Charles Martel crushes the Umayyad Caliphate at the Battle of Tours

Charlemagne is proclaimed a King of the Franks

French troops defeat the English at the Battle of Castillon, the last battle of the Hundred Years' War

Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre results in death of thousands of Huguenots

Henry IV issues the Edict of Nantes

The Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War

Louis XIV dies

The Directory wins control over the National Convention

Napoleon suffers defeat at the Battle of Waterloo

Louis-Napoleon becomes president of the Second Republic

Victor Hugo writes monumental work, Les Misérables

The Treaty of Versailles is signed, effectively ending World War I

An Allied invasion of Normandy Beach leads to French liberation

Camille Saint-Saëns composes The Carnival of the Animals

Charles De Gaulle resigns as provisional president

Algeria gains independence from France

Francois Hollande is elected the new president of France

France joins the European Coal and Steel Community

Student revolts in France lead to a national strike

The Euro is introduced in France after more than 600 years of using the franc

Vichy France is handed over to Henri Pétain

France hosts its first Winter Olympics in Chamonix

A hunting lodge built by Louis XIII becomes the foundation for the Palace of Versailles

Hugh Capet becomes the first Capetian King of the Franks

The 'French Championships' is born; this is the foundation for the French Open

France hosts and wins the FIFA World Cup