MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
ORLOV STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
CHAIR OF PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY
on history
"Development of France at the beginning of the 20th century."
Oryol, 2002
Economy.
France in the late 19th - early 20th centuries remained a country where agriculture took precedence over industry, and handicrafts and small enterprises took precedence over large factories. Banking capital, interest on bank deposits, small property - movable and immovable - are characteristic features of the French economy. In 1869 the population of France was 38.4 million, in 1903 - 39.1 million, in 1906 - 39.25 million. Of these, in the early years of the XX century. there were 15.8 million independent workers (earning money on their own). In turn, of these 15.8 million people. industrial workers were 6.8 million.
At the beginning of the XX century. there was a certain revival in the economic life of France. A new metallurgical base developed rapidly in the eastern regions and in the north. From 1903 to 1913, iron ore production tripled. However, most of the ore was consumed not by French, but by German metallurgy.
The former main metallurgical base of France in the central massif, in the Saone-et-Loire region, was in decline. France ranked second in the world (after the United States) in car production, but French engineering continued to grow very slowly, and 80% of all machine tools were imported from abroad.
The process of concentration of production has accelerated. In the department of Padé-Calais in 1906, about 90% of all coal production was concentrated in the hands of companies. At six automobile factories built at the beginning of the XX century. in the Paris area, the production of almost all cars produced in the country was concentrated. Schneider's firm owned not only the largest military factories in Europe, but also mines, steel plants and other enterprises in different regions of France. French railways were monopolized by six railroad companies.
Despite a significant industrial upsurge, France lagged behind other large capitalist states, both in the level of production and in the degree of its concentration. Back in 1880, France, Germany and the United States smelted approximately the same amount of steel (1.2 - 1.5 million tons), but by 1914 the United States had already smelted almost 32 million tons, Germany - 16.6 million ., and France - only 4.6 million tons. In 1912, one enterprise in France, on average, had more than half the number of workers than in Germany. More than a third of the entire French proletariat was employed in the textile industry, in the production of luxury goods and fashion; these industries were dominated by small businesses, work from home.
One of the factors that hindered the development of French industry was the poverty of coal resources. In 1913, more than a third of all coal consumed this year had to be imported from abroad. The lack of coal, especially coking coal, intensified the expansionist sentiments of the leaders of the French metallurgy, who sought to seize the rich German coal basins.
But the main reason for the comparative backwardness of French industry was the structural features of the French economy, in which usurious capital played an important role. French banks, which concentrated the deposits of countless small depositors, exported capital on an enormous scale, placing it either in government and municipal loans of foreign powers, or in private and public industrial enterprises and railways abroad. By the mid-1900s, about 40 billion francs of French capital was invested in foreign loans and enterprises, and by the beginning of the war this figure was already about 47-48 billion. Political influence in France belonged not so much to industrialists as to banks and the stock exchange.
In terms of the export of capital, France ranked second in the world after England. France possessed a huge colonial empire, second only in size to the English one. The territory of the French colonies was almost twenty-one times larger than the territory of the metropolis, and the population of the colonies was over 55 million, i.e. approximately one and a half times the population of the metropolis.
In France, after the collapse of the Commune, a highly centralized system was finally consolidated.
The supreme legislative institutions of France, according to the constitution, were the Chamber of Deputies, formed on the basis of direct elections, and the Senate, based on a two-stage choice, elected from local elected institutions - the general councils. These bodies at a general meeting (congress) elected the head of state, the president of the republic. The President appointed a cabinet of ministers accountable to the legislative chambers. Any law had to pass both through the House and through the Senate.
The key positions of the French economy - banks, industrial associations, transport, communication with the colonies, trade - were held in their hands by a powerful group of financiers. She, ultimately, guided the government's policy.
Due to the comparative "stagnation" of the French economy, a significant part of the population was made up of the so-called middle strata - small entrepreneurs in town and country.
The slowdown in the country's economic development was reflected in the position of the working class. Labor legislation was extremely backward. The 11-hour workday law, first introduced for women and children, was extended to include men in 1900, but the government's promise to switch to a 10-hour day in a few years was not fulfilled. Only in 1906 was the mandatory weekly rest finally established. France also lagged behind a number of Western European countries in the area of social security.
Politics
The parliamentary elections of 1902 brought victory to the radicals (who then called themselves radical socialists), and the new cabinet headed by E. Combe decided to put the fight against clericalism at the center of political life. The inconsistency inherent in this party manifested itself in the policy of the radicals.
All decisive posts in the government were appointed by persons closely associated with large entrepreneurs and financiers. Only in matters of combating the influence of the church, expanding the secular school, etc. Combe behaved much more decisively than his predecessors. Anti-clericalism enabled the radicals to maintain an alliance with the reformist wing of French socialism, led by Jaures.
Nevertheless, the government's anti-clerical measures provoked sharp resistance from the church and the pope, which forced Komba to break off diplomatic relations with the papal curia, and later to submit to parliament a bill on the separation of church and state. Combe's policy began to seem too straightforward to many entrepreneurs, and in early 1905 his cabinet fell. The new cabinet, headed by Maurice Rouvier, nevertheless managed to achieve the adoption of a law on the separation of church and state.
The implementation of this law contributed to the democratization of education and the strengthening of the secular school. The percentage of illiterates, which at the time of the Franco-Prussian war was about 60, fell in the first decade of the 20th century. up to 2 - 3.
Got a special character labor movement in France. Here, trade unions or so-called syndicates forced themselves to be spoken of as a major social phenomenon only at the very end of the 19th century, somewhat later than in Germany. But on the other hand, French syndicalism took on such a political and revolutionary character that trade unions in other countries did not have. Another feature of the social movement in France is that a single workers' party was not created here, as in Germany, but there were several parties with different programs that did not find a common language.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, associations of workers of the same branch of labor began to form "federations", and workers' unions of different specialties in the same city began to form "labor exchanges." All federations and labor exchanges constituted the "General Confederation of Labor". The number of workers' syndicates increased very rapidly. The number of labor exchanges, whose main purpose was to help workers in finding work, in acquiring knowledge, etc., grew just as quickly.
Workers' syndicates in France have become points of resistance for the workers. Most of the numerous strikes and strikes were organized by workers' members of the syndicates.
A feature of France was the fragmentation of the socialist forces. At the end of the XIX century. the country was four socialist parties :
1) the Blanquists, who sought to establish a socialist system through the seizure of power by the proletariat;
2) Guedists, they are collectivists, followers of Marxism;
3) brussists, or possibilists, who found it tactless to frighten the population with extreme demands and recommended to limit themselves to the limits of the possible (hence their second name);
4) the Allemanists, a group that broke away from the third and saw in the elections only an agitational tool, and recognized the general strike as the main weapon of struggle.
In 1901, the Guedists and Blanquists, with some small groups at a congress in Ivry, formed the Socialist Party of France, or social revolutionary unity, and in 1902 their opponents united at a congress in Type to form the French Socialist Party. The main point of the contradictions between these two parties was the position on the possibility of a socialist participating in the bourgeois ministry. In 1905, the Jauresists, Guedists, Allemanists and "autonomists" united into one group called the "Socialist Party of the French Section of the Workers' International." After its unification, the Socialist Party achieved parliamentary success.
TO early XX century France still remained one of the most powerful economically powerful powers in the world. The modernization of the French industry took place intensively, including the formation of new industries - aluminum, chemical, non-ferrous metals. France was then second in the world in terms of heavy industry production, and first in car production. Metallurgical production developed extremely rapidly during these years. An increasingly widespread industrial use of electrical energy began. France remained the European leader in the use of water energy. Passenger-and-freight traffic by rail has increased, and the total length of railways in the country has increased. Their length at the beginning of the century was already more than 50 thousand km (the faction ranked fourth in the world after the USA, Russia and Germany). The French merchant fleet consisted of almost one and a half thousand ships with a total tonnage of 2 million tons (fifth place in the world). The World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 demonstrated the high level of French scientific and technical thought.
At the same time, the growing alarming trends in the development of French economy ... For the period 1870-1913. French production as a whole tripled, but in the same years world production increased fivefold. In terms of this cumulative indicator, France has moved from second to fourth place, yielding to the rapidly gaining rates of industrial growth in the United States and Germany. France's lag was not fatal. Moreover, the French economy, which did not experience such a rapid take-off at the turn of the century, turned out to be less vulnerable to cyclical crises of overproduction, which acquired a global, universal character during this period. The 1900 crisis affected mainly the development of the metallurgical industry, which experienced a boom in previous years. By 1905, the level of production was not only restored, but also increased significantly. Moreover, it was almost entirely supplied by domestic demand. Having survived the crisis of 1907 with relative ease, the French economy entered a period of further sustained growth on the eve of the First World War. So, steel production in 1909-1913. increased by 54%. During these years, in the extraction of iron ore, France took the third place in the world, in the development of bauxite - in the first place. However, these successes still did not allow France to achieve the same growth rates as its main competitors on the world stage.
The main reason for the relative slowdown in the pace of economic development in France was the structural specificity of the French economy. A significant place in the sectoral structure of French industry was occupied by the production of consumer goods. Jewelry, perfumery, footwear, furniture, textiles remained the most preferred types of export. Only on the eve of the First World War, having embarked on the path of militarizing the economy, France achieved significant success in increasing the output of engineering, shipbuilding, and the construction industry. But at the same time, more than 80% of the machines were still imported from abroad.
The process of concentration of industrial production in France led to the formation at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. powerful monopolistic associations - metallurgical syndicate Comite de Forge, sugar and kerosene cartels, military concern Schneider Creusot, automobile trusts Renault and Peugeot, chemical concern Saint-Gobain. Nevertheless, small-scale industry as a whole prevailed - in 1900, 94% of all enterprises had from 1 to 10 employees. The non-capitalist sector also remained on a significant scale. According to the 1906 census, out of 2.3 million enterprises, only 76.9 thousand were capitalist, of which only 9 thousand were industrial enterprises, while the rest were manufactories.
Despite the general growth in industrial production, at the beginning of the XX century. in agriculture in France more than 40% of the population was employed. The agricultural sector was going through a protracted crisis that began in the 80s of the 19th century. The parcellular nature of peasant land tenure hindered the formation of economically efficient, profitable farms. In 1908, 38% of peasant families owned land plots of less than 1 hectare. Small farms did not allow peasants to concentrate investment funds sufficient for the technical modernization of production. The cost of production turned out to be too high (for example, French wheat cost 20 times more than American wheat). Low profitability of agricultural production has led to a reduction in the area of vineyards and grain crops. The growth of livestock, fruit and vegetable production could not compensate for the overall losses of the agricultural sector.
The more the contradictions grew in the development of the real sector of the French economy, the more important the role of the financial system in ensuring the revenues of the national budget and private entrepreneurship. France was confidently leading in terms of the level of centralization of banking capital. Of the 11 billion francs of the total amount of deposits within the country, 8 billion are concentrated in the five largest banks. Four of them had a monopoly on the issue of securities. At the same time, an extremely ramified system of bank branches was formed, covering the entire territory of the country and making it possible to attract clientele from the most distant regions.
At the beginning of the 20th century, out of 40 million Frenchmen, 2 million were depositors of national banks. As a result, a powerful credit and financial system was formed, capable of providing a high level of return on investment. But the main type of financial transactions was not industrial investment within the country, but the export of capital. This trend was universal for the era of monopoly capitalism, but in France it acquired a hypertrophied character. By 1914, of the 104 billion francs in which securities were valued in the French financial market, only 9.5 billion were in national industry. The rest of the securities were provided by loan capital, mainly foreign investments. The profitability of foreign investments (4.2%) exceeded the profitability of domestic securities (3.1%). Unsurprisingly, under such conditions, French investment abroad tripled between 1880 and 1914 to 60 billion francs. According to this indicator, France is in second place in the world after Great Britain. The main areas of capital allocation were Russia, Spain, Portugal, Austria-Hungary, Turkey. Moreover, the structure of capital investments was dominated by centralized loan loans, rather than investments in foreign industry.
This kind of usury has become a distinctive feature of the French economic system at the beginning of the XX century. It not only fed the gigantic fortunes of the financial elite, but also ensured the existence of hundreds of thousands of small rentiers. The negative consequence of this practice was the threat of investment hunger in the French industry itself, the excessive dependence of the national economy on the well-being of the financial system. The consequences of this dependence will become evident after the First World War.
An economic and cultural boom in the early 20th century, France was, in short, one of several great world powers. In foreign policy, she went to rapprochement with England and Russia. Inside the country in 1900 - 1914 the confrontation between socialists and moderates grew. It was a period when workers who were dissatisfied with their situation loudly declared themselves. The beginning of the 20th century ended with the declaration of the First World War and a change in the world order.
Economy
From an economic point of view, France experienced significant growth in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The same thing happened in much of the rest of Europe and in the United States. However, in France, this process has acquired unique features. Industrialization and urbanization were not as fast as those of key leaders (primarily Great Britain), but the working class continued to develop, and the bourgeoisie continued to strengthen its power.
In 1896-1913. the so-called "second industrial revolution" took place. It was marked by the emergence of electricity and cars (the companies of the Renault and Peugeot brothers arose). It was born at the beginning of the 20th century and finally acquired entire industrial regions. Rouen, Lyon and Lille were textile centers, and Saint-Etienne and Creusot were metallurgical regions. Railways remained the engine and symbol of growth. Their network performance improved. Railways have been a welcome investment. The facilitation of the exchange of goods and trade through the modernization of transport has led to additional industrial growth.
Urbanization
Small enterprises remained. Almost a third of the country's workers worked at home (mostly tailors). On the eve of the First World War, the French economy relied on a solid national currency and was distinguished by great potential. At the same time, there were flaws: the southern regions of the country lagged behind in industrial development from the northern ones.
Urbanization has had a profound impact on society. France at the beginning of the 20th century was still a country where more than half of the population (53%) lived in the countryside, but the outflow from the countryside continued to grow. From 1840 to 1913 the population of the republic has grown from 35 to 39 million people. Due to the loss of Lorraine and Alsace in the war with Prussia, the emigration of the population from these regions to their historical homeland continued for several decades.
Social stratification
The life of the workers remained unpleasant. However, this was the case in other countries as well. In 1884, a law was passed that allowed the creation of syndicates (trade unions). The united General Confederation of Labor was established in 1902. The workers organized themselves, revolutionary sentiments grew among them. France at the beginning of the 20th century changed according to their requirements as well.
An important event was the creation of new social legislation (in 1910 a law on pensions for peasants and workers appeared). Nevertheless, the measures of the authorities lagged significantly behind the same neighboring Germany. The industrial development of France at the beginning of the 20th century led to the enrichment of the country, but the benefits were unevenly distributed. Most of them went to the bourgeoisie, and in 1900 the metro was opened in the capital, and at the same time the II Olympic Games of our time were held there.
Culture
In French, the term Belle Époque - "Belle Époque" is adopted. So later they began to call the period from the end of the 19th century to 1914 (the beginning of the First World War). It was marked not only by economic growth, scientific discoveries, progress, but also by the cultural flourishing that France experienced. Paris at that time was rightfully called the "capital of the world".
The general public was gripped by interest in popular novels, tabloid theaters, and oppertas. Impressionists and Cubists worked. On the eve of the war, Pablo Picasso became world famous. Although by birth he was a Spaniard, his entire active creative life was associated with Paris.
The Russian theatrical figure organized the annual Russian Seasons in the capital of France, which became a world sensation and rediscovered Russia for foreigners. At this time, the premieres of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, and so on were held in Paris with sold-out premieres. Diaghilev's Russian Seasons revolutionized fashion. In 1903, the couturier, inspired by ballet costumes, opened the fast-cult fashion house. Thanks to him, the corset is outdated. France in the 19th and early 20th centuries remained the main cultural beacon for the whole world.
Foreign policy
In 1900, France, along with several other world powers, participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in a weakened China. The Celestial Empire at that time was going through a social and economic crisis. The country was filled with foreigners (including the French) who actively intervened in the internal life of the country. They were merchants and Christian missionaries. It was against this background that the uprising of the poor ("boxers") took place in China, who staged pogroms in foreign quarters. The riots were suppressed. Paris received 15% of a huge contribution of 450 million liang.
French foreign policy at the beginning of the 20th century was based on several principles. First, the country was a colonial power with huge holdings in Africa, and it had to defend its own interests in different parts of the world. Secondly, it maneuvered between other powerful European states, trying to find a long-term ally. In France, anti-German sentiments (rooted in the defeat by Prussia in the war of 1870-1871) were traditionally strong. As a result, the republic moved towards rapprochement with Great Britain.
Colonialism
In 1903, King Edward VII of England paid a diplomatic visit to Paris. As a result of the trip, an agreement was signed, according to which Great Britain and France divided the spheres of their colonial interests. This is how the first prerequisites for the creation of the Entente appeared. The colonial agreement allowed France to operate freely in Morocco and Britain in Egypt.
The Germans tried to counter the successes of their opponents in Africa. In response, France held the Algiers Conference, at which its economic rights in the Maghreb were confirmed by England, Russia, Spain and Italy. Germany remained isolated for a while. This turn of events fully corresponded to the anti-German course followed by France at the beginning of the 20th century. Foreign policy was directed against Berlin, and all its other features were determined according to this leitmotif. The French established a protectorate over Morocco in 1912. After that, an uprising took place there, which was suppressed by the army under the command of General Hubert Lyothe.
Socialists
Any characterization of France at the beginning of the 20th century cannot do without mentioning the growth of the influence of leftist ideas in the then society. As mentioned above, due to urbanization, the number of workers in the country has increased. The proletarians demanded their representation in power. They got it thanks to the socialists.
In 1902, the left bloc won regular elections to the Chamber of Deputies. The new coalition has carried out several reforms related to social security, working conditions and education. Strikes became commonplace. In 1904, the entire south of France was engulfed in strikes by disgruntled workers. At the same time, the leader of the French socialists, Jean Jaures, created the famous newspaper "L'Humanite". This philosopher and historian not only fought for the rights of the workers, but also opposed colonialism and militarism. A fanatic nationalist killed the politician the day before the outbreak of the First World War. The figure of Jean Jaures has become one of the main international symbols of pacifism and the desire for peace.
In 1905, the French socialists united and created the French section of the Workers' International. Its main leaders were also Jules Guesde. The socialists had to deal with increasingly disaffected workers. In 1907, an uprising of winegrowers broke out in Languedoc, dissatisfied with the import of cheap Algerian wine. The army that the government brought in to quell the riots refused to shoot at the people.
Religion
Many features of the development of France at the beginning of the 20th century completely turned French society upside down. For example, in 1905, a law was passed on He became the final touch of the anti-clerical policy of those years.
The law abolished the Napoleonic Concordat, which was published back in 1801. A secular state was established and freedom of conscience guaranteed. None of the religious groups could count on state patronage anymore. The law was soon criticized by the Pope (most of the French remained Catholics).
Science and technology
The scientific development of France at the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, which was awarded to Antoine Henri Beckerl for the discovery of the natural radioactivity of uranium salts, and Maria Sklodowska-Curie (six years later, she also received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry). Successes were accompanied by aircraft designers who created new equipment. In 1909, Louis Bleriot was the first to fly across the English Channel.
Third republic
Democratic France at the beginning of the 20th century lived in the era of the Third Republic. During this period, several presidents stood at the head of the state: Emile Loubet (1899-1906), Armand Fallier (1906-1913) and Raymond Poincaré (1913-1920). What memory of themselves did they leave in the history of France? Emile Loubet came to power at the height of the social conflict that erupted around the high-profile case of Alfred Dreyfus. This soldier (a Jew with the rank of captain) was accused of spying for Germany. Loubet withdrew from the case and let it go on its own. France, meanwhile, has experienced a surge in anti-Semitic sentiment. However, Dreyfus was acquitted and exonerated.
Armand Fallier actively strengthened the Entente. Under him, France, like all of Europe, unwittingly prepared for the approaching war. was anti-German. He reorganized the army and increased the length of service in it from two to three years.
Entente
Back in 1907, Great Britain, Russia and France finally formalized their military alliance. The Entente was created in response to the strengthening of Germany. Germans, Austrians and Italians formed back in 1882. Thus, Europe was split into two hostile camps. Each state, one way or another, prepared for war, hoping with its help to expand its territory and consolidate its own status of a great power.
On July 28, 1914, the Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princip killed the Austrian prince and heir Franz Ferdinand. The Sarajevo tragedy was the reason for the outbreak of the First World War. Austria attacked Serbia, Russia stood up for Serbia, and after it the members of the Entente, including France, were drawn into the conflict. Italy, a member of the Triple Alliance, refused to support Germany and the Habsburgs. She became an ally of France and the entire Entente in 1915. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined Austria and Germany (this is how the Quadruple Alliance was formed). The First World War ended the Belle Époque.
18.04.2012
In the 18th century France was one of the the most developed economically the powers of Europe. The revolution gave a new impetus, and at the end of the century a technical revolution began in the country. France received its sales markets, especially those that expanded during the continental blockade.
Negative moment constraining the growth of the French economy was the lack of significant number of working hands that were in abundance in England since the time of the fencing, in France, after the revolution, the land was transferred to the ownership of the peasants, who after that had no incentive to move to cities and participate in industry. In addition, the infusion of workers into the economy was hampered by endless wars 1791-1814 years.
Defeat in the war led to the loss of France conquered positions and protracted economic crisis... The volume of foreign trade fell from 933 million francs in 1806 to 585 million in 1814 and recovered only by 1824 - 896 million francs.
By the rate of economic growth France lagged behind England, but was superior to other states. Also, after the end of the war, France lost its advantages, in addition, France, unlike England, did not have significant reserves of minerals on its territory, with the exception of the territory Alsace and Lorraine... This led to a lag in mechanical engineering, which required metal and coal. Political crises had a negative effect on the economy.
Population growth rates were low- by about 1-2 million people a year. The population of France grew much slower than in England - 4 times, in Italy - 2 times, in Germany - 3 times, in France - only 50%... In terms of population structure, France remained an agricultural country until the beginning of the 20th century. The process of urbanization was slow - the influx of population was only in Paris, which in 1841 became the only city with a millionaire. Only three cities had a population of over 100,000 people - Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux.
Agriculture played a leading role in the economy until the middle of the 19th century, the most widespread was small-scale land tenure, the main production of bread took place on large landowners' farms, small farms produced grapes, potatoes, and so on. The French government patronized the large producers with protectionist duties.
Industrial development continued, the small manufacturing industry prevailed, no more than 10 people worked in the workshops, this was especially common in Paris, Lyon, Rouen, Alsace there were large factories. The introduction of steam engines began, from 1820 to 1850 their number increased from 65 to 5,000. There was an increase in the consumption of raw materials, the import of raw materials for light industry increased significantly.
France more than England needed in imported raw materials, which limited the development of heavy industry. The first cars were purchased abroad, only in the 1920s did machine-building production begin in France, and only in the 1930s was the production of own cars started, after which their export began.
The development of communications was in progress... For a long time in France, the main means of communication remained canals, whose owners hindered the development of railways. In 1827, the Lyon - Saint-Etienne horse-drawn railway was built with a length of 23 kilometers. In 1832, the Saint-Etienne-Rouen road was built, for which steam locomotives were purchased in England. In 1837, the Paris-Orleans road was built, at the same time the first Saint-Lazare train station in Paris was built. Only in 1838, the purposeful construction of railways began. The French railway network was originally tied to Paris; in 1842, the construction of main railways began, the center of which was Paris. By 1843, the road was extended to Rouen, by 1847 - to Belgium and Tours, by 1856 the main railway network was created, connecting all the major cities of France. By 1848, the total length of the roads was about 1,800 km.
An important frontier became the crisis of 1845-47, when there was a general recession in the economy of about 30% and a rise in prices. In 1847 the financial crisis began, the gold reserves of France decreased by 7 times... Only the establishment of a stable political regime by Louis Napoleon and the proclamation of an empire stabilized the economy.
By 1850 the industrial revolution was completed, large-scale production was created, but the domination of small enterprises continued to persist. Large centers of industry did not develop, large enterprises were scattered throughout France.
Government of Napoleon III supported the development of the economy, subsidized the development of communications, since 1852, by order of the emperor, a large-scale reconstruction of Paris into a modern European city began, the city itself was expanded. Modernization of Paris became an incentive for the development of industry, primarily for engineering and metallurgy. In 1855, Napoleon ordered an industrial exhibition, which became regular, there were 6 of them, the largest were the exhibitions of 1878, but which included the Statue of Liberty and the exhibition of 1889, at which the Eiffel Tower was presented.
In the 2nd XIX century half a century, the French economy began to include pan-European economic cycles. The war of 1870-71 caused enormous damage to France. Were lost Alsace and Lorraine the north-east of France was occupied for more than six months. Killed 500,000 people, more than 1,500,000 people were in the rejected territories. An indemnity of 5 billion francs was paid. However, this prevented the blow of the crisis of 1873-79.
In the 80s a new stage of economic development began, France gradually entered the process of the second industrial revolution, only 2,000,000 people out of 16,000,000 able-bodied people were employed in industry, 5,000,000 were employed in agriculture, 4,000,000 in trade. Only 40% of the population by 1896 lived in cities. 47% of all peasant farms had land up to 10 hectares, 38% had less than 1 hectare. Crop production was insignificant, in terms of productivity, France was in 11th place in Europe, and the influx of grain from the New World was a strong blow to agriculture. The economy was undergoing constant deflation, leading to constant losses for producers - prices fell by about a third. The worst was the situation in viticulture, where the disease of the vine began, which caused a 3-fold decrease in wine production from 70 to 26 million hectoliters. In the last third of the century, the creation of agricultural unions in France, which included thousands of peasants, began. These unions tried to introduce new technologies, bought seeds, machinery and fertilizers, these unions had more than 1,000,000 members, which made it possible to overcome the crisis.
In industry in the 70s - 90s France has experienced 3 crises, in the 20th century - 2 crises. However, the French economy continued to grow at 2% per year. Crises led to the concentration of production, the French government introduced protective duties. At the end of the 19th century, the formation of large industrial associations began - Schneider-Le-Creusot (center of heavy industry, weapons) Saint-Gobain (glass, building materials, chemical industry). A heavy industry committee was formed, bringing together 250 companies. Production in heavy industry has grown significantly, but the industry of France was several times inferior to the industry of England, Germany and Russia. There was a reduction in the number of enterprises due to their consolidation, large trade and banking enterprises were created.
In 1898 the Renault company was created in 15 years the company has gone from the production of primitive cars to the production of tanks and aircraft. In 1889 was built the first Peugeot car and by 1903 this company provided 50% of France's car needs.
French industry developed due to the high qualifications of French workers and engineers. The volume of industrial production at the turn of the century increased by 75%, the number of enterprises increased 3 times.
Highest growth rates were in the financial sphere of France, French bankers could not actively invest in production, which led to the export of capital, Paris became the financial center of Europe. Bankers invested finance abroad, but also invested in French industry. By 1908, there were 266 banks in France, the value of French securities in 1906 was 100 billion francs. French banks provided loans to foreign countries - Russia, Austria-Hungary, Latin American countries.
In terms of the main indicators of economic growth, France was among the developed countries, but in terms of growth rates it was seriously inferior to the countries of the new economy.
