What problems did the Third Republic face? How successfully did you manage to solve them? What prevented their solution?
At the same time, radical and sometimes even criminal tendencies began to appear in the internal life. In 1892, the so-called Panama scam was revealed, causing an international scandal. Since 1879, French firms have been building an extremely important canal across the Isthmus of Panama. At the same time, colossal thefts and other abuses were committed. Many French politicians and public figures, including even ministers, were involved in them. As a result, the contract for the construction of the canal was transferred to American firms. And the word “Panama” itself has become a household name: it means a major political or financial fraud.
The vagueness of the internal political course (more precisely, its practical absence) led to the emergence in the country of many parties and groupings that did not have stable and clear programs. At the beginning of the 20th century, governments in France changed almost annually, and sometimes more often. The course of the Third Republic in foreign policy was clearer. France sought to restore its international positions, shaken as a result of the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. Therefore, in the outlined split of Europe into hostile groups, it went to rapprochement with Russia and Great Britain.
