The French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems. France adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic on 13 October 1946. The Fourth Republic saw an era of great economic growth in France and the rebuilding of the nation's social institutions and industry after World War II, and played an important part in the development of the process of European integration which changed the continent permanently. The greatest accomplishments of the Fourth Republic were in social reform and economic development. In 1946, the government established a comprehensive social security system that assured unemployment insurance, disability and old-age pensions, and health care to all citizens. Some attempts were also made to strengthen the executive branch of government to prevent the unstable situation that had existed before the war, but the instability remained and the Fourth Republic saw frequent changes in government – there were 20 governments in ten years. Additionally, the government proved unable to make effective decisions regarding decolonization. As a result, the Fourth Republic collapsed and what some critics considered to be a de facto coup d'état, subsequently legitimized by a referendum on 5 October 1958, led to the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1959. Part of a series on the History of France National Emblem Prehistory Palaeolithic Mesolithic Neolithic Copper Age Bronze Age Iron Age Ancient Greek colonies Celtic Gaul Roman Gaul 50 BC – 486 AD Early Middle Ages Franks Merovingians 481–751Carolingians 751–987 Middle Ages Direct Capetians 987–1328Valois 1328–1498 Early modern Valois-Orléans 1498–1515Valois-Angoulême 1515–1589House of Bourbon 1589–1792Kingdom of France 1492–1791French Revolution 1789Kingdom of the French 1791–1792 19th century First Republic 1792–1804 • National Convention 1792–1795 • Directory 1795–1799 • Consulate 1799–1804First Empire 1804–1814Restoration 1814–1830July Revolution 1830July Monarchy 1830–18481848 Revolution 1848Second Republic 1848–1852Second Empire 1852–1870Third Republic 1870–1940Paris Commune 1871 20th century French State (Vichy) 1940–1944Provisional Government 1944–1946Fourth Republic 1946–1958Fifth Republic 1958– 32x28px France portal vte Governments ofFrance {{#invoke: Navbox | navbox }} vte
Dissolution date
1958-10-04
Dissolution year
1958
Founding date
1946-10-14
Founding year
1946
Motto
"Liberty, equality, brotherhood"
"Liberté, égalité, fraternité"
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