Monarchism in France is the advocacy of restoring the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

(mostly

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

) in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, which was abolished after the 1870 defeat by Prussia, arguably before that in 1848 with the establishment of the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Revo ...

. The French monarchist movements are roughly divided today in three groups: #The

Legitimists The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They re ...

for the royal

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

, #the Orléanists for the cadet branch of the House of Orléans, and #the Bonapartists for the imperial

House of Bonaparte Italian and Corsican: ''Casa di Buonaparte'', native_name_lang=French, coat of arms=Arms of the French Empire3.svg, caption=Coat of arms assumed by Emperor Napoleon I, image_size=150px, alt=Coat of Arms of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, typ ...

History

In France,

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

abdicated on February 24, 1848, opening way to the Second Republic (1848–1852), which lasted until

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

's December 2, 1851 coup d'état and the establishment of the Second Empire (1852–1870). The monarchist movement came back into force only after the 1870 defeat by Prussia and the crushing of the 1871

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

by Orléanist

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

and Orléanists controlled the majority of the Assemblies, and supported Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, as president of the ''Ordre moral'' government. Flag of Constitutional Royal France

But the intransigeance of the

Count of Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Hen ...

, who refused to abandon the

white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

and its fleur-de-lis against the republican tricolore, and the

16 May 1877 crisis The 16 May 1877 crisis (french: link=no, Crise du seize mai) was a constitutional crisis in the French Third Republic concerning the distribution of power between the president and the legislature. When the royalist president Patrice MacMahon ...

forced the legitimists to abandon the political arena, while some of the more

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Orléanists "rallied" throughout years to the Third Republic (1870–1940). However, since the monarchy and

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

were long entangled ("the alliance of the Throne and the Altar"), republican ideas were often tinged with

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

, which led to some turmoil during

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

Émile Combes Émile Justin Louis Combes (; 6 September 183525 May 1921) was a French statesman and freemason who led the Bloc des gauches's cabinet from June 1902 to January 1905. Career Émile Combes was born in Roquecourbe, Tarn. He studied for the pries ...

' cabinet in the beginning of the 20th century. Concerns about monarchists caused the French government to bury the Unknown Soldier of World War I at the Arc de Triomphe, because the Panthéon was associated with the Republic. The '' Action Française'', founded in 1898 during the

Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

, remained an influential

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

movement throughout the 1930s, taking part in the

February 6, 1934 riots February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...

. Some monarchists, such as Georges Valois who founded the '' Faisceau'', became involved in

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

after the 1926 Papal condemnation of the ''Action Française'' by Pius XI. Monarchists were then active under the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

, with the leader of the ''Action Française''

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...

qualifying as "divine surprise" the overthrow of the Republic and the arrival to power of

Marshal Pétain Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

. A few of them, such as

Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie Henri d'Astier de La Vigerie (11 September 1897 – 10 October 1952) was a French soldier, ''Résistance'' member, and conservative politician. Life Henri d'Astier was born in Villedieu-sur-Indre, a small village in the Indre département of cent ...

, took part in the

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

out of patriotic concerns. The ''Action Française'' was then dissolved after the war, but

Maurice Pujo Maurice Pujo (; 26 January 1872 – 6 September 1955) was a French journalist and co-founder of the nationalist and monarchist Action Française movement. He became the leader of the Camelots du Roi, the youth organization of the Action Française ...

founded it again in 1947. Some legitimists had become involved in the

traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, Christian liturgy, liturgical forms, Catholic devotions, devotions, and presentations of Catholic Church, Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church befo ...

movement which arose in the aftermath of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

and some ultimately followed the 1970 foundation of the traditionalist Catholic

Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Sec ...

Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to train ...

Bertrand Renouvin Bertrand Renouvin (born 15 June 1943 in Paris) is a French political figure, who is the founder and president of French political movement Nouvelle Action Royaliste. Family Renouvin's father, Jacques Renouvin, was a hero of the French Resista ...

made a breakaway movement from the ''Action Française'' in 1971, the ''Nouvelle Action Française'' which became the ''

Nouvelle Action Royaliste The New Royalist Action (french: Nouvelle Action royaliste, NAR) is a monarchist (Orléanist) political movement desiring to create a constitutional monarchy in France. History The movement has its roots in Action Française, the major French mon ...

'', while some legitimists joined

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

's ''

Front National The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right: Academic: ...

'', founded in 1972.

Current pretenders

The most recognised pretenders to the French throne are Prince Jean, Count of Paris for the Orléanists;

Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou Louis Alphonse de BourbonHis name is given as "Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon and Martínez-Bordiú, Duke of Anjou" by Olga S. Opfell in ''Royalty who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe'' (2001), p. 11. ( es, Luis Alfonso ...

for the Legitimists; and Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon for the Bonapartists.

Monarchist groups

Monarchism continues to exist in France. The historian Julian T. Jackson wrote in 2001 that "Indeed in the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

there are still families today who will not receive descendants of people who bought ''

biens nationaux The biens nationaux were properties confiscated during the French Revolution from the Catholic Church, the monarchy, émigrés, and suspected counter-revolutionaries for "the good of the nation". ''Biens'' means "goods", both in the sense of "obj ...

'' during the Revolution." Falling into one of the three main monarchist streams, some of the active groups in France today are: * Action Française *

Alliance Royale Royal Alliance (french: Alliance Royale, links=no, AR) is a French political party dedicated to the restoration of the Monarchism in France, monarchy in France and to increasing debate about the monarchy amongst the general public. The party was ...

References

External links

Union des Cercles Légitimistes de France.orgmonarchie française.fr (UCLF)Cercle Henri IVAlliance RoyaleAction FrançaiseRassemblement DémocrateNouvelle Action royalisteLa Restauration NationaleVive le Roy.fr (UCLF)Légitimistes of Lorraine French Royalist
{{Europe topic, prefix=Monarchism in