The Constituent National Assembly introduced the départements in 1790 as a perfect expression of Revolutionary iconoclasm and rationalism. The old provinces were intentionally eliminated in both name and form. Their accretion of historical happenstance, accumulated privileges and ‘customary law’ jurisdictions had epitomized the defects of the Ancien Régime and was... More
After the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the Bourbon Restoration in France, which became a constitutional monarchy under Louis XVIII, France’s political geography was reorganized and made uniform; it was divided into over 80 departments, many of which have survived into the 21st century, and power became more centralized. All... More
On 22 June 1940, the Franco-German Armistice was signed, dividing France in two. The Germans occupied one half, while the other – Vichy – was a French state under the supreme authority of 83-year-old Marshal Philippe Pétain. By the end of June 1940, the Germans also occupied the Channel Islands... More
On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded westwards with a strategy that surprised the Allies geographically and tactically. The Belgian fort Eben Emael fell the next day, allowing German forces to cross the Albert Canal and the heavily defended Belgian border, distracting the Allies from the German Ardennes offensive. They advanced... More
The One Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) was a bitter struggle between France and England over territory and the French Crown. The English army had notable success at the Battles of Sluys (1340) and Crécy (1346), and at Poitiers (1356) they captured French King John II. The resulting Treaty of Brétigny... More
Having gained little from the War of Devolution (1677–78), in 1672 Louis XIV launched a campaign against the United Provinces. This Franco-Dutch war raged until the Treaties of Nijmegen (1678–79) restored all Dutch territories, and France gained Franche-Comté and land in Flanders. This prompted more French expansionist aggression and in... More
The Capetian Dynasty (987–1328) began without legitimacy, significant wealth or military power. Its genius would reside in its exploitation of the Law of Escheat: the seizure – and retention – of aristocratic and ecclesiastical fiefdoms that fell vacant within its reach. This would have mattered little if the succession had... More
The dynastic struggle between the English Royal House of Plantagenet and the French Royal House of Valois, known as the Hundred Years’ War, lasted from May 1337 to October 1453. The third and final phase of the war, known as The Lancastrian War, began in 1415 when Henry V invaded... More
With the decisive French victory at Castillon in 1453, the Hundred Years’ War with England came to an end, with the English expelled from all their French possessions except Calais. France, however, comprised a multiplicity of rival fiefdoms, and the French King Charles VII, of the House of Orléans, controlled... More
In 1461, Louis XI of the House of Valois succeeded to the French throne, determined to strengthen France by reversing decentralization and seizing the lands of rebellious nobles, who were turning their provinces into semi-autonomous regions. Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, was his most formidable antagonist. He was... More
Between 1562–98, France fought a total of nine wars of religion, pitting the Catholics against the Protestant Huguenots. The dominant figures on the Catholic side were Catherine de’ Medici, mother of the House of Valois kings, Charles IX and Henri III, and the ducal family of Guise. The Protestants were... More
In 1789, pre-revolutionary France was a jumble of mostly feudal lands, 80 per cent peasant, which had been acquired over preceding centuries. While French was the language of the north, in southern France many only spoke their regional language. The political and administrative structures of pre-revolutionary France were subject to... More