# René Coty becomes president (1954)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1954-rene-coty-becomes-president
Location: France
Categories: ruler-change

Coty became the second and final president of the Fourth Republic. Within the broader Occupation, Liberation & Fourth Republic period, Defeat in 1940 divided France between Vichy, occupation and resistance. Liberation restored republican government, followed by reconstruction, welfare-state building, European integration and violent decolonization under the Fourth Republic. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is René Coty (President of the French Republic). René Coty becomes president mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
René Coty becomes president mattered because succession and legitimacy shaped alliances, institutions and the direction of state policy.

Ruler at the time: [René Coty](https://history-france.com/rulers/rene-coty)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — René Coty becomes president](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Ren%C3%A9+Coty+becomes+president&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — René Coty becomes president](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Ren%C3%A9+Coty+becomes+president)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)