history of France

Table of Contents

Introduction
Gaul
- Geographic-historical scope
- People
- Roman conquest
  - Gaul under the high empire (c. 50 bce–c. 250 ce)
  - Gaul under the late Roman Empire (c. 250–c. 400)
- The end of Roman Gaul (c. 400–c. 500)
Merovingian and Carolingian age
- Origins
  - Early Frankish period
  - Gaul and Germany at the end of the 5th century
- The Merovingians
  - Clovis and the unification of Gaul
    - Frankish expansion
    - Conversion of Clovis
  - The sons of Clovis
    - Conquest of Burgundy
    - Conquest of southern Germany
  - The grandsons of Clovis
    - Shrinking of the frontiers and peripheral areas
    - Parceling of the kingdom
  - The failure of reunification (613–714)
    - Chlotar II and Dagobert I
    - The hegemony of Neustria
    - Austrasian hegemony and the rise of the Pippinids
- The Carolingians
  - Charles Martel and Pippin III
    - Charles Martel
    - Pippin III
  - Charlemagne
    - The conquests
    - The restoration of the empire
  - Louis I
  - The partitioning of the Carolingian empire
    - The Treaty of Verdun
    - The kingdoms created at Verdun
- The Frankish world
  - Society
    - Germans and Gallo-Romans
    - Social classes
    - Diffusion of political power
  - Institutions
    - Kingship
    - The central government
    - Local institutions
    - The development of institutions in the Carolingian age
  - Economic life
    - Trade
    - Frankish fiscal law
  - The church
    - Institutions
    - Monasticism
    - Education
    - Religious discipline and piety
    - Church influence on society and legislation
  - Merovingian literature and arts
  - Carolingian literature and arts
The emergence of France
- French society in the early Middle Ages
- Political history of France (c. 850–1180)
  - Principalities north of the Loire
  - Principalities of the south
  - The monarchy
  - Economy, society, and culture in the Middle Ages (c. 900–1300)
    - Economic expansion
    - Urban prosperity
    - Rural society
  - Religious and cultural life
    - The age of cathedrals and Scholasticism
    - Culture and learning
France, 1180 to c. 1490
- France from 1180 to 1328
  - Kings and the royal government
    - Philip Augustus
    - Louis VIII
    - Louis IX
    - Later Capetians
  - Foreign relations
- Period of the Hundred Years’ War
  - Kings and the war, 1328–1429
    - Philip VI
    - John the Good
    - Charles V
    - Charles VI
    - Charles VII
  - Recovery and reunification, 1429–83
    - Governmental reforms
    - Military reforms
    - Regrowth of the French monarchy
  - Economy, society, and culture in the 14th and 15th centuries
    - Economic distress
    - Cities
    - The church
    - Culture and art
France, 1490–1715
- France in the 16th century
  - Military and financial organization
  - Growth of a professional bureaucracy
  - Age of the Reformation
  - The Wars of Religion
  - Political ideology
- France in the early 17th century
  - Henry IV
  - Louis XIII
  - The Fronde
- The age of Louis XIV
  - The development of central government
  - Louis’s religious policy
  - Absolutism of Louis
  - Foreign affairs
- French culture in the 17th century
France, 1715–89
- Social and political heritage
  - Social order of the ancien régime
  - Monarchy and church
  - Commitment to modernization
- Continuity and change
  - Agricultural patterns
  - Industrial production
  - Commerce
  - Cities
- Cultural transformation
  - The Enlightenment
  - Influence of Montesquieu and Rousseau
- Political response
  - Historical debate
  - Foreign policy and financial crisis
  - Domestic policy and reform efforts
  - Tax reform
  - Parlements
  - King and parlements
- Causes of the French Revolution
The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789–1815
- The destruction of the ancien régime
  - The convergence of revolutions, 1789
    - The juridical revolution
    - Parisian revolt
    - Peasant insurgencies
    - The abolition of feudalism
  - The new regime
    - Restructuring France
    - Sale of national lands
  - Seeds of discord
    - Religious tensions
    - Political tensions
- The First French Republic
  - The second revolution
  - A republic in crisis
  - Girondins and Montagnards
  - The Reign of Terror
  - The Jacobin dictatorship
  - The Army of the Republic
  - The Thermidorian Reaction
  - The Directory
    - Sister republics
    - Alienation and coups
- The Napoleonic era
  - The Consulate
  - Loss of political freedom
  - Society in Napoleonic France
    - Religious policy
    - Napoleonic nobility
    - The civil code
  - Campaigns and conquests, 1797–1807
  - The Grand Empire
  - The Continental System
  - Conscription
- Napoleon and the Revolution
France, 1815–1940
- The restoration and constitutional monarchy
  - Constitutionalism and reaction, 1815–30
    - Louis XVIII, 1815–24
    - Charles X, 1824–30
  - The revolution of 1830
  - The July Monarchy
- The Second Republic and Second Empire
  - The revolution of 1848
  - The Second Republic, 1848–52
  - The Second Empire, 1852–70
    - The authoritarian years
    - The liberal years
    - The Franco-German War
- The Third Republic
  - The Commune of Paris
  - The formative years (1871–1905)
    - Attempts at a restoration
    - The constitution of the Third Republic
    - Republican factions
    - Opportunist control
    - The Dreyfus Affair
    - Foreign policy
  - Prewar years
  - World War I
  - Interwar years
    - German reparations
    - Financial crisis
    - Collective security
    - Internal conflict on the left
    - The Great Depression and political crises
    - German aggressions
  - Society and culture under the Third Republic
    - Economy
    - Cultural and scientific attainments
France since 1940
- Wartime France
  - The Vichy government
  - The Resistance
  - Liberation
- The Fourth Republic
  - Constitution of the Fourth Republic
  - Political and social changes
  - Colonial independence movements
- The Fifth Republic
- France after de Gaulle
- France under a Socialist presidency
  - Mitterrand’s first term
  - Mitterrand’s second term
- France under conservative presidencies
  - The Chirac administration
  - The Sarkozy administration
- The euro-zone crisis and the Socialist resurgence
  - The 2012 presidential campaign
  - The Hollande administration
  - The Macron presidency

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Frankish kingdom

Frankish domains in the time of Charles Martel

Battle of Tours

portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer

Discover

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Aurochs. Bos primigenius. Skeleton. Extinct animal. Skeleton of an Aurochs, an extinct wild ox.

6 Animals We Ate Into Extinction

Ethel Rosenberg arrested in August 1950. Photograph dated Aug. 8, 1950. American civilians executed for espionage. Spies, communists, Julius Rosenberg

Spies Like Us: 10 Famous Names in the Espionage Game

US Marines firing at Fallujah, Iraq, during the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004. Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq War.

Timeline of the 2000s

Poker game. Card game. Royal Flush in poker. Hearts suit gambling

Poker Hands Ranked

Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere

Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

history of France: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos and Videos

Frankish kingdom

Frankish domains in the time of Charles Martel

Battle of Tours

portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer

The true story of Napoleon Bonaparte

Examine early U.S. involvement in Vietnam under the Eisenhower administration during the First Indochina War

History of the Avignon papacy

Brutal truths of the Battle of Verdun

Learn how the French waged war on the communist Viet Minh in the First Indochina War after World War II

See All Videos and Images →

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic