Prehistory
The prehistoric history of France is a fascinating journey into the past that allows us to understand the origins of humanity and the first traces of civilization on French territory. This period, from about 2.6 million years ago until the arrival of the Romans in the first century BC, is characterized by a series of important cultural and technological developments.
During the Lower Paleolithic, the first hominids settled in the region, hunting animals and collecting fruits to survive. The first evidence of human activity in France dates back to about 1.8 million years ago, with the discovery of worked stone tools.
Celts, Romans, and Franks
The territory corresponding to present-day France was conquered by the Celts during the 1st millennium B.C. and then by the Romans from the 2nd-1st century B.C. Integrated as a province in the Empire with the name of Gaul, it was subjected to an intense effort of romanization that gave rise to a prosperous Gallo-Roman civilization. Between the 3rd and 5th centuries A.D., however, the increasing penetration of barbarian populations and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476) radically changed these balances. Among the different peoples settled in the region, the Visigoths, the Burgundians, and the Franks were the latter to prevail and restore the unity of Gaul. It is since then, in many respects, that the history of France can begin.
Merovingians
Clovis, king of the Franks from 481 to 511, was the main architect of a turning point in French history. He defeated the Alamanni and Visigoths, extending the boundaries of the kingdom, and favored the conversion of the Franks to Catholic Christianity, gaining the support of the Church and promoting integration between the Franks and the subjugated populations. The Merovingians, who ruled the Frankish kingdom for nearly three centuries, led to a period of territorial and economic expansion. However, they were weakened by the dynastic crisis, noble tensions, and territorial fragmentation. Butlers or palace masters, such as Pepin of Héristal, Charles Martel, and Pepin the Short, gained more and more power until Pepin the Short deposed the Merovingians in 751 and founded the Carolingian dynasty.
Carolingians
Charlemagne, grandson of Charles Martel, brought the Carolingian dynasty to its peak. Under his reign, which lasted from 768 to 814 AD, the Carolingian Empire reached its maximum extent, encompassing much of Western Europe. Charlemagne was an enlightened ruler, promoting education, art, and culture. He was also a great reformer, introducing new laws and promoting economic development. However, after Charlemagne’s death, the Carolingian Empire fragmented due to succession struggles and external pressures. This marked the end of the Carolingian era as the dominant power in Europe. Despite this, their contribution to European history is significant, as they laid the foundations for the continent’s future political and cultural development.
After the fall of the Carolingian Empire, the unity of the Empire was lost, and much of the French territory was assigned to Charles the Bald by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. From that moment, France and the Empire took separate paths, with a tendency towards fragmentation and the threat of new foreign invasions.
Capetians
In 987, Hugh Capet was crowned king and began the Capetian dynasty, which ruled France directly until 1328. During this period, the feudal system developed, and the monarchy sought to strengthen its power in contrast to the nobility and universal ambitions of the Empire and the Church. Kings such as Philip II Augustus, Louis IX, and Philip IV the Fair worked towards this goal.
Valois
After the Capetian dynasty, the Valois ruled France for over two hundred years, from 1328 to 1589. This crucial period began with the Hundred Years’ War against England, which caused enormous economic and social costs. However, the French monarchy was strengthened by the conflict, and important progress was made towards the construction of the modern state between the 15th and 16th centuries.
France sought to gain a dominant position in Europe through a policy of expansion towards Italy, but the Italian Wars between 1494 and 1559 ended with the failure of French ambitions and Spanish hegemony.
Subsequently, France faced internal conflicts between Catholics and Huguenots, known as the Wars of Religion. These civil wars ended in 1598 with the Edict of Nantes, promulgated by Henry IV of Bourbon, which guaranteed coexistence between the two religious confessions within the state.
Bourbons
Henry IV began the Bourbon dynasty, which remained in power until 1830, with a brief interruption during the French Revolution. During the reign of Henry IV, Louis XIII, and especially Louis XIV, the monarchy strengthened considerably, assuming characteristics of absolute monarchy. The crown succeeded in controlling the aristocracy and concentrating large powers while retaining some privileges. This happened also thanks to the submission of the Church and to an economic development based on mercantilism and the principle of the divine right of the king.
Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, sought to militarily expand France, taking advantage of its dominant position in Europe after the Thirty Years’ War. However, the wars they waged exhausted the resources of the state and failed in their goal of hegemony, paving the way for a crisis of legitimacy and the end of the absolutist system in the 18th century, with Louis XV and especially Louis XVI.
The Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte
The French Revolution of 1789 marked the end of absolutism and privileges of the nobility, known as the ancient regime. This historical event not only influenced France but also had a significant impact in Europe and the rest of the world. The Revolution led to the creation of a constitutional monarchy and later, in 1792, to the republic. However, the republic was transformed into a Jacobin dictatorship known as the Terror and then stabilized into a moderate republican regime thanks to the intervention of Napoleon Bonaparte, who in 1804 proclaimed himself emperor.
Napoleon played a dual role in the development of the revolution. On the one hand, he helped stabilize the country in a more moderate direction. On the other hand, through his military campaigns, he exported some of the fundamental social and legal conquests of the revolution beyond national borders, radically changing the geopolitical map of the continent. However, Napoleon was finally defeated between 1814 and 1815 by a vast international coalition, which initiated the process of Restoration of the monarchies that had been deposed by him. Nevertheless, the profound changes introduced by this crucial phase of French history were not completely erased.
Restoration and Second Empire
During the 19th century, French history was characterized by significant political and institutional changes, accompanied by processes of economic and social modernization. After the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815, the Bourbons returned to power, but their stay was short. In 1830, after the July Revolution, Louis-Philippe d’Orléans ascended the throne with the support of the great bourgeoisie and remained in power until 1848. In that year, a new revolution, which actively involved the popular masses and also saw the emergence of socialist ideas, led to the abolition of the monarchy and the proclamation of the republic. The Second Republic, following the First Republic during the Great Revolution, was soon replaced by a coup in 1851-1852, followed by a popular plebiscite, which led to the creation of the Second Empire, with Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III) as the main architect. This new form of government, initially conservative and later liberal, played an important role in European political balances in the 1950s and 1960s. However, in 1870-1871, it suffered a heavy defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and dissolved, giving rise first to the experiment of the Paris Commune and then to the birth of the Third Republic.
Third, Fourth and Fifth Republics
From the year 1870 until today, France has remained a republican state but has undergone major changes in its form of government. After the Third Republic, a Fourth Republic was established in 1945, and a Fifth Republic in 1958, each with distinct political and institutional structures. Throughout its long history, the country has faced periods of internal tension, beginning with the Dreyfus affair in the late 19th century, but has managed to maintain substantial stability in its democratic institutions.
Internationally, France played a significant role in the imperialist conflicts that preceded World War I in 1914. During the war, it allied with Britain and Russia and emerged as one of the victorious powers. In World War II, France once again allied with Britain but was soon occupied by German troops and formed the collaborationist government of Vichy.
After the war, France had to accept the dissolution of its colonial empire in Indochina and faced dramatic and violent resistance in Algeria. Despite aligning with the West during the Cold War, France has sought to maintain an independent role in international relations, occasionally challenging American leadership and promoting the idea of a new Europe, particularly under the leadership of General de Gaulle, a figure of great importance in 20th-century French history.
France today
On October 5, 1958, during the Algerian War, a new Constitution was approved, replacing the parliamentary system with a semi-presidential one. Charles de Gaulle used the crisis to establish a new French government with a more powerful president. In 1962, De Gaulle proposed direct election of the president by universal suffrage. Subsequently, Georges Pompidou (1969-1974), Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (1974-1981), and François Mitterrand (1981-1995) were elected as Presidents. In 1970, amendments were made to the 1958 Constitution, removing references to the “French community.” France participated in the Gulf War against Iraq in 1990. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, France reduced its nuclear capabilities and abolished military service in 2001. France also faced the war on terror, experiencing terrorist attacks such as the hijacking of Air France flight 8969 in 1994 and the bombing of the Paris metro in 1995. France played an active role in the development of the European Union, ratifying the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and adopting the Euro in 2002. Jacques Chirac was elected President in 1995 and re-elected in 2002. In 2005, France experienced the banlieue uprisings. Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President in 2007, followed by François Hollande in 2012. France endured numerous Islamist terrorist attacks between 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Emmanuel Macron was elected President after Hollande’s decision not to seek a second term.
