Third Republic Proclamation on 4 September 1870

No matter where you travel in France, you might run into a street or a square named after the "Quatre Septembre". After the defeat and capture of Emperor Napoleon III (nephew of Napoleon I) by Bismarck, the Third Republic was proclaimed on 4 September 1870.

In addition of having the legislative power, the Assembly had also the authority to control the executive power of the President of the Counsel. In other words, the rationale behind the new constitution was to extend parliamentary power.

Some notable achievements of the Third Republic are the separation of Church and State ; primary school being mandatory and free ; freedom of press ; the Marseillaise as the National Anthem ; the celebration of 14th July as the National Holiday.

The Third Republic ended in July 1940 when the Assembly surrendered their power to Maréchal Pétain so he would deal with surrendering to Nazi Germany...

It should be noted that as of today, the Third Republic is the Republican regime that lasted the longest in France... We shall see if the (current) Fifth Republic will outlast it...