The expulsion of religious congregations in 1880 was a political event in France during the Third Republic, involving the dispersal of unauthorized, primarily male, religious congregations. These expulsions were enacted after the enactment of two decrees on March 29, 1880, by the government of Charles de Freycinet, specifically by Charles Lepère, Minister of the Interior, and Jules Cazot, Minister of Justice. The initial decree mandated the dissolution of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) within French territory. At the same time, the subsequent directive required that all other unrecognized religious groups seek legal recognition, with the implicit threat of facing the same fate as the Jesuits.
These decrees were issued in the context of the establishment of the Republic. This strengthening of the regime was marked by militant anticlericalism from moderate Republicans and Radicals and by a desire to remove education from the influence of congregations, which were mocked as a "Roman militia" and accused of being seeds of counter-revolution.
The implementation of the initial decree resulted in the eviction of the Jesuits from all their establishments, commencing on June 30, 1880. In solidarity with the Society of Jesus, other congregations declined to submit authorization requests. Charles de Freycinet, who was not genuinely intent on expelling them, initiated discussions to secure their declared allegiance to the Republic. The revelation of these secret negotiations by the newspaper La Guienne resulted in Freycinet's resignation and the ascension of Jules Ferry to power. Ferry enforced the second decree with great rigor, leading to the expulsion of numerous other unauthorized male congregations. Many members of these congregations barricaded themselves within their premises, prompting prefects to repeatedly request military intervention. This resulted in occasionally violent scenes, including doors being broken open with axes and locks being destroyed.
The implementation of the decrees encountered considerable opposition. They were contested in civil courts and became the subject of debates and incidents in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Groups of devout and Catholic activists attended the expulsions to express support for the religious and deride the police. Furthermore, several hundred magistrates and officials responsible for enforcing the decrees resigned in protest, motivated by their convictions.
The expulsion of the congregations resulted in the dispersal of 6,589 religious members. Some opted to persist in living in small community groups in houses provided by laypeople, while others chose to exile themselves to reconstitute their congregations abroad, with Spain being the principal destination for Congregationalists. The return of the religious to their establishments occurred gradually in the following years as a détente developed between the Holy See and the French government starting in 1885. This eventually led to the Ralliement of 1892. Nevertheless, the Republicans persisted in their efforts to secularize education. The decline of congregational teaching commenced, and the final blow was delivered by the suppression of teaching congregations in 1904, twenty-four years after the expulsion of 1880.