Roman Gaul (58-51 B.C. to Vth century) After defeating Vercingetorix, Julius Caesar conquered the Gaul and, since then, a brilliant Gallo-roman culture developed. The barbarian invasions put an end to it. Franks and Merovingians (448-751) The huge invasions brought the roman domination to an end . 511: After the death of Clovis the three kingdoms of Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy were formed. These kingdoms fought with one another.
Middle of VIII c.: The lasts Merovingian kings lost the territories of Aquitaine and Armorica. The aristocracy holds the real power.
The Carolingian dynasty (751-987): Pepin the Short supplanted the last Merovingian and thus became king. He founded the Carolingian dynasty. The dynasty's most prominent member is Charlemagne. The Capetian dynasty (987-1328): Hugues Capet, elected king, founded the Capetian dynasty. He crowned his son king while still alive in order to assure the dynastic principle. 
The end of the Middle Ages (1337-1453): The Hundred Years War opposed France to England from 1337 to 1453. The principal causes were the claim of the throne of France by Edouard III from England and the will of the king of England to possess the rich Flemish territories linked to the wool commerce. Joan of Arc awoke French patriotism during the Hundred Years War. She set Orleans free, got the king crowned in Reims (Charles VII). She was captured and burned alive in Rouen in 1431. The Renaissance (1483-1610): Charles VIII and Louis XII waged war against Italy. The invasion of Italy in 1494 originated a political, cultural and artistic movement, called the "Renaissance" and known as the beginning of Modern Age. The reigns of François I (1515-1547) and his son Henri II (1547-1559) are generally considered as the apex of the French Renaissance.Religion Wars (1547-1598): Armed conflicts opposed Catholics and Protestants. Eight confused wars took place one after another because of the political ambitions of great families (Guises and Bourbons) as well as religious differences. The massacre of Protestants in Wassy (1562) triggered an armed revolt of Protestants. The most remarkable episodes were those of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew (1572), the assassination of the Duke of Guise (1588) and the one of Henri III (1589). Converted to Catholicism, Henri IV put an end to the war with the treaty of Vervins and the edict of Nantes (1598) that defines the rights of Protestants in France. Saint Bartholomew (August 1572): Massacres of Protestants took place in Paris in the night from the 23rd to 24th of august 1572 and outside Paris the following days. Urged by Catherine de Medicis and the Guises, this massacre left over 3000 victims and remains a symbol of religious intolerance. The Thirty Year War (1618-1648): Big religious and political conflict which devastated Europe and most of all, the Holy Roman Empire. The essential causes of the war were the Protestant's and Catholic's antagonism and the anxiety provoked in Europe by the ambitions of the house of Austria. Most European countries took part in this war. The French Revolution (July 14th of 1789 to 1805): Revolutionary movements put an end to the Ancient Regime. September 21st of 1792: The Ist Republic is declared. June 21st of 1793: The king Louis XVI is executed. The Empire (1804-1814): Napoleon Ist established a regime which became more and more authoritarian. He constituted a vaste empire (Napoleonic Wars). The Restoration (1814-1848): Following the ousting of Napoleon I of France in 1814, the monarchists restored the Ancient Regime. The ensuing period is called the Restoration and is characterized by a sharp conservative reaction and the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic Church as a power in French politics. Two kings followed one another: Louis XVIII and Charles X. In July 1830, a civil uprising of the middle class against King Charles X replaced him. The Orleanist King Louis-Philippe (the "July Monarchy": 1830-1848) followed.
IInd Republic (1848-1851): In 1848, a revolutionary wave known as the Spring of Nations spread all over Europe. In France, this revolution put an end to the monarchy, which was replaced by the Second Republic. Brotherly and democratic at the beginning, the IInd Republic evolved towards conservatism. In December the 10th of 1848, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte became President of the IInd Republic. In December the 2nd of 1851, he established an authoritarian presidential regime, by a coup d'Etat ratified on a referendum. He took the name of Napoléon IIIrd.
The Second Empire (1852-1870): Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III. All executive power is entrusted to the emperor, who, as head of state, is solely responsible to the people. IIIrd Republic (1870-1940): After the defeat of the Empire during the Franco-German war, the IIIrd Republic is proclaimed. World War One (1914-1918): France came out of the war victoriously but very weakened. World War Two (1939-1940): the "Phoney War" ended up with the disasters of May-June and the German occupation.The Occupation and the Liberation: On June 18th of 1940, General De Gaulle launches a call from London for a pursuit of the war. On June 22nd an Armistice is signed, which establishes German occupation for three fifths of the territory. The French government kept control of the unoccupied zone, where Marshal Pétain established the Vichy Regime. While collaboration with Germany organised itself, an internal resistance movement developed.1942: The Germans occupy the whole France. 1944: Allied Forces land in Normandy and the provisional government of the French Republic, formed in Algiers under the presidency of General De Gaulle, set up in Paris in August. IVth Republic (1946-1958): Economic recovery and important social legislation. Vth Republic (1958): Charles de Gaulle set up the Vth Republic. The new Constitution reinforced the Executive power. Source: Encyclopedic dictionary Larousse Photos: © F. de la Mure / Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
