Timeline of French history

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This is a timeline of French history, comprising important legal changes and political events in France and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see

presidents of France
.

5th century

Year Date Event
418
Visigoth federates in which to settle, forming the nucleus of the future Visigothic Kingdom under king Wallia and then his son and heir Theodoric I
.
426
Clodio, the earliest recorded king lord of the Salian Franks
, began his reign.
448
Clodio died. He was succeeded by Merovech
.
451 20 June
Battle of Châlons: Romans, Visigoths under Theodoric I and their allies (including the Franks) definitively stop further Hunnic invasion in Gaul. Theodoric I died during the battle, he was succeeded by his son Thorismund
who also had a decisive role during the battle.
453 Thorismund was murdered by his younger brother Theodoric II who succeeded him in the throne of the Visigothic Kingdom.
457 Merovech died. His son Childeric I succeeded him as king.
The
Domain of Soissons, last Roman province of Gaul, was created with Aegidius as magister militum of the rump state
.
462 Roman territory of Septimania was ceded to the Visigothic Kingdom.
463 Aegidius and Childeric I defeated the invading Visigoths in Orléans.
464
Domain of Soissons
.
465 Childeric I died. His son Clovis I succeeded him.
466
Visigothic kingdom to most of the Iberian Peninsula
.
485 Euric died and was succeeded by his son Alaric II as king of the Visigoths.
486
Domain of Soissons. Syagrius sought refuge in Alaric II
's kingdom, but was later handed back to Clovis and beheaded.

6th century

Year Date Event
507 Battle of Vouillé: Clovis defeated a Visigoth army under Alaric II, and conquered Gallia Aquitania, thus forming the basis of modern-day France.
511 27 November
Rheims (Austrasia) went to Theuderic I
.
524 25 June
Godomar. Chlodomer
, the king of Orléans, was killed in battle.
Chlothar I, the king of Neustria, had two of Chlodomer's sons killed and forced the third into hiding thus inheriting his kingdom.
534 Theuderic I died, his son Theudebert I succeeded him as king of Austrasia.
547 Theudebert I died, his son Theudebald succeeded him as king of Austrasia.
555 Theudebald died, his realm passed to his great-uncle Chlothar I.
558 13 December
King of the Franks and reuniting Clovis
' kingdom.
561 29 November Chlothar I died. The kingdom was divided among his four sons; Paris went to Charibert I, Burgundy to Guntram, Austrasia to Sigebert I, Soissons to Chilperic I.
567 November Charibert I, king of Paris, died. With no heir, his realm was partitioned among his brothers.
575 Sigebert I of Austrasia died, his son, Childebert II, inherited his kingdom.
584 September Chilperic I of Soissons (Neustria) was assassinated. His infant son Chlothar II became king and his wife Fredegund became regent.
592 28 January Guntram of Burgundy died, his realm was passed on to Childebert II who was his adoptive son.
8 December Fredegund died so the 13-year-old Chlothar II started his reign as King of Neustria.
589 17 October Charibert II, Franco-Lombard-Byzantine war over the Po Valley. The war was stopped by breaching dam in Cucca, transferred to the Lombards by the Byzantine emperor Maurice, which caused a severe flood, that blocked the franks' army advance into Italy.
595 Childebert II died, his kingdom was divided between his two sons. The kingdom of Austrasia went to Theudebert II, the kingdom of Burgundy to Theuderic II.

7th century

Year Date Event
612 Theudebert II, the king of Austrasia, was assassinated. His realm went to his brother Theuderic II, king of Burgundy.
613 Theuderic II died. His bastard son Sigebert II briefly inherited his kingdom.
king of the Franks
.
623 Chlothar II gave Austrasia its independence under the kingship of his son, Dagobert I.
629 Chlothar II died. Under an agreement forged after his death, Dagobert I succeeded him as king of Neustria but ceded what would become Aquitaine to his brother, Charibert II.
632 8 April Charibert II died, possibly in an assassination ordered by his brother Dagobert I. His infant son Chilperic succeeded him as king of Aquitaine.
Chilperic was also killed. Dagobert I reacquired Aquitaine and became sole king of the Franks.
639 19 January
rois fainéants
.
655 Clovis II died. He was succeeded by his son Chlothar III (roi fainéant).
656 1 February Sigebert III died. He was succeeded by Childebert the Adopted.
661 Childebert the Adopted died. Chlothar III annexed his kingdom, and became sole king of the Franks.
Chlothar III died. His kingdom was divided between his two younger brothers; Austrasia to Childeric II, and Neustria to Theuderic III (roi fainéant).
673 Childeric II annexed Theuderic III's kingdom, and became sole king of the Franks.
675 Childeric II died. Theuderic III inherited Neustria, Clovis III (roi fainéant) inherited Austrasia.
676 Clovis III died. Theuderic III inherited his kingdom, becoming sole king of the Franks.
691 Theuderic III died. He was succeeded by his son Clovis IV (roi fainéant).
695 Clovis IV died. He was succeeded by his brother Childebert III.

8th century

Year Date Event
711 23 April Childebert died. He was succeeded by his son Dagobert III.
715 Dagobert died. He was succeeded by Chilperic II, the youngest son of Childeric II.
721 13 February Chilperic died. He was succeeded by Theuderic IV, Dagobert III's son.
732 10 October
Umayyad Caliphate
.
737 Theuderic died. Charles Martel was prevented succession.
741 22 October
Mayors of the Palace
.
743
king of the Franks thanks to Pepin the Short
's influence, after the throne was vacant for 7 years.
747 15 August
Mayor of the Palace and withdrew to monastic life, his realm was given to his brother, Pepin the Short
.
751
king of the Franks, thus starting the rule of the Carolingian dynasty
.
768 24 September Pepin the Short died.
9 October
Kings of the Franks
after their father's death. Each brother obtained half of their father's kingdom.
771 4 December Carloman I died, Charlemagne annexed his kingdom.
774 Following successful conquests, Charlemagne became
king of the Lombards
.
795 The
Frankish kingdom and Al-Andalus
.

9th century

Year Date Event
800 25 December Charlemagne is crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III.
811 The
Frankish Empire
.
812 Frankish conquests in Spain were recognized by Emir Al-Hakam I.
814 28 January Charlemagne dies and his only legitimate son, Louis the Pious, inherits the Empire.
840 20 June Louis the Pious dies, the
Frankish Empire is claimed by his eldest son Lothair I, over his two brothers, Louis the German and Charles the Bald
.
843 Treaty of Verdun: An alliance between Louis the German and Charles the Bald, and their victories over Lothair I, compelled the elder brother to negotiate the division of the Frankish Empire. It was divided in three parts; West Francia for Charles the Bald, Middle Francia for Lothair I and East Francia for Louis the German, hence laying the foundations of modern France and Germany.
875 29 December Charles the Bald is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John VIII.
876 8 October Battle of Andernach: After Louis the German's death, Charles the Bald is badly defeated at Andernach by Louis' successor, Carloman of Bavaria, in an attempt to conquer his late brother's kingdom.
877 6 October Fleeing Northern Italy from Carloman's army, Charles the Bald falls ill and dies. His son Louis the Stammerer (Louis II) succeeds him as King of West Francia.
879 10 April Louis the Stammerer dies of illness. His two sons Louis III and Carloman II succeed him as joint kings of West Francia.
880 March Louis III and Carloman II sign a treaty in Amiens dividing the kingdom between each other. Louis III obtains Neustria, Carloman II receives Burgundy and Aquitaine.
882 5 August Louis III dies, Carloman II becomes sole king of West Francia.
884 12 December Carloman II dies, his cousin Charles the Fat (Louis the German's youngest son) already king of East Francia, succeeds in the rule of West Francia reviving until his death the entire Carolingian Empire.
888 13 January Charles the Fat dies, with no legitimate or recognized heir, the Empire falls apart never to be reunited again.
February Odo of France is crowned King of the Western Franks for his successes in fighting off the Normans. Ranulf II became King of Aquitaine.
898 1 January Odo of France dies leaving no surviving heir. Charles the Simple, son of Louis the Stammerer, is declared king of West Francia, the Carolingian dynasty is thus again ruler of France.

10th century

Year Date Event
911 Charles signed the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte with Rollo, the king of the Vikings, allowing their settlement in what would become the Duchy of Normandy.
922 Charles was overthrown by a noble revolt and replaced by Robert I, Odo's brother.
923 15 June Battle of Soissons (923): Robert was killed. Charles was captured by Rudolph, the duke of Burgundy.
Rudolph was elected king of France by an assembly of nobles. He left the Duchy of Burgundy to his brother.
936 15 January Rudolph died. He was succeeded by Louis IV, a son of Charles the Simple.
954 10 September Louis IV died. He was succeeded by his son Lothair.
986 1 March Lothair died. He was succeeded by his son Louis V.
987 21 May Louis V died. With no heir, Hugh Capet was chosen as his successor for his noble blood and military successes, thus ending the Carolingian dynasty's reign, and starting the Capetian dynasty.
996 24 October Hugh Capet died. He was succeeded by his son Robert II.

11th century

Year Date Event
1004 Robert annexed the Duchy of Burgundy.
1016 6 July Battle of Pontlevoy
1022 Orléans heresy
1031 20 July Robert died in a civil war against his sons. His second son, Henry I, succeeded him; his third, Robert I Capet, disputed the succession and led a new revolt.
1032 Henry purchased peace by reversing the annexation of the Duchy of Burgundy and giving it to his brother.
1047 Battle of Val-ès-Dunes
1054 Battle of Mortemer
1060 4 August Henry died. The throne passed to his seven-year-old son, Philip I, with his wife Anne of Kiev acting as regent.
1066 Philip entered his majority.

12th century

Year Date Event
1108 29 July Philip died. He was succeeded by his son Louis VI, the Fat.
1131 25 October Louis' son, the future Louis VII, the Young, was crowned the junior king and heir to the throne.
1137 22 July Louis VII became duke of Aquitaine by marriage to the duchess Eleanor.
1 August Louis the Fat died. Louis VII became king.
1152 21 March The marriage of Louis VII and Eleanor was annulled.
1180 18 September Louis VII died. He was succeeded by his son Philip II.

13th century

Year Date Event
1214 27 July Battle of Bouvines: The French army defeated a combined English–Flemish force, enabling the kingdom to consolidate its control over Anjou, Brittany, Maine, Normandy and the Touraine.
1223 14 July Philip II died. He was succeeded by his son Louis VIII, the Lion.
1226 8 November Louis died. He was succeeded by his son Louis IX.
1241 June Louis IX announced that the County of Poitiers would go to his brother Alphonse – offending Isabella of Angoulême, whose son would have inherited the territory had the English won the Battle of Bouvines.
1242 20 May Saintonge War: Henry III of England arrived with an army in support of Isabella's claim to Poitiers.
1270 25 August Louis IX died. He was succeeded by his son Philip III.
1285 5 October Philip III died. He was succeeded by his son Philip IV.
1297
canonized by Pope Boniface VIII, and was from then on better known as Saint Louis. He is the only French monarch to be declared a saint
.

14th century

Year Date Event
1302 18 May
Bruges Matins: The exiled citizens of Bruges, in Flanders
, returned to their hometown and killed every Frenchman.
11 July Battle of the Golden Spurs: Flemish insurrectionists soundly defeated a French occupation force.
1314 29 November Philip IV died. He was succeeded by his eldest son Louis X, the Headstrong.
1316 5 June Louis X died, possibly of poisoning. His wife was pregnant with their first child; his brother Philip V was appointed regent.
15 November Louis X's son was born John I, the Posthumous. He died 5 days later so Philip V was crowned king of France.
1322 3 January Philip V died. With no heir, his younger brother Charles IV succeeded him.
1328 1 February Charles IV died. He was succeeded by his cousin Philip VI.
1350 22 August Philip VI died. He was succeeded by his son John II.
1356 19 September Battle of Poitiers a major battle of the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
1357 The
monarchy
, in particular in fiscal and monetary matters.
1364 8 April John II died. He was succeeded by his son Charles V.
1380 16 September Charles V died. He was succeeded by his son Charles VI.

15th century

Year Date Event
1412 756 Birth of Jeanne d'Arc (The Maid of Orleans)
1415 13 August
Hundred Years' War (1415–1429): An English army under King Henry V
landed in the north of France.
1415 25 October
Hundred Years' War (1415–1429)[1]
1418 30 May The army of John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, captured Paris. The dauphin, the future Charles VII, fled.
1419 20 September John the Fearless was assassinated by companions of the dauphin. He was succeeded by his son Philip the Good, who would ally himself with the English against the French crown.
1420 21 May The Burgundians compelled Charles VI to sign the Treaty of Troyes, under which the throne was to pass to Henry V.
1422 31 August Henry V died. He was succeeded as King of England by his infant son Henry VI.
21 October Charles VI died. He was succeeded by his son Charles VII as king of France, a title disputed for Henry VI of England.
1438 7 July Charles VII issues the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, requiring Church councils to be held every 10 years, and confirming the right of the Gallican Church to appoint ecclesiastical officials.
1453 17 July Battle of Castillon: In what is considered the last battle of the Hundred Years' War, the French inflict a decisive victory on the English army, eventually gaining back all English-held territories of France.
1461 22 July
Louis XI
.
1483 30 August
Louis XI died. He was succeeded by his son Charles VIII
.
1494 Charles VIII begins the
League of Venice
.
1498 7 April
Louis XII
.
1499 Louis XII begins the
Italian War of 1499–1504 in order to press his claims to the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples
.

16th century

Year Date Event
1508 10 December War of the League of Cambrai: Representatives of the Papacy, France, and the Holy Roman Empire and Ferdinand I of Spain established the League of Cambrai, whose purpose was to defeat Venice and partition its territory.
1514 18 May Claude, the duchess of Brittany, was married to Francis of Angoulême, the heir to the French throne.
1515 1 January
Louis died. Francis of Angoulême
succeeded him as Francis I.
1524 20 July
Francis, Dauphin of France, became Duke of Brittany
.
1525 24 February Battle of Pavia. Francis is defeated by Imperial forces under Charles V and captured.
1532 Francis I issued an edict incorporating Brittany into the kingdom of France.
1547 31 March Francis I died. He was succeeded by his son Henry II.
1559 3 April Henry II ends the Italian Wars by signing the
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis
and renouncing all his Italian claims.
10 July Henry II died. He was succeeded by his son Francis II.
1560 5 December Francis II died. With no heir, he was succeeded by his brother Charles IX.
1562 1 March Massacre of Vassy begins The French Wars of Religion.
1572 23 August St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants.[2]
1574 30 May Charles IX died. With no heir, he was succeeded by his brother Henry III.
1589 2 August Henry III died with no heir, thus ending the reign of the Valois branch of the Capetian dynasty. He was succeeded by Henry IV, the first monarch of the House of Bourbon.
1598 13 April Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes to end the French civil war of religion.[3]

17th century

Year Date Event
1610 14 May King
Louis XIII
, with de' Medici ruling as regent.
1617 Sixteen-year-old
Louis
exiled his mother and took control of the government.
1624 August
Louis took Cardinal Richelieu
as his chief minister.
1643 14 May
Louis XIV succeeded him. Cardinal Mazarin
became regent.
1648 August
Fronde: Cardinal Mazarin ordered the arrest of the leaders of the parlement of Paris
, which provoked widespread rioting.
24 October Thirty Years' War: The Peace of Westphalia ended the war with France obtaining the better bargain, and annexing eastern territories.
1659
Habsburgs
.
1668 2 May Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle: end of the War of Devolution. France obtains Lille and other territories of Flanders from Spain.
1678
Franco-Dutch war. France obtains the Franche-Comté and some cities in Flanders and Hainaut (from Spain
).
1684 15 August Truce of Ratisbon: End of the War of the Reunions. France obtains further territories in the north-west from Spain.
1697 20 September
Treaty of Ryswick: End of the Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance
. Territorial changes were made in Europe and the colonial empires of the countries involved.

18th century

Year Date Event Image
1701 9 July
War of the Spanish succession, Austrian invaders encountered the French army at Carpi
, and defeated them.
1713 11 April
Treaty of Utrecht, under which Philip V of Spain renounced for himself and his descendants any right to the French throne. Similarly, possible heirs to the French crown renounced all rights to the rulership of Spain
.
1713 7 March War of the Spanish Succession: The Treaty of Rastatt ended hostilities between France and Austria.
1715 1 September
Louis XV succeeded him, with his nephew Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
, acting as regent.
1720 17 February Treaty of The Hague: France and its allies signed a treaty with Spain, thus ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
1723 15 February
Louis XV
Became the new King of France.
1738 18 November Treaty of Vienna: The signing of the treaty ended the War of the Polish Succession. France gained the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar.
1744 5–10 October
Rohan Palace
to partially hide the little-appreciated Gothic houses. This visit will leave the city ecstatic and indebted for many years.
1745 23 February The Dauphin
Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain at the Chapel of Versailles
.
25–26 February
Chateau of Versailles, on the occasion of the marriage of Louis, Dauphin of France with Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain. Fifteen thousand people attended including Jeanne Antoinette Poisson
who met with the King for a second time.
11 May
Dauphin
, were present at the battle.
6 December Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville becomes Controller-General of Finances at the age of forty-four.
1746 5 August
Archbishop of Paris
at the age of forty-three.
1748 18 October Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle: The signing of the treaty, dictated by France and Britain, ended the War of the Austrian Succession. The French population was dissatisfied with the terms, considering the French conquests during the war.
1763 10 February Seven Years' War: France and some allied and enemy nations sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years' War, resulting in a major blow on French colonial possessions.
1768 15 May Treaty of Versailles: In order to pay its debts and being no longer able to suppress struggle for independence, the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to France. Corsica remained French ever since.
1770 16 May The Dauphin
Maria Antonia of Austria at the Chapel of Versailles
.
1774 10 May
Louis XVI
.
1778 February France recognizes the
American War of Independence official. France will wage war with the United Kingdom in the Americas and other parts of the world assuring victory with the Peace of Paris
.
1786 21–23 June Louis XVI visits Cherbourg to see the construction site of the dam and the arsenal.
1789 14 July
The French Revolution
began with the storming of the Bastille.
1793 21 January Former King of France Louis XVI was executed by guillotine. The National Convention had taken power a few months earlier.
7 June Revolutionary Paris sections took over the Convention, calling for administrative and political purges, starting 1-year and 2 months of what is known as the Reign of Terror.
16 October Former Queen of France Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine.
1795 2 November The Directory seized power over the Convention.
1797 17 October
Revolutionary France
.
1798 7 July The United States Congress rescinded treaties with France, a moment considered as the semi-official beginning of the Quasi-War.
1799 9 November
Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate
.

19th century

Year Date Event Image
1801 9 February War of the Second Coalition: The Treaty of Lunéville was signed after the victory of the French Republic against the Second Coalition states (led by the Austrian and Russian Empires), marking the end of the war with only Britain left fighting France.
15 July The
Roman Catholic Church
as the majority church of France, returning most of its civil status, and restoring much power to the papacy.
1802 3 February
Toussaint L'Ouverture
and the rebellion of the black population in Haiti.
25 March War of the Second Coalition: The Treaty of Amiens established a peace between France and the United Kingdom.
1803 2 May Louisiana Purchase: France sold Louisiana to the United States of America, renouncing its last territorial possessions on continental North America.
18 November Battle of Vertières: The viscount of Rochambeau was defeated and forced to surrender to the revolutionary army of Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
1804 1 January Haitian Revolution: Dessalines declared the independence of Haiti.
18 May
Napoleon was declared Emperor by the Senate, marking the beginning of the First French Empire and the end of the French Consulate
.
2 December
Napoleon crowned himself Emperor in Notre-Dame de Paris. Napoleon had Pope Pius VII
in attendance to indicate approval of the Church.
1805 2 December
client states
.
1806 12 July Napoleon dissolved the
client states composed of 16 states in present-day Germany
.
1807 14 June
client states
.
1808 2 May Beginning of the
Sixth Coalition
in 1814.
1809 5 July
client states
. (to 6 July)
1812 14 September War of the Sixth Coalition: The Fire of Moscow marks the beginning of French retreat after the French invasion of Russia. The First French Empire reached the height of its power and declined henceforth with the disastrous Battle of Berezina. The Sixth Coalition will go on to win the war and Napoleon will be exiled in 1814 to Elba.
1813 26–27 August Battle of Dresden, took place around Dresden, Germany, resulting in a French victory under Napoleon against forces of the Sixth Coalition of Austrians, Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Schwartzenberg. However, Napoleon's victory was not as complete as it could have been. Substantial pursuit was not undertaken after the battle, and the flanking corps was surrounded and forced to surrender a few days later at the Battle of Kulm.
1813 16–19 October Battle of Leipzig, 600,000 soldiers are involved in the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I. Coalition routs the French.
1814 4 April Forced abdication of Napoleon and subsequent exile to Elba.
1814 24 April First Restoration: The House of Bourbon was briefly restored with Louis XVIII as King of France in an intermediate period of the Napoleonic Wars.
1815 21 January The transfer of the coffins of King
St. Denis in Paris
.
26 February Hundred Days: Napoleon escapes from Elba.
7 March Hundred Days: Napoleon greeted by the 5th Regiment at Grenoble after his escape from Elba.
18 June
Seventh Coalition armies, definitively ending the First French Empire and the Napoleonic Wars
, and marks the start of almost half a century of peace throughout Europe.
7 July
Second Restoration: With Napoleon exiled in Saint Helena, the House of Bourbon was again restored. Louis XVIII
became King of France until his death on 16 September 1824.
1821 5 May Death of Napoleon.
1823 April French invasion of Spain: France started its invasion of Spain, eventually succeeding and restoring the monarchy, ending the Liberal Triennium.
1830 July
Louis-Philippe
becoming King of France.
3 February End of the Greek War of Independence; Greece wins their independence when Russia, France and Britain finally agree on the terms of the Treaty of London
1831 22 November First Canut revolt: first clearly defined worker uprising of the Industrial Revolution.
1832 5 June June Rebellion: Unsuccessful Anti-monarchist insurrection in Paris.
1835 28 July The Fieschi attentat: In Paris, the assassination of Louis Philippe I is attempted by Giuseppe Marco Fieschi using a home-made volley gun. Eighteen are killed but the King escapes with a minor wound.
1839 9 March Pastry War: Victorious French troops withdraw from Mexico after their demands were satisfied.
1848 February February Revolution or French Revolution of 1848: Republican riots forced King Louis-Philippe to abdicate and flee to England.
20 December
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte starts his term as the first president of the French Republic
.
European Revolutions of 1848
1851 2 December Exactly one year after his
Napoleon III of France, ending the Second Republic and creating the Second French Empire
with him as emperor.
1853–1856 28 March Crimean War: France and Britain formally declared war on Russia.
1860 Following the Franco-Sardinian victory over the Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence, Italian regions of Nice and Savoy were transferred to the French Empire as a reward.
18 October Second Opium War: British and French troops entered the Forbidden City in Beijing.
1866 31 May French intervention in Mexico: French troops start withdrawing from the country.
1870–1940 Third Republic
1871 10 May The end of the Franco-Prussian War: France's loss marked the downfall of Napoleon III and led to the end of the Second French Empire. The Third Republic was subsequently declared and Napoleon III went into exile in the United Kingdom until his death.
26 March The Paris Commune was declared and lasted 2 months before being violently suppressed by the French army.
31 August Adolphe Thiers began his term as president of France.
1873 24 May
Patrice de Mac-Mahon
began his term as president of France.
1879 30 January Jules Grévy began his term as president of France.
1887 28 January Work begins on the foundations of the Eiffel Tower.
3 December
Marie François Sadi Carnot
began his term as president of France.
1888 20 March First Stage of the Eiffel Tower is completed.
21 August Second Stage of the Eiffel Tower is completed.
1889 15 May The Eiffel Tower is opened to the public.
26 May The Eiffel Tower lifts begin service.
1894 4 January The Franco-Russian Alliance was confirmed.
27 June Jean Casimir-Perier began his term as president of France.
November The Dreyfus affair begins, creating a scandal which will mobilize intellectuals and divide the French population for a decade.
1895 17 January Félix Faure began his term as president of France.
1899 18 February Émile Loubet began his term as president of France.

20th century

Year Date Event
1904 8 April The
Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907, France, Britain and Russia were known as the Triple Entente in opposition to the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy.[4]
1905 15 December The
1905 French law on the separation of Church and State ended government funding of religious groups.[5]
1906 18 February Armand Fallières began his term as president of France.
1913 18 February Raymond Poincaré began his term as president of France.[6]
1914 3 August French entry into World War I: Germany declared war on France.
1918 11 November World War I: The
Alsace-Lorraine
.
1923 January Beginning of Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr.
1924 13 June Gaston Doumergue began his term as president of France.
1931 13 June Paul Doumer began his term as president of France.
1932 10 May Albert Lebrun began his term as president of France.
1934 6 February Riots by far-right leagues were repressed by the state in what was considered as a failed coup d'état, and a major political crisis of the Third Republic.
1937 25 May International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life was opened in Paris in 1937.
Place de Varsovie in Paris in 1937 (Agfacolor photo).
1939 3 September
Second World War: France
declared war on Germany.
7 September Saar Offensive
1940 9 May The Battle of France begins.
18 June Charles de Gaulle holds his Appeal of 18 June.
25 June Second World War: The
Vichy Government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain
.
27 October Battle of Gabon
1941 8 June Syria–Lebanon campaign
1942 11 November Case Anton
1944 6 June Normandy landings
25 August Second World War –
France was liberated
as the Allies advanced towards Germany.
1945 22 April Capture of the Sigmaringen enclave
24 October Establishment of the United Nations (UN) with France having a veto on the Security Council.
1946 13 October France adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
1947 16 January Vincent Auriol began his term as the first president of the Fourth Republic.
1951 18 April Treaty of Paris: Establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) between France, West Germany, Italy, and the Benelux countries, producing diplomatic and economic stability in Europe between former enemy states. The ECSC is credited as one of the major "ancestors" of the European Union.
1954 16 January René Coty began his term as president of France.
1 August End of the 8-year long
Geneva Conference (1954) agreed to dividing Vietnam. France departed from the country in a move that started worldwide decolonization of the French colonial empire
.
1957 25 March
European Atomic Energy Community
(EAEC).
1959 8 January Charles de Gaulle became the first president of the Fifth Republic, whose new constitution greatly increased the President's powers (as opposed the Third and Fourth Republics, in which the office of President of the Republic was a largely ceremonial and powerless one).
1962 19 March End of the Algerian War, Algeria, a French colony, obtained independence from France after almost 8 years of official strife.
1965 8 April
European Community
.
1967 24 July Charles de Gaulle's famous "Vive le Québec libre" speech provoked a diplomatic crisis in Canada–France relations.
1968 May–June
May '68: a series of protests, occupations and strikes against capitalism, consumerism and traditional institutions, values and order (part of the 1968 worldwide protests
).
1969 20 June Georges Pompidou began his term as president of France.
1974 27 May Valéry Giscard d'Estaing began his term as president of France.
1981 21 May François Mitterrand began his term as president of France.
1986 17 February Single European Act : a major revision of the Treaty of Rome to establish a common market by the end of 1992. (to 28 February 1987)
1992 7 February
European Community (including France) signed a treaty creating what is now known as the European Union
.
1995 17 May Jacques Chirac began his term as president of France.
1998 12 July France won the
1998 World Cup of football on home soil. This was their first FIFA World Cup
title.
31 December
Introduction of the euro: the exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies (the franc for France) in the eurozone
became fixed.

21st century

Year Date Event
2001 "French government adopts a law that requires every French Web page to be officially archived."[7]
2002 2 January Introduction of the first euro coins and bills replacing the legacy currency, the franc.
2004 15 March A law bans "conspicuous" religious symbols in schools. The law is renowned to target the Islamic headscarf, but forbids also Christian and Jewish symbols.
2005 October and November suburban riots.
2007 15 May Nicolas Sarkozy began his term as president of France.
2010 14 September A law to
niqab
, that President Sarkozy declared "not welcome" in France.
2011 19 March France leads the NATO intervention in Libya to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi. The Libyan leader is eventually killed on 20 October 2011.
2012 6 May François Hollande began his term as president of France.
2013 11 January Beginning of the French intervention in Mali against Islamic militants known as Operation Serval (11 January 2013 – 15 July 2014)
18 May Same-sex marriage becomes legal in France, the thirteenth country worldwide to allow it.
2015 7–9 January 17 people, including three police officers, are killed in two terrorist attacks by Muslim terrorists; the Charlie Hebdo shooting targeted a magazine which published cartoons of Mohammed.[8]
10–11 January Some 3.7 million people demonstrate nationwide against terrorism and for freedom of speech following the terrorist attack at Charlie Hebdo.
13 November
ISIS sends three teams of suicide bombers to attack multiple targets in Paris
including a soccer stadium, a concert, and several restaurants; over 120 dead.
2016 14 July A cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice resulting in the deaths of 86 people and the injury of 458 others. 2016 Nice truck attack
2017 14 May Emmanuel Macron began his term as president of France.
2018 17 November Demonstrations of the
Yellow vests movement
started.
2018 15 July France wins the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
2020 16 October Murder of Samuel Paty

See also

References

  1. ^ Buellesbach, Alfred. Battlescapes: A photographic Testament to 2,000 years of Conflict. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2009.
  2. ^ Arlette Jouanna, The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre: The mysteries of a crime of state (Manchester University Press. 2007) online
  3. ^ Ruth Kleinman, "Changing Interpretations of the Edict of Nantes: The Administrative Aspect, 1643-1661." French Historical Studies 10.4 (1978): 541-571 online
  4. ^ P. M. H. Bell, France and Britain, 1900–1940: Entente and Estrangement (1996).
  5. ^ Murat Akan, The Politics of Secularism: Religion, Diversity, and Institutional Change in France and Turkey (Columbia University Press, 2017).
  6. ^ Gordon Wright, Raymond Poincaré and the French presidency (1967).
  7. ^ Cornell University Library (2003). "Digital Preservation and Technology Timeline". Digital Preservation Management. USA. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Gun attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo kills 11". BBC News. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 31 May 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.

Bibliography

In English

  • Langer, William. An Encyclopedia of World History (5th ed. 1973); highly detailed outline of events online free
  • Morris, Richard B. and Graham W. Irwin, eds. Harper Encyclopedia of the Modern World: A Concise Reference History from 1760 to the Present (1970) online
  • Charles E. Little (1900), "France", Cyclopedia of Classified Dates, New York: Funk & Wagnalls
  • hdl:2027/njp.32101063964827
    .
  • Benjamin Vincent (1910), "France",
    Haydn's Dictionary of Dates
    (25th ed.), London: Ward, Lock & Co.
  • Echard, William E. Historical Dictionary of the French Second Empire, 1852–1870 (1985)
  • Hutton, Patrick H. and Amy J. Staples, et al. Historical Dictionary of the Third French Republic, 1870–1940 (2 vol 1986)
  • Northcutt, M. Wayne. Historical Dictionary of the French Fourth and Fifth Republics, 1946–1991 (1992)
  • Kibler, et al. Medieval France: An Encyclopedia (1995)
  • Gino Raymond (2008). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of France.
    ISBN 978-0-8108-6256-2
    .
  • ISBN 978-0-393-06882-5
    .

In French

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_French_history&oldid=1220139926"