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153-614: The first permanent army of France , which was paid with regular wages instead of being supplied by feudal levies , was established in the early 15th century under Charles VII . It was formed due to the need for reliable troops during the Hundred Years' War , though the Army was not disbanded because it saw continued use by the Kings of France following the conflict. Upon the outbreak of a conflict, an ordonnance would be issued to govern

306-691: 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 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

459-419: A mestre de camp and a lieutenant-colonel with company and a major without a company. Each company had a captain, a lieutenant, a cornet , a quartermaster, two brigadiers, two carabineers and 35 troopers. In addition each regiment had a company of carabineers outside the squadrons, filling the same elite role as the grenadier company of a foot regiment. In 1767 the cavalry contained 35 regiments. One of these

612-420: A tricorn like the fusiliers , rather than a mitre or a bearskin . Bearskins came into full use by about 1770. During the 18th century a series of revised dress regulations made for repeated changes in the facing colours of individual infantry regiments. The Swiss and Irish mercenary regiments retained their red coats throughout this period, while other foreign units generally wore medium blue. Cavalry wore

765-399: A trumpeter . The carabineer regiment had a different organization. In 1690 the dragoons contained 33 regiments, of which two were foreign, as well as 50 independent dragoon companies. Each regiment had three squadrons; each squadron had four companies . The regimental staff included a colonel and a lieutenant-colonel with companies, and a major without company. Each company had a captain,

918-853: 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

1071-425: 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

1224-803: A French invasion of the Electoral Palatinate , the Nine Years' War broke out in 1689 and pitted France against the League of Augsburg and other European states. The war ended with no major territorial gains or losses for either side, and the two alliances were at war again by 1701. Despite initial French successes at Friedlingen and Hochstadt , the allied armies under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy inflicted major defeats on French troops at Blenheim , Ramillies , and Oudenarde . In Spain (the succession to that nation's throne

1377-599: A campaign the artillery train and the siege batteries . Otherwise the gunnery cadre contained a number of ordinary commissaires (captains), extraordinary commissaries (lieutenants) and officier-pointeurs (sub-lieutenants). At the disposal of the artillery stood in 1690, a fusilier regiment , a bombardier regiment, two companies of miners , three of galiots and two of boatmen on the Rhine . The King's Fusiliers contained 88 companies with 272 officers and 4,720 men. There were five battalions and twelve gunnery companies outside

1530-494: A captain, a lieutenant and a sub-lieutenant, as well as four quartermasters, one fourier, eight brigadiers, eight lancepessades (lance-corporals), 24 dragoons and a drummer. Of a troops 46 members, 16 served on foot. In 1690 the artillery consisted of a cadre of gunnery officers stationed at the fortresses. The organization was under the Grand Master of Artillery and contained two lieutenant-generals of artillery commanding

1683-454: A captain, a lieutenant, a sub-lieutenant (or ensign in the colonel's company), two sergeants, three corporals, five lance-corporals, 39 private soldiers and a drummer . A garrison company had a captain, a lieutenant, two sergeants, a corporal, two lance-corporals, 44 privates and a drummer. A colonel's company in garrison had an additional ensign , while a grenadier company in garrison had an additional sub-lieutenant. The tactical formation

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1836-698: 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

1989-569: 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

2142-603: A genius at siege warfare, oversaw the building or improvement of many fortresses in Flanders and elsewhere. In 1688, the Catholic King of England, James II , was overthrown and William of Orange , the Dutch Stadtholder and old enemy of Louis, was installed as the next king. James fled to France, which he used as his base for an invasion of Ireland in 1690. As a result of James' ouster and, more directly,

2295-415: A global centre of art , science , and philosophy . It hosts the fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 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

2448-407: A lieutenant, a cornet, a quartermaster, two brigadiers, 37 dragoons and a drummer. There were 17 dragoon regiments in 1767. The seven oldest were known by their title; the others by the name of their commanders. Each regiment had four squadrons; each squadron had two troops. The regimental staff included a mestre de camp and a lieutenant-colonel with troops, and a major without a troop. Each troop had

2601-706: A lieutenant-colonel and five chef de brigades (majors). During the 17th and 18th centuries twelve regiments of Swiss mercenaries were employed in the French Royal Army, notably the Swiss Guards . During the 10 August riot of 1792, supporters of the French Revolution , including members of the radical-leaning National Guard marched on the Tuileries Palace . King Louis XVI escaped with his family, but, after fighting broke out in

2754-581: A major victory at Denain in 1712, the war had turned into a stalemate and ended in peace that somewhat favored the French in 1714. Louis XV , the great-grandson of Louis XIV, was the only direct heir alive when the elderly king died in 1715. His reign was much more peaceful than his great-grandfather's, although three major wars occurred. First was the War of the Polish Succession of 1733. The second,

2907-560: A man recognised in Spain for being highly educated and of great virtue, was entrusted with the spiritual education of the young Infanta. Elisabeth of France died when Maria Theresa was six years old. The Infanta was very close to her step-mother, Mariana of Austria , who was only five years her senior. Unlike France , Spain had no Salic Law , so it was possible for a female to assume the throne. When Maria Theresa's brother Balthasar Charles died in 1646, she became heir presumptive to

3060-731: A maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from 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 area of 643,801 km (248,573 sq mi) and have a total population of 68.4 million as of January 2024 . France

3213-625: A meeting at Lyon between the Houses of France and Savoy in November 1658, he reputedly exclaimed of the Franco-Savoyard union that "it cannot be, and will not be". Philip then sent a special envoy to the French court to open negotiations for peace and a royal marriage. The negotiations for the marriage contract were intense. Eager to prevent a union of the two countries or crowns, especially one in which Spain would be subservient to France,

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3366-755: A second time. The leader of the anti-Mazarin faction, the Prince de Condé , escaped to Spain, which soon, with the Royalists of the British Isles , went to war against France and its new ally, Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth of England . Under the command of Marshal Turenne , the Anglo-French army decisively defeated the Spanish in Flanders , part of which was a province of Spain. In 1660, Louis married

3519-488: A variety of green, blue or red regimental uniforms, largely according to the whim of individual colonels. The regiments of the Royal Household were similarly variegated, although dark blue dominated. The change from the white or off-white uniforms, traditionally associated with the line infantry of the royal army, to dark blue was completed in 1793 after the overthrow of the monarchy. White uniforms were restored after

3672-630: A war of movement. In 1765 it was replaced by the Gribeauval system , which revolutionized the French artillery; improving its cannons , howitzers , and mortars , by making them lighter, without sacrificing range. The new guns contributed to French military victories even during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars . The Royal Army during the Ancien regime was recruited through volunteer enlistment . Almost 90% of

3825-480: A weak form of government that was overthrown by General Napoleon Bonaparte , who later proclaimed himself Emperor of the French . When Austrian , British, Prussian, and Russian armies invaded France in 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate. Louis XVI's brother, the Count of Provence , was declared King Louis XVIII. Under Louis XVIII, no major changes were made to the army, beyond the recreation of several regiments of

3978-511: A wholesale disbandment of what had been Napoleon's regiments. In their place a system of Departmental Legions was created with no historic connections to empire, republic or even the pre-1792 monarchy. His government appointed many aristocratic officers to the new army, which lost much of its morale, much as it had in 1789. In 1823, a French expeditionary force, the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis , aided Spanish troops loyal to

4131-694: Is a semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Metropolitan France 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

4284-588: Is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the national government covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty, to protect the scenery and heritage as well as setting up sustainable economic development in the area. As of 2019 there are 54 PNRs in France. Maria Theresa of Spain Maria Theresa of Spain ( Spanish : María Teresa de Austria ; French : Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche ; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683)

4437-579: Is frequently viewed as an object of pity in historical accounts of her husband's reign, since she was often neglected by the court and overshadowed by the King's many mistresses. Without any political influence in the French court or government (except briefly in 1672, when she was named regent during her husband's absence during the Franco-Dutch War ), she died aged 44 due to complications from an abscess on her arm. Her grandson Philip V inherited

4590-572: 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

4743-504: Is the first chagrin she has ever given me." For the grand funeral ceremony, Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed dramatic motets H.409, H.189, H.331 and Jean-Baptiste Lully his Dies irae . The funeral prayer was by Bossuet. Maria Theresa married her double first cousin Louis XIV in 1660. The couple had six children, only one of whom survived to adulthood: Of her six children, only one survived her, Louis, le Grand Dauphin ,

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4896-512: 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 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

5049-579: 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

5202-660: 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

5355-657: The Battle of Rossbach in 1757. At the same time as the fighting in Europe, raiding parties composed of French-Canadian militiamen and Indians attacked English settlements in North America. This war, known as the French and Indian War , was the last of four wars that occurred in North America at the same time as a European conflict. However, by 1759, the British had gone onto the offensive in America and captured Quebec ,

5508-484: The Bourbon Restoration , although modified for a more modern appearance, introducing trousers rather than breeches, taller shakos, and Fleur-de-lis insignia. Dark blue coatees were adopted in 1819. Pikes appeared in France at the beginning of the 16th century. They were used by the army until the end of the 17th century when the pike and shot tactics were abandoned. The matchlock musket (mousquet)

5661-591: 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

5814-693: The Carolingian Empire . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France . In the High Middle Ages , France was a powerful but decentralized feudal kingdom, but from the mid-14th to the mid-15th centuries, France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with England known as the Hundred Years' War . In the 16th century, the French Renaissance saw culture flourish and

5967-662: 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

6120-609: 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

6273-1103: 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 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

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6426-405: 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

6579-406: 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

6732-428: The Marquis de Louvois , the French Royal Army was restructured into a highly disciplined and professional force made up of permanent regiments under central control. Weapons, promotion, drill, uniforms and organisation were improved or introduced and the army nearly doubled in size. When Louis' father, Louis XIII , died, Anne of Austria , the queen, became regent. She and her chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin , ordered

6885-402: 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,

7038-607: The National Assembly , which also authorized the creation of the National Guard , which was intended to be used as a counterweight to the royal army. The regular army was weakened by the flight of many aristocratic officers. Faced with the creation of soldiers' clubs ( Jacobin committees), erosion of discipline, loss of their privileges as nobles and political mistrust, perhaps two thirds of the commissioned ranks emigrated after June 1791. They were largely replaced by experienced non-commissioned officers. In July 1791, twelve foreign regiments of mostly German mercenaries were amalgamated into

7191-459: 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

7344-488: 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

7497-435: The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle , with the exception of eleven towns and their surrounding areas. Lille , Armentières , Bergues and Douai were considered essential to reinforce France's vulnerable northern border and remain French to this day. The retention of Tournai , Oudenarde , Courtrai , Veurne , Binche , Charleroi and Ath made future offensives much easier, as demonstrated in 1672. From 1672 until 1678, France

7650-512: The War of the Austrian Succession , began when Maria Theresa inherited the Habsburg monarchy in 1740. Her father Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor had appointed her as his heir, and other European countries agreed to respect his wishes. However, the new Prussian king, Frederick II , ignored the agreement, known as the Pragmatic Sanction , and annexed Habsburg Silesia . Britain allied itself with Maria Theresa, while Louis XV forged an alliance with Frederick. Louis provided military support in

7803-470: 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

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7956-403: 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 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

8109-507: The 1780s, the political balance in France had shifted. The aristocracy had become despised by many lower-and-middle-class citizens who faced famine in the winter of 1788/89 and had almost no political freedom. At an earlier stage in his reign Louis had succumbed to pressure from the nobility and banned promotion to officer status from the lower ranks of the Royal Army. This measure served to embitter long serving non-commissioned officers who could no longer aspire to reach commissioned rank, although

8262-459: 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

8415-402: 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,

8568-420: 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

8721-438: 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 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

8874-408: The American victory in the Battle of Saratoga , Louis XVI authorized an expeditionary force under the Count de Rochambeau to sail to America and aid the revolutionaries. The expeditionary force participated in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, which resulted in the colonies' independence. In 1784, Jean-François Coste was appointed Chief Consulting Physician of the Camps and Armies of the King. By

9027-457: 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 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

9180-406: The August 1673 Treaty of the Hague which Denmark joined in January 1674. But following English defeat and withdrawal, the French armies from 1674 to 1678, with Sweden as their only effective ally, managed to advance steadily in the southern (Spanish) Netherlands and along the Rhine, defeating the badly coordinated forces of the Grand Alliance with regularity. Eventually the heavy financial burdens of

9333-443: The Bourbon King Ferdinand VII when his regime was threatened by an uprising . In 1830, King Charles X , was forced to abdicate in the July Revolution . The army participated in little fighting, and the king's cousin, the Duke of Orléans was installed as Louis-Philippe I in what was supposed to be a constitutional monarchy. The army transferred its allegiance to Louis-Philippe's House of Orléans until his overthrow in 1848, when

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9486-504: 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

9639-421: The Franks was known as 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

9792-420: 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

9945-413: The French Army by forming standing infantry regiments to replace the Militia structure. The first of them (regiments Picardie , Piedmont, Navarre and Champagne) were called Les vieux corps (The Old Corps). It was normal policy to disband regiments after a war was over as a cost-saving measure with the vieux corps and the French Royal Guard being the only survivors. Regiments could be raised directly by

10098-428: The French army also had five mixed legions of light troops. Each legion had eight dragoon companies, eight fusilier companies and a grenadier company. In 1690 there were 112 cavalry regiments, including 105 French and seven foreign. There were also 43 independent companies of horse. 27 regiments had two squadrons and eight companies, and 85 regiments had three squadrons and 12 companies. The regimental staff included

10251-496: The French colonial capital. Fighting also occurred on the Indian subcontinent during Louis XV's reign. During the War of the Austrian Succession , French troops captured several settlements in India, but its allies were defeated by British troops in 1756. On the whole, the Seven Years' War went badly for the French, who were forced to sign an unfavorable treaty in 1763. When Britain's North American colonies rebelled in 1775, France initially offered limited support. However, after

10404-452: The French conquest of much of the Austrian Netherlands possible; however, this territory was returned to Austria at the end of the war. The situation after the war was almost the same as before, but it set the stage for the Seven Years' War , which officially began in 1756, when Prussia and Austria again went to war. This time, however, France and Austria were allied and Britain and Prussia formed an alliance. French forces were defeated at

10557-402: 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

10710-433: The French throne in 1661 he inherited a large but loosely organized force of about 70,000 men. Like the other European armies of the period, it consisted of a mixture of mercenaries, guard units, local militias and levies conscripted only for specific campaigns and then disbanded. Organization, cohesion, training and equipment were not of the highest standard. Under Louis' two Secretaries of War Michel Le Tellier and his son

10863-411: The King and so be called after the region in which they were raised or by the nobility and so called after the noble or his appointed colonel. When Louis XIII came to the throne, he disbanded most of the regiments in existence, leaving only the Vieux and a handful of others, which became known as the Petite Vieux and also gained the privilege of not being disbanded after a war When Louis XIV came to

11016-757: The King's full powers. By now, the army was considered to be loyal to the First Republic , not to the king. From then until 1804, the army was known as the French Revolutionary Army , and from 1804 to 1814, the Imperial Army , and during the Hundred Days in 1815, was reconstituted before being officially disbanded. Louis XVI was guillotined in 1793. By 1800, the First Republic, at war with much of Europe, had adopted

11169-646: The Neolithic, including 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

11322-646: The North Atlantic, the French West Indies , and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean , giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world . Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the southeast, Andorra and Spain to the south, and

11475-752: 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),

11628-474: The Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, whom she affectionately referred to as “tia”. Religiously devout, Maria Theresa enjoyed long masses and the celebration of traditional Spanish fêtes. Outside of praying, she spent much of her free time playing cards and gambling. Maria Theresa played little part in political affairs, although she briefly acted as regent in 1667 while her husband was away on campaigns on

11781-529: 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

11934-625: 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 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

12087-618: 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

12240-613: The Spanish princess Marie-Thérèse . In 1667 he claimed the Spanish Netherlands as her dowry, starting another conflict with Spain known as the War of Devolution . Turenne and Conde, who had been pardoned and allowed to return to France, commanded the French army. Their forces seized much of the Spanish Netherlands but, pressured by the Triple Alliance , Louis returned much of the French conquests in

12393-642: The Spanish throne in 1700 after the death of her younger half-brother, Charles II . The resulting War of the Spanish Succession established the House of Bourbon as the new ruling dynasty of Spain, where it has reigned with some interruption until the present time. Born at the Royal Monastery of El Escorial , the Infanta Maria Theresa was the daughter of Philip IV & III and his first wife Elisabeth of France . She

12546-541: The arrest of legislative opponents, causing the enmity of many nobles and common citizens. When the bloody Thirty Years' War , in which France had sided with Protestant -governed countries against other Catholic nations in Europe, concluded, the Fronde civil war broke out and Mazarin was forced to flee. When Louis XIV came of age in 1652, the Fronde ended and Mazarin was permitted to return and appointed chief minister for

12699-459: The artillery formed the Royal Corps of Artillery which ranked as the 47th among the foot regiments of the line. It contained seven regiments. Each regiment had five battalions of four companies each, to a total of 20 companies; two of sappers , four of bombardiers and 14 of gunners. Outside the brigades there was a company of artificers in each regiment. The regimental staff included a colonel,

12852-425: The battalions. The 1st and 2nd battalions each had two companies of artificers , one of grenadiers and twelve of fusiliers. The 3rd and 4th battalions had each a grenadier company and 15 fusilier companies. The 5th battalion had 14 fusilier companies. The King's Bombardiers served the mortars and other heavy siege artillery and formed one battalion containing two bombardier companies and 13 fusilier companies. In 1767

13005-695: The bride to the Isle of Pheasants on the border in the Bidassoa river, where Louis and his court met her in the meeting on the Isle of Pheasants on 7 June 1660, and she entered France. On 9 June the marriage took place in Saint-Jean-de-Luz at the recently rebuilt church of Saint Jean the Baptist. After the wedding, Louis wanted to consummate the marriage as quickly as possible. On 26 August 1660,

13158-489: The bulk of infantry was still provided by urban or provincial militias, which were raised from an area or city to fight locally and that were named for their recruiting grounds. Gradually, the units became more permanent, and in the late 15th century, Swiss instructors were recruited, and some of the 'Bandes' (Militia) were combined to form temporary 'Legions' of up to 9000 men. The men would be paid, contracted to fight and receive military training. Henry II further regularised

13311-755: 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

13464-453: The demands of regimental discipline and training still fell heavily upon them. Some of the now almost entirely aristocratic officer corps were still dedicated professionals but many neglected their responsibilities, preferring to spend excessive periods of leave as courtiers at Versailles or on their country estates. Many French soldiers sympathised with the masses from which they were drawn, and increasing numbers deserted in 1789. The bulk of

13617-480: The diplomats sought to include a renunciation clause that would deprive Maria Theresa and her children of any rights to the Spanish succession. A marriage contract was eventually arranged in November 1659 as one of the provisions of the Treaty of the Pyrenees . The contract specified that Maria Theresa was to renounce all claims to Spanish territory for herself and all her descendants. Mazarin and Lionne , however, made

13770-450: The early 1660s but not completed until the late 1670s. Cavalry wore buff leather coats and breeches without specific uniform features until "grey cloth lined in the same colour" and dark blue for royal mounted units was ordered in November 1671. During the 1680s there was a movement towards more standardised dress, although dragoons and foreign infantry still wore coats in a wide range of regimental colours The guards regiments wore blue,

13923-737: 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), 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

14076-526: 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

14229-613: 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

14382-435: The first time in early 1661. She gave birth to the long-awaited Dauphin on 1 November 1661, fulfilling her primary duty as Queen. Louis stayed by her side during the difficult birth and exhibited immense care and support but returned to his mistress, La Valliere, shortly after. Maria Theresa had trouble adjusting to life at the French court, often struggling to understand French pleasures and humor. She clung to her aunt,

14535-625: The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state . France 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 ,

14688-542: 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

14841-498: The form of detachments from France's Irish Brigade , in support of Charles Edward Stuart during the Jacobite rising of 1745 . The Pragmatic Allies initially defeated the French in the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 but the battle had little effect on the wider war and has been described as "a happy escape, rather than a great victory". A series of French victories (including Marshal de Saxe 's great triumph at Fontenoy in 1745) made

14994-925: 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 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

15147-438: The frontier. Louis initially attempted to keep his constant infidelity hidden, but became more overt as time progressed. Maria Theresa despised her husband's prolonged infidelity with Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan . Louis reprimanded Madame de Montespan when her behaviour at court too flagrantly disrespected the queen's position, yet often displayed a level of indulgence toward her that surpassed his treatment of

15300-403: The junior regiments had one battalion. Each battalion had nine companies, eight of fusiliers and one of grenadiers. The regimental staff included a colonel and a lieutenant-colonel with companies and a major without. Each company had a captain, a lieutenant and a sub-lieutenant and contained four sergeants, one fourier, eight corporals, eight lance-corporals, 40 fusiliers and two drummers. In 1767

15453-430: The king's second, although officially secret, wife. There were rumours that Maria Theresa had an illegitimate daughter, Louise Marie Thérèse (The Black Nun of Moret) . In July 1683, Maria Theresa developed an abscess in her armpit that gave rise to a fever. Her physician, Guy-Crescent Fagon , insisted on bleeding her despite objections. She died a painful death on 30 July 1683. Upon her death, Louis XIV said: "This

15606-479: 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

15759-479: The length of service, composition and payment of units. The Compagnies d'ordonnance formed the core of the Gendarme well into the 16th century, and were stationed throughout France and summoned into larger armies as needed. There was also provisions made for francs-archers , which was a militia of bowmen and foot soldiers raised from the non-noble classes, but the units were disbanded once war ended. Meanwhile,

15912-528: The line, followed by the disbanding of the Swiss regiments a year later. Major reorganizations of the army took place in 1791 and 1792. New officers were elected and the structure of the army was changed. Battalions of volunteers were authorized and subsequently merged with surviving units of the former royal army, to form amalgamated demi-brigades. This force underwent its first test during the Battle of Valmy in 1792, when an Austro-Prussian army invaded to restore

16065-488: The middle and lower nobility and the higher bourgeoisie and one exceptional for promoted sergeants. The high nobility quickly reached high rank, the mean age of promotion to colonel being 36 years. The standard career path was based on seniority and was rather inert; the mean age of promotion to captain was 45 years. Promoted sergeants could normally not reach higher than to substantive lieutenants and captains by brevet although their social background significantly deviated from

16218-647: 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

16371-656: The name France comes from the Latin Francia , or "realm of the Franks ". The name of 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

16524-693: The name of their proprietary colonels. The Swiss and German regiments had two battalions, the Irish one. The guard regiments of the Maison du Roi adopted complete uniforms in the early 1660s as a substitute for the cassocks with civilian clothing worn previously. As an example the Garden Francais were reported as wearing grey and red uniforms with silver embroidery shortly after 1661. The line infantry adopted clothing in various regimental colours decided on by their colonels, in an extended process starting in

16677-405: 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

16830-532: The newlyweds made the traditional Joyous Entry into Paris. Louis was highly affectionate and attentive to the new Queen, commanding the Grand Maréchal du Logis that "the Queen and himself were never to be set apart, no matter how small the house in which they might be lodging". However, his devotion was short-lived and he promptly began pursuing Louise de La Vallière . Maria Theresa became pregnant for

16983-507: 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

17136-692: The officer corps sided with the bourgeoisie in the struggle against the class prerogatives of the high nobility. France – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green) France , officially the French Republic , is a country located primarily in Western Europe . Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America , Saint Pierre and Miquelon in

17289-631: 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

17442-836: The palace courtyard, the Swiss Guards were massacred by the mob. Some Guards, including the commander, were captured, jailed, and later guillotined. In 1690 there were ten Swiss line regiments in French service; six with 16 companies each in three field battalions and one garrison battalion, and four with twelve companies each in three field battalions. Royal-Roussillon was a Catalonian foreign regiment with 18 companies in two battalions. There were also six German foreign regiments, seven Italian foreign regiments, five Walloon foreign regiments and three Irish foreign regiments . There were 23 foreign line regiments in 1767; eleven Swiss, seven German and five Irish. German regiments had permanent titles. The Swiss and Irish regiments were known by

17595-414: The pre-revolutionary maison militaire du roi . However, when Napoleon returned from exile in 1815, the army, for the most part, went over to his side, and Louis fled. Napoleon was defeated by a combined Allied army in 1815 at Waterloo , and Louis XVIII was returned to the throne. Realizing that the remains of the existing army had no loyalty to the restored monarchy, the government of Louis XVIII undertook

17748-572: 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

17901-409: The queen. Later, the governess of Montespan's illegitimate children by the king, Madame de Maintenon , came to supplant her mistress in the king's affections. At first she resisted the king's advances and encouraged him to bestow more attention on his long-neglected wife, a thoughtfulness which Maria Theresa repaid with warmth toward the new favourite. After the queen's death, Maintenon would become

18054-646: The rank and file of the Gardes Françaises : the largest regiment of the maison militaire du roi de France and the permanent garrison of Paris, refused to obey their officers at a crucial point in the early stages of the Revolution . Some Gardes joined with the Parisian mob on 14 July 1789 and participated in the storming of the Bastille , the medieval fortress-prison thought of as a symbol of governmental repression. King Louis' powers were regulated by

18207-503: The rank and file; over two thirds came from the petty bourgeoisie or higher classes. The different career paths created a lack of social homogeneity in the officer corps. The military reforms after the Seven Years' War attempted to create a professionalized officer corps built on the petty nobility. However, the privileged career of the high nobility being retained caused the failure of the reforms. In consequence, many noblemen in

18360-528: The reconstructed Frankish endonym * Frank . It has been suggested that 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

18513-432: The recruits came from the peasantry and the working class , while about 10% came from the petty bourgeoisie . Privates were usually promoted directly to the rank of sergeant and bypassed the rank of corporal . At the time of the French Revolution , a third of the sergeants came from the petty bourgeoisie or higher classes. Three career paths existed for officers; one privileged for the high nobility, one standard for

18666-454: The regular infantry wore gray-white, and the Swiss mercenary regiments in French service wore red. In 1690, during the Nine Years' War , each regiment was given a uniform. Eighty-eight regiments wore gray uniforms with red facings , and fourteen princely regiments wore blue. The first regulations detailing specifics of uniforms is dated to 1704. Unusually, grenadiers for most of the part wore

18819-534: 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

18972-421: The renunciation conditional on the full payment of a Spanish dowry of 500,000 écus . As it turned out, Spain, impoverished and bankrupt after decades of war, was unable to pay such a dowry, and France never received the agreed upon sum. On 2 June 1660, Maria Theresa was married by proxy to Louis at Fuenterrabia . Luis Méndez de Haro acted as bridegroom. Philip IV and the entire Spanish court accompanied

19125-454: 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

19278-436: 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

19431-433: The short-lived Second Republic was established. The military household of the king of France, was the military part of the French royal household or Maison du Roi . The term only appeared in 1671, though such a gathering of military units pre-dates this. Two large foot regiments of the military household participated in the campaigns of the army; the French Guards Regiment and the Swiss Guards . Another well known unit

19584-421: 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. Metropolitan France has a wide variety of topographical sets and natural landscapes. During

19737-488: 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

19890-409: The two most important territorial divisions and during the campaign season also the artillery of the French armies in Germany and Flanders respectively; twelve lieutenants of artillery (rank as colonels of infantry) commanding the other territorial divisions including the arsenals ; a number of provincial commissaries (rank as lieutenant-colonels of infantry) commanding the fortress artillery, and during

20043-424: 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

20196-422: The vast Spanish Empire and remained such until the birth of her brother Philip Prospero , in 1657. She was briefly heir presumptive once more between 1 and 6 November 1661, following the death of Prince Philip and until the birth of Prince Charles, who would later inherit the thrones of Spain as Charles II . In 1658, as war with France began to wind down, a union between the royal families of Spain and France

20349-488: The war, along with the imminent prospect of England's reentry into the conflict on the side of the Dutch and their allies, convinced Louis to make peace despite his advantageous military position. The resulting Peace of Nijmegen between France and the Grand Alliance left the Dutch Republic intact and France generously aggrandized in the Spanish Netherlands. The famed engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban designed his intricate fortifications during Louis XIV's reign. Vauban,

20502-536: Was Queen of France from 1660 to 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV . She was born an Infanta of Spain and Portugal as the daughter of King Philip IV and Elisabeth of France , and was also an Archduchess of Austria as a member of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg . Her marriage in 1660 to King Louis XIV, her double first cousin , was arranged with the purpose of ending the lengthy war between France and Spain . Famed for her virtue and piety, she saw five of her six children die in early childhood, and

20655-401: 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

20808-493: Was a carabineer regiment and four were hussars . All regiments were known by their titles; not by the name of their commanders. Each regiment had four squadrons; each squadron divided into two troops . The regimental staff included a mestre de camp and a lieutenant-colonel, both of which had troops, and a major without a troop. Each troop had a captain, a lieutenant and a sub-lieutenant, as well as four quartermasters, one fourier, eight brigadiers, eight carabineers, 31 troopers and

20961-410: 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

21114-503: 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 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

21267-451: 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

21420-479: 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

21573-406: Was embroiled in the Franco-Dutch War , with England and its Royal Navy as an ally (from 1672 to 1674). The war began in May 1672 when France invaded the Netherlands and nearly overran it, an event still referred to as het Rampjaar or 'Disaster Year'. By late July, the Dutch position had stabilised, with support from Emperor Leopold , Brandenburg-Prussia and Spain ; this was formalised in

21726-405: 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,

21879-448: Was introduced in France after the battle of Pavia in 1525. The French army abandoned the musket in 1700 with the appearance of the flintlock musket (fusil) . Different models of the Charleville musket , a .69 caliber standard French infantry musket was made from 1717 and into the 1840s. The Vallière artillery system of 1732 standardized the artillery pieces. The Valliere guns proved good in siege warfare but were less satisfactory in

22032-414: 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

22185-446: Was named after Sainte Thérèse , who Elisabeth chose to protect her daughter. As a member of the House of Austria , Maria Theresa was entitled to use the title Archduchess of Austria. She was known in Spain as María Teresa de Austria and in France as Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche. Maria Theresa was raised by the royal governess Luisa Magdalena de Jesus . Her religious education was first carried out by Juan de Palma. Later, Father Vasquez,

22338-465: Was proposed as a means to secure peace. Maria Theresa and the French king were double first cousins: Louis XIV's father was Louis XIII , who was the brother of Maria Theresa's mother, while her father was brother to Anne of Austria , Louis XIV's mother. Spanish procrastination led to a scheme in which France's chief minister , Cardinal Mazarin , pretended to seek a marriage for his master with Margaret Yolande of Savoy. When Philip IV of Spain heard of

22491-453: 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

22644-608: 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 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)

22797-461: 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 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

22950-405: Was the Musketeers of the Guard . There were 90 French line infantry regiments in 1690. The companies were not distributed equally between the regiments; the weakest, the Périgueux, had only 15 companies, while the Picardie had 210. The regimental staff included a colonel and a lieutenant colonel both of which also nominally commanded a company , and a major without company. A field company had

23103-437: Was the field battalion of 16 companies with an authorized strength of 800 men. A garrison battalion had a varied number of companies, mostly from different regiments and was commanded by the senior company commander. The French line infantry contained 69 regiments in 1767. The regiments had terrirorial or otherwise permanent titles. The nineteenth most senior regiments had four battalions, most regiments had two battalions while

23256-425: Was the war's cause), Spanish forces allied to the French lost Gibraltar . However, the heavy casualties suffered at Malplaquet in 1709 provided an opening for Marlborough's political opponents and after their victory in the 1710 British general election , he was removed from command and Britain sought to end the war. France's fortune returned under the leadership of Marshal Villars and Marshal Vendôme but despite

23409-404: 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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