France is without a doubt one of the most interesting countries not only in Europe, but all over the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that about 80 million tourists visit France every year, who are interested in local attractions, beach resorts on the Cote d'Azur, as well as upscale ski resorts. For each of these tourists, France is not only an “eternally cute image”, as the Russian poet Nikolai Gumilyov thought about this country, but also an amazing vacation.
Geography of France
France is located in Western Europe. To the north, the English Channel ("English Channel") separates France from Great Britain. France borders Spain and Andorra in the southwest, Switzerland and Italy in the southeast, and Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium in the northeast. In the West, the coast of France is washed by the waters Atlantic Ocean and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea.
France also includes 5 overseas territories (the islands of Guadeloupe, Mayotte, Martinique, Reunion, and Guiana in South America), as well as overseas communities (Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia), and overseas territories with special status (Clipperton, New Caledonia and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories).
The total area of France in Europe is 547,030 sq. km., including the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. If we take into account the French overseas territories, then the area of France is 674,843 square kilometers.
France's landscape is very diverse, ranging from the coastal plains in the north and west, to the Alps in the southeast, the Massif Central, and the Pyrenees in the southwest. The highest peak in France is Mont Blanc in the Alps (4810 m).
Several large (Seine, Loire, Garron and Rhone) and hundreds of small rivers flow through France.
Approximately 27% of the territory of France is occupied by forests.
Capital
The capital of France is Paris, which is now home to more than 2.3 million people. According to archaeological finds, on the site of modern Paris, a settlement of people (Celts) existed already in the 3rd century BC.
Official language
The official language in France is French, which belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European language family.
Religion
About 65% of the population of France are Catholics, adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. However, only about 4.5% of French Catholics go to church every week (or more often).
In addition, about 4% of the French population are Muslims, and 3% are Protestants.
State structure of France
According to the Constitution of 1958, France is a parliamentary republic in which the head of state is the President.
The source of legislative power is the bicameral Parliament, consisting of the National Assembly and the Senate. The legislative powers of the Senate are limited, and the National Assembly has the final vote.
The main political parties in France are the Socialist Party and the Union for a Popular Movement.
Climate and weather
In general, the climate of France can be divided into three main climatic zones:
- Oceanic climate in the west;
- Mediterranean climate in the south and southeast (Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon and the island of Corsica);
- Continental climate in the central regions of the country and in the east.
In the southeast of France, in the Alps, the climate is alpine. Winter in the mountains of France, including Central mountain range and the Pyrenees, cold, often with heavy snowfalls.
Average air temperature in Paris:
- January - +3C
- February - +5C
- March - +9C
- April - +10С
- May - +15C
- June - +18С
- July - +19C
- August - +19C
- september - +17C
- october - +13С
- November - +7C
- December - +5C
Seas and oceans
The coast of France is washed by the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The average temperature of the Mediterranean Sea near Nice ("Cote d'Azur"):
- January - +13С
- February - +12С
- March - +13С
- April - +14C
- May - +17С
- June - +20С
- July - +22C
- August - +22C
- september - +21C
- october - +18C
- November - +15C
- december - +14C
Rivers and lakes
On the European territory of France, there are 119 rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The largest rivers in France are the Seine, Loire, Garron and Rhone.
Lakes in France are not very large, but very beautiful. The largest of them are Bourget, Egblett and Annecy.
History of France
People in the area modern France appeared 10 thousand years ago. Around the VI century BC. on the Mediterranean coast of France, colonies of the Phoenicians and ancient Greeks were formed. Later, the territory of modern France was settled by Celtic tribes. In the era ancient rome France was called Gaul. In the middle of the 1st century BC. Most of Gaul was conquered by Gaius Julius Caesar.
In the 5th century AD the Frankish tribes invaded France, which formed their empire in the 8th century (this was done by Charlemagne, who took the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire).
In the X century, the Vikings began to raid the coast of France, gradually colonizing Normandy. From 987, the kings of France were from the Capetian family, and from 1328 - Valois.
During the Middle Ages, France waged constant wars with its neighbors, gradually expanding its territory. So, in 1337, the so-called. The "Hundred Years War" between France and England, as a result of which the British were expelled from French lands (only the port of Calais remained behind them). During the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc became famous.
In the middle of the 16th century in France, under the influence of the Protestant Reformation, the teachings of John Calvin began to spread, which led to many years of civil war. The Edict of Nantes in 1598 granted French Protestants (Huguenots) equal rights with Catholics.
As a result of the French Revolution (1789-94), the monarchy was abolished in France and a republic was proclaimed. However, after some time, the dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte was established in France. Under Napoleon Bonaparte, France extended its power over almost all European countries. In 1815, after the defeat at Waterloo, the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte was liquidated.
In the 20th century, France took Active participation in all two world wars, having suffered millions of human losses in them. After the Second World War in 1946-1958 in France there was a so-called. "Fourth Republic", and in 1958, after the adoption of the Constitution, the "Fifth Republic" was established.
Now France is part of the NATO military bloc and is a member of the EU.
culture
The history of France has many hundreds of years, and therefore the French, of course, have a very rich culture, which had a great influence on the cultures of other peoples.
Thanks to France, the world received a large number of brilliant writers, artists, philosophers and scientists:
- Literature (Pierre Beaumarchais, Alexandre Dumas père, Anatole France, Victor Hugo, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Anne Golon, Jules Verne, and Georges Simenon);
- Art (Jean-Antoine Watteau, Delacroix, Degas, and Jean Paul Cezanne);
- Philosophy (Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Comte, Henri Bergson, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre).
Every year France celebrates a wide variety of folk festivals and carnivals. The most popular carnival takes place every year in March, welcoming spring.
French Cuisine
The French have always been proud of their art of cooking. Now French cuisine is considered the most diverse and sophisticated in the world.
Each region of France has its own special culinary tradition. So, in the north-west of the country in Brittany pancakes with cider are popular, in Alsace (near the border with Germany) they often make “la choucroute” (stewed cabbage with pieces of sausage), in the Loire Valley they eat a special dish of Lotte fish (monk fish), which is found only in the Loire River. Seafood dishes (mussels, clams, oysters, shrimp, squid) are very popular on the coast of France.
In some regions of France, exotic dishes are prepared for you and me - snails in garlic and oil, as well as frog legs in sauce.
France is famous for its wines. Winemaking in France dates back to around the 6th century BC. In the Middle Ages, French wines from Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux became known throughout Europe. Now wine is produced in almost every region of France.
Sights of France
A person who has been to France can probably talk for hours about its sights, because this country has a very rich history. The top ten attractions in France, in our opinion, include the following:
Cities and resorts
The largest French cities are Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Lille.
France is washed by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The total coastline of mainland France is 3,427 kilometers. On the southeastern coast of France (this is the Mediterranean Sea) is the famous "Côte d'Azur" (French Riviera), where tourists can relax in popular beach resorts. The most famous of them are Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Hyères, Ile-du-Levent, and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
In winter, hundreds of thousands of tourists come to France to ski in the local ski resorts.
Top 10 best French ski resorts:
- Brides-les-Bains (Bride Le Bains)
- Argentière (Argentière)
- Les Arcs (Les Arcs)
- Meribel
- Tignes (Tignes)
- Saint Martin de Belleville
- Paradiski (Paradiski)
- Courchevel (Courchevel)
- Alpe d "Huez (Alpe d'Huez)
- Val d "Isère (Val d" Isère)
Souvenirs/Shopping
Tourists from France usually bring various souvenirs with the image eiffel tower. However, we advise you to buy scarves and ties, chocolate, coffee cups, lavender tea (made in Provence), Dijon mustard (there are 50 types of this mustard), French perfumes, French wine in France.
Office Hours
Completion of the main process of feudalization by the middle of the XI century. led to the political collapse of the empire Charlemagne (Charlemagne) that began after his death (814). Large feudal lords became almost independent of the central government; small and medium feudal lords, becoming their vassals, were much more connected with the magnates than with the head of state - the king. The peasantry was basically already enserfed.
Son and successor of Charlemagne Louis the Pious(814-840), so named for his particularly zealous adherence to the church and generous gifts in her favor, in 817 he divided the empire between his sons, retaining only supreme power.
In 843, after the death of Louis, his sons, having gathered in, concluded an agreement on a new division of the empire. Due to the fact that the new section corresponded to the boundaries of the settlement of the French, German and Italian nationalities, Treaty of Verdun actually laid the foundation for the existence of three modern states of Western and Central Europe- France, Germany, Italy.
Under the Treaty of Verdun, the youngest son of Louis the Pious, Charles, nicknamed the Bald, received lands west of the rivers Scheldt, Meuse and Rhone - the West Frankish kingdom, which included the main territories of the future France.
France in the 9th-11th centuries
After the collapse of the Carolingian Empire, the eastern border of France ran mainly along the rivers Meuse, Moselle and Rhone.
In the 10th century, internecine wars between the German and French Carolingians were fought almost continuously. Many disasters were brought by the constant raids of the Normans. In a fierce struggle with them, the rich and influential Counts of Paris(Robertines). They successfully defended their cities from the enemy - and, becoming the main rivals of the last Carolingians in the struggle for the crown. In 987, the largest secular and spiritual feudal lords elected Robertin king, and from then until late XVIII century (the French crown remained with the descendants of the Capetians.
In the X century in the French kingdom established feudal relations and ended Long procces merging dissimilar 
ethnic elements. On the basis of the Gallo-Roman nationality mixed with the Germans, two new ones developed, which became the core of the future French nation: the North French and the Provençal. The border between them passed somewhat south of the course of the Loire River.
In the 10th century, the country acquired its present name. It began to be called not Gaul or the West-Frankish kingdom, but France (after the name of the region around Paris - Ile-de-France).
On the territory occupied by the northern French people, several large feudal estates were formed: Duchy of Normandy, County of Blois, Touraine,Anjou, Poitou. The Capetian lands (royal domain) were concentrated around Paris and Orleans.
On the territory of the Provencal people, the counties of Poitou, Auvergne, Toulouse and the duchies of Aquitaine, Gascony, Burgundy and others were formed.
The first kings from the Capetian house were not much different from large feudal lords. They did not have a permanent residence, they moved with their retinue from one estate to another. In the 11th century, the Capetians slowly accumulated land holdings, deriving income mainly from their own estates, that is, from the direct exploitation of dependent and serfs who were in personal, land and judicial dependence on them.
The peasants resisted feudal exploitation in every possible way. In 997, the uprising swept. The peasants demanded the restoration of their former rights to the free and gratuitous use of communal lands. In 1024, a peasant uprising broke out in. As the chronicle says, the peasants revolted "without leaders and weapons", but managed to put up heroic resistance to the knightly detachments. Defending their rights, the peasants usually acted as whole communities.
France in the XI-XIII centuries
In the 11th-13th centuries, agriculture in France received significant development: the three-field system was widely spread, the plow was improved, wheat took the first place among grain crops. Thanks to new system harness it was possible to use horses instead of oxen. In the XII century, a massive clearing of fallow lands and forests for arable land began. The practice of fertilizing the fields spread more widely. In the gardens began to grow new varieties of vegetables. At the end of the 12th century, windmills appeared in France.
Labor productivity grew mainly in the peasant economy. On his allotment, the peasant worked much harder and better than on corvée. It became more profitable for the lords to collect feudal rent not in the form of forced corvee labor, but from the harvest taken by the peasants from their plots. Other circumstances also contributed to the victory of food rent over labor rent, in particular, the clearing of forests. The main role in these works belonged to the fugitive peasants who settled in the new lands, personally free, but dependent on the feudal lords in land and judicial matters. Some of the peasants remained in the serfdom in the 11th-12th centuries.
With the final establishment of feudalism, the fragmentation of France reached its end, and the feudal hierarchy was distinguished by the greatest complexity. The king was a lord only for his immediate vassals: dukes, counts, as well as barons and knights of his domain. The rule of feudal law was in effect: "The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."
The feudal fragmentation of France was further exacerbated by significant differences in the socio-economic and political development northern and southern parts of the country, as well as the presence on its territory of two nationalities - northern French and southern French (Provencal). As in the earlier period, these peoples spoke local dialects of various languages: in the south of France - Provençal, in the north - northern French. According to the different pronunciation of the word "yes" in these languages ("os" - in Provencal, "oil" - in northern French), later, in the XIII-XIV centuries, the northern regions of France were called " Languedeul", and the southern ones -" Languedoc».
In the 10th century, on the basis of the separation of craft from agriculture, feudal cities began their life - economic centers of craft and trade. Old cities flourished and numerous new cities arose. In the 13th century, the whole country was already covered with many cities. The southern cities became virtually independent republics. Nobles also lived and traded in them. Independent wealthy southern cities had little to do with each other. Therefore, even at the time of their highest prosperity in the XII century, a single economic and political center was not created in the south. The power of large feudal lords was weakened by the independence of large cities.
A more difficult fate fell to the cities of the North, as their economic activity met many obstacles in its path. The cities were in the power of seniors, mostly bishops, who mercilessly robbed the townspeople under various pretexts, often resorting to violence. The townspeople had no rights, their property was constantly under the threat of appropriation by the feudal lords. Therefore, the fight against seniors has become a matter of paramount importance for the cities of the North. Usually the townspeople organized a secret conspiracy and, with weapons in their hands, attacked the lord and his knights. If the uprising was successful, the feudal lords were forced to grant the city a greater or lesser degree of self-government.
The growth of cities has accelerated the socio-economic differentiation of the urban population. Merchants and craftsmen of some guilds (butchers, cloth makers, jewelers, etc.) got rich and grew very strong. in the communes they completely seized power, neglecting the interests of the mass of artisans and small merchants. A fierce internal struggle began in the cities. Taking advantage of this, the kings intervened in the internal affairs of the communes and from the beginning of the 14th century began to gradually deprive them of their former rights and privileges.
The city economically subjugated a rather extensive rural district. Fugitive serfs flocked to it, gaining freedom there. Strong walls and armed guards now protected the cities from the encroachments of the feudal lords.
In the XII century, the process of state centralization began in France. At first, it is deployed in Northern France, where there were economic and social prerequisites for it. The policy of royal power, aimed at subordinating feudal lords to it, was dictated primarily by the interests of the feudal class as a whole. Its main goal was to strengthen the central government to suppress the resistance of the peasants. This was especially needed by small and medium feudal lords, who did not have sufficient means of non-economic coercion. They were also interested in strengthening royal power because they saw in it protection from the violence and oppression of more powerful large feudal lords.
Opponents of this policy were large feudal lords, who valued their political independence most of all; they were supported by part of the higher clergy. The strengthening of royal power was favored by the continuous hostility of large feudal lords among themselves. Each of them sought to strengthen at the expense of the others. The kings took advantage of this and fomented the fight.
The turning point in the process of growth of royal power corresponds to the beginning of the XII century, when the resistance of the feudal lords in the royal domain was put to an end. The importance of royal power increased greatly at the beginning of the 13th century after Anjou, Maine, Touraine entered the domain. Royal possessions by this time had increased by about four times.
In the 13th century, the strengthening of royal power was consolidated by a series of important reforms. For example, on the territory of the royal domain, judicial duels (that is, the resolution of litigations by means of a duel between the parties), which were widely used in senior courts, were prohibited; litigants were given the opportunity to take the case to the royal court. The decision of any feudal court could be appealed to the royal court, which thus became the supreme authority for court cases the whole kingdom. A number of the most important criminal cases were withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the feudal courts and were considered exclusively by the royal court.
There was a further development of the central government. From the Royal Council stood out a special judicial chamber, called "Parliament". To connect the central authorities with the local authorities, royal auditors were appointed, who controlled the activities of the local administration and reported to the king about all abuses.
Wars between feudal lords were forbidden in the royal domain, and in the possessions that were not yet attached to the domain, the custom of “40 days of the king” was legalized, that is, the period during which the caller could appeal to the king. This weakened the feudal strife. A unified monetary system was introduced in the royal domain, and the royal coin was to be accepted throughout the country along with the local one. This contributed to the economic cohesion of France. Gradually, the royal coin began to displace the local one from circulation.
Thus, the formation of a feudal state in France in the 11th-13th centuries went through a number of stages. Feudal fragmentation was first overcome in the northern part of the country on the basis of the development of cities and the strengthening of economic ties between regions. Paris, which turned into a major trade, craft and political center, became the capital of France. Part southern regions was annexed to the possessions of the Capetians later, when the northern part of the country was already quite firmly united around Paris and royal power.
The person who founded France is considered to be King Clovis, who has been in power since the year 481. He was from the Merovingian dynasty, which was named after the mythical ruler Merovee. According to the legends, Clovis was the grandson of Merovei. King Clovis became famous for his military campaigns, and was also known as the first French ruler to convert to Christianity. He accepted new faith in the city of Reims in four hundred and ninety-six. Since then, it was in Reims that all the monarchs of France began to be crowned. Together with his wife Clotilde, Clovis was an adherent of Saint Genevieve, who is considered the patroness of Paris. In honor of this ruler, in the future, seventeen French kings will be named after Louis (or Louis).
After Clovis died, the country was divided among his four sons, but neither they, nor their descendants, became capable rulers. Their dynasty began to slowly fade away. The Merovingian dynasty even got the nickname "lazy kings" because most of the time these rulers did not leave the palace. Childeric III became the last king of this dynasty. He was replaced by the first representative of the Carolingian dynasty - Pepin, nicknamed Short because of his small stature. It was about him that Dumas wrote his short story called Le chronique du roi Pepin.
Pepin the Short was the ruler of France from the middle of the eighth century, for seventeen years. Prior to that, for ten years he held the position of mayor, an adviser to the king, who is endowed with enormous power at the royal court. Pepin was not only a brilliant politician, but also a very skilled warrior and strategist. Thanks to his constant support of the Catholic Church, he managed to win the favor of the Pope, who eventually forbade the French to choose their kings from other dynasties under pain of excommunication from the Catholic Church.
The name of the Carolingian dynasty came from Charles, nicknamed the Great, who was the son of Pepin the Short. Over time, Dumas would write his famous short story Les Hommes de fer Charlemagne about him. Charlemagne was a wonderful commander - during his reign, the territories of France were significantly expanded due to constant military campaigns, and the state occupied almost the entire territory of modern Western Europe. In the year 800 in Rome, Charlemagne was crowned imperial by the Pope himself.
Charlemagne's heir was his eldest son Louis I, who received the nickname "Pious". From that moment on, the tradition by which the state was divided into parts among all heirs was abolished, and the eldest son of the king inherited the throne.
The grandchildren of Charlemagne waged fierce wars for the crown, which weakened the empire and, in the end, led to its collapse. Louis V was the last of the Carolingian dynasty to ascend the throne. After his death, power passed to the abbot Hugh, who was nicknamed "Capet" due to the fact that he often appeared in a cap, the mantle of a secular priest, even as a king. During the reign of the Capetian dynasty in France, feudal relations - seigneurs and feudal lords protected their vassals, and they, in turn, swore allegiance to their masters and paid tribute to them.
During the reign of the Capetians, for the first time in history, religious wars acquire an unprecedented scope. In one thousand ninety-five, the first Crusade begins. A huge number of brave and strong nobles from all over Europe are sent to distant Jerusalem in order to free a relic called the Holy Sepulcher from Muslims. On the fifteenth of July, one thousand and ninety-nine, the city fell. The direct heirs of the first king from the Capetian dynasty, Hugh Capet, ruled until one thousand three hundred and twenty-eighth year, in which the power from the last representative of this dynasty, Charles (Karl) the Handsome, passed to the representative of the Valois dynasty - Philip VI.
The Valois dynasty, which is also related to the Capetian dynasty, ruled France until the end of the sixteenth century, when Henry (Henri) IV, representing the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty, ascended the throne. This dynasty will be in power until the middle of the nineteenth century, when the last representative of the Orleans branch of the Bourbons, Louis Philippe, will not be expelled from France.
During the reign of Francis I, at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, France will part with the era of the Middle Ages. At this time, the face of the country will be changed in many ways. He became famous for two of his deeds. First, like his father, Francis I made a military campaign in Italy, claiming Naples and Milan. Ten years later, he will make a trip to Italian lands again, but he will end in failure. And, secondly, he introduced a royal loan, which three centuries later would play a fatal role in the life of the country. Francis I was called the true embodiment of the era - the new spirit of the Renaissance. This French king remained for a quarter of a century one of the main actors in the political arena of Europe. His main rivals at that time were Charles V, who ruled the Holy Roman Empire, and King Henry VIII of England.
At that most interesting time, thanks to the influence of Italian humanism, it begins to develop in a new way French literature, art, architecture. Science, the mores of society, and even, famous for its foundations, christian doctrine. The influence of this new culture for the French is clearly visible in the Loire Valley, in the new guise of royal castles and other buildings. Now they became not so much well-fortified castles, but rather luxurious and beautiful palaces. During these years, printing appeared on the territory of France, which contributed to the development of the French literary language.
Henry II, who came to power after the death of his father in the forty-seventh year of the sixteenth century, seemed at that time a strange anachronism against the backdrop of the Renaissance. He headed the state for twelve years and died during one of the tournaments, in a duel with a nobleman. Being a good military leader, Henry II made several daring and lightning-fast attacks against England, as a result of which the lands of Calais were recaptured from the British, and control was established over Verdun, Toul and Metz, which were previously subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire. Heinrich's wife was the famous beauty Catherine de Medici, a representative of one of the most famous Italian banking dynasties. After the death of the king, it is Catherine who becomes the main actor in the political arena of France, despite the fact that her sons Henry III, Charles IX and Francis II officially ruled the power.
The sickly Francis II, who ascended the throne after the death of his father, was under strong influence the Duke of Guise, as well as his brother, who held the post of cardinal. They were related to Queen Mary Stuart (Scottish), with whom the French king was engaged in his childhood. But a year after coming to power, Francis II died of illness.
His ten-year-old brother, Charles IX, ascended the throne, who was completely controlled by his mother at that time. During the reign of the child-king, dependent on the decisions of Queen Catherine, the power of the monarchs in France was suddenly shaken. This is partly due not only to the lack of a firm royal power, but also to the complication of the situation in the country as a whole. The policy of persecuting Protestants, begun several decades ago, at that time ceased to justify itself. Calvinism became widespread throughout the country. The French Calvinists, who called themselves Huguenots, were predominantly citizens and nobles, often wealthy and influential. A sharp decline in the authority of royal power and numerous violations of public order were at that time for France one of the consequences of such a religious schism.
Since the nobles were deprived of the opportunity to wage wars abroad, taking advantage of the absence of a strong monarch, they begin to encroach on the rights of the king and even try to get out of the power of the French crown. The unrest that began in the country led to the split of France into two camps - the Guise family becomes the defenders of the Catholic faith, and several opponents oppose it at once. These are moderate Catholics, for example, Montmorency, and Huguenots, such as Coligny and Condé. In the sixty-second year, an open struggle begins between the opposing camps, occasionally suspended due to truces and agreements, according to which the Huguenots could be in certain territories of the country and create their fortifications there.
On the night of the twenty-third to the twenty-fourth of August, one thousand five hundred and seventy-two, on the eve of the day of St. Bartholomew, Charles IX staged a real massacre of his opponents. Since this event took place during the preparations for the signing of another peace agreement, none of the victims expected such an insidious act on the part of the royal family. Henry of Navarre only miraculously escaped and escaped the fate of thousands of his associates who died that night.
Charles IX died two years later, and his younger brother, Henry III, ascended the throne. At that moment, Henry of Navarre had the best chances to seize the throne, but since he was the leader of the Huguenots, his candidacy would not suit the majority of the country's population. Against his supporters, the Catholics founded a "league", the purpose of which was to attempt to seize the throne by Henry of Guise, who led the Catholics. Unable to resist the "league", Henry III treacherously kills not only Guise, but also the Cardinal of Lorraine, who was the brother and closest ally of the leader of the Catholics. Even for that bloody time in history, this was an unforgivable act, which was a cause for general indignation. Henry III had to seek asylum from his other rival, Henry of Navarre, in whose camp the king was killed by a Catholic monk, an ardent supporter of Catholicism.
The nobles reacted very emotionally to such religious strife in France. Catherine de Medici did not support the anarchy that swept the country, periodically taking the side of one of the warring camps, but, in general, the queen sought to restore the authority of the royal family through negotiations and neutrality in the religious conflict. But her many attempts were never successful. After the death of Catherine in 1589, the country was on the verge of destruction. In the same year, the third son of Catherine de Medici, Henry III, also died.
Despite the military superiority of Henry of Navarre, who also enlisted the support of moderate Catholics, he occupied Paris only after renouncing his Protestant faith. He was crowned in the Tabernacle in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-four. Six years later, the Edict of Nantes ended religious wars, and the Huguenots were officially recognized by France as a minority with the right to work and protection from their enemies in some regions and cities of the country.
After the coming to power of Henry IV, who was assisted by the famous minister, the Duke of Sully, order was restored in France and began new period prosperity of the country. In the tenth year of the seventeenth century, while preparing for a new military campaign in the Rhineland, Henry IV was killed by an unknown fanatic. The whole country was plunged into deep mourning, but thanks to the death of the king, France for some time delayed its entry into the Thirty Years' War.
With Louis XIII barely nine years old and no other clear contenders for the throne, France was once again in anarchy. One of the central political figures of that time was the mother of the heir, Queen Marie de Medici, who was later supported by the Bishop of Luzon, Duke Armand Jean du Plessis, better known as Cardinal Richelieu. He was not only a mentor for the young king, but also represented his interests and, in fact, ruled the state until his death in the sixty-second year of the seventeenth century.
Cardinal Richelieu is rightfully considered one of the greatest statesmen in the history of France. He was a consistent, far-sighted and very skillful politician who ruthlessly suppressed the recalcitrant nobles. It was he who took almost all of their fortresses from the Huguenots, including La Rochelle, the siege of which lasted fourteen months. The cardinal is also known as the patron of the arts and sciences, who founded the famous French Academy. He managed to make the entire population respect royalty. In many ways, this became possible thanks to the quartermasters - royal agents, representing a real large network. At the same time, Richelieu managed to very significantly undermine the power of noble families.
A year after his death, Louis XIV ascended the throne, despite the fact that the newly-made king had just recently turned only five years old. Guardianship functions under the new ruler were performed by his mother, Queen Anna of Austria. She was helped and assisted in every possible way by the protege of Cardinal Richelieu, the new French Cardinal Mazarin, who continued to lead the foreign and internal politics in the same vein as its predecessor.
In the middle of the seventeenth century, Mazarin signed the Westphalian and Pyrenean peace treaties, which were very successful for France, which, in fact, became the peak of his political career. At the same time, the country was experiencing an uprising of the nobility, which went down in history under the name of the Fronde and lasted for five years. The main goal of this uprising is not the overthrow of the French monarchy, but the devastation of the royal treasury of benefits, which was a very tasty morsel at that time.
After the death of Cardinal Mazarin, the country begins to independently manage Louis XIV, who at that time was already twenty-three years old. His comrades-in-arms were such greats in French history, famous statesmen, like Jean Baptiste Colbert, who served as Minister of Finance, the Marquis de Louvois, a former Minister of War, Sebastian de Vauban, who was Minister of Defense Fortifications, as well as Generals Prince Condé and Vicomte de Turenne.
After Jean-Baptiste Colbert raised enough funds, the king created a large and well-trained army, which, thanks to the merits of Vauban, owned superbly fortified and considered the best fortresses in the world at that time. For four wars, this army will glorify the French crown. By the end of his life, Louis XIV would repeatedly hear a large number of reproaches addressed to him precisely because this monarch "loved war too much." His last, extremely unsuccessful military campaign against almost all of Europe, which was waged at the beginning of the eighteenth century for the right to possess the Spanish inheritance, led to the fact that troops of other states invaded the territory of France. In a matter of years, the royal treasury was depleted and the French people were practically impoverished. The country was deprived of almost all the gains in previous wars. Only a split in the camp of France's enemies and a few last victories of her army saved the country from complete defeat. In the fifteenth year of the eighteenth century, being a decrepit old man, the king died, and the five-year-old Louis XV, who was the great-grandson of Louis XIV, became his heir.
The country was ruled by a self-appointed regent and not very successful politician, the Duke of Orleans. His name in the history of France is known thanks to the John Law Mississippi Project - an incredible speculative scam, with which the authorities during the Regency era tried to replenish the royal treasury. In general, many historians call the years of the reign of Louis XV a pathetic parody of the reign of his predecessor.
But, despite a number of difficulties for the country, Louis XV continued to pay great attention to the army of France. His troops participated in the war against Spain, and then in two large military campaigns against Prussia. The first was the struggle for the Austrian inheritance, and the second was the Seven Years' War.
The events of the Seven Years' War caused the loss of almost all French colonies, the loss of prestige in the international arena and a deep social crisis. All this led to the French Revolution in the seventy-ninth year of the eighteenth century, which freed the country from a number of social remnants.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Napoleon came to power in France. France becomes a state with a bourgeois system and a strong army, thanks to which she has achieved unprecedented greatness. But, as a result of the war against Russia, napoleonic empire suffered a series of defeats and occupied a secondary position in the world political arena.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, several bourgeois revolutions France will once again return its place among world leaders, but the strengthening of neighboring Germany will again push the country to a secondary role. The desire to return the state to its former greatness will force France to participate in two world wars of the last century, victory in which will significantly strengthen the authority of the country.
