Redefining Republic And Empire In France After 1870–71

This chapter focuses on the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War that lasted between 1870 and 1871. It explains how the war and the subsequent Paris Commune fractured the French political landscape. The debates over the relationship between empire, republic, and the events of 1870–71 gained strength from the way that the war and the Commune intersected with ongoing political tensions. The chapter elaborates on the année terrible through the perspective of the media in the Third Republic. It also discusses the efforts and criticisms of Bonapartism in trying to restore the vision Napoleon III had. On the other hand, republicanism borrowed political practices and economic policies from its predecessor and defined the empire as a problematic system of government that contradicted France's ideal political practices and values.