France: Difference between revisions

| label1 = Nationality {{Nobold|(2021)<ref>{{cite web |title=L'essentiel sur... les immigrés et les étrangers |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3633212 |website=[[Insee]] |access-date=9 September 2023 |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626142004/https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3633212 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

| data1 = {{Unbulleted list|92.2% [[French people|French]]|7.8% [[Demographics of France|other]]}}}}

| demonym = French

| government_type = Unitary [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential republic]]

}}

 

 

Metropolitan France was settled during the [[Iron Age]] by [[List of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes|Celtic tribes]] known as [[Gauls]] before [[Roman Gaul|Rome annexed the area]] in 51 BC, leading to a distinct [[Gallo-Roman culture]]. In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the [[Franks]] formed the Kingdom of [[Francia]], which became the heartland of the [[Carolingian Empire]]. The [[Treaty of Verdun]] of 843 partitioned the empire, with [[West Francia]] evolving into the [[Kingdom of France]]. In the [[High Middle Ages]], France was a powerful but decentralized [[Feudalism|feudal]] kingdom, but from the mid-14th to the mid-15th centuries, France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with [[Kingdom of England|England]] known as the [[Hundred Years' War]]. In the 16th century, the [[French Renaissance]] saw culture flourish and a [[French colonial empire]] rise.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UX8aeX_Lbi4C&pg=PA1 |title=Memory, Empire, and Postcolonialism: Legacies of French Colonialism |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7391-0821-5 |editor-last=Hargreaves, Alan G. |page=1}}</ref> Internally, France was dominated by the conflict with the [[House of Habsburg]] and the [[French Wars of Religion]] between [[Catholics]] and [[Huguenots]]. France was successful in the [[Thirty Years' War]] and further increased its influence during the reign of [[Louis XIV]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=R.R. Palmer |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernw00palm |title=A History of the Modern World |last2=Joel Colton |year=1978 |edition=5th |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernw00palm/page/161 161] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The [[French Renaissance]] saw cultural development and standardisation of French, which became the [[Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts|official language of France]] and Europe's aristocracy. France became rivals of the [[House of Habsburg]] during the [[Italian Wars]], which would dictate much of their later foreign policy until the mid-18th century. French explorers claimed lands in the Americas, paving expansion of the [[French colonial empire]]. The rise of Protestantism led France to a civil war known as the [[French Wars of Religion]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/516821/Massacre-of-Saint-Bartholomews-Day |access-date=21 July 2011 |archive-date=4 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504150458/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/516821/Massacre-of-Saint-Bartholomews-Day |url-status=live }}</ref> This forced [[Huguenots]] to flee to Protestant regions such as the [[British Isles]] and [[Switzerland]]. The wars were ended by [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]]'s [[Edict of Nantes]], which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish]] troops,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rex |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSVVBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT302 |title=Tudors: The Illustrated History |year=2014 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-4403-5 |via=Google Books |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-date=18 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175344/https://books.google.com/books?id=uSVVBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT302#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> assisted the Catholics from 1589 to 1594 and invaded France in 1597. Spain and France returned to all-out war between 1635 and 1659. [[Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)|The war]] cost France 300,000 casualties.<ref>Michael Clodfelter, ''Warfare and armed conflicts: a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1492-2015'' (McFarland, 2017) p.40</ref>

 

 

[[File:Louis XIV of France.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|alt=Louis XIV of France standing in plate armour and blue sash facing left holding baton|[[Louis XIV]], the "Sun King", was the [[Absolute monarchy in France|absolute monarch of France]] and made France the leading European power.]]

During [[Louis XIV]]'s minority, trouble known as [[The Fronde]] occurred. This rebellion was driven by feudal lords and [[Parliament|sovereign courts]] as a reaction to the [[Absolutism (European history)|royal absolute power]]. The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and reign of Louis XIV. By turning lords into [[courtier]]s at the [[Palace of Versailles]], his command of the military went unchallenged. The "Sun King" made France the leading European power. France became the [[Demographics of France|most populous European country]] and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became the most-used language in diplomacy, science, and literature until the 20th century.<ref name="Language and Diplomacy">{{Cite web |title=Language and Diplomacy |url=http://www.nakedtranslations.com/en/2004/language-and-diplomacy/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721070018/http://www.nakedtranslations.com/en/2004/language-and-diplomacy/ |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=21 July 2011 |publisher=Nakedtranslations.com}}</ref> France took control of territories in the Americas, Africa and Asia. In 1685, Louis XIV [[Edict of Fontainebleau|revoked the Edict of Nantes]], forcing thousands of Huguenots into exile and published the ''[[Code Noir]]'' providing the legal framework for slavery and expelling Jews from French colonies.<ref>{{Cite journal | journal = Louisiana Law Review | title = The Origins and Authors of the Code Noir | author = Vernon Valentine Palmer | url = https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol56/iss2/5 | year = 1996 | volume = 56 | issue = 2 | access-date = 24 January 2023 | archive-date = 24 January 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230124174315/https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol56/iss2/5/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

 

 

 

===Revolutionary France (1789–1799)===

In 1940, France was [[Battle of France|invaded and quickly defeated]] by [[Nazi Germany]]. France was divided into a [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German occupation zone]] in the north, an [[Italian occupation of France|Italian occupation zone]] and an unoccupied territory, the rest of France, which consisted of the southern France and the French empire. The [[Vichy France|Vichy government]], an authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, ruled the unoccupied territory. [[Free France]], the government-in-exile led by&nbsp;[[Charles de Gaulle]], was set up in London.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crémieux-Brilhac |first=Jean-Louis |title=La France libre |publisher=Gallimard |year=1996 |isbn=2-07-073032-8 |location=Paris |language=fr}}</ref>

 

 

===1946–present===

==Politics==

{{Main|Politics of France}}

France is a [[representative democracy]] organised as a unitary [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential republic]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitutional Limits on Government: Country Studies – France |url=http://www.democracyweb.org/limits/france.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828081904/http://democracyweb.org/limits/france.php |archive-date=28 August 2013 |access-date=30 September 2013 |website=Democracy Web: Comparative studies in Freedom}}</ref> Democratic traditions and values are deeply rooted in French culture, identity and politics.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=France {{!}} History, Map, Flag, Capital, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/France |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=14 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614044325/https://www.britannica.com/place/France |url-status=live }}</ref> The Constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by [[1958 French constitutional referendum|referendum]] on 28 September 1958, establishing a framework consisting of executive, legislative and judicial branches.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Helen |last=Drake |title=Contemporary France |date=2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-333-79243-8 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7L8cBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 95] |doi=10.1007/978-0-230-36688-6}}</ref> It sought to address the instability of the Third and Fourth Republics by combining elements of both parliamentary and presidential systems, while greatly strengthening the authority of the executive relative to the legislature.<ref name=":1"/>

 

===Government===

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{{Main|Religion in France}}

[[File:Reims Cathédrale Notre-Dame 5002 (fixed angles).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Notre-Dame de Reims façade, gothic stone cathedral against blue sky|[[Reims Cathedral|Notre-Dame de Reims]] is the Roman Catholic cathedral where the [[Coronation of the French monarch|Kings of France were crowned]] until 1825.{{Efn-ur|The last ''sacre'' was that of [[Charles X of France|Charles X]], 29 May 1825.}}]]

 

[[Catholic Church in France|Catholicism]] was the main religion in France for more than a millennium, and it was once the country's [[state religion]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wolf|first1=John Baptiste Wolf|title=The Emergence of European Civilization: From the Middle Ages to the Opening of the Nineteenth Century|date=1962|publisher=University of Virginia Press|isbn=9789733203162|page=419|quote=}}</ref> France was traditionally considered the Church's eldest daughter (French: ''Fille aînée de l'Église''), and the [[King of France]] always maintained close links to the Pope,<ref name="Parisse">{{cite book|title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900–c. 1024|volume=III|editor-first=T.|editor-last=Reuter|last=Parisse|first=Michael|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|chapter=Lotharingia|pages=313–315}}</ref> receiving the title ''Most Christian Majesty'' from the Pope in 1464.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095610571 | title=Christian Majesty, His Most }}</ref> However, the French monarchy maintained a significant degree of autonomy, namely through its policy of "[[Gallicanism]]", whereby the king selected bishops rather than the papacy.<ref>Wolfe, M. (2005). Jotham Parsons. The Church in the Republic: Gallicanism and Political Ideology in Renaissance France. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. 2004. pp. ix, 322. The American Historical Review, 110(4), 1254–1255.</ref> Its role nowadays, however, has been greatly reduced, although, as of 2012, among the 47,000 religious buildings in France 94% were still Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite web|date=1 February 2012|title=Observatoire du patrimoine religieux|url=http://www.patrimoine-religieux.fr/rubriques/gauche/actualites/actualites-de-la-base-de-donnees|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126171213/http://www.patrimoine-religieux.fr/rubriques/gauche/actualites/actualites-de-la-base-de-donnees|archive-date=26 November 2013|quote=94% des édifices sont catholiques (dont 50% églises paroissiales, 25% chapelles, 25% édifices appartenant au clergé régulier)}}</ref> After alternating between royal and secular republican governments during the 19th century, in 1905 France passed the [[1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State|1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State]], which established the aforementioned principle of ''laïcité''.<ref name="georgetown2">{{cite web|title=France|url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/france|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206213909/http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/france|archive-date=6 February 2011|publisher=[[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]]}}</ref>

The earliest French literature dates from the [[Middle Age]]s when what is now known as modern France did not have a single, uniform language. There were several languages and dialects, and writers used their own spelling and grammar. Some authors of French medieval texts, such as ''[[Tristan and Iseult]]'' and ''[[Lancelot-Grail]]'' are unknown. Three famous medieval authors are [[Chrétien de Troyes]], [[Christine de Pizan]] ([[Langues d'oïl|langue d'oïl]]), and [[William IX of Aquitaine|Duke William IX of Aquitaine]] ([[Occitan language|langue d'oc]]). Much medieval French poetry and literature was inspired by the legends of the [[Matter of France|Carolingian cycle]], such as the ''[[Song of Roland]]'' and the [[chansons de geste]]. The ''Roman de Renart'', written in 1175 by Perrout de Saint Cloude, tells the story of the medieval character [[Reynard]] ('the Fox') and is another example of early French writing. An important 16th-century writer was [[François Rabelais]], who wrote five popular early [[picaresque]] novels. Rabelais was also in regular communication with [[Marguerite de Navarre]], author of the ''[[Heptameron]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Rabelais and Marguerite de Navarre on Sixteenth-Century Views of Clandestine Marriage | first= Cathleen M. |last= Bauschatz | journal = Sixteenth Century Journal | volume = 34 | issue = 2 | pages = 395–408 | date = 2003| doi = 10.2307/20061415 | jstor = 20061415 | s2cid= 163972746 }}</ref> Another 16th-century author was [[Michel de Montaigne]], whose most famous work, ''[[Essays (Montaigne)|Essais]]'', started a literary genre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Montaigne |url=http://www.humanistictexts.org/montaigne.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525201508/http://www.humanistictexts.org/montaigne.htm |archive-date=25 May 2011 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Humanistictexts.org}}</ref>

 

 

The 19th century saw the writings of many renowned French authors. Victor Hugo is sometimes seen as "the greatest French writer of all time"<ref name="victor">{{Cite web |title=Victor Hugo est le plus grand écrivain français |url=http://www.lecavalierbleu.com/images/30/extrait_75.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723121408/http://www.lecavalierbleu.com/images/30/extrait_75.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2013}}</ref> for excelling in all [[literary genre]]s. Hugo's verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, [[Dante]] and [[Homer]].<ref name="hugo">{{Cite web |title=Victor Hugo 1802–1885 |url=http://www.enotes.com/victor-hugo-criticism/hugo-victor |access-date=16 July 2011 |publisher=Enotes.com}}</ref> His novel ''[[Les Misérables]]'' is widely seen as one of the greatest novels ever written<ref>{{Cite web |title=All-Time 100 Best Novels List |url=http://www.adherents.com/people/100_novel.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051128235020/http://adherents.com/people/100_novel.html |archive-date=28 November 2005 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Adherents.com}}</ref> and ''[[The Hunchback of Notre-Dame|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' has remained immensely popular. Other major authors of that century include [[Alexandre Dumas]] (''[[The Three Musketeers]]'' and ''[[The Count of Monte-Cristo]]''), [[Jules Verne]] (''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas]]''), [[Émile Zola]] (''[[Les Rougon-Macquart]]''), [[Honoré de Balzac]] (''[[La Comédie humaine]]''), [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Théophile Gautier]] and [[Stendhal]] (''[[The Red and the Black]]'', ''[[The Charterhouse of Parma]]''), whose works are among the most well known in France and the world.