64,457,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. Yet outside the realm of political structure and parliamentary gamesmanship there were real and fundamental changes. The rate of growth for a time rivaled that of Germany and exceeded that of most other European countries. Other political leaders included Georges Bidault, Pierre Mendès-France, René Pleven, and Robert Schuman. The Fourth Republic collapsed due to rising complications from their colonies. The Provisional Government of the French Republic (gouvernement provisoire de la République française or GPRF) was an interim government of Free France between 1944 and 1946 following the liberation of continental France after Operations Overlord and Dragoon, and lasted until the establishment of the French Fourth Republic. On 13 May 1958, the mob seized the building of the General-Government in Algiers, and a "Committee of Civil and Army Public Security" was set up, led by General Massu. Many politicians from the prewar period turned up once again in cabinet posts. Exploring The Vietnam War 1970 Words | 8 Pages. In January 1946 de Gaulle suddenly resigned his post as provisional president, apparently expecting that a wave of public support would bring him back to power with a mandate to impose his constitutional ideas. France’s colonies had provided de Gaulle with his first important base of support as leader of Free France, and, as the war continued, they had furnished valuable resources and manpower. French Politics: Should The Presidencial Term Be Reduced? The Fourth Republic of France existed from 1946-1958 under the fourth republican constitution. As compared with the U.S. Constitution, it was quite a detailed constitution. The assembly submitted two draft constitutions to a popular vote in 1946, and the revision was narrowly approved. Instead, the constituent assembly chose the socialist Félix Gouin to replace him. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. By an overwhelming majority (96 percent of the votes cast), the nation rejected a return to the prewar regime. In a more general sense, the French Empire described France's colonies and dominions overseas. The assembly submitted two draft constitutions to a popular vote … Two other segments of Indochina, the former protectorates of Laos and Cambodia, had earlier been converted by the French into independent monarchies to preserve some French influence there. New men of the Resistance movement dominated the constituent assembly, and the centre of gravity was heavily to the left: three-fourths of the deputies were Communists, Socialists, or Christian Democrats who had adhered to the new party of the Catholic left—the Popular Republican Movement (Mouvement Républicain Populaire). This essay examines the reasons for the fall of the French Fourth Republic (1945-1958), with a focus on the impact of the French-Algerian war as well as examining the other causes that contributed to the demise of the government such as the French Indo-China War as well as what seemed like the inherent instability of the structure of government and the cabinet in the French Fourth Republic. The Fourth Republic was tainted by political instability the issue of decolonization. Some urged the need for greater stability through a strong executive; others, notably the Communists, favoured concentrating power in a one-house legislature subject to grassroots control by the voters. French military involvement in both Indochina (₳|₩) and Algeriacombined with the mixed nature of the coalitions and a consequent lack of agreement caused successive cabinet crises and changes of gover… Presidents of the Fourth Republic were Vincent Auriol (1947–54) and René Coty (1954–59). 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