The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of the Franks. [45] His descendants—the Capetians, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon—progressively unified the country through wars and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France, which was fully declared in 1190 by Philip II of France ( Philippe Auguste). Later kings would expand their directly possessed domaine royal to cover over half of modern continental France by the 15th century, including most of the north, centre and west of France. During this process, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred on a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners. As a significant hub for international relations, France has the third-largest assembly of diplomatic missions, second only to China and the United States, which are far more populous. It also hosts the headquarters of several international organisations, including the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, and the OIF. [152] France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971. [90] Although it is one of the most industrialised countries in the world, France is ranked only 19th by carbon dioxide emissions, behind less populous nations such as Canada or Australia. This is due to the country's heavy investment in nuclear power following the 1973 oil crisis, [91] which now accounts for 75 per cent of its electricity production [92] and results in less pollution. [93] [94] According to the 2020 Environmental Performance Index conducted by Yale and Columbia, France was the fifth most environmentally conscious country in the world (behind the United Kingdom). [95] [96] France has laws against racism and antisemitism, [139] while the 1990 Gayssot Act prohibits Holocaust denial. Under the wars of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774), France lost New France and most of its Indian possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). Its European territory kept growing, however, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770). An unpopular king, Louis XV's weak rule, his ill-advised financial, political and military decisions—as well as the decadence of his court—discredited the monarchy, which arguably paved the way for the French Revolution 15 years after his death. [59]

France". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011 . Retrieved 14 December 2011. See drop-down essay on "Religion and Politics until the French Revolution" Main article: Education in France The ENS produces among the most Nobel Prize laureates per capita in the world. [298] During the May 1958 crisis, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which included a strengthened presidency. [74] In the latter role, de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the Algerian War. The war was concluded with the Évian Accords in 1962 which led to Algerian independence. Algerian independence came at a high price: it resulted in between half a million and one million deaths and over 2million internally displaced Algerians. [75] Around one million Pied-Noirs and Harkis fled from Algeria to France upon independence. [76] A vestige of the colonial empire are the French overseas departments and territories.The Cambridge ancient history. Cambridge University Press. 2000. p.754. ISBN 978-0-521-08691-2 . Retrieved 23 January 2011. ; Claude Orrieux (1999). A history of ancient Greece. John Wiley & Sons. p.62. ISBN 978-0-631-20309-4 . Retrieved 23 January 2011. French foreign policy after World War II has been largely shaped by membership in the European Union, of which it was a founding member. Since the 1960s, France has developed close ties with reunified Germany to become the most influential driving force of the EU. [153] In the 1960s, France sought to exclude the British from the European unification process, [154] seeking to build its standing in continental Europe. However, since 1904, France has maintained an " Entente cordiale" with the United Kingdom, and there has been a strengthening of links between the countries, especially militarily. In 2018, France was the fifth-largest trading nation in the world and the second-largest in Europe, with the value of exports representing over a fifth of GDP. [181] Its membership in the eurozone and the broader European single market facilitates access to capital, goods, services, and skilled labour. [182] Despite protectionist policies over certain industries, particularly in agriculture, France has generally played a leading role in fostering free trade and commercial integration in Europe to enhance its economy. [183] [184] In 2019, it ranked first in Europe and 13th in the world in foreign direct investment, with European countries and the United States being leading sources. [185] According to the Bank of France (founded in 1800), [186] the leading recipients of FDI were manufacturing, real estate, finance and insurance. [187] The Paris Region has the highest concentration of multinational firms in Europe. [187]

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 the Franks was known as the francisca), [24] although these weapons may have been named because of their use by the Franks, not the other way around. [22] Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), which over time evolved into the name Provence in French. [34] Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC. [35] Gaul was divided by Augustus into Roman provinces. [36] Many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period, including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon), which is considered the capital of the Gauls. [36] Louis XVI (r. 1774–1793) actively supported the Americans with money, fleets and armies, helping them win independence from Great Britain. France gained revenge but spent so heavily that the government verged on bankruptcy—a factor that contributed to the French Revolution. Some of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the naming of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists. French explorers, such as Bougainville and Lapérouse, took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as the primary source of legitimacy, undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and also was a factor in the French Revolution. France is a secular country in which freedom of religion is a constitutional right. French religious policy is based on the concept of laïcité, a strict separation of church and state under which public life is kept completely secular. The exception to this is the region of Alsace and Moselle where Lutheranism, Catholicism and Judaism enjoy official status and state funding.

Satie was a key member of the early-20th-century Parisian avant-garde, best known for his Gymnopédies. [ citation needed] Francis Poulenc's best-known works are his piano suite Trois mouvements perpétuels (1919), the ballet Les biches (1923), the Concert champêtre (1928) for harpsichord and orchestra, the opera Dialogues des Carmélites (1957) and the Gloria (1959) for soprano, choir and orchestra. Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy are the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music. Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed. [341] Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of atonality. The two composers invented new musical forms [342] [343] [344] [345] and new sounds. Ravel's piano compositions, such as Jeux d'eau, Miroirs, Le tombeau de Couperin and Gaspard de la nuit, demand considerable virtuosity. His mastery of orchestration is evident in the Rapsodie espagnole, Daphnis et Chloé, his arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and his orchestral work Boléro (1928). More recently, in the middle of the 20th century, Maurice Ohana, Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Boulez contributed to the evolution of contemporary classical music. [346]

Main article: Telecommunications in France Le Figaro was founded in 1826 and it is still considered a newspaper of record. [367]

The first leader to make himself king of all the Franks was Clovis I, who began his reign in 481, routing the last forces of the Roman governors of the province in 486. Clovis claimed that he would be baptised a Christian in the event of his victory against the Visigothic Kingdom, which was said to have guaranteed the battle. Clovis regained the southwest from the Visigoths, was baptised in 508 and made himself master of what is now western Germany.