Paris in the Modern Era: From the End of World War II to Today

Paris was liberated by the Allies in August 1944. Charles de Gaulle managed to convince them not to turn France into an occupied zone, as happened in West Germany and Austria. The “Fourth Republic,” which rose from the ruins of the Third Republic and the Vichy regime, suffered from severe political instability. That instability stemmed both from the proportional voting system and from two colonial wars in which France was involved: the First Indochina War (Vietnam) and, later, the Algerian War.

Eventually, in 1958, the instability caused the Fourth Republic to collapse. De Gaulle was called back to the forefront, and established the “Fifth Republic,” which exists to this day. The new republic’s constitution gave him sweeping powers as head of state (it’s no coincidence that one of his nicknames was “Charles the Eleventh”). Still, he managed to bring France stability and economic growth, which lasted until the early 1970s.

The 1950s and 60s were marked by an intellectual and cultural flowering. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) and Albert Camus (1913-1960) created the philosophy of existentialism in the cafés of Paris (Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots are the most famous of them). A bit later, Michel Foucault (1926-1984) developed postmodern philosophy, which spread like wildfire through universities around the world, and sowed the seeds of political correctness. It’s no coincidence that some people call Foucault’s philosophy, as syphilis used to be called: “the French disease.”

Alongside the flowering of philosophy, the chanson also flourished. This period was without a doubt the golden age of French song, with larger-than-life artists like Yves Montand (1921-1991), Barbara, Juliette Gréco (1927-2020), Édith Piaf and Georges Brassens (1921-1981). What wouldn’t I give for a time machine to take me back to the Bobino and Olympia halls of that era, so I could see them perform live.

At the same time, Paris went through another urban revolution, which included building new modern districts like “La Défense” and preserving older ones, a revolutionary step for its time, since throughout history the French had preferred to tear down the old and build anew in its place.

The man who led the preservation revolution was André Malraux (1901-1976), the legendary minister of culture. Instead of demolishing the Marais, which years of neglect had turned into a poverty-stricken area, he decided to invest huge sums in renovating it. The result: the Marais became one of the most beloved and lively neighborhoods in Paris, combining historic mansions with trendy boutiques and fashionable nightlife spots.

Paris from 1968 to today: building in the shadow of decline

As we saw, the 1960s were years of growth and prosperity. But all of that began to turn in 1968. As with other periods of flourishing, like the Belle Époque, deep currents of resentment toward the existing order simmered beneath the surface.

In the 1960s, it was students, influenced by Marxist and postmodernist ideas, who drove the change. The result was the “student uprising,” which broke out in May 1968 following a seemingly minor incident (a ban on students entering the dormitories of female students at the University of Nanterre). The uprising spread quickly to Paris, and the Left Bank, home to most of the Sorbonne’s faculties, became a battlefield where students threw paving stones at police (which is why many streets in Paris are now paved with asphalt rather than stone).

France is still feeling the consequences of that year’s student uprising today. From a hardworking, creative nation, it became, in the eyes of many, a bitter and lethargic one, prone to occasional outbursts of anger expressed through endless strikes and unrest (like the “yellow vest” (gilets jaunes) protests).

To cope with the social unrest, large segments of French workers won extraordinary social benefits (a month or two of vacation per year, a shortened work week, early retirement, and more). The result wasn’t long in coming. Starting in the 1970s, France has suffered from a worsening recession, and in recent years, from rising unemployment as well.

Alongside the expansion of the welfare state, France opened its doors in the 1960s and 70s to mass immigration from North Africa. The result was a rapid growth of the Muslim population, much of which lives on government benefits. The growth of this population led to the creation of ghettos in the suburbs of cities, some of which became areas the police avoid entering. This process accelerated France’s economic decline, and at the same time brought with it an unprecedented wave of terrorism, which reached its peak with the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan. Does this mean that France, and Paris in particular, have become dangerous and unbearable places? Not at all.

Despite the many crises it has weathered in recent decades, France is still a rich and powerful country. During the 1970s, 80s and 90s, French governments invested enormous sums in construction and renovation projects that many tourists enjoy to this day: from the Centre Pompidou, which became one of the most successful museums in the world, to the conversion of the old train station into the Musée d’Orsay, to the massive renovation of the Louvre. All of this, along with fantastic food, public transportation that other cities envy, and thousands of years of history, makes Paris a place you simply can’t skip.

Want to read more about the history of Paris?

This is the end of the series of articles on the history of Paris. I hope you enjoyed the journey through time. Feel free to read more articles about different periods in the history of the City of Light.