Social Transformation

Despite political instability, the years immediately following de Gaulle's resignation saw profound social transformation. The reforms launched under his leadership—social security, nationalizations, economic planning—took root and began reshaping French society. The France of 1946 was fundamentally different from that of 1939, even if political structures seemed depressingly familiar.

Women in the New France

The enfranchisement of women was perhaps the most visible change. In the October 1945 elections, women voted for the first time in French history. Their participation rate—around 80%—nearly matched men's, confounding predictions that women would be politically apathetic. They voted more conservatively than men, favoring the Christian democratic MRP over the communists and socialists, but they voted.

Yet political equality did not translate into social equality. The provisional government included no women ministers. The Constituent Assembly had only 33 women among 586 deputies. The civil code still designated husbands as "head of the family" with legal authority over wives and children. Women needed their husband's permission to work or open a bank account.

The contradictions were acute. Women had proven their capabilities in the Resistance and war economy. Many had no intention of returning to purely domestic roles. But social expectations, reinforced by pronatal policies encouraging large families, pushed them toward traditional roles. De Gaulle himself embodied these contradictions—granting political rights while assuming social subordination.

The Battle for Minds

Education became a crucial battleground. The Resistance program called for democratic education, breaking the Church's influence and creating citizens capable of participating in democracy. The communists pushed hardest, seeing education as key to social transformation. The MRP, representing Catholic interests, fought to preserve religious education.

The resulting compromises satisfied no one. State education remained secular but underfunded. Catholic schools kept state subsidies but under strict conditions. The curriculum modernized slowly, still emphasizing rote learning over critical thinking. The elite grandes écoles maintained their dominance, perpetuating social hierarchies despite democratic rhetoric.

Higher education saw more radical change. New universities were created, enrollment expanded, and disciplines like sociology and psychology gained recognition. The student population, still predominantly bourgeois, began to include more women and working-class youth. These changes would bear fruit in the 1960s when an expanded, more diverse student body would challenge the very structures de Gaulle would later defend.

Economic Transformation

Despite political chaos, economic reconstruction proceeded rapidly. The Monnet Plan, named after Jean Monnet, focused investment on basic industries—coal, electricity, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, and transport. This dirigiste approach, with state direction of investment, would characterize French economic development for decades.

The results were impressive. By 1948, industrial production surpassed pre-war levels. Agricultural productivity increased dramatically through mechanization. The transport system, shattered by war, was not just rebuilt but modernized. France was laying foundations for the "Thirty Glorious Years" of post-war growth.

But reconstruction came at a cost. Inflation ravaged fixed incomes. Housing remained desperately short—many families lived in cellars or damaged buildings. The black market persisted despite government crackdowns. Workers, whose wages lagged behind prices, grew increasingly militant. Strike waves in 1947 and 1948 nearly paralyzed the country.

Colonial Contradictions

The empire—renamed the French Union—embodied all the contradictions of the new France. The Brazzaville promises of evolution toward self-government raised expectations that French governments proved unwilling to meet. Each colony had different status, different rights, different relationships with metropolitan France.

Algeria, legally part of France, elected deputies to the National Assembly—but Muslim Algerians, nine-tenths of the population, elected only one-third of the deputies. In Indochina, negotiations with Ho Chi Minh broke down as France tried to restore full sovereignty. In Madagascar, a 1947 uprising was suppressed with shocking brutality—perhaps 100,000 dead, though numbers remain disputed.

These colonial conflicts poisoned French politics. The communists supported independence movements while participating in governments trying to suppress them. The socialists talked of reform while implementing repression. Only the small band of Gaullists, now organizing as the Rally of the French People (RPF), offered a different vision—association rather than assimilation, partnership rather than domination. But they were out of power.