Short History of France
The territory of today's was inhabited already in the prehistoric times what clearly indicate the anthropological and archeological finds, however, very little is known about its population and history before the Gallic Wars in the middle of the 1st century BC when the territory was conquered and incorporated into the Roman Empire by Julius Caesar.
Under the Roman overrule developed a distinct Gallo-Roman civilization, while the population of Gaul adopted Latin language. However, Gaul has been invaded and settled by various Germanic peoples two centuries before the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Among the Germanic peoples in Gaul soon emerged as the most powerful the Franks under Clovis I who made himself ruler of all Franks in 486 and established a base for future rise of Carolingian Empire under Charlemagne.
After the death of Charlemagne's successor Louis the Pious the Carolingian Empire was divided into three kingdoms with Charles the Bald as King of West Francia which came to known as Kingdom of France in 987 when Hugh Capet was elected king.
Over the following centuries France emerged as one of the leading European powers and reached its zenith under the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715). However, less than a century later followed the French Revolution which resulted the establishment of the first republic in the world in 1792. However, the period of the (first) republic ended already in 1804 when Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself emperor.
However, before the establishment of modern French Republic the French saw the fall of Napoleon, restoration of absolutism, the February Revolution of 1848 and establishment of the Second Republic which was followed by the Second French Empire ruled by Napoleon III between 1852 and 1870. After proclamation of the Third Republic monarchical government was never revived, however, current republican constitution which introduced a semi-presidential system was adopted in 1958.