161-544: Christianity in France is the largest religion in the country. France is home to The Taizé Community , an ecumenical Christian monastic fraternity in Taizé , Saône-et-Loire , Burgundy . With a focus on youth, it has become one of the world's most important sites of Christian pilgrimage with over 100,000 young people from around the world converging each year for prayer, Bible study , sharing, and communal work. According to
322-814: A Christian in the event of victory against the Visigothic Kingdom , which was said to have guaranteed the battle. Clovis regained the southwest from the Visigoths and was baptised in 508. Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity; thus France was given the title "Eldest daughter of the Church" by the papacy, and French kings called "the Most Christian Kings of France". The Franks embraced
483-425: A European counterweight between American and Soviet spheres of influence. However, he opposed any development of a supranational Europe , favouring sovereign nations . The revolt of May 1968 had an enormous social impact; it was a watershed moment when a conservative moral ideal (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shifted to a more liberal moral ideal (secularism, individualism, sexual revolution). Although
644-602: A change at the head of state." Perier and François Guizot , then Minister of the Interior , enforced the conservatism of the July Monarchy. The regime acknowledged early on that radicalism and republicanism threatened it, as they undermined its laissez-faire policies. In 1834 the Monarchy declared the term "republican" illegal. Guizot shut down republican clubs and disbanded republican publications. Republicans within
805-728: A combination of social, political and economic factors, which the Ancien Régime proved unable to manage. A financial crisis and social distress led in May 1789 to the convocation of the Estates General , which was converted into a National Assembly in June. The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July led to a series of radical measures by the Assembly, among them the abolition of feudalism , state control over
966-559: A coup and civil war. During the May 1958 crisis , the weak Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic , which included a strengthened presidency. The war concluded with the Évian Accords in 1962 which led to Algerian independence , at a high price: between half a million and one million deaths and over 2 million internally-displaced Algerians. Around one million Pied-Noirs and Harkis fled from Algeria to France. A vestige of empire
1127-479: A kind of monarchy in which the king was more than a figurehead for an elected Parliament, and as such, he was deeply involved in legislative affairs. One of his first acts in creating his government was to appoint the conservative Casimir Pierre Perier as the premier of his cabinet. Perier , a banker, was instrumental in shutting down many of the Republican secret societies and labor unions that had formed during
1288-514: A multi-nation survey held by Ipsos and based on approximately 1,000 interviews, found that Christianity is the religion of 45% of the working-age, internet connected population of France; 42% stated they were Catholic, 2% stated that they were Protestants, and 1% declared to belong to any Orthodox church. In 2015 the Eurobarometer , a survey funded by the European Union , found that Christianity
1449-602: A note written by the French ambassador to Vienna , Marshal Maison , and which had arrived in Paris on 4 March 1831, which announced an imminent Austrian intervention in Italy. Learning of this note in Le Moniteur of 8 March, Laffitte requested an immediate explanations from Sébastiani , who replied that he had followed royal orders. After a meeting with the king, Laffitte submitted to
1610-524: A period of economic prosperity and cultural and scientific flourishing known as the Belle Époque . France was one of the major participants of World War I , from which it emerged victorious at great human and economic cost. It was among the Allies of World War II , but it surrendered and was occupied in 1940. Following its liberation in 1944 , the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in
1771-487: A platform of religious equality among Catholics and Protestants; the empowerment of the citizenry through the reestablishment of the National Guard , electoral reform, reform of the peerage system , and the lessening of royal authority. Louis-Philippe and his ministers adhered to policies that seemed to promote the central tenets of the constitution. However, the majority of these policies were veiled attempts to shore up
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#17328449530171932-555: A return of the House of Orléans to the throne. But the July Monarchy proved to be the last Bourbon-Orleans monarchy of France (although monarchy was re-established under Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew, who reigned as Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870). The Legitimists withdrew from politics to their castles, leaving the way open for the struggle between the Orléanists and the Republicans. Following
2093-628: A small number of those men of eligible age. The extended franchise tended to favor the wealthy merchant bourgeoisie more than any other group as the qualifications for voting was related to payment of a certain level of taxes . Beyond resulting in the election of more bourgeoisie to the Chamber of Deputies, this electoral expansion meant that the bourgeoisie could politically challenge the nobility on legislative matters. Thus, while appearing to honor his pledge to increase suffrage, Louis-Philippe acted primarily to empower his supporters and increase his hold over
2254-740: A study regarding the various religions of France, based on 49 surveys held by the Ifop in the period 2011–2014, so based on a sample of 51.770 interviewed, there were 17.4% of Protestants in the Bas-Rhin , 7.3% in the Haut-Rhin , 7.2% in the Gard , 6.8% in the Drôme and 4.2% in the Ardèche . In the other departments this presence is residual, with, for example, only 0.5% in Côte-d'Or and in
2415-469: A survey by Ifop, in 2012, 770 people out of the 37,743 interviewed (or 2.1%) declared to be Protestants of various types. About 42% of them were Calvinists ( Huguenots ), 21% were evangelical Protestants , 17% were Lutherans and another 20% were affiliated with other Protestant churches. The percentage rose to 3.1% in 2017, mainly due to recent conversions. Out of 100% of people that have become Protestants, 67% were Catholic and 27% were of no religion. In
2576-465: A survey held by Institut français d'opinion publique (Ifop) for the Institut Montaigne think-tank, 51.1% of the total population of France was Christian in 2016. The following year, a survey by Ipsos focused on Protestants and based on 31,155 interviews found that 57.5% of the total population of France declared to be Catholic and 3.1% declared to be Protestant. In 2016, Ipsos Global Trends ,
2737-469: A unified central government that was fiscally sound and had much control over all areas of French life, a sharp difference from the complicated mix of feudal and absolutist traditions and institutions of pre-Revolutionary Bourbons. Louis XVIII, for the most part, accepted that much had changed. However, he was pushed on his right by the Ultra-royalists , led by the comte de Villèle , who condemned
2898-558: Is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the eurozone , as well as a member of the Group of Seven , North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Francophonie . Originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire , the name France comes from the Latin Francia , or "realm of the Franks ". The name of
3059-571: Is now France date from approximately 1.8 million years ago. Neanderthals occupied the region into the Upper Paleolithic era but were slowly replaced by Homo sapiens around 35,000 BC. This period witnessed the emergence of cave painting in the Dordogne and Pyrenees , including at Lascaux , dated to c. 18,000 BC. At the end of the Last Glacial Period (10,000 BC),
3220-679: Is the French Coptic Orthodox Church . Other Christian groups in France include the Jehovah's Witnesses , the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and other small sects. The European Court on Human Rights reckoned 249,918 "regular and occasional" Jehovah's Witnesses in France and according to their official website, there are 128,759 publishers in the country. France – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
3381-558: Is the French overseas departments and territories . During the Cold War , de Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence" towards the Western and Eastern blocs . He withdrew from NATO's military-integrated command (while remaining within the alliance), launched a nuclear development programme and made France the fourth nuclear power . He restored cordial Franco-German relations to create
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#17328449530173542-473: Is the world's leading tourist destination , receiving 100 million foreign visitors in 2023 . A developed country , France has a high nominal per capita income globally , and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world . It is a great power , being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state . France
3703-508: The Parti de l'Ordre , to resign, followed by Casimir Perier , André Dupin , the Count Molé and Joseph-Dominique Louis . Confronted to the Parti de l'Ordre 's defeat, Louis-Philippe decided to put Laffitte to trial, hoping that the exercise of power would discredit him. He thus called him to form a new government on 2 November 1830. Although Louis-Philippe strongly disagreed with
3864-606: The Conseil d'État were replaced. In the Chamber of Deputies , a quarter of the seats (119) were submitted to a new election in October, leading to the defeat of the Legitimists. In sociological terms, however, this renewal of political figures did not mark any great change of elites. The old land-owners, civil servants and liberal professions continued to dominate the state of affairs, leading
4025-565: The Palais-Royal , to the royal palace, the Tuileries . The banker Périer established the new government's principles on 18 March 1831: ministerial solidarity and the authority of the government over the administration: "the principle of the July Revolution... is not insurrection... it is resistance to the aggression the power" and, internationally, "a pacific attitude and the respect of
4186-585: The doctrinaires ' attempt to reconcile the Revolution with the monarchy through a constitutional monarchy . Instead, the Chambre introuvable , elected in 1815, first banished all Conventionnels who had voted for Louis XVI's death and then passed similar reactionary laws. Louis XVIII was forced to dissolve this Chamber, dominated by the Ultras , in 1816, fearing a popular uprising. The liberals thus governed until
4347-746: The francisca ), although these weapons may have been named because of their use by the Franks, not the other way around. In English, 'France' is pronounced / f r æ n s / FRANSS in American English and / f r ɑː n s / FRAHNSS or / f r æ n s / FRANSS in British English. The pronunciation with / ɑː / is mostly confined to accents with the trap-bath split such as Received Pronunciation , though it can be also heard in some other dialects such as Cardiff English . The oldest traces of archaic humans in what
4508-560: The 1995 public transport bombings , France has been targeted by Islamist organisations, notably the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 which provoked the largest public rallies in French history, gathering 4.4 million people, the November 2015 Paris attacks which resulted in 130 deaths, the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II and the deadliest in the European Union since
4669-886: The Aquitaine Basin in the southwest and the Paris Basin in the north. Various routes of natural passage, such as the Rhône Valley , allow easy communication. The Alpine, Pyrenean and Jura mountains are much younger and have less eroded forms. At 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft) above sea level, Mont Blanc , located in the Alps on the France–Italy border , is the highest point in Western Europe. Although 60% of municipalities are classified as having seismic risks (though moderate). The coastlines offer contrasting landscapes: mountain ranges along
4830-593: The Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror added "King of England" to his titles, becoming vassal and the equal of the king of France, creating recurring tensions. The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet was crowned king of the Franks . His descendants unified the country through wars and inheritance. From 1190, the Capetian rulers began to be referred as "kings of France" rather than "kings of
4991-576: The Bonaparte family. The Church of Sainte-Geneviève was once again returned to its functions as a secular building, named the Panthéon . Various budget restrictions were imposed on the Catholic Church, while the 1825 Anti-Sacrilege Act which envisioned death penalties for sacrilege was repealed. Civil unrest continued for three months, supported by the left-wing press . Louis-Philippe 's government
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5152-574: The British Isles and Switzerland . The wars were ended by Henry IV 's Edict of Nantes , which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Spanish troops, assisted the Catholics from 1589 to 1594 and invaded France in 1597. Spain and France returned to all-out war between 1635 and 1659. The war cost France 300,000 casualties. Under Louis XIII , Cardinal Richelieu promoted centralisation of
5313-551: The Carnac stones site (approximately 3,300 BC). In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille ). Celtic tribes penetrated parts of eastern and northern France, spreading through the rest of the country between the 5th and 3rd century BC. Around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain Brennus and his troops made their way to Roman Italy , defeated
5474-704: The Catholic Church in France , and a declaration of rights . The next three years were dominated by struggle for political control, exacerbated by economic depression . Military defeats following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792 resulted in the insurrection of 10 August 1792 . The monarchy was abolished and replaced by the French First Republic in September, while Louis XVI
5635-541: The Consulate seized power in a coup led by Napoleon . Napoleon became First Consul in 1799 and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1814; 1815). Changing sets of European coalitions declared wars on Napoleon's empire . His armies conquered most of continental Europe with swift victories such as the battles of Jena-Auerstadt and Austerlitz . Members of the Bonaparte family were appointed monarchs in some of
5796-655: The Council of State , General Lamarque 's military command suppressed, Bouchotte and the Marquis de Laborde forced to resign. When on 15 April 1831 the Cour d'assises acquitted several young Republicans ( Godefroy Cavaignac , Joseph Guinard and Audry de Puyraveau 's son), mostly officers of the National Guard who had been arrested during the December 1830 troubles following
5957-509: The Côtes-d'Armor . In recent years, a new Evangelical church is built every 10 days. The Eastern Orthodox Church in France is represented by several communities and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Traditionally, Eastern Orthodox Christians in France are mainly ethnic Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Ukrainians and Georgians, but there are also some ethnic French converts to Eastern Orthodoxy. Different Eastern Orthodox churches have separate jurisdictions and organisations in France,
6118-411: The European Union (green) France , officially the French Republic , is a country located primarily in Western Europe , though it also has extensive overseas regions and territories . Metropolitan France borders Belgium , Luxembourg , Germany , Switzerland , Italy , Monaco , Andorra , and Spain . It shares a maritime border with the United Kingdom . Its metropolitan area extends from
6279-428: The First French Empire . The collapse of the empire initiated a period of relative decline, in which France endured the Bourbon Restoration until the founding of the French Second Republic which was succeeded by the Second French Empire upon Napoleon III 's takeover. His empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. This led to the establishment of the Third French Republic , and subsequent decades saw
6440-407: The French First Republic (1792–1804), involved a heavy persecution of the Catholic Church, within a policy of dechristianisation , which led to the destruction of many churches, religious orders and artworks, including the very influential Cluny Abbey . During the First French Empire (1804–1814), the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the following July Monarchy (1830–1848), Roman Catholicism
6601-411: The French Riviera , coastal cliffs such as the Côte d'Albâtre , and wide sandy plains in the Languedoc . Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast. France has an extensive river system consisting of the four major rivers Seine , the Loire , the Garonne , the Rhône and their tributaries, whose combined catchment includes over 62% of the metropolitan territory. The Rhône divides the Massif Central from
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6762-515: The Guizot administration was marked by increasingly authoritarian crackdowns on republicanism and dissent, and an increasingly pro-business policy. This policy included protective tariffs that defended the status quo and enriched French businessmen. Guizot 's government granted railway and mining contracts to the bourgeois supporters of the government, and contributed some of the start-up costs of these enterprises. As workers under these policies had no legal right to assemble, unionize, or petition
6923-468: The High Middle Ages , France was a powerful but decentralized feudal kingdom. The Hundred Years' War , a dynastic conflict with England , dominated French history from the mid-14th to mid-15th century. In the 16th century, the French Renaissance saw culture flourish and a French colonial empire rise. Internally, France was dominated by the conflict with the House of Habsburg and the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots . France
7084-405: The House of Plantagenet , rulers of the County of Anjou , established its dominion over the surrounding provinces of Maine and Touraine , then built an "empire" from England to the Pyrenees , covering half of modern France. Tensions between France and the Plantagenet empire would last a hundred years, until Philip II of France conquered, between 1202 and 1214, most continental possessions of
7245-422: The July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 February 1848, with the Revolution of 1848 . It marks the end of the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830). It began with the overthrow of the conservative government of Charles X , the last king of the main line House of Bourbon . Louis Philippe , a member of the more liberal Orléans branch of the House of Bourbon, proclaimed himself as Roi des Français (" King of
7406-406: The Madrid train bombings in 2004 . Opération Chammal , France's military efforts to contain ISIS , killed over 1,000 ISIS troops between 2014 and 2015. The vast majority of France's territory and population is situated in Western Europe and is called Metropolitan France . It is bordered by the North Sea in the north, the English Channel in the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and
7567-402: The Mediterranean Sea in the southeast. Its land borders consist of Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland in the east, Italy and Monaco in the southeast, and Andorra and Spain in the south and southwest. Except for the northeast, most of France's land borders are roughly delineated by natural boundaries and geographic features: to the south and southeast,
7728-459: The Popular Front government (e.g., annual leave , eight-hour workdays , women in government ). In 1940, France was invaded and quickly defeated by Nazi Germany . France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north, an Italian occupation zone and an unoccupied territory, the rest of France, which consisted of the southern France and the French empire. The Vichy government , an authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, ruled
7889-468: The Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea . Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined 643,801 km (248,573 sq mi) and have a total population of 68.4 million as of January 2024 . France is a semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Metropolitan France
8050-488: The Seven Years' War (1756–1763). Its European territory kept growing, however, with acquisitions such as Lorraine and Corsica . Louis XV's weak rule, including the decadence of his court, discredited the monarchy, which in part paved the way for the French Revolution . Louis XVI (r. 1774–1793) supported America with money, fleets and armies , helping them win independence from Great Britain . France gained revenge, but verged on bankruptcy—a factor that contributed to
8211-431: The bishop of Rome . In 380, the emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica , which made Christianity, specifically Nicene Christianity , the official religion of the Roman Empire . With the Migration Period of the Germanic peoples , the Gauls were invaded by the Franks , who at first practised Frankish paganism . Their tribes were unified into a kingdom, which came to be called France , by Clovis I . He
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#17328449530178372-517: The death penalty , at least for political crimes. This in turn provoked popular discontent on 17 and 18 October, with the masses marching on the Château de Vincennes where the former ministers were detained. Following these riots, Interior Minister Guizot requested the resignation of the Prefect of the Seine , Odilon Barrot , who had criticized the parliamentarians' address to the king. Supported by Victor de Broglie , Guizot considered that an important civil servant could not criticize an act of
8533-470: The official language of France and Europe's aristocracy. France became rivals of the House of Habsburg during the Italian Wars , which would dictate much of their later foreign policy until the mid-18th century. French explorers claimed lands in the Americas, paving expansion of the French colonial empire . The rise of Protestantism led France to a civil war known as the French Wars of Religion . This forced Huguenots to flee to Protestant regions such as
8694-415: The "Citizen King") establishing the principle of national sovereignty over the principle of the divine right . The new Charter was a compromise between the Doctrinaires opposition to Charles X and the Republicans. Laws enforcing Catholicism and censorship were repealed and the revolutionary tricolor flag re-established. Louis-Philippe pledged his oath to the 1830 Charter on 9 August setting up
8855-417: The 1820 assassination of the Duke of Berry , nephew of the king and known supporter of the Ultras, which brought Villèle 's Ultras back to power (vote of the Anti-Sacrilege Act in 1825, and of the loi sur le milliard des émigrés , 'Act on the émigrés' billions'). His brother Charles X , however, took a far more conservative approach. He attempted to compensate the aristocrats for what they had lost in
9016-459: The 1970s France faced an economic crisis and allowed new immigrants (mostly from the Maghreb , in northwest Africa) to permanently settle in France with their families and acquire citizenship. It resulted in hundreds of thousands of Muslims living in subsidised public housing and suffering from high unemployment rates. The government had a policy of assimilation of immigrants, where they were expected to adhere to French values and norms. Since
9177-402: The 200 years of the Crusades, in such a fashion that the Arabs referred to crusaders as Franj . French Crusaders imported French into the Levant , making Old French the base of the lingua franca ("Frankish language") of the Crusader states . The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the southwest of modern-day France. From the 11th century,
9338-420: The 4th century, a period of revival and prosperity. In 312, Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity . Christians, who had been persecuted, increased. But from the 5th century, the Barbarian Invasions resumed. Teutonic tribes invaded the region, the Visigoths settling in the southwest, the Burgundians along the Rhine River Valley, and the Franks in the north. In Late antiquity , ancient Gaul
9499-517: The Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue . The Garonne meets the Dordogne just after Bordeaux, forming the Gironde estuary , the largest estuary in Western Europe which after approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Other water courses drain towards the Meuse and Rhine along the northeastern borders. France has 11,000,000 km (4,200,000 sq mi) of marine waters within three oceans under its jurisdiction, of which 97% are overseas. France
9660-513: The Chamber of Deputies that Marshal Soult , assisted by the Prince Royal, would immediately march on Lyon with 20,000 men. They entered the city on 3 December re-establishing order without any bloodshed. Civil unrest, however, continued, and not only in Paris. On 11 March 1832, sedition exploded in Grenoble during the carnival . The prefect had canceled the festivities after a grotesque mask of Louis-Philippe had been displayed, leading to popular demonstrations. The prefect then tried to have
9821-421: The Chamber of Deputies, particularly when it had been approved by the King and his government. Dupont de l'Eure took Barrot 's side, threatening to resign if the king disavowed him. The banker Laffitte , one of the main figures of the Parti du mouvement , thereupon put himself forward to coordinate the ministers with the title of " President of the Council ". This immediately led Broglie and Guizot, of
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#17328449530179982-512: The Charter (art. 69). The 21 March 1831 law on municipal councils reestablished the principle of election and enlarged the electorate (founded on census suffrage ) which was thus increased tenfold in comparison with the legislative elections (approximately 2 to 3 million electors from a total population of 32,6 million). The 22 March 1831 law re-organized the National Guard; the 19 April 1831 law, voted after two months of debate in Parliament and promulgated after Laffitte 's downfall, decreased
10143-504: The Christian Gallo-Roman culture , and ancient Gaul was renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic Franks adopted Romanic languages . Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian dynasty , but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged from that of Clovis: Paris, Orléans , Soissons , and Rheims . The last Merovingian kings lost power to their mayors of
10304-454: The Council François Guizot . The situation gradually escalated until the Revolutions of 1848 resulted in the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the Second Republic . During the first few years of his reign, Louis-Philippe took actions to develop legitimate, broad-based reform. The government found its source of legitimacy within the Charter of 1830 , written by reform-minded members of Chamber of Deputies and committed to
10465-410: The Council of Ministers a belligerent program, and was subsequently disavowed, forcing him to resign. Most of his ministers had already negotiated their positions in the forthcoming government. Having succeeded in outdoing the Parti du Mouvement , the "Citizen King" called to power the Parti de la Résistance . However, Louis-Philippe was not really much more comfortable with one side than with
10626-405: The Franks is related to the English word frank ("free"): the latter stems from the Old French franc ("free, noble, sincere"), and ultimately from the Medieval Latin word francus ("free, exempt from service; freeman, Frank"), a generalisation of the tribal name that emerged as a Late Latin borrowing of the reconstructed Frankish endonym * Frank . It has been suggested that
10787-420: The Franks". Later kings expanded their directly possessed domaine royal to cover over half of modern France by the 15th century. Royal authority became more assertive, centred on a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility , clergy, and commoners . The nobility played a prominent role in Crusades to restore Christian access to the Holy Land . French knights made up most reinforcements in
10948-418: The French ") rather than "King of France", emphasizing the popular origins of his reign. The king promised to follow the juste milieu , or the middle-of-the-road, avoiding the extremes of both the conservative supporters of Charles X and radicals on the left. The July Monarchy was dominated by wealthy bourgeoisie and numerous former Napoleonic officials. It followed conservative policies, especially under
11109-405: The French Parliament. The election of only the wealthiest men tended to undermine any possibility for growth of a radical faction in Parliament, and effectively served socially conservative ends. The reformed Charter of 1830 limited the power of the king, stripping him of his ability to propose and decree legislation, as well as limiting his executive authority. However, Louis-Philipe believed in
11270-402: The French government's longtime historical association with the Catholic Church , Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur. Charlemagne's son, Louis I kept the empire united, however in 843, it was divided between Louis' three sons, into East Francia , Middle Francia and West Francia . West Francia approximated the area occupied by modern France and
11431-462: The Interior, Guizot , re-appointed the entire prefectoral administration and the mayors of large cities. The Minister of Justice, Dupont de l'Eure , assisted by his secretary general, Mérilhou , dismissed most of the public prosecutors. In the Army, the General de Bourmont , a follower of Charles X who was commanding the invasion of Algeria , was replaced by Bertrand Clauzel . Generals, ambassadors, plenipotentiary ministers and half of
11592-617: The July Monarchy. Without proof, the Legitimists quickly accused Louis-Philippe and the Queen Marie-Amélie of having assassinated the ultra-royalist Prince, with the alleged motive of allowing their son, the Duke of Aumale , to get his hands on his fortune. It is however commonly accepted that the Prince died as a result of sex games with his mistress, the Baroness de Feuchères . Meanwhile,
11753-735: The Minister of Interior Guizot responded to a deputy's question on the subject by stigmatizing the "revolutionary state", which he conflated with chaos, to which he opposed the Glorious Revolution in England in 1688. Two political currents thereafter made their appearance, and would structure political life under the July Monarchy: the Movement Party and the Resistance Party . The first
11914-400: The National Guard disperse the crowd, but the latter refused to go, forcing him to call on the army. The 35th regiment of infantry ( infanterie de ligne ) obeyed the orders, but this in turn led the population to demand their expulsion from the city. This was done on 15 March and the 35th regiment was replaced by the 6th regiment, from Lyon. When Casimir Perier learnt the news, he dissolved
12075-622: The National Guard of Grenoble and immediately recalled the 35th regiment to the city. Beside this continuing unrest, in every province, Dauphiné , Picardy , in Carcassonne , Alsace , etc., various Republican conspiracies threatened the government (conspiracy of the Tours de Notre-Dame in January 1832, of the rue des Prouvaires in February 1832, etc.) Even the trials of suspects were seized on by
12236-647: The National Guard, assisted by the Dragoons and the infantry. The riots continued on 15 and 16 June. The major unrest, however, took place in Lyon with the Canuts Revolt , started on 21 November 1831, and during which parts of the National Guard took the demonstrators' side. In two days, the Canuts took control of the city and expelled General Roguet and the mayor Victor Prunelle . On 25 November Casimir Périer announced to
12397-543: The National Guard, the "Citizen King" charged Marshal Soult , the new Minister of War , with reorganizing the Army . In February 1831, Soult presented his project, aiming to increase the military's effectiveness. Among other reforms, the project included the 9 March 1831 law creating the Foreign Legion . In the meantime, the government enacted various reforms demanded by the Parti du Mouvement , which had been set out in
12558-971: The North Atlantic, the French West Indies , and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean . Metropolitan France has a wide variety of topographical sets and natural landscapes. During the Hercynian uplift in the Paleozoic Era , the Armorican Massif , the Massif Central , the Morvan , the Vosges and Ardennes ranges and the island of Corsica were formed. These massifs delineate several sedimentary basins such as
12719-535: The Prefect of the Seine Odilon Barrot was replaced by Taillepied de Bondy at Montalivet 's request, and the prefect of police Jean-Jacques Baude by Vivien de Goubert . To make matters worse, in this insurrectionary climate, the economic situation was fairly bad. Louis-Philippe finally tricked Laffitte into resigning by having his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Horace Sébastiani , pass him
12880-537: The Prince Royal Ferdinand-Philippe , Duke of Orléans , proposed to the king that he remove the fleur-de-lys , symbol of the Ancien Régime , from the state seal. With obvious displeasure, Louis-Philippe finally signed the 16 February 1831 ordinance substituting for the arms of the House of Orléans a shield with an open book, on which could be read " Charte de 1830 ". The fleur-de-lys ,
13041-688: The Pyrenees and the Alps and the Jura, respectively, and to the east, the Rhine river. Metropolitan France includes various coastal islands, of which the largest is Corsica . Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41° and 51° N , and longitudes 6° W and 10° E , on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the northern temperate zone. Its continental part covers about 1000 km from north to south and from east to west. Metropolitan France covers 551,500 square kilometres (212,935 sq mi),
13202-521: The Republican Armand Carrel 's criticisms against the demagogy of the government. Far from suppressing the crowds, the government had the Archbishop of Paris Mgr de Quélen arrested, as well as charging the friar of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois and other priests, along with some other monarchists, with having provoked the masses. In a gesture of appeasement, Laffitte , supported by
13363-466: The Republicans as an opportunity to address the people: at the trial of the Blanquist Société des Amis du peuple in January 1832, Raspail harshly criticized the king while Auguste Blanqui gave free vein to his socialist ideas. All of the accused denounced the government's tyranny , the incredibly high cost of Louis-Philippe's civil list , police persecutions, etc. The omnipresence of
13524-463: The Revolution. Some of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and scientific breakthroughs, such as the naming of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists. French explorers took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions. Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as
13685-606: The Romans in the Battle of the Allia , and besieged and ransomed Rome. This left Rome weakened, and the Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC when they entered into a peace treaty. But the Romans and the Gauls remained adversaries for centuries. Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), which evolved into Provence in French. Julius Caesar conquered
13846-518: The autocracy and hierarchy of the earlier era could not be fully restored. Economic changes, which had been underway long before the revolution, had progressed further during the years of turmoil and were firmly entrenched by 1815. These changes had seen power shift from the noble landowners to the urban merchants. The administrative reforms of Napoleon, such as the Napoleonic Code and efficient bureaucracy, also remained in place. These changes produced
14007-607: The banker Laffitte and secretly pledged to the Duke of Broglie that he would not support him at all, the new President of the Council was tricked into trusting his king. The trial of Charles X's former ministers took place from 15 to 21 December 1830 before the Chamber of Peers , surrounded by rioters demanding their death. They were finally sentenced to life detention, accompanied by civil death for Polignac . La Fayette 's National Guard maintained public order in Paris, affirming itself as
14168-435: The beginnings of the July Monarchy. Two days later, the first cabinet was formed, gathering the constitutionalist opposition to Charles X, including Casimir Perier , the banker Jacques Laffitte , Count Molé , the duke of Broglie , François Guizot , etc. The new government's first aim was to restore public order, while at the same time appearing to acclaim the revolutionary forces which had just triumphed. Assisted by
14329-482: The bourgeois watchdog of the new regime, while the new Interior Minister, Camille de Montalivet , kept the former ministers safe by detaining them in the Château de Vincennes. But by demonstrating the National Guard's importance, La Fayette had made his position delicate, and he was quickly forced to resign. This led to the Minister of Justice Dupont de l'Eure 's resignation. In order to avoid exclusive dependence on
14490-490: The cabinet, such as the banker Dupont , were all but excluded by Perier and his conservative clique. Distrusting the National Guard, Louis-Philippe increased the size of the army and reformed it in order to ensure its loyalty to the government. Two factions always persisted in the cabinet, split between liberal conservatives such as Guizot ( le parti de la Résistance , the Party of Resistance) and liberal reformers such as
14651-572: The capital; and the liberal bourgeoisie . However, at the end of his reign, the so-called "Citizen King" was overthrown by similar citizen uprisings and use of barricades during the February Revolution of 1848 . This resulted in the proclamation of the Second Republic . After Louis-Philippe 's ousting and subsequent exile to Britain, the liberal Orléanist faction (opposed by the counter-revolutionary Legitimists ) continued to support
14812-497: The church two days in a row, before turning on other churches. The revolutionary movement spread to other cities. Confronted with renewed unrest, the government abstained from any strong repression. The prefect of the Seine Odilon Barrot , the prefect of police Jean-Jacques Baude , and the new commandant of the National Guard, General Georges Mouton , remained passive, triggering Guizot 's indignation, as well as
14973-504: The climate became milder; from approximately 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered the Neolithic era, and its inhabitants became sedentary . After demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, metallurgy appeared , initially working gold, copper and bronze , then later iron . France has numerous megalithic sites from the Neolithic, including
15134-733: The constitutional July Monarchy ; French troops began the conquest of Algeria . Unrest led to the French Revolution of 1848 and the end of the July Monarchy. The abolition of slavery and introduction of male universal suffrage was re-enacted in 1848. In 1852, president of the French Republic, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , Napoleon I's nephew, was proclaimed emperor of the Second Empire , as Napoleon III. He multiplied French interventions abroad, especially in Crimea , Mexico and Italy . Napoleon III
15295-492: The course of the defeat in the Algerian War . The current Fifth Republic was formed in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle . Algeria and most French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with the majority retaining close economic and military ties with France . France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art , science , and philosophy . It hosts the fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and
15456-406: The early years of the regime. In addition, he oversaw the dismemberment of the National Guard after it proved too supportive of radical ideologies. He conducted these actions with royal approval. He was once quoted as saying that the source of French misery was the belief that there had been a revolution. "No Monsieur ," he said to another minister, "there has not been a revolution: there is simply
15617-487: The electoral income level from 300 to 200 francs and the level for eligibility from 1,000 to 500 francs. The number of voters thereby increased from less than 100,000 to 166,000: one Frenchman in 170 possessed the right to vote, and the number of constituencies rose from 430 to 459. Despite these reforms, which targeted the bourgeoisie rather than the people, Paris was once again rocked by riots on 14 and 15 February 1831, leading to Laffitte 's downfall. The immediate cause of
15778-524: The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , forming the unified political and religious foundation of Christendom , medieval European Christian civilisation, and establishing in earnest France's long historical association with the Catholic Church, for which it was known as the "eldest daughter of the church" throughout the Middle Ages. The French Revolution (1789–1799), which resulted in the establishment of
15939-516: The empire, leaving England and Aquitaine to the Plantagenets. Charles IV the Fair died without an heir in 1328. The crown passed to Philip of Valois , rather than Edward of Plantagenet, who became Edward III of England . During the reign of Philip, the monarchy reached the height of its medieval power. However Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward in 1337, and England and France entered
16100-594: The ensuing uprising of European monarchies against his rule, Napoleon was defeated. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars . After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo , and the Bourbon monarchy was restored with new constitutional limitations. The discredited Bourbon dynasty was overthrown by the July Revolution of 1830, which established
16261-530: The execution of Charles X's ministers ( Jules de Polignac , Jean de Chantelauze , the Count de Peyronnet and the Martial de Guernon-Ranville ). Strikes and demonstrations were permanent. In order to stabilize the economy and finally secure public order, in the autumn of 1830 the government had the Assembly vote a credit of 5 million francs to subsidize public works, mostly roads. Then, to prevent bankruptcies and
16422-576: The family, and son of Philippe Égalité who had voted the death of his cousin Louis XVI, ascended the throne. Louis-Philippe ruled, not as "King of France" but as "King of the French" (an evocative difference for contemporaries). On 7 August 1830, the 1814 Charter was revised. The preamble reviving the Ancien Régime was suppressed, and the King of France became the " King of the French ", (also known as
16583-582: The forefront of the development of a supranational European Union , notably by signing the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, establishing the eurozone in 1999 and signing the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. France has fully reintegrated into NATO and since participated in most NATO-sponsored wars. Since the 19th century, France has received many immigrants , often male foreign workers from European Catholic countries who generally returned home when not employed. During
16744-547: The government expelled from the administration all Legitimist supporters who refused to pledge allegiance to the new regime, leading to the return to political affairs of most of the personnel of the First Empire , who had themselves been expelled during the Second Restoration. This renewal of political and administrative staff was humorously illustrated by a vaudeville of Jean-François Bayard . The Minister of
16905-440: The government for increased pay or decreased hours, the July Monarchy under Perier , Molé , and Guizot generally proved detrimental to the lower classes. Guizot 's advice to those who were disenfranchised by the tax-based electoral requirements was " enrichissez-vous " (enrich yourselves). Louis Phillipe was pushed to the throne by an alliance between the people of Paris; the republicans , who had set up barricades in
17066-522: The historian David H. Pinkney to deny any claim of a "new regime of a grande bourgeoisie ". Although some voices began to push for the closure of the Republican clubs, which fomented revolutionary agitation, the Minister of Justice, Dupont de l'Eure , and the Parisian public prosecutor, Bernard, both Republicans, refused to prosecute revolutionary associations (the French law prohibited meetings of more than 20 persons). However, on 25 September 1830,
17227-498: The increase of unemployment, especially in Paris, the government issued a guarantee for firms encountering difficulties, granting them 60 million francs. These subsidies mainly went into the pockets of big entrepreneurs aligned with the new regime, such as the printer Firmin Didot . The death of the Prince of Condé on 27 August 1830, who was found hanged, caused the first scandal of
17388-470: The influence of François Guizot . The king promoted friendship with the United Kingdom and sponsored colonial expansion, notably the French conquest of Algeria . By 1848, a year in which many European states had a revolution , the king's popularity had collapsed, and he abdicated. The July Monarchy (1830–1848) is generally seen as a period during which the haute bourgeoisie was dominant, and marked
17549-546: The initiative of a patriotic society created by the mayor of Metz , Jean-Baptiste Bouchotte , the opposition's press launched a campaign to gather funds to create a national association aimed at struggling against any Bourbon Restoration and the risks of foreign invasion. All the major figures of the Republican Left ( La Fayette , Dupont de l'Eure , Jean Maximilien Lamarque , Odilon Barrot , etc.) supported it. Local committees were created all over France, leading
17710-413: The journalist Adolphe Thiers ( le parti du Mouvement , the Party of Movement), the latter never gained prominence. Perier was succeeded as premier by Count Molé , another conservative. Thiers, a reformer, succeeded Molé but was later sacked by Louis-Philippe after attempting to pursue an aggressive foreign policy. After Thiers the conservative Guizot was selected as premier. In particular,
17871-475: The largest among European Union members. France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land ), is 643,801 km (248,573 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the southeast, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in
18032-400: The major political issue. The left demanded their heads, but this was opposed by Louis-Philippe , who feared a spiral of violence and the renewal of revolutionary Terror . Thus, on 27 September 1830 the Chamber of Deputies passed a resolution charging the former ministers, but at the same time, in an address to King Louis-Philippe on 8 October, invited him to present a draft law repealing
18193-459: The meaning "free" was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul , only Franks were free of taxation, or more generally because they had the status of freemen in contrast to servants or slaves. The etymology of *Frank is uncertain. It is traditionally derived from the Proto-Germanic word * frankōn , which translates as "javelin" or "lance" (the throwing axe of the Franks was known as
18354-518: The most diverse in Europe, comprising more than 140 species of trees. France had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.52/10, ranking it 123rd globally. There are nine national parks and 46 natural parks in France. A regional nature park (French: parc naturel régional or PNR) is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the national government covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty, to protect
18515-633: The most-used language in diplomacy, science, and literature until the 20th century. France took control of territories in the Americas, Africa and Asia. In 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes , forcing thousands of Huguenots into exile and published the Code Noir providing the legal framework for slavery and expelling Jews from French colonies. Under the wars of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774), France lost New France and most Indian possessions after its defeat in
18676-414: The new president of the Council, Casimir Périer , to issue a circular prohibiting civil servants from membership of this association, which he accused of challenging the state itself by implicitly accusing it of not fulfilling its proper duties. In the beginning of April 1831, the government took some unpopular measures, forcing several important personalities to resign: Odilon Barrot was dismissed from
18837-454: The newly established kingdoms. These victories led to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the metric system , Napoleonic Code and Declaration of the Rights of Man. In 1812 Napoleon attacked Russia , reaching Moscow. Thereafter his army disintegrated through supply problems, disease, Russian attacks, and finally winter. After this catastrophic campaign and
18998-461: The non-intervention principle". The vast majority of the Chamber applauded the new government and granted him a comfortable majority. Périer harnessed the support of the cabinet through oaths of solidarity and strict discipline for dissenters. He excluded reformers from official discourse, and abandoned the regime's unofficial policy of mediating in labor disputes in favor of a strict laissez-faire policy that favored employers. On 14 March 1831, on
19159-501: The off-and-on Hundred Years' War . Boundaries changed, but landholdings inside France by English Kings remained extensive for decades. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc , French counterattacks won back most English continental territories. France was struck by the Black Death , from which half of the 17 million population died. The French Renaissance saw cultural development and standardisation of French, which became
19320-440: The official policy of the contemporary French republic. In a 2016 study sponsored by two Catholic newspapers, the scholars Cleuziou and Cibois estimated that Catholics represented 53.8% of the French population. According to the same study, 23.5% were engaged Catholics and 17% were practising Catholics. The following year, in a survey focused on Protestantism, 57.5% of a sample of 31,155 people declared to be Catholic. According to
19481-569: The oldest among them being the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of France under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople . Oriental Orthodox Christianity in France is represented by several communities and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Traditionally, Oriental Orthodox Christians in France are mainly ethnic Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians and Syriacs, but there are also French converts. The largest Oriental Orthodox church in France
19642-411: The other, being closer to the center. Furthermore, he felt no sympathy for its leader, the banker Casimir Pierre Périer , who replaced Laffitte on 13 March 1831 as head of the government. His aim was more to re-establish order in the country, letting the Parti de la Résistance assume responsibility for unpopular measures. Périer , however, managed to impose his conditions on the king, including
19803-657: The ouster of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1814, the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne. The ensuing period, the Bourbon Restoration , was characterized by conservative reaction and the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic Church as a power in French politics. The relatively moderate Comte de Provence , brother of the deposed-and-executed Louis XVI , ruled as Louis XVIII from 1814 to 1824 and
19964-616: The palace (head of household). One mayor of the palace, Charles Martel , defeated an Umayyad invasion of Gaul at the Battle of Tours (732). His son, Pepin the Short , seized the crown of Francia from the weakened Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty . Pepin's son, Charlemagne , reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built an empire across Western and Central Europe . Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thus establishing
20125-595: The people of Paris in overthrowing the Legitimists, the Orléanist bourgeoisie had to establish its new order. Louis-Philippe decided on 13 August 1830 to adopt the arms of the House of Orléans as state symbols. Reviewing a parade of the Parisian National Guard on 29 August which acclaimed the adoption, he exclaimed to its leader, Lafayette : "This is worth more to me than coronation at Reims !". The new regime then decided on 11 October that all people injured during
20286-560: The pomp and circumstance of the Bourbons and surrounded himself with merchants and bankers. The July Monarchy, however, ruled during a time of turmoil. A large group of Legitimists on the right demanded the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne. On the left, Republicanism and later Socialism remained powerful forces. Late in his reign Louis-Philippe became increasingly rigid and dogmatic and refused to remove his deeply unpopular President of
20447-496: The power and influence of the government and the bourgeoisie, rather than legitimate attempts to promote equality and empowerment for a broad constituency of the French population. Thus, though the July Monarchy seemed to move toward reform, this movement was largely illusory. During the years of the July Monarchy, enfranchisement roughly doubled, from 94,000 under Charles X to more than 200,000 men by 1848. But, this number still represented only roughly one percent of population and
20608-449: The pre-eminence of the President of the Council over other ministers, and his right to call cabinet councils outside of the actual presence of the king. Furthermore, Casimir Perier secured agreement that the liberal Prince Royal, Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans , would cease to participate to the Council of Ministers. Despite this, Perier valued the king's prestige, calling on him, on 21 September 1831, to move from his family residence,
20769-506: The primary source of legitimacy , undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and was a factor in the Revolution. The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change that began with the Estates General of 1789 , and ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 and the formation of the French Consulate . Many of its ideas are fundamental principles of liberal democracy , while its values and institutions remain central to modern political discourse. Its causes were
20930-413: The remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt by Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC. Gaul was divided by Augustus into provinces and many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period , including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon ), the capital of the Gauls. In 250–290 AD, Roman Gaul suffered a crisis with its fortified borders attacked by barbarians . The situation improved in the first half of
21091-399: The revolt was a political failure (the Gaullist party emerged stronger than before) it announced a split between the French and de Gaulle, who resigned. In the post-Gaullist era, France remained one of the most developed economies in the world but faced crises that resulted in high unemployment rates and increasing public debt. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, France has been at
21252-426: The revolution (500 orphans, 500 widows and 3,850 people injured) would be given financial compensation and presented a draft law indemnifying them in the amount of 7 million francs, also creating a commemorative medal for the July Revolutionaries. Ministers lost their honorifics of Monseigneur and Excellence and became simply Monsieur le ministre . The new king's older son, Ferdinand-Philippe ,
21413-413: The revolution, curbed the freedom of the press, and reasserted the power of the Church. In 1830 the discontent caused by these changes and Charles' authoritarian nomination of the Ultra prince de Polignac as minister culminated in an uprising in the streets of Paris, known as the 1830 July Revolution . Charles was forced to flee and Louis-Philippe d'Orléans , a member of the Orléans branch of
21574-399: The riots was a funeral service organized by the Legitimists at Saint-Germains l'Auxerrois Church in memory of the ultra-royalist Duke of Berry , assassinated in 1820. The commemoration turned into a political demonstration in favor of Henri, Count of Chambord , Legitimist pretender to the throne. Seeing in this celebration an intolerable provocation, the Republican rioters ransacked
21735-403: The scenery and heritage as well as setting up sustainable economic development in the area. As of 2019 there are 54 PNRs in France. July Monarchy The July Monarchy ( French : Monarchie de Juillet ), officially the Kingdom of France ( French : Royaume de France ), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under Louis Philippe I , starting on 26 July 1830, with
21896-436: The second-largest behind the British Empire . Including metropolitan France, the total area reached almost 13 million square kilometres in the 1920s and 1930s, 9% of the world's land. Known as the Belle Époque , the turn of the century was characterised by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity and technological, scientific and cultural innovations. In 1905, state secularism was officially established . France
22057-411: The shift from the counter-revolutionary Legitimists to the Orléanists . The Orléanists were willing to make some compromises with the changes brought by the 1789 Revolution . For instance, Louis-Philippe was crowned " King of the French ", instead of "King of France": this marked his acceptance of popular sovereignty. Louis-Philippe , who had flirted with liberalism in his youth, rejected much of
22218-439: The southwest. Due to its numerous overseas departments and territories scattered across the planet, France possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 km (4,261,000 sq mi). Its EEZ covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America , Saint Pierre and Miquelon in
22379-488: The state and reinforced royal power. He destroyed castles of defiant lords and denounced the use of private armies. By the end of the 1620s, Richelieu established "the royal monopoly of force". France fought in the Thirty Years' War , supporting the Protestant side against the Habsburgs. From the 16th to the 19th century, France was responsible for about 10% of the transatlantic slave trade . During Louis XIV 's minority, trouble known as The Fronde occurred. This rebellion
22540-429: The trial of Charles X's ministers, new riots acclaimed the news on 15–16 April. But Périer , implementing the 10 April 1831 law outlawing public meetings, used the military as well as the National Guard to dissolve the crowds. In May, the government used fire hoses as crowd control techniques for the first time. Another riot, started on the Rue Saint-Denis on 14 June 1831, degenerated into an open battle against
22701-424: The unoccupied territory. Free France , the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle , was set up in London. From 1942 to 1944, about 160,000 French citizens, including around 75,000 Jews , were deported to death and concentration camps . On 6 June 1944, the Allies invaded Normandy , and in August they invaded Provence . The Allies and French Resistance emerged victorious, and French sovereignty
22862-401: Was invaded by Germany and defended by Great Britain at the start of World War I in August 1914. A rich industrial area in the north was occupied. France and the Allies emerged victorious against the Central Powers at tremendous human cost. It left 1.4 million French soldiers dead, 4% of its population. Interwar was marked by intense international tensions and social reforms introduced by
23023-432: Was reformist and in favor of support to the nationalists who were trying, all over of Europe, to shake the grip of the various Empires in order to create nation-states . Its mouthpiece was Le National . The second was conservative and supported peace with European monarchs, and had as mouthpiece Le Journal des débats . The trial of Charles X's ministers , arrested in August 1830 while they were fleeing, became
23184-410: Was a founding member of NATO and attempted to regain control of French Indochina , but was defeated by the Viet Minh in 1954. France faced another anti-colonialist conflict in Algeria , then part of France and home to over one million European settlers ( Pied-Noir ). The French systematically used torture and repression, including extrajudicial killings to keep control. This conflict nearly led to
23345-410: Was also removed from public buildings, etc. This new defeat of the king sealed Laffitte 's fate. On 19 February 1831, Guizot verbally attacked Laffitte in the Chamber of Deputies, daring him to dissolve the Chamber and present himself before the electors. Laffitte accepted, but the king, who was the only one entitled to dissolve the Chamber, preferred to wait a few days more. In the meanwhile,
23506-451: Was divided into Germanic kingdoms and a remaining Gallo-Roman territory. Celtic Britons , fleeing the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain , settled in west Armorica ; the Armorican peninsula was renamed Brittany and Celtic culture was revived. The first leader to unite all Franks was Clovis I , who began his reign as king of the Salian Franks in 481, routing the last forces of the Roman governors in 486. Clovis said he would be baptised
23667-479: Was driven by feudal lords and sovereign courts as a reaction to the royal absolute power . The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and reign of Louis XIV. By turning lords into courtiers at the Palace of Versailles , his command of the military went unchallenged. The "Sun King" made France the leading European power. France became the most populous European country and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became
23828-405: Was executed in January 1793. After another revolt in June 1793 , the constitution was suspended and power passed from the National Convention to the Committee of Public Safety . About 16,000 people were executed in a Reign of Terror , which ended in July 1794 . Weakened by external threats and internal opposition, the Republic was replaced in 1795 by the Directory . Four years later in 1799,
23989-417: Was given the title of Duke of Orléans and Prince Royal, while his daughters and his sister, Adélaïde d'Orléans , were named princesses of Orléans – and not of France, since there was no longer any "King of France" nor "House of France". Unpopular laws passed during the Restoration were repealed, including the 1816 amnesty law which had banished the regicides – with the exception of article 4, concerning
24150-414: Was its precursor. During the 9th and 10th centuries, threatened by Viking invasions , France became a decentralised state: the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, and authority of the king became more religious than secular, and so was less effective and challenged by noblemen. Thus was established feudalism in France. Some king's vassals grew so powerful they posed a threat to the king. After
24311-430: Was made again the state religion, and maintained its role as the de facto majority religion during the Second French Republic (1848–1852) and the Second French Empire (1852–1870). Laïcité (secularism), absolute neutrality of the state with respect to religious doctrines, was first established during the Third French Republic (1870–1940), codified with the 1905 Law on the Separation of Church and State, and remains
24472-490: Was not able to put an end to it, mostly because the National Guard was headed by one of the Republican leaders, the Marquis de La Fayette , who advocated a "popular throne surrounded by Republican institutions". The Republicans then gathered themselves in popular clubs, in the tradition established by the 1789 Revolution . Some of those were fronts for secret societies (for example, the Blanquist Société des Amis du Peuple ), which sought political and social reforms, or
24633-416: Was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971. France is ranked 19th by carbon dioxide emissions due to the country's heavy investment in nuclear power following the 1973 oil crisis , which now accounts for 75 per cent of its electricity production and results in less pollution. According to the 2020 Environmental Performance Index conducted by Yale and Columbia , France
24794-455: Was proclaimed the king of the Franks in 509, after having been baptised in 496 by Remigius , bishop of Reims . Roman Catholicism was made the state religion of France. This made the Franks the only Germanic people who directly converted from their paganism to Roman Catholicism without first embracing Arianism , which was the first religion of choice among Germanic peoples in the Migration Period. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as
24955-453: Was restored with the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF). This interim government, established by de Gaulle, continued to wage war against Germany and to purge collaborators from office . It made important reforms e.g. suffrage extended to women and the creation of a social security system. A new constitution resulted in the Fourth Republic (1946–1958), which saw strong economic growth ( les Trente Glorieuses ). France
25116-401: Was settled during the Iron Age by Celtic tribes known as Gauls before Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture . In the Early Middle Ages , the Franks formed the Kingdom of Francia , which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France . In
25277-449: Was succeeded by his more conservative younger brother, the former Comte d'Artois , ruling as Charles X from 1824. In May 1825 he had an elaborate coronation in Reims Cathedral which harkened back to the pre-revolutionary monarchy. Despite the return of the House of Bourbon to power, France was much changed from the era of the ancien régime . The egalitarianism and liberalism of the revolutionaries remained an important force and
25438-439: Was successful in the Thirty Years' War and further increased its influence during the reign of Louis XIV . The French Revolution of 1789 overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man , which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte , subjugating part of continental Europe and establishing
25599-588: Was the fifth most environmentally conscious country in the world. Like all European Union state members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by 2020. As of 2009 , French carbon dioxide emissions per capita were lower than that of China. The country was set to impose a carbon tax in 2009; however, the plan was abandoned due to fears of burdening French businesses. Forests account for 31 per cent of France's land area—the fourth-highest proportion in Europe—representing an increase of 7 per cent since 1990. French forests are some of
25760-412: Was the religion of 54.3% of the French, with Catholicism being the main denomination with 47.8%. Early Christianity was already present among the Gauls by the 2nd century; Irenaeus , bishop of Lugdunum ( Lyon ), detailed the deaths of ninety-year-old bishop Pothinus and other martyrs during the persecution in Lyon which took place in 177. The Gaulish church was soon established in communion with
25921-404: Was unseated following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and his regime replaced by the Third Republic . By 1875, the French conquest of Algeria was complete, with approximately 825,000 Algerians killed from famine, disease, and violence. France had colonial possessions since the beginning of the 17th century, but in the 19th and 20th centuries its empire extended greatly and became
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