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While there are many factors and reasons as to why and how the Vichy government gained power in 1940, I think that the main reason is that the people of France did not want to go to war. Following World War I 25 years earlier that completely destroyed France and the people did not feel like they could go through that again. When they saw how fast the Nazi's were able to advance and how little they were able pushback, I think they knew that they realistically could not fight. I think that many people felt that the Vichy government would be a way for them to be able to keep living in "peace" and that it would be better in the long term to be on good terms with the Nazis because they thought they were going to remain in power for a long time.

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I believe one of the most important factors as to the fall of French democracy and the rise of French fascism was the popularity/support of the established democratic government. The rise of right-wing anti-democracy groups in France, exemplified by the 1934 crisis, resulting in the subsequent alliance of various left-wing factions, in the form of the Popular Front, in order to "win" the election of 1936, shows to some degree the unpopularity of democracy in French society at the time. The rolling up of the French Army during the Second World War would only compound these sentiments, as the democratic forces suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of a seemingly unstoppable force. Perhaps this is best reflected in the vote to "kill" the Republic, with representatives voting overwhelmingly (569 - 80) to kill said Republic.

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The most important reason for the fall of the Third Republic was the influence of outside forces by which I mean its military defeat and occupation of the nation by Germany. This event was almost identical to the birth of the Third Republic where the Second French Empire was also defeated by German arms and a new regime sprung up right after. The only difference in the fall of the Third Republic was that when the nation fell in wartime a fascist government took over instead of a republican one. This goes to show that outside forces can be the most important factor in regime changes.

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As there were many factors that lead to the rise of the Vichy government in France in 1940, the closeness of disasters and negativity of what would be termed later World War 1 would be exceptionally close to the voting population. France did not lose the Great War, however it touched on the entirety of France as part of a true “total war”, with a disproportionate number of over six million casualties, along with vast economic problems and little reparations from Germany. A part of the propaganda machine of the Vichy government was made it such a way as to lead that France would be involved again in a total war if the Popular Front continued in power, which to many French would be unthinkable. Using this fear of return to the still very strong distaste of the Great War, people that otherwise would be harder to sway politically cast their votes with this very real fear, and hoped to stay away from repeating those experiences only two decades later.

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I believe one of factors that lead to the death of France's democracy was the deep-rooted racism/antisemitism/discriminatory beliefs that were held by French citizens. Although many French people were likely not as passionate about these issues as others, antisemitism still held a strong place in the French culture. This is seen in newspapers that were published during the Dreyfus affair, and later in the policies of Vichy. The agreement with Vichy's views allowed him to gain power, stay in power, and to kill the democracy.

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I think one of the most important factors that help us understand the death of French democracy and the rise of the fascistic Vichy government was the prominent view in society of France needing to be the “real” France. This was seen during the Dreyfus Affair and carried into the rise of the fascistic Vichy government. They wanted France to be hierarchical, Catholic, and very traditional in some ways, so this led to views like antisemitism, for example. These were all ideals that Vichy and his supporters advocated for which led to the death of French democracy, because it took away rights and freedoms for some French citizens.

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The death of democracy and the rise of the Vichy government

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The death of democracy and the rise of the Vichy government

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I think the primary reason why democracy fell in France was the fact that the majority of the French people were willing to accommodate it. The people of France were leaning in a conservative direction that allowed many people that were willing to bring the rise of fascism into government. Also a large portion of the french population was anti-semitic to some degree as shown through the Dreyfus affair and the anti-jewish sentiment of the fascist party and much of the propaganda, but I do not think that the majority of France would have directly voted to impart such horrible discrimination on the jewish people or to relinquish so much of their own liberty to a fascist government. People were willing to accommodate the Vichy government because it looked like the path of least resistance; when it looked to the French people that they could avoid war, and preserve their way of life they were willing to allow this fascist government to take over their lives.

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I think that the first major event that killed French democracy was the vote to establish the Vichy government. Prior to that, major events like the fall of Paris in 1940 combined with the amendments proposed by Petain, the Prime Minister, paved the way for the rise of French fascism in the Vichy government. Furthermore, external forces like the PSF and Popular Front were big leagues and movements for the French people that carried big influence. This influence in this instance saw the admittedly false belief that Communism was worse than fascism, which helped to bring the Petain supporters and PSF into power and bring about the rise of fascism in France and the killing of French democracy.

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There are many reasons, both internal and external, that caused to the fall of democracy in France and the rise of the fascist Vichy government. I think one of the largest reasons of this fall of democracy was the desire of the people to keep the nation as peaceful as possible after the wars they had endured previously, particularly World War One. French citizens, along with the governmental and military systems, were becoming increasingly exhausted with the amount of conflict they were facing, therefore they believed that allowing the Vichy government to take over would be the safest option to rebuild. It was often difficult to suppress rebellion in these violent times, so the Vichy government seemed like it may be more successful in this endeavor to keep the peace. Obviously, some French did not necessarily want a less progressive government, but the democratic government was continuously defeated in particular battles, including the occupation of Germany in the nation. In general, democracy is the least-harsh form of government, but in turn, it is the hardest to fight for against aggressive governmental bodies, including fascism.

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I think one of the most important reasons for the fall of the Third Republic and the rise of the Vichy government was the desire to avoid another war with Germany. I think many people believed that France would be under the German regime anyway, so it was easier to join them rather than fight them. France was worried about a "repeat" of World War 1. Given the destruction in France due to WWI, the concern was valid. When the Third Republic fell they didn't believe it would truly be a bad decision because overall it looked like the best decision to avoid war at the time.

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The collapse of the French democracy and the rise of the Vichy government and subsequent fascism can be tied to a vast multitude of factors. Despite this, the lack of stability of French political culture is definitely important to our understanding of the rise of the Vichy government. France has had a turbulent political history in the past as well. After World War l, or the interwar period, right-wing or conservative values began to grow in France. Growing tension, such as the February 6, 1934 Crisis, illustrate the vulnerable state France was in. While other governmental systems in France were more progressive, they struggled to weather the test of time. Perhaps, people, who experienced the devastation of World War l not to many years before, believed the Vichy government could best keep them out of conflict. Consequently, the Vichy government might of had some appeal, however, it came with racist, antisemitic, and prejudicial ideologies. Despite all of these factors, the National Assembly felt compelled enough to end the Third Republic and have Pétain lead France forward.

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The death of the French democracy and the rise of the Vichy government was due to a multitude of factors. I think one of the largest reasons for the fall of the democracy was the people’s want to keep peace in the nation, especially after World War I. France wanted to avoid a "repeat" at all costs, leading to the rise of fascism and the fall of democracy. With the people and the country facing constant conflict and violence, they believed that the Vichy government would be the best option to replenish France. People believed that the Vichy government would be the path of least resistance, especially because of the rebellion creating constant violence in France. Even though some citizens did not want the Vichy government due to it being less progressive, and promoting racism, antisemitism, and discrimination, the democracy in France was not strong enough to be upheld. The democracy was the less harmful form of government but once the Third Republic fell, the best option was the fascism-rooted Vichy government to avoid more war in France.

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In my opionion the most important factor that lead to the esblashiment of vichy france was due to the French people complicity. This complicity was due to many factors such as the rapid advance of the germans, fatigue left over from the first war, and strain of the economy. All of these, combined with exisiting groups such as antisemtics and facisitcs, lead to the French people as a whole adopting this government, rather than fight yet another battle this time from within. In a sense, it killed the French will to fight as complicity lead to a lack of identity within France.

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The rise of the Vichy government was influenced by several historical factors, but the most critical one was the ease with which Germany defeated the French military in June 1940. This defeat was a crucial factor in ending French democracy and paving the way for the Vichy government. However, it wasn't solely due to their inability to defend their borders. The country had already suffered significant losses during World War I and had not yet fully recovered. Additionally, the rise of anti-Semitism, which had been growing since the Dreyfus Affair, was intensified by the Great Depression. Finally, many people were dissatisfied with the Third Republic, as they felt it was politically unstable, lacked clear leadership, and was ineffective in handling economic issues.

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One of the most critical factors in understanding the collapse of French democracy and the rise of the Vichy regime in 1940 is the widespread disillusionment with the democratic Third Republic, exacerbated by internal divisions and the trauma of World War I. Many in France, particularly conservatives, perceived the Republic as weak and ineffective, especially in handling internal and external threats. A specific example from the course material is the overwhelming support for the Vichy regime's 'National Revolution,' a program aimed at revamping French society. This program, epitomized by the widespread recognition of slogans like "Work, Family, Fatherland," highlighted a longing for order and stability after years of political instability and the harrowing experiences of World War I. The contrast with 1870, where a democratic republic rose from military defeat, underscores that the response to military setbacks is contingent on the prevailing social and political context rather than being predetermined.

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The rise of Vichy France can be attributed to a multitude of reasons. Finding the main event that led to the fall of the Third Republic is very complicated and is up to opinion. Still, if I had to pick the main reason for the fall of the Republic and the creation of a Fascist state, it would be WW1 and its fallout on France and its people. The Third Republic was the same government that led France through WWI, and that war was disastrous for the country. Four years of warfare had destroyed France and its people, which they never fully recovered from. After France had barely come out of the war victorious, extremism and anti-semitism had begun to grow since many veterans and other dissatisfied citizens still struggled after the war. Many of the same feelings that came from the Franco-Prussian War and the Dreyfus Affair still existed. They saw the French government as not only the cause of the struggles of the nation but that they also weren't strong enough to fix those problems. So when Germany invaded in 1940 and decisively won, France was sick of the Republic and welcomed the change in government. Once again France went from a Revolutionary styled government to a Counter-Revolutionary one.

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I believe that the most important factor in the death of French Democracy was the prevalence of far right/facist views already in French society and politics. Even prior to the Nazi invasion and the implementation of the authoritarian government at Vichy many of the ideals of the Nazi's and Vichy France were widespread. The lectures discussed that the PSF was the most powerful party in France and had the 1940 elections happened as they were supposed to they most likely would have been elected into power. This shows how common and popular facist and anti-democratic views were even in peacetime France making them the most important factor for why democracy died in France.