The
nation of France is, quite frankly, one
of the founding nations of the world.
Steeped in a unique history, it is one
of the homes (if not the birthplace) of
the Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen. A founding member of the
European Union, it is one of the five
countries to be a permanent member of
the United Nation’s Security Council.
It is also one of the seven acknowledged
nuclear powers on the planet.
Originally inhabited by people known as
“Gauls”, current day France
was (like most of Europe) invaded and
settled by the Roman Empire around 100
BCE. Originally a Celtic people, the Gauls
first became “Romanized”,
and then became Christian after the Romans
left. The Franks, who would become today’s
Germans, invaded pre-France in the 400s.
They would then become part of the “Frankish
Empire”, and would not become a
separate country until the 900s when Charlemagne's
empire split in two. France would be a
feudal monarchy until 1792, which is the
year of The French Revolution. Anarchy
would reign until Napoleon seized power
in 1799.
After
waging wars across Europe, Napoleon was
defeated in 1815 and the monarchy was
restored. This begins a turbulent period
where democracy grows to full form and
the nation of France moves into the industrial
revolution. Empires come and go, as well
as two World Wars. At this point France,
with an Empire that spans the globe, must
fight for its very existence. These wars
see more people killed then in all of
earth’s history, and both are fought
on French soil.
Today France is one of the world’s
leaders in art, culture, cuisine, and
technology. It has begun to work together
with its former mortal enemy, the country
known as Germany, to bring forward an
era of peace and prosperity. It is an
excellent example of European economic
integration, doing away with its own currency
(the Franc) in 1999.
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