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 Considering
the fact that the modern state of France
is the republic of the fifth generation, so called Fifth
Republic as it is called, we can
forget the fact that France
was a monarchy since the date of establishment and to the end of the century
before last. Yet, the monarchy system was traditional and the phrase by one of
the Kings of France «State is Me!» is accepted as the pearl of the absolutism
genre. Thus, in spite of the rich practice of revolutions and riots by the
French nation, it is quite reasonable to observe the troubled thoughts about
restoration of monarchy. The thoughts occur among the particular layers of
population and political parties. Definitely, within the modern conditions of enhancement
for France and European Community on the whole such turn is unlikely to happen.
The potential aspirants for the throne of France look quite interesting, all
the more so the situation is too providing confused. There are three families in
France
the representatives of which announce in public that they are the state.
Over a period
of two hundred year and since the end of the XVI century till the latest decade
of the XVIII centuries France
was governed by the Bourbon Dynasty. Henry IV of Navarre was the first representative
of the Dynasty to ascend the throne. Henry IV of Navarre gained the title Great though
his offsprings failed to rule intelligently otherwise the Great French
Revolution would not happen that destroyed the monarchy system, killed the King
Louis XVI and his royal family including his son Louis Charles. After the king was
put to death in 1792 the French monarchists announced Louis Charles at the age
of seven to be the following monarch, Louis XVII, though a boy failed to taste
the ruling and enjoy the power for he died three years later. Then the epoch of
the Republic came followed by the Napoléon Empire. After Napoleon defeated to the
coalition of European countries, the Bourbons returned the power in behalf of
two brothers. Louis XVIII was first to govern the country replaced by Carl Х. The latter was overthrown as a
result of 1830 revolution and the latest representative of the French branch of
Bourbons, Henry, the Duke of Bordeaux, died in 1883.
The name bourbons would never be mentioned any longer in
regards to the illusory chances for the French Crown if there was not a Spanish
branch from this family. The
point is that the grandson to Louis XIV ascended to the Spanish throne in 1700 as
Philippe V, and his descendant, Juan Carlos, is the King of Spain. In spite the
Bourbons of Spain refused from rights of succession officially in 1713, the
double-dyed monarchists of the country consider the Spanish branch of Governor
as the eligible heir of Versailles.
The representatives
of the Bonaparte Dynasty comes the next. Napoléon Buonaparte, thee genius commander
and the outstanding statesman, the Emperor of the French Empire was the founder
of this dynasty. As we know, he became the supreme ruler of France in the very
end of the XVIII century, and he got the title of the Emperor in 1804. The only
son to Napoléon called Napoléon II by the Bonapartists died young. The following
representative of the family that reigned in France
is the son to Louis Buonaparte, the brother to Napoléon I. Louis Napoléon Buonaparte
was elected President of the French
Republic in 1848 and four
years later he announced himself the Emperor Napoleone III. However, he ruled till
1870 and then he fell from power; his only son, Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph, died
young. So, the current members of Buonaparte family are the offsprings of
Jerome, another brother to the Great Napoléon I.
The
situation around the rulers from Buonapart family is too complicated
since they
fight and compete with other families and between each other. The
present «Emperor
of France» 58-year old Charles Napoléon (or Napoléon VII) is the
conservative
French politician, and in 2000 he nominated himself to the vacancy of
the mayor
for Ajaccio (the capital of Corsica,
the historical motherland to Napoléon. He succeeded as a Vice-Mayor
four yearslater. He declared the eldest representative of the
Dynasty in 1997 after his father, Louis Napoléon died. Nevertheless,
the trick is
that Louis Napoléon declared in his will to grant the title of the
Emperor to
his grandson, Jean-Christophe who was born in 1986 but not to his son.
Charles Napoléon
took the advantage of the will not authenticated by the legal force
since there
are no Emperors in France.
He stated that his father did not intend to deprive of the title and he
refused
to yield to his own son. Therefore, currently the dissidence occurred
in the
country of Bonapartists. Part of them recognizes the title granted to
Charles Napoléon
while the other believe that Jean-Christophe is the legal ruler.
The last competitive
group is so called Orleans Dynasty that reckons from Philippe, duc
d'Orléans, the
younger brother to Louis XIV. After Carl X was dethroned in 1830, the
representative
of the eldest branch of Bourbons, the member of the Orleans Branch of
Bourbons,
Louis-Philippe I came to throne. However, he failed to hold the crown
for some period
since in 1848 the next revolution broke. The French disliked the
monarchy systemand Louis-Philippe I was dethroned. His descendants kept
on positioning themselves as
the throne heirs and in 1883, after the last member to the elder
Bourbons died,
their positions strengthened.
The existing
Head of the Dynasty, 35-year old Louis XX also insists upon the fact that the Orleans
Family is the only legitimate heir of the throne. The adherents of the genuine Bourbons
state that Louis-Philippe I of Orleans
cannot be recognized as the legitimate heir from the Bourbon Dynasty since he
is not the offspring of the King, but the brother Louis XIV. The Spanish branch
of bourbons has genealogy from the direct descendant of the same Louis XIV.
On the whole,
all the claims and pretenses put by modern kings and emperors of France is
nothing but they cook the hare before it is caught.
Moreover, all these dynasties have quite unstable genealogy fundamentals and
today there is not a single person who can firmly state of his right to be the
direct descendant of the King of France.
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