Timeline of French history

This is a timeline of French history. To read about the background to these events, see History of France. See also the list of Frankish kings, French monarchs, and presidents of the French Republic and the list of years in France.

This timeline is incomplete; some important events may be missing. Please help add to it.

1st century BC

Year	Date	Event
58 BC		Gallic Wars: Roman proconsul Julius Caesar begins the military invasion of Gaul.
52 BC	September	Gallic Wars – Battle of Alesia: victory of the Romans over the Gauls led by Vercingetorix marking the turning point of the Gallic Wars in favour of Rome. Gaul will subsequently become a province of the Roman Republic.

3rd century

Year	Date	Event
260		Foundation of the Gallic Empire by Postumus, comprising Gaul, Hispania, Germania and Britannia which separated from the Roman Empire following the crisis of the Third Century.
274		Battle of Châlons: victory of the Roman empire over the Gallic Empire. The rebel state was reintegrated into the Roman Empire.
297		The Salian Franks were allowed to settle on the territory of the Batavians.

5th century

Year	Date	Event
418		Honorius gave land in Gallia Aquitania to his Visigoth federates in which to settle, forming the nucleus of the future Visigothic Kingdom under king Wallia and then his son and heir Theodoric I.
426		Clodio, the earliest recorded king lord of the Salian Franks, began his reign.
448		Clodio died. He was succeeded by Merovech.
451	June 20	Battle of Châlons: Romans, Visigoths under Theodoric I and their allies (including the Franks) definitively stop further Hunnic invasion in Gaul. Theodoric I died during the battle, he was succeeded by his son Thorismund who also had a decisive role during the battle.
453		Thorismund was murdered by his younger brother Theodoric II who succeeded him in the throne of the Visigothic Kingdom.
457		Merovech died. His son Childeric I succeeded him as king.
		The Domain of Soissons, last Roman province of Gaul, was created with Aegidius as magister militum of the rump state.
462		Roman territory of Septimania was ceded to the Visigothic Kingdom.
463		Aegidius and Childeric I defeated the invading Visigoths in Orléans.
464		Aegidius died. His son Syagrius succeeded him as magister militum of the Domain of Soissons.
465		Childeric I died. His son Clovis I succeeded him.
466		Theodoric II was murdered and succeeded by his younger brother Euric as king of the Visigoths, declaring total independence from roman influence and extending during his reign the Visigothic kingdom to most of the Iberian Peninsula.
485		Euric died and was succeeded by his son Alaric II as king of the Visigoths.
486		Battle of Soissons (486): A Frankish army under Clovis I defeated Syagrius and conquered the Domain of Soissons. Syagrius sought refuge in Alaric II's kingdom, but was later handed back to Clovis and beheaded.

6th century

Year	Date	Event
507		Battle of Vouillé: Clovis defeated a Visigoth army under Alaric II, and conquered Gallia Aquitania, thus forming the basis of modern-day France.
511	November 27	Clovis died. His kingdom was divided among his four sons; the territory with its seat at Paris went to Childebert I, the kingdom of Soissons went to Chlothar I, the kingdom of Orléans went to Chlodomer, and the kingdom of Rheims (Austrasia) went to Theuderic I.
524	June 25	Battle of Vézeronce: The united armies of Clovis' sons inflicted a serious defeat on the Burgundian king Godomar. Chlodomer, the king of Orléans, was killed in battle.
		Chlothar I, the king of Neustria, had two of Chlodomer's sons killed and forced the third into hiding thus inheriting his kingdom.
534		Theuderic I died, his son Theudebert I succeeded him as king of Austrasia.
547		Theudebert I died, his son Theudebald succeeded him as king of Austrasia.
555		Theudebald died, his realm passed to his great-uncle Chlothar I.
558	December 13	Childebert I died. His brother Chlothar I inherited his territory, thus becoming sole King of the Franks and reuniting Clovis' kingdom.
561	November 29	Chlothar I died. Again, the kingdom was divided among his four sons; Paris went to Charibert I, Burgundy to Guntram, Austrasia to Sigebert I, Soissons to Chilperic I.
567	November or December	Charibert I, king of Paris, died. With no heir, his realm was partitioned among his brothers.
575		Sigebert I of Austrasia died, his son, Childebert II, inherited his kingdom.
584	September	Chilperic I of Soissons (Neustria) was assassinated before the birth of his son Chlothar II. His wife Fredegund became regent.
592	January 28	Guntram of Burgundy died, his realm was passed on to Childebert II who was his adoptive son.
592	December 8	Fredegund died so the 13 year old Chlothar II started his reign as King of Neustria.
595		Childebert II died, his kingdom was divided between his two sons. The kingdom of Austrasia went to Theudebert II, the kingdom of Burgundy to Theuderic II.

7th century

Year	Date	Event
612		Theudebert II, the king of Austrasia, was assassinated. His realm went to his brother Theuderic II, king of Burgundy.
613		Theuderic II died. His bastard son Sigebert II briefly inherited his kingdom.
		Sigebert II, the king of Burgundy and Austrasia, was executed by Chlothar II, who inherited his kingdoms thus becoming sole king of the Franks.
623		Chlothar II gave Austrasia its independence under the kingship of his son, Dagobert I.
629		Chlothar II died. Under an agreement forged after his death, Dagobert I succeeded him as king of Neustria but ceded what would become Aquitaine to his brother, Charibert II.
632	April 8	Charibert II died, possibly in an assassination ordered by his brother Dagobert I. His infant son Chilperic succeeded him as king of Aquitaine.
		Chilperic was also killed. Dagobert I reacquired Aquitaine and became sole king of the Franks.
639	January 19	Dagobert I died. Austrasia went to his son Sigebert III, and the Kingdom of Neustria and Burgundy to Clovis II. Both of these new kings are considered early rois fainéants.
655		Clovis II died. He was succeeded by his son Chlothar III (roi fainéant).
656	February 1	Sigebert III died. He was succeeded by Childebert the Adopted.
661		Childebert the Adopted died. Chlothar III annexed his kingdom, and became sole king of the Franks.
661		Chlothar III died. His kingdom was divided between his two younger brothers; Austrasia to Childeric II, and Neustria to Theuderic III (roi fainéant).
673		Childeric II annexed Theuderic III's kingdom, and became sole king of the Franks.
675		Childeric II died. Theuderic III inherited Neustria, Clovis III (roi fainéant) inherited Austrasia.
676		Clovis III died. Theuderic III inherited his kingdom, becoming sole king of the Franks.
691		Theuderic III died. He was succeeded by his son Clovis IV (roi fainéant).
695		Clovis IV died. He was succeeded by his brother Childebert III.

8th century

Year	Date	Event
711	April 23	Childebert died. He was succeeded by his son Dagobert III.
715		Dagobert died. He was succeeded by Chilperic II, the youngest son of Childeric II.
721	February 13	Chilperic died. He was succeeded by Theuderic IV, Dagobert III's son.
732	October 10	Battle of Tours: Frankish and Burgundian soldiers under the Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel inflicted a significant defeat on the invading armies of the Umayyad Caliphate.
737		Theuderic died. Charles Martel was prevented succession.
741	October 22	Charles Martel died and his realm was divided between his two sons, Pepin the Short and Carloman, acting as Mayors of the Palace.
743		Childeric III was finally proclaimed king of the Franks thanks to Pepin the Short's influence, after the throne was vacant for 7 years.
747	August 15	Carloman renounced his position as Mayor of the Palace and withdrew to monastic life, his realm was given to his brother, Pepin the Short.
751		Childeric III was dethroned as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty, Pepin the Short was later crowned king of the Franks, thus starting the rule of the Carolingian dynasty.
768	September 24	Pepin the Short died.
	October 9	Charlemagne and Carloman I were proclaimed Kings of the Franks after their father's death. Each brother obtained half of their father's kingdom.
771	December 4	Carloman I died, Charlemagne annexed his kingdom.
774		Following successful conquests, Charlemagne became king of the Lombards.
795		The Spanish March was created by Charlemagne as a buffer zone between the Frankish kingdom and Al-Andalus.

9th century

Year	Date	Event
800	December 25	Charlemagne is coronated Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III.
811		The treaty of Heiligen is signed between Charlemagne and the Danish king establishing the boundary between Denmark and the Frankish Empire.
812		Frankish conquests in Spain were recognized by Emir Al-Hakam I.
814	January 28	Charlemagne dies and his only legitimate son, Louis the Pious, inherits the Empire.
840	June 20	Louis the Pious dies, the Frankish Empire is claimed by his eldest son Lothair I, over his two brothers, Louis the German and Charles the Bald.
843		Treaty of Verdun: An alliance between Louis the German and Charles the Bald, and their victories over Lothair I, compelled the elder brother to negotiate the division of the Frankish Empire. It was divided in three parts; West Francia for Charles the Bald, Middle Francia for Lothair I and East Francia for Louis the German, hence laying the foundations of modern France and Germany.
875	December 29	Charles the Bald is coronated Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John VIII.
876	October 8	Battle of Andernach: After Louis the German's death, Charles the Bald is heavily defeated at Andernach by Louis' successor, Carloman of Bavaria, in an attempt to conquer his late brother's kingdom.
877	October 6	Fleeing Northern Italy from Carloman's army, Charles the Bald falls ill and dies. His son Louis the Stammerer (Louis II) succeeds him as King of West Francia.
879	April 10	Louis the Stammerer dies of illness. His two sons Louis III and Carloman II succeed him as joint kings of West Francia.
880	March	Louis III and Carloman II sign a treaty in Amiens dividing the kingdom between each other. Louis III obtains Neustria, Carloman II receives Burgundy and Aquitaine.
882	August 5	Louis III dies, Carloman II becomes sole king of West Francia.
884	December 12	Carloman II dies, his cousin Charles the Fat (Louis the German's youngest son) already king of East Francia, succeeds in the rule of West Francia reviving until his death the entire Carolingian Empire.
888	January 13	Charles the Fat dies, with no legitimate or recognized heir, the Empire falls apart never to be reunited again.
	February	Odo of France is crowned King of the Western Franks for his successes in fighting off the Normans. Ranulf II became King of Aquitaine.
898	January 1	Odo of France dies leaving no surviving heir. Charles the Simple, son of Louis the Stammerer, is subsequently declared king of West Francia, the Carolingian dynasty is thus once again ruler of France.

10th century

Year	Date	Event
911		Charles signed the Treaty of Saint Clair-sur-Epte with Rollo, the king of the Vikings, allowing their settlement in what would become the Duchy of Normandy.
922		Charles was overthrown by a noble revolt and replaced by Robert I, Odo's brother.
923	June 15	Battle of Soissons (923): Robert was killed. Charles was captured by Rudolph, the duke of Burgundy.
		Rudolph was elected king of France by an assembly of nobles. He left the Duchy of Burgundy to his brother.
936	January 15	Rudolph died. He was succeeded by Louis IV, a son of Charles the Simple.
954	September 10	Louis IV died. He was succeeded by his son Lothair.
986	March 1	Lothair died. He was succeeded by his son Louis V.
987	May 21	Louis V died. With no heir, Hugh Capet was chosen as his successor for his noble blood and military successes, thus ending the Carolingian dynasty's reign, and starting the Capetian dynasty.
996	October 24	Hugh Capet died. He was succeeded by his son Robert II.

11th century

Year	Date	Event
1004		Robert annexed the Duchy of Burgundy.
1031	July 20	Robert died in a civil war against his sons. His second son, Henry I, succeeded him; his third, Robert I Capet, disputed the succession and led a new revolt.
1032		Henry bought peace by reversing the annexation of the Duchy of Burgundy and giving it to his brother.
1060	August 4	Henry died. The throne passed to his seven-year-old son, Philip I, with his wife Anne of Kiev acting as regent.
1066		Philip entered his majority.

12th century

Year	Date	Event
1108	July 29	Philip died. He was succeeded by his son Louis VI, the Fat.
1131	October 25	Louis' son, the future Louis VII, the Young, was crowned the junior king and heir to the throne.
1137	July 22	Louis VII became duke of Aquitaine by marriage to the duchess Eleanor.
	August 1	Louis the Fat died. Louis VII became king.
1152	March 21	The marriage of Louis VII and Eleanor was annulled.
1180	September 18	Louis VII died. He was succeeded by his son Philip II.

13th century

Year	Date	Event
1214	July 27	Battle of Bouvines: The French army defeated a combined English-Flemish force, enabling the kingdom to consolidate its control over Anjou, Brittany, Maine, Normandy and the Touraine.
1223	July 14	Philip died. He was succeeded by his son Louis VIII, the Lion.
1226	November 8	Louis died. He was succeeded by his son Louis IX.
1241	June	Louis IX announced that the County of Poitiers would go to his brother Alphonse – offending Isabella of Angoulême, whose son would have inherited the territory had the English won the Battle of Bouvines.
1242	May 20	Saintonge War: Henry III of England arrived with an army in support of Isabella's claim to Poitiers.
1270	August 25	Louis IX died. He was succeeded by his son Philip III.
1285	October 5	Philip III died. He was succeeded by his son Philip IV.
1297		Louis IX was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII, and was from then on better known as Saint Louis. He is the only French monarch to be declared a saint.

14th century

Year	Date	Event
1302	May 18	Bruges Matins: The exiled citizens of Bruges, in Flanders, returned to their hometown and killed every Frenchman.
	July 11	Battle of the Golden Spurs: Flemish insurrectionists soundly defeated a French occupation force.
1314	November 29	Philip IV died. He was succeeded by his eldest son Louis X, the Headstrong.
1316	June 5	Louis X died, possibly of poisoning. His wife was pregnant with their first child; his brother Philip V was appointed regent.
	November 15	Louis X's son was born John I, the Posthumous. He died 5 days later so Philip V was crowned king of France.
1322	January 3	Philip V died. With no heir, his younger brother Charles IV succeeded him.
1328	February 1	Charles IV died. He was succeeded by his son Philip VI.
1350	August 22	Philip VI died. He was succeeded by his son John II.
1357		The States-General passed Étienne Marcel's Great Ordinance in an attempt to impose limits on the monarchy, in particular in fiscal and monetary matters.
1364	April 8	John II died. He was succeeded by his son Charles V.
1380	September 16	Charles V died. He was succeeded by his son Charles VI.

15th century

Year	Date	Event
1415	August 13	Hundred Years' War (1415-1429): An English army under King Henry V landed in the north of France.
1418	May 30	The army of John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, captured Paris. The dauphin, the future Charles VII, fled.
1419	September 20	John the Fearless was assassinated by companions of the dauphin. He was succeeded by his son Philip the Good, who would ally himself with the English against the French crown.
1420	May 21	The Burgundians compelled Charles VI to sign the Treaty of Troyes, under which the throne was to pass to Henry V.
1422	August 31	Henry V died. He was succeeded as King of England by his infant son Henry VI.
	October 21	Charles VI died. He was succeeded by his son Charles VII as king of France, a title disputed for Henry VI of England.
1453	July 17	Battle of Castillon: In what is considered the last battle of the Hundred Years' War, the French inflict a decisive victory on the English army, eventually gaining back all English-held territories of France.
1461	July 22	Charles VII died. He was succeeded by his son Louis XI.
1483	August 30	Louis XI died. He was succeeded by his son Charles VIII.
1498	April 7	Charles VIII died. With no heir, he was succeeded by his father's second cousin, the Duke of Orléans, LouisXII.

16th century

Year	Date	Event
1508	December 10	and the bastards that kept changing my changes to wikipedia are going to to get raped my the niggers them selfs ohh yeah black suck btw i am qualified to change this section of the article because i have an enourmous penis. it is ten feet long. thats right, be jealous. anothing thing niggerz!War of the League of Cambrai: Representatives of the Papacy, France, and the Holy Roman Empire and Ferdinand I of Spain established the League of Cambrai, whose purpose was to defeat Venice and partition its territory.
1514	May 18	Claude, the duchess of Brittany, was married to Francis of Angoulême, the heir to the French throne.
1515	January 1	Louis died. Francis of Angoulême succeeded him as Francis I.
1524	July 20	Claude died. Her eldest son Francis, Dauphin of France, became Duke of Brittany.
1532		Francis I issued an edict incorporating Brittany into the kingdom of France.
1547	March 31	Francis I died. He was succeeded by his son Henry II.
1559	July 10	Henry II died. He was succeeded by his son Francis II.
1560	December 5	Francis II died. With no heir, he was succeeded by his brother Charles IX.
1572		Massacre of French Protestants.
1574	May 30	Charles IX died. With no heir, he was succeeded by his brother Henry III.
1589	August 2	Henry III died with no heir, thus ending the reign of the Capetian dynasty. He was succeeded by Henry IV, the first monarch of the Bourbon dynasty.
1598	April 13	Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes to end the French civil war of religion.

17th century

Year	Date	Event
1610	May 14	King Henry IV died, possibly at the hands of his Florentine wife Marie de' Medici. He was succeeded by his eldest son Louis XIII, with de' Medici ruling as regent.
1617		16-year old Louis exiled his mother and took control of the government.
1624	August	Louis took Cardinal Richelieu, as his chief minister.
1643	May 14	Louis died. His five-year-old son Louis XIV succeeded him. Cardinal Mazarin became regent.
1648	August	Fronde: Cardinal Mazarin ordered the arrest of the leaders of the parlement of Paris, which provoked widespread rioting.
	October 24	Thirty Years' War: The Peace of Westphalia ended the war with France obtaining the better bargain, and annexing eastern territories.
1659		Franco-Spanish War: Victorious France signs the Treaty of the Pyrenees with Spain and annexes northern Catalonia and French Flanders. The war confirms France as the dominant continental power and Bourbon strength over the Habsburgs.
1668	May 2	Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle: end of the War of Devolution. France obtains Lille and other territories of Flanders from Spain.
1678		Treaties of Nijmegen: A series of treaties ending the Franco-Dutch war. France obtains the Franche-Comté and some cities in Flanders and Hainaut (from Spain).
1684	August 15	Truce of Ratisbon: End of the War of the Reunions. France obtains further territories in the north-west from Spain.
1697	September 20	Treaty of Ryswick: End of the Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance. Territorial changes were made in Europe and the colonial empires of the countries involved.

18th century

Year	Date	Event
1701	July 9	Battle of Carpi: In what was the first battle of the War of the Spanish succession, Austrian invaders encountered the French army at Carpi, and defeated them.
1713	April 11	War of the Spanish Succession: France and England signed the Treaty of Utrecht, under which Philip V of Spain renounced for himself and his descendants any right to the French throne. Similarly, possible heirs to the French crown renounced all rights to the rulership of Spain.
1714	March 7	War of the Spanish Succession: The Treaty of Rastatt ended hostilities between France and Austria.
1715	September 1	Louis XIV died of gangrene. His five-year-old great-grandson Louis XV succeeded him, with his nephew Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, acting as regent.
1720	February 17	Treaty of The Hague: France and its allies signed a treaty with Spain, thus ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
1723	February 15	Louis XV entered his majority.
1738	November 18	Treaty of Vienna: The signing of the treaty ended the War of the Polish Succession. France gained the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar.
1748	October 18	Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle: The signing of the treaty, dictated by France and Britain, ended the War of the Austrian Succession. The French population was dissatisfied with the terms, considering the French conquests during the war.
1763	February 10	Seven Years' War: France and some allied and enemy nations sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years' War, resulting in a major blow on French colonial possessions.
1768	May 15	Treaty of Versailles: In order to pay its debts and being no longer able to suppress struggle for independence, the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to France. Corsica remained French ever since.
1774	May 10	Louis XV died. He was succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI.
1778	February	France recognizes the American colonies as independent from the United Kingdom, making its involvement in the American War of Independence official. France will wage war with the United Kingdom in the Americas and other parts of the world assuring victory with the Peace of Paris.
1789	July 14	The French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille.
1793	January 21	Former King of France Louis XVI was executed by guillotine. The National Convention had taken power a few months earlier.
1793	June 7	Revolutionary Paris sections took over the Convention, calling for administrative and political purges, starting 1 year and 2 months of what is known as the Reign of Terror.
1793	October 16	Former Queen of France Marie Antoinette was executed by guillotine.
1795	November 2	The Directory seized power over the Convention.
1797	October 17	War of the First Coalition – The Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria following decisive French military victories. The treaty marks the collapse of the First Coalition, composed of European powers which tried to contain Revolutionary France.
1798	July 7	The United States Congress rescinded treaties with France, a moment considered as the semi-official beginning of the Quasi-War.
1799	November 9	Coup of 18 Brumaire: General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate.

19th century

Year	Date	Event
1801	February 9	War of the Second Coalition: The Treaty of Lunéville was signed after the victory of the French Republic against the Second Coalition states (led by the Austrian and Russian Empires), marking the end of the war with only Britain left fighting France.
1802	March 25	War of the Second Coalition: The Treaty of Amiens established a peace between France and the United Kingdom.
1803	May 2	Louisiana Purchase: France sold Louisiana to the United States of America, renouncing its last territorial possessions on continental North America.
	November 18	Battle of Vertières: The viscount of Rochambeau was defeated and forced to surrender to the revolutionary army of Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
1804	January 1	Haitian Revolution: Dessalines declared the independence of Haiti.
	May 18	Napoleon was declared Emperor by the Senate, marking the beginning of the First French Empire and the end of the French Consulate.
	December 2	Napoleon was crowned Emperor by Pope Pius VII in Notre-Dame de Paris.
1805	December 2	War of the Third Coalition: The French Empire is victorious at the decisive Battle of Austerlitz which marks the end of the Third Coalition (Austria, Russia, United Kingdom, Sweden and others) against France and its client states.
1806	July 12	Napoleon dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, and created the Confederation of the Rhine, a union of French client states composed of 16 states in present-day Germany.
1807	June 14	War of the Fourth Coalition: The French Empire is victorious at the decisive Battle of Friedland which marks the end of the Fourth Coalition (mainly Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) against France and its client states.
1808	May 2	Beginning of the Peninsular War which will last until Napoleon's defeat against the Sixth Coalition in 1914.
1809	Jully 5–6	War of the Fifth Coalition: The French Empire is victorious at the decisive Battle of Wagram which marks the end of the Fifth Coalition (mainly the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom) against France and its client states.
1812	September 14	War of the Sixth Coalition: The Fire of Moscow marks the beginning of French retreat after the French invasion of Russia. The First French Empire reached the height of its power and declined henceforth with the disastrous Battle of Berezina. The Sixth Coalition will go on to win the war and Napoleon will be exiled in Elba.
1814	April 24	First Restoration: The House of Bourbon was briefly restored with Louis XVIII as King of France in an intermediate period of the Napoleonic Wars.
1815	June 18	Hundred Days: Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon is defeated by Seventh Coalition armies, definitively ending the First French Empire and the Napoleonic Wars, and marks the start of almost half a century of peace throughout Europe.
1815	July 7	Second Restoration: With Napoleon exiled in Saint Helena, the House of Bourbon was again restored. Louis XVIII became King of France until his death on September 16, 1824.
1823	April	French invasion of Spain: France started its invasion of Spain, eventually succeeding and restoring the monarchy, ending the Spanish Civil War.
1830	July	July Revolution or French Revolution of 1830: the conservative House of Bourbon is overthrown and replaced by the more liberal Orleans Monarchy with Louis-Philippe becoming King of France.
1831	November 22	First Canut revolt: first clearly defined worker uprising of the Industrial Revolution.
1839	March 9	Pastry War: Victorious French troops withdraw from Mexico after their demands were satisfied.
1848	February	February Revolution or French Revolution of 1848: Republican riots forced King Louis-Philippe to abdicate and flee to England.
	December 20	Louis Napoleon Bonaparte starts his term as the first president of the French Republic.
1851	December 2	Exactly one year after his coup d'état, president Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Napoleon III of France, ending the Second Republic and creating the Second French Empire with him as dictator.
1854	March 28	Crimean War: France and Britain formally declared war on Russia.
1860		Following the Franco-Sardinian victory over the Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence, Italian regions of Nice and Savoy were transferred to the French Empire as a reward.
	October 18	Second Opium War: British and French troops entered the Forbidden City in Beijing.
1866	May 31	French intervention in Mexico: French troops start withdrawing from the country.
1871	May 10	Franco-Prussian War: France's loss marked the downfall of Napoleon III and led to the end of the Second French Empire. The Third Republic was subsequently declared and Napoleon III exiled to the United Kingdom until his death.
	March 26	The Paris Commune was declared and lasted 2 months before being violently suppressed by Adolphe Thiers' government.
	August 31	Adolphe Thiers began his term as president of France.
1873	May 24	Patrice de Mac-Mahon began his term as president of France.
1879	January 30	Jules Grévy began his term as president of France.
1887	December 3	Marie François Sadi Carnot began his term as president of France.
1894	June 27	Jean Casimir-Perier began his term as president of France.
	November	The Dreyfus affair begins, creating a scandal which will mobilize intellectuals and divide the French population for a decade.
1894	January 4	The Franco-Russian Alliance was confirmed.
1895	January 17	Félix Faure began his term as president of France.
1899	February 18	Émile Loubet began his term as president of France.

20th century

Year	Date	Event
1904	April 8	The Entente Cordiale was signed, insuring peace between France and the United Kingdom after a millennium of constant rivalry between the two nations. The peace agreement has survived to this day. With the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907, France, the UK and Russia were known as the Triple Entente in opposition to the Triple Alliance.
1905	December 9	The 1905 French law on the separation of Church and State ended government funding of religious groups.
1906	February 18	Armand Fallières began his term as president of France.
1913	February 18	Raymond Poincaré began his term as president of France.
1914	August 3	World War I: Germany declared war on France.
1918	November 11	World War I: The first armistice at Compiègne was signed between France and Germany, ending the Great War. France regained control of Alsace-Lorraine.
1920	February 18	Paul Deschanel began his term as president of France.
	September 23	Alexandre Millerand began his term as president of France.
1923	January	Beginning of Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr.
1924	June 13	Gaston Doumergue began his term as president of France.
1931	June 13	Paul Doumer began his term as president of France.
1932	May 10	Albert Lebrun began his term as president of France.
1934	February 6	Riots by far-right leagues were repressed by the state in what was considered as a failed coup d'état, and a major political crisis of the Third Republic.
1939	September 1	Second World War: France declared war on Germany.
1940	June 25	Second World War: The Second Armistice at Compiègne was put into effect after the French and British armies were heavily defeated in the Battle of France by the German Wehrmacht. The northern half of France was later occupied by German forces and the southern part was governed by the collaborationist Vichy Government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain.
1944	August 25	Second World War – Liberation of Paris: In what is considered the last battle of the Allied Operation Overlord, Free French Forces and the French Resistance liberated Paris from German occupation as a strong symbolic effort to restore French honor, tarnished by the fast defeat. The rest of France was liberated as the Americans advanced towards Germany.
1947	January 16	Vincent Auriol began his term as the first president of the Fourth Republic.
1951	April 18	Treaty of Paris: Establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) between France, West Germany, Italy, and the Benelux countries, producing diplomatic and economic stability in Europe between former enemy states. The ECSC is credited as one of the major "ancestors" of the European Union.
1954	January 16	René Coty began his term as president of France.
	August 1	End of the 8 year long Indochina War. The following Geneva Conference (1954) agreed to restoring the peace in Vietnam. France departed from the country in a move that started worldwide decolonization of the French colonial empires.
1957	March 25	Treaties of Rome: The Inner Six countries (including France) signed two treaties establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).
1959	January 8	Charles de Gaulle became the first president of the Fifth Republic, whose new constitution greatly increased the President's powers (as opposed the Third and Fourth Republics, in which the office of President of the Republic was a largely ceremonial and powerless one).
1962	March 19	End of the Algerian War, Algeria, a French colony, obtained independence from France after almost 8 years of official strife.
1965	April 8	Merger Treaty: this treaty merged the ECSC, the EEC and the EAEC into a single institutional structure known as the European Community.
1967	July 24	Charles de Gaulle's famous "Vive le Québec libre" speech provoked a diplomatic crisis in France-Canada relations.
1969	June 20	Georges Pompidou began his term as president of France.
1974	May 27	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing began his term as president of France.
1981	May 21	François Mitterrand began his term as president of France.
1986/87	February 17, 1986 and February 28, 1987	Single European Act : a major revision of the Treaty of Rome to establish a common market by the end of 1992.
1992	February 7	Maastricht Treaty: Members of the European Community (including France) signed a treaty creating what is now known as the European Union.
1995	May 17	Jacques Chirac began his term as president of France.
1998	July 12	France won the 1998 World Cup of football on home soil. This was their first FIFA World Cup title.
1998	December 31	Introduction of the euro: the exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies (the franc for France) in the eurozone became fixed.

21st century

Year	Date	Event
2002	January 2	Introduction of the first euro coins and bills replacing the legacy currency, the franc. The use of the franc currency was legal until February 17.
2007	May 15	Nicolas Sarkozy began his term as president of France.