An history spanning more than eleven centuries

Most modern historians consider that France was born under the Carolingians after the dissolution of the Frankish Empire in AD 843. The country’s political history thus spans more than eleven centuries that cannot be simply summarised. A few key dates do stand out.

But France’s past is made up of a heritage of buildings and culture accumulated from the Stone Age to the present day, from the Lascaux caves to the Louvre Pyramid, including the cities of Roman Gaul, cathedrals, princely chateaux and industrial architecture.

The French love their history. They also like to act it out: in cartoons and official ceremonies, the discourse of memory, always subject to fashion and variation, both elevates and distorts the past.

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 Key dates in French history

Source: France 2008, La Documentation Française