France History

The history of France began when the Celtic tribes came to the western parts of the country. But the name of the country originated from “Frank” – the Germanic tribe, which founded the first independent kingdom in the 6th century and settled into the southern coastline of France. All the territories of modern France were united between 768 and 814. In the 5th century the Roman Empire had a great influence on the eastern regions of the country, but not on the western. In Early Middle Ages France was fragmented into small kingdoms. The period of Later Middle Ages if characterized by the contradictory processes. On one hand there was the so-called cultural boom in the country: poetry of the troubadours, new trends in architecture and sculpture (the roman and gothic styles, art masterpieces, especially in painting. On the other hand – different crises: demographic, religious and also epidemic of plague.

The French Revolution of 1789 became the end of Royal dynasty in France. The feudal regional structure of the country was destroyed and France was divided into 83 geographical areas. The most significant period of the history of France is marked by the foundation of Second Empire by Napoleon. French in Europe became more and more evident, at the time the country was considered to be the most influential among many other states. This fact was also proved by successful French expansion to Africa and Asia. The industrial revolution in the beginning of the 19th century stimulated the stratification of society into classes. There emerged the definite working and middle classes. The historians usually characterize this period of French history as chaotic and unstable.

In spite of the victory in the World War I France lost nearly 10% of the population and practically half of its industry. As for World War II, the Frenchmen were against it, but the defeat of French troops led to the collapse of the Third Republic. Resistance movements played the decisive role in the liberating of the country from the German invaders.

The contemporary period of the history of France began with the Fifth Republic and new Constitution. Charles de Gaulle, then François Mitterrand led the country to the European war of the development. Nowadays France has the fourth-powerful economy in the world, giving the priorities to the heavy industrial production and agricultural sector.