History of France

Chronology:In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy invaded England and was crowned as the
English King of England on Christmas Day, 1066.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was once married to King Louis VII of France, married
Henry II of England
As a result, most of the western part of France was yielded to the British Crown.
After the death of the last Capetian King, Charles IV, Edward III of England claimed
the French Throne and started the Hundred Years' War in 1337.
With the help of a French peasant girl, Joan of Arc, Charles VIII emerged victorious in
the war and drove the English back to Calais.
France became a centralized state where an absolute monarchy was established,
retaining the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings and the explicit support of the
established Church.
The long Italian Wars (1494-1559) marked the beginning of early modern France.
Once Francis I was captured at Pavia, the French monarchy had to look for allies and
found one in the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa captured Nice on 5 August 1543, and handed it
down to Francis I.
During the 16th century, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs were the dominant
power in Europe, controlling some other duchies and kingdoms across Europe.
Despite all of this, French became the preferred language of Europe's aristocracy.
France is a developed country with the sixth-largest economy in the world.
Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen.
France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Latin
Union, the Francophone, and G8.
It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
wielding veto power, and it is also an acknowledged nuclear power.
It is considered as one of the post World War II great powers.

France is the most popular international tourist destination in the world, receiving
over 75 million foreign tourists annually.

Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French

National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year.
In France, it is formally called La Fte Nationale (The National Celebration)
and commonly le quatorze juillet (the fourteenth of July).
It commemorates the 1790 Fte de la Fdration, held on the first
anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary
of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the
uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French
inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during
the French Revolution.
Festivities and official ceremonies are held all over France.
The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the
morning of 14 July, on the Champs-lyses avenue in Paris in front of the
President of the Republic, French officials and foreign guests.