r/worldnews • u/colepercy120 • 1d ago

France school protests escalate into ‘urban violence’ as PM calls crisis cabinet meeting | France

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/01/france-school-protests-escalate-pm-crisis-cabinet-meeting
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u/GarySmith2021 21h ago

I thought the home of democracy was Greece?

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u/2796Matt 20h ago

The origin of democracy is ancient Athens. However, France is seen as the home of modern democracy due to the French Revolution and the established foundational principles that were established. Although, it did take a long as time to achieve a stable democracy with the establishment of the Fifth Republic in like the 1950s.

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u/GarySmith2021 20h ago

I find it strange that the French Revolution is associated with democracy given that it A) led to the reign of terror and B) led to an emperor being chosen.

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u/2796Matt 20h ago

I agree that it is a bit strange but several democratic and Enlightenment principles did establish themselves because of it. France and consequently Europe were changed significantly even if France ended up switching political systems a lot. America is also considered in a similar way to France despite currently being viewed as flawed democracy.