Timeline of France

Chronology

29 events spanning the history of France. BCE/CE dating.

1. 481 – 987

   Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties

   Sweeping invasions from the east. Hugh Capet, elected King of France, founds the Capetian dynasty.

2. 1610 – 1715

   Reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV.

   Reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Royal power at its peak; France dominates Europe, French culture spreads. Start of large-scale sea trade.

3. 1789 – 1799

   French Revolution

   French Revolution. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (26 August 1789). Abolition of the monarchy (1792). First Republic. Directory. Consulate.

4. 1789

   Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

   Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

5. 1799 – 1815

   Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte

   Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul, then Emperor of the French (1804). Establishment of modern administrative institutions, codification of the law. European wars lead to abdication of the Emperor.

6. 1815 – 1848

   Restoration and constitutional monarchy

   Restoration and constitutional monarchy (Louis XVIII, Charles X). Revolution of 1830. Reign of Louis-Philippe. Economic prosperity. Rapid development of industrialization. First railways. First colonies established.

7. 1848 – 1852

   Revolution. Second Republic

   Revolution. Second Republic. First laws on labor, the press and education.

8. 1870 – 1875

   Franco-Prussian war

   Franco-Prussian war resulting in the loss of Alsace and Lorraine and the fall of Napoleon III. Paris Commune (1871). Third Republic.

9. 1875 – 1914

   Parliamentary power at its peak.

   Recognition of trade unions. Separation of church and state (1905). Important scientific and technological inventions

10. 1900

    Hosts Summer Olympic Games

    Paris, France hosts Summer Olympic Games.