THE THIRD REPUBLIC
An undeniable influence on how the Dreyfus Affair was caused, handled, and eventually concluded, was the characteristics of the Third Republic. How it was established, who it was composed of, how it was influenced, and what actions it took played a major role in the Affair. The Third Republic, with all its shortcomings, in the end not only affected the Affair, but was affected by it.
The Third Republic was unique because when it was founded, it was actually not expected to last very long. Ironically, it would be one of the most long lasting of the French regimes since the Revolution of 1789, lasting from 1871 to 1940. But its longevity does not find its roots with a triumphant, Republican, origin. The National Assembly, given the task to form a new government, in 1871 had a 400 to 250 monarchist majority. (Shirer, 35) An undeniable factor that was prevalent throughout the whole process, was the idea that, had the Royalists and Bonapartists been able to agree upon a king, the French nation would have found itself centered around one. By the time the Constitution was completed in 1875, it did indeed seem to be the framework for a throne, at least according to those with monarchist inclinations. Nevertheless, conservatism seemed to be most popular, at least among those with power, and Adolphe Thiers insisted without it, "...there would be no Republic." (Shirer, 39)
The first test on the new government came in 1877, over the naming of the Premier. Even though the Senate still consisted of a conservative majority, the Chamber of Deputies, since the 1876 election had a Republican majority of 363 to 180. (Shirer, 39) The corollary choice of Leon Gambetta, the arch-Republican of the chamber, was unacceptable to the conservative President MacMahon. When the Chamber rejected his selection of a moderate, the choice of a conservative Republican, Jules Simon, left MacMahon discontent. MacMahon proceeded to send a letter of reprisal to Simon, leaving him no other alternative but to resign. Not stopping there, MacMahon named a new Premier, dissolved the Chamber, and called for new elections, which only resulted in another Republican majority. Zealous monarchists hoped to take this opportunity to overthrow the regime, but MacMahon refused to cooperate, and in 1879, he resigned as President.
This episode was immensely important. It was a devastating blow for monarchists, right-wing conservatives, and even the Army and the Church. The Third Republic was now cemented as a democratic, Parliamentary regime, with a President, following the resignation of MacMahon, as little more then a figurehead. Also, from this time on, the Chamber would choose to elect weak men to fill this position. An impotent President did indeed minimize the still valid threat of a "man on horseback," as Boulanger would illustrate, but at the same time, it precluded the opportunity for such a man to take a definitive and effective position on heated, partisan matters, like the Dreyfus Affair would eventually become.
While this was going on, the legislatures of 1877-1881 continued its purges of non-Republican elements in the government, and took steps to limit the role that clericalism played in education. These policies continued in the legislatures of 1881-1885, in the Judiciary. (Chapman, 38) Nevertheless, the army still remained open for such conservative elements, a trend that had begun several years earlier, after the embarrassing defeat of 1870-71. The policies of the Republican Third Republic seemed to exacerbate the importance of the army for the right, because there was very few positions in government they would be eligible for.
Another episode would soon discredit and weaken the arch-conservatives even further. General Georges Boulanger, appointed Minister of War in 1886, not only brought about much needed reforms in the Army, but also became, in a very short time, one of the most popular men in France. His increased belligerence towards Germany and Parliament, his popularity among certain right-wing leaders and Republican Radicals, and his obvious sway with the population as a whole convinced moderate Republicans to neatly replace him in May, 1887, after the new government convened.
But Boulanger was too popular to be forgotten in the ranks of the Army, and his successful election to the Chamber, followed by a call for revision of the Constitution on June 4, 1888, united his coalition of Socialists, Radicals, Bonapartists and Royalists. (Shirer, 44) His election in three provincial by-elections in August, 1888, soon gave him the opportunity in January 27, 1889 to run for election in Paris. (Shirer, 45) His strong defeat of the Republican candidate set the stage for a march on the Presidential palace and a coup d'etat but Boulanger hesitated, and instead went home to his Mistress. His chance would not come again, especially after a High Court of Justice found him guilty of plotting to overthrow the regime and he fled to Belgium, where he would commit suicide two years later.
But the Boulangist threat left far more of a mark on France then the man actually did. Not only had he almost brought down the Republic, he also became a symbol for all the discontent toward the government, its corruption, and failure to do something about the economic and social problems the country faced. Another element which Boulanger represented were those looking for "la revanche" against Germany, and it also reflected how the conservative right had adopted such nationalistic inclinations after the left had abandoned them. Nevertheless, the right did decline greatly, bringing about decisively the death of Royalism, Imperialism, and the "man-on-horseback."
A third incident would instead discredit the Republic itself: the Panama Scandal. After an attempt to create a canal across the isthmus of Panama failed, many of the financial backers lost their entire savings. In addition, it was soon discovered that many politicians in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate had been bribed to keep the venture alive. The trial against the company’s directors and politicians in 1893 did nothing to dispel an increasing cynicism towards the Republicans and the Third Republic itself. Also, since the three financial promoters were Jews, much of the distaste for the scandal was directed at them, especially by those convinced of the Rothschilds’ power.(Shirer, 48)
Through its survival of these three episodes, the Third Republic demonstrated how strong it actually was. But the Parliament, and the Third Republic itself was hardly a consolidated entity. The Radicals on the extreme left adhered dogmatically to the Jacobin tradition, and advocated a centralized government, anticlericalism, an aggressive foreign policy, labor laws, and an income tax. The leader of this group, until his defeat in 1893, was Georges Clemenceau. Those in the center (dubbed as Republican Opportunists) were much less extreme, cautious, and gradual in their approach to government, and hoped to restrict government interference in private life. The Radicals and Opportunists only found common ground on the limiting of the church’s role in politics and education. Lastly, the declining Right, securing its election from support from the provinces and the clericals, were still a force to be reckoned with, especially under the leadership of Comte Albert de Mun. Needless to say, coalitions between these groups were infrequent and mediocre at best, never lasting very long. Also, the frequent Ministries and Presidents, resulted in not only a lack of action, but a lack of responsibility. That is one of the reasons why, at the Esterhazy court martial hearings and then the Zola trials, the bulk of the deputies were loath to act in ways other than silence and indecisiveness. To take a definitive stand one way or the other, in many cases, would have been political suicide.
But when the tide of the Affair began to shift, especially after the suicide of Colonel Henry, it was in the best interests of those in the Chamber of Deputies to voice their support, which in most cases lay with the Dreyfusards. The rise of Waldeck-Rousseau was a testament to this swing of the pendulum, and the subsequent elections in the Chamber further reflected it.
