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178-723: The first written records for the history of France appeared in the Iron Age . What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as Gaul . Greek writers noted the presence of three main ethno-linguistic groups in the area: the Gauls , Aquitani and Belgae . Over the first millennium BC the Greeks, Romans and Carthaginians established colonies on the Mediterranean coast and offshore islands. The Roman Republic annexed southern Gaul in

356-699: A monarchy , then Second Republic , then Second Empire , until a more lasting French Third Republic was established in 1870. France was one of the Triple Entente powers in World War I against the Central Powers . France was one of the Allied Powers in World War II , but was conquered by Nazi Germany in 1940. The Third Republic was dismantled, and most of the country was controlled directly by Germany, while

534-667: A strong economic, cultural, military and political factor in the 21st century. Stone tools discovered at Chilhac and Lézignan-la-Cèbe indicate that pre-human ancestors may have been present in France at least 1.6 million years ago. Neanderthals were present in Europe from about 400,000 BC , but died out about 40,000 years ago, possibly out-competed by modern humans during a period of cold weather. The earliest modern humans entered Europe by 43,000 years ago (the Upper Palaeolithic ). In

712-620: A Gaulish family. In the decade following Valerian 's capture by the Persians in 260, Postumus established a short-lived Gallic Empire , which included the Iberian Peninsula and Britannia, in addition to Gaul itself. Germanic tribes, the Franks and the Alamanni , entered Gaul at this time. The Gallic Empire ended with Emperor Aurelian 's victory at Châlons in 274. A migration of Celts occurred in

890-616: A Mesolithic immigration. Populations speaking non-Indo-European languages are obvious candidates for Mesolithic remnants. The Vascons ( Basques ) of the Pyrenees present the strongest case, since their language is related to none other in the world, and the Basque population has a distinct genetic profile. The disappearance of Doggerland affected the surrounding territories and the hunter gatherers living there are believed to have migrated to northern France and as far as eastern Ireland to escape from

1068-664: A centralized absolute monarchy through the Renaissance and Reformation . At the height of the French Wars of Religion , France became embroiled in another succession crisis, as the last Valois king, Henry III , fought against factions the House of Bourbon and House of Guise . Henry, the Bourbon King of Navarre , won and established the Bourbon dynasty. A burgeoning worldwide colonial empire

1246-815: A cordial relation with the Plantagenet King. The Kingdom was involved in two crusades under Louis: the Seventh Crusade and the Eighth Crusade . Both proved to be complete failures for the French King. Philip III became king when Saint Louis died in 1270 during the Eighth Crusade. Philip III was called "the Bold" on the basis of his abilities in combat and on horseback, and not because of his character or ruling abilities. Philip III took part in another crusading disaster:

1424-506: A correspondence between Lucius Munatius Plancus and Cicero to formalize the existence of Cularo (Grenoble). Gaul was divided into several different provinces. The Romans displaced populations to prevent local identities from becoming a threat to Roman control. Thus, many Celts were displaced in Aquitania or were enslaved and moved out of Gaul. There was a strong cultural evolution in Gaul under

1602-465: A dignified place within the context of New European Order shaped by the victorious Germany. The Vichy government believed that with its policy of collaboration, it could have extracted significant concessions from Germany and avoid harsh terms in the peace treaty. Germany kept two million French prisoners-of-war and imposed forced labour ( service du travail obligatoire ) on young Frenchmen. The Vichy government tried to negotiate with Germany for

1780-436: A frontier that would be recognised by all of the major powers. Since Hitler's overall territorial ambitions were not limited to recovering Alsace-Lorraine, and Britain was never brought to terms, those peace negotiations never took place. The Nazis had some intention of annexing a large swath of northeastern France , replacing that region's inhabitants with German settlers, and initially forbade French refugees from returning to

1958-575: A further period of division, subsequently conquering the Lombards under Desiderius in what is now northern Italy (774), incorporating Bavaria (788) into his realm, defeating the Avars of the Danubian plain (796), advancing the frontier with Al-Andalus as far south as Barcelona (801), and subjugating Lower Saxony after a prolonged campaign (804). In recognition of his successes and his political support for

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2136-635: A greater threat, and Aëtius used the Visigoths against the Huns. The conflict climaxed in 451 at the Battle of Châlons , in which the Romans and Goths defeated Attila. The Roman Empire was on the verge of collapsing. Aquitania was definitely abandoned to the Visigoths , who would soon conquer a significant part of southern Gaul as well as most of the Iberian Peninsula. The Burgundians claimed their own kingdom, and northern Gaul

2314-682: A millennium. The Bell Beaker culture ( c.  2800 –1900 BC) was a widespread phenomenon that expanded over most of France, excluding the Massif Central , in the third and early second millennia BC. In the Kurgan Hypothesis , Indo-European languages spread to Europe in the Bronze Age. The culture of the Kurgans is also known as Yamnaya Culture and recent results from acheaogenetics have linked this culture with genetic ancestry components of

2492-577: A navy sufficient to occupy France's overseas territories, Hitler's only practical recourse to deny the British the use of those territories was to maintain France's status as a de jure independent and neutral nation and to send a message to Britain that it was alone, with France appearing to switch sides and the United States remaining neutral. However, German espionage against France after its defeat intensified greatly, particularly in southern France. As per

2670-492: A new constitution of the French state. This constitution must guarantee the rights of labour, of family and of the homeland. It will be ratified by the nation and applied by the assemblies which it has created. The Constitutional Acts of 11 and 12 July 1940 granted to Pétain all powers (legislative, judicial, administrative, executive and diplomatic) and the title of "head of the French state" ( chef de l'État français ), as well as

2848-419: A new constitution. Although Laval said on 6 July that "parliamentary democracy has lost the war; it must disappear, ceding its place to an authoritarian, hierarchical, national and social regime", the majority trusted Pétain. Léon Blum, who voted no, wrote three months later that Laval's "obvious objective was to cut all the roots that bound France to its republican and revolutionary past. His 'national revolution'

3026-553: A one-party state, maintained the Tricolor and other symbols of republican France and, unlike many on the far right, was not an anti-Dreyfusard . Pétain excluded fascists from office in his government, and by and large, his cabinet comprised "February 6 men" (members of the "National Union government" formed after the 6 February 1934 crisis after the Stavisky Affair ) and mainstream politicians whose career prospects had been blocked by

3204-583: A proposal to seek armistice terms from Germany with the understanding that if Germany set forth dishonourable or excessively-harsh terms, France would retain the option to continue to fight. General Charles Huntziger , who headed the French armistice delegation, was told to break off negotiations if the Germans demanded the occupation of all of Metropolitan France, the French fleet, or any of the French overseas territories. The Germans did not, however, make any of those demands. Prime Minister Reynaud favoured continuing

3382-549: A succession of victories against other Germanic tribes such as the Alamanni at Tolbiac . In 496, pagan Clovis adopted Catholicism . This gave him greater legitimacy and power over his Christian subjects and granted him clerical support against the Arian Visigoths. He defeated Alaric II at Vouillé in 507 and annexed Aquitaine, and thus Toulouse, into his Frankish kingdom. The Goths retired to Toledo in what would become Spain. Clovis made Paris his capital and established

3560-542: Is debatable, the Hundred Years' War is remembered more as a Franco-English war than as a succession of feudal struggles. During this war, France evolved politically and militarily. Although a Franco-Scottish army was successful at the Battle of Baugé (1421), the humiliating defeats of Poitiers (1356) and Agincourt (1415) forced the French nobility to realise they could not stand just as armoured knights without an organised army. Charles VII (reigned 1422–61) established

3738-642: Is one of the many industries associated with modern humans classed as transitional between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. When they arrived in Europe, they brought with them sculpture, engraving, painting, body ornamentation, music and the painstaking decoration of utilitarian objects. Some of the oldest works of art in the world, such as the cave paintings at Lascaux in southern France, are datable to shortly after this migration. European Palaeolithic cultures are divided into several chronological subgroups (the names are all based on French type sites , principally in

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3916-626: Is the period in the human occupation (including early hominins ) of the geographical area covered by present-day France which extended through prehistory and ended in the Iron Age with the Roman conquest , when the territory enters the domain of written history. The Pleistocene is characterized by long glacial periods accompanied by marine regressions, interspersed at more or less regular intervals by milder but shorter interglacial stages. Human populations during this period consisted of nomadic hunter-gatherers. Several human species succeeded each other in

4094-686: The Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (National Bank for Trade and Industry). Moscow maintained full diplomatic relations with the Vichy government until 30 June 1941, when they were broken by Vichy expressing support for Operation Barbarossa , the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In response to British requests and sensitivities of the French-Canadian population , Canada, despite being at war with

4272-735: The Albigensian Crusade . Southern France was then largely absorbed in the royal domains. France became a truly centralised kingdom under Louis IX (reigned 1226–70). The kingdom was vulnerable: war was still going on in the County of Toulouse, and the royal army was occupied fighting resistance in Languedoc. Count Raymond VII of Toulouse finally signed the Treaty of Paris in 1229, in which he retained much of his lands for life, but his daughter, married to Count Alfonso of Poitou , produced him no heir and so

4450-591: The Arago cave in Tautavel. The Grotte du Vallonnet near Menton contained simple stone tools dating to 1 million to 1.05 million years BC. Cave sites were exploited for habitation, but the hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic era also possibly built shelters such as those identified in connection with Acheulean tools at Grotte du Lazaret and Terra Amata near Nice in France. Excavations at Terra Amata found traces of

4628-698: The Aragonese Crusade , which cost him his life in 1285. More administrative reforms were made by Philip IV , also called Philip the Fair (reigned 1285–1314). This king was responsible for the end of the Knights Templar , signed the Auld Alliance , and established the Parlement of Paris . Philip IV was so powerful that he could name popes and emperors, unlike the early Capetians. The papacy was moved to Avignon and all

4806-614: The Artenacian culture, a part of the larger European Megalithic Culture , developed in Dordogne, possibly as a reaction to the advance of Danubian peoples (such as SOM) over Western France. Armed with typical arrows, they took over all Atlantic France and Belgium by 2400 BC, establishing a stable border with the Indo-Europeans ( Corded Ware ) near the Rhine that would remain stable for more than

4984-490: The Axis launched Operation Anton , occupying southern France and disbanding the strictly limited " Armistice Army " that Vichy had been allowed by the armistice. Vichy's claim to be the legitimate French government was denied by Free France and by all subsequent French governments after the war. They maintain that Vichy was an illegal government run by traitors , having come to power through an unconstitutional coup d'état . Pétain

5162-691: The Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age the territory of France was largely dominated by the Bell Beaker culture , followed by the Armorican Tumulus culture , Rhône culture , Tumulus culture , Urnfield culture and Atlantic Bronze Age culture, among others. The Iron Age saw the development of the Hallstatt culture followed by the La Tène culture . The first written records for the history of France appear in

5340-525: The Crusader states . The French were also active in the Iberian Reconquista to Rechristianize Muslim Spain and Portugal. The Iberian reconquista made use of French knights and settlers to repopulate former Muslim settlements that were sacked by conquering Spanish or Portuguese Christians. The monarchy overcame the powerful barons over ensuing centuries, and established absolute sovereignty over France in

5518-820: The Dordogne region): From the Paleolithic to the Mesolithic , the Magdalenian culture evolved. The Early Mesolithic, or Azilian , began about 14,000 years ago, in the Franco-Cantabrian region of northern Spain and Southern France . This was ahead of other parts of Western Europe, where the Mesolithic began by 11,500 years ago at the beginning of the Holocene . It ended with the introduction of farming. The Azilian culture of

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5696-639: The French Fifth Republic . Into the 1960s most of the French colonial empire became independent, while smaller parts were incorporated into the French state as overseas departments and collectivities . Since World War II France has been a permanent member in the UN Security Council and NATO . It played a central role in the unification process after 1945 that led to the European Union . It remains

5874-460: The French State ( État français ), was the French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II . It was named after its seat of government, the city of Vichy . Officially independent, but with half of its territory occupied under the harsh terms of the 1940 armistice with Nazi Germany , it adopted a policy of collaboration . Though Paris was nominally its capital,

6052-606: The Great Depression . Beyond that, to justify both the armistice with Germany and the Révolution nationale , Vichy needed to portray the French declaration of war on Germany as a hideous mistake and the French society under the Third Republic as degenerate and rotten. The Révolution nationale together with Pétain's policy of la France seule ("France alone") were meant to "regenerate" France from la décadence , which

6230-612: The Iberians in southern France and Spain , the Ligures on the Mediterranean coast, and the Vascons ( Basques ) in southwest France and Spain. The spread of iron-working led to the development of the Hallstatt culture ( c.  700 to 500 BC) directly from the Urnfield. Proto-Celtic , the latest common ancestor of all known Celtic languages, is generally considered to have been spoken at

6408-487: The Late Glacial Maximum co-existed with similar early Mesolithic European cultures such as the Tjongerian of North-Western Europe, the Ahrensburgian of Northern Europe and the Swiderian of North-Eastern Europe, all succeeding the Federmesser complex. The Azilian culture was followed by the Sauveterrian in Southern France and Switzerland, the Tardenoisian in Northern France, the Maglemosian in Northern Europe. Archeologists are unsure whether Western Europe saw

6586-413: The Loire according to other authors like Strabo . The Celts founded cities such as Lutetia Parisiorum (Paris) and Burdigala (Bordeaux) while the Aquitanians founded Tolosa (Toulouse). Long before any Roman settlements, Greek navigators settled in what would become Provence . The Phoceans founded important cities such as Massalia (Marseille) and Nikaia (Nice), bringing them into conflict with

6764-409: The Merovingian dynasty but his kingdom would not survive his death in 511. Under Frankish inheritance traditions, all sons inherit part of the land, so four kingdoms emerged: centered on Paris , Orléans , Soissons , and Rheims . Over time, the borders and numbers of Frankish kingdoms were fluid and changed frequently. Also during this time, the Mayors of the Palace , originally the chief advisor to

6942-409: The Oise River and Marne River . It is most famous for its gallery grave megalithic tombs which incorporate a port-hole slab separating the entrance from the main burial chamber. In the chalk valley of the Marne River rock-cut tombs were dug to a similar design. In the Southeast, several groups whose culture had evolved from Chasséen culture also built megaliths. Beginning about 2600 BC,

7120-438: The Ottoman Empire . The Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa captured Nice in 1543 and handed it down to Francis I. During the 16th century, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs were the dominant power in Europe. The many domains of Charles V encircled France. The Spanish Tercio was used with great success against French knights. Finally, on 7 January 1558, the Duke of Guise seized Calais from the English. Economic historians call

7298-426: The Robertians , were formerly powerful princes themselves who had successfully unseated the weak and unfortunate Carolingian kings. The Capetians, in a way, held a dual status of King and Prince; as king they held the Crown of Charlemagne and as Count of Paris they held their personal fiefdom, best known as Île-de-France . Some of the king's vassals would grow sufficiently powerful that they would become some of

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7476-403: The Robertines , were the predecessors of the Capetian dynasty . Led by Rollo , some Vikings had settled in Normandy and were granted the land, first as counts and then as dukes, by King Charles the Simple , in order to protect the land from other raiders. The people that emerged from the interactions between the new Viking aristocracy and the already mixed Franks and Gallo-Romans became known as

7654-518: The Third Crusade ; however, their alliance and friendship broke down during the crusade. John Lackland , Richard's successor, refused to come to the French court for a trial against the Lusignans and, as Louis VI had done often to his rebellious vassals, Philip II confiscated John's possessions in France. John's defeat was swift and his attempts to reconquer his French possession at the decisive Battle of Bouvines (1214) resulted in complete failure. Philip II had annexed Normandy and Anjou, plus capturing

7832-405: The Treaty of Troyes Henry V was made heir to Charles VI. Henry V failed to outlive Charles so it was Henry VI of England and France who consolidated the Dual-Monarchy of England and France. It has been argued that the difficult conditions the French population suffered during the Hundred Years' War awakened French nationalism, a nationalism represented by Joan of Arc (1412–1431). Although this

8010-434: The Western Steppe Herders , and it has been possible to reconstruct migrations of these people across Europe co-extensive with the arrival of the Yamnaya and Corded Ware cultures. In France, the first studies on the Bronze Age date from the 19th century. The "Manuel d'archéologie préhistorique, celtique et gallo-romaine," (Manual of Prehistoric, Celtic and Gallo-Roman Archaeology), by Joseph Déchelette, published in 1910,

8188-419: The aristocracy and among Roman Catholics , had never accepted the republican traditions of the French Revolution but demanded a return to traditional lines of culture and religion. It embraced authoritarianism while dismissing democracy . The Vichy regime also framed itself as decisively nationalist . French communists, strongest in labour unions, turned against Vichy in June 1941, when Germany invaded

8366-421: The departmental commissions were thus placed under the authority of the administration and of the prefects (nominated by and dependent on the executive power). In January 1941, the National Council ( Conseil National ), composed of notables from the countryside and the provinces, was instituted under the same conditions. Despite the clear authoritarian cast of Pétain's government, he did not formally institute

8544-408: The fasces , the symbol of the Italian Fascists . To advance his message, Pétain frequently spoke on French radio . In his radio speeches, Pétain always used the personal pronoun je (French for the English word "I"), portrayed himself as a Christ-like figure sacrificing himself for France and assuming a God-like tone of a semi-omniscient narrator who knew truths about the world that the rest of

8722-409: The papacy , Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800. Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious (emperor 814–840) kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive Louis I's death. Two of his sons — Charles the Bald and Louis the German — swore allegiance to each other against their brother — Lothair I — in the Oaths of Strasbourg , and the empire

8900-399: The traditionalist morality , which Pétain claimed the French had forgotten. Despite his highly-negative view of the Third Republic, Pétain argued that la France profonde ("deep France", denoting profoundly French aspects of French culture) still existed, and that the French people needed to return to what Pétain insisted was their true identity. Alongside this claim for a moral revolution

9078-407: The " Estates General ", but in practice the Estates General had no power, for it could petition the king but could not pass laws. The Catholic Church controlled about 40% of the wealth. The king (not the pope) nominated bishops, but typically had to negotiate with noble families that had close ties to local monasteries and church establishments. The nobility came second in terms of wealth, but there

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9256-592: The " Levallois technique ", a distinctive type of flint knapping developed by hominids during the Lower Palaeolithic but most commonly associated with the Neanderthal industries of the Middle Palaeolithic. Importantly, recent findings suggest that Neanderthals and modern humans may have interbred. Important Mousterian sites are found at: The first identified Neanderthal burials were discovered at La Chapelle-aux-Saints in 1908 (dating from 70 ka) then at La Ferrassie in 1909. The identification of burial practices in Neanderthals at these sites led to new insights concerning

9434-443: The "zone nono", for the non-occupied zone. In theory, the civil jurisdiction of the Vichy government extended over most of Metropolitan France , French Algeria , the French protectorate in Morocco , the French protectorate of Tunisia and the rest of the French colonial empire that accepted the authority of Vichy; only the disputed border territory of Alsace-Lorraine was placed under direct German administration. Alsace-Lorraine

9612-420: The 16th century. Hugh Capet in 987 became "King of the Franks" (Rex Francorum). He was recorded to be recognised king by the Gauls , Bretons , Danes , Aquitanians , Goths , Spanish and Gascons . Hugh's son— Robert the Pious —was crowned King of the Franks before Capet's demise. Hugh Capet decided so in order to have his succession secured. Robert II, as King of the Franks, met Emperor Henry II in 1023 on

9790-441: The 3rd century BC. In the early 3rd century BC, some Belgae ( Germani cisrhenani ) conquered the surrounding territories of the Somme in northern Gaul after battles supposedly against the Armoricani (Gauls) near Ribemont-sur-Ancre and Gournay-sur-Aronde , where sanctuaries were found. When Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barca fought the Romans, he recruited several Gaulish mercenaries who fought on his side at Cannae . It

9968-460: The 4th century in Armorica . They were led by the legendary king Conan Meriadoc and came from Britain. They spoke the now extinct British language , which evolved into the Breton , Cornish , and Welsh languages . In 418 the Aquitanian province was given to the Goths in exchange for their support against the Vandals . Those same Goths had sacked Rome in 410 and established a capital in Toulouse. The Roman Empire had difficulty integrating all

10146-415: The Aegean to Britain, took about 2,500 years (6500 BC–4000 BC). According to the leading Kurgan hypothesis , Indo-European languages were introduced to Europe later, during the succeeding Bronze Age , and Neolithic peoples in Europe are called " Pre-Indo-Europeans " or " Old Europe ". Nevertheless, some archaeologists believe that the Neolithic expansion, and the eclipse of Mesolithic culture, coincided with

10324-411: The Armistice allowed for a small French army – the Armistice Army ( Armée de l'Armistice ) – stationed in the unoccupied zone, and for the military provision of the French colonial empire overseas. The function of those forces was to keep internal order and to defend French territories from Allied assault. The French forces were to remain under the overall direction of

10502-411: The British as a racially degenerate "mixed race" working for Jewish capitalists, in contrast to the "racially pure" peoples on the continent of Europe who were building a "New Order". In an interview conducted by Béraud with Admiral Darlan published in Gringoire newspaper in 1941, Darlan was quoted as saying that if the "New Order" failed in Europe, it would mean "here in France, the return to power of

10680-436: The British historian Christopher Flood wrote that Pétain blamed la décadence on "political and economic liberalism, with its divisive, individualistic and hedonistic values – locked in sterile rivalry with its antithetical outgrowths, Socialism and Communism". Pétain argued that rescuing the French people from décadence required a period of authoritarian government that would restore national unity and

10858-418: The Counts of Boulogne and Flanders, although Aquitaine and Gascony remained loyal to the Plantagenet King. Prince Louis (the future Louis VIII, reigned 1223–26) was involved in the subsequent English civil war as French and English (or rather Anglo-Norman) aristocracies were once one and were now split between allegiances. While the French kings were struggling against the Plantagenets, the Church called for

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11036-411: The County of Toulouse went to the King of France. King Henry III of England had not yet recognized the Capetian overlordship over Aquitaine and still hoped to recover Normandy and Anjou and reform the Angevin Empire. He landed in 1230 at Saint-Malo with a massive force. This evolved into the Saintonge War (1242). Ultimately, Henry III was defeated and had to recognise Louis IX's overlordship, although

11214-426: The Fair. Philip II spent an important part of his reign fighting the so-called Angevin Empire . During the first part of his reign Philip II allied himself with the Duke of Aquitaine and son of Henry II— Richard Lionheart —and together they launched a decisive attack on Henry's home of Chinon and removed him from power. Richard replaced his father as King of England afterward. The two kings then went crusading during

11392-433: The Free Forces (he had been prime minister from February 1941 to April 1942) they played him against de Gaulle . US General Mark W. Clark of the combined Allied command made Darlan sign on 22 November 1942 a treaty putting "North Africa at the disposition of the Americans" and making France "a vassal country". Washington then imagined, between 1941 and 1942, a protectorate status for France, which would be submitted after

11570-444: The French did not. To justify the Vichy ideology of the Révolution nationale ("national revolution"), Pétain needed a radical break with the French Third Republic . During his radio speeches, the entire French Third Republic era was always painted in the blackest of colours as a time of décadence ("decadence") when the French people were alleged to have suffered moral degeneration and decline. Summarising Pétain's speeches,

11748-427: The French king. Abbot Suger arranged the 1137 marriage between Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine in Bordeaux, which made Louis VII Duke of Aquitaine and gave him considerable power. The marriage was ultimately annulled and Eleanor soon married the Duke of Normandy — Henry Fitzempress , who would become King of England two years later. The late direct Capetian kings were considerably more powerful and influential than

11926-411: The French nation. It was asserted that just as the defeat of the Gauls in the Battle of Alesia (52 BCE) had been the moment in French history when a sense of common nationhood was born, the defeat of 1940 would again unify the nation. The Vichy government's "francisque" insignia featured two symbols from the Gallic period: the baton and the double-headed hatchet ( labrys ) arranged so as to resemble

12104-412: The French public initially supported the regime, but opinion turned against the Vichy government and the occupying German forces as the war dragged on and living conditions in France worsened. Open opposition intensified as it became clear that Germany was losing the war. The French Resistance , working largely in concert with the London-based Free France movement, increased in strength over the course of

12282-421: The German armed forces. The exact strength of the Vichy French Metropolitan Army was set at 3,768 officers, 15,072 non-commissioned officers, and 75,360 men. All members had to be volunteers. In addition to the army, the size of the Gendarmerie was fixed at 60,000 men plus an anti-aircraft force of 10,000 men. Despite the influx of trained soldiers from the colonial forces (reduced in size in accordance with

12460-433: The German occupation of all of France in November 1942 ended diplomatic recognition. Supporters of Vichy point out that the grant of governmental powers was voted by a joint session of both chambers of the Third Republic Parliament (the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies) in keeping with the constitutional law. The Vichy regime sought an anti-modern counter-revolution . The traditionalist right in France, with strength in

12638-500: The Iron Age. In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks founded the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille ) on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea , making it one of the oldest cities in France. At the same time, some Celtic tribes arrived in the eastern parts ( Germania superior ) of the current territory of France, but this occupation spread in the rest of France only between the 5th and 3rd century BC. Covering large parts of modern-day France, Belgium, northwest Germany and northern Italy, Gaul

12816-530: The Italian Ambassador to France that "England has always been France's most implacable enemy" and went on to say that France had "two hereditary enemies", namely Germany and Britain, with the latter being easily the more dangerous of the two; and he wanted a Franco-German-Italian alliance that would partition the British Empire , an event that Pétain claimed would solve all of the economic problems caused by

12994-579: The Jews and Freemasons subservient to Anglo-Saxon policy". France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 after the German invasion of Poland on 1 September. After the eight-month Phoney War , the Germans launched their offensive in the West on 10 May 1940. Within days, it became clear that French military forces were overwhelmed and that military collapse was imminent. Government and military leaders, deeply shocked by

13172-532: The King of France did not seize Aquitaine. Louis IX was now the most important landowner of France. There were some opposition to his rule in Normandy, yet it proved remarkably easy to rule, especially compared to the County of Toulouse which had been brutally conquered. The Conseil du Roi , which would evolve into the Parlement , was founded in these times. After his conflict with King Henry III of England , Louis established

13350-515: The Liberation to an Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (AMGOT) like Germany. After the assassination of Darlan on 24 December 1942, the Americans turned again towards Giraud to whom had rallied Maurice Couve de Murville , who had financial responsibilities in Vichy, and Lemaigre-Dubreuil , a former member of La Cagoule and entrepreneur, as well as Alfred Pose , general director of

13528-745: The Mediterranean area alone, Vichy still had nearly 150,000 men under arms. There were about 55,000 in French Morocco , 50,000 in Algeria , and almost 40,000 in the Army of the Levant ( Armée du Levant ), in Lebanon and Syria . Colonial forces were allowed to keep some armoured vehicles, though these were mostly "vintage" World War I tanks ( Renault FT ). The Armistice required France to turn over any German citizens within

13706-642: The Mesolithic tradition of Téviec and Hoedic in Brittany. It is most likely from the Neolithic that date the megalithic (large stone) monuments, such as the dolmens , menhirs , stone circles and chamber tombs , found throughout France, the largest selection of which are in the Brittany and Auvergne regions. The most famous of these are the Carnac stones ( c.  3300 BC , but may date to as old as 4500 BC) and

13884-508: The National Assembly was illegal. Three main arguments are put forward: Out of a total of 544 Deputies, only 414 voted; and out of a total of 302 senators, only 235 voted. Of these, 357 deputies voted in favour of Pétain and 57 against, while 212 senators voted for Pétain, and 23 against. Thus, Pétain was approved by 65% of all deputies and 70% of all senators. Although Pétain could claim legality for himself, particularly in comparison with

14062-680: The National Assembly, comprising both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, voted by 569 votes to 80, with 20 voluntary abstentions , to grant full and extraordinary powers to Pétain. By the same vote, they also granted him the power to write a new constitution. By Act No. 2 on the following day, Pétain defined his own powers and abrogated any Third Republic laws that were in conflict with them. ( These acts would later be annulled in August 1944. ) Most legislators believed that democracy would continue, albeit with

14240-503: The Normans. France was a very decentralised state during the Middle Ages . The authority of the king was more religious than administrative. The 11th century in France marked the apogee of princely power at the expense of the king when states like Normandy , Flanders or Languedoc enjoyed a local authority comparable to kingdoms in all but name. The Capetians , as they were descended from

14418-568: The Plantagenet claimant to the French throne. A notable figure of the war was Joan of Arc , a French peasant girl who led forces against the English, establishing herself as a national heroine. The war ended with a Valois victory in 1453, strengthening French nationalism and increasing the power and reach of the French monarchy. During the Ancien Régime over the next centuries, France transformed into

14596-758: The Resistance. Members of the regular army could thus defect to the Maquis after the German occupation of southern France and the disbandment of the Army of the Armistice in November 1942. By contrast, the Milice continued to collaborate, and its members were subject to reprisals after the Liberation . Vichy French colonial forces were reduced in accordance with the terms of the armistice, but in

14774-797: The Roman Empire, the most obvious one being the replacement of the Gaulish language by Vulgar Latin . It has been argued the similarities between the Gaulish and Latin languages favoured the transition. Gaul remained under Roman control for centuries and Celtic culture was then gradually replaced by Gallo-Roman culture . The Gauls became better integrated with the Empire with the passage of time. For instance, generals Marcus Antonius Primus and Gnaeus Julius Agricola were both born in Gaul, as were emperors Claudius and Caracalla . Emperor Antoninus Pius also came from

14952-510: The Roman conquest in the 1st century BC) in eastern France, Switzerland, Austria, southwest Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Farther to the north extended the contemporary Pre-Roman Iron Age culture of Northern Germany and Scandinavia. In addition, Greeks and Phoenicians settled outposts like Marseille in this period ( c.  600 BC ). By the 2nd century BC, Celtic France

15130-471: The Soviet Union . Vichy was intensely anti-communist and generally pro-German; American historian Stanley G. Payne found that it was "distinctly rightist and authoritarian but never fascist ". Political scientist Robert Paxton analysed the entire range of Vichy supporters, from reactionaries to moderate liberal modernizers, and concluded that genuinely fascist elements had only minor roles in most sectors. French historian Olivier Wiewiorka rejects

15308-514: The Third Republic's democracy for France's sudden defeat by Germany, rather than military weakness. He set up an authoritarian regime that actively collaborated with Germany, despite Vichy's official neutrality. The Vichy government co-operated with the Germans' Nazi racial policies . After the National Assembly under the Third Republic voted to give full powers to Pétain on 10 July 1940,

15486-485: The United Kingdom had been severed since 8 July 1940 after the attack on Mers-el-Kébir . Julian T. Jackson wrote, "There seems little doubt... that at the beginning Vichy was both legal and legitimate". He stated that if legitimacy comes from popular support, Pétain's massive popularity in France until 1942 made his government legitimate, and if legitimacy comes from diplomatic recognition, over 40 countries, including

15664-503: The United States, Canada, and China, recognised the Vichy government. According to Jackson, de Gaulle 's Free French acknowledged the weakness of its case against Vichy's legality by citing multiple dates (16 June, 23 June and 10 July) for the start of Vichy's illegitimate rule, implying that at least for some time, Vichy was still legitimate. Countries recognised the Vichy government despite de Gaulle 's attempts in London to dissuade them; only

15842-558: The Urnfield culture represents an origin for the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European family (see Proto-Celtic ). This culture was preeminent in central Europe during the late Bronze Age; the Urnfield period saw a dramatic increase in population in the region, probably due to innovations in technology and agricultural practices. Some archeologists date the arrival of several non-Indo-European peoples to this period, including

16020-535: The Vichy government opposed to military collaboration with Germany. Washington also hoped to encourage Vichy to resist German war demands, such as for air bases in French-mandated Syria or moving war supplies through French territories in North Africa. The US position was essentially that unless explicitly required by the armistice terms, France should take no action that could adversely affect Allied efforts in

16198-603: The Vichy government. The Third French Republic had begun the war in September 1939 on the side of the Allies . On 10 May 1940, it was invaded by Nazi Germany . The German Army rapidly broke through the Allied lines by bypassing the highly fortified Maginot Line and invading through Belgium , Luxembourg , and as an extension, the Ardennes . By mid-June, the military situation of the French

16376-504: The Vichy regime, the school textbook Miracle de Jeanne by René Jeanneret was required reading, and the anniversary of Joan's death became an occasion for school speeches commemorating her martyrdom. Joan's encounter with angelic voices, according to Catholic tradition, were presented as literal history. The textbook Miracle de Jeanne declared "the Voices did speak!" in contrast with republican school texts, which had strongly implied Joan

16554-431: The armistice), there was a shortage of volunteers. As a result, 30,000 men of the class of 1939 were retained to fill the quota. In early 1942 those conscripts were released, but there were still not enough men. That shortage remained until the regime's dissolution, despite Vichy appeals to the Germans for a regular form of conscription. The Vichy French Metropolitan Army was deprived of tanks and other armoured vehicles and

16732-422: The assembled senators and deputies to vote full powers to Pétain. They used every means available, such as promising ministerial posts to some and threatening and intimidating others. They were aided by the absence of popular, charismatic figures who might have opposed them, such as Georges Mandel and Édouard Daladier , who were then aboard the ship Massilia on their way to North Africa and exile. On 10 July

16910-617: The barbarian newcomers - with whom foederati treaties were concluded - within the empire, and generals as Flavius Aëtius had to use these tribes against each other in order to maintain some Roman control. He first used the Huns against the Burgundians , and these mercenaries destroyed Worms , killed king Gunther , and pushed the Burgundians westward. The Burgundians were resettled by Aëtius near Lugdunum in 443. The Huns, united by Attila , became

17088-505: The borderline. They agreed to end all claims over each other's realm, setting a new stage of Capetian and Ottonian relationships. The reign of Robert II was quite important because it involved the Peace and Truce of God (beginning in 989) and the Cluniac Reforms . Under King Philip I , the kingdom enjoyed a modest recovery during his extraordinarily long reign (1060–1108). His reign also saw

17266-564: The capacity of Neanderthals to develop spiritual or metaphysical beliefs, extending understanding of the human species beyond what had been hitherto assumed. The earliest indication of Upper Palaeolithic early modern human (formerly referred to as Cro-Magnon) migration into France, and indeed in the whole of Europe, is a series of modern human teeth with Neronian industry stone tools found at Grotte Mandrin Cave, Malataverne in France, dated in 2022 to between 56,800 and 51,700 years ago. The Neronian

17444-642: The collection of wild plant foods and with hunting, and producing hand-made pottery (that is made without the potter's wheel ). Archeological sites from the Neolithic in France include artifacts from the Linear Pottery culture ( c.  5500  – c.  4500 BC ), the Rössen culture ( c.  4500 —4000 BC), and the Chasséen culture (4,500 - 3,500 BC; named after Chassey-le-Camp in Saône-et-Loire ),

17622-658: The contemporary popes were French, such as Philip IV's puppet Bertrand de Goth, Pope Clement V . The tensions between the Houses of Plantagenet and Capet climaxed during the so-called Hundred Years' War (actually several distinct wars over the period 1337 to 1453) when the Plantagenets claimed the throne of France from the Valois. This was also the time of the Black Death in France , as well as several devastating civil wars. In 1420, by

17800-509: The continuity of the French state were based on the pressure exerted by Pierre Laval, a former prime minister in the Third Republic, on the deputies in Vichy and on the absence of 27 deputies and senators who had fled on the ship Massilia and so could not take part in the vote. However, during the war, the Vichy government was internationally recognised , notably by the United States and several other major Allied powers. Diplomatic relations with

17978-530: The control of a collaborationist French government based at the city of Vichy, and headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain. Ostensibly, the Vichy French government administered the whole of France (excluding Alsace-Lorraine), including Overseas Vichy France-North Africa. Germany took two million French soldiers as prisoners-of-war and sent them to camps in Germany. About a third had been released on various terms by 1944. Of

18156-632: The control of the French State was based in the city of Vichy, in the unoccupied southern portion of Metropolitan France. This was south of the Line of Demarcation as established by the Armistice of 22 June 1940 . It also included the overseas French territories, such as French North Africa , which was "an integral part of Vichy", with antisemitic policies implemented in Vichy France also being implemented here. This

18334-467: The country by Germany. Despite heavy pressure, the Vichy government never joined the Axis powers . In October 1940, during meeting with Adolf Hitler in Montoire sur le Loire, Petain officially announced the policy of collaboration with Germany while maintaining overall neutrality in the war, believing that improving relations with Germany would have been the only viable option to save France and preserve for it

18512-527: The country upon German demand. The French regarded this as a "dishonourable" term since it would require France to hand over persons who had entered France seeking refuge from Germany. Attempts to negotiate the point with Germany proved unsuccessful, and the French decided not to press the issue to the point of refusing the Armistice. On 10 July 1940, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate gathered in joint session in

18690-524: The current territory of France until the arrival of modern humans in the Upper Palaeolithic . The earliest known fossil man is Tautavel Man , dating from 570,000 years ago. Neanderthal Man is attested in France from about 335,000 years before present. Homo sapiens , modern humans, are attested since around 54,000 years ago in the Mandrin Cave . In the Neolithic , which begins in the south of France in

18868-551: The death in 1477 of Charles the Bold , France and the Habsburgs began a long process of dividing his rich Burgundian lands, leading to numerous wars. In 1532, Brittany was incorporated into the Kingdom of France. France engaged in the long Italian Wars (1494–1559), which marked the beginning of early modern France. Francis I faced powerful foes, and he was captured at Pavia . The French monarchy then sought for allies and found one in

19046-468: The débâcle, debated how to proceed. Many officials, including Prime Minister Paul Reynaud , wanted to move the government to French territories in North Africa and to continue the war with the French Navy and colonial resources. Others, particularly Vice-Premier Philippe Pétain and Commander-in-Chief General Maxime Weygand , insisted that the responsibility of the government was to remain in France and share

19224-519: The earliest known domestication of fire in Europe , from 400,000 BC. The Neanderthals are thought to have arrived earlier than 300,000 BC, but seem to have died out by about by 30,000 BC, presumably unable to compete with modern humans during a period of cold weather. Numerous Neanderthal, or " Mousterian ", artifacts (named after the type site of Le Moustier , a rock shelter in the Dordogne region of France) have been found from this period, some using

19402-494: The earliest ones. This period also saw the rise of a complex system of international alliances and conflicts opposing, through dynasties, kings of France and England and the Holy Roman Emperor. The reign of Philip II Augustus (junior king 1179–80, senior king 1180–1223) saw the French royal domain and influence greatly expanded. He set the context for the rise of power to much more powerful monarchs like Saint Louis and Philip

19580-450: The early release of the French prisoners of war. French soldiers were kept hostage to ensure that Vichy would reduce its military forces and pay a heavy tribute in gold, food, and supplies to Germany. French police were ordered to round up Jews and other "undesirables" such as communists and political refugees, and at least 72,500 French Jews were killed in Nazi concentration camps . Most of

19758-530: The economy. Conservative Catholics became prominent. The media were tightly controlled and promoted antisemitism and, after Operation Barbarossa started in June 1941, anti-Sovietism . The terms of the armistice allowed some degree of independence, France was officially declared a neutral country, and the Vichy government kept the French Navy and French colonial empire under French control, avoiding full occupation of

19936-545: The era from about 1475 to 1630 the "beautiful 16th century" because of the return of peace, prosperity and optimism across the nation, and the steady growth of population. In 1559, Henry II of France signed (with the approval of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor ) two treaties ( Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis ) : one with Elizabeth I of England and one with Philip II of Spain . This ended long-lasting conflicts between France, England and Spain. The Protestant Reformation , inspired in France mainly by John Calvin , began to challenge

20114-534: The essentially self-appointed leadership of Charles de Gaulle , the dubious circumstances of the vote explain why most French historians do not consider Vichy a complete continuity of the French state. The text voted by the Congress stated: The National Assembly gives full powers to the government of the Republic, under the authority and the signature of Marshal Pétain, to the effect of promulgating by one or several acts

20292-403: The exceptional mission that was confided to them, they first of all performed humbly and simply their woman's role". The key component of Vichy's ideology was Anglophobia . In part, Vichy's virulent Anglophobia was due to its leaders' personal dislike of the British, as Marshal Pétain, Pierre Laval and Admiral François Darlan were all Anglophobes. As early as February 1936, Pétain had told

20470-479: The failed Anglo-Free French attempt to seize Dakar in September 1940. Typical of Vichy anti-British propaganda was the widely distributed pamphlet published in August 1940 and written by self-proclaimed "professional Anglophobe" Henri Béraud entitled, Faut-il réduire l'Angleterre en esclavage? ("Should England Be Reduced to Slavery?"); the question in the title was merely rhetorical. Additionally, Vichy mixed Anglophobia with racism and anti-Semitism to portray

20648-638: The first French standing army, the Compagnies d'ordonnance , and defeated the Plantagenets once at Patay (1429) and again, using cannons, at Formigny (1450). The Battle of Castillon (1453) was the last engagement of this war; Calais and the Channel Islands remained ruled by the Plantagenets. France's population was 13 million people in 1484 and 20 million in 1700. It had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other countries grew faster. Political power

20826-484: The floods. The Neolithic period lasted in northern Europe for approximately 3,000 years ( c.  5000 BC –2000 BC). It is characterised by the so-called Neolithic Revolution , a transitional period that included the adoption of agriculture , the development of tools and pottery ( Cardium pottery , LBK ), and the growth of larger, more complex settlements. There was an expansion of peoples from southwest Asia into Europe; this diffusion across Europe, from

21004-464: The government established itself in the resort town of Vichy in the unoccupied "free zone" ( zone libre ), where it remained responsible for the civil administration of France as well as its colonies . The occupation of France by Nazi Germany at first affected only the northern and western portions of the country, but in November 1942 the Germans and Italians occupied the remainder of Metropolitan France , ending any pretence of independence by

21182-558: The head of French police nominated by Vichy, exercised his power in Paris through his second-in-command, Jean Leguay , who coordinated raids with the Nazis. German laws took precedence over French laws in the occupied territories, and the Germans often rode roughshod over the sensibilities of Vichy administrators. On 11 November 1942, following the landing of the Allies in North Africa ( Operation Torch ),

21360-429: The human species responsible for them. France includes Olduwan ( Abbevillian ) and Acheulean sites from early or non-modern (transitional) Hominini species, most notably Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis . Tooth Arago 149 - 560,000 years. Tautavel Man ( Homo erectus tautavelensis ), is a proposed subspecies of the hominid Homo erectus , the 450,000-year-old fossil remains of whom were discovered in

21538-567: The idea that Vichy France was fascist, noting that "Pétain refused to create a single party state, avoided getting France involved in a new war, hated modernization, and supported the Church". The Vichy government tried to assert its legitimacy by symbolically connecting itself with the Gallo-Roman period of France's history , and celebrated the Gaulish chieftain Vercingetorix as the "founder" of

21716-541: The introduction of Indo-European speakers. In what is known as the Anatolian hypothesis , it is postulated that Indo-European languages arrived in the early Neolithic. Old European hydronymy is taken by Hans Krahe to be the oldest reflection of the early presence of Indo-European languages in Europe. Many European Neolithic groups share basic characteristics, such as living in small-scale family-based communities, subsisting on domestic plants and animals supplemented with

21894-625: The kings, would become the real power in the Frankish lands; the Merovingian kings themselves would be reduced to little more than figureheads. By this time Muslims had conquered Hispania and Septimania became part of the Al-Andalus, which were threatening the Frankish kingdoms. Duke Odo the Great defeated a major invading force at Toulouse in 721 but failed to repel a raiding party in 732. The mayor of

22072-486: The late 2nd century BC, and legions under Julius Caesar conquered the rest of Gaul in the Gallic Wars of 58–51 BC. A Gallo-Roman culture emerged and Gaul was increasingly integrated into the Roman Empire . In the later stages of the empire, Gaul was subject to barbarian raids and migration. The Frankish king Clovis I united most of Gaul in the late 5th century. Frankish power reached its fullest extent under Charlemagne . The medieval Kingdom of France emerged from

22250-415: The launch of the First Crusade to regain the Holy Land . It is from Louis VI (reigned 1108–37) onward that royal authority became more accepted. Louis VI was more a soldier and warmongering king than a scholar. The way the king raised money from his vassals made him quite unpopular; he was described as greedy and ambitious. His regular attacks on his vassals, although damaging the royal image, reinforced

22428-509: The legitimacy and rituals of the Catholic Church . French King Henry II severely persecuted Protestants under the Edict of Chateaubriand (1551). Renewed Catholic reaction — headed by the powerful Francis, Duke of Guise — led to a massacre of Huguenots at Vassy in 1562, starting the first of the French Wars of Religion , during which English, German, and Spanish forces intervened on the side of rival Protestant ("Huguenot") and Catholic forces. Iron Age France Prehistoric France

22606-519: The market economy, provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Although most peasants in France spoke local dialects, an official language emerged in Paris and the French language became the preferred language of Europe's aristocracy and the lingua franca of diplomacy and international relations. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V quipped, "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse." With

22784-541: The middle of the 6th millennium BC, the first farmers appeared. The first megaliths were erected in the early 5th millennium BC. The lower paleolithic period began with the first human occupation of the region. Stone tools discovered at Lézignan-la-Cèbe indicate that early humans were present in France from least 1.57 million years ago. 5 prehistoric sites in France are dated from between 1 and 1.2 million years ago: None of these sites have thus far revealed any evidence of lithic industry which prevents identification of

22962-420: The misfortune of its people; they called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. While the debate continued, the government was forced to relocate several times to avoid capture by advancing German forces and finally reached Bordeaux. Communications were poor and thousands of civilian refugees clogged the roads. In those chaotic conditions, advocates of an armistice gained the upper hand. The Cabinet agreed on

23140-493: The name République française (French Republic) disappeared from all official documents. From then on, the regime was referred to officially as the État Français (French State). Because of its unique situation in the history of France, its contested legitimacy and the generic nature of its official name, the "French State" is most often represented in English by the synonyms "Vichy France"; "Vichy regime"; "government of Vichy"; or, in context, simply "Vichy". The territory under

23318-441: The name given to the late Neolithic pre- Beaker culture that spread throughout the plains and plateaux of France, including the Seine basin and the upper Loire valleys. The 'Armorican' ( Castellic culture ) and Northern French Neolithic ( Cerny culture ) is based on traditions of the Linear Pottery culture or "Limburg pottery" in association with the La Hoguette/Cardial culture. The Armorican culture may also have origins in

23496-422: The neighboring Celts and Ligurians. The Celts themselves often fought with Aquitanians and Germans, and a Gaulish war band led by Brennus invaded Rome c. 393 or 388 BC following the Battle of the Allia . However, the tribal society of the Gauls did not change fast enough for the centralized Roman state. The Gaulish tribal confederacies were defeated by the Romans in battles such as Sentinum and Telamon during

23674-401: The occupation. After the liberation of France began in 1944, the Free French Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF) was installed as the new national government, led by Charles de Gaulle . The last of the Vichy exiles were captured in the Sigmaringen enclave in April 1945. Pétain was put on trial for treason by the new Provisional Government, and sentenced to death, but this

23852-517: The outcome of the battle had been decided. Adolf Hitler had a number of reasons for agreeing to an armistice. He wanted to ensure that France did not continue to fight from North Africa and that the French Navy was taken out of the war. In addition, leaving a French government in place would relieve Germany of the considerable burden of administering French territory, particularly as Hitler turned his attention toward Britain, which did not surrender and fought on against Germany. Finally, as Germany lacked

24030-423: The palace, Charles Martel , defeated that raiding party at the Battle of Tours and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdom. The assumption of the crown in 751 by Pepin the Short (son of Charles Martel) established the Carolingian dynasty as the kings of the Franks. Carolingian power reached its fullest extent under Pepin's son, Charlemagne . In 771, Charlemagne reunited the Frankish domains after

24208-401: The pre-1940 French Army, such as kepis and heavy capotes (buttoned-back greatcoats) were replaced by berets and simplified uniforms. The Vichy authorities did not deploy the Army of the Armistice against resistance groups active in the south of France, reserving that role to the Vichy Milice (militia), a paramilitary force created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy government to combat

24386-479: The quiet spa town of Vichy , their provisional capital in central France. Lyon, France's second-largest city, would have been a more logical choice but Mayor Édouard Herriot was too associated with the Third Republic. Marseilles had a reputation as an organised crime hub. Toulouse was too remote and had a left-wing reputation. Vichy was centrally located and had many hotels for ministers to use. Pierre Laval and Raphaël Alibert began their campaign to convince

24564-409: The region, but the restrictions were never thoroughly enforced and were basically abandoned following the invasion of the Soviet Union , which had the effect of turning German territorial ambitions almost exclusively to the East. German troops guarding the boundary line of the northeastern Zone interdite were withdrawn on the night of 17–18 December 1941, but the line remained in place on paper for

24742-445: The remainder of the occupation. Nevertheless, effectively Alsace-Lorraine was annexed: German law applied to the region, its inhabitants were conscripted into the Wehrmacht and pointedly the customs posts separating France from Germany were placed back where they had been between 1871 and 1918. Similarly, a sliver of French territory in the Alps was under direct Italian administration from June 1940 to September 1943. René Bousquet ,

24920-509: The remainder, the officers and NCOs (corporals and sergeants) were kept in camps but were exempt from forced labour. The privates were first sent to "Stalag" camps for processing and were then put to work. About half of them worked in German agriculture, where food rations were adequate and controls were lenient. The others worked in factories or mines, where conditions were much harsher. The French government had responsibility for preventing French citizens from escaping into exile. Article IV of

25098-444: The right to nominate his successor. On 12 July, Pétain designated Laval as vice-president and his designated successor and appointed Fernand de Brinon as representative to the German High Command in Paris. Pétain remained the head of the Vichy regime until 20 August 1944. The French national motto, Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood ) was replaced by Travail, Famille, Patrie (Work, Family, Homeland). It

25276-502: The royal power. From 1127 onward Louis had the assistance of a skilled religious statesman, Abbot Suger . Louis VI successfully defeated, both military and politically, many of the robber barons . When Louis VI died in 1137, much progress had been made towards strengthening Capetian authority. Thanks to Abbot Suger's political advice, King Louis VII (junior king 1131–37, senior king 1137–80) enjoyed greater moral authority over France than his predecessors. Powerful vassals paid homage to

25454-424: The running of the household ... It is in love that our future mothers will find the strength to practise those virtues which best befit their sex and their condition". Exemplifying Vichy propaganda's synthesis of Joan the warrior and Joan the dutiful woman, Anne-Marie Hussenot, speaking at the school at Uriage, stated: "a woman should remember that, in the case of Joan of Arc, or other illustrious women throughout

25632-404: The south was controlled until 1942 by the collaborationist Vichy government . Following liberation in 1944, the Fourth Republic was established. France slowly recovered, and enjoyed a baby boom that reversed its low fertility rate. Long wars in Indochina and Algeria drained French resources and ended in political defeat. In the wake of the 1958 Algerian Crisis , Charles de Gaulle set up

25810-407: The stones at Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens . During the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, a transitional age from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, France shows evidence of the Seine-Oise-Marne culture and the Beaker culture. The Seine-Oise-Marne culture or "SOM culture" ( c.  3100 to 2400 BC) is the name given by archaeologists to the final culture of the Neolithic in Northern France around

25988-445: The strongest rulers of western Europe. The Normans , the Plantagenets , the Lusignans , the Hautevilles , the Ramnulfids , and the House of Toulouse successfully carved lands outside France for themselves. The most important of these conquests for French history was the Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror . An important part of the French aristocracy also involved itself in the crusades, and French knights founded and ruled

26166-475: The symbol of France partly for that reason. The chief themes of Vichy Anglophobia were British "selfishness" in using and then abandoning France after instigating wars, British "treachery" and British plans to take over French colonies . The three examples that were used to illustrate these themes were the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940, the Royal Navy attack at Mers-el-Kébir on the French Mediterranean fleet that killed over 1,300 French sailors in July 1940 and

26344-416: The terms of the Franco-German armistice of June 22, 1940, Nazi Germany effectively annexed the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine while the German army occupied northern metropolitan France and all the Atlantic coastline down to the border with Spain. That left the rest of France, including the remaining two-fifths of southern and eastern metropolitan France and Overseas France North Africa, unoccupied, and under

26522-432: The time of the late Urnfield or early Hallstatt cultures, in the early 1st millennium BC. The Hallstatt culture was succeeded by the La Tène culture , which developed out of the Hallstatt culture without any definite cultural break, under the impetus of considerable Mediterranean influence from Greek , and later Etruscan civilizations . The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from 450 BC to

26700-627: The transitional Beaker culture ( c.  2800 –1900 BC), the Early Bronze Age Rhône culture ( c.  2300 -1600 BC) and Armorican Tumulus culture ( c.  2200  – c.  1400 BC ), the Middle Bronze Age Tumulus culture ( c.  1600 -1200 BC), and the Late Bronze Age Atlantic Bronze Age ( c.  1300  – c.  700 BC ) and Urnfield culture ( c.  1300 -800 BC). Early Bronze Age sites in Brittany (Armorican Tumulus culture) are believed to have grown out of Beaker roots, with some Wessex culture and Unetice culture influence. Some scholars think that

26878-500: The triumph of the Popular Front in 1936. There were five governments during the tenure of the Vichy regime, starting with the continuation of Pétain's position from the Third Republic, which dissolved itself and handed him full powers, leaving Pétain in absolute control of the new, "French State" as Pétain named it. Pierre Laval formed the first government in 1940. The second government was formed by Pierre-Étienne Flandin , and lasted just two months until February 1941. François Darlan

27056-417: The war but was soon outvoted by those who advocated an armistice. Facing an untenable situation, Reynaud resigned and, on his recommendation, President Albert Lebrun appointed the 84-year-old Pétain as the new prime minister on 16 June 1940. The armistice with Germany was signed on 22 June 1940. A separate French agreement was reached with Italy, which had entered the war against France on 10 June, well after

27234-491: The war. The US position towards Vichy France and de Gaulle was especially hesitant and inconsistent. Roosevelt disliked de Gaulle and regarded him as an "apprentice dictator". The Americans first tried to support General Maxime Weygand , general delegate of Vichy for Africa until December 1941. After the first choice had failed, they turned to Henri Giraud shortly before the landing in North Africa on 8 November 1942. Finally, after Admiral François Darlan 's turn towards

27412-438: The western part of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire , known as West Francia , and achieved increasing prominence under the rule of the House of Capet , founded in 987. A succession crisis in 1328 led to the Hundred Years' War between the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet . The war began in 1337 following Philip VI 's attempt to seize the Duchy of Aquitaine from its hereditary holder, Edward III of England ,

27590-518: Was constitutionally appointed prime minister by President Lebrun on 16 June 1940 and he was legally within his rights to sign the armistice with Germany; however, his decision to ask the National Assembly to dissolve itself while granting him dictatorial powers has been more controversial. Historians have particularly debated the circumstances of the vote by the National Assembly of the Third Republic granting full powers to Pétain on 10 July 1940. The main arguments advanced against Vichy's right to incarnate

27768-555: Was Pétain's call for France to turn inwards and to withdraw from the world, which Pétain always portrayed as a hostile and threatening place full of endless dangers for the French. Joan of Arc replaced Marianne as the national symbol of France under Vichy, as her status as one of France's best-loved heroines gave her widespread appeal, and the image of Joan as a devout Catholic and patriot also fit well with Vichy's traditionalist message. Vichy literature portrayed Joan as an archetypal virgin and Marianne as an archetypal whore. Under

27946-428: Was an example of armed neutrality . The most important such action was the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon on 27 November 1942 to prevent its capture by the Axis. Washington at first granted Vichy full diplomatic recognition, sending Admiral William D. Leahy as American ambassador. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull hoped to use American influence to encourage elements in

28124-403: Was attacked as frequently and violently as Britain was in Vichy propaganda. In Pétain's radio speeches, Britain was always portrayed as the " Other ", a nation that was the complete antithesis of everything good in France, the blood-soaked " Perfidious Albion " and the relentless "eternal enemy" of France whose ruthlessness knew no bounds. Joan of Arc, who had fought against England, was made into

28302-528: Was called Gaul by the Romans, and its people were called Gauls . The people to the north (in what is present-day Belgium) were called Belgae (scholars believe this may represent a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements) and the peoples of the south-west of France were called the Aquitani by the Romans, and may have been Celtiberians or Vascons . Prehistoric and Iron Age France - all dates are BC Vichy France Vichy France ( French : Régime de Vichy ; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially

28480-404: Was called the Unbesetztes Gebiet (Unoccupied Zone) by the Germans, and known as the Zone libre (Free Zone) in France, or less formally as the "Southern Zone" ( zone du sud ) especially after Operation Anton , the invasion of the Zone libre by German forces in November 1942. Other contemporary colloquial terms for the Zone libre were based on abbreviation and wordplay, such as

28658-415: Was commuted to life imprisonment by de Gaulle . Only four senior Vichy officials were tried for crimes against humanity , although many had participated in the deportation of Jews, abuses of prisoners, and severe acts against members of the Resistance. In 1940, Marshal Philippe Pétain was known as a World War I hero, who was the victor of the Battle of Verdun . As the last French prime minister he blamed

28836-420: Was desperately short of motorised transport, a particular problem for cavalry units. Surviving recruiting posters stress the opportunities for athletic activities, including horsemanship, reflecting both the general emphasis placed by the Vichy government on rural virtues and outdoor activities and the realities of service in a small and technologically backward military force. Traditional features characteristic of

29014-494: Was dire, and it was apparent that it would lose the battle for Metropolitan France. The French government began to discuss the possibility of an armistice. Paul Reynaud resigned as prime minister rather than sign an armistice, and was replaced by Marshal Philippe Pétain , a hero of World War I . Shortly thereafter, Pétain signed the Armistice of 22 June 1940 . At Vichy, Pétain established an authoritarian government that reversed many liberal policies and began tight supervision of

29192-572: Was divided among Louis's three sons ( Treaty of Verdun , 843). After a last brief reunification (884–887), the imperial title ceased to be held in the western realm, which was to form the basis of the future French kingdom. The eastern realm, which would become Germany, elected the Saxon dynasty of Henry the Fowler . Under the Carolingians , the kingdom was ravaged by Viking raiders . In this struggle some important figures such as Count Odo of Paris and his brother King Robert rose to fame and became kings. This emerging dynasty, whose members were called

29370-465: Was established in the 16th century. In the late 18th century the monarchy and associated institutions were overthrown in the French Revolution . The Revolutionary Tribunal executed political opponents by guillotine , instituting the Reign of Terror (1793–94). The country was governed as a Republic , until Napoleon 's French Empire was declared in 1804. Following his defeat in the Napoleonic Wars , France went through regime changes, being ruled as

29548-451: Was for a long time the reference for the study of this period. In the 1950s, Jean-Jacques Hatt proposed a subdivision of the French Bronze Age, and in 1958 he published a tripartate division. This model divided the Bronze Age into three parts, Early Bronze, Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Age and serves as a reference for the majority of subsequent studies on the Bronze Age in France. The Bronze Age archeological cultures in France include

29726-535: Was granted full powers, Pétain began blaming the Third Republic's democracy and endemic corruption for France's humiliating defeat by Germany. Accordingly, his government soon began taking on authoritarian characteristics. Democratic liberties and guarantees were immediately suspended. The crime of "crime of opinion" ( délit d'opinion ) was reestablished, effectively repealing freedom of thought and expression , and critics were frequently arrested. Elective bodies were replaced by nominated ones. The "municipalities" and

29904-403: Was inhabited by many Celtic and Belgae tribes whom the Romans referred to as Gauls and who spoke the Gaulish language roughly between the Oise and the Garonne , according to Julius Caesar . On the lower Garonne the people spoke Aquitanian , a Pre-Indo-European language related to (or a direct ancestor of) Basque whereas a Belgian language was spoken north of Lutecia but north of

30082-427: Was mentally ill. Vichy instructors sometimes struggled to square Joan's military heroism with the classical virtues of womanhood, with one school textbook insisting that girls ought not follow Joan's example literally, saying: "Some of the most notable heroes in our history have been women. But nevertheless, girls should preferably exercise the virtues of patience, persistence and resignation. They are destined to tend to

30260-400: Was no unity. Each noble had his own lands, his own network of regional connections, and his own military force. The cities had a quasi-independent status, and were largely controlled by the leading merchants and guilds. Peasants made up the vast majority of the population, who in many cases had well-established rights that the authorities had to respect. In the 17th century peasants had ties to

30438-429: Was noted at the time that TFP also stood for the criminal punishment of travaux forcés à perpetuité ("forced labor in perpetuity"). Reynaud was arrested in September 1940 by the Vichy government and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1941, before the opening of the Riom Trial . Pétain was a reactionary by nature and education, despite his status as a hero of the Third Republic during World War I. Almost as soon as he

30616-412: Was officially still part of France, as the Reich never annexed the region. The Reich government at the time was not interested in attempting to enforce piecemeal annexations in the West although it later annexed Luxembourg; it operated under the assumption that Germany's new western border would be determined in peace negotiations, which would be attended by all of the Western Allies and thus producing

30794-401: Was practically abandoned to the Franks. Aside from the Germanic peoples, the Vascones entered Wasconia from the Pyrenees and the Bretons formed three kingdoms in Armorica: Domnonia , Cornouaille and Broërec . In 486, Clovis I , leader of the Salian Franks , defeated Syagrius at Soissons and subsequently united most of northern and central Gaul under his rule. Clovis then recorded

30972-443: Was said to have destroyed French society and to have brought about the defeat of 1940. Such a harsh critique of French society could generate only so much support, and as such Vichy blamed French problems on various "enemies" of France, the chief of which was Britain, the "eternal enemy" that had supposedly conspired via Masonic lodges to weaken France and then to pressure France into declaring war on Germany in 1939. No other nation

31150-418: Was then head of government until April 1942, followed by Pierre Laval again until August 1944. The Vichy government fled into exile in Sigmaringen in September 1944. Vichy France in 1940–1942 was recognised by most Axis and neutral powers , as well as the United States and the Soviet Union. During the war, Vichy France conducted military actions against armed incursions from Axis and Allied belligerents and

31328-459: Was this Gaulish participation that caused Provence to be annexed in 122 BC by the Roman Republic . Later, the Consul of Gaul — Julius Caesar — conquered all of Gaul. Despite Gaulish opposition led by Vercingetorix , the Gauls succumbed to the Roman onslaught. The Gauls had some success at first at Gergovia , but were ultimately defeated at Alesia in 52 BC. The Romans founded cities such as Lugdunum ( Lyon ), Narbonensis (Narbonne) and allow in

31506-457: Was to be a counter-revolution eliminating all the progress and human rights won in the last one hundred and fifty years". The minority of mostly Radicals and Socialists who opposed Laval became known as the Vichy 80 . The deputies and senators who voted to grant full powers to Pétain were condemned on an individual basis after the Liberation. The majority of French historians and all postwar French governments have contended that this vote by

31684-417: Was widely dispersed. The law courts ("Parlements") were powerful. However, the king had only about 10,000 officials in royal service – very few indeed for such a large country, and with very slow internal communications over an inadequate road system. Travel was usually faster by ocean ship or river boat. The different estates of the realm — the clergy, the nobility, and commoners — occasionally met together in

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