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44 BC Antony granted a five-year governorship of northern and central Transalpine Gaul (France) and Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy).
303 On a voyage preaching the gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France.
640 The French city of Lille is founded by Lyderic.
Battle of Heliopolis between Arab Muslim armies and Byzantine.
732 Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, leader of the Franks Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into Western Europe. The governor of Cordoba, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, is killed during the battle.
759 The Franks capture Narbonne; the Saracens are completely driven out of France.
887 Odo, Count of Paris ascends to the throne of Western Francia (modern France)
970 Devastating decade long famine begins in France
987 Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, crowned King of France
990 The Pax Ecclesiae, an edict by the church in southern France attempting to outlaw acts of war against non-combatants and the clergy, is promulgated.
1000 Château de Goulaine vineyard founded in France.
1027 Henri I is crowned king of France at Reims Cathedral.
1095 The cathedral in Valence, France is consecrated.
1110 Beginning of the construction of Fontevraud Abbey in France
1134 Robert of Ketton and Herman of Carinthia travel throughout France, the Byzantine Empire, and the Crusader States.
1144 Montauban, France, is founded
1180 Artois is annexed by France
1180 Philip II becomes King of France
1181 The word Albigensians first used by chronicler Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois to describe the inhabitants of Albi, France.
1203 Philip II of France enters Rouen, leading to the eventual unification of Normandy and France.
1204 The writings of French theologian Amalric of Bena are condemned by the University of Paris and Pope Innocent III.
1214 Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England.
1229 Foundation of the University of Toulouse in Toulouse, France.
1237 The County of Artois is founded in France.
1248 The Gothic chapel Sainte-Chapelle is concecrated in Paris, France.
1249 Alphonse of Toulouse orders the expulsion of Jews from Poitou, France.
1250 The Parlement law courts of ''ancien régime'' France are established.
1251 The first Shepherds' Crusade, a domestic French uprising in response to events in Egypt during the Seventh Crusade, occurs.
1254 King Louis IX of France, having exhausted his funds and being needed at home, abandons the Seventh Crusade (which he had conducted first in Egypt and then Syria) and returns to France.
1255 The final Cathar stronghold in southern France falls, eliminating the last refuge of the heretical Cathars after the Roman Catholic Church engaged in a program to crush the sect, starting in 1209 with the Albigensian Crusade.
1255 The Gothic cathedral at Bourges, France, is completed. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
1257 Robert de Sorbon founds the ''Collège de Sorbonne'' at Paris, giving a formal college (and still-common name) to the already existing University of Paris in France.
1259 Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
1266 In France, the gold écu and silver grosh coins are minted for the first time.
1268 In France, the use of hops as the exclusive flavoring agent used in the manufacture of beer is made compulsory.
1271 The County of Toulouse is returned to the crown of France.
1271 Pope Gregory X is elected pope by compromise between French and Italian cardinals, ending a three-year conclave, the longest ever.
1275 Jean de Meun completes the French allegorical work of fiction, ''Roman de la Rose'', with a second section; the first section was written by Guillaume de Lorris in 1230.
1275 A purported witch is first burned to death by sentence of a judicial inquisitor in Toulouse, France.
1278 The independence, boundaries, and political structure of Andorra are agreed to by the Spanish Bishop of Urgell and the French Count of Foix.
1281 Pope Martin IV authorizes the Ninth Crusade against the newly re-established Byzantine Empire in Constantinople; French and Venetian expeditions set out toward Constantinople but are forced to turn back in the following year.
1283 King Philip III of France causes a mass migration of Jews when he outlaws their residence in the small villages and rural localities of France.
1284 Construction on the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais is interrupted by a partial collapse of the choir; the event unnerves French masons working in the Gothic style.
1289 Pope Nicholas IV formally constitutes the University of Montpellier in France by papal bull, combining various existing schools under the mantle of a single university.
1289 Jews are expelled from Gascony and Anjou in France.
1294 John Balliol, King of Scotland, decides to refuse King Edward I of England's demands for support in a planned invasion of France, and instead informs the French of Edward's plans and negotiates the Auld Alliance with France and Norway. These actions play a part in precipitating the Scottish Wars of Independence, to begin in 1296.
1302 Battle of the Golden Spurs (''Guldensporenslag'' in Dutch), major victory of Flanders over the French.
1307 All Knights Templar in France are simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into "admitting" heresy.
1310 In France, 64 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake for heresy
1315 Louis X is crowned King of France at Reims.
1328 Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers.
1337 Beginning of the Hundred Years' War ( 1337-1453) between France and England
1340 King Edward III of England is declared King of France
1340 The Battle of Sluys is fought between the naval fleets of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. The former was under the command of Edward III of England and the later under those of admiral Hue Quiéret and treasurer Nicholas Béhuchet assisted by Genoese mercenary galleys serving under Egidio Bocanegra. The battle ends with the almost complete destruction of the French. Both their commanders were among the casualties. However the mercenaries manage to escape.
1346 Battle of Crécy, after which Edward the Black Prince honoured the bravery of John I, Count of Luxemburg and King of Bohemia (also known as John the Blind), who was killed in the fighting, by adopting his arms and motto: "Ich Dien" or "I Serve"
In addition to the victory at Crécy, the English armies have an annus mirabilis, with further victories over the French at Caen and near Calais, over Scotland at the Battle of Neville's Cross and the Bretons at the Battle of St Pol de Leon during the Hundred Years' War.
1355 A small Scottish and French force invade Northumberland, loot the city of Berwick-upon-Tweed and defeat a small English force in a skirmish at Nisbet, Berwickshire.
1358 The Jacquerie. A Peasant rebellion in France during the Hundred Year's War, which consumed the Beauvais and allied with Etienne Marcel's seizure of Paris. Was defeated on the 10th July at the Battle of Mello.
1359 Second Treaty of London signed between England and France, but rejected by the French States-General on May 25.
1364 Charles V becomes King of France.
1367 Peter I restored as King of Castile (now in Spain) after defeating his half-brother, Henry II, at the Battle of Najera (Navarette). Peter I aided in the battle by the English and Henry II by the French.
1376 The treaty between England and France is extended until April of 1377.
1394 Expulsion of the Jews from France.
1394 King Charles VI of France orders all Jews expelled from France.
1415 Henry V of England is informed of the Southampton Plot against him; he has the leaders arrested and executed before invading France
1423 Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant - The French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
1423 English with Burgundian soldiers defeat the French, who were supported by the Scots, at Verneuil. The English-Burgundian alliance was strengthened by the marriage of the Duke of Bedford to Anne of Burgundy. Anne was sister of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Philip the Good had allied Burgundy with England after his father was murdered in 1419 by the French Dauphin, son of Charles VI of France.
1427 Celestine Order established in France.
1429 Battle of Patay: French forces under Joan of Arc smash the English forces under Lord Talbot and Sir John Fastolf, forcing the withdrawal of the English from the Loire Valley.
1431 Pretrial investigations for Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, France under English occupation.
1450 French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen.
1450 French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen.
1450 Battle of Formigny: French troops under the Comte de Clermont defeat an English army under Sir Thomas Kyriel and Sir Matthew Gough which was attempting to relieve Caen.
1450 Surrender of Caen to the French.
1450 Surrender of Cherbourg, the last English territory in Normandy, to the French.
1453 Battle of Castillon. The French under Jean Bureau utterly defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed.
1453 The French recapture of Bordeaux brings the Hundred Years' War to a close, with the English retaining only Calais on French soil.
1453 The French recapture of Bordeaux brings the Hundred Years' War to a close, with the English retaining only Calais on French soil.
1465 Former King Henry VI of England is captured by Yorkist forces and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Queen consort Margaret of Anjou and the Prince of Wales Edward of Westminster had fled to France.
1470 Johann Heynlin introduces the printing press into France and prints his first book in the same year.
1477 Mary of Burgundy marries Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in Ghent, bringing her Flemish and Burgundian lands into the Holy Roman Empire and detaching them from France.
1483 King Edward V of England and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York reside in the Tower of London. Later this year rumors of their murders start circulating. By December the rumors have reached France. This is the beginning of the mystery concerning the fates of the two Princes in the Tower.
1491 King Charles VIII marries Anne de Bretagne, thus incorporating Brittany into the kingdom of France. He forces her to break her marriage with Maximilian I in order to marry him instead.
1496 Spanish forces under Gonzalo Hernandez de Cordoba capture Atella after a siege. Among the prisoners is the French viceroy of Naples, the Comte de Montpensier. Ferrante II is restored to the throne of Naples.
1500 Duke Ludovico Sforza recaptures Milan, but is soon driven out again by the French.
1503 Battle of Cerignola. Aragonese forces under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba defeat the French under the Duc de Nemours, who is killed. Considered to be the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms.
1504 France cedes Naples to Aragon.
1514 Peace between England and France.
1521 Outbreak of war between Emperor Charles and the King of France.
1521 Battle of Esquiroz: French forces under Henri d'Albret, exiled King of Navarre, are defeated by the Spanish and forced to abandon their attempt to recover Henri's kingdom.
1525 Bubonic Plague in Southern France.
1525 First French embassador in Istanbul.=
1525 Battle of Pavia - Spanish forces under Charles de Lannoy and the Marquis of Pescara defeat the French army and capture Francis I of France because the hurting of his horse by Cesare Hercolani.
1528 Chateau Fontainebleau in France begun.
1535 French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail for his second voyage to North America with 3 ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's 2 sons (who Cartier kidnapped during his first voyage).
1541 Jacques Cartier departs Saint-Malo France on his third voyage.
1543 Turkish and French troops under Khair ed-Din Barbarossa occupy Nice
1544 Gustav I of Sweden signs an alliance with France
1546 Peace between England and France
1548 Mary I of Scotland sent to France
1553 Battle of Marciano: French forces invading Italy under Marshal Blaise de Monluc are defeated by an imperial army under the Marquis of Marignano and are forced to retreat into Siena, which is besieged by the imperial forces.
1556 The kings of Spain take control of the Flanders region, including what is now the French département of Nord
1556 The false Martin Guerre appears in the French village of Artigat.
1558 Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines.
1560 The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland
1561 Mary, Queen of Scots is denied passage through England after returning from France. She arrives at Leith, Scotland on August 19.
1568 Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. Again Catherine de Medici and Charles IX make substantial concessions to the Huguenots.
1574 The 5th holy war against the Huguenots begins in France.
1574 On the death of King Charles IX of France, he is succeeded by his brother King Henry of Poland, who becomes King Henry III of France. His mother, Catherine de Medici, acts as Regent until Henry arrives from Poland.
1575 The Fifth War of Religion erupts in France.
1576 Beginning of the Seventh War of Religion in France.
1582 December 9 of Julian calendar (Sunday) - France makes the next day Monday, December 20 of the Gregorian Calendar.
1583 Spanish admiral Santa Cruz defeats the Portuguese, French, and English off Terceira.
1588 Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is defeated by an English naval force under command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake off the coast of Gravelines, now in France.
1594 Henry IV is crowned King of France at Rheims.
1598 Peace of Vervins - End of war between France and Spain.
1603 Samuel de Champlain returns to France
1604 France begins settling Acadia, first successful French North American colony.
1604 France begins settling Acadia, first successful French North American colony.
1604 France begins settling French Guiana.
1607 Rule of Andorra is passed jointly to the king of France and the Bishop of Urgell.
1609 Samuel de Champlain claims the Lake Champlain area of Vermont for France.
1610 King of France expelled Muslims from his realm.
1613 A Locust swarm destroys La Camarque, France.
1614 The French Estates-General meets for the last time before the era of the French Revolution. In between, France will be governed as an absolute monarchy.
1615 First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
1625 Marriage of Charles I of England and Henrietta Wozniak, Princess of France and Navarra.
1635 Martinique is settled by France.
1637 France places a few missionaries in the Côte d'Ivoire, a country it would come to rule more than 200 years later.
1643 Austro-Bavarian army defeats French at Duttlingen.
1643 Baden-Baden pillaged by the French
1643 Battle of Rocroi: French victory over the Spanish at Rocroi, France.
1643 Battle of Rocroi: French victory over the Spanish at Rocroi, France.
1647 Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.
1648 France and Netherlands agree to divide the island of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin.
1649 King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. His widow Henrietta Maria resides in her native France.
1649 The Frondeurs (rebels) and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil.
1650 Jews allowed to return to France and England.
1658 France joins England in the war against Spain, which began in 1654. The Spanish were defeated at the Battle of the Dunes in June. England was then given Dunkirk for their assistance in the win.
1660 Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces.
1662 Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for £400.000 (or 2.5 million livres).
1667 The War of Devolution begins, France invades Flanders and Franche-Comté.
1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War ends: The Treaty of Breda ends the war. The treaty also recognizes Acadia as a French possession.
1672 England, France, Münster and Cologne invade the United Provinces, therefore this name is known as ´het rampjaar´ (the disaster year) in the Netherlands.
1672 French forces under king Louis XIV cross the Rhine to Netherlands
1673 France begins its expedition against Ceylon.
1673 French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet reach the headwaters of Mississippi River and descend to Arkansas
1676 In France, Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers is executed for poisoning his father and brothers. Case also scares the king Louis XIV to start a series of investigations about possible poisonings and witchcraft, later called the Poison affair
1677 Michel le Tellier becomes chancellor of France.
1677 French troops occupy Freiburg.
1680 Chambers of Reunion (French courts under Louis XIV): decide on complete annexation of Alsace
1681 France annexes the city of Strasbourg
1683 Dragonnades organized to harass Huguenots in France
1685 Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.
1687 The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.
1688 After a series of defeats King James II of England flees England for France.
1690 The French invade the small town of Teignmouth in Southwest England, in their last attack on England.
1695 Freezing winter in France - wine freezes in the glasses in Versailles
1702 The War of the Spanish Succession widens, as war is declared on France by the Grand Alliance.
1704 French and British fleets clash off Malaga, causing heavy casualties in both sides but without sinking any ships.
1709 Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24.000 Parisians die
1709 Battle of Malplaquet - Great Britain, Netherlands and Austria defeat France
1715 First of the major Jacobite Rebellions in Scotland against the rule of King George I. John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar raised the standard of James Francis Edward Stuart and marched on Edinburgh. James, the son of the deposed King James VII, briefly arrived from France, but left as it became clear that there was no support for him in England; he took Mar with him, but left most of his supporters behind. (December).
1717 January 4 — The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance
1718 Austria, Great Britain, and France declare war on Spain, launching the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
1719 France declares war on Spain
1727 Catholic Charities is founded in New Orleans, USA, by the French Ursuline Sisters.
1734 In Montreal in New France, a black slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique, was tortured then hanged by the French authorities in a public ceremony that involved her disgrace and the amputation of a hand.
1734 The War of the Polish Succession: Russian troops take Gdansk (German:Danzig) which had been besieged since October 1733. Gdansk is captured after the failure of a French expedition to relieve the city.
1736 Battle of Ackia: British and Chickasaw Native Americans defeat French troops.
1739 Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
1745 War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch
1755 French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition - British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat inflicted by French and Indian forces. During the battle, British General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded. Colonel George Washington survives.
1756 Seven Years' War: The Seven Years' War formally begins when England declares war on France.
1758 First European settlement in what is now Erie County by the French at the mouth of Buffalo Creek.
1758 Seven Years' War: Battle of Krefeld - Anglo-Hanoverian forces under Ferdinand of Brunswick defeat the French.
1760 Seven Years' War: French and Indian War: Cherokee natives allied with French forces attack a North Carolina militia stationed at Fort Dobbs in the western part of the provin The attack is repelled by the militia.
1761 British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
1763 The Treaty of Paris signed by Great Britain, France and Spain brings an end to the Seven Years' War (also called the French and Indian War in the United States and the War of the Conquest in Quebec)
1763 French and Indian War: The 1763 Treaty of Paris ends the war and France cedes Canada to Great Britain.
1770 Marie Antoinette arrives at the French court.
1770 Fireworks at the wedding of the crown prince of France in Paris cause a fire - 800 dead.
1774 Louis XVI becomes King of France.
1778 France introduced the first state-controlled brothel.
1778 American Revolutionary War: In Paris the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republi
1778 American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant - British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
1779 War of Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives a part of its territory that was taken from them (the Innviertel).
1783 The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their ''montgolfière'' (hot air balloon) in Annonay, France.
1784 Benjamin Franklin tries in vain to persuade the French to alter their clocks in winter to take advantage of the daylight
1785 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air.
1785 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air.
1789 In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time in 175 years.
1789 In France, representatives of the Third Estate at the Estates-General declare themselves the National Assembly.
1789 In France members of the Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism and abandon their privileges
1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man in France
1790 France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces, in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on noble ownership of land.
1792 France declares war against the Habsburgs.
1792 First experimental use of the guillotine in France.
1792 "La Marseillaise" (French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
1793 Roman Catholicism banned in France.
1793 Holy Roman Empire declares war on France.
1793 France declares war on Great Britain, the Netherlands (see French Revolutionary Wars)
1793 French troops are defeated by Austrian forces and Liège is recaptured
1793 Committee of Public Safety established in France with Georges Danton as its head.
1793 In France, the French National Convention votes to implement terror measures to repress French Revolutionary activities. The ensuing "Reign of Terror" will last until the spring of 1794 and causes death of 35,000-40,000 people.
1794 France occupies Aachen.
1794 Battle of Fleurus between French forces and those Austria.
1794 Battle of the Vosges between French forces and those of Prussia and Austria
1794 Battle of Aldenhoven between French forces and those Austria.
1795 French occupy Utrecht, Netherlands.
1795 France adopts the metre as the unit of length.
1795 French government announces that the heir to the French throne has died of illness - many doubt the statement.
1795 The Marseillaise officially adopted as the French national anthem.
1796 French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Bassano - French forces defeat Austrian troops at Bassano.
1796 French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Arcole - French forces defeat the Austrians in Italy.
1798 France annexes Geneva
1798 Quasi-War: The U.S. Congress rescinds treaties with France sparking the 'war.'
1799 In the Egyptian port city of Rosetta, French Captain Pierre Bouchard finds the Rosetta Stone.
1801 Aachen is officially annexed by France.
1801 First census in France.
1801 The Treaty of Lunéville ends the war (Second Coalition) between France and Austria.
1801 Second Battle of Abukir: a British army under Ralph Abercromby defeats the French troops.
1801 Battle of Algeciras: The French fleet beats the British fleet.
1802 Treaty of Amiens between France and United Kingdom ends the War of the Second Coalition.
1802 A general amnesty signed by Napoleon Bonaparte allowed all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France, as part of a reconciliary gesture to make peace with the various factions of the Ancien Regime that would ultimately consolidate his own rule.
1802 Napoleon Bonaparte establishes the French légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour).
1802 Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture is seized by French troops and sent to Fort de Joux for prison.
1802 The Italian region of Piedmont becomes a part of Napoleonic France.
1802 French army enters Switzerland.
1803 France - the Livre Tournois (Tours Pound) is replaced by the Franc.
1803 Louisiana Purchase made by the United States from France.
1803 The United Kingdom redeclares war on France after France refused to withdraw from Dutch territory.
1803 The convention of Artlenburg leads to the French occupation of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
1803 At the Cabildo building in New Orleans, Spanish representatives Governor Manuel de Salcedo and the Marqués de Casa Calvo, officially transfer Louisiana Territory to French representative Prefect Pierre Clément de Laussat (just 20 days later, France had transferred the same land to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase).
1804 End of French rule in Haiti. Haiti gains independence from France and becomes the first black republic and have the only successful slave revolt ever.
1804 End of French rule in Haiti. Haiti gains independence from France and becomes the first black republic and have the only successful slave revolt ever.
1804 Louisiana Purchase: In St. Louis, a formal ceremony is conducted to transfer ownership of Louisiana Territory from France to the United States.
1804 Code Napoleon adopted as French civil law.
1805 Sweden declares war on France
1805 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar - British naval fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain. Admiral Nelson is fatally shot
1806 Battle of Maida between England and France in Calabria.
1806 Prussia declares war on France, and is joined by Saxony and other minor German states.
1806 French forces enter Berlin.
1806 The last major Prussian field force, under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, surrenders to the French near Lübeck. The king of Prussia has by this time fled to Russia.
1807 Battle of Abrantes - The French under Junot take the town.
1807 French forces capture Danzig after a six week siege.
1808 Russia issues an ultimatum to Sweden, to join France, Denmark and Russia and attacks Finland.
1809 Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna.
1809 Franz I of Austria declares war on France
1809 Tyroleans rise against French and Bavarian occupation - they include militia lead by Andreas Hofer.
1809 Treaty of Schoenbrunn cedes Illyrian provinces to France
1812 Peninsular War: Battle of Salamanca - British forces led by Lord Wellington defeat French troops near Salamanca in Spain.
1812 Napoleonic Wars - Battle of Maloyaroslavets - an indecisive encounter between the French vanguard and a Russian force leads Napoleon to decide to retreat along the same line as his advance, with disastrous results.
1813 Russian troops reach and take Berlin without a fight after the French garrison evacuated the city.
1814 French army of Emperor Napoleon I wins the Battle of Brienne.
1814 Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France.
1814 Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian hands.
1814 The First Treaty of Paris is signed returning France's borders to their 1792 extent. Napoleon I of France is exiled to Elba on the same day.
1815 Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.
1815 Napoleon abdicates again, restoration of Louis XVIII as King of France
1815 In France, Napoleon surrenders at Rochefort to British forces.
1816 In France, René Laennec (1781-1826) invents the stethoscope.
1816 The French passenger ship ''Medusa'' runs aground off the coast of Senegal, with 140 lives lost in the botched rescue that takes weeks, leading to a scandal in the French government.
1824 Charles X succeeds Louis XVIII as King of France.
1827 Ottoman Algeria: Husain Dei slaps the French consul Decalina on the face - eventually leading to war and French rule in Algeria.
1827 Greek War of Independence: Treaty of London between France, Britain, and Russia, to demand that the Turks agree to an armistice in Greece.
1829 Greece receives autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. This effectively ends the Greek War of Independence. Greece continues to seek full independence through diplomatic negotiations with the Empire as well as with Russia, France and Britain.
1830 Greece gains full independence from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence. Negotiations for the borders between the two states continue until 1832, under the supervision of Russia, France and Britain.
1830 Barthélemy Thimonnier is granted a patent (#7454) for a sewing machine in France. It chains stitches at 200/minute.
1830 France: Louis Philippe becomes King of the French.
1831 Dutch invasion of Belgium. It is repelled by a French army (ten-day campaign).
1832 Battle of Antwerp: The last remaining Dutch enforcement, the citadel, is under French attack.
1839 Abd al-Kader declares a jihad against the French.
1840 Adolphe Thiers becomes prime minister of France.
1847 Abd al-Kader is captured and imprisoned by the French.
1848 Radicals invade the French Chamber of deputies.
1848 Mathieu Luis, first black member joins the French parliament as a representative of Guadaloupe.
1849 France issues Ceres, France's first postage stamp.
1851 Victor Hugo gives speech at the French national assembly and uses the phrase United States of Europe several times
1851 Serial poisoner Helene Jegado is arrested in Rennes, France
1854 France declares war on Russia.
1854 In the battle of Guaymas, Mexico, General Jose Maria Yanez stops the French invasion led by Count Gaston de Raousset Boulbon.
1857 France and the United Kingdom declare war on China in the Second Opium War
1859 French amateur astronomer claims to have noticed a planet closer to the Sun than Mercury - later named Vulcan
1860 Savoy and Nice are annexed into France.
1860 Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire form a commission to investigate causes of clashes between Maronites and Druzes in Lebanon earlier in the year.
1860 The British general Lord Elgin - with protestations from the French - ordered his forces to set fire to the huge complex of Beijing's Old Summer Palace, known as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness, which burned to the ground. It took 3,500 British troops to set the entire place ablaze and took three days to burn. Elgin justified the order as retaliation for the imprisonment, torture, and murder of several western prisoners of war, among them two British envoys who had been under protection of a flag of tru The burning of the Gardens of Perfect Brightness is still a very sensitive issue in China today.
1862 French and British forces arrive in Mexico, beginning the French intervention in Mexico
1862 Battle of Puebla, Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza defeats the French Army; commemorated as the Cinco de Mayo.
1870 The ''Ems Dispatch'' serves as a reason for a war between Prussia and France
1870 Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
1870 Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan - Prussian forces defeat the French armies and take emperor Napoleon III and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner at Sedan.
1871 France surrenders to end the Franco-Prussian War
1873 German troops leave France upon completion of payment of indemnity for Franco-Prussian War.
1880 France annexes Tahiti.
1881 In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
1882 March 28 Republican Jules Ferry makes primary education in France free, non-clerical (laique) and obligatory.
1891 Nine killed and thirty wounded when troops fire on workers' May Day demonstration in support of eight-hour workday in Fourmies, France.
1891 France and Russia conclude defensive allian
1892 French troops occupy Abomey, capital of kingdom of Dahomey.
1893 France conquers Laos.
1893 Côte d'Ivoire becomes a French colony
1893 First car number plates in Paris, France
1894 Meteor shower in Southern France
1894 Dahomey becomes French colony
1895 Dreyfus Affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
1896 France establishes an administrative post in Abengourou, Côte d'Ivoire.
1897 France allows women to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
1898 Emile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse" which was a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully placing Alfred Dreyfus in jail.
1899 The French Bretonnet-Braun mission is destroyed in the battle of Togbao, in Chad, by the warlord Rabih az-Zubayr.
1902 France, Loisy's ''L'évangile et l'Eglise'' which inaugurates the Modernist Crisis
1904 Entente Cordiale signed between the UK and France.
1905 70 Onion Johnnies die when the steamer ''Hilda'' sinks off France.
1906 Explosion in coal mine in Courrières, France kills 1060.
1906 Aeroplane of Alberto Santos-Dumont takes off on Bagatelle in France and flies 60 meters (200 feet).
1908 A 40,000-year-old Neandertal boy skeleton is found at Le Moustier in southwest France.
1910 Demonstrations in France against public executions.
1910 fire at World Exhibition in Brussels destroys exhibitions of Britain and France.
1911 In France the Champagne Riots, in which growers disputed the precise limits of the Champagne region.
1911 Diaz signs his resignation and leaves for Veracruz. May 31 he leaves for exile in France
1911 French poet Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and put in jail on suspicion of stealing the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre museum. He is later released.
1912 France establishes a protectorate over Morocco.
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1913 700 feet above Buc, France, parachutist Adolphe Pegond becomes the first person to jump from an airplane and land safely.
1914 Germany declares war on Russia's ally France.
1914 London Agreement - no member of Triple Entente (Britain, France, or Russia) may seek a separate peace with Central Powers.
1914 World War I: First Battle of the Marne begins - Northeast of Paris, the French 6th Army under General Michel-Joseph Maunoury attack German forces who are advancing on the capital. Over 2 million troops will fight in the battle and 500,000 will be killed or wounded in this significant Allied victory.
1914 Britain and France declare war on Turkey.
1914 The United Kingdom annexes Cyprus, and together with France declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
1915 Britain, France and Russia agree to give Constantinople and the Bosporus to Russia in case of victory (the treaty is later nullified by the Bolshevik revolution)
1915 World War I: Second Battle of Artois - German and French forces fight.
1916 World War I: In France the Battle of Verdun begins.
1916 World War I: First Battle of the Somme ends - In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle which started on July 1, 1916.
1917 Over 30.000 French troops refuse to go to the trenches in Missy-aux-Bois.
1917 French infantry regiment seizes Missy-aux-Bois and declares anti-war military government. French army soon apprehend them.
1917 French infantry regiment seizes Missy-aux-Bois and declares anti-war military government. French army soon apprehend them.
1917 Georges Clemenceau becomes prime minister of France
1918 October 8 — World War I — In the Argonne Forest in France, US Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German soldiers and captures 132.
1918 November 11 — World War I ends: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside of Compiègne in France.
1919 January 18 — World War I: A peace conference opens in Versailles, France.
1920 France prohibits selling of contraceptives.
1920 France occupies Memel.
1920 French president Paul Deschanel falls out of a train and is later found wandering along the railroad track, wearing pajamas.
1920 United Kingdom and France ratify the border between French-held Syria and British-held Palestine.
1921 In the Four Power Treaty on Insular Possessions Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, and France agree to recognize the status quo in the Pacifi
1922 Five Power Naval Disarmament Treaty signed between United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy
1923 Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to pay its reparation payments
1924 The 1924 Winter Olympics open in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
1927 Leon Daudet, leader of French monarchists, is arrested in France
1929 First issue of ''Annales d'histoire économique et sociale'' published in France by Armand Colin.
1930 One-year conscription comes into force in France
1931 Paul Doumer elected president of France
1931 Yacht ''St Philiebert'' sinks in river Loire in France - over 500 drown
1933 Edouard Daladier forms a government in France.
1933 Train crash in Lagny, France - over 200 dead
1934 Abidjan becomes the capital of the French colony of Côte d'Ivoire.
1935 Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French foreign minister Pierre Laval conclude agreement in which each power undertakes not to oppose the other's colonial claims
1937 General strike in Paris, France
1937 Coalition government of Léon Blum resigns in France.
1939 United Kingdom and France recognize Franco's government
1939 World War II: France, Australia and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany.
1940 World War II: Axis powers - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
1940 World War II: Battle of France begin - German forces invaded France and Low Countries.
1940 Marshal Henri Petain named vice-premier of France.
1940 General Maxime Weygand replaces Maurice Gamelin as commander-in-chief of all French forces.
1940 World War II: Dunkirk evacuation ends - British forces complete evacuating 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in France.
1940 World War II: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
1940 World War II: 13,000 British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux.
1940 Henri Petain becomes Prime Minister of France and immediately asks Germany for peace terms.
1940 World War II: Operation Ariel begins - Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
1940 World War II: Luftwaffe Junkers 88 bomber sinks British ship ''RMS Lancastria'', that was evacuating troops from near Saint-Nazaire, France. Death toll is over 2500. Wartime censorship prevents the story going publi
1940 World War II: France and Germany sign armistice at Compiegne in the same wagon-lit railroad car used by Marshal Ferdinand Foch to accept the surrender of Germany in 1918.
1940 World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler surveys newly defeated Paris in now occupied France.
1940 World War II: France signs armistice terms with Italy.
1940 French children discover Lascaux caves.
1941 World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
1941 World War II: France - German Occupation Authority announces that anyone found either working for or aiding the Free French will be sentenced to death.
1941 World War II: France - Pierre Laval is shot in an assassination attempt at Versailles.
1941 Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan. United States seizes French ship Normandie.
1942 Andrée Borrel and Lise de Baissac became the first female SOE agents to be parachuted into occupied France.
1943 Lebanon gains independence from France.
1944 The BBC transmits a coded message (the first line of a poem by Paul Verlaine) to underground resistance fighters in France warning that the invasion of Europe is imminent.
1944 The provisional French government is established.
1944 Battle of Normandy begins - ''Operation Overlord'', code named D-Day, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history. It also weakens Nazi Germany hold on Europe.
1944 642 men, women and children are killed in the Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre in France.
1944 World's first undersea oil pipeline laid, between England and France in Operation Pluto
1944 Operation Dragoon lands Allies in southern France. U.S. Army 45th Infantry Division participates in its fourth assault landing at St. Maxime, spearheading the drive for the Belfort Gap.
1944 Royal Canadian Air Force pilots shoot down the first German jet fighter over France.
1945 World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document will take effect the next day.
1945 Women's suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.
1946 Eva Perón tours Spain, Italy and France on behalf of Argentina, a circuit called the Rainbow Tour.
1946 Charles de Gaulle resigns as a head of a French provisional government
1946 Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
1946 French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France
1946 Syria's independence from France is officially recognised
1946 France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
1946 France's Fourth Republic founded
1947 Inauguration of Vincent Auriol as a president of France
1947 When the French government lowers the bread ration to 200 grams, it causes riots in Verdun and Le Mans
1947 French interior minister Jules Moch secures emergency measures against riots after six days of violent arguments in the national assembly
1950 President Harry Truman sends United States military personnel to Vietnam to aid French forces.
1950 France institutes a government guaranteed minimum wage
1950 Two Vietcong battalions attack a French base in Indochina
1951 René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France
1953 First meeting of the assembly of the European Economic Community in Strasbourg, France
1953 4 million workers go on strike in France to protest austerity measures
1953 French government oust the sultan of Morocco and exiles him to Corsica
1953 General strike ends in France
1953 Cambodia becomes independent from France.
1954 The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at the Berlin Conference.
1954 Vietnam War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat (the battle began on March 13).
1954 Pierre Mendès-France becomes prime minister of France
1954 Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
1956 Morocco declares its independence from France.
1956 Tunisia gains independence from France.
1956 Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
1956 Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately.
1957 France prohibits UN involvement in Algeria.
1958 Charles De Gaulle is brought out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months
1958 In France, a majority of 79% says yes to the constitution of the Fifth Republic.
1958 Guinea declares itself independent from France
1958 Gaullists win parliamentary elections in France
1958 Central African Republic becomes independent from France.
1958 General Charles de Gaulle is elected president of France with 78.5% of the votes.
1959 Malpasset dam in southern France collapses and water flows over the town of Frejus - 412 dead.
1960 February 13 — Nuclear testing: France tests its first atomic bomb in the Sahara.
1960 April 27 — Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship.
1960 June 20 — The Mali Federation between Senegal and Sudanese Republic (now Mali) gains independence from France.
1960 August 5 — Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) declares independence from France.
1960 August 17 — Gabon gains independence from France.
1960 November 28 — Mauritania becomes independent of France.
1960 December 27 — France sets off its third nuclear test blast at its atomic proving grounds at Reggane, Algeria.
1960 In France, President Charles de Gaulle fires Jacques Massun, commander-in-chief for the French troops in Algeria.
1960 ''Tom Pillibi'' by Jacqueline Boyer (music by André Popp, text by Pierre Cour) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 for France.
1961 In France, a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria.
1961 In France, rebel generals Maurice Challe and Andre Zelelr are sentenced to 15 years in prison.
1961 Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev requests asylum in France while in Paris with the Kirov Ballet.
1961 In France, OAS slips an anti-de Gaulle message into TV programming.
1962 The OAS bombs the French Foreign Ministry.
1962 France and Algeria sign an agreement in Evian ending the Algerian War. See Évian Accords.
1962 ''Un premier amour'' by Isabelle Aubret (music by Claude-Henri Vic, text by Roland Stephane Valade) wins Eurovision Song Contest 1962 for France.
1962 In France, the Évian Accords are adopted in a referendum with a majority of 90%.
1962 Founder of the French terrorist Organisation armée secrète, Raoul Salan, is sentenced to life imprisonment in France.
1962 Algeria becomes independent from France.
1962 France and Tunisia reestablish diplomatic relations.
1962 A referendum in France favours the election of the president by universal suffrage.
1963 The Elysée Treaty is signed between France and Germany.
1964 France and the People's Republic of China announce their decision to establish diplomatic relations.
1965 Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy completed.
1965 At the Hammaguira launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, ''Asterix-1'' on board, becoming the third country to enter space.
1966 Fire breaks out due to a gas leak, at the Feyzin oil refinery near Lyon, France - 18 dead, 84 injured.
1966 Charles De Gaulle asks U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson for negotiations about the state of NATO equipment in France.
1966 France formally leaves NATO.
1966 France offers independence to French Somaliland.
1966 France and the Soviet Union sign a treaty for cooperation in nuclear research.
1967 During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: ''Vive le Québec libre!'' (Long live free Quebec!). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delights many Quebecers but angers the Canadian government and many English Canadians.
1967 The Concorde is unveiled in Toulouse, France.
1968 May -'' "May of 68"'' is a symbol of the resistance of that generation. Agitations and strikes in Paris leads many young to believe that a revolution is starting. Student and worker strikes, sometimes referred to as the French May, nearly bring down the French government.
1969 In Toulouse, France the first Concorde test flight is conducted.
1969 General de Gaulle steps down as president of France after having suffered a defeat in a referendum the day before.
1969 Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, U.S. representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail since both side are unable to agree to any terms.
1970 Fire destroys the Le Cinq Sept dance hall in St. Laurent Du Pont, France – 144 dead.
1973 France resumes nuclear bomb tests in Mururoa Atoll, over the protests of Australia and New Zealand.
1974 Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
1974 In the second round of the presidential elections in France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing wins over François Mitterrand, but by a close margin.
1975 The Comoros declare their independence from France.
1975 The French department of Corse, comprising the entire island of Corsica, is divided into two departments: Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud.
1977 German Autumn: Kidnapped industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer is found killed in Mulhouse, France.
1978 Film director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
1979 A car bomb destroys a Renault owned by "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.
1979 A tsunami in Nice, France kills 23 people.
1981 In the second round of the presidential elections in France, François Mitterrand beats Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
1981 In France, Socialist François Mitterrand becomes President.
1981 France abolishes capital punishment.
1983 Two bombs explode in France. One on the Paris train kills 3 and injures 19. The other at Marseille station kills 2 and injures 34.
1986 The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.
1988 Abortion: 48 hours after announcing it was abandoning RU-486, French manufacturer Roussel Uclaf states that it would resume distribution of the drug, bowing to pressure from the government of France.
1988 Abortion: 48 hours after announcing it was abandoning RU-486, French manufacturer Roussel Uclaf states that it would resume distribution of the drug, bowing to pressure from the government of France.
1989 The wreck of the German battleship ''Bismarck'', which was sunk in 1941, is located 600 miles west of Brest, France.
1990 Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 meters beneath the English Channel seabed, establishing the first ground connection between the United Kingdom and the mainland of Europe since the last Ice Age.
1991 Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
1991 Édith Cresson becomes France's first female premier.
1992 The Folies Bergere music hall in Paris, France closes.
1993 Gaullists win legislative election in France and Édouard Balladur becomes prime minister of Fran
1993 Former prime minister of France Pierre Bérégovoy commits suicide.
1994 The Channel Tunnel, which took 15,000 workers over seven years to complete, opens between England and France. Passengers can now travel between the two countries in 35 minutes.
1995 Summer - Iraq disarmament crisis: According to UNSCOM, the unity of the UN Security Council begins to fray, as a few countries, particularly France and Russia, are starting to become increasingly more interested in making financial deals with Iraq than disarming the country.
1995 Jacques Chirac is elected president of France.
1995 Jacques Chirac assumes the presidency of France.
1995 France launches a counter-coup in the Comoros with 600 soldiers. They arrest Bob Denard and his mercenaries and take Denard to Fran Caabi el-Yachroutu becomes the new interim president.
1997 It is revealed that French museums had nearly 2,000 pieces of art that were stolen by Nazis.
1997 France supports the new transitional government in Zaire, withdrawing its support of Mobutu.
1997 In France, striking truck drivers blockade ports during a pay dispute.
1998 Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council members France, Germany and Russia call for sanctions to end against Iraq. The 3 Security Council members also call for UNSCOM to either be disbanded or for its role to be recast. The U.S. says it will veto any such proposal
2000 France beat Italy 2-1 to win the 2000 European Football Championship with a golden goal.
2002 France agrees to return the remains of Saartjie Baartman to South Africa.
2003 The Group of Eight summit opens in Evian, France, to tight security and tens of thousands of protestors.
2003 Corsica voters reject a referendum for increased autonomy for the region from France by a very narrow margin.
2003 At the request of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the French Government orders Air France to cancel several flights between France and the U.S. in response to terrorist concerns.
2004 In France, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in regional elections.
2004 Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.
2004 The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
2004 Software giants Oracle Corporation and PeopleSoft agree to merge in a $10.3 billion deal, creating the second largest maker of business applications software.
in France.]]
2004 The world's tallest bridge, the Millau bridge over the River Tarn in the Massif Central mountains, France, is opened by President Jacques Chirac.
2005 Two teenagers accidentally electrocute themselves in Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France, leading to widespread rioting.
2005 French President Jacques Chirac declares a state of emergency on the 12th day of the French civil unrest (see 2005 civil unrest in France).
2005 Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant.
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