Editing History of France

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{{For|the Jules Michelet work called "History of France"| Histoire de France}}
{{Redirect|French History|the academic journal|French History (journal){{!}}''French History'' (journal)}}
{{History of France sidebar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
The first written records for the '''history of France''' appeared in the [[Iron Age France|Iron Age]]. 

What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as [[Gaul]]. Greek writers noted the presence of three main ethno-linguistic groups in the area: the [[Gauls]], [[Aquitani]] and [[Belgae]]. Over the first millennium BC the Greeks, Romans and [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] established colonies on the [[Mediterranean]] coast and offshore islands. The [[Roman Republic]] annexed southern Gaul in the late 2nd century BC, and legions under [[Julius Caesar]] conquered the rest of Gaul in the [[Gallic Wars]] of 58–51 BC. A [[Gallo-Roman culture]] emerged and Gaul was increasingly integrated into the [[Roman Empire]]. In the later stages of the empire, Gaul was subject to [[barbarian]] raids and migration. The [[Franks|Frankish]] king [[Clovis I]] united most of Gaul in the late 5th century. Frankish power reached its fullest extent under [[Charlemagne]]. The medieval [[Kingdom of France]] emerged from the western part of Charlemagne's [[Carolingian Empire]], known as [[West Francia]], and achieved increasing prominence under the rule of the [[House of Capet]], founded in 987.

A [[Order of succession|succession]] crisis in 1328 led to the [[Hundred Years' War]] between the [[House of Valois]] and the [[House of Plantagenet]]. The war began in 1337 following [[Philip VI of France|Philip VI]]'s attempt to seize the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]] from its hereditary holder, [[Edward III of England]], the Plantagenet claimant to the French throne. A notable figure of the war was [[Joan of Arc]], a French peasant girl who led forces against the English, establishing herself as a national heroine. The war ended with a Valois victory in 1453, strengthening French nationalism and increasing the power and reach of the French monarchy. During the ''[[Ancien Régime]]'' over the next centuries, France transformed into a centralized [[absolute monarchy]] through the [[French Renaissance|Renaissance]] and [[Reformation]]. At the height of the [[French Wars of Religion]], France became embroiled in another succession crisis, as the last Valois king, [[Henry III of France|Henry III]], fought against factions the [[House of Bourbon]] and [[House of Guise]]. [[Henry IV of France|Henry, the Bourbon King of Navarre]], won and established the Bourbon dynasty. A burgeoning worldwide [[French colonial empire|colonial empire]] was established in the 16th century.

In the late 18th century the monarchy and associated institutions were overthrown in the [[French Revolution]]. The [[Revolutionary Tribunal]] executed political opponents by [[guillotine]], instituting the [[Reign of Terror]] (1793–94). The country was governed as a [[French First Republic|Republic]], until [[Napoleon]]'s [[First French Empire|French Empire]] was declared in 1804. Following his defeat in the [[Napoleonic Wars]], France went through regime changes, being ruled as a [[Bourbon Restoration in France|monarchy]], then [[French Second Republic|Second Republic]], then [[Second French Empire|Second Empire]], until a more lasting [[French Third Republic]] was established in 1870.

France was one of the [[Triple Entente]] powers in [[France in World War I|World War I]] against the [[Central Powers]]. France was one of the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Powers]] in [[France in World War II|World War II]], but was conquered by [[Nazi Germany]] in 1940. The Third Republic was dismantled, and most of the country was controlled directly by Germany, while the south was controlled until 1942 by the collaborationist [[Vichy France|Vichy government]]. Following [[liberation of France|liberation]] in 1944, the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]] was established. France slowly recovered, and enjoyed a [[baby boom]] that reversed its low fertility rate. Long wars in [[First Indochina War|Indochina]] and [[Algerian War|Algeria]] drained French resources and ended in political defeat. In the wake of the [[May 1958 crisis|1958 Algerian Crisis]], [[Charles de Gaulle]] set up the [[French Fifth Republic]]. Into the 1960s most of the [[French colonial empire]] became independent, while smaller parts were incorporated into the French state as [[overseas department]]s and [[overseas collectivities|collectivities]]. Since World War II France has been a permanent member in the [[UN Security Council]] and [[NATO]]. It played a central role in the unification process after 1945 that led to the [[European Union]]. It remains a [[Great Power|strong economic, cultural, military and political factor]] in the 21st century.

== Prehistory ==
{{Main|Prehistory of France}}
[[File:Lascaux painting.jpg|thumb|Cave painting in [[Lascaux]], 15,000 BC]]
[[File:Gavrinis 2.jpg|thumb|[[Gavrinis]] megalithic tomb, [[Prehistory of Brittany|Brittany]], 4200-4000 BC]]

Stone tools discovered at [[Chilhac]] and [[Lézignan-la-Cèbe]] indicate that pre-human ancestors may have been present in France at least 1.6 million years ago.<ref name="anthropology1">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Tim |date=2009-12-17 |title=Lithic Assemblage Dated to 1.57 Million Years Found at Lézignan-la-Cébe, Southern France |url=http://anthropology.net/2009/12/16/lithic-assemblage-dated-to-1-57-million-years-found-at-lezignan-la-cebe-southern-france |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102231701/http://anthropology.net/2009/12/16/lithic-assemblage-dated-to-1-57-million-years-found-at-lezignan-la-cebe-southern-france |archive-date=2010-01-02 |access-date=2012-06-21 |website=Anthropology.net |language=en}}</ref> [[Neanderthal]]s were present in Europe from about 400,000 [[Anno Domini|BC]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-06-19 |title=Ancient skulls trace Neanderthal evolution |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/06/20/4029075.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617055255/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/06/20/4029075.htm |archive-date=2022-06-17 |access-date=2015-07-26 |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |language=en}}</ref> but died out about 40,000 years ago, possibly out-competed by modern humans during a period of cold weather. The earliest modern humans [[Early human migrations|entered Europe]] by 43,000 years ago (the [[Upper Palaeolithic]]).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |date=2011-11-02 |title=Fossil Teeth Put Humans in Europe Earlier Than Thought |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/science/fossil-teeth-put-humans-in-europe-earlier-than-thought.html?scp=1&sq=kents%20cavern&st=cse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115171333/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/science/fossil-teeth-put-humans-in-europe-earlier-than-thought.html?scp=1&sq=kents%20cavern&st=cse |archive-date=2012-11-15}}</ref>

[[File:Palais Lassois07.jpg|thumb|[[Vix Grave|Vix palace]], [[Hallstatt culture]], central France, 6th century BC]]

In the [[Prehistory of France#The Copper Age|Chalcolithic]] and [[Bronze Age France|Early Bronze Age]] the territory of France was largely dominated by the [[Bell Beaker culture]], followed by the [[Armorican Tumulus culture]], [[Rhône culture]], [[Tumulus culture]], [[Urnfield culture]] and [[Atlantic Bronze Age]] culture, among others. 

The [[Iron Age France|Iron Age]] saw the development of the [[Hallstatt culture]] followed by the [[La Tène culture]]. The first written records for the history of France appear in the Iron Age.
== Ancient history ==
{{Distinguish|Ancien Régime}}

=== Greek colonies ===
{{Main|Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul}}
[[File:Massalia large coin 5th 1st century BCE.jpg|thumb|[[Marseille|Massalia]] (modern [[Marseille]]) Greek silver coin, 5th–1st century BC]]

In 600 BC, [[Ionia]]n Greeks founded the [[Greek colonies|colony of Massalia]] (present-day [[Marseille]]) on the shores of the [[Mediterranean Sea]], making it one of the oldest cities in France.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1TmVvMwmo4C&pg=RA1-PA754 |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |date=1970 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5210-8691-2 |editor-last=Edwards |editor-first=I. E. S. |page=754 |display-editors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Orrieux |first1=Claude |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofancient0000orri |title=A History of Ancient Greece |last2=Schmitt Pantel |first2=Pauline |date=1999 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-6312-0309-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofancient0000orri/page/62 62]}}</ref> At the same time, some Celtic tribes arrived in the eastern parts ([[Germania superior]]) of the current territory of France, but this occupation spread in the rest of France only between the 5th and 3rd century BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carpentier |first1=Jean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ew7lAAAAMAAJ |title=Histoire de France |last2=Lebrun |first2=François |last3=Carpentier |first3=Élisabeth |date=2000 |publisher=Éditions du Seuil |isbn=978-2-0201-0879-9 |page=29 |language=fr}}</ref>

=== Gaul ===
{{Main|Gaul}}
{{See also|Iron Age France|Hallstatt culture|La Tène culture}}

Covering large parts of modern-day France, Belgium, northwest Germany and northern Italy, Gaul was inhabited by many [[Celts|Celtic]] and [[Belgae]] tribes whom the Romans referred to as [[Gauls]] and who spoke the [[Gaulish language]] roughly between the [[Oise (river)|Oise]] and the [[Garonne]], according to [[Julius Caesar]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War, Book 1, chapter 1 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001 |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> On the lower Garonne the people spoke [[Aquitanian language|Aquitanian]], a [[Pre-Indo-European languages|Pre-Indo-European language]] related to (or a direct ancestor of) [[Basque language|Basque]] whereas a [[Belgian language]] was spoken north of [[Lutecia]] but north of the [[Loire]] according to other authors like [[Strabo]]. The Celts founded cities such as [[Lutetia|Lutetia Parisiorum]] (Paris) and [[Bordeaux|Burdigala]] (Bordeaux) while the Aquitanians founded [[Toulouse|Tolosa]] (Toulouse).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Farid |first=Heba |title=The Gauls Warfare Depiction in Art during the Hellenistic Era |url=https://bcps.journals.ekb.eg/article_205254_b87a8109852a04c17f7aa00714d7e6d1.pdf}}</ref>

[[File:Celtic expansion in Europe.png|thumb|[[Celts|Celtic]] expansion in Europe, 6th–3rd century BC]]

Long before any Roman settlements, Greek navigators settled in what would become [[Provence]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Provence |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Provence-region-France |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905064145/https://www.britannica.com/place/Provence-region-France |archive-date=2015-09-05 |access-date=2017-01-19 |website=Britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The [[Phocaea|Phoceans]] founded important cities such as [[Marseille|Massalia]] (Marseille) and [[Nice|Nikaia]] (Nice),<ref name="Grummond-2015">{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Clifford M. |title=Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology |date=11 May 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-1342-6861-0 |editor-last=de Grummond |editor-first=Nancy Thomson |editor-link=Nancy Thomson de Grummond |page=PT453 |chapter=Gaul |oclc=908993379 |quote=founding of Massalia (Marseilles) in 600 B.C. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UuE4CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT453}}</ref> bringing them into conflict with the neighboring Celts and Ligurians. The Celts themselves often fought with Aquitanians and Germans, and a Gaulish war band led by [[Brennus (4th century BC)|Brennus]] invaded Rome c. 393 or 388 BC following the [[Battle of the Allia]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}}

However, the tribal society of the Gauls did not change fast enough for the centralized Roman state. The Gaulish tribal confederacies were defeated by the Romans in battles such as [[Battle of Sentinum|Sentinum]] and [[Battle of Telamon|Telamon]] during the 3rd century BC.{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}} In the early 3rd century BC, some Belgae ([[Germani cisrhenani]]) conquered the surrounding territories of the [[river Somme|Somme]] in northern Gaul after battles supposedly against the [[Armoricani]] (Gauls) near [[Ribemont-sur-Ancre]] and [[Gournay-sur-Aronde]], where sanctuaries were found.{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}}

When [[Carthaginian Republic|Carthaginian]] commander [[Hannibal|Hannibal Barca]] fought the Romans, he recruited several Gaulish mercenaries who fought on his side at [[Battle of Cannae|Cannae]]. It was this Gaulish participation that caused Provence to be annexed in 122 BC by the [[Roman Republic]].{{Sfnp|Jones|Ladurie|1999|pp=29–30}} Later, the Consul of Gaul — [[Julius Caesar]] — conquered all of Gaul. Despite Gaulish opposition led by [[Vercingetorix]], the Gauls succumbed to the Roman onslaught. The Gauls had some success at first at [[Battle of Gergovia|Gergovia]], but were ultimately [[Battle of Alesia|defeated at Alesia]] in 52 BC. The Romans founded cities such as [[Lugdunum]] ([[Lyon]]), [[Narbonne|Narbonensis]] (Narbonne) and allow in a correspondence between [[Lucius Munatius Plancus]] and [[Cicero]] to formalize the existence of [[Cularo]] (Grenoble).{{Cn|date=June 2024}}

=== Roman Gaul ===
{{Main|Roman Gaul}}
[[File:Siege-alesia-vercingetorix-jules-cesar.jpg|thumb|''[[Vercingetorix]] throws down his arms at the feet of [[Julius Caesar]]'' after the [[Battle of Alesia]]. Painting by Lionel-Noël Royer, 1899.]]

[[File:Square House Roman Temple at Nimes, France (7179063926).jpg|thumb|[[Maison carrée|Roman Temple]] at [[Nîmes]]]]
Gaul was divided into several different provinces. The Romans displaced populations to prevent local identities from becoming a threat to Roman control. Thus, many Celts were displaced in [[Gallia Aquitania|Aquitania]] or were enslaved and moved out of Gaul. There was a strong cultural evolution in Gaul under the Roman Empire, the most obvious one being the replacement of the [[Gaulish language]] by [[Vulgar Latin]]. It has been argued the similarities between the Gaulish and [[Latin]] languages favoured the transition. Gaul remained under Roman control for centuries and Celtic culture was then gradually replaced by [[Gallo-Roman culture]].

The Gauls became better integrated with the Empire with the passage of time. For instance, generals [[Marcus Antonius Primus]] and [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola]] were both born in Gaul, as were emperors [[Claudius]] and [[Caracalla]]. Emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] also came from a Gaulish family. In the decade following [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]]'s capture by the Persians in 260, [[Postumus]] established a short-lived [[Gallic Empire]], which included the Iberian Peninsula and Britannia, in addition to Gaul itself. Germanic tribes, the [[Franks]] and the [[Alamanni]], entered Gaul at this time. The Gallic Empire ended with Emperor [[Aurelian]]'s [[Battle of Châlons (274)|victory at Châlons]] in 274.

A migration of Celts occurred in the 4th century in [[Armorica]]. They were led by the legendary king [[Conan Meriadoc]] and came from Britain. They spoke the now extinct [[British language (Celtic)|British language]], which evolved into the [[Breton language|Breton]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], and [[Welsh language]]s.

In 418 the Aquitanian province was given to the [[Goths]] in exchange for their support against the [[Vandals]]. Those same Goths had sacked Rome in 410 and established a capital in Toulouse.

{{Main|Crossing of the Rhine}}

The Roman Empire had difficulty integrating all the barbarian newcomers - with whom [[foederati]] treaties were concluded - within the empire, and generals as [[Flavius Aëtius]] had to use these tribes against each other in order to maintain some Roman control. He first used the [[Huns]] against the [[Burgundians]], and these mercenaries destroyed [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], killed king [[Gunther]], and pushed the Burgundians westward. The Burgundians were resettled by Aëtius near [[Lugdunum]] in 443. The Huns, united by [[Attila the Hun|Attila]], became a greater threat, and Aëtius used the Visigoths against the Huns. The conflict climaxed in 451 at the [[Battle of Châlons]], in which the Romans and Goths defeated Attila.

{{Main|Frankish War (428)|Gothic War (436-439)|Burgundian Revolt of Gunther}}

The Roman Empire was on the verge of collapsing. Aquitania was definitely abandoned to the [[Visigoths]], who would soon conquer a significant part of southern Gaul as well as most of the Iberian Peninsula. The Burgundians claimed their own kingdom, and northern Gaul was practically abandoned to the Franks. Aside from the Germanic peoples, the [[Vascones]] entered [[Duchy of Vasconia|Wasconia]] from the Pyrenees and the [[Bretons]] formed three kingdoms in Armorica: [[Domnonia]], [[Cornouaille]] and [[Broërec]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heather |first=P. J. |title=The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians |date=2007}}</ref>

== Frankish kingdoms (486–987) ==
{{Main|Francia}}
{{See also|List of Frankish kings|Merovingian|Carolingian Renaissance|Carolingian Empire|Carolingian dynasty|Early Middle Ages}}
[[File:Steuben - Bataille de Poitiers.png|thumb|Victory over the Umayyads at the [[Battle of Tours]] (732) marked the furthest Muslim advance and enabled Frankish domination of Europe for the next century.]]
In 486, [[Clovis I]], leader of the [[Salian Franks]], defeated [[Syagrius]] at [[Battle of Soissons (486)|Soissons]] and subsequently united most of northern and central Gaul under his rule. Clovis then recorded a succession of victories against other Germanic tribes such as the [[Alamanni]] at [[Battle of Tolbiac|Tolbiac]]. In 496 Clovis started a [[First Franco-Visigothic war (496–498)|war against the Goths in Aquitanië]], which was mainly aimed for gathering loot. It took the Gothic king [[Alaric II]] two years to push back the Franks. In 507 a [[Franco–Gothic War (507–511)|second war]] started. This time Clovis defeated [[Alaric II]] at [[Battle of Vouillé|Vouillé]] and annexed Aquitaine, and thus Toulouse, into his Frankish kingdom.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{Cite book |last=James |first=Edward |title=The Franks |date=1981}}</ref> After his victory the [[pagan]] Clovis adopted [[Catholicism]]. This gave him greater legitimacy and power over his Christian subjects and granted him clerical support against the [[Arian]] Visigoths.

{{Main|Franco-Visigothic Wars}}
The Goths retired to [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] in what would become Spain. Clovis made Paris his capital and established the [[Merovingian dynasty]] but his kingdom would not survive his death in 511. Under Frankish inheritance traditions, all sons inherit part of the land, so four kingdoms emerged: centered on [[Paris]], [[Orléans]], [[Soissons]], and [[Rheims]]. Over time, the borders and numbers of Frankish kingdoms were fluid and changed frequently. Also during this time, the [[Mayor of the Palace|Mayors of the Palace]], originally the chief advisor to the kings, would become the real power in the Frankish lands; the Merovingian kings themselves would be reduced to little more than figureheads.<ref name=autogenerated3/>

By this time [[Muslim]]s had [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|conquered Hispania]] and [[Septimania]] became part of the Al-Andalus, which were threatening the Frankish kingdoms. Duke [[Odo the Great]] defeated a major invading force at [[Battle of Toulouse (721)|Toulouse]] in 721 but failed to repel a raiding party in 732. The mayor of the palace, [[Charles Martel]], defeated that raiding party at the [[Battle of Tours]] and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdom. The assumption of the crown in 751 by [[Pepin the Short]] (son of Charles Martel) established the [[Carolingian dynasty]] as the kings of the Franks.

[[File:Sacre de Charlemagne.jpg|thumb|The coronation of [[Charlemagne]] (painting by [[Jean Fouquet]])]]
Carolingian power reached its fullest extent under Pepin's son, [[Charlemagne]]. In 771, Charlemagne reunited the Frankish domains after a further period of division, subsequently conquering the [[Lombards]] under [[Desiderius]] in what is now northern Italy (774), incorporating [[History of Bavaria#Bavaria and the Agilolfings under Frankish overlordship|Bavaria]] (788) into his realm, defeating the [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avars]] of the [[Danube|Danubian]] plain (796), advancing the frontier with [[Al-Andalus]] as far south as [[Barcelona]] (801), and subjugating [[Lower Saxony]] after a prolonged campaign (804).

In recognition of his successes and his political support for the [[papacy]], [[Charlemagne]] was crowned Emperor of the Romans by [[Pope Leo III]] in 800. Charlemagne's son [[Louis the Pious]] (emperor 814–840) kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive Louis I's death. Two of his sons — [[Charles the Bald]] and [[Louis the German]] — swore allegiance to each other against their brother — [[Lothair I]] — in the [[Oaths of Strasbourg]], and the empire was divided among Louis's three sons ([[Treaty of Verdun]], 843). After a last brief reunification (884–887), the imperial title ceased to be held in the western realm, which was to form the basis of the future French kingdom. The eastern realm, which would become Germany, elected the Saxon dynasty of [[Henry the Fowler]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Derek |title=Charlemagne |date=2007}}</ref>

Under the [[Carolingian]]s, the kingdom was ravaged by [[Siege of Paris (885-886)|Viking raiders]]. In this struggle some important figures such as [[Odo, Count of Paris|Count Odo of Paris]] and his brother [[Robert I of France|King Robert]] rose to fame and became kings. This emerging dynasty, whose members were called the [[Robertian dynasty|Robertines]], were the predecessors of the [[Capetian dynasty]]. Led by [[Rollo of Normandy|Rollo]], some Vikings had settled in Normandy and were granted the land, first as counts and then as dukes, by King [[Charles the Simple]], in order to protect the land from other raiders. The people that emerged from the interactions between the new Viking aristocracy and the already mixed Franks and Gallo-Romans became known as the Normans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Houts |first=Elisabeth M. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IarkHmOdjnsC&pg=PA23 |title=The Normans in Europe |date=2000 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-4751-0 |page=23}}</ref>

== State building into the Kingdom of France (987–1453) ==
{{Main|France in the Middle Ages}}

=== Strong princes ===
France was a very decentralised state during the [[Middle Ages]]. The authority of the king was more religious than administrative. The 11th century in France marked the apogee of princely power at the expense of the king when states like [[Normandy]], [[Flanders]] or [[Languedoc]] enjoyed a local authority comparable to kingdoms in all but name. The [[House of Capet|Capetians]], as they were descended from the [[Robertians]], were formerly powerful princes themselves who had successfully unseated the weak and unfortunate [[Carolingian]] kings.{{Sfnp|Duby|1993}} The Capetians, in a way, held a dual status of King and Prince; as king they held the [[Crown of Charlemagne]] and as [[Count of Paris]] they held their personal fiefdom, best known as [[Île-de-France]].{{Sfnp|Duby|1993}}

Some of the king's vassals would grow sufficiently powerful that they would become some of the strongest rulers of western Europe. The [[Normans]], the [[Plantagenets]], the [[Lusignans]], the [[Hautevilles]], the [[Ramnulfids]], and the House of [[Counts of Toulouse|Toulouse]] successfully carved lands outside France for themselves. The most important of these conquests for French history was the [[Norman Conquest]] by [[William the Conqueror]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carpenter |first=David |title=The Struggle for Mastery: Britain, 1066-1284 |series=[[Penguin History of Britain]] |page=91}}</ref>

An important part of the French aristocracy also involved itself in the crusades, and French knights founded and ruled the [[Crusader states]]. The French were also active in the Iberian [[Reconquista]] to Rechristianize Muslim Spain and Portugal. The Iberian reconquista made use of French knights and settlers to repopulate former Muslim settlements that were sacked by conquering Spanish or Portuguese Christians.<ref>[https://repositori.uji.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10234/190577/DT-SEHA%202004.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RECONQUISTA (718-1492 AD): CONQUEST, REPOPULATION AND LAND DISTRIBUTION] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202095233/http://repositori.uji.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10234/190577/DT-SEHA%202004.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |date=2 December 2020 }} By: Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia, Alfonso Díez-Minguela, Julio Martínez-Galarraga, and Daniel A. Tirado Fabregat. '''Quote''': "In the cities, especially Zaragoza, the repopulation was supplemented with settlers from abroad, mainly of French origin, whose economic activity in many cases was crafted products and trade (Vicens Vives 1964, p.146)."(Page 14)</ref><ref>[https://publicaciones.defensa.gob.es/media/downloadable/files/links/t/h/the_french_presence_in_the_spanish_military.pdf The French Presence in the Spanish Military By: Benito Tauler Cid]</ref>

=== Rise of the monarchy ===
The monarchy overcame the powerful barons over ensuing centuries, and established absolute sovereignty over France in the 16th century.<ref name="google235">{{Cite book |last1=Perry |first1=Marvin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XMKpq_nV0J8C&pg=PA235 |title=Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society: To 1789 |last2=Jacob |first2=Margaret |date=2008 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-5471-4742-0 |page=235 |display-authors=1}}</ref> [[Hugh Capet]] in 987 became "King of the Franks" (Rex Francorum). He was recorded to be recognised king by the [[Gauls]], [[Bretons]], [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]], [[Aquitanians]], [[Goths]], Spanish and [[Gascons]].<ref name="autogenerated1995">{{Cite book |title=Medieval France: An Encyclopedia |date=1995 |editor-last=Kibler |editor-first=William W.}}</ref>

[[File:Clocher abbaye cluny 2.JPG|thumb|A view of the remains of the [[Cluny Abbey|Abbey of Cluny]], a [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery that was the centre of monastic life revival in the [[Middle Ages]] and marked an important step in the cultural rebirth following the [[Early Middle Ages|Dark Ages]]]]
Hugh's son—[[Robert II of France|Robert the Pious]]—was crowned King of the Franks before Capet's demise. Hugh Capet decided so in order to have his succession secured. Robert II, as King of the Franks, met [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Henry II]] in 1023 on the borderline. They agreed to end all claims over each other's realm, setting a new stage of Capetian and Ottonian relationships. The reign of Robert II was quite important because it involved the [[Peace and Truce of God]] (beginning in 989) and the [[Cluniac Reforms]].<ref name="autogenerated1995"/>

[[File:Godfrey of Bouillon, holding a pollaxe. (Manta Castle, Cuneo, Italy).jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Godfrey of Bouillon|Godefroy de Bouillon]], a French knight, leader of the [[First Crusade]] and founder of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]]]
Under [[Philip I of France|King Philip I]], the kingdom enjoyed a modest recovery during his extraordinarily long reign (1060–1108). His reign also saw the launch of the [[First Crusade]] to regain the [[Holy Land]].

It is from [[Louis VI of France|Louis VI]] (reigned 1108–37) onward that royal authority became more accepted. Louis VI was more a soldier and warmongering king than a scholar. The way the king raised money from his vassals made him quite unpopular; he was described as greedy and ambitious. His regular attacks on his vassals, although damaging the royal image, reinforced the royal power. From 1127 onward Louis had the assistance of a skilled religious statesman, [[Abbot Suger]]. Louis VI successfully defeated, both military and politically, many of the [[Robber baron (feudalism)|robber baron]]s. When Louis VI died in 1137, much progress had been made towards strengthening Capetian authority.<ref name="autogenerated1995"/>

Thanks to Abbot Suger's political advice, [[Louis VII of France|King Louis VII]] (junior king 1131–37, senior king 1137–80) enjoyed greater [[moral authority]] over France than his predecessors. Powerful vassals paid homage to the French king.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hallam |first=Elizabeth M. |title=Capetian France 987-1328 |date=1980 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-5824-8909-7 |page=64 |quote=Then, in 1151, Henry Plantagenet paid homage for the duchy to Louis VII in Paris, homage he repeated as king of England in 1156.}}</ref> Abbot Suger arranged the 1137 marriage between Louis VII and [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] in Bordeaux, which made Louis VII Duke of Aquitaine and gave him considerable power. The marriage was ultimately annulled and Eleanor soon married the Duke of Normandy — [[Henry II of England|Henry Fitzempress]], who would become King of England two years later.<ref name="autogenerated4">{{Cite book |last=Frankl |first=Paul |title=Gothic Architecture |date=2001}}</ref>

=== Late Capetians (1165–1328) ===
[[File:Bataille de Bouvines gagnee par Philippe Auguste.jpg|thumb|[[Philip II of France|Philip II]] victorious at [[Bouvines]], thus annexing [[Normandy]] and [[County of Anjou|Anjou]] into his royal domains. This battle involved a complex set of alliances from three important states, the Kingdoms of France and England and the [[Holy Roman Empire]].]]

The late direct Capetian kings were considerably more powerful and influential than the earliest ones. This period also saw the rise of a complex system of international alliances and conflicts opposing, through dynasties, kings of France and England and the Holy Roman Emperor. The reign of [[Philip II of France|Philip II Augustus]] (junior king 1179–80, senior king 1180–1223) saw the French royal domain and influence greatly expanded. He set the context for the rise of power to much more powerful monarchs like Saint Louis and Philip the Fair. Philip II spent an important part of his reign fighting the so-called [[Angevin Empire]].

During the first part of his reign Philip II allied himself with the Duke of Aquitaine and son of Henry II—[[Richard I of England|Richard Lionheart]]—and together they launched a decisive attack on Henry's home of [[Chinon]] and removed him from power. Richard replaced his father as King of England afterward. The two kings then went crusading during the [[Third Crusade]]; however, their alliance and friendship broke down during the crusade.
[[John of England|John Lackland]], Richard's successor, refused to come to the French court for a trial against the [[Lusignan]]s and, as Louis VI had done often to his rebellious vassals, Philip II confiscated John's possessions in France. John's defeat was swift and his attempts to reconquer his French possession at the decisive [[Battle of Bouvines]] (1214) resulted in complete failure. Philip II had annexed Normandy and Anjou, plus capturing the Counts of Boulogne and Flanders, although Aquitaine and Gascony remained loyal to the Plantagenet King.

[[Louis VIII of France|Prince Louis]] (the future Louis VIII, reigned 1223–26) was involved in the subsequent [[First Barons War|English civil war]] as French and English (or rather Anglo-Norman) aristocracies were once one and were now split between allegiances. While the French kings were struggling against the Plantagenets, the Church called for the [[Albigensian Crusade]]. Southern France was then largely absorbed in the royal domains.

France became a truly centralised kingdom under [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]] (reigned 1226–70). The kingdom was vulnerable: war was still going on in the County of Toulouse, and the royal army was occupied fighting resistance in Languedoc. [[Raymond VII of Toulouse|Count Raymond VII of Toulouse]] finally signed the [[Treaty of Paris (1229)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1229, in which he retained much of his lands for life, but his daughter, married to [[Alfonso, Count of Poitou|Count Alfonso of Poitou]], produced him no heir and so the County of Toulouse went to the King of France. [[Henry III of England|King Henry III of England]] had not yet recognized the Capetian overlordship over Aquitaine and still hoped to recover Normandy and Anjou and reform the Angevin Empire. He landed in 1230 at [[Saint-Malo]] with a massive force. This evolved into the [[Saintonge War]] (1242). Ultimately, Henry III was defeated and had to recognise Louis IX's overlordship, although the King of France did not seize Aquitaine. Louis IX was now the most important landowner of France. There were some opposition to his rule in Normandy, yet it proved remarkably easy to rule, especially compared to the County of Toulouse which had been brutally conquered. The [[Conseil du Roi]], which would evolve into the [[Parlement]], was founded in these times. After his conflict with [[Henry III of England|King Henry III of England]], Louis established a cordial relation with the Plantagenet King.{{Sfnp|Hallam|1980|p=264}}

The Kingdom was involved in two crusades under Louis: the [[Seventh Crusade]] and the [[Eighth Crusade]]. Both proved to be complete failures for the French King. [[Philip III of France|Philip III]] became king when Saint Louis died in 1270 during the Eighth Crusade. Philip III was called "the Bold" on the basis of his abilities in combat and on horseback, and not because of his character or ruling abilities. Philip III took part in another crusading disaster: the [[Aragonese Crusade]], which cost him his life in 1285.
More administrative reforms were made by [[Philip IV of France|Philip IV]], also called Philip the Fair (reigned 1285–1314). This king was responsible for the end of the [[Knights Templar]], signed the [[Auld Alliance]], and established the [[Parlement|Parlement of Paris]]. Philip IV was so powerful that he could name popes and emperors, unlike the early Capetians. The papacy was moved to [[Avignon Papacy|Avignon]] and all the contemporary popes were French, such as Philip IV's puppet [[Pope Clement V|Bertrand de Goth, Pope Clement V]].

=== Early Valois Kings and the Hundred Years' War (1328–1453) ===
[[File:Capture Jean II.jpg|thumb|The capture of the French king [[John II of France|John II]] at [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Poitiers]] in 1356]]
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = BNF NAF 4811, folio 55 verso - couronnement de Charles VII.jpg
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| caption1          = Coronation of Charles VII as King of France in Reims 17 July 1429 [reign 21 October 1422 – 22 July 1461]
| image2            = Sacre Henry6 England-France 02.jpg
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| caption2          = Coronation of English King Henry VI as Henri II King of France in Paris 16 December 1431 [reign 21 October 1422-19 October 1453]
}}

The tensions between the Houses of [[Plantagenet]] and [[Capetian dynasty|Capet]] climaxed during the so-called [[Hundred Years' War]] (actually several distinct wars over the period 1337 to 1453) when the Plantagenets claimed the throne of France from the Valois. This was also the time of the [[Black Death in France]], as well as several devastating civil wars. In 1420, by the [[Treaty of Troyes]] [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] was made heir to Charles VI. Henry V failed to outlive Charles so it was Henry VI of England and France who consolidated the Dual-Monarchy of England and France.

It has been argued that the difficult conditions the French population suffered during the Hundred Years' War awakened French nationalism, a nationalism represented by [[Joan of Arc]] (1412–1431){{Whom|date=January 2025}}. Although this is debatable, the Hundred Years' War is remembered more as a Franco-English war than as a succession of feudal struggles{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}. During this war, France evolved politically and militarily.

Although a Franco-Scottish army was successful at the [[Battle of Baugé]] (1421), the humiliating defeats of [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Poitiers]] (1356) and [[Battle of Agincourt|Agincourt]] (1415) forced the French nobility to realise they could not stand just as armoured knights without an organised army. [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] (reigned 1422–61) established the first French standing army, the [[Compagnies d'ordonnance]], and defeated the Plantagenets once at [[Battle of Patay|Patay]] (1429) and again, using cannons, at [[Battle of Formigny|Formigny]] (1450). The [[Battle of Castillon]] (1453) was the last engagement of this war; [[Calais]] and the [[Channel Islands]] remained ruled by the Plantagenets.

== Early Modern France (1453–1789) ==
[[File:Map France 1477-en.svg|thumb|France in the late 15th century: a mosaic of feudal territories]]

{{Main|Early Modern France|History of French foreign relations}}

=== Ancien Regime ===
{{Main|Ancien Régime}}

France's population was 13 million people in 1484 and 20 million in 1700. It had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other countries grew faster.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goubert |first=Pierre |title=The Ancien Régime |date=1973 |pages=2–9 |author-link=Pierre Goubert}}</ref>

Political power was widely dispersed. The law courts ("Parlements") were powerful. However, the king had only about 10,000 officials in royal service – very few indeed for such a large country, and with very slow internal communications over an inadequate road system. Travel was usually faster by ocean ship or river boat.<ref name="autogenerated5"/> The different [[estates of the realm]] — the clergy, the nobility, and commoners — occasionally met together in the "[[Estates General (France)|Estates General]]", but in practice the Estates General had no power, for it could petition the king but could not pass laws.

[[Catholic Church in France|The Catholic Church]] controlled about 40% of the wealth. The king (not the pope) nominated bishops, but typically had to negotiate with noble families that had close ties to local monasteries and church establishments. The nobility came second in terms of wealth, but there was no unity. Each noble had his own lands, his own network of regional connections, and his own military force.<ref name="autogenerated5">{{Cite book |last=Baumgartner |first=Frederick J. |title=France in the Sixteenth Century |date=1995 |pages=4–7}}</ref>

The cities had a quasi-independent status, and were largely controlled by the leading merchants and guilds. Peasants made up the vast majority of the population, who in many cases had well-established rights that the authorities had to respect. In the 17th century peasants had ties to the market economy, provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town).<ref name="amazon1991">{{Cite journal |last=Collins |first=James B. |title=Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-modern France |journal=[[Journal of Social History]] |date=1991 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=563–577 |doi=10.1353/jsh/24.3.563 |jstor=3787815 |issn=0022-4529}} For the ''Annales'' interpretation see {{Cite book |last=Goubert |first=Pierre |title=The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century |date=1986 |author-link=Pierre Goubert}}</ref>
Although most peasants in France spoke local dialects, an official language emerged in Paris and the [[French language#Modern French|French language]] became the preferred language of Europe's aristocracy and the [[lingua franca]] of diplomacy and international relations. Holy Roman Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] quipped, "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Santayana |first1=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tCobBRiv3_MC&pg=PA299 |title=The letters of George Santayana |last2=Holzberger |first2=William G. |date=31 July 2008 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-2621-9571-3 |volume=1948–1952, Book 8 |page=299 |author-link=George Santayana}}</ref>

=== Consolidation (15th and 16th centuries) ===
[[File:Weyden Karl der Kuehne.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Charles the Bold]], the last Valois [[Duke of Burgundy]]. His death at the [[Battle of Nancy]] (1477) marked the division of his lands between the kings of France and Habsburg dynasty.]]
With the death in 1477 of [[Charles the Bold]], France and the Habsburgs began a long process of dividing his rich Burgundian lands, leading to numerous wars. In 1532, Brittany was [[Union between Brittany and France|incorporated]] into the Kingdom of France.

France engaged in the long [[Italian Wars]] (1494–1559), which marked the beginning of early modern France. [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] faced powerful foes, and he was captured at [[Battle of Pavia|Pavia]]. The French monarchy then sought for allies and found one in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The [[Barbarossa (Ottoman admiral)|Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa]] captured Nice in 1543 and handed it down to Francis I.

During the 16th century, the Spanish and Austrian [[Habsburgs]] were the dominant power in Europe. The many domains of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] encircled France. The [[Tercio|Spanish Tercio]] was used with great success against French knights. Finally, on 7 January 1558, the [[Francis, Duke of Guise|Duke of Guise]] seized Calais from the English.

Economic historians call the era from about 1475 to 1630 the "beautiful 16th century" because of the return of peace, prosperity and optimism across the nation, and the steady growth of population. In 1559, [[Henri II of France|Henry II of France]] signed (with the approval of [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor]]) [[Italian War of 1551–1559#Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559)|two treaties (''Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis'')]]: one with [[Elizabeth I of England]] and one with [[Philip II of Spain]]. This ended long-lasting conflicts between France, England and Spain.

=== Protestant Huguenots and wars of religion (1562–1629) ===
{{Main|French Wars of Religion}}
[[File:Henry IV of france by pourbous younger.jpg|thumb|[[Henry IV of France]] was the first French [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] king.]]

The [[Protestant Reformation]], inspired in France mainly by [[John Calvin]], began to challenge the legitimacy and rituals of the [[Catholic Church in France#Renaissance Church and Protestantism|Catholic Church]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wernham |first=R. B. |title=The New Cambridge Modern History |date=1968 |isbn=978-0-5210-4543-8 |volume=3 |pages=91–93|publisher=CUP Archive}}</ref> French King [[Henry II of France|Henry II]] severely persecuted Protestants under the [[Edict of Chateaubriand]] (1551).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=T.H.L. |title=John Calvin: A Biography |date=2006 |isbn=978-0-7459-5228-4 |pages=161–164 |orig-date=1975}}</ref> Renewed Catholic reaction — headed by the powerful [[Francis, Duke of Guise]] — led to a massacre of Huguenots at [[Wassy|Vassy]] in 1562, starting the first of the [[French Wars of Religion]], during which English, German, and Spanish forces intervened on the side of rival Protestant ("Huguenot") and Catholic forces.

King [[Henry II of France|Henry II]] died in 1559 in a jousting tournament; he was succeeded in turn by his three sons, each of whom assumed the throne as minors or were weak, ineffectual rulers. Into the power vacuum entered Henry's widow, [[Catherine de' Medici]], who became a central figure in the early years of the Wars of Religion. She is often blamed for the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] of 1572, when thousands of Huguenots were murdered in Paris and the provinces of France.

The Wars of Religion culminated in the [[War of the Three Henrys]] (1584–98), at the height of which bodyguards of the King [[Henry III of France|Henry III]] assassinated [[Henry I, Duke of Guise|Henry de Guise]], leader of the Spanish-backed [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic league]], in December 1588. In revenge, a priest assassinated Henry III in 1589. This led to the ascension of the Huguenot [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]]; in order to bring peace to a country beset by religious and succession wars, he converted to Catholicism. He issued the [[Edict of Nantes]] in 1598, which guaranteed religious liberties to the Protestants, thereby effectively ending the civil war.<ref name="autogenerated2005">{{Cite book |last=Holt |first=Mack P. |title=The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629 |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-1394-4767-6 |edition=2nd}}</ref> Henry IV was assassinated in 1610 by [[François Ravaillac|a fanatical Catholic]].

When in 1620 the Huguenots proclaimed a constitution for the 'Republic of the Reformed Churches of France', the chief minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]] invoked the entire powers of the state to stop it. Religious conflicts therefore resumed under [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] when Richelieu forced Protestants to disarm their army and fortresses. This conflict ended in the [[Siege of La Rochelle]] (1627–28), in which Protestants and their English supporters were defeated. The following [[Peace of Alais]] (1629) confirmed religious freedom yet dismantled the Protestant military defences.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=J. H. |title=Richelieu and Olivares |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5214-0674-1 |pages=100+ |author-link=John Elliott (historian)}}</ref>

In the face of persecution, Huguenots dispersed widely throughout Europe and America.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sparks |first1=Randy J. |title=Memory and Identity: The Huguenots in France and the Atlantic Diaspora |last2=Van Ruymbeke |first2=Bertrand |date=2003 |publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-5700-3484-8}}</ref>

=== Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) ===
{{Main|Thirty Years' War}}
The religious conflicts that plagued France also ravaged the Habsburg-led Holy Roman Empire. The Thirty Years' War eroded the power of the Catholic Habsburgs. Although [[Cardinal Richelieu]], the powerful chief minister of France, had mauled the Protestants, he joined this war on their side in 1636 because it was in the [[national interest]]. Imperial Habsburg forces invaded France, ravaged [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]], and nearly threatened Paris.<ref name="autogenerated6">{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Peter H. |title=Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years' War |date=2009 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-6740-3634-5}}</ref>

Richelieu died in 1642 and was succeeded by [[Cardinal Mazarin]], while Louis XIII died one year later and was succeeded by [[Louis XIV]]. France was served by some very efficient commanders such as [[Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé]] and [[Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne]]. The French forces won a decisive victory at [[Battle of Rocroi|Rocroi]] (1643), and the Spanish army was decimated; the Tercio was broken. The [[Truce of Ulm (1647)]] and the [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) brought an end to the war.<ref name="autogenerated6"/>

France was hit by civil unrest known as [[The Fronde]] which in turn evolved into the [[Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)|Franco-Spanish War]] in 1653. Louis II de Bourbon joined the Spanish army this time, but suffered a severe defeat at [[Battle of the Dunes (1658)|Dunkirk]] (1658) by Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne. The terms for the peace inflicted upon the Spanish kingdoms in the [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]] (1659) were harsh, as France annexed Northern Catalonia.<ref name="autogenerated6"/>

=== Colonies (16th and 17th centuries) ===
{{Main|French colonial empire}}
During the 16th century, the king began to claim North American territories and [[French colonization of the Americas|established several colonies]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hodson |first1=Christopher |last2=Rushforth |first2=Brett |date=January 2010 |title=Absolutely Atlantic: Colonialism and the Early Modern French State in Recent Historiography |journal=[[History Compass]] |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=101–117 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00635.x}}</ref> [[Jacques Cartier]] was one of the great explorers who ventured deep into American territories during the 16th century.

The early 17th century saw the first successful French settlements in the New World with the voyages of [[Samuel de Champlain]] in 1608.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Greer |first=Allan |date=2010 |title=National, Transnational, and Hypernational Historiographies: New France Meets Early American History |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/canadian_historical_review/v091/91.4.greer.html |journal=[[Canadian Historical Review]] |series=[[Project MUSE]] |volume=91 |issue=4 |pages=695–724 |doi=10.3138/chr.91.4.695}}</ref> The largest settlement was [[New France]]. In 1699, French territorial claims in North America expanded still further, with the foundation of [[Louisiana]].

The French presence in [[Africa]] began in [[Senegal]] in 1626, although formal colonies and trading posts were not established until 1659 with the founding of Saint-Louis. The first French settlement of [[Madagascar]] began in 1642 with the establishment of Fort Dauphin.

=== Louis XIV (1643–1715) ===
{{Main|Louis XIV of France}}
[[File:Ruiterportret Lodewijk XIV.jpg|thumb|[[Louis XIV of France]], the "Sun King"]]
[[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]], known as the "Sun King", reigned over France from 1643 until 1715. Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from Paris, sought to eliminate remnants of feudalism in France, and subjugated and weakened the aristocracy. By these means he consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French Revolution. However, Louis XIV's long reign saw France involved in many wars that drained its treasury.<ref name="iearn1">{{Cite web |last=Vincze |first=Gabor |title=Count Miklós Zrínyi, the Poet-Warlord |url=http://www.iearn.hu/balkans/bpeople/zrinyi.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103204905/http://www.iearn.hu/balkans/bpeople/zrinyi.htm |archive-date=2009-01-03 |website=The Balkans In Our Eyes |language=en}}</ref>

The French-dominated [[League of the Rhine]] fought against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] at the [[Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664)|Battle of Saint Gotthard]] in 1664.<ref name="iearn1"/> France fought the [[War of Devolution]] against [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]] in 1667. France's defeat of Spain and invasion of the Spanish Netherlands alarmed England and Sweden. With the [[Dutch Republic]] they formed the [[Triple Alliance (1668)|Triple Alliance]] to check Louis XIV's expansion. Louis II de Bourbon had captured [[Franche-Comté]], but in face of an indefensible position, Louis XIV agreed to the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)|peace of Aachen]].{{Sfnp|Wolf|1968}} War broke out again between France and the Dutch Republic in the [[Franco-Dutch War]] (1672–78). France attacked the Dutch Republic and was joined by England in this conflict. Through targeted inundations of [[polder]]s by breaking dykes, the French invasion of the Dutch Republic was brought to a halt.<ref name="autogenerated706">{{Cite journal |last1=Ó Gráda |first1=Cormac |last2=Chevet |first2=Jean-Michel |date=2002 |title=Famine And Market In 'Ancient Régime' France |url=http://researchrepository.ucd.ie/bitstream/10197/368/3/ogradac_article_pub_039.pdf |journal=The Journal of Economic History |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=706–733 |doi=10.1017/S0022050702001055 |doi-broken-date=6 February 2025 |pmid=17494233 |s2cid=8036361 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10197/368}}</ref> The Dutch Admiral [[Michiel de Ruyter]] inflicted a few strategic defeats on the Anglo-French naval alliance and forced [[Treaty of Westminster (1674)|England to retire from the war]] in 1674. Because the Netherlands could not resist indefinitely, it agreed to peace in the [[Treaties of Nijmegen]], according to which France would annex France-Comté and acquire further concessions in the Spanish Netherlands.
In May 1682, the royal court moved to the lavish [[Palace of Versailles]], which Louis XIV had greatly expanded. Over time, Louis XIV compelled many members of the nobility, especially the noble elite, to inhabit Versailles. He controlled the nobility with an elaborate system of pensions and privileges, and replaced their power with himself.

Peace did not last, and war between France and Spain again resumed.<ref name="autogenerated706"/> The [[War of the Reunions]] broke out (1683–84), and again Spain, with its ally the Holy Roman Empire, was defeated. Meanwhile, in October 1685 Louis signed the [[Edict of Fontainebleau]] ordering the destruction of all Protestant churches and schools in France. Its immediate consequence was a large Protestant exodus from France. Over two million people died in two famines in 1693 and 1710.<ref name="autogenerated706"/>

France would soon be involved in another war, the [[War of the Grand Alliance]]. This time the theatre was not only in Europe but also in North America. Although the war was long and difficult (it was also called the Nine Years' War), its results were inconclusive. The [[Treaty of Ryswick]] in 1697 confirmed French sovereignty over [[Alsace]], yet rejected its claims to [[Luxembourg]]. Louis also had to evacuate [[Catalonia]] and the [[Electorate of the Palatinate|Palatinate]]. This peace was considered a truce by all sides, thus war was to start again.{{Sfnp|Wolf|1968}}
[[File:France 1552-1798.png|thumb|right|upright=1.2|The expansion of France, 1552 to 1798]]
In 1701, the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] began. The Bourbon [[Philip V of Spain|Philip of Anjou]] was designated heir to the throne of Spain as Philip V. The Habsburg [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Leopold]] opposed a Bourbon succession, because the power that such a succession would bring to the Bourbon rulers of France would disturb the delicate [[balance of power in international relations|balance of power]] in Europe. Therefore, he claimed the Spanish thrones for himself.{{Sfnp|Wolf|1968}} England and the Dutch Republic joined Leopold against Louis XIV and Philip of Anjou. They inflicted a few resounding defeats on the French army; the [[Battle of Blenheim]] in 1704 was the first major land battle lost by France since its victory at Rocroi in 1643. Yet, the extremely bloody battles of [[Battle of Ramillies|Ramillies]] (1706) and [[Battle of Malplaquet|Malplaquet]] (1709) proved to be [[Pyrrhic victory|Pyrrhic victories]] for the allies, as they had lost too many men to continue the war.{{Sfnp|Wolf|1968}} Led by [[Claude Louis Hector de Villars|Villars]], French forces recovered much of the lost ground in battles such as [[Battle of Denain|Denain]] (1712). Finally, a compromise was achieved with the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713. Philip of Anjou was confirmed as Philip V, king of Spain; Emperor Leopold did not get the throne, but Philip V was barred from inheriting France.{{Sfnp|Wolf|1968}}

Louis XIV wanted to be remembered as a patron of the arts, and invited [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]] to establish the [[French opera]].

The wars were so expensive, and so inconclusive, that although France gained some territory to the east, its enemies gained more strength than it did. Vauban, France's leading military strategist, warned the King in 1689 that a hostile "Alliance" was too powerful at sea. He recommended the best way for France to fight back was to license French merchants ships to privateer and seize enemy merchant ships, while avoiding its navies.<ref>{{Cite book |title=War, Diplomacy, and Imperialism, 1618–1763 |date=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-3331-6633-8 |editor-last=Simcox |editor-first=Geoffrey |pages=236–237}}</ref> Vauban was pessimistic about France's so-called friends and allies and recommended against expensive land wars, or hopeless naval wars.{{Sfnp|Simcox|1974|pp=237, 242}}

=== Major changes in France, Europe, and North America (1718–1783) ===
{{Main|Seven Years' War}}
{{See also|French colonization of the Americas|Age of Enlightenment}}
Louis XIV died in 1715 and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson who reigned as [[Louis XV]] until his death in 1774. In 1718, France was once again at war, as [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philip II of Orléans]]'s regency joined the [[War of the Quadruple Alliance]] against Spain.{{Sfnp|Le Roy Ladurie|1999}} In 1733 another war broke in central Europe, this time about the [[War of the Polish Succession|Polish succession]], and France joined the war against the Austrian Empire. Peace was settled in the [[Treaty of Vienna (1738)]], according to which France would annex, through inheritance, the [[Lorraine (duchy)|Duchy of Lorraine]].{{Sfnp|Le Roy Ladurie|1999}}

Two years later, in 1740, war broke out over the [[War of the Austrian Succession|Austrian succession]], and France seized the opportunity to join the conflict. The war played out in North America and India as well as Europe, and inconclusive terms were agreed to in the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)]]. [[Prussia]] was then becoming a new threat, as it had gained substantial territory from Austria. This led to the [[Diplomatic Revolution|Diplomatic Revolution of 1756]], in which the alliances seen during the previous war were mostly inverted. France was now allied to Austria and Russia, while Britain was now allied to Prussia.<ref name="Marston">{{Cite book |last=Marston |first=Daniel |title=The Seven Years' War |date=2001 |author-link=Daniel Marston (historian)}}</ref>

In the North American theatre, France was allied with various Native American peoples during the [[Seven Years' War]] and, despite a temporary success at the battles of [[Battle of the Great Meadows|the Great Meadows]] and [[Battle of the Monongahela|Monongahela]], French forces were defeated at the disastrous [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]] in Quebec. In 1762, Russia, France, and Austria were on the verge of crushing Prussia, when the [[Anglo-Prussian alliance (1756)|Anglo-Prussian Alliance]] was saved by the [[Miracle of the House of Brandenburg]]. At sea, naval defeats against British fleets at [[Battle of Lagos|Lagos]] and [[Battle of Quiberon Bay|Quiberon Bay]] in 1759 and a crippling blockade forced France to keep its ships in port. Finally peace was concluded in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)]], and France lost its North American empire.<ref name=Marston/>

[[File:Surrender of Lord Cornwallis.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Lord Cornwallis]] surrenders at [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]] to American and French allies.]]
[[Great Britain in the Seven Years' War|Britain's success in the Seven Years' War]] had allowed them to eclipse France as the leading colonial power. France sought revenge for this defeat, and under [[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul|Choiseul]] France started to rebuild. In 1766, the French Kingdom annexed Lorraine and the following year bought [[History of Corsica|Corsica]] from [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]]. Having lost its colonial empire, France saw a good opportunity for revenge against Britain in [[Anglo-French War (1778–83)|signing an alliance with the Americans in 1778, and sending an army and navy]] that turned the [[American Revolution]] into a world war. [[François Joseph Paul de Grasse|Admiral de Grasse]] defeated a British fleet at [[Battle of the Chesapeake|Chesapeake Bay]] while [[Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau]] and [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette]] joined American forces in defeating the British at [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]]. The war was concluded by the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)]]; the United States became independent. The British [[Royal Navy]] scored a major victory over France in 1782 at the [[Battle of the Saintes]] and France finished the war with huge debts and the minor gain of the island of [[Tobago]].<ref name="autogenerated1985">{{Cite book |last=Dull |first=Jonathan R. |title=A Diplomatic History of American Revolution |date=1985}}</ref>

=== French Enlightenment ===
{{Main|Age of Enlightenment}}
[[File:Encyclopedie de D'Alembert et Diderot - Premiere Page - ENC 1-NA5.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Cover of the [[Encyclopédie]]]]

The "[[Philosophes]]" were 18th-century French intellectuals who dominated the [[French Enlightenment]] and were influential across Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Reill |first1=Peter Hanns |title=Encyclopædia of the Enlightenment |last2=Wilson |first2=Ellen Judy |date=2004 |edition=2nd}}</ref> The philosopher [[Denis Diderot]] was [[editor-in-chief]] of the famous Enlightenment accomplishment, the 72,000-article ''[[Encyclopédie]]'' (1751–72).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Comsa |first=Maria Teodora |display-authors=et al |date=2016 |title=The French Enlightenment Network |journal=[[Journal of Modern History]] |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=495–534 |doi=10.1086/687927 |s2cid=151445740}}</ref> It sparked a revolution in learning throughout the enlightened world.{{Sfnp|Wilson|1972}}

In the early part of the 18th century the movement was dominated by [[Voltaire]] and [[Montesquieu]]. Around 1750 the Philosophes reached their most influential period, as [[Montesquieu]] published ''Spirit of Laws'' (1748) and [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] published ''Discourse on the Moral Effects of the Arts and Sciences'' (1750). The leader of the French Enlightenment and a writer of enormous influence across Europe, was [[Voltaire]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Companion to Voltaire |date=2009 |editor-last=Cronk |editor-first=Nicholas}}</ref>

Astronomy, chemistry, mathematics and technology flourished. French chemists such as [[Antoine Lavoisier]] worked to replace the archaic units of weights and measures by a coherent scientific system. Lavoisier also formulated the law of [[Conservation of mass]] and discovered oxygen and hydrogen.{{Sfnp|Roche|1998|loc=Ch. 15}}

== Revolutionary France (1789–1799) ==
{{Main|French Revolution}}
[[File:Journée des Tuiles (Alexandre Debelle), Musée de la Révolution française - Vizille.jpg|thumb|[[Day of the Tiles]] in 1788 at [[Grenoble]] was the first riot. ([[Musée de la Révolution française]]).]]

The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change in [[France]] that began with the [[Estates General of 1789]], and ended with the [[coup of 18 Brumaire]] in November 1799 and the formation of the [[French Consulate]]. Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of [[liberal democracy]],{{Sfn|Livesey|2001|p=19}} while its values and institutions remain central to modern French political discourse.{{Sfn|Fehér|1990|pp=117–130}}

[[Causes of the French Revolution|Its causes]] are generally agreed to be a combination of social, political and economic factors, which the ''[[Ancien Régime]]'' proved unable to manage. A financial crisis and widespread social distress led in May 1789 to the [[convocation]] of the [[Estates General of 1789|Estates General]], which was converted into a [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] in June. The [[Storming of the Bastille]] on 14 July led to a series of radical measures by the Assembly, among them the [[Abolition of feudalism in France|abolition of feudalism]], state control over the [[Catholic Church in France]], and a [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen|declaration of rights]].

The next three years were dominated by the struggle for political control, exacerbated by [[economic depression]]. Military defeats following the outbreak of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] in April 1792 resulted in the [[insurrection of 10 August 1792]]. The [[Proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy|monarchy was abolished]] and replaced by the [[French First Republic]] in September, while [[execution of Louis XVI|Louis XVI was executed]] in January 1793.

After another [[Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793|revolt in June 1793]], the constitution was suspended and effective political power passed from the [[National Convention]] to the [[Committee of Public Safety]]. About 16,000 people were executed in a [[Reign of Terror]], which [[Thermidorian Reaction|ended in July 1794]]. Weakened by external threats and internal opposition, the Republic was replaced in 1795 by the [[French Directory|Directory]]. Four years later in 1799, the [[French Consulate|Consulate]] seized power in a [[Coup of 18 Brumaire|military coup]] led by [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. This is generally seen as marking the end of the Revolutionary period.

== Napoleonic France (1799–1815) ==
{{See also|Napoleonic wars}}
[[File:Ingres, Napoleon on his Imperial throne.jpg|thumb|''[[Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne]]'', by [[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]]]]
During the [[War of the First Coalition]] (1792–1797), the [[French Directory|Directory]] had replaced the National Convention. Five directors then ruled France. As Great Britain was still at war with France, a plan was made to [[French invasion of Egypt (1798)|take Egypt]] from the Ottoman Empire, a British ally. This was [[Napoleon]]'s idea and the Directory agreed to the plan in order to send the popular general away from the mainland. Napoleon defeated the Ottoman forces during the [[Battle of the Pyramids]] (1798). Scientists and linguists thoroughly explored Egypt. Weeks later, the British fleet under [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Admiral Horatio Nelson]] unexpectedly destroyed the French fleet at the [[Battle of the Nile]]. Napoleon planned to move into Syria, but was defeated at the [[Siege of Acre (1799)|Siege of Acre]]. He returned to France without his army, which surrendered.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strathern |first=Paul |title=Napoleon in Egypt |date=2009 |author-link=Paul Strathern}}</ref>

The Directory was threatened by the [[War of the Second Coalition|Second Coalition]] (1798–1802). Royalists and their allies still dreamed of restoring the monarchy to power, while the Prussian and Austrian crowns did not accept their territorial losses during the previous war. In 1799, the Russian army expelled the French from Italy in battles such as [[Battle of Cassano (1799)|Cassano]], while the Austrian army defeated the French in Switzerland at [[Battle of Stockach (1799)|Stockach]] and [[First Battle of Zürich|Zurich]]. Napoleon then seized power through a coup and established the [[French Consulate|Consulate]] in 1799. The Austrian army was defeated at the [[Battle of Marengo (1800)|Battle of Marengo]] and the [[Battle of Hohenlinden (1800)|Battle of Hohenlinden]] in 1800.{{Sfnp|Nafziger|2002}}

While at sea [[Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville|the French]] had some success at Boulogne but Nelson's Royal Navy destroyed an anchored Danish and Norwegian fleet at the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)]] because the Scandinavian kingdoms were against the British blockade of France. The Second Coalition was beaten and peace was settled in two distinct treaties: the [[Treaty of Lunéville]] and the [[Treaty of Amiens]]. A brief interlude of peace ensued in 1802–03, during which Napoleon [[Louisiana Purchase|sold French Louisiana]] to the United States, because it was indefensible.{{Sfnp|Nafziger|2002}}

In 1801, Napoleon concluded a "Concordat" with Pope Pius VII that opened peaceful relations between church and state in France. The policies of the Revolution were reversed, except the Church did not get its lands back. Bishops and clergy were to receive state salaries, and the government would pay for the building and maintenance of churches.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aston |first=Nigel |title=Religion and revolution in France, 1780–1804 |date=2000 |page=324}}</ref> Napoleon reorganized higher learning by dividing the {{Lang|fr|Institut National}} into four (later five) academies.

[[File:La bataille d'Austerlitz. 2 decembre 1805 (François Gérard).jpg|thumb|alt=Napoléon at the Battle of Austerlitz, by François Gérard|Napoléon at the [[Battle of Austerlitz]], by [[François Gérard]]]]
In 1804, Napoleon was titled Emperor by the senate, thus founding the [[First French Empire]]. Napoleon's rule was constitutional, and although autocratic, it was much more advanced than traditional European monarchies of the time. The proclamation of the French Empire was met by the [[War of the Third Coalition|Third Coalition]]. The French army was renamed {{Lang|fr|[[La Grande Armée]]}} in 1805 and Napoleon used propaganda and nationalism to control the French population. The French army achieved a resounding victory at [[Battle of Ulm|Ulm]], where an entire Austrian army was captured.<ref name="Robert P. Goetz 2005">{{Cite book |last=Goetz |first=Robert P. |title=1805: Austerlitz: Napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition |date=2005}}</ref>

A Franco-Spanish fleet was defeated at [[Battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]], making plans to invade Britain impossible. Despite this defeat, Napoleon inflicted on the Austrian and Russian Empires one of their greatest defeats at [[Battle of Austerlitz|Austerlitz]] on December 2, 1805, destroying the Third Coalition. Peace was settled in the [[Treaty of Pressburg (1805)|Treaty of Pressburg]]; the Austrian Empire lost the title of [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and the [[Confederation of the Rhine]] was created by Napoleon over former Austrian territories.<ref name="Robert P. Goetz 2005"/>

=== Coalitions formed against Napoleon ===
Prussia joined Britain and Russia, thus forming the [[War of the Fourth Coalition|Fourth Coalition]]. Although the Coalition was joined by other allies, the French Empire was also not alone since it now had a complex network of allies and subject states. The largely outnumbered French army crushed the Prussian army at [[Battle of Jena-Auerstedt|Jena-Auerstedt]] in 1806; Napoleon captured Berlin and went as far as Eastern Prussia. There the Russian Empire was defeated at the [[Battle of Friedland]] (14 June 1807). Peace was dictated in the [[Treaties of Tilsit]], in which Russia had to join the [[Continental System]], and Prussia handed half of its territories to France. The [[Duchy of Warsaw]] was formed over these territorial losses, and Polish troops entered the Grande Armée in significant numbers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kagan |first=Frederick |title=The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801–1805 |date=2007 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-0-3068-1645-1 |page=141ff |author-link=Frederick Kagan |orig-date=2006}}</ref>

In order to ruin the British economy, Napoleon set up the Continental System in 1807, and tried to prevent merchants across Europe from trading with Britain. The large amount of smuggling frustrated Napoleon, and did more harm to his economy than to his enemies'.{{Sfnp|Lefebvre|1969|pp=1–32, 205–262}}
[[File:Map of First French Empire and Vassals States.png|thumb|The height of the [[First French Empire|First Empire]]]]
Freed from his obligation in the east, Napoleon then went back to the west, as the French Empire was still at war with Britain. Only two countries remained neutral in the war: Sweden and Portugal, and Napoleon then looked toward the latter. In the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (October 1807)|Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807)]], a Franco-Spanish alliance against Portugal was sealed as Spain eyed Portuguese territories. French armies entered Spain in order to attack Portugal, but then seized Spanish fortresses and took over the kingdom by surprise. [[Joseph Bonaparte]], Napoleon's brother, was made King of Spain after [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]] abdicated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glover |first=Michael |title=Legacy of Glory: The Bonaparte Kingdom of Spain, 1808–1813 |date=1971 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-0-6841-2558-9 |author-link=Michael Glover (historian)}}</ref>

This occupation of the Iberian peninsula fueled local nationalism, and soon the Spanish and Portuguese fought the French using [[guerilla tactics]], defeating the French forces at the [[Battle of Bailén]] (June and July 1808). Britain sent a short-lived ground support force to Portugal, and French forces evacuated Portugal as defined in the [[Convention of Sintra]] following the Allied victory at [[Battle of Vimeiro|Vimeiro]] (21 August 1808). France only controlled [[Catalonia]] and [[Navarre]] and could have been definitely expelled from the Iberian peninsula had the Spanish armies attacked again, but the Spanish did not.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tranié |first1=J. |title=Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807–1814 |last2=Carmigniani |first2=Juan Carlos |last3=Lachouque |first3=Henry |last4=de Beaufort |first4=Louis |date=1994 |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |isbn=978-0-8536-8506-7 |author-link4=Louis de Beaufort |orig-date=1982}}</ref>

Another French attack was launched on Spain, led by Napoleon himself, and was described as "an avalanche of fire and steel". However, the French Empire was no longer regarded as invincible by European powers. In 1808, Austria formed the [[War of the Fifth Coalition|Fifth Coalition]] in order to break down the French Empire. The Austrian Empire defeated the French at [[Battle of Aspern-Essling|Aspern-Essling]], yet was beaten at [[Battle of Wagram|Wagram]] while the Polish allies defeated the Austrian Empire at [[Battle of Raszyn (1809)|Raszyn]] (April 1809). Although not as decisive as the previous Austrian defeats, the [[Treaty of Schönbrunn|peace treaty]] in October 1809 stripped Austria of a large amount of territory, reducing it even more.

[[File:Napoleons retreat from moscow.jpg|thumb|Napoleon Bonaparte retreating from Moscow, by [[Adolf Northern]]]]
In 1812, war broke out with Russia, engaging Napoleon in the disastrous [[French invasion of Russia (1812)]]. Napoleon assembled the largest army Europe had ever seen, including troops from all subject states, to invade Russia, which had just left the continental system and was gathering an army on the Polish frontier. Following an exhausting march and the bloody but inconclusive [[Battle of Borodino]], near Moscow, the Grande Armée entered and captured Moscow, only to find it burning as part of the Russian [[scorched earth]] tactics. Although there still were battles, the Napoleonic army left Russia in late 1812 annihilated, most of all by the Russian winter, exhaustion, and scorched earth warfare. On the Spanish front the French troops were defeated at [[Battle of Vitoria|Vitoria]] (June 1813) and then at the [[Battle of the Pyrenees]] (July–August 1813). Since the Spanish guerrillas seemed to be uncontrollable, the French troops eventually evacuated Spain.{{Sfnp|Lefebvre|1969|pp=309–352}}

Since France had been defeated on these two fronts, states that had been conquered and controlled by Napoleon saw a good opportunity to strike back. The [[War of the Sixth Coalition|Sixth Coalition]] was formed under British leadership.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muir |first=Rory |title=Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815 |date=1996 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-3001-9757-0}}</ref> The German states of the Confederation of the Rhine switched sides, finally opposing Napoleon. Napoleon was largely defeated in the [[Battle of Leipzig|Battle of the Nations]] outside Leipzig in October 1813, his forces heavily outnumbered by the Allied coalition armies and was overwhelmed by much larger armies during the [[Six Days Campaign]] (February 1814), although, the Six Days Campaign is often considered a tactical masterpiece because the allies suffered much higher casualties. Napoleon abdicated on 6 April 1814, and was exiled to [[Elba]].{{Sfnp|Roberts|2014|pp=662–712}}

The [[Congress of Vienna]] reversed the political changes that had occurred during the wars. Napoleon suddenly returned, seized control of France, raised an army, and marched on his enemies in the [[Hundred Days]]. It ended with his final defeat at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] in 1815, and his exile to St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean.{{Sfnp|Lefebvre|1969|pp=353–372}}

The monarchy was subsequently restored and [[Louis XVIII of France|Louis XVIII]], younger brother of Louis XVI became king, and the exiles returned. However many of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic reforms were kept in place.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stewart |first=John Hall |title=The restoration era in France, 1814–1830 |date=1968 |publisher=Van Nostrand |isbn=978-0-8446-3013-7}}</ref>

=== Napoleon's impact on France ===
Napoleon centralized power in Paris, with all the provinces governed by all-powerful prefects whom he selected. They were more powerful than royal intendants of the {{Lang|fr|ancien régime}} and had a long-term impact in unifying the nation, minimizing regional differences, and shifting all decisions to Paris.{{Sfnp|Goubert|1988|loc=Chapter 14}}

Religion had been a major issue during the Revolution, and Napoleon resolved most of the outstanding problems, moving the clergy and large numbers of devout Catholics from hostility to the government to support for him. The Catholic system was reestablished by the [[Concordat of 1801]] (signed with Pope [[Pius VII]]), so that church life returned to normal; the church lands were not restored but the Jesuits were allowed back in and the bitter fights between the government and Church ended. Protestants, Jews and atheists were tolerated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sutherland |first=D. M. G. |title=The French Revolution and Empire: The Quest for a Civic Order |date=2003 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-6312-3362-6 |pages=329–333 |orig-date=2002}}</ref>

The French taxation system had collapsed in the 1780s. In the 1790s the government seized and sold church lands and lands of exiled aristocrats. Napoleon instituted a modern, efficient tax system that guaranteed a steady flow of revenues and made long-term financing possible.{{Sfnp|Lefebvre|1969|pp=171–179}}

Napoleon kept the system of conscription that had been created in the 1790s, so that every young man served in the army, which could be rapidly expanded even as it was based on a core of careerists and talented officers. Before the Revolution the aristocracy formed the officer corps. Now promotion was by merit and achievement—every private carried a marshal's baton, it was said.{{Sfnp|Sutherland|2003|pp=336–372}}

The modern era of French education began in the 1790s. The Revolution in the 1790s abolished the traditional universities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barnard |first=Howard Clive |title=Education and the French Revolution |date=1969 |publisher=Cambridge U.P. |isbn=978-0-5210-7256-4}}</ref> Napoleon sought to replace them with new institutions, the [[École Polytechnique]], focused on technology.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bradley |first=Margaret |date=1976 |title=Scientific Education for a New Society The Ecole<!--[sic; no accent]--> Polytechnique 1795–1830 |journal=[[History of Education: Journal of the History of Education Society|History of Education]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=11–24 |doi=10.1080/0046760760050103}}</ref> The elementary schools received little attention.

==== Napoleonic Code ====
Of permanent importance was the [[Napoleonic Code]] created by eminent jurists under Napoleon's supervision. Praised for its <!--Gallic(??)--> clarity, it spread rapidly throughout Europe and the world in general, and marked the end of feudalism and the liberation of serfs where it took effect.{{Sfnp|Grab|2003}} The Code recognized the principles of civil liberty, equality before the law, and the secular character of the state. It discarded the old right of primogeniture (where only the eldest son inherited) and required that inheritances be divided equally among all the children. The court system was standardized; all judges were appointed by the national government in Paris.{{Sfnp|Goubert|1988|loc=Chapter 14}}

== 1815–1914 ==
{{Main|France in the long nineteenth century|History of French foreign relations}}
[[File:Prise de l'Hôtel de ville - le Pont d'Arcole.JPG|thumb|The taking of the [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|Hôtel de Ville]] – the seat of Paris's government – during the [[July Revolution]] of 1830]]

[[File:Tour Eiffel, July 1888.jpg|thumb|The [[Eiffel Tower]] under construction in July 1888]]

The century after the fall of Napoleon I was politically unstable:
{{Blockquote|Every [French] head of state from 1814 to 1873 spent part of his life in exile. Every regime was the target of assassination attempts of a frequency that put Spanish and Russian politics in the shade. Even in peaceful times governments changed every few months. In less peaceful times, political deaths, imprisonments and deportations are literally incalculable.{{Sfnp|Tombs|2014|p=15}}}}

The period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "[[Long nineteenth century]]" by the historian [[Eric Hobsbawm]], extends from the French Revolution's aftermath to the brink of World War I. Throughout this period, France underwent significant transformations that reshaped its geography, demographics, language, and economic landscape, marking a period of profound change and development. The French Revolution and Napoleonic eras fundamentally altered French society, promoting centralization, administrative uniformity across departments, and a standardized legal code. Education also centralized, emphasizing technical training and meritocracy, despite growing conservatism among the aristocracy and the church. Wealth concentration saw the richest 10 percent owning most of the nation's wealth. The 19th century saw France expanding to nearly its modern territorial limits through annexations and overseas imperialism, notably in Algeria, [[Indochina]], and Africa. Despite territorial gains, France faced challenges, including a slow population growth, compared to its European neighbors, and a late industrialization that saw a shift from rural to urban living and the rise of an industrial workforce.

The period was also marked by significant linguistic and educational reforms, which sought to unify the country through language and secular education, contributing to a stronger national identity. Economically, France struggled to match the industrial growth rates of other advanced nations, maintaining a more traditional economy longer than its counterparts. Politically, the century was characterized by the end of the [[ancien régime]], the rise and fall of the [[First French Empire|First]] and [[Second French Empire|Second Empires]], the tumultuous establishment of the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]], and the radical experiment of the [[Paris Commune]], reflecting the ongoing struggle between revolutionary ideals and conservative restoration.

Significant social and political reforms marked [[Napoleon III]]'s era, introducing measures like public assistance and regulations to improve working and living conditions for the lower classes. The Second Empire (1852–1870) sought modernization through infrastructure projects like the railway system, yet Napoleon III's foreign policy ventures often ended in failure, notably the catastrophic [[Franco-Prussian War]] which led to his capture and deposition. The Third Republic embarked on modernizing France, with educational reforms and attempts to create a unified national identity. Foreign policy focused on isolation of Germany and forming alliances, leading to the [[Triple Entente]]. Domestically, issues like the [[Dreyfus affair]] highlighted the nation's divisions, while laws aimed at reducing the Catholic Church's influence sparked further controversy.

Cultural and artistic movements, from [[Romanticism]] to [[Modernism]], mirrored these societal changes, contributing to France's rich cultural legacy. The [[Belle Époque]] emerged as a period of cultural flourishing and peace, overshadowed by the growing threats of war and internal discord. The long 19th century set the foundations for modern France, navigating through revolutions, wars, and social upheavals to emerge as a unified nation-state near the front of the global stage, by the early 20th century.

== Colonial empire ==
{{Main|French colonial empire}}
{{Further|Evolution of the French Empire|French Africa}}
[[File:French Empire 17th century-20th century.png|thumb|French empire, 17th-20th centuries.<br/>Dark blue = Second Empire 1830–1960.]]

The second colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies, protectorates and [[League of Nations mandate|mandate]] territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "first colonial empire", that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost, and the "second colonial empire", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830. The second colonial empire came to an end after the loss in later wars [[First Indochina War|of Vietnam]] (1954) and [[Algerian War|Algeria]] (1962), and relatively peaceful [[Decolonisation of Africa|decolonizations]] elsewhere after 1960.{{Sfnp|Aldrich|1996}}

France lost wars to Britain that stripped away nearly all of its colonies by 1765. France rebuilt a new empire mostly after 1850, concentrating chiefly [[French African colonies|in Africa]] as well as [[French Indochina|Indochina]] and the South Pacific. Republicans, at first hostile to empire, only became supportive when Germany after 1880 started to build [[German colonial empire|their own colonial empire]]. As it developed, the new empire took on roles of trade with France, especially supplying raw materials and purchasing manufactured items as well as lending prestige to the motherland and spreading French civilization and language and the Catholic religion. It also provided manpower in the World Wars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chafer |first=Tony |title=The End of Empire in French West Africa: France's Successful Decolonization? |date=2002 |publisher=Berg Publishers |isbn=978-1-8597-3557-2 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9GseKljgaW0C&pg=PA84 84–85]}}</ref>

It became a moral mission to lift the world up to French standards by bringing Christianity and French culture. In 1884, the leading proponent of colonialism, [[Jules Ferry]], declared; "The higher races have a right over the lower races, they have a [[Civilizing mission|duty to civilize the inferior races]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ferry, Jules |url=http://www.tatamis.info/medias/controle_citoyen/ferry-jules.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825083658/http://www.tatamis.info/medias/controle_citoyen/ferry-jules.htm |archive-date=2006-08-25 |access-date=2006-05-16 |website=Tatamis.info |language=fr}}</ref> Full citizenship rights – ''assimilation'' – were offered. In reality the French settlers were given full rights and the natives given very limited rights. Apart from Algeria few settlers permanently settled in its colonies. Even in Algeria, the "[[Pied-Noir]]" (French settlers) always remained a small minority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Martin |title=Empire and Culture: The French Experience, 1830–1940 |date=2004}}</ref>

At its apex, it was [[List of largest empires|one of the largest empires in history]]. Including [[metropolitan France]], the total amount of land under French sovereignty reached {{Convert|11500000|km2|sqmi|-5|abbr=on}} in 1920, with a population of 110 million people in 1939. In World War II, the [[Free French]] used the overseas colonies as bases from which they fought to liberate France. "In an effort to restore its world-power status after the humiliation of defeat and occupation, France was eager to maintain its overseas empire at the end of the Second World War."{{Sfnp|Chafer|2002}} Only two days after the defeat of Nazi Germany, France suppressed Algerian calls for independence, who were celebrating [[Victory in Europe Day|VE day]], ending in [[Sétif and Guelma massacre|a massacre]], which killed at least 30,000 Muslims.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stenner |first=David |title=Globalizing Morocco: transnational activism and the post-colonial state |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-5036-0900-6 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, California |page=6 |oclc=1082294927}}</ref> However, gradually [[Anti-colonial liberation movements|anti-colonial movements]] successfully challenged European authority. The [[French Constitution of 27 October 1946]] ([[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]]), established the [[French Union]] which endured until 1958. Newer remnants of the colonial empire were integrated into France as [[Overseas departments and territories of France|overseas departments and territories]] within the French Republic. These now total about 1% of the pre-1939 colonial area, with 2.7 million people living in them in 2013. By the 1970s, the last "vestiges of empire held little interest for the French. ... Except for the traumatic decolonization of Algeria, however, what is remarkable is how few long-lasting effects on France the giving up of empire entailed."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Robert |title=Greater France: A History of French Overseas Expansion |date=1996 |pages=304–305 |author-link=Robert Aldrich (historian)}}, His section on "Ending the Empire" closes in 1980 with the independence of New Hebrides</ref>

== 1914–1945 ==
{{Main|France in the 20th century|History of French foreign relations}}

=== Population trends ===
{{Main|Demographics of France}}
The population held steady from 40.7 million in 1911, to 41.5 million in 1936. The sense that the population was too small, especially in regard to the rapid growth of more powerful Germany, was a common theme in the early twentieth century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spengler |first=Joseph J. |title=France Faces Depopulation |date=1938}}</ref> Natalist policies were proposed in the 1930s, and implemented in the 1940s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huss |first=Marie-Monique |date=1990 |title=Pronatalism in the inter-war period in France |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary History]] |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=39–68 |doi=10.1177/002200949002500102 |jstor=260720 |s2cid=162316833}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Leslie |date=1998 |title='France needs children' |journal=[[Sociological Quarterly]] |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=33–52 |doi=10.1111/j.1533-8525.1998.tb02348.x}}</ref>

France experienced a [[baby boom]] after 1945; it reversed a long-term record of low birth rates.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dyer |first=Colin L. |title=Population and Society in 20th Century France |date=1978 |publisher=Holmes & Meier Publishers |isbn=978-0-8419-0308-1}}</ref> In addition, there was steady immigration, especially from former French colonies in North Africa. The population grew from 41 million in 1946, to 50 million in 1966, and 60 million by 1990. The farming population declined sharply, from 35% of the workforce in 1945 to under 5% by 2000. By 2004, France had the second highest birthrate in Europe.{{Sfnp|Jones|2004|p=438}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pison |first=Gilles |date=March 2006 |title=La population de la France en 2005 |url=http://perso.univ-rennes1.fr/jean-luc.richard/telechargement_fichier_fr_publi_pdf1_pop_et_soc_francais_421.pdf |journal=Population et Sociétés |language=fr |issue=421 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.3917/popsoc.421.0001 |s2cid=158055002}}</ref>

=== World War I ===
{{See also|French entry into World War I|French Army in World War I|Home front during World War I#France}}
[[File:French bayonet charge.jpg|thumb|A French bayonet charge in 1913]]

[[File:El 114 de infantería, en París, el 14 de julio de 1917, León Gimpel.jpg|thumb|The 114th infantry in Paris, 14 July 1917]]

Preoccupied with internal problems, France paid little attention to foreign policy in the 1911–14 period, although it did extend military service to three years from two over strong Socialist objections in 1913. The rapidly escalating [[July Crisis|Balkan crisis of 1914]] caught France unaware, and it played only a small role in [[Causes of World War I|the coming of World War I]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Remak |first=Joachim |date=1971 |title=1914 — The Third Balkan War: Origins Reconsidered |journal=[[Journal of Modern History]] |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=354–366, quote at 354–355 |doi=10.1086/240647 |s2cid=222445579}}</ref> The Serbian crisis triggered a complex set of military alliances between European states, causing most of the continent, including France, to be drawn into war within a few short weeks. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in late July, triggering Russian mobilization. On 1 August both Germany and France ordered mobilization. Germany was much better prepared militarily than any of the other countries involved, including France. The German Empire, as an ally of Austria, declared war on Russia. France was allied with Russia and so was ready to commit to war against the German Empire. On 3 August Germany declared war on France, and sent its armies through neutral Belgium. Britain entered the war on 4 August, and started sending in troops on 7 August. Italy, although tied to Germany, remained neutral and then joined the Allies in 1915.

[[Schlieffen Plan|Germany's "Schlieffen Plan"]] was to quickly defeat the French. They captured [[city of Brussels|Brussels, Belgium]] by 20 August and soon had captured a large portion of northern France. The original plan was to continue southwest and attack Paris from the west. By early September they were within {{Convert|65|km|mi}} of Paris, and the French government had relocated to Bordeaux. The Allies finally stopped the advance northeast of Paris at the [[First Battle of the Marne|Marne River]] (5–12 September 1914).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herwig |first=Holger H. |title=The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World |date=2011 |publisher=Random House Publishing |isbn=978-0-8129-7829-2 |pages=266–306 |orig-date=2009}}</ref>

The war now became a stalemate – the famous "[[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]" was fought largely in France and was characterized by very little movement despite extremely large and violent battles, often with new and more destructive military technology. On the Western Front, the small improvised trenches of the first few months rapidly grew deeper and more complex, gradually becoming vast areas of interlocking defensive works. The land war quickly became dominated by the muddy, bloody stalemate of [[Trench warfare]], a form of war in which both opposing armies had static lines of defense. The war of movement quickly turned into a war of position. Neither side advanced much, but both sides suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. German and Allied armies produced essentially a matched pair of trench lines from the Swiss border in the south to the North Sea coast of Belgium. Meanwhile, large swaths of northeastern France came under the brutal control of German occupiers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McPhail |first=Helen |title=The Long Silence: The Tragedy of Occupied France in World War I |date=2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-7845-3053-2}}</ref>

Trench warfare prevailed on the Western Front from September 1914 until March 1918. Famous battles in France include the [[Battle of Verdun]] and the [[Battle of the Somme]] in 1916, and five separate conflicts called the [[Battle of Ypres]] (from 1914 to 1918).{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

After Socialist leader [[Jean Jaurès]], a pacifist, was assassinated at the start of the war, the French socialist movement abandoned its antimilitarist positions and joined the national war effort. Prime Minister [[René Viviani]] called for unity—for a "[[Union sacrée]]" ("Sacred Union")--Which was a wartime truce between the right and left factions that had been fighting bitterly. France had few dissenters. However, [[war-weariness]] was a major factor by 1917, even reaching the army. The soldiers were reluctant to attack; Mutiny was a factor as soldiers said it was best to wait for the arrival of millions of Americans. The soldiers were protesting not just the futility of frontal assaults in the face of German machine guns but also degraded conditions at the front lines and at home, especially infrequent leaves, poor food, the use of African and Asian colonials on the home front, and concerns about the welfare of their wives and children.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Leonard V. |date=April 1995 |title=War and 'Politics': The French Army Mutinies of 1917 |journal=[[War in History]] |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=180–201 |doi=10.1177/096834459500200203 |s2cid=154834826}}</ref>

After defeating Russia in 1917, Germany now could concentrate on the Western Front, and planned an all-out assault in the spring of 1918, but had to do it before the very rapidly growing American army played a role. In March 1918 Germany launched its offensive and by May had reached the Marne and was again close to Paris. However, in the [[Second Battle of the Marne]] (15 July to 6 August 1918), the Allied line held. The Allies then shifted to the offensive.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neiberg |first=Michael S. |title=The Second Battle of the Marne |date=2008 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-2533-5146-3 |author-link=Michael S. Neiberg}}</ref> The Germans, out of reinforcements, were overwhelmed day after day and the high command saw it was hopeless. Austria and Turkey collapsed, and the Kaiser's government fell. Germany signed "[[Armistice with Germany|The Armistice]]" that ended the fighting effective 11 November 1918, "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rudin |first=Harry |title=Armistice, 1918 |date=1944 |publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref>

=== Wartime losses ===
The war was fought in large part on French soil, with 3.4&nbsp;million French dead including civilians, and four times as many military casualties. The economy was hurt by the 1913 German invasion of major industrial areas in the northeast, which produced 58% of the steel, and 40% of the coal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hardach |first=Gerd |title=The First World War: 1914–1918 |date=1977 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-5200-3060-2 |pages=87–88}}</ref>{{Sfnp|McPhail|2014}} In 1914, the government implemented a [[war economy]] with controls and rationing. By 1915 the war economy went into high gear, as millions of French women and colonial men replaced the civilian roles of many of the 3 million soldiers. Considerable assistance came with the influx of American food, money and raw materials in 1917. This war economy would have important reverberations after the war, as it would be a first breach of liberal theories of non-interventionism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hautcoeur |first=Pierre-Cyrille |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/economics-of-world-war-i/was-the-great-war-a-watershed-the-economics-of-world-war-i-in-france/B79D9AC76799B804C607B53C716C18ED |title=The Economics of World War I |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5218-5212-8 |editor-last=Broadberry |editor-first=Stephen |pages=169–205 |chapter=Was the Great War a watershed? The Economics of World War I in France |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511497339.007 |editor-last2=Harrison |editor-first2=Mark}}</ref> The damages caused by the war amounted to about 113% of the GDP of 1913, chiefly the destruction of productive capital and housing. The national debt rose from 66% of GDP in 1913 to 170% in 1919, reflecting the heavy use of bond issues to pay for the war. Inflation was severe, with the franc losing over half its value against the British pound.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beaudry |first1=Paul |last2=Portier |first2=Franck |date=2002 |title=The French depression in the 1930s |journal=[[Review of Economic Dynamics]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=73–99 |doi=10.1006/redy.2001.0143}}</ref>

The richest families were hurt, as the top 1 percent saw their share of wealth drop from about 60% in 1914 to 36% in 1935, then plunge to 20 percent in 1970 to the present. A great deal of physical and financial damage was done during the world wars, foreign investments were cashed in to pay for the wars, the Russian Bolsheviks expropriated large-scale investments, postwar inflation demolished cash holdings, stocks and bonds plunged during the Great Depression, and progressive taxes ate away at accumulated wealth.{{Sfnp|Piketty|2014|pp=339–345}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Piketty |first=Thomas |title=Top Incomes in France in the Twentieth Century: Inequality and Redistribution, 1901–1998 |date=2018 |pages=101–148, 468–477 |author-link=Thomas Piketty}}</ref>

=== Postwar settlement ===
[[File:Council of Four Versailles.jpg|thumb|The Council of Four (from left to right): [[David Lloyd George]], [[Vittorio Emanuele Orlando]], [[Georges Clemenceau]], and [[Woodrow Wilson]] in Versailles.]]
Peace terms were imposed by the [[The Big Four (World War I)|Big Four]], meeting in Paris in 1919: [[David Lloyd George]] of Britain, [[Vittorio Orlando]] of Italy, [[Georges Clemenceau]] of France, and [[Woodrow Wilson]] of the United States. Clemenceau demanded the harshest terms and won most of them in the [[Treaty of Versailles]] in 1919. Germany was forced to admit its guilt for starting the war, and was permanently weakened militarily. Germany had to pay huge sums in [[war reparations]] to the Allies (who in turn had large loans from the U.S. to pay off).<ref name="Patrick O. Cohrs 2006 50">{{Cite book |last=Cohrs |first=Patrick O. |title=The Unfinished Peace After World War I: America, Britain And the Stabilisation of Europe, 1919–1932 |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-1394-5256-4 |page=50}}</ref>

France regained Alsace-Lorraine and occupied the German industrial [[Saar (League of Nations)|Saar Basin]], a coal and steel region. The [[German colonial empire|German African colonies]] were put under [[League of Nations]] mandates, and were administered by France and other victors. From the remains of the [[Ottoman Empire]], France acquired the [[French Mandate of Syria|Mandate of Syria]] and the [[French Mandate of Lebanon|Mandate of Lebanon]].<ref name="Patrick O. Cohrs 2006 50"/> French Marshal [[Ferdinand Foch]] wanted a peace that would never allow Germany to be a threat to France again, but after the [[Treaty of Versailles]] was signed he said, "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Henig |first=Ruth Beatrice |title=Versailles and After, 1919–1933 |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-2031-3430-6 |page=52}}</ref>

=== Interwar years: Foreign policy and Great Depression ===
{{Further|Interwar France|Great Depression in France}}
[[File:French enter Essen.jpg|thumb|French cavalry entering [[Essen]] during the [[Occupation of the Ruhr]]]]
France was part of the Allied force that [[Occupation of the Rhineland|occupied the Rhineland]] following the Armistice. Foch supported Poland in the [[Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19)|Greater Poland Uprising]] and in the [[Polish–Soviet War]] and France also joined Spain during the [[Rif War (1920)|Rif War]]. From 1925 until his death in 1932, [[Aristide Briand]], as [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister]] during five short intervals, directed French foreign policy, using his diplomatic skills and sense of timing to forge friendly relations with [[Weimar Germany]] as the basis of a genuine peace within the framework of the [[League of Nations]]. He realized France could neither contain the much larger Germany by itself nor secure effective support from Britain or the League.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weber |first=Eugen |title=The Hollow Years: France in the 1930s |date=1996 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-3933-1479-3 |page=125 |author-link=Eugen Weber}}</ref>

As a response to the Weimar Republic's default on its reparations in the aftermath of World War I, France [[Occupation of the Ruhr|occupied the industrial region]] of the [[Ruhr]] as a means of ensuring German payments. The intervention was a failure, and France accepted the international solution to the reparations issues, as expressed in the [[Dawes Plan]] and the [[Young Plan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, German Reparations, and Inter-allied War Debts |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/dawes |access-date=26 October 2023 |website=Dept. of State, Office of the Historian}}</ref>

Politically, the 1920s was dominated by the Right, with right-wing coalitions in 1919, 1926, and 1928, and later in 1934 and 1938.<ref>Coalition Governments in India Problems and Prospects Edited by Kotta P. Karunakaran, 1975, P.105</ref>

In the 1920s, France established an elaborate system of border defences called the [[Maginot Line]], designed to fight off any German attack. The Line did not extend into Belgium, which Germany would exploit in 1940. Military alliances were signed with weak powers in 1920–21, called the "[[Little Entente]]".

The [[Great Depression in France|Great Depression affected France]] a bit later than other countries, hitting around 1931.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laufenburger |first=Henry |date=1936 |title=France and the Depression |journal=International Affairs |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=202–224 |doi=10.2307/2601740 |jstor=2601740}}</ref> While the GDP in the 1920s grew at the very strong rate of 4.43% per year, the 1930s rate fell to only 0.63%.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dormois |first=Jean-Pierre |title=The French Economy in the Twentieth Century |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-5216-6092-1 |page=31 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511616969}}</ref> The depression was relatively mild: unemployment peaked under 5%, the fall in production was at most 20% below the 1929 output; there was no banking crisis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beaudry |first1=Paul |last2=Portier |first2=Franck |date=2002 |title=The French Depression in the 1930s |journal=[[Review of Economic Dynamics]] |volume=5 |issue=73–99 |pages=73–99 |doi=10.1006/redy.2001.0143}}</ref>

In contrast to the mild economic upheaval, the political upheaval was enormous. Socialist [[Leon Blum]], leading the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]], brought together Socialists and Radicals to become Prime Minister from 1936 to 1937; he was the first Jew and the first Socialist to lead France.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birnbaum |first=Pierre |title=Léon Blum: Prime Minister, Socialist, Zionist |date=2015 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-3002-1373-7 |author-link=Pierre Birnbaum}}</ref> The Communists in the [[Chamber of Deputies (France)|Chamber of Deputies]] voted to keep the government in power, and generally supported the government's economic policies, but rejected its foreign policies. The Popular Front passed numerous labor reforms, which increased wages, cut working hours to 40 hours with overtime illegal and provided many lesser benefits to the working class such as mandatory two-week paid vacations. However, renewed inflation cancelled the gains in wage rates, unemployment did not fall, and economic recovery was very slow. The Popular Front failed in economics, foreign policy, and long-term stability: "Disappointment and failure was the legacy of the Popular Front."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Julian |title=Popular Front in France: Defending Democracy 1934–1938 |date=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5213-1252-3 |pages=172, 215, 278–287, quotation on page 287}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Douglas |date=1970 |title=Léon Blum and the Popular Front |journal=[[History Today]] |volume=55 |issue=184 |pages=199–206|doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1970.tb02493.x}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=Philippe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xFLMJnHQaGwC&pg=PA328 |title=The Decline of the Third Republic, 1914–1938 |last2=Dubief |first2=Henri |date=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5213-5854-5 |page=328}}</ref> At first the Popular Front created enormous excitement and expectations on the left—including very large scale sitdown strikes—but in the end it failed to live up to its promise. However, Socialists would later take inspiration from the attempts of the Popular Front to set up a welfare state.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wall |first=Irwin M. |date=1987 |title=Teaching the Popular Front |journal=History Teacher |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=361–378 |doi=10.2307/493125 |jstor=493125}}</ref>

The government joined Britain in establishing an arms embargo during the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–1939). Blum rejected support for the Spanish Republicans because of his fear that civil war might spread to deeply divided France. Financial support in military cooperation with Poland was also a policy. The government nationalized arms suppliers, and dramatically increased its program of rearming the French military in a last-minute catch-up with the Germans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Larkin |first=Maurice |title=France since the Popular Front: Government and People, 1936–1986 |date=1988 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-1987-3034-7 |pages=45–62}}</ref>

[[Appeasement]] of Germany, in cooperation with Britain, was the policy after 1936, as France sought peace even in the face of [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]'s escalating demands. [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister]] [[Édouard Daladier]] refused to go to war against Germany and Italy without British support as [[Neville Chamberlain]] wanted to [[Munich Agreement|save peace at Munich]] in 1938.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJXqvBz3JHcC&pg=PA137 |title=Britain, France and Appeasement: Anglo-French Relations in the Popular Front Era |date=1996 |publisher=Berg Publishers |isbn=978-1-8597-3192-5 |page=137}}</ref>{{Sfnp|Larkin|1988|pp=63–81}}

=== World War II ===
{{Main|Vichy France|Diplomacy of World War II|Military history of France during World War II|German occupation of France during World War II}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-126-0347-09A, Paris, Deutsche Truppen am Arc de Triomphe.jpg|thumb|German soldiers on parade marching past the [[Arc de Triomphe]]]]

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-027-1477-30, Marseille, Hafenviertel. Deportation von Juden.jpg|thumb|Vichy police escorting French Jewish citizens for deportation during the [[Marseille roundup]], January 1943]]
Germany's [[invasion of Poland]] in 1939 finally caused France and Britain to declare war against Germany. But the Allies did not launch massive assaults and instead kept a defensive stance: this was called the [[Phoney War]] in Britain or ''Drôle de guerre'' — the funny sort of war — in France. It did not prevent the German army from conquering Poland in a matter of weeks with its innovative [[Blitzkrieg]] tactics, also helped by the Soviet Union's attack on Poland.

When Germany had its hands free for an attack in the west, the [[Battle of France]] began in May 1940, and the same [[Blitzkrieg]] tactics proved just as devastating there. The [[Wehrmacht]] bypassed the [[Maginot Line]] by marching through the Ardennes forest. A second German force was sent into Belgium and the Netherlands to act as a diversion to this main thrust. In six weeks of savage fighting the French lost 90,000 men.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The French Defeat of 1940 |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford |editor-last=Blatt |editor-first=Joel}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Doughty |first=Robert A. |title=The Breaking Point: Sedan and the Fall of France, 1940 |date=2014 |author-link=Robert A. Doughty}}</ref>

Many civilians sought refuge by taking to the roads of France: some 2 million refugees from Belgium and the Netherlands were joined by between 8 and 10 million French civilians, representing a quarter of the French population, all heading south and west. This movement may well have been the largest single movement of civilians in history prior to the [[Partition of India]] in 1947.

Paris fell to the Germans on 14 June 1940, but not before the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] was evacuated from [[Dunkirk]], along with many French soldiers.

[[Vichy France]] was established on 10 July 1940 to govern the unoccupied part of France and its colonies. It was led by [[Philippe Pétain]], the aging war hero of the First World War. Petain's representatives signed a harsh [[Armistice of 22 June 1940|Armistice]] on 22 June, whereby Germany kept most of the French army in camps in Germany, and France had to pay out large sums in gold and food supplies. Germany occupied three-fifths of France's territory, leaving the rest in the southeast to the new [[Vichy France|Vichy]] government. However, in practice, most local government was handled by the traditional French officialdom. In November 1942 all of Vichy France was finally occupied by German forces. Vichy continued in existence but it was closely supervised by the Germans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paxton |first=Robert O. |title=Vichy France, Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944 |date=1972 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-3944-7360-4 |author-link=Robert Paxton}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Julian |title=France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944 |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1992-5457-6}}</ref>

The Vichy regime sought to collaborate with Germany, keeping peace in France to avoid further occupation although at the expense of personal freedom and individual safety. Some 76,000 Jews were deported during the German occupation, often with the help of the Vichy authorities, and murdered in the Nazis' [[extermination camp]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marrus |first=Michael |title=Vichy France and the Jews |date=1995 |publisher=Stanford University Press}}</ref>

==== Women in Vichy France ====
{{See also|Women in the French Resistance}}
The French soldiers held as POWs and forced laborers in Germany throughout the war were not at risk of death in combat, but the anxieties of separation for their wives were high. The government provided them a modest allowance, but one in ten became prostitutes to support their families. It gave women a key symbolic role to carry out the national regeneration. It used propaganda, women's organizations, and legislation to promote maternity, patriotic duty, and female submission to marriage, home, and children's education.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Diamond |first=Hanna |title=Women and the Second World War in France 1939–1948: Choices and Constraints |date=1999 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-5822-9910-8}}</ref> Conditions were very difficult for housewives, as food and other necessities were in short supply. Divorce laws were made much more stringent, and restrictions were placed on the employment of married women. Family allowances that had begun in the 1930s were continued, and became a vital lifeline for many families; it was a monthly cash bonus for having more children. In 1942, the birth rate started to rise, and [[Demographics of France#After World War II|by 1945 it was higher than it had been for a century]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Muel-Dreyfus |first1=Francine |title=Vichy and the Eternal Feminine: A Contribution to a Political-Sociology of Gender |last2=Johnson |first2=Kathleen A. |date=2001 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-2777-6}}</ref>

==== Resistance ====
General [[Charles de Gaulle]] in London declared himself on BBC radio to be the head of a rival government in exile, and gathered the [[Free French Forces]] around him, finding support in some French colonies and recognition from Britain but not the United States. After the [[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir]] in 1940, where the British fleet destroyed a large part of the French navy, still under command of [[Vichy France]], that killed about 1,100 sailors, there was nationwide indignation and a feeling of distrust in the French forces, leading to the events of the [[Battle of Dakar]]. Eventually, several important French ships joined the Free French Forces.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Martin |first=Thomas |date=1997 |title=After Mers-el-Kébir: The Armed Neutrality of the Vichy French Navy, 1940–1943 |journal=[[English Historical Review]] |volume=112 |issue=447 |pages=643–670 |jstor=576348}}</ref> The United States maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy and avoided recognition of de Gaulle's claim to be the one and only government of France. Churchill, caught between the U.S. and de Gaulle, tried to find a compromise.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Viorst |first=Milton |title=Hostile allies: FDR and Charles de Gaulle |date=1967 |author-link=Milton Viorst}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Haglund |first=David G. |date=2007 |title=Roosevelt as 'Friend of France'—But Which One? |journal=[[Diplomatic History (journal)|Diplomatic history]] |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=883–908|doi=10.1111/j.1467-7709.2007.00658.x}}</ref>

Within France proper, the organized underground grew as the Vichy regime resorted to more strident policies in order to fulfill the enormous demands of the Nazis and the eventual decline of Nazi Germany became more obvious. They formed [[French Resistance|the Resistance]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kedward |first=H. R. |title=In Search of the Maquis |date=1993 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-1915-9178-5 |author-link=Rod Kedward}}</ref> The most famous figure of the French resistance was [[Jean Moulin]], sent in France by de Gaulle in order to link all resistance movements; he was captured and tortured by [[Klaus Barbie]] (the "butcher of Lyon"). Increasing repression culminated in the complete destruction and extermination of the village of [[Oradour-sur-Glane]] at the height of the [[Invasion of Normandy|Battle of Normandy]]. On 10 June 1944, a company of the 2nd SS Panzer Division, entered Oradour-sur-Glane, and massacred 642 men, women and children, all of whom were civilians. In 1953, 21 men went on trial for the Oradour killings; all but one were pardoned by the French government.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

[[File:American officer and French partisan crouch behind an auto during a street fight in a French city. - NARA - 531322 - restored by Buidhe.jpg|thumb|A Resistance fighter during street fighting in 1944]]On 6 June 1944, the Allies [[D-Day|landed in Normandy]], without a French component. On 15 August Allied forces [[Operation Dragoon|landing in Provence]], this time including 260,000 men of the [[First Army (France)|French First Army]]. The German lines finally broke, and they fled back to Germany while keeping control of the major ports. Allied forces liberated France and the Free French were given the honor of [[Liberation of Paris|liberating Paris]] in late August. The French army recruited [[French Forces of the Interior]] (de Gaulle's formal name for resistance fighters) to continue the war until the final defeat of Germany; this army numbered 300,000 men by September, and 370,000 by spring 1945.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Funk |first=Arthur Layton |title=Charles de Gaulle: The Crucial Years, 1943–1944 |date=1959}}</ref>

The Vichy regime disintegrated. An interim [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]] was quickly put into place by de Gaulle. The ''gouvernement provisoire de la République française'', or GPRF, operated under a ''tripartisme'' alliance of communists, socialists, and democratic republicans. The GPRF governed France from 1944 to 1946, when it was replaced by the [[French Fourth Republic]]. Tens of thousands of collaborators were executed without trial. The new government declared the Vichy laws unconstitutional and illegal, and elected new local governments. Women gained the right to vote.

== Since 1945 ==
{{See also|French Fourth Republic|French Fifth Republic|History of French foreign relations}}
The political scene in 1944–45 was controlled by the Resistance, but it had numerous factions. Charles de Gaulle and the Free France element had been based outside France, but now came to dominate, in alliance with the Socialists, the Christian Democrats (MRP), and what remained of the Radical party. The Communists had largely dominated the Resistance inside France, but cooperated closely with the government in 1944–45, on orders from the Kremlin. There was a general consensus that important powers that had been an open collaboration with the Germans should be nationalized, such as [[Renault]] automobiles and the [[History of French journalism|major newspapers]]. A new Social Security system was called for, as well as important new concessions to the labour unions. Unions themselves were divided among communist, Socialist, and Christian Democrat factions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=George |title=Workers and Communists in France: From Popular Front to Eurocommunism |date=1982 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-5200-4075-5 |location=Berkeley |pages=20–25}}</ref> Frustrated by his inability to control all the dominant forces, de Gaulle resigned in 1946.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fenby |first=Jonathan |title=The General: Charles de Gaulle and The France He Saved |date=2010 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-8473-7392-2 |location=London}}</ref> On 13 October 1946, a new constitution established the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]]. The Fourth Republic consisted of a parliamentary government controlled by a series of coalitions. France attempted to [[First Indochina War|regain control of French Indochina]] but was defeated by the [[Viet Minh]] in 1954. Only months later, France faced another [[Decolonization|anti-colonialist]] [[Algerian War|conflict in Algeria]] and the debate over whether or not to keep control of [[French Algeria|Algeria]], then home to over one million [[Pied-Noir|European settlers]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=2009-03-04 |title=In France, a War of Memories Over Memories of War |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/arts/design/05abroad.html?_r=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430005608/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/arts/design/05abroad.html?_r=1 |archive-date=2011-04-30}}</ref> wracked the country and nearly led to a [[May 1958 crisis|coup]] and civil war.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crozier |first1=Brian |last2=Mansell, Gerard |date=July 1960 |title=France and Algeria |journal=[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]] |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=310–321 |doi=10.2307/2610008 |jstor=2610008 |s2cid=153591784}}</ref> Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The Algerian War was concluded with the [[Évian Accords]] in 1962 which led to Algerian independence.

The June 1951 elections saw a re-emergence of the right, and until June 1954 France was governed by a succession of centre-right coalitions.<ref>France Since 1815 By Martin Evans, Emmanuel Godin, 2014, P.137</ref>

=== Economic recovery ===
Wartime damage to the economy was severe, and apart from gold reserves, France had inadequate resources to recover on its own. The transportation system was in total shambles — the Allies had bombed out the railways and the bridges, and the Germans had destroyed the port facilities. Energy was in extremely short supply, with very low stocks of coal and oil. Imports of raw materials were largely cut off, so most factories shut down. The invaders had stripped most of the valuable industrial tools for German factories. Discussions with the United States for emergency aid dragged on, with repeated postponements on both sides. Meanwhile, several million French prisoners of war and forced labourers were being returned home, with few jobs and little food available for them. The plan was for 20 percent of German reparations to be paid to France, but Germany was in much worse shape even than France, and in no position to pay.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Footitt |first1=Hilary |title=France, 1943–1945 |last2=Simmonds |first2=John |date=1988 |publisher=Leicester University Press |isbn=978-0-7185-1231-6 |pages=215–227}}</ref>

After de Gaulle left office in January 1946, the diplomatic logjam was broken in terms of American aid. The U.S. Army shipped in food, from 1944 to 1946, and U.S. Treasury loans and cash grants were disbursed from 1945 until 1947, with [[Marshall Plan]] aid continuing until 1951. France received additional aid from 1951 to 1955 in order to help the country in its war in Indochina. Apart from low-interest loans, the other funds were grants that did not involve repayment. The debts left over from World War I, whose payment had been suspended since 1931, were renegotiated in the [[Blum-Byrnes agreement]] of 1946. The United States forgave all $2.8 billion in debt from the First World War, and gave France a new loan of $650 million. In return, French negotiator [[Jean Monnet]] set out the French five-year plan for recovery and development.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wall |first=Irwin M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rnS4wOYyuCgC&pg=PA55 |title=The United States and the Making of Postwar France, 1945–1954 |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5214-0217-0 |page=55}}</ref> The Marshall Plan gave France $2.3 billion with no repayment. The total of all American grants and credits to France from 1946 to 1953, amounted to $4.9 billion.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1954.zip |title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: August 1954 |date=1955 |publisher=U.S. Bureau of the Census |page=899}} Table 1075.</ref>

A central feature of the Marshall Plan was to encourage international trade, reduce tariffs, lower barriers, and modernize French management. The Marshall Plan set up intensive tours of American industry. France sent missions of businessmen and experts to tour American factories, farms, stores and offices. They were especially impressed with the prosperity of American workers, and the low price of vehicles.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuisel |first=Richard F. |title=Seducing the French: The Dilemma of Americanization |date=1993 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-5200-7962-5 |pages=70–102}}</ref> Some French businesses resisted Americanization, but the most profitable, especially chemicals, oil, electronics, and instrumentation, seized upon the opportunity to attract American investments and build a larger market.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kuo |first=Laureen |date=2017 |title=Improving French Competitiveness through American Investment following World War II |journal=Business History Review |volume=91 |pages=129–155 |doi=10.1017/S0007680517000605 |s2cid=157255687 |number=1}}</ref> The U.S. insisted on opportunities for Hollywood films, and the French film industry responded with new life.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Le Forestier |first=Laurent |date=2004 |title=L'accueil en France des films américains de réalisateurs français à l'époque des accords Blum-Byrnes |trans-title=The reception in France of American films by French directors during the Blum-Byrnes agreements |journal=Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine |language=fr |volume=51-4 |pages=78–97 |doi=10.3917/rhmc.514.0078 |number=4}}</ref>

Although the economic situation in France was grim in 1945, resources did exist and the economy regained normal growth by the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fohlen |first=Claude |title=The Fontana Economic History of Europe: Vol.6 Part 1: Contemporary Economies, part 1 |date=1976 |isbn=978-0-0063-4261-8 |editor-last=Cipolla |editor-first=Carlo M. |pages=72–127 |chapter=France, 1920–1970|publisher=Fontana}}</ref> France managed to regain its international status thanks to a successful production strategy, a demographic spurt, and technical and political innovations. Conditions varied from firm to firm. Some had been destroyed or damaged, nationalized or requisitioned, but the majority carried on, sometimes working harder and more efficiently than before the war. Despite strong American pressure through the ERP, there was little change in the organization and content of the training for French industrial managers. This was mainly due to the reticence of the existing institutions, and the struggle among different economic and political interest groups for control over efforts to improve the further training of practitioners.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hill |first=John S. |date=1992 |title=American Efforts to Aid French Reconstruction Between Lend-Lease and the Marshall Plan |journal=[[Journal of Modern History]] |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=500–524 |doi=10.1086/244513 |jstor=2124596 |s2cid=144892957}}</ref>

The [[Monnet Plan]] provided a coherent framework for economic policy, and it was strongly supported by the Marshall Plan. It was inspired by moderate, Keynesian free-trade ideas rather than state control. Although relaunched in an original way, the French economy was about as productive as comparable West European countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mioche |first=Philippe |date=1998 |title=Le Demarrage de l'economie Française au lendemain de la Guerre |trans-title=Restarting the French Economy after the War |journal=Historiens et Géographes |language=fr |volume=89 |pages=143–156 |issn=0046-757X |number=361}}</ref>

=== Vietnam and Algeria ===
[[Pierre Mendès France]], was a [[Radical Party (France)|Radical party leader]] who was Prime Minister for eight months in 1954–55, working with the support of the Socialist and Communist parties. His top priority was ending the deadly war in Indochina in the wake of the humiliating defeat at the [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Windrow |first=Martin |title=The French Indochina War 1946–54 |date=2013 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-0430-3}}</ref> The U.S. had paid most of the costs of the war, but its support inside France had collapsed. In February 1954, only 7% of the French people wanted to continue the fight to keep Indochina out of [[Ho Chi Minh]] and his [[Viet Minh]] movement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Larkin |first=Maurice |title=France since the Popular Front: Government and People 1936–1996 |date=1997 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-1987-3151-1 |edition=2nd revised |pages=240–241}}</ref> At the [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Conference in July 1954]], Pierre France made a deal that gave the Viet Minh control of Vietnam north of the 17th parallel, and allowed France to pull out all its forces.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Kenneth T. |title=The 1954 Geneva Conference: Indo-China and Korea |date=1968 |publisher=Greenwood Press}}</ref> That left South Vietnam standing alone, and the U.S. would provide support for it afterwards.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Christensen |first=Thomas J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1v2pqaOmuEC&pg=PA123 |title=Worse Than a Monolith: Alliance Politics and Problems of Coercive Diplomacy in Asia |date=2011 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3881-3 |pages=123–125}}</ref> Pierre France next came to an agreement with [[Habib Bourguiba]], the nationalist leader in Tunisia, for the independence of that colony by 1956, and began discussions with Moroccan nationalists for a French withdrawal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Werth |first=Alexander |title=The Strange History of Pierre Mendès France and the Great Conflict over French North Africa |date=1957 |publisher=Barrie Books |location=London}}</ref>

With over a million European residents in Algeria (the [[Pied-Noir|Pieds-Noirs]]), France refused to grant independence until the [[Algerian War of Independence]] had turned into a French political and civil crisis. Algeria won its independence in 1962, unleashing a massive wave of immigration from the former colony back to France of both Pied-Noir and Algerians who had supported France.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Martin |title=Algeria: France's Undeclared War |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1928-0350-4 |location=Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=McDougall |first=James |date=December 2017 |title=The Impossible Republic: The Reconquest of Algeria and the Decolonization of France, 1945–1962 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3fcec5a2-738d-4cc7-ae7d-0e8acd9adae7 |journal=The Journal of Modern History |volume=89 |pages=772–811 |doi=10.1086/694427 |s2cid=148602270 |number=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Shepard |first=Todd |title=The Invention of Decolonization: The Algerian War and the Remaking of France |date=2006 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-4360-2 |location=Ithaca, NY}}</ref>

=== Suez crisis (1956) ===
{{Main|Suez crisis}}
[[File:Port Said from air.jpg|thumb|Smoke rises from oil tanks beside the Suez Canal hit during the initial Anglo-French assault on [[Port Said]], 5 November 1956.]]
In 1956, another crisis struck French colonies, this time in Egypt. The Suez Canal, having been built by the French government, belonged to the French Republic and was operated by the [[Suez Canal Company|Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez]]. Great Britain had bought the Egyptian share from [[Isma'il Pasha]] and was the second-largest owner of the canal before the crisis.

The Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] nationalized the canal despite French and British opposition; he determined that a European response was unlikely. Great Britain and France attacked Egypt and built an alliance with Israel against Nasser. Israel attacked from the east, Britain from Cyprus and France from Algeria. Egypt was defeated in a mere few days. The Suez crisis caused an outcry of indignation in the Arab world, and Saudi Arabia set an embargo on oil on France and Britain. U.S. President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] forced a ceasefire; Britain and Israel soon withdrew, leaving France alone in Egypt. Under strong international pressures, the French government ultimately evacuated its troops from Suez and largely disengaged from the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gorst |first1=Anthony |title=The Suez Crisis |last2=Johnman |first2=Lewis |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-1350-9728-8 |location=London |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

=== President de Gaulle, 1958–1969 ===
The [[May 1958 crisis|May 1958 seizure of power in Algiers by French army units]] and French settlers opposed to concessions in the face of Arab nationalist insurrection ripped apart the unstable Fourth Republic. The National Assembly brought De Gaulle back to power during the May 1958 crisis. He founded the Fifth Republic with a strengthened presidency, and he was elected in the latter role. He managed to keep France together while taking steps to end the war, much to the anger of the Pieds-Noirs (Frenchmen settled in Algeria) and the military; both had supported his return to power to maintain colonial rule. He granted independence to Algeria in 1962 and progressively to other French colonies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Horne |first=Alistair |title=A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962 |date=2006 |publisher=[[New York Review Books]] |isbn=978-1-5901-7218-6 |edition=4th |location=New York}}</ref>

Proclaiming ''grandeur'' essential to the nature of France, de Gaulle initiated his "Politics of Grandeur."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kolodziej |first=Edward A. |title=French International Policy under de Gaulle and Pompidou: The Politics of Grandeur |date=1974 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, NJ |page=618}}</ref><ref>On his presidency, see {{Cite book |last=Fenby |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OKn2xyFGwlcC |title=The General: Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved |date=2010 |publisher=Skyhorse |isbn=978-1-6208-7447-9 |pages=380–626}}</ref> He demanded complete autonomy for France in world affairs, which meant that major decisions could not be forced upon it by NATO, the European Community or anyone else. De Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence." He vetoed Britain's entry into the Common Market, fearing it might gain too great a voice on French affairs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kulski |first=W. W. |title=De Gaulle and the World: The Foreign Policy of the Fifth French Republic |date=1966 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/degaulleworld00kuls/page/239 239 ff] |ol=5995988M |author-link=W. W. Kulski}}</ref> While not officially abandoning [[NATO]], he withdrew from its military integrated command, fearing that the United States had too much control over NATO.{{Sfnp|Kulski|1966|p=[https://archive.org/details/degaulleworld00kuls/page/176 176]}} He launched an independent [[Force de dissuasion|nuclear development program]] that made France the [[France and weapons of mass destruction|fourth nuclear power]]. France then adopted the [[Mutual assured destruction|dissuasion du faible au fort doctrine]] which meant a Soviet attack on France would only bring total destruction to both sides.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hecht |first=Gabrielle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8yl2BbxqFY0C&pg=PR7 |title=The Radiance of France: Nuclear Power and National Identity after World War II |date=2009 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-2622-6617-8 |pages=7–9}}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F011021-0002, Köln, Staatsbesuch de Gaulle, Begrüßung Adenauer.jpg|thumb|upright|De Gaulle and Germany's [[Konrad Adenauer]] in 1961]]

He [[Élysée Treaty|restored]] cordial [[Franco-German relations]] in order to create a European counterweight between the "Anglo-Saxon" (American and British) and Soviet spheres of influence. De Gaulle openly criticised the [[Vietnam War|U.S. intervention in Vietnam]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=De Gaulle urges the United States to get out of Vietnam |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/de-gaulle-urges-the-united-states-to-get-out-of-vietnam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308040516/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/de-gaulle-urges-the-united-states-to-get-out-of-vietnam |archive-date=2010-03-08 |access-date=2015-07-26 |website=History.com |language=en}}</ref> He was angry at American economic power, especially what his Finance minister called the "[[exorbitant privilege]]" of the U.S. dollar.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eichengreen |first=Barry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIlpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |title=Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1997-8148-5 |page=4}}</ref>

In [[May 1968 in France|May 1968]], he appeared likely to lose power amidst widespread protests by students and workers, but persisted through the crisis with backing from the army. His party, denouncing radicalism, won the [[1968 French legislative election|1968 election]] with an increased majority in the Assembly.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Seidman |first=Stephen |title=The Imaginary Revolution: Parisian Students and Workers in 1968 |date=2004 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-5718-1675-7 |location=New York City}}</ref> Nonetheless, de Gaulle resigned in 1969 after losing a [[1969 French constitutional referendum|referendum]] in which he proposed more decentralization.

=== Economic crises: 1970s-1980s ===
By the late 1960s, France's economic growth, while strong, was beginning to lose steam. A global currency crisis meant a devaluation of the Franc against the West German Mark and the U.S. Dollar in 1968, which was one of the leading factors for [[May 1968 in France|the social upheaval of that year]]. Industrial policy was used to bolster French industries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maclean |first=Mairi |title=Economic Management and French Business: From de Gaulle to Chirac |date=2002 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-3337-6148-9 |location=London}}</ref>

The ''[[Trente Glorieuses]]'' era (1945–1975) ended with the worldwide [[1973 oil crisis]], which increased costs in energy and thus on production. Economic instability marked the [[Giscard d'Estaing]] government (1974–1981). Giscard turned to Prime Minister [[Raymond Barre]] in 1976, who advocated numerous complex, strict policies ("Barre Plans"). The plans included a three-month price freeze; wage controls; salary controls; a reduction of the growth in the money supply; increases in taxes and bank rates but a reduction in the value-added tax; measures to restore the trade balance; limits on expensive oil imports; special aid to exports; an action fund to aid industries; increased financial aid to farmers; and social security.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frears |first=J.R. |title=France in the Giscard Presidency |date=1981 |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-0-0435-4025-1 |location=London |page=135}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hibbs |first1=Douglas A. Jr |last2=Vasilatos |first2=Nicholas |date=1981 |title=Economics and Politics in France: Economic Performance and Mass Political Support for Presidents Pompidou and Giscard d'Estaing |journal=European Journal of Political Research |volume=9 |pages=133–145 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-6765.1981.tb00595.x |number=2}}</ref>

Economic troubles continued into the presidency of [[François Mitterrand]]. A recession in the early 1980s led to the abandonment of ''dirigisme'', in favour of a more pragmatic approach to economic intervention.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sachs |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Wyplosz |first2=Charles |date=April 1986 |title=The economic consequences of President Mitterrand |journal=Economic Policy |volume=1 |pages=261–306 |doi=10.2307/1344559 |jstor=1344559 |number=2}}</ref> Growth resumed later in the decade, only to be slowed down by the economic depression of the early 1990s, which affected the Socialist Party.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Levy |first1=Jonah |title=Developments in French Politics Vol.4 |last2=Cole |first2=Alistair |last3=Le Galès |first3=Patrick |date=2008 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-2305-3700-2 |location=Basingstoke |pages=1–21 |chapter=From Chirac to Sarkozy: A New France?}}</ref>

France's recent economic history has been less turbulent than in many other countries. The average income in mid-century grew by 0.9% per year, a rate which has been outdone almost every year since 1975. By the early 1980s, for instance, wages in France were on or slightly above the [[EEC]] average.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Card |first1=David |last2=Kramarz |first2=Francis |last3=Lemieux |first3=Thomas |date=1996 |title=Changes in the relative structure of wages and employment: A comparison of the United States, Canada, and France |url=http://www.crest.fr/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Pageperso/kramarz/card-kramarz-lemieux.pdf |journal=The Canadian Journal of Economics |volume=32 |pages=843–877 |doi=10.3386/w5487 |s2cid=154902220 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730215601/http://www.crest.fr/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Pageperso/kramarz/card-kramarz-lemieux.pdf |archive-date=30 July 2020 |access-date=5 December 2020 |number=4}}</ref>

=== 1989 to 2017 ===
After the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the USSR]] and the end of the [[Cold War]], potential menaces to mainland France appeared considerably reduced. France began reducing its nuclear capacities and conscription was abolished in 2001. In 1990, France, led by Mitterrand, joined the short successful [[Gulf War]] against Iraq; the French participation to this war was called the [[Opération Daguet]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Short |first=Philip |title=A Taste for Intrigue: The Multiple Lives of François Mitterrand |date=2014 |publisher=Henry Holt & Company |isbn=978-0-8050-8853-3 |location=New York City}}</ref>

[[Jacques Chirac]] assumed office after a campaign focused on the need to combat France's high unemployment rate.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} The economy became strengthened.<ref name=":0"/> French leaders increasingly tied the future of France to the continued development of the [[European Union]] (EU). In 1992, France ratified the [[Maastricht Treaty]] establishing the EU. In 1999, the [[Euro]] was introduced to replace the Franc. France also became involved in joint European projects such as [[Airbus]], the [[Galileo (satellite navigation)|Galileo positioning system]] and the [[Eurocorps]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The French stood among the strongest supporters of [[NATO]] and EU policy in the Balkans, to prevent genocide in former [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]; French troops joined the [[1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|1999 NATO bombing of the country]]. France became actively involved in fighting against international terrorism. In 2002, [[Alliance Base]], an international [[Counterterrorist Intelligence Center]], was secretly established in Paris. France contributed to the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|toppling of the Taliban regime]] in Afghanistan, but it strongly rejected the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-07-15 |title=France: No Troops To Iraq - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-no-troops-to-iraq/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel (Frankfurter Buchmesse 2017).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Emmanuel Macron]] and Germany's [[Angela Merkel]] in 2017]]

Jacques Chirac was reelected in 2002,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Noveck |first=Jocelyn |date=2002-05-06 |title=Chirac Wins Re-Election in France |language=en |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/71985d918192ded29199603eb5584c8c |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506072508/https://apnews.com/article/71985d918192ded29199603eb5584c8c |archive-date=2022-05-06}}</ref> and became a fierce opponent of the Iraq invasion.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Jacques Chirac, French President Who Opposed U.S. Iraq War, Is Dead At 86 |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764561501/jacques-chirac-french-president-who-opposed-u-s-iraq-war-is-dead-at-86 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926144923/https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764561501/jacques-chirac-french-president-who-opposed-u-s-iraq-war-is-dead-at-86 |archive-date=2019-09-26}}</ref> Conservative [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] was elected and took office in 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-05-06 |title=Sarkozy is new French president |language=en |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2007/5/6/sarkozy-is-new-french-president |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722163516/https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2007/5/6/sarkozy-is-new-french-president |archive-date=2022-07-22}}</ref> Sarkozy was very actively involved in the [[2011 military intervention in Libya|military operation in Libya]] to oust the [[Gaddafi government]] in 2011.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Grand |first=Camille |title=The French Experience: Sarkozy's War? |date=2015 |publisher=RAND Corporation |isbn=978-0-8330-8793-5 |series=Precision and Purpose |pages=183–204 |chapter=The French Experience |jstor=10.7249/j.ctt16f8d7x.13 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt16f8d7x.13}}</ref> After 2005, the world economy stagnated, and the 2008 global crisis (including its effects in both the Eurozone and France) dogged Sarkozy, who lost [[2012 French presidential election|reelection in 2012]] against Socialist [[Francois Hollande]].<ref name=":0"/> Hollande advocated a growth policy in contrast to the austerity policy advocated by Germany's [[Angela Merkel]] as a way of tackling the [[European sovereign debt crisis]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-12-01 |title=France presidency: Francois Hollande decides not to run again |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38173350 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201212140/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38173350 |archive-date=2016-12-01 |website=BBC News |language=en}}</ref>

==== Muslim tensions ====
At the close of the Algerian war, hundreds of thousands of Muslims, including some who had supported France ([[Harkis]]), settled permanently in France, especially in the larger cities where they lived in subsidized public housing, and suffered very high unemployment rates.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Haddad |first1=Yvonne Yazbeck |last2=Balz |first2=Michael J. |date=June 2006 |title=The October Riots in France: A Failed Immigration Policy or the Empire Strikes Back? |journal=International Migration |volume=44 |pages=23–34 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2435.2006.00362.x |number=2}}</ref> In 2005, the predominantly Arab-immigrant suburbs of many French cities [[2005 French riots|erupted in riots]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-11-09 |title=Special Report: Riots in France |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/4417096.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124022323/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/4417096.stm |archive-date=2005-11-24 |access-date=2007-11-17 |website=BBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mucchielli |first=Laurent |date=May 2009 |title=Autumn 2005: A review of the most important riot in the history of French contemporary society |journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |volume=35 |pages=731–751 |doi=10.1080/13691830902826137 |s2cid=144434973 |number=5}}</ref> Traditional interpretations say these race riots were spurred by radical Muslims or unemployed youth. Another view states that the riots reflected a broader problem of racism and police violence in France.<ref name="schneider">{{Cite journal |last=Schneider |first=Cathy Lisa |date=March 2008 |title=Police Power and Race Riots in Paris |journal=Politics & Society |volume=36 |pages=133–159 |doi=10.1177/0032329208314802 |s2cid=145068866 |number=1}} (Quote on p. 136.)</ref> In 2009, there were [[2009 French riots|more riots]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

[[File:Place de la République, 18h50, une foule silencieuse.jpg|thumb|Over 1 million demonstrators gathering to pledge solidarity to liberal French values, in 2015 after the [[Charlie Hebdo shooting]]]]
In 2015, ''[[The New York Times]]'' summarized an ongoing conflict between France's secular and individualist values, and a growing Muslim conservatism.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Erlangerjan |first=Steven |date=2015-01-09 |title=Days of Sirens, Fear and Blood: 'France Is Turned Upside Down' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/world/days-of-sirens-fear-and-blood-france-is-turned-upside-down.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110230359/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/world/days-of-sirens-fear-and-blood-france-is-turned-upside-down.html |archive-date=2015-01-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref> In 1994, [[Air France Flight 8969]] was hijacked by terrorists; they were captured. In 2012, a Muslim radical shot three French soldiers and four Jewish citizens [[Toulouse and Montauban shootings|in Toulouse and Montauban]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} In January 2015, the satirical newspaper ''[[Charlie Hebdo]]'' and a Jewish grocery store came under [[Charlie Hebdo shooting|attack]] from some angered Muslims in Paris. World leaders rallied to Paris to show their support for free speech.<ref name=":2"/> There were more terrorist attacks afterwards, including [[November 2015 Paris attacks|another series of attacks]] in Paris in November 2015, and a [[2016 Nice truck attack|truck attack]] in Nice in 2016.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

=== 2017 to present ===

In the [[2017 French presidential election|2017 election for president]] the winner was [[Emmanuel Macron]], the founder of a new party "[[La République En Marche!]]" (later Renaissance RE).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hewlett |first=Nick |date=2017 |title=The Phantom Revolution. The Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of 2017 |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/97951/3/WRAP-phantom-revolution-presidential-legislative-Hewlett-2017.pdf |journal=Modern & Contemporary France |volume=25 |pages=377–390 |doi=10.1080/09639489.2017.1375643 |s2cid=149200645 |number=4}}</ref> In the [[2022 French presidential election|2022 presidential election]] president Macron was re-elected after beating his far-right rival, [[Marine Le Pen]], in the runoff.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Henley |first=Jon |date=2022-04-24 |title=What's in Emmanuel Macron's intray after his re-election as French president? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/24/whats-in-emmanuel-macrons-intray-after-his-re-election-as-french-president |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424230933/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/24/whats-in-emmanuel-macrons-intray-after-his-re-election-as-french-president |archive-date=2022-04-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

The problem of high unemployment has yet to be resolved.<ref name=":1"/> {{Clear left}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|France|History}}
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Annales School]], historiography
* [[Demographics of France]], For population history
* [[Economic history of France]]
* [[Foreign relations of France]], Since the 1950s
** [[French colonial empire]]
** [[History of French foreign relations]], To 1954
** [[International relations, 1648–1814]]
** [[International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919)]]
** [[International relations (1919–1939)]].
** [[Diplomatic history of World War I]]
** [[Diplomatic history of World War II]]
** [[Cold War]]
** [[International relations since 1989]]
* [[French law]]
** [[French criminal law]]
* [[French peasants]]
* [[French Revolution]]
** [[Historiography of the French Revolution]]
* [[History of French journalism]]
* [[History of Paris]]
* [[Legal history of France]]
** [[Fundamental laws of the Kingdom of France]]
* [[List of French monarchs]]
** [[List of presidents of France]]
** [[List of prime ministers of France]]
* [[Military history of France]]
* [[Politics of France]]
* ''[[Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine]]''
* [[Territorial evolution of France]]
* [[Timeline of French history]]
* [[Women in France]]
* [[Turkish Airlines Flight 981]], where a DC-10 crashed into a French forest (Ermenonville Forest) in Northern France.{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Duby |first=Georges |title=France in the Middle Ages 987–1460: From Hugh Capet to Joan of Arc |date=1993}}
* {{Cite book|last=Fehér|first=Ferenc|title=The French Revolution and the Birth of Modernity|year=1990|edition=1992|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-5200-7120-9|url=https://archive.org/details/frenchrevolution0000unse_a4w7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Goubert |first=Pierre |isbn=978-0-5311-5054-2 |title=The Course of French History |date=1988}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023}}
* {{Cite book |last=Grab |first=Alexander |title=Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe |date=2003 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4039-3757-5}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Colin |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of France |last2=Ladurie |first2=Emmanuel Le Roy |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5216-6992-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Colin |title=Paris: Biography of a City |date=2004}}
* {{Cite book |last=Le Roy Ladurie |first=Emmanuel |title=The Ancien Régime: A History of France 1610–1774 |date=1999 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-6312-1196-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lefebvre |first=Georges |title=Napoleon: From Tilsit to Waterloo, 1807–1815 |date=1969 |publisher=Routledge & K. Paul |isbn=978-0-7100-8014-1 |author-link=Georges Lefebvre |orig-date=1936}}
* {{Cite book |last=Livesey |first=James |title=Making Democracy in the French Revolution |year=2001 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-6740-0624-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nafziger |first=George F. |title=Historical Dictionary of the Napoleonic Era |date=2002}}
* {{Cite book |last=Piketty |first=Thomas |title=[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]] |date=2014 |pages=339–345 |author-link=Thomas Piketty}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Andrew |title=Napoleon: A Life |date=2014 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-6700-2532-9 |pages=662–712 |author-link=Andrew Roberts (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roche |first=Daniel |title=France in the Enlightenment |date=1998}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tombs |first=Robert |title=France 1814–1914 |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-3178-7143-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Arthur |title=Diderot |date=1972 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-1950-1506-1 |volume=II: The Appeal to Posterity |author-link=Arthur McCandless Wilson}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wolf |first=John B. |isbn=978-1-3490-1470-5 |ol=32357699W |title=Louis XIV: A Profile |date=1968 |author-link=John Baptist Wolf}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==

{{Main|Bibliography of France#History}}
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}

* {{Cite book |last=Agulhon |first=Maurice |title=The Republican Experiment, 1848–1852 |date=1983 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5212-8988-7 |series=The Cambridge History of Modern France}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bury |first=John Patrick Tuer |title=France, 1814–1940 |date=1949 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |at=Chapters 9–16}}
* {{Cite book |last=Doyle |first=William |title=The Oxford History of the French Revolution |date=1989}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gildea |first=Robert |title=Children of the Revolution: The French, 1799–1914 |date=2008}}
* {{Cite book |last=Guérard |first=Albert |title=France: A Modern History |date=1959 |publisher=Textbook Publishers |isbn=978-0-7581-2078-6 |author-link=Albert Léon Guérard}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Mayeur |first1=Jean-Marie |title=The Third Republic from its Origins to the Great War, 1871–1914 |last2=Rebérioux |first2=Madeleine |date=1984 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-2-7351-0067-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Price |first=Roger |title=A Social History of Nineteenth-Century France |date=1987}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shirer |first=William L. |title=The Collapse of the Third Republic |date=1969 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |author-link=William L. Shirer}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shusterman |first=Noah |title=The French Revolution Faith, Desire, and Politics |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-1344-5600-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=A. J. P. |title=The Struggle for Mastery in Europe: 1848–1918 |date=1954 |author-link=A. J. P. Taylor}}
* {{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=A. J. P. |title=Europe: Grandeur and Decline |date=1967 |author-link=A. J. P. Taylor}}
* {{Cite book |last=Weber |first=Eugen |title=Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870–1914 |date=1976 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-1013-8 |author-link=Eugen Weber}}

{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikibooks}}
* [http://www.histoire-pour-tous.fr/histoire-de-france.html History of France, from Prehistory to Nowadays] (in French + English translation)
* [http://www.france-pittoresque.com History of France, from Middle Ages to the 19th century] {{In lang|fr}}
* [http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_France:_Primary_Documents History of France: Primary Documents] (English interface)

{{France topics}}
{{Monarchs of France}}
{{History of Europe}}
{{European history by country}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:History of France|History of France]]