France became a constitutional monarchy as a result of the French Revolution. The new constitution came into effect in 1791 but before long the struggle between radicals and moderates tore the government apart. The King was deposed in 1792 and executed. France then became a republic.
The First Republic was an unstable government that faced internal insurrection and foreign invasion. The Reign of Terror saw the executions of thousands of people and widespread violence. Eventually the Republic was ended by Napoleon Bonaparte, who named himself initially First Consul and, in 1804, Emperor of France.
Although the Empire had a Constitution, in practice Napoleon ruled as a dictator. Once he was deposed in 1815, the Bourbon Kings were restored, with a "compromise" constitution that limited their powers but still recognised them as rulers by Divine Right.
France was then a constitutional monarchy from 1815 to 1848. King Charles X was foricbly overthrown in 1830 when he refused to share power with the legislature; his successor, Louis-Phillipe, promised to rule as a constitutional monarch.
Louis-Phillipe maintained the existing monarchist constitution, but like his predecessors continually interfered with government. Eventually the French overthrew him and France became a republic once again in 1848.
This Second Republic was also short-lived because its President, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the heir of Napoleon I, soon proclaimed himself Emperor in 1851. Unlike Napoleon I, Napoleon III, as he was known, ruled with a legislative assembly. Napoleon III was the last monarch to rule over France. In 1871 he abdicated after France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, and the Third Republic was proclaimed.
