Fourth Republic

noun

1. the republic established in France in 1945 and replaced by the Fifth Republic in 1958.

Fourth Republic

noun

1. the fourth period of republican government in France or the republic itself (1945–58)

Example Sentences

The growing rejection of the all-powerful presidency conceived by Charles de Gaulle for the Fifth Republic, after the parliamentary chaos of the Fourth Republic, was fanned by Mr. Macron’s intransigent television interview this week.

From New York Times

The move is perfectly legal, and it has been enshrined in the Constitution since its inception in 1958 — part of several institutional tools that Charles de Gaulle, then France’s leader, insisted upon in order to rein in the parliamentary instability of France’s Fourth Republic and give the executive stronger control.

From New York Times

However, the parallels between Jan. 6 and the fall of France's Fourth Republic in the late 1950s are perhaps the most telling.

From Salon

He then quit in a dispute with the left, launching him into a decade of political intrigue against the new Fourth Republic, whose liberal constitution he despised.

From Salon

“The government was forced to repress these social movements, for months and months,” said Mr. Blanchard, author of a notable study of boisterous 1958 police demonstrations that helped to bring down the French Fourth Republic.

From New York Times