The French Republic

This work was the winner of the Gobert prize of the French Academy. The book opens with the empassioned years following the establishment of the Republic, and the introduction of democratic values and civil freedoms. It describes the brilliance of the belle epoque, its wholesale destruction during the World War I, the disillusionment of the 1920s and 1930s, followed by the fall of France to Germany in 1940. In his account of the occupation and the Vichy regime, the author examines the question of collaboration, guilt and resistance. The final part of the book tells of the mixed fortunes of the Fourth Republic, the near-revolution in 1968, the triumphant return of De Gaulle, and the acclerating process of decolonization. The author describes the role of France in the EEC, the growth of the economy and confidence under Giscard and Mitterand and recent signs of discord among its varied cultures and peoples.