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During 1000 to 1500, French kings gradually extended and consolidated their power, accompanied by the development of a centralised administrative system and bureaucracy. In the 17th century, France was ruled by only two kings, Louis XIII (1610-43) and Louis XIV (1643-1715), and this period saw the reinforcement of the centralised state embodied in the person of the king. On 14 July 1789 the people of Paris stormed the fortress of the Bastille, symbol of the repressive character of the current regime. Similar rebellions took place everywhere in the country, as well as expansive peasant attacks on landowners’ chateaux and the destruction of records of debt and other symbols of their oppression. However, it has survived and emerged from the ruins of WWII to become an important world supplier of agricultural and industrial products and a major partner in the European Union. | |
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