French Revolution Change And Continuity Essay

The conflict between continuity and change has defined French society since the 1780s. On one hand there has been a strong desire in French society to reject the traditional structures that have existed since the Ancien Regime, while on the other many of these traditional values and structures persisted throughout modern French History. France’s rejection of tradition was characterized by both its embrace of modernity and revolution throughout the modern era. Yet throughout France’s modern history, periods of revolution and modernity have incited a strong response of conservatism and traditionalism which challenged France’s push for change.

This is most pertinently evinced during the period of the French Revolution, in which France radically departed from the established rules of the Ancien Regime. France’s discontent with this previous regime manifested itself in the abolition of the monarchy, and the

This period of radical change and political and social upheaval saw France remove a lot of monarchist and Catholic frameworks, through practices of secularisation and democratisation. During the initial revolutionary years, radical laws such as the establishment of the national assembly, and the abolishment of the Church's land ownership, helped push France towards the revolutionary ideas of national and secular republicanism. The revolution also looked to radically readdress the role of the French individual, from subjects of the king to citizens of a nation, in an attempt to establish a new national individualised identity. This in many ways was France’s rejection of orthodox ideas of the Ancien Regime, and expression of a new identity. This spirit of revolution continued throughout modern French history. The fact that