Human life first appeared in France over two million years ago, but recognizable humans didn’t show up until 25,000 BC, when Cro-Magnons (cavemen and cavewomen) began roaming the Dordogne Valley ( ...more
The Carolingian dynasty soon gave way to the Capetian, when Hugh Capet consolidated power in AD 987. The line started strong until Louis the Fat—more properly Louis VI —came to power. Oddly enough ...more
Back during the Middle Ages, Pope Urban II had called for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in his quest to wrest Jerusalem from the Saracens. The ensuing wave of religious furor left an incredible ...more
In the 17th century, a series of dynamic cardinal-king teams brought the Bourbon monarchy to the height of its power. Louis XIII and his capable and ruthless minister, Cardinal Richelieu, centralized power ...more
By the time Louis XVI inherited the throne in 1774, peasants had come to blame the monarchy for their terrible poverty, and with good reason. To quell the unrest, Louis called a last-resort meeting of ...more
The Directory governed France for four years, during which self-service and corruption became the political agenda. This vice plagued the country until 1799, when Napoleon Bonaparte and a handful of ...more
Though quick to fill Napoleon’s power vacuum, the Bourbon dynasty never fully regained its former glory. Charles X, the last Bourbon king of France, was a figure of passing popularity. His laws abolishing ...more
Germany’s 1871 unification rocked the balance of power in Europe. In 1907, France formed the Triple Entente with Britain and tsarist Russia, while Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire formed ...more
De Gaulle proclaimed the Fourth Republic in 1944, christening an era of female suffrage and a post-war economic boom. After assuming the premier-presidential role in 1945, the general stepped down in ...more
In 1981, Socialism became a national trend as the party gained a majority in the National Assembly and Socialist François Mitterrand won the presidential election. Despite party achievements that included ...more
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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