thiers — Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta — Jules Grévy — Marie François Sadi Carnot — Jean Casimir-Périer — Félix Faure —Émile Loubet — Armand Fallières — Raymond Poincaré — Paul Deschanel — Alexandre Millerand — Gaston Doumergue — Paul Doumer — Albert Lebrun — Philippe Pétain — Quatrième République — Vincent Auriol — René Coty — Cinquième République — Charles de Gaulle — Georges Pompidou — Divisions de la majorité — Socialisme — François Mitterrand — Jacques Chirac — Jean-Marie Le Pen — Nicolas Sarkozy — François Hollande

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