endure; and Napoleon Bonaparte used his position as a successful general
to establish a new monarchy called the French Empire. After Napoleon's
downfall, the allied monarchs of Europe restored the old line of kings
in France. But the country had outgrown despotism. A revolution in 1830
deposed one king and set up another who was ready to rule under the
terms of a constitution. In 1848 this monarchy was displaced and the
second French republic was established. But again a Bonaparte, nephew of
Napoleon I, seized the government and established a second empire,
calling himself Napoleon III. He aped the ways of his great predecessor
and tried by foreign conquest or annexation in Africa, Italy, and Mexico
to dazzle the French people. But he was never popular, and his reign
closed in the defeat and disgrace of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71),
for which he was partly responsible.

The third French republic was proclaimed in 1870 and is the present
government of the country. Under the constitution there is a senate, the
members of which are elected for nine years, and a lower house, elected
for four years. The president is chosen by these two houses of the
legislature for a term of seven years. No member of the old royal
families may become president of the republic. The president of France
does not possess nearly so much power as the president of the United
States. Many of the executive duties are performed by the premier, or
prime minister, and other cabinet ministers.

Republican France has become one of the great nations of the world, and
its democratic institutions are firmly rooted in the hearts of the
people. It has been compelled to face German militarism by erecting a
system of universal military training. The patriotism and self-sacrifice
of all classes during the Great War have been beyond praise.