Western Europe · FRA

France

The story · 14 chapters

How it was drawn

Celtic Gaul became a Roman province, then a Frankish kingdom, then a royal domain that grew county by county for eight hundred years until it filled the hexagon.

Play the story Take the first lesson

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states France fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Republic121 BC to 50 BC
Rome annexed southern Gaul around 121 BC, and Julius Caesar conquered the rest from 58 BC. The Arverni chief Vercingetorix united the Gauls against him in 52 BC and beat him at Gergovia, but surrendered after the siege of Alesia.
Umayyad Caliphate719 to 759
Arab and Berber armies from Spain took Narbonne around 719 and raided deep into Gaul. Charles Martel defeated one army between Tours and Poitiers in 732, and the Franks recaptured Narbonne in 759.
Vikings799 to 911
Viking fleets sailed up the Seine and the Loire, sacking Paris in 845 and besieging it in 885 and 886. In 911 King Charles the Simple granted land around Rouen to the Viking leader Rollo, the origin of Normandy.
Angevin Empire1154 to 1214
Henry II, Count of Anjou and King of England, held more of France than the French king. Philip Augustus took Normandy from King John in 1204 and beat his allies at Bouvines in 1214, breaking the Angevin empire on the continent.
Kingdom of England1337 to 1453
English kings claimed the French throne and won at Crecy in 1346, Poitiers in 1356 and Agincourt in 1415. Joan of Arc turned the tide at Orleans in 1429, and the French victory at Castillon in 1453 ended the war.
Duchy of Burgundy1465 to 1477
The Valois dukes of Burgundy, cousins of the kings, built a rich state stretching to Flanders and often sided with England. Louis XI fought Duke Charles the Bold, who was killed at Nancy in 1477, and took the duchy of Burgundy for the crown.
Habsburg Spain1494 to 1659
France fought the Habsburgs of Spain and Austria for a century and a half, first in Italy, where Francis I was captured at Pavia in 1525, then in the Thirty Years' War. The Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 sealed France's gains.
Kingdom of Great Britain1689 to 1815
From 1689 France and Britain fought a series of wars for power in Europe and overseas. France lost Canada and most of its Indian posts in the Seven Years' War, ended in 1763, then backed American independence. The rivalry ended with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815.
Russian Empire1805 to 1856
Napoleon beat the Russians at Austerlitz in 1805, but his invasion of Russia in 1812 ended in a disastrous retreat from Moscow, and Russian troops entered Paris in 1814. France fought Russia again in the Crimean War, taking Sevastopol in 1855.
Prussia and the German Empire1870 to 1918
Prussia and its German allies crushed France in 1870 and 1871, annexing Alsace and part of Lorraine. In the First World War the two fought again along the western front, at the Marne in 1914 and Verdun in 1916, until Germany's defeat in 1918.
Nazi Germany1939 to 1945
France declared war on Germany in September 1939 after the invasion of Poland. German forces broke through the Ardennes in May 1940, and France signed an armistice in June. Allied landings in Normandy and Provence liberated it in 1944.
Algerian National Liberation Front1954 to 1962
The FLN began an armed revolt on 1 November 1954 against French rule in Algeria, which France treated as part of its own territory. The war brought down the Fourth Republic in 1958 and ended with the Evian Accords and Algerian independence in 1962.
Union of the ComorosSince 1975Still open
When the Comoros became independent in 1975, the island of Mayotte voted to stay French. The Comoros still claim it, as several UN General Assembly resolutions have, but France made Mayotte a department in 2011.

Today

France now

France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. It plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-7, the G-20, the EU, and other multilateral organizations. France rejoined NATO's integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing then President Charles DE GAULLE's 1966 decision to withdraw French forces from NATO.

Capital: Paris
Government: semi-presidential republic
Head of government: Sébastien Lecornu
Head of state: Emmanuel Macron
Languages: French
Area: 606,410 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population66.4 million2023 · 41.9 million in 1950
Life expectancy83.3 years2023 · 66.4 years in 1950
GDP per person$39,0652022 · $8,266 in 1950
Living in cities79%2025 · 55% in 1950
Literacy97%1950
Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950
Military spending2.0% of GDP2025 · 4.7% of GDP in 1950
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United Kingdom
United States
Belgium
Luxembourg
Netherlands

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states France fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Republic121 BC to 50 BC

Rome annexed southern Gaul around 121 BC, and Julius Caesar conquered the rest from 58 BC. The Arverni chief Vercingetorix united the Gauls against him in 52 BC and beat him at Gergovia, but surrendered after the siege of Alesia.

Umayyad Caliphate719 to 759

Arab and Berber armies from Spain took Narbonne around 719 and raided deep into Gaul. Charles Martel defeated one army between Tours and Poitiers in 732, and the Franks recaptured Narbonne in 759.

Vikings799 to 911

Viking fleets sailed up the Seine and the Loire, sacking Paris in 845 and besieging it in 885 and 886. In 911 King Charles the Simple granted land around Rouen to the Viking leader Rollo, the origin of Normandy.

Angevin Empire1154 to 1214

Henry II, Count of Anjou and King of England, held more of France than the French king. Philip Augustus took Normandy from King John in 1204 and beat his allies at Bouvines in 1214, breaking the Angevin empire on the continent.

Kingdom of England1337 to 1453

English kings claimed the French throne and won at Crecy in 1346, Poitiers in 1356 and Agincourt in 1415. Joan of Arc turned the tide at Orleans in 1429, and the French victory at Castillon in 1453 ended the war.

Duchy of Burgundy1465 to 1477

The Valois dukes of Burgundy, cousins of the kings, built a rich state stretching to Flanders and often sided with England. Louis XI fought Duke Charles the Bold, who was killed at Nancy in 1477, and took the duchy of Burgundy for the crown.

Habsburg Spain1494 to 1659

France fought the Habsburgs of Spain and Austria for a century and a half, first in Italy, where Francis I was captured at Pavia in 1525, then in the Thirty Years' War. The Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 sealed France's gains.

Kingdom of Great Britain1689 to 1815

From 1689 France and Britain fought a series of wars for power in Europe and overseas. France lost Canada and most of its Indian posts in the Seven Years' War, ended in 1763, then backed American independence. The rivalry ended with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

Russian Empire1805 to 1856

Napoleon beat the Russians at Austerlitz in 1805, but his invasion of Russia in 1812 ended in a disastrous retreat from Moscow, and Russian troops entered Paris in 1814. France fought Russia again in the Crimean War, taking Sevastopol in 1855.

Prussia and the German Empire1870 to 1918

Prussia and its German allies crushed France in 1870 and 1871, annexing Alsace and part of Lorraine. In the First World War the two fought again along the western front, at the Marne in 1914 and Verdun in 1916, until Germany's defeat in 1918.

Nazi Germany1939 to 1945

France declared war on Germany in September 1939 after the invasion of Poland. German forces broke through the Ardennes in May 1940, and France signed an armistice in June. Allied landings in Normandy and Provence liberated it in 1944.

Algerian National Liberation Front1954 to 1962

The FLN began an armed revolt on 1 November 1954 against French rule in Algeria, which France treated as part of its own territory. The war brought down the Fourth Republic in 1958 and ended with the Evian Accords and Algerian independence in 1962.

Union of the ComorosSince 1975Still open

When the Comoros became independent in 1975, the island of Mayotte voted to stay French. The Comoros still claim it, as several UN General Assembly resolutions have, but France made Mayotte a department in 2011.

France now

Capital

Paris

Government

semi-presidential republic

Head of government

Sébastien Lecornu

Head of state

Emmanuel Macron

Languages

French

Area

606,410 km²

Then and now

Population66.4 million2023 · 41.9 million in 1950

Life expectancy83.3 years2023 · 66.4 years in 1950

GDP per person$39,0652022 · $8,266 in 1950

Living in cities79%2025 · 55% in 1950

Literacy97%1950

Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950

Military spending2.0% of GDP2025 · 4.7% of GDP in 1950

War deathsNone2025