Key Facts
- Duration
- 27 October 1946 – 4 October 1958
- Number of governments
- 21 administrations in 12 years
- Constitution adopted
- 13 October 1946
- Dissolved by referendum
- 5 October 1958
- Marshall Plan aid
- Received US assistance for post-war reconstruction
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
The Fourth Republic was established on 27 October 1946 following the liberation of France and the end of World War II. Its constitution, adopted on 13 October 1946, attempted to learn from the instability of the Third Republic by modestly strengthening the executive. France resumed its role as a major power and began rebuilding shattered institutions and infrastructure with support from the American Marshall Plan.
Phase II: Zenith
Despite chronic governmental instability, the Fourth Republic presided over strong economic growth known as the Trente Glorieuses. Reconstruction of French industry and social institutions progressed rapidly. France became a founding member of NATO and the European Coal and Steel Community, initiating the Franco-German reconciliation that eventually produced the European Union framework, marking a fundamental shift in European diplomacy.
Phase III: Decline
Persistent cabinet instability—21 governments in 12 years—left the republic unable to manage decolonization effectively. Military defeats in Indochina and an escalating crisis in Algeria culminating in 1958 brought the system to collapse. Charles de Gaulle returned from retirement, assumed leadership of a transitional administration, and oversaw the drafting of a new constitution that created the Fifth Republic with a greatly strengthened presidency, ratified by referendum on 5 October 1958.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory