- June 3, 1944:the French Committee for National Defense takes the name of Provisional Government of the French Republic, headed by General de Gaulle. It declares null and void all decisions taken by the Vichy regime.
October 21, 1945
Characters
Charles de Gaulle
Procedure
On October 21, 1945, the first national election since World War II took place. Women vote for the first time. The military, hitherto prohibited from voting at the polls, also obtained the right to vote for the first time.
That day is organized a double twinned election. The first step is to respond to a referendum with a double question. The first asks whether the new Assembly should be constituent. If the answer is positive, it will be responsible for writing the constitution of the IV e Republic. If the answer is negative, the III th Republic will be restored. It is therefore the referendum of the birth of the IV th Republic, because this question gets 96% yes. The second question, approved by 66% of the French, allows Charles de Gaulle to organize the public powers until the constitution is written. This double referendum is a victory for the leader of Free France.
The French are then invited to elect the 586 deputies who will come to compose the Constituent Assembly. It was a clear victory for the left, and particularly for the French Communist Party, which was to form with the MRP (People's Republican Movement) and the SFIO (French Section of the Workers' International) a united government force, called the Tripartism. The right then suffered from its collaborationist image. This Assembly elects the head of the new government:Charles de Gaulle.
On April 19, 1946, the Communist-majority Constituent Assembly tabled a draft constitution for the IV th Republic providing for a unicameral (one-chamber) regime. This project is subject to the approval of the French people by referendum. The "no" supported by de Gaulle wins.
On June 2, 1946, a new Constituent Assembly was elected following the rejection of the Communist project. She proposed a constitution which returned to bicameralism (two parliamentary chambers) and which was accepted in October 1946 by referendum. The community's obligation to provide financial assistance to all citizens is enshrined in the preamble.
Consequences
- October 4 and 19, 1945:Social Security is instituted. The IV th République yet to be born will be responsible for making it work.
- March 17, 1948:the Heads of State of Western Europe sign a treaty of defensive alliance in Brussels which prefigures the Union of Western Europe.
- April 4, 1949:the IV th République participates in the creation of NATO to stem communism in Eastern Europe.