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| 1890 |
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| Allemanists were expelled from the socialist Fédération as a result of a dispute over control of its elected members. They formed the Parti ouvrier socialiste révolutionnaire (1891). | 1 |
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| 1890–98 |
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| The Ralliement. The Algiers Toast (Nov. 12, 1890), made by Charles Cardinal Lavigerie, primate of Africa, to a banquet of French naval officers, called all citizens to “rally” to support the existing (Republican) government without reservation. The pope issued two encyclicals, Rerum novarum (May 15, 1891) on the condition of the workers, and Inter innumeras (Feb. 16, 1892), which declared that a government, once accepted, was legitimate. The Ralliement foundered over the struggle over Dreyfus. | 2 |
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| 1892 |
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| Cholera spread from Russia across the Mediterranean to southern France. | 3 |
| Labor legislation set the minimum working age at 13 unless the child had completed schooling by age 12. Children under age 16 were limited to 10 hours of work per day and children between ages 16 and 18 inclusive to 11 hours per day. Women's work was limited in hours and to certain occupations. | 4 |
| Méline tariff made France one of the most protectionist nations. | 5 |
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| 1892–93 |
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| THE PANAMA SCANDAL. French investments had reached approximately 1.5 billion francs in the Panama Company (Compagnie du canal interocéanique) when the company collapsed (Feb. 1889) because of mismanagement and corruption. In the course of government investigation, it was discovered that the company had bribed politicians and journalists to get a lottery loan in 1888. As a result of the investigation, Ferdinand de Lesseps (Suez Canal builder) and his associates were condemned (Feb. 9, 1893), but the decree of the court was set aside by the cour de cassation because the statute of limitations had expired. | 6 |
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| 1894, June 24 |
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| President Carnot was stabbed at Lyons by an Italian anarchist, Santo Caserio. | 7 |
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| 1894–1906 |
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| DREYFUS AFFAIR. When a list of military documents (the bordereau) was intercepted by a secret agent on its way to the German military attaché, the handwriting was determined to be that of Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, probationer (stagiaire) of the General Staff of the army. Dreyfus was arrested (Oct. 15, 1894), charged with treason, tried by court-martial in camera, condemned (Dec. 22), degraded, and deported to Devil's Island in French Guiana. As a Jew, Dreyfus had little support among a military rife with anti-Semitism. Georges Picquar demonstrated that the handwriting on the documents matched Commandant Ferdinand Esterhazy's, but Esterhazy was acquitted (Jan. 11, 1898). Novelist Émile Zola published “J'accuse” in Clemenceau's L'Aurore (Jan. 13), which sparked a wave of anti-Semitic riots. Zola was sentenced to one year in prison. Meanwhile, Col. Hubert Henry was arrested for forging documents in the case and committed suicide in his cell. Dreyfus returned, was retried and found guilty, but was pardoned by the government (1899). However, he continued to try to clear his name until 1906, when the government overturned the verdict. | 8 |
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| 1895 |
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| Confédération générale du travail (CGT) was founded at the Trade Union Congress at Limoges; it was dedicated to a syndicalist program of direct action and the general strike. The program would be given classic formulation by Georges Sorel's Reflections on Violence (1908). | 9 |
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| 1896, May 30 |
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| Alexandre Millerand called for social unity on the basis of universal suffrage, socialization of production, and support for the international workers' movement without a loss of patriotism. This call failed when Millerand accepted a position (1899) in the Waldeck-Rousseau government, the first socialist in a major government post. | 10 |
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| 1897–1900 |
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| Women's legal position changed. Single women were allowed to witness acts of état civil (1897), and businesswomen gained the right to vote for judges of the tribunaux de commerce (1898). Women were admitted to the legal profession (1900). | 11 |
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| 1898–1906 |
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| Labor legislation. Laws required employers to provide workers’ compensation to employees (1898), established a ten-hour day (1899), and a six-day workweek (1906). | 12 |
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| 1899 |
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| Charles Maurras and Léon Daudet founded Action française, a newspaper that sought the restoration of the monarchy and promoted national unity. With Maurice Barrès's Le Roman de l'énergie nationale (1897–1902), it helped fuel growing nationalism. | 13 |
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| 1901–5 |
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| ANTICLERICALISM AND REPUBLICANISM. The Dreyfus affair resulted in a victory for the more radical Republicans and, with it, increased restrictions on religious associations. | 14 |
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