The fall of the Second Empire and the failure of the Paris Commune (1870-71) marked a turning point in the political and economic history of France.

A paral­lel shift occurred in the history of economic thought, with the publication of the Elements d’economiepure by Leon Walras (1834-1910) and the development of chairs of political economy in French universities. To outline this evolution, this chapter first describes the general framework: what was called the French decline, the debates on government measures to stimulate economic development, and the evolution of economics teaching in French universities. Then, the main contribu­tions of the various groups of economists are examined: the last classical liberals, the professors of economics in the law faculties, the economists in the faculties of literature and the mathematical economists.

1.