france - an outline of history

5/26/2018 France - An Outline of History

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France

An Outline of History

Denis C. Meyer

School of Modern Languages and CulturesThe University of Hong Kong

DC Meyer - 2008


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France, an Outline of History

CONTENTS

Introduction : Frances identity as a nation

1. Antiquity and Early Middle Ages (500 BC to 1000 AD)- The Gauls and the Pax Romana- The great Invasions and the Frankish Empire

2. Late Middle Ages (1000 AD to 1500 AD)- The early Capetians- The growth of the French monarchy- The Anglo-French War (13371453)

- Joan of Arc (1412-1431) and the reconstruction

3. The Ancien Regime (16th 18thcenturies)- Renaissance (16thc.)- The Wars of Religion- Towards absolute monarchy (17thc.)- The Enlightenment (18thc.)- The Revolution (1789-1799)

4. The 19thcentury- The First Empire (1805-1814)- The Restoration (1814-1830) and the Monarchy of July

(1830-1848)- Second Revolution of 1848 and the Second Empire (1852-

1870)- The Third Republic (1870-1940)

5. The 20thcentury- World War I (1914-1918)- The Interwar (1918-1939)- World War II (1939-1945)- The post-war era (1945-1958)- The Fifth Republic (1958-present)

Chronology of French history

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IntroductionFrances identity as a nation

The birth of France (literally: the land of the Franks) as a nation isby no means easy to pinpoint and has been the focus of debateamong social historians. One can argue for instance that Francecame into being in 496 AD, when Clovis, king of the Franks,converted to Christianity and realized under his reign a politicaland cultural unity never seen on this land since the early Gallo-Roman period (-52 BC to 476 AD). One can also suggest the year843, when Charles the Bald became the king of FranciaOccidentalis, after the collapse of the Frankish empire led by his

grand-father the emperor Charlemagne. It could also be 987, dateof the coronation of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty,which was to reign, through its various branches, for ninehundred years, right to the 19thcentury. One can also argue thatthe kingdom of France was only truly constituted when the Frenchrealised their political unity under the reign of Louis XI (1461-1483), as the English were driven out of France and most of theprovices joined the crown. Or, much closer to present days,France may have born in 1789, the year of the Revolution inwhich France declared itself a nation, as well as a State.

Indeed, these five stages in history are equally important in theprocess of building Frances identity. However, to add to theconfusion, the French look at the Gauls (and not at the GermanicFranks) as their ancestors, that is a people of Celtic origin whoarrived massively and lived on the territory from 500 BC onwardsto be later subjected to Roman rule until the 5thcentury.

The difficulty of pointing a date for the birth of France reflects thelong and complex process that took place to shape a land of thickforests inhabited by various Celtic tribes some 2,500 years ago.

This territory underwent profound transformations due to externaland internal pressures to eventually become a unified nation, with

defined borders, a common language, organized by a constitutionand rules, led by a government and institutions. This processinvolved countless wars, key events, for the country which is nowcalled France developed gradually and absorbed many differentinfluences into its identity.

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1. Antiquity and Early Middle Ages (500 BC to 1000 AD)

The Gauls and the Pax Romana

The most ancient man found in France isHomo Erectus, who lived around 950,000 B.C.Much later, after the Neolithic period (4,000-2,500 BC) Celtic tribes started to settle in

France, and around 400 BC, they were knownas the Gauls by the Romans. The Gauls wereagrarian people, iron workers and also fearedwarriors; in 390, led by their chief Brennos,

the Gauls besieged the city of Rome and retreated only afterreceiving a large ransom from the city. Step by step, Romeorganized their resistance against the Gauls and by 125 B.C., theRomans already dominated southern Gaul. In 51 BC, the Gaulswere eventually defeated by the armies ofJulius Caesar, in Alesia(Burgundy): after several years of combat, Vercingetorix, leader ofthe Gauls, had to surrender to better organized and equippedRomans. As a result of this surrender, the Romans were able tooccupy the entire land.

The two-century long period of relative peace and prosperity thatfollowed Caesars conquest of Gaul is known as the Pax Romana(Roman peace). The country was divided into three provinces andLyon was elected as the capital. During the 2nd century, Romansbrought Christianity into Gaul, roads and bridges were built,prosperous cities such as Lyon, Lutece (Paris), Marseille andBordeaux attested a vibrant economy and a refined culture. Froma composite mosaic of celtic tribes, the Gauls evolved into asophisticated people the Gallo-Romans whose elite spoke Latin,

served in the administration and adopted Roman culture.Throughout the country, vast agricultural domains were createdcontrolled by powerful landlords who prefigured the ruling classwhich would later dominate throughout the Middle Ages. However,by the 3rd century, the Roman Empire had already begun its

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decline, the Roman control over the country loosened. Takingadvantage of the increased weakness of its borders, Germanictribes from Northern and Western Europe started frequent

incursions in Gaul by the middle of the 4thcentury. These warriorswere Franks, Vandals, Allamanni or Goths, they were known tothe Romans as the Barbarians, since they did not speak Latin andwere not Christian. The Gallo-Roman civilization, a long period ofrelative political, economic and cultural unity brought by the PaxRomana, was about to collapse.

The great Invasions and the Frankish Empire

By the beginning of the 5th century, hugemovements of population began to pour intoGaul, coming from the East and North-East.

These people were pushed to the West by theadvance of tribes of warriors coming fromcentral Asia, such as the ferocious Huns ledby Attila. Among them were the Franks, theVandals and the Visigoths. These tribessettled in various parts of Gaul, the Franks inin the North of the country, while the

Visigoths ended in the South-West, and beyond the Pyrenees, inSpain. By the end of the 5th century, the Franks expanded theirauthority beyond the northern regions, winning decisive battlesagainst their enemies in the Centre and West as well as along theRhine corridor. The Franks elected Paris as the capital of theirkingdom, and their king Clovis, founder of the Merovingiandynasty, converted to Christianity in 496, following his marriageto Clotilde, a Burgonde. In some ways, Clovis' reign (481-511)brought about a new stability and unity to France, by bringingtogether the old Gallo-Roman civilization with the Germaniccultures of the Franks and other Germanic peoples. After Clovisdeath however, the kingdom was subjected to partition by hissuccessors, but despite the fragmentation of the Merovingiankingdom, from this point on, and for the next three centuries, theFranks would assert themselves as the dominating force in France.

particular gathered

new dynasty - the Carolingians, emerged in the first half of theA8th century, led by Charles Martel, the chief of north-westernprovince of Neustria, who managed to stop the Muslims advanceinvading from the South. Charles Martel defeated the Arabs inPoitiers in 732, and this victory had the effect of unifying various

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other provinces under his commandment. His son Pepin II theShort expanded this influence and was eventually crowned king ofthe Franks in 752, in the city of Soissons, in the presence of all

the nobility of the kingdom. The new king also received theblessing of the bishops, adding much significance to the event.

Three years later, Pepin II was sacred by the pope himself in Paris.From this period, the long lasting association between the royaldynasties and the church proved efficient to ascertain their powerand influence on the French society and people.

Charlemagne, the son of Pepin II, expanded

significant reforms t

ouis the Pious, the only son of Charlemagne who survived,

the kingdom of the Franks to form a vastempire encompassing most of Europe. Hisreign was marked by his close relationshipwith the papacy in Rome, to whom he offered

protection against the Lombards, in NorthernItaly. In exchange, the Catholic church gavehim its blessing and Pope Leo crownedCharlemagne Imperator in Rome in 800. Thelong reign of Charlemagne (768-814), an ablemilitary leader and administrator, broughto the Frankish kingdom. The administration

was severely streamlined, delegating provincial powers to baronsand bishops faithful to their leader; throughout the provinces,religious schools were created, thus giving Charlemagne hisreputation as promoter of the arts, education and culture. Thisperiod is known as the Carolingian renaissance, the brightestperiod of the early Middle-Ages.

Linherited the kingdom and managed to keep it more or less intactfor thirty more years. However, after Louis death, the kingdomwas divided among his three sons. Following the treaty of Verdunin 843, Louis the German inherited the eastern part (FranciaOrientalis), Charles the Bald the western part (FranciaOccidentalis), while Lothar had to be content with the central part(Lothinragia), a composite land of various rebellious provinceswhich would soon become the terrain of repeated battles between

Louis and Charles as well as their successors. With the treaty ofMersen (870), the intermediate kingdom of Lothinragia was finallyabsorbed into the eastern and western kingdoms of the Frankishempire. Meanwhile, by the end of the 9th century, the Vikings,coming from Northern Europe and Scandinavia, had started their

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incursions in many parts of Europe, using their drakkars(longboats) to move quickly along the rivers, besieging cities likeParis, in 885. The Vikings finally settled in Northern France

around the turn of the 10thcentury, their land became in 911 theDuchy of Normandy, when their chief Rollon signed a treaty withCharles III, king of Francia Occidentalis. Following the custom,Charles III offered his daughter to Rollon as a token of friendshipand to consolidate the alliance. Rollon has an illustriousdescendant, William of Normandy, who conquered England in1066 at the battle of Hastings to become the first king of England.

The Carolingian empire ended in 987, as the last Frankish kingLouis V died. His successor inaugurated a new dynasty and a newera for the kingdom of France, still a very fragmented one,culturally, socially and politically.

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2. Late Middle Ages (1000 AD to 1500 AD)

he early Capetians

he election and crowning by the nobles of their new king of

he First Crusade took place in 1095, at the end of the 11th

TTFrance Hugh Capet marks the birth of the Capetian dynasty, aroyal lineage which, through its various branches, will dominateFrance until the 19th century. Although the royal domain ofHughes Capet was small, located south of Paris and extending tothe city of Orleans, the kingdom he supposedly ruled was more or

less comparable to modern France. However, most of the feudalcounties were fiercely independent and the king had only limitedpower over them. It is only very gradually that the Capetianmonarchs, who were initially weaker than their vassals, extendedtheir control over the great nobles who resisted centralization. Oneof the factors that strengthened the Capetian monarchs was thatduring the 300 years of their direct lineage, and with the help ofthe Church which supported the monarchy as a sacred office, theyinsured that the crown remained within the family, the eldest soninheriting the throne without failing. Also, the Capetiansreinforced the system of lord-vassal relationship, already in useunder the Carolingians, by which the lord offers protection to hisvassal (subordinate), in exchange of hisfealty(loyalty). This loyaltyis rewarded by a fief (a piece of land) given to the vassal by thelord. This system, broadly defining social politics during the feudalperiod, placed the king on the top, and step by step asserted theprestige and power of the monarchy, assisted by the Church. The10th and 11th centuries mark the development of romanicarchitecture across France and Europe, a style inspired by theancient roman buildings and characterized by thick walls, roundarches, vaults, large towers and decorative arcading. Throughoutthe country countless churches, abbeys and monasteries werebuilt to reflect the rising influence of Christianity.

Tcentury. This expedition to Jerusalem, and the seven othercrusades to follow in the 12thand 13thcenturies, initially aiming atliberating the city from the Muslim occupants, contributed to

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create a sense of Christian identity and an unprecedented feelingof unity among the Western world, thus reinforcing the papacysinfluence in Rome over the Christian lands. The Capetian rule

hardened under Louis VI the Fat (1108-1137), who extended theroyal domain by crushing neighboring vassals in Ile de France.

Just before his death, he arranged with the duke of Aquitaine themarriage of his son Louis VII with Eleanor of Aquitaine, who wasonly 16. The marriage did not last however, it was nullified 15

years later (1152) on suspicion of Eleanors infidelity to Louis thePious. Eleanor would have reportedly admitted that she expectedto marry a king, not a monk. The beautiful and art loving Eleanorremarried almost immediately with Henri Plantagenet, a youngand powerful vassal who controlled most of the western part of thekingdom. With the addition of Aquitaine (south-west), Henri wasthe master of almost half and France. Two years after his marriage

to Eleanor, in 1154, and at the age of 22, Henri became king ofEngland, controlling most of the kingdom of France. The Aquitaine,lost by France through a bad marriage, will remain underEnglands domination for the next three centuries.

The growth of the French monarchy

e first great expansion of the royal domain came from the work

great Capetian king of the 13th century is Philip Augustus

Thof Philip II Augustus (1180-1223), during whose reign the Frenchking for the first time became more powerful than any of hisvassals. Philip took Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Touraine fromthe Plantagenets, thereby tripling the size of the French royaldomain. Philip also greatly strengthened the royal administrativesystem by devising new methods to collect revenue from hisvassals. He also created a parliament, a supreme court of justiceand a royal treasury.

Thegrand son, Louis IX (1226-1270), better known as Saint Louis. Hisreign started as he was only 12, and lasted more than forty years.Saint Louis was both loved and feared by the people, he had ahigh sense of his duties as a king and wanted his reign to bemarked by justice and integrity. He created for instance a system

whereby each citizen had an opportunity to lodge a complaintagainst officials directly to the court of justice. Saint Louis wasalso a pious Christian, as his canonization in 1297 demonstrates.He saw himself as only responsible to God, who had put him onthe throne to lead his subjects and to ensure their well-being and

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that their life was free of sins. In this way he contributed greatly tocreate the myth of the divine nature of the French kings, a myththat would culminate under king Louis XIV (1654-1715) and be

challenged in the 18thcentury. Saint Louis ordered the creation ofnumerous hospitals and schools, among them a college in Paris,La Sorbonne, which was to become one of the great centres ofknowledge in Europe. His reign is also marked by the Gothicflamboyance of new cathedrals flourishing in various parts of thekingdom, such as in Paris, Reims, Chartres and Amiens.

By lack of a male heir to the throne, the Capetians of direct

he Anglo-French War (13371453)

The change of dynasty coincides with the

the population. The

he Hundred Years War between France and England

lineage lapsed in 1328, following the death of their last king,Charles VI, one of the grand-grandsons of Saint Louis. The crownof France was thus passed to the Valois, a related family.

T

beginning of one of the darkest periods ofFrances history. As Philippe VI attempted todrive the English out of France, the Frenchregistered humiliating defeats in Crecy (1346)and Calais (1347) which decimated the armyelite and surrendered a number of cities ofNormandy to the enemy. At the same time, anepidemic of black plague occurred in Marseilleand spread soon all throughout the kingdom,killing millions of people, an estimated third ofdisease provoked irrational behavior from the

population, such as the massacre of Jews of Strasbourg (1349),who were suspected to have started the outbreak. More epidemicswill occur in the 14th century, triggering an economic anddemographic catastrophe.

Tmaterialized into a series of conflicts between the French and theEnglish monarchs and drained the treasuries of bothcountries. These wars were interrupted, now-and-again, by

numerous truces and treaties over a period of 116 years. Underthe reign of Charles V (13641380), the French seemed to regainthe upper-hand against the enemy and the English were left onlywith a few possessions and cities, such as Bordeaux, Brest, Calaiset Cherbourg, but by the time of his successor Charles VI (1380-

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1422), the situation deteriorated again. Two essential factorscontributed to this situation : the mental illness of Charles VIwhich worsened by the end of his reign, leaving him unable to

govern, and the alliance with the English of the powerfulBurgundy region (south-east). This alliance cost dearly to theValois, and a terrible defeat of the French army occurred inAzincourt (1415), where more than 5,000 French soldiers andofficers perished. This defeat triggered more defeats and king ofEngland Henry V maneuvered to take advantage of the Frenchweakness to assert the English claims on the French throne. In1420, the treaty of Troyes was signed, by which Charles VI had todestitute his son and declare Henry V the heir to the Frenchthrone. He had also the obligation to marry his daughter Isabelleto the king of England. This Treaty meant that the kingdom ofFrance was in effect surrendered to the English. However, Henrys

death occurred only two years later, in 1422, but by that time, heand his ally, the Duke of Burgundy, had conquered the entirenorthern half of France. The same year, Charles VI passed the wayas well, but his son the dauphin Charles has no claim to thethrone, the kingdom of the French Valois is on the brink ofdisintegration.

Joan of Arc (1412-1431) and the reconstruction

this context of dire turmoil, the role and symbolism of a youngInwoman who went on to save France from the hands of her enemiescannot be underestimated. Joan of Arc remains a centralcharacter in French history and her story is crucial in theconstruct of the French national identity. Her story is a mixture ofheroism and magic : the daughter of a modest family of farmersfrom eastern France, Joan asserted that she had visions from Godthat told her to recover her homeland from the English. In 1429,at only 17, she managed to convince the uncrowned Charles VIIofher holy mission and was sent with a small army to the siege atOrlans, then occupied by the English. Although initiallydismissed by her fellow veteran commanders and wounded in abattle, she gained prominence when she overcame the enemy andlifted the siege in only nine days. Following this crucial victory,

Joan helped to several more victories that eventually led toCharles VII coronation at Reims and settled the disputedsuccession to the throne. Captured by the Burgundians in 1430,

Joan was sold one year later to the English and tried for heresy.Joan was found guilty and burned at the stake in the city of

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Rouen at the age of 19. Her ashes and remains were cast in theSeine river.

The execution of Joan of Arc did not stop the process of

he kingdoms unity is eventually achieved by Louis XI, the

he 15th century was a period of profound turmoil for France, but

reconquest of the French. In 1435 at Arras, the two formerenemies, king Charles VII and Philippe the Good, duke ofBurgundy, struck an alliance to combat the English, who aresubsequently driven out of several northern provinces, includingNormandy in 1450. By 1453, most of the Aquitaine, which theEnglish had held for nearly three centuries, is also recovered.

These victories put an end the Anglo-French War.

Tsuccessor of Charles VII in 1461. The new crowned kingimmediately engages the Valois in a war against the rival

Burgundians, the former allies of England, who remain aformidable threat to the French crown. For the next ten years,Louis XI and Burgundys Charles the Bold will wage battles afterbattles until the death of Charles in 1477 settles the score. Hisdeath marks the end of the Burgundian State, which becomespart of the French kingdom. When Louis XI dies in 1483, severalother provinces, including Provence, have also joined the Frenchcrown.

Tby the turn of the new century, the kingdom is configured as ithas never been before and has achieved an unprecedented unity.France is now the most powerful kingdom in Europe and thecountry is about to enter a new age of deep social and culturaltransformation.

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3. The Ancien Regime (16th 18thcenturies)

enaissance (16thc.)

By the end of the 15th century,

p

he Wars of Italy, started in 1495 by Louis XI on the pretext of

R

the Kingdom of France hadachieved a remarkable unityunder Louis XI and his

successor Charles VIII who,through his marriage with Annede Bretagne, managed to attachto the French Crown the fiercelyindependent province of Brittany,in western France. However, theFrench monarchs, now the mostpowerful in Europe, lookedsouthwards to extend theirinfluence, and seek newportunities within the rich

Mediterranean world.economic and political o

Trecovering lost territories, would last until 1559 and would greatlycontribute to the cultural transformation of France in this period.Indeed, in the process of waging these wars against its southernneighbor, supported by Austria and the renegade province ofBurgundy, the French political and intellectual elites were alsodiscovering a wealth of treasures: architectural wonders andsculptures from the great Roman past and the present,extraordinary paintings, elegant furniture, refined music andmany other works of art brought about by the finest artists of the

Italian renaissance of the 15th

century. Francis I, crowned King ofFrance in 1515, wanted to think of himself as the protector of thearts and sciences, and strongly encouraged French artists todevelop their craft and emulate their Italian counterparts. Duringhis reign, he invited many Italian artists, scholars, architects to

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come to France, among them Leonardo de Vinci, who allegedlydied into the arms of Francis I in 1519. Along the Loire River,sumptuous chateaux, such as Blois and Amboise, were built as

testimony of the cultural rebirth of France.

The French Renaissance is also a vibrant period for the French

he Wars of Religion

By the beginning of the 16th century, the

war that culminated w

literature. While Francis I issued a decree in 1539 that madeFrench (and non longer Latin) the official language of theadministration, and with the fast rising printing industry (50,000books are printed in Lyon and Paris in the course of the 16thcentury), writers such as Clment Marot (1496-1544), Margueritede Navarre (1492-1549), Rabelais (1494-1553), Ronsard (1524-1585), du Bellay (1522-1560) define new literary norms andgenres which will set the standards for the centuries to come. In1580, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1594) publishes his Essays, a

unique masterpiece which encapsulates the humanist spirit of theRenaissance: tolerance, defiance towards dogmas, cultivation ofknowledge, cultural relativism founded on the recognition andacceptance of difference. These ideas expressed by the philosopherof Bordeaux will deeply influence the future generations ofthinkers.

T

Church of Rome enters a deep crisis andits leadership is being challenged all acrossEurope. The works of the German Luther(1488-1546) and the Swiss Calvin (1509-1564), both denouncing the excesses ofRome, have a huge impact among theFrench nobility and create a split betweenCatholics and Protestants (Huguenots).

The partisans of the Reformation demand areturn to the authentic faith of the Gospels,accusing the Roman Catholic Church ofcorruption and superstition. The Catholics,supporting the papacy in Rome, charge the

Protestants of heresy. In 1562, an assaulton a group of Protestants triggered a civilith the massacre of several thousand of

Protestants in Paris on Saint Bartholomew Day (24 August 1572).Further confrontations occurred in the following months, causing

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the death of tens of thousands of Protestants across France.However, after his coronation in 1594, Henri IV, a formerHuguenot converted to Catholicism, issued an edict in 1598 (Edict

of Nantes) that granted to the Protestants freedom of cult and therestoration of their civil rights. The reign of Henri IV was not onlymarked by religious tolerance, the new King also showedcompassion to the poor and triggered economic growth throughcontrolled spending and regulated administration. NicknamedHenri the Great, or Good King Henri, he was assassinated by areligious fanatic in 1610.

Towards absolute monarchy (17thc.)

ouis XIII, successor to the throne of Henri IV, was too young to

sciences and rationalist thought in the centuries to come.

Lgovern and his mother Catherine de Medicis appointed clergyman

Richelieu in 1624 to act as chief minister to the young King. Thealliance between the King and the cardinal lasted for nearly 20

years, until Richelieus death, in 1642. Richelieu worked hard tostrengthen the monarchs standing, with increased centralizedpower around his person and diminishing nobilitys influence byincreasing their obligations to the king. On the other hand, thefreedom granted to the Protestants under Henri IV was seriouslyeroded, while their freedom of cult remained more or less intact,their control over certain French cities was abolished. Richelieuwas also keen to extend French influence over new lands. Withgenerous subsidies granted to the naval force, the French settledcolonies in northern America, around the Saint-Laurent river (nowQuebec), as well as in Africa, and Madagascar. Internally,Richelieu organized the collection of taxes to secure steady incometo the States finances which in turn helped the countrys economythrough the development of industrial and agricultural projects.Richelieu made himself famous for his patronage of the arts: hecreated in 1636 the Academie Francaise, an official andprestigious body in charge of overseeing matters pertaining to theFrench language. The Academy remains today one of the mostprestigious national institutions. Arts and letters flourished underthe reign of Louis XIII (1617-1643), with playwrights such asPierre Corneille (1606-1684), notorious for his tragedies inspired

by legends and stories of the Middle Ages and the Antiquity (Le Cid,1637; Horace, 1640; Polyeucte, 1642). It is also in 1637 thatphilosopher Rene Descartes published his Discourse of the Method,a work which was to influence deeply the development of the

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The 17thcentury is known as the classic age in France and Kingouis XIV, nicknamed the King Sun, or Louis the Great,

eento associate to his rule brilliant people, such as

his rule. In the waEurope since the

lace had to be built. Versailles,onveniently situated far from the hazardous Paris centre, took

L

epitomizes the unparalleled grandeur of the French monarchy inthis period. Louis was only 5 years old when his father Louis XIIIpassed (1643) and the young heir had to wait until his majority in1652 to access to the Throne of France. Still, Louis XIV started hisreign under the supervision of Richelieus successor, ChiefMinister Mazarin, who triggered a lot of discontent among theFrench nobility. However, in 1661, following the death of hisunpopular Minister, Louis XIV decided to assume full control ofthe State. The King of France was only 24, and this decision wasemblematic of Louis style, who conceived the monarchs authorityas a divine right and the King as the pure embodiment of God.

Louis XIV, as absolute monarch, was also k

Colbert (Marine and Finances), Louvois(Military and War), Vauban (Engineering andFortifications), who all contributed massively toLouis XIVs ambitions and successes: duringthe 55 years of Louis XIV personal reign,France spent some 30 years at war. Franceskey victories over Holland and Spain in 1681allowed the country to aggregate to the Crowneastern and northern territories (Alsace,Lorraine, Franche-Comt). But the gloriousperiod of Louis XIV, which lasted until 1685,was not only about winning battles, the KingSun wanted the arts to reflect the grandeur ofke of the baroque style that developed across16th century, French classical art rested on

values such as simplicity, balance, clarity as well as meticulousrules. Together with architecture and painting, French literaturereached unprecedented standards with authors such as Molire(1622-1673), Racine (1639-1699), Boileau (1636-1711), LaFontaine (1668-1696), Madame de la Fayette (1634-1693) and deLa Rochefoucauld (1613-1680).

For such a king, a formidable pacnearly half a century to complete and was the most giganticarchitectural work ever undertaken in France. Louis XIV and his

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court moved to Versailles in 1684, starting a life of high-spendingand lavish ceremonies, draining the countrys finances, alreadyunder serious strain. From this point on, discontent grew among

the population at large, further aggravated by the economic crisistriggered by the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685), by which all rightsgranted to the Protestants a century ago were nullified. Thisdecision of Louis XIV, who never tolerated the partisans ofReformation, provoked the exodus of hundreds of thousandsHuguenots, taking with them their wealth and riches across theborder. This exodus, as well as the heavy cost of continuous warsfrom 1688 to 1697 against Frances neighbors, and later againstSpain from 1702 to 1714, threw the States finances into adesperate situation. By the end of the reign of Louis the Great in1715, France was close to bankruptcy and had to abandon vastterritories in North America to the British partly to recover its

losses.

The Enlightenment (18thc.)

t-grandson of the Sun King inherits therone, after reaching his majority. The financial situation of the

ntry in Europe, the

rench culture is influential and serves as reference, French

In 1728, Louis XV, the greathState is disastrous, legacy of the previous regime. On the otherhand, a new class of wealthy citizens has emerged, thanks to thehefty dividends derived from overseas trade and commercialoutposts in various parts of the world: Canada, French Guianaand West Indies, Africa, Mauritius (Indian Ocean) and India. Theslave trade between Africa and the New World also provides asource of huge income for this new commercial bourgeoisieenriched by the colonial expansion. When Louis XVs ChiefController of Finances attempts in 1749 to levy a new tax onwealthy citizens, the Parliament rejects the proposal in ahumiliating defeat for the State. This episode reflects the wideninggap between Versailles and the rest of the country, as well as theparadoxical situation of a cash trapped government unable toexert control on an increasingly assertive industrial andcommercial front protecting its own interests.

In this period, France is the most populous cou

Fscholars are highly regarded, French artists are on demand. TheFrench language is the diplomatic language across the continent,and the European elite speak French, from London to Vienna,from Madrid to Utrecht. The brilliance of French intellectuals

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culminates with the publication of the 28 volumes of theEncyclopedia, from 1751 to 1772. The work, edited by DenisDiderot, a philosopher, and dAlembert, a mathematician, is

defined as an attempt to collect all possible knowledge in virtuallyall aspects of the sciences, history and the arts. This monumentalendeavor, which would remain a major reference tool for thefollowing century, is emblematic of the spirit of the Enlightenment,advocating that knowledge leads to progress, and that progresspaves the way for better justice and societies.

Diderot and dAlembert are not the onlyauthors to promote new ideas, other

to-be first French Canother prolific write

omes to an end in 1774, as the Kinguccumbs to smallpox, a disease that kills hundreds of thousands

intellectuals question the politicalestablishment of the monarchy, and its longassociation with the Catholic Church: In

1748, Montesquieu (1689-1755) publishesthe Spirit of the Laws, advocating toleranceand the advent of the secular state, withindependent and separate legislature,executive and judiciary. This work willdeeply influence the future AmericanConstitution (1787) and of course the soon-onstitution in 1791. Voltaire (1694-1778),r and prominent intellectual, prosecuted by

the French authorities, publishes in 1756 his most influentialwork, Essay on the Manners and Spirit of the Nations, a vastdescription of global history, where he affirms his faith in mankind,enlightened by Reason. As for Rousseau (1712-1778), one of hismajor works, The Social Contract (1762), develops the idea of thedemocratic nation, founded on equality, justice, and devoted tothe well-being of its people.

The long reign of Louis XV csof people in France each year. His grandson will take thesuccession. Louis XVI inherits a country with disastrous finances,a growing discontent across all classes of the society, from thepoor who cannot afford to pay their taxes to the rich who dont

want to share their capital. In this tense context, France is aboutto implode.

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The Revolution (1789-1799)

The Revolution is one of the most

significant moments in French

country rise up to take their owof simple concepts such as

poverty,igh taxation, widening gap between the State and the civil society,

d that a constitutionalonarchy would provide the best system is these times of changes.

history. Within ten years, theevents taking place will change thecountry deeply and for ever. Theseevents will also have a profoundimpact on Europe and on the restof the world. For the first time inmodern history, the citizens of an fate into their hands in the namefreedom, equality, solidarity that

should be enshrined into laws and a constitutional framework. Inshort, democracy, the rule of the people, is being experimented at

the scale of a nation, which has been dominated for centuries byone single class, the aristocracy, and its ally, the clergy.

The causes of the Revolution are multiple: widespreadheconomic and financial crisis, new political ideas, anticlericalism,resentment of the class privileges enjoyed by the nobility, all thesefactors and many other contributed to the upheaval of 1789. Whatpulled the trigger though was an attempt by Louis XVI to pushnew taxes to ease the disastrous financial situation of the State.As the legislation was turned down, the King had to convene inMay 1789 at Versailles the Estates General, an assemblyrepresenting the three orders of the society, i.e., the clergy, thenobility and the Third Estate (the people). However, disputes aroseover the genuine representation of the peoples wishes and soonthe Third Estate deputies proclaimed themselves a NationalAssembly with constitutional powers. On July 14, the citizens ofParis stormed the Invalides, where they found weapons andcanons, then attacked the Bastille, a huge prison in the heart ofthe city, seen by the revolutionaries as the symbol of therepressive monarchy. Within hours, the Parisians were in controlof the city and the provinces quickly followed. Major changes wereon the march and will be unstoppable.

Initially, the revolutionaries conceivemAccording to the new constitution, the King would remain Head ofState, but the Assembly would retain its influence on the executive

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and legislative powers. The new national flag reflected thiscompromise, the colors of the city of Paris (blue and red) combinedwith that of the monarchy (white). In August 1789, the declaration

of the Rights of Man and the Citizen set out the basis for such apolitical framework. The text declared boldly that all citizensshould enjoy the same privileges and equality of rights.

In 1792, France entered a war againstAustria, backed by a coalition of countries.

through the infamousended in 1795, as th

The French revolutionary army howeverregistered a key victory against the enemy inValmy, Eastern France. This victory gave anew momentum to the Revolution, and thenew Convention proclaimed the FirstRepublic, which constitution was based on

the Declaration of 1789. Louis XVI,suspected of plotting with the enemy, wasexecuted in January 1793 and a few monthslater began the darkest period of the Frenchrevolution, as the country tilted into a civilwar, involving thousands of executionsguillotine. This episode, known as the Terror,e Directory took over from the Convention.

The new regime however became quickly unpopular, stained byrampant corruption, political maneuvering and heavy-handedrepression of dissent. Taking advantage of the situation, a younggeneral named Bonaparte, already famous following severalsuccessful military campaigns, made his way quickly to the top tostage a coup dtat in 1799. This event effectively put an end tothe Revolution and under the new Consulate, Bonaparte createdthe position of First Consul, thus securing for himself entirecontrol of the country.

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4. The 19thcentury

The 19th century in France is aperiod of deep changes and political

in the cities. In the meandominant class, stimulating t

nce were great and his priority wasbring the country back to its feet after decades of financial

instability, testing various regimes(empire, republic, monarchy). It isonly in the last quarter of thecentury that the Republican ideals

conceived by the revolutionaries of1789 were achieved. Indeed, theheritage left by the Ancien Regime isheavy, and with the industrialrevolution, a new social layeremerges, the working class, dwellingtime, the bourgeoisie becomes thehe commerce and the industry, while

imposing its moral and social values.

The First Empire (1805-1814)

Bonapartes ambitions for Fratomismanagement and political turmoil. Under his rule were createdmany lasting institutions: the Bank of France was set up toensure monetary stability; the Civil Code gave to the judiciary andsociety a solid foundation where to anchor decisions of justice andit is still the basis of civil law in France today; several prestigiousschools were created to secure the training of the elite in theadministration and the military; he also reinforced the centralgovernment by creating the positions of prefects to administer thedepartments created in 1790. Napoleon, while carrying on with

the Revolutions ideal of a laic state, was also favoring arapprochement with the Catholic Church, which had been evictedfrom power control in 1789 and .

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But these ambitions ran even beyond the borders of France: five

owever, the disastrous attempt to invade Russia in 1812 marked

he Restoration (1814-1830) and the Monarchy of July (1830-1848)

he fall of the First Empire coincides with the end of the

years after his coup dtat, in 1804, he crowned himself Emperorof the French (1804) under the name of Napoleon 1 and soon sent

the French armies marching across Europe. At its peak in 1811,the Napoleonic Empire dominated most of the continent, with theexception of England. Napoleon saw himself as a liberator, ratherthan a mere conqueror, and under his firm rule, he purported tobuild a federation of free peoples in Europe who could unitearound liberal governments articulated to a democraticconstitution, committed to civil law, fostering education, scienceand the arts and combating feudalism.

Ha turning point in Napoleons success. The following year, acoalition of six states defeated the French army and invaded

France, forcing Napoleons abdication in 1814. Exiled in Elba (Italy)for almost a year, Napoleon made an extraordinary comeback toregain for hundred days the control of the nation. However, theFrench armies were defeated again in June 1815, ending this timeand for good Napoleons reign, who was deported on the island ofSt. Helena in the middle of the Atlantic. He died there six yearslater.

T

Trevolutionary period in France, after more than 20 years of warsand conflicts that have caused the death of more than 3 millionspeople across Europe. In 1815, France is economically weak anddeeply divided. In Europe, a coalition is formed, the St. Alliance, torespond immediately to new attempts by France to initiate newconflicts. However, with the monarchy restored and the accessionto the throne of Louis XVIII, grandson of Louis XV, the conditionsfor a new equilibrium seemed to be reunited. The new king couldnot ignore 25 years of profound changes in the country, and at thesame time he needed to provide assurance to the conservativeforces that the country was safe for the many refugees to return.In 1814, the Chart was adopted, a sort of constitution that allowed

the formation of political parties and an advisory bi-cameralassembly with little power. The chambers were elected by voterswho could afford to pay a hefty poll tax, which effectively limitedthe number of voters to a few thousands, and among thewealthiest. The political spectrum was then divided into three

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streams: the liberals, who advocated a return to the fundamentalsof the Revolution; the Constitutionals, who wanted to associate aproper constitution to the royal regime; and the ultra-royalists,

who wanted to see a return to absolute monarchy. The reign ofLouis XVIII, with all its weaknesses, marked a period of relativepeace and economic prosperity in France, and in many respects,allowed much more freedom of expression than the Napoleonicregime ever did.

Charles X ascended to the throne in 1825, following the death of

he Assembly chose the duke of Orleans as the next king of

Louis XVIII. The new king had a totally different agenda whichbecame apparent as soon as his coronation, which took place inthe cathedral of Reims, according to the Ancient Regime tradition.Charles X wanted to pass power to the ultra-royalist and did hisbest to weaken the prerogatives granted by the Chart to the

Liberals. In 1830, Charles X committed the French troops to theinvasion of Algeria, effectively starting the colonization process inwhich will be engaged for the decades to come. The same year, hedissolved the Assembly, hoping to return a favorable majority, butthe plan failed. Following another attempt to dissolve the newAssembly, the Parisians staged an insurrection on the 27, 28 and29 July, known as the Three Glorious Days. Charles X was forcedto abdicate and flee the country.

TFrance, a descendant of Louis XIII. The new king assumed powerunder the name of Louis-Philippe for 18 years, the longest reignsince Louis XV. Louis-Philippe was initially popular among themasses for his liberal views, and his reign seemed to mark areturn to constitutional monarchy, the Chart being enforced andsomehow widened in its scope. These measures however, whichincluded a cheaper poll tax, still favored mostly the wealthy middleclass and very soon, in the wake of an assassination attempt onthe king in 1835, the freedom of the press was severely curtained.Important social changes took place in the period, through theincreasing industrialization of the country (coal mines, foundries,textile factories, railways), a new working class emerged in thecities. Theorists such St Simon and Fourier laid the foundations of

a critical appraisal of the capitalist order, and their writings wouldinspire generations of politicians to come.

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Second Revolution of 1848 and the Second Empire (1852-1870)

The abdication in 1848 of Louis-Philippe was

The new Republic,

he new Emperor started his reign by imposing a firm hand on the

precipitated by an economic crisis whichstarted the year before, owing to bad harvests.Again, the people commanded the flow ofevents as demonstrators took to the streets ofParis to protest against unemployment, poorliving conditions and to demand civil andpolitical rights. This second revolution led tothe declaration of the Second Republic by theAssembly. The blue, white and red flag wasraised again, after nearly 35 years of beingfolded under the restoration of the monarchy.led by the Socialist Louis Blanc, had generous

intentions: the universal suffrage was adopted, although thismeasure excluded the women; the mandatory creation of NationalWorkshops, meant to guarantee the availability of jobs andincome for the working classes. However, the political inexperienceof the revolutionaries of 1848, their poor political basis in theprovinces among the peasantry, could not contain a conservativebacklash at the next Assembly elections. Step by step, the newrights gained by the workers were eroded or cancelled. In 1851,Louis Napoleon, the popular president of the Republic and nephewof Napoleon Bonaparte, took advantage of the weakness of theRepublicans to stage a coup dtat and illegally dissolve theAssembly. The following year, he declared himself EmperorNapoleon III. The Second Republic had been short-lived.

Tcountry and dissent. The press, the citizens were closely watchedand opposition members were deported or, such as Victor Hugo,forced to exile. For nearly a decade, France lived under the rule ofa dictator with zero tolerance. Things turned to the worse after anassassination attempt against the Emperor staged in 1858 by anItalian anarchist. As a result, a security law was issued toauthorize the deportation of any suspect without trial. This tightpolitical context however favored economic growth and prosperity,

as capital holders and banks were more willing to invest for newprojects. In the meantime, scientific progress helped the industrialand urban development of the country. Under Napoleon III, Parisunderwent a radical change led by Baron Haussmann, who

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redesigned the crowded capital with large arteries and landmarkbuildings.

The Second Empire was also a period of rapid colonial expansionfor France, a process already initiated under Louis-Philippe.Competing with England, the French overseas colonies were botha source of raw materials to feed the domestic industry andconsumption market and a convenient outlet for products made inthe metropolis. Significant territorial gains were made in West andCentral Africa, in Indochina (Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos) as wellas in the South-Pacific. In 1869, the Suez Canal was finallyopened after a decade of works conducted under the supervisionof French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. The canal dealt asignificant blow in British domination of the region and opened anew route to the East that cut traveling time by half.

In the 1860s, amid an economic downturn, failed foreign policyand growing discontent towards his authoritarian regime,Napoleon IIIs credibility and popularity started to dwindle, evenamong the bourgeoisie who would not forgive him the signing of atreaty that allowed British goods to be freely marketed in France.In response, the ageing and ailing Emperor eased his grip on themedia and relaxed political rights, such as the freedom of strikeand parliamentarian representation. These changes favored themassive return of Republicans to the Assembly in 1870. The same

year, Napoleon III, in the hope of retaining power, agreed to a newconstitution providing full parliamentary legislative regime to thecountry. However, the Franco-Prussian war broke out, and withthe French armies mobilized in Western France and the Emperorcaptured by the Germans, the Republican deputies in Paris tookadvantage of the situation to topple the Second Empire and installa new provisional government.

The Third Republic (1870-1940)

Soon after their seizing of power, the new government proclaimedthe Third Republic, a bicameral parliamentarian democracy thatwill resist many crises during the next 70 years, until the invasion

of France by Germany at the onset of the Second World War. Thenew republic emerged while Paris was still under the siege of theGerman troops, ready to invade the capital. The siege was to lastfor four months, until a treaty was signed, by which France had topay heavy war reparations and to abandon to Prussia its eastern

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provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The loss of these provinces wasto leave a deep scar into the French psyche, until their eventualrecovery some 50 years later, after the First World War.

However, the young republic had notseen the end of its troubles: in March1871, a civil insurrection, known as LaCommune, broke out in the capital.Overwhelmed by the events, thegovernment led by Thiers was forced toretreat to Versailles to prepare thecounter-attack. The Communards,which will become a source ofinspiration for many Communistrevolutionaries worldwide, adopted the

red flag, formed a freely electedgovernment and implemented radical measures in favor of theworking class, among them free and laic education. By May 1871however, the loyalist troops of Versailles stormed the capital andcrushed the insurrection, leaving at least 25,000 men, women andchildren dead in one of the bloodiest repression in French history.Countless other citizens suspected of supporting the insurrectionwere deported or imprisoned. The short-lived Commune was thelast gasp of the French Revolution that changed Frances historyalmost one century earlier.

By 1875, the Republic without Republicans went through arange of constitutional reforms and appointed its first president,the general Mac-Mahon, a monarchist, who had led the repressionagainst the Communards. The government adopted a strict policybased on moral values, while closely watching for a possiblerebirth of the workers movement. In 1879 however, Mac-Mahonwas forced to stand down, following parliamentary elections thatreturned a majority of Republicans to the legislative Assembly.From then on, a truly democratic regime was put into place,controlled by liberal members of parliament who onlydistinguished themselves by either their moderate or radicalaffiliation to democratic values. The moderate camp however

dominated the Chamber and from 1881 onwards, Jules Ferry, oneof the most revered politicians in French history pushed a packageof long-awaited legislation: the free, mandatory and seculareducation for all children until the age of 13 and the completefreedom of the press. Further laws enshrined the right to belong to

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trade unions and helped to regulate the work of women andchildren. To celebrate the memory of the French Revolution as wellas the industrial prowess of the country, it was decided to build a

gigantic tower in the heart of Paris. The Tour Eiffel was unveiled in1889 at the Exposition Universelle and would remain thereon asone of the universal icons of the French nation.

Meanwhile, the colonial policy was actively pursued with furthergains on the African continent and south-east Asia. The Frenchcolonial empire was then 16 times larger than France itself andsecond in size to the British empire. Beyond its commercial andstrategic rationale, the French government justified colonialism asa way of bringing civilization to the backward peoples under itsrule. As such, colonialism was seen as a duty performed by theWestern industrial countries for the good of the rest of the world.

The French were also present in China, in the Yunnan province inparticular, contiguous to its possessions in Indochina, as well asthrough commercial concessions in Canton and Shanghai. In1900, the French participated in an international militaryexpedition that was sent to Tianjing and Peking to help crush theBoxers rebellion.

In the late 1890s and early 1900s, in the wake of a bitter disputeover the Dreyfus affair that had uncovered the extent of anti-Semitism and political divisions in France, the radical Republicansprogressively took the upper-hand over the moderate wing in whatis called the anti-clerical Republic. The Catholic Church, seen asthe main ally of the conservative forces, became the main target ofthe radical Republicans. In 1904, the French government severedits diplomatic ties with the Vatican and the following year, in 1905,a bill was issued to formally separate the Church from the affairsof the state. In practice, while Catholicism was still recognized asthe national religion, the government was no longer required tosubsidize the Churchs activities, including the salaries of itspersonnel. The significance of this legislation was symbolically far-reaching, inasmuch as it translated into law the secularism of ademocratic nation that has been associated with Christianity sincethe Gallo-Roman period.

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5. The 20thcentury

During the first decade ofthe 20th century Franceenjoyed a period of upbeatmood and optimism to thepoint that this time isremembered as la BelleEpoque. The country

produced and benefittedfrom many of the scientificand technical innovations ofthe second industrialrevolution: photography,

gramophone, electricity, automobile, bicycle and the prototypes ofaerial machines on which Blriot realized the first 30-km flightacross the channel (1909), from Calais to Dover. Marie Curieexperienced the radioactivity in her laboratory and was awardedtwo Nobel prizes (1903 and 1911). In the capital Paris, the firstmetro line opened on 14 July 1900 and changed the face of urbantransport for ever. France enjoyed considerable internationalprestige: it had the second-largest colonial empire in the world,played a leading role in international diplomacy and was at theforefront in the realms of art, culture and science.

World War I (1914-1918)

From 1910 onwards, the tension between France and Germanyincreased, the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine remaining atthe heart of the dispute. In spite of the opposition of FrenchSocialists led by Jean Jaurs to an armed conflict with Germany,

the preparations gained pace. Following the assassination in June1914 at Sarajevo of Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria,Germany formed a alliance with Austria-Hungary (the CentralPowers) while France responded by seeking an alliance withEngland and Russia (the Triple Alliance). When Germany declared

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war to Russia and France in August, a sacred union of theFrench political class favored the warmongers. France entered theconflict assuming that the war would be short and limited in

scope. However, this war would last four years and for the firsttime in history, would take a global dimension.

Even though the conflict involved countries as far as the US andJapan, the main battlefield took place in eastern France. TheGerman troops stationed on French soil attempted several times toseize Paris while the French troops resisted and tried hard to pushthe Germans back behind the border. In February 1916, theBattle de Verdun started and for nearly one year, French andGerman troops fought each other from the entrenched positions inappalling conditions. Amid diseases, food shortages, artillery andchemical warfare, hundreds of thousands soldiers from each side

lost their lives, and many more were seriously wounded. Thetrenches of Verdun would soon become a symbol of the GreatWar. By 1917, the United States who had adopted so far anisolationist stand entered the conflict to reinforce the tripleAlliance, in the wake of the destruction of American ships by theGermans. However, in December 1917, as the BolshevikRevolution broke out, the Russians left the Triple Alliance, a movethat allowed the Germans to redeploy on the Western front inFrance.

In March 1918, the German troops werewithin 30 km of Paris and bombarded thecapital with long-distance canons. But thearrival of fresh American troops in Augustgave a new twist to the battle. TheGermans were finally forced to retreat andwith the capitulation of Turkey andAustria-Hungary in November, theGermans have no choice but to face defeat.

The armistice is signed on November 11,1918, near Paris. The war has caused thedeath of 8 millions people across Europe.One year later, Germany will pay a heavy

price : according to the Treaty of Versailles,Germany would surrender Alsace andLorraine back to France; pay war reparations for up to 132 billionsof marks; the bordering provinces of Rhenania and Sarre wouldremain occupied and demilitarized; the country would also be

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prevented to develop weaponry and an army of more than 100,000men. Finally, all the German colonies in the Pacific and Africa aredistributed among Australia, Japan, Belgium, England and France.

This treaty will have a profound psychological, social andeconomical impact on Germany, it will also change drastically thepolitical map of Europe, exacerbating nationalist feelings in manyregions.

The Interwar (1918-1939)

Right after the war, the conservative Republicans are back incontrol in France, with Raymond Poincar heading thegovernment. Poincar advocated a tough policy against Germanyand in 1923, the French troops are sent to occupy the Ruhr region.

This decision sent waves of panic across financial markets. In

order to protect the French currency against heavy speculation,Poincar took the step of increasing taxes by 20%, a veryunpopular decision that cost the Republicans the general electionsof 1924, won by the Radicals and Socialists. The first decision ofthe new left-wing government led by the Radical Herriot was todesign a new tax capital tax, which resulted in a fresh monetarycrisis as a massive flow of capital left the country. Herriot wasthen forced to step down and Poincar was called again to form acoalition government. Thanks to a firm economic policy, thefinances were soon back on track, which allowed the Republicansto win the next general elections in 1928.

The period right after the war was not only aboutfinancial crises however. The 20s were also aperiod of deep cultural changes amidst a societywhich slowly recovered from the great damagesof the First World War. After the Belle Epoque ofthe first decade, the 20s were named theAnnes Folles (the Mad Years). Women playedan essential role in these years: during the war,they replaced men in many sectors of economicand social activities. In many instances, theyalso acquired the status of head of family

creating for themselves much room forindependence. The birth rate was also in sharpdecrease, allowing more freedom to women, whowere no longer confined to motherhood role.

Coco Chanel, the first female designer, revolutionized the way

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women dressed and thought about themselves. The writer Colette,provocative and carefree, sketched the profile of a newemancipated woman in her immensely popular novels. On the

other hand, Andr Breton and a group of young intellectuals andartists brought about the Surrealist Revolution in a Manifestopublished in 1924. In this new vision of the arts (literature,painting, sculpture), freedom, invention and spontaneity were thekeys to approach new creative forms, more attuned to the innerimpulses of the Unconscious, just recently uncovered by SigmundFreud.

In 1930, in a relatively healthy economic context, the conservativegovernment led by Andr Tardieu introduced welfare measuresdirected to the less wealthy which would thereafter become alandmark of Frances social State: public works, social insurance,

and free secondary schooling. His government also undertook theconstruction of the Maginot line, a series of concrete fortificationsand bunkers along its borders to Germany and Italy, in order tofoil a surprise attack from the enemy, as it had happened in 1914.By 1932 however, France started to feel the pinch of the WallStreet Crash of 1929, with an increasing number of unemployedand disgruntled people. In the meantime, Adolf Hitler hadascended to power in Germany with a tough propaganda aroundthe theme of revenge, in particular against France. The fascisttreat across Europe (Germany, Spain, Italy) contributed to uniteleft-wing parties in France who managed to win the generalelections of 1936 under a broad coalition, the Front Populaire(Popular Front). The government led by Leon Blum, which for thefirst time included women ministers, immediately passedspectacular social measures: workers right to strike; mandatory12 days (2 weeks) of paid vacations; workweek limited to 40 hours;wages raises. Blum also dissolved the fascist leagues who hadbecome very active in France.

Blums government however was short-lived. Budgetary deficit,disputes among the coalition on the question of the civil war inSpain, opposition of the Senate forced Blum to step down afteronly one year at the helm of the government. The new president of

the Council, Edouard Daladier, initially believed, as the British did,that by making concessions to Hitler at Munich in 1938 over theeastern part Czechoslovakia would make it possible to avoidhostilities. However, on 3 September 1939, shortly after the

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Germans invasion of Poland, the Head of government committedFrance to the Second World War, alongside the British.

World War II (1939-1945)

The Germans armies, backed by powerfultanks and air forces cut across Frenchborders north of the Maginot line, where theywere not expected and after a long period ofwaiting, in May 1940. They quickly reachedNormandy and in six weeks the Frencharmies are crushed. The Germans enteredParis on June 14 and a week later thearmistice was signed at Rethondes, in thevery place Germany conceded defeat on

November 1918. On June 18, the General de Gaulle speaking onradio from London, launched his historic appeal to the French toresist to the invaders. According to the terms of the armistice, theGermans annexed again the Alsace and Lorraine, the northernpart of the country and the Atlantic coast were put under Germancontrol, while the south was declared free zone and administeredfrom the city of Vichy by a French State led by the MarechalPetain who pledged allegiance to the occupant.

The government of collaboration as it will be called, tookimmediate measures to reform the Constitution and to silence theopposition: the President was given full authority, political partiesand trade unions were suspended, the right to strike was annulledand the nations policy articulated after three principles: work,family and fatherland. This new order represented in fact acomplete negation of all democratic and social progress made inFrance since the Revolution. The former political leaders(including Blum and Daladier) were arrested and prosecuted. TheFrench government also assisted and organized the arrest anddeportation of resident Jews to Germanys concentration camps.By 1943, the Vichy government urged the youth and workers to goto Germany to help in the industries and farm estates. Thegreatest ambition of Petains government was to become the

second economic and industrial power in Europe after Germany.

Between the Nazi occupant and the Vichy government, theResistance managed to organize itself, notably with Jean Moulin, a

young civil servant who escaped France to join de Gaulle in

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London. Soon back to France, Moulin organized the resistantnetworks to help the passages of resistants into the Free Zone,perform sabotage operations, provide help to persecuted Jews. In

November 1942, the Germans, worried by the growing threat of anew war front in North Africa, decided to deploy their troops in theFree Zone. The general de Gaulle had set up in Algeria aprovisional government of France and organized resistance fromthere. When Moulin was arrested in June 1943, tortured and diedfrom his wounds, the Resistance was already a powerfulorganization that would play a major role in the preparation of thegigantic Allied landing of Normandy the year after, in June 1944.In spite of enormous human loss, the landing was successful andon August 25, the French and allied troops marched victoriousinto the streets of the capital Paris. The country was free at last,and the General de Gaulle took the lead of the provisional

government.

The French Resistance may not have been a key factor in theAllied victory over Nazism, but its role was crucial for France inthat it convinced the British, American and Soviet politicians thatFrance should be considered one of the victorious Allies, ratherthan an enemy whose territory should be occupied. France wasthus able to participate fully in the victory and was present at thesigning of Germanys capitulation on 8 May 1945 in Reims. In thissense, it is fair to say that it was the Resistance, personified by deGaulle, which allowed France to hold on to its internationalposition despite having suffered a military defeat.

The post-war era (1945-1958)

In the months following the liberation of the country, the level ofeuphoria was high and proportionate to the degree of trauma andhardship endured by the French during the 4-year Nazioccupation. This euphoria translated into a cultural Renaissanceof which the Saint-Germain district on the left bank in Paris wasthe main focus. There in the jazz clubs, the trendy cafs, theParisian youth celebrated their newly found freedom. A newgeneration of artists and intellectuals emerged, such as Boris Vian

and Juliette Greco, and on the literary scene, Jean-Paul Sartre,thinker of Existentialism and Simone de Beauvoir, prominentfeminist and author of the celebrated Second Sex. Meanwhile, aclimate of revenge known as lpuration - settled in, withspontaneous settling of scores and summary executions of

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thousands of collabos. Formal trials were also held to presscharges against and prosecute the collaborators, among themPierre Laval, former associate of Marechal Ptain, the writer and

intellectual Robert Brasillach, and Louis Renault, head of the carmaker company. However, economic collaborators were largelyspared, as the country needed its entrepreneurs and captains ofindustry for the postwar reconstruction. In August 1945, Ptainwas sentenced to death but on the ground of his old age, thesentence was commuted to life-long imprisonment. Overall, theFrench were torn between the glorification of the Resistance andthe desire to bury the shameful collaborationist State whichhelped the deportation of 76,000 Jews from France to Germanysextermination camps.

As soon as 1945, the provisional

government, while working on a newConstitution which would soon give birthto the Fourth Republic, engaged intoradical reforms, such as thenationalization of banks and largecompanies (energy, transport, insurances),the creation of the Social Security, theright of vote for women. However, deGaulle stepped down in 1946, dissociatinghimself with the reforms of the government,in particular those regarding constitutionalamendments. De Gaulle, who advocated apresidential regime and strong executiveleadership, could not be satisfied with a

new constitution which basically prolonged the formerparliamentary regime. Despite the Communist opposition, Francesoon became a member of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in April1949. In addition, after Germany was divided, France opted for apolicy of entente with West Germany which was to lay thefoundations of the European Community. Jean Monnet, RobertSchuman and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer were instrumental inbringing the two countries closer together - a strategy whichresulted, in 1951, in the creation of the European Coal and Steel

Community (ECSC), a first milestone on the road to a unitedEurope.

But the troubles envisioned by de Gaulle for the new Republicinaugurated in 1947 didnt come only from inner struggles on the

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French political scene: the French Empire was also on the brink ofcollapsing and the colonies abroad were actively seeking theirindependence, following the global trend after the war, which

greatly weakened the colonial powers. Indochina thus became thecentral focus of foreign policy for the new Republic: Vietnam, inthe wake of its liberation from Japanese occupation, had declaredits independence in 1945, a move that France was not ready toaccept. H Chi Minh, leader of the Vietnam Liberation Front,backed by the Soviet Union and Communist China, organized theresistance from the North against the French troops. After many

years of a dirty war where 100,000 French troops were killed,the French defeat at Din Bin Phu in May 1954 precipitated thecapitulation of France as well as the fall of the government. PierreMendes France, head of the new socialist government, signed in

July 1954 the Geneva Accords, which recognized the

independence of Laos and Cambodia, as well as the split ofVietnam into two zones.

As peace was gained on the Indochina front, war erupted inAlgeria, the oldest French colony, conquered in 1830. While otherFrench colonies like Tunisia and Morocco, as well as mostterritories in sub-Saharan Africa won their independence in thelate 50s and early 60s without armed conflict, the case of Algeriawas different. The ties linking France with this country were deepand complex, economic and emotional, and many French settlershad been living on this land for generations. France was reluctantto make this ultimate concession on her lost empire. In 1954, thefirst insurrections by the National Liberation Front are harshlysuppressed. Pierre Mendes-France, who favored conciliation, wasforced to step down in 1955 after only seven months in power.Under the various governments which followed, the Algerian warbecame the focus of French politics, the conflict became more andmore unpopular among public opinion. In 1958, the Frenchresidents of Algeria, backed by the Army of General Massu and thelocal authorities, threatened to stage a coup and form aninsurgent government unless the Constitution was amended andthe General de Gaulle installed into power. The pressuresucceeded. De Gaulle was called by President Ren Coty to lead

the government. He initiated the drafting of a new Constitution,which was to lay down the future modus operandi of the Frenchinstitutions. On 28 September 1958, the Constitution of the FifthRepublic was adopted by referendum. It gave the President of theRepublic much broader authority. On 21 December 1958, de

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Gaulle was elected President by a college of deputies, senators andlocal elected representatives.

The Fifth Republic (1958-present)

The new constitution didnt stop the war, butserious disturbances both in mainlandFrance and in Algeria, and a putsch bygenerals in Algiers on 22 April 1961, led to anacceleration of the negotiations with theprovisional government of the AlgerianRepublic which culminated in the Evianagreements, overwhelmingly approved byreferendum on 8 April 1962. Algeria gainedindependence and a million French

inhabitants had to return to mainland Franceand a new life. The General de Gaulle, seen

as the liberator of France in 1944, had again freed his country,but this time from its own colonial past. At the same time, the newregime conceived by de Gaulle could now be tested in a period ofstability, after 22 years of continuous conflicts since the beginningof WW2. On 28 October 1962, de Gaulle called a referendumwhich approved election of the head of State by direct universalsuffrage. He would be elected president on 19 December 1965.

As soon as the following year, de Gaulle undertook to demonstratewhat he had in mind for France: based on a thriving economyboosted by post-war reconstruction and a booming demography,de Gaulle wanted a France which would affirm its independencefrom the two superpowers of the Cold War and strongly anchoredin Europe. In January 1963, de Gaulle opposed the entry of GreatBritain into EEC, as he judged that the British entertained toostrong ties with the US. However, a week later, de Gaulle andAdenauer laid the foundations of a deeper partnership withGermany with the signature of the Franco-German Treaty ofFriendship. A few months later, France which had developed anuclear arsenal, declared its military independence, thuspreparing its actual withdrawal from NATO which would

eventually materialize in 1966. Finally, in January 1964, just asthough he wanted to seal his huge unpopularity among the USand British leaders, de Gaulle became the first Western Head ofState to initiate diplomatic links with the Popular Republic ofChina, then led by Mao Tse Tung.

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However, the first signs of a crisis of confidence towards Gaullistpolitics became manifest as the younger generation, who hadnt

known the war and its immediate aftermath grew disillusioned ofthe consumerist society in which France had engaged during the Thirty Glorious Years since the end of the war. The youth of thelate 60s wanted a society based on different values than those oftheir parents and the politicians that had led the country in thereconstruction phase and the colonial wars. The 1968 uprisingstarted in March in a Parisian university, and quickly spreadthroughout the country in the following weeks. The students onstrike at first demanded reforms of the education system, but soontheir demands concerned a large spectrum of aspects of thesociety, such as workers rights, freedom of expression, politicalcensorship. In May, the students confronted the police in the

streets, elevating barricades in violent clashes. The workers joinedthe movement and by May 24, 10 millions people across Francewere on strike, bringing the country to a halt. Faced with thisunprecedented unrest and with France on the brink of anarchy,de Gaulle called for general elections to take place by June end.

The ballot boxes returned a large majority in favor of the Gaullistgovernment. The upheaval died down as quickly as it started, deGaulle emerged victorious, and the National Hero had wonanother battle, on the social front this time.

The protesters of May '68 may not haveachieved the ideal society they wanted topromote in the course of their revolt, but theevents would have a deep social impact onthe country in the longer term. Theconservative values of the old state, basedon morality, religion, patriotism, respect ofauthority had been seriously challenged anda clear shift towards more liberal views, suchas equality, sexual liberation, human rights,defiance towards capitalism, concerns for theenvironment would from now on dominate

French society.

De Gaulle stepped down in 1969 as he suffered a rebuke in areferendum on constitutional affairs. Georges Pompidou, a formerPrime Minister, was elected soon afterwards. Pompidou adopted amore pragmatic economic policy and distanced himself from

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Gaullism. Under his presidency, France lifted its veto on Britainsentry into the European Economic Community (EEC). The EECwas also subsequently opened to Ireland and Denmark, taking the

number of members to nine in 1973. But Pompidous mandatewas interrupted by his death from illness in 1974. In thepresidential elections that followed, Valry Giscard dEstaing, aformer Finance Minister under de Gaulle and Pompidou, waselected. Under the backdrop of the first oil crisis that threatenedthe global economy, the young president was keen to presenthimself as a promoter of a new style of government with acentrist approach. Giscard introduced bold reforms, such as thelowering of the age of majority to 18, the legalization of abortion,and the end of censorship of films and TV broadcasting. He alsoinitiated meetings of the G7 (Group of Seven most industrializedcountries) and, together with the German Chancellor Helmut

Schmidt, was instrumental in setting up the European MonetarySystem (EMS) and the election of Members of the EuropeanParliament by universal suffrage. However, with the second oilcrisis that struck France in 1979, the economic situationworsened, with notably a sharp increase of the number of joblesspeople, which would remain the main issue in French politics forthe decades to come.

Weakened by poor economic result and aplunging popularity due to scandals that hadcast doubts on his personal integrity, GiscarddEstaing lost the presidential elections inMay 1981 to the Socialist FranoisMitterrand, who had been the leading figureof the opposition since the inception of theFifth Republic. The election of the firstSocialist President was historical, in acountry which had always been dominated byConservative parties. In some respect, France

was ready to take this step and the revolt of May 68 had certainlyplayed a major role in the maturation process. With a comfortablemajority of left-wing MPs gained in the subsequent generalelections, Mitterrand had an open field ahead of him to implement

the policies of the Left he had promised to deliver. The firstmeasures taken by the government represented just that: abolitionof the death penalty; nationalization of major industrial groupsand banks; a series of laws on decentralization, allowing greaterautonomy to the regions and local governments. On the social and

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economic levels, in a spirit reminiscent of the Popular Front in1936, the minimum wage was increased, the working week waslowered to 39 hours (from 40 hours), the amount of paid leave was

brought to five weeks (from four), the retirement age was set at 60,and a solidarity tax on wealth was created to help the poorest,along with a range of various social measures in direction of theworkers. The objective was to boost economic activity by creatingmore demand, but the plot failed. By 1983, the government had toadopt a set of austerity measures to combat inflation and everrising unemployment.

The euphoria of 1981 was overturned by disappointment and thegeneral elections of 1986 showed that the generous Left ofMitterrand had not been more able to address the economicdifficulties facing France than the Liberal Right of Giscard

dEstaing. As the ballots returned a Conservative majority to theNational Assembly, Mitterrand was forced to cohabit with

Jacques Chirac, a Gaullist Prime Minister, for the next remainingtwo years of his presidential mandate. In a sense, thisunprecedented cohabitation of two political opponents at the helmof the State provided a perfect test for the institutions of the FifthRepublic and the French people seemed to be happy with thissharing of power. Under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, thedistribution of the roles was clear: the President led the Nation(Defense and Foreign policy) while the Prime Minister led thegovernment. In 1988, Franois Mitterrand was reelected for asecond 7-year mandate, and following the dissolution of theNational Assembly, the left-wing parties managed to hold a narrowmajority. Overall, the second mandate was no more successful insolving the economic problems of France, but it was in his secondterm that Mitterrand engaged in major architectural projectswhich would become the legacy of his presidency: the LouvrePyramid, the Channel Tunnel linking France and Britain, theGrande Arche of the Defense, the Bastille Opera, the FinanceMinistry in Bercy, the National Library of France, the Institute ofthe Arab World. In 1993, after the Socialists lost for a second timein the general elections, Franois Mitterrand was again forced tocohabit with a Conservative cabinet led by Edouard Balladur.

Mitterrands second and last term ended in 1995, and JacquesChirac was elected new President of France.

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History of France - A Chronology

1,200 BC 500 BC

First settlements of Celtic populations in Gaul

600 BC Foundation of Marseille by the Greeks500 BC Massive arrival of Celtic populations in Gaul390 BC The Gauls besiege Rome122 BC First Roman colonies in Southern Gaul52 BC The Gauls are defeated by the Romans.

Foundation of Lutece (Paris). Beginning of PaxRomana.

253-275 AD First wave of Barbarian invaders406 Second wave of Barbarian invaders

Antiquity1,200 BC 500 AD

476 End of Roman Empire481 Clovis, King of the Franks, Merovingian Dynasty496 Conversion of Clovis to Christianism732 Charles Martel defeats Arab invasion in Poitiers751 Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, Carolingian

Dynasty768 Charlemagne, King of the Franks800 Charlemagne, Emperor of the Franks843 Charles the Bald, King of Francia Occidentalis885 Vikings besiege Paris911 Creation of the Duch of Normandy987 Hugh Capet, first Capetian King

1066 William of Normandy, King of England1095 First Crusade1154 Henri II Plantagenet, King of England1229 Saint Louis, King of France1337 Beginning of the Anglo-French War1420 Treaty of Troyes, the French crown goes to

Englands Henry II1429 Joan of Arc defeats the English at Orleans1429 Coronation of Charles VII1453 End of the Anglo-French War

Middle Ages500 - 1500

1477 Burgundy joins the French Crown1495 Beginning of the Italian Wars1515 Francis I, King of France

1572 Massacre of the Protestants on St BarthelemyDay

1594 Henri IV, King of France1598 Edict of Nantes

Renaissance16thcentury

1610 Henri IV assassination

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1617 Louis XIII, King of France1624-1642 Richelieu, Chief Minister

1636 Foundation of French Academy

1639-1699 Life of Jean Racine, playwright1648 Treaty of Westphalia1652 Louis XIV, King of France1684 The King Sun moves into Versailles palace1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

Classical Age17thcentury

1715 Death of Louis XIV1728 Louis XV, King of France1748 Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws1751 Publication of the first volume of Diderots

Encyclopaedia1756 Voltaire, Essay on Manners and Spirit of

Nations1762 Rousseau, The Social Contract

1763 Treaty of Paris: France concedes Canada andIndia to England

Enlightenment18thcentury

1774 Louis XVI, King of France1789 Storming of the Bastille (July 14). Declaration

of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (Aug. 26)1792-1795 National Convention. Proclamation of the

Republic (Sept. 11, 1792)1793 Execution of Louis XVI (Jan. 21)

1793-1794 The Reign of Terror, Robespierres Committeeof Public Safety

1795-1799 The Directory, first bicameral legislature

Revolution1789-1799

1799 Coup dEtat of Bonaparte; Consulate1804 Napolon I Bonaparte, Emperor. Civil Code.

Bank of France1805-1814 Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon defeated at Leipzig

(1814) and deported at Elba Island1814 Louis XVIII, King of France1815 The Hundred Days of Napoleon. Defeat at

Waterloo. Napoleon is exiled at St Helene.1815-1830 The Restoration

1824 Charles X, King of France1830 The Three Glorious Days

1830-1848 Monarchy of July Louis Philippe, King ofFrance

1848 Second Republic

1852-1870 Second Empire - Napoleon III1857 Algeria becomes French colony1870-1871 Franco-German War

1870 Third Republi

france - an outline of history

Documents

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nationthe birth of france

thatthe kingdom of france

french monarchy

thcentury world war

fran outline of historydenis

early middle ages

unified nation