BC 51
Julius Caesar completed the Roman conquest of Gaul.
AD 732
Frankish ruler Charles Martel halted the advance of Muslim
armies in Europe, routing them between Tours and Poitiers.
800
Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans. After his death
his kingdom was divided between France and the Holy Roman Empire.
1309-1377
Avignon served as the seat of the papal court.
1453
France defeated England in the Hundred Years’ War.
1643-1715
Louis XIV ruled France. Absolute royal authority was
consolidated during his reign.
1789-1799
The French Revolution overthrew the monarchy. France became
involved in a series of wars with European powers that lasted until 1815.
1804
Napoleon I, who took power in 1799, declared the First Empire
in Paris.
1814
Napoleon was defeated and the monarchy was restored. A year
later Napoleon returned to power, but was ultimately defeated at the Battle of
Waterloo.
1848
Revolution led to the declaration of the Second Republic.
1852
Napoleon III declared the Second Empire.
1870-1871
Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War, ending the
Second Empire. The Third Republic was founded.
1914-1918
France fought on the side of the Allies during World War I.
Much of the war was fought on French soil.
1940
Germany invaded France and occupied about two-thirds of the
country during World War II (1939-1945). The unoccupied zone came under the
control of Marshal Henri Pétain, who largely collaborated with the Germans.
1946
After World War II, France adopted a new constitution and the
Fourth Republic was founded.
1957
France was a founding member of the European Economic
Community.
1958
Charles de Gaulle, who came out of retirement to address the
crisis over the French war with Algeria, was elected president after a new
constitution established the Fifth Republic.
1962
France granted independence to Algeria after a long and bloody
civil war with the colony.
1968
Unrest by students set off a general strike throughout France,
which helped bring about de Gaulle’s resignation the following year.
1981
The Socialist party, led by François Mitterrand, came to power
in the general elections. Mitterrand was reelected to a second seven-year term
as president in 1988.
1994
The tunnel under the English Channel was completed, linking
France and Great Britain.
1995
Jacques Chirac, founder and leader of the Rassemblement pour
la République (Rally for the Republic) party, was elected the new president of
France, replacing the retiring François Mitterrand.
2002
Jaque Chirac defeats the right-wing extremist, Jean-Marie Le
Pen.
