The geography of borders of modern France, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coastlines to the west and south, are mirrored by the mountains of the Vosges, Jura and Alps to the east and the the Pyrennies to the south-west. The lack of a natural 'border' on the north and north-east (Picardy and Lorraine) complicated the process of national formation.

The breakdown of the Roman Empire (5th Century) was followed by phases of barbarian invasions and attempts to construct an enduring order along the lines of Germanic kingship. The dynasties, however, undermined such political order by treating their territory as private property and dividing it among their descendants. Characteristic of this process was the division of Charlemagne's Frankish kingdom [A.D. 843]. Nonetheless, this division set the stage for the formation of France and other European nations. Conflicts with England (especially during the Hundreds Year War) resulted in a growing sense of territorial integrity and a sense of national identity under the monarchy.

In the 16th century, that unity was challenged by the wars of religion that raged across western Europe. Religious toleration was introduced by the Edict of Nantes yet was later revoked by Louis XIV, who was famously known as the Sun King. Under Louis XIV, France participated in various wars against many of the established European powers. Throughout this period the borders of France changed, but generally moved toward the lines we now observe.

The great wars of the 20th Century resulted in gains and losses on the eastern and north-eastern frontier. Alsace and Lorraine were again formally incorporated into France in 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. From that point the borders of continental France have been stable.

La France d’outre-mer ['France Overseas'] is a term used to describe a number of islands in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Ocean that have been formally incorporated into France.

 

After the fall of the Roman Empire, a number of Germanic tribes, including the Franks and Burgundians, seized parts of Roman Gaul. Clovis and his descendents marked the return to some stability. This Frankish dynasty, the Merovingians, dominated much of what would later develop into France.

 

On his death in 511, the kingdom of Clovis was divided amongst his four sons. The latter expanded the empire to include the kingdoms of the Burgundians and the Ostrogoths, as well as lands to the northeast and southwest.

 

By 561, internal conflicts had produced a Frankish Empire divided into three states: Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy. Aquitaine in the southwest was held by Moors and wouldn not be reclaimed until the Battle of Poitiers in 732.

 

In 561 as part of a now familiar pattern, after the Kingdom had been greatly expanded, Clovis' four grandsons divided the Kingdom once more amongst one another.

The Frankish-Carolingian dynasty, first Charles Martel and then Charlemagne, re-vitalized Frankish power in Western Europe. The authority of the latter was legitimized in the eyes of many when he was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III in 800. Charlemagne created a highly decentralized form of government that could only be maintained through constant travel and continued military campaigns.

After his death, Charlemagne's empire was divided among his descendants first in 817. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 resolved the conflicts between his heirs, and created three kingdoms, the western one of which would emerge as France. The consequences of this division would be felt into the 20th Cent.

After Lothar's death in 855, his kingdom was divided between his two sons Louis II and Charles. Further subdivisions were confirmed by treaties of Mersen (870) and Ribemont (880).

In the second half of the 9th Cent. and continuing into the 10th Cent, the Carolingian kings faced a series of barbarian invasions from all directions. One cannot speak of 'terrritorial integrity' during this period.

During the 10th Century, the monarchy yeilded control of several regions in the west, notably to the Normand who settled along the important rivers of the Seine, the Loire and the Garonne. Flanders, Aquitaine and Burgundy became functionally independent states.

In 987 when Hugh Capet established the Capetian Dynasty around 'Île de France', France was a patchwork of small states. This map illustrates the situation in 1032. .

The William, duke of Normany, was a vassal of the French king. After the battle of Hastings in 1066, William also became the king of England. As the king of England, he and his successors tried to avoid meeting obligations of the French crown and expand their holdings in western France. In the mid-12th Century, Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine and brought her patrimony to England and extended English control of western France to include all of the Atlantic coastal area.

The extinction of the 'senior' Capetian line led to open conflict for the throne. In the early 13th Century, Phillip II Augustus reclaimed some lands previously under English control. Under the reign of St. Louis IX, Henry III of England relinquished his claim to much of his French holdings with the exception of Aquitaine (Guyenne).

In 1337, a feudal dispute between Philip VI of France and Edward IV of England began the Anglo-Franco war, better known as the Hundred Years War. It lasted until 1453, when English holdings had been reduced to Calais along.

Charles VII and his son Louis XI helped rebuild France after the Hundred Years War. During this period Burgundy was incorporated. By the end of the century, Calais in the west and the 'three bishoprics' (Toul, Metz and Verdun) in the east had been added to France.

The Reformation had a profound effect on France's political geography. During the latter half of the 16th Century, Protestant and Huguenot communities were introduced and tranformed France's social and religious structure. They were especially active in the Rhone Valley, the Cévennes in the southeast through Béarn, the Bordelais, Poitou, and Normandy in the northwest. The Edict of Nantes, issued by the first Bourbon king Henri IV, introduced religious toleration. It was later revoked by Louis XIV.

The 17th Century marked the growth of ministerial power in the goverment. While Louis XIV was still too young, Cardinal Minister Mazarin controlled the royal council (1642-1661). Mazarin extended the French borders along the Rhine during his period.

The War of Devolution (1667-1668) resulted in the acquisition of towns in the Spanish Netherlands and was confirmed by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen). During the Dutch War (1672-1678), Louis XIV gained the Franche-Comté in the southeast and lands in the north between Artois and Flanders by the Peace of Nijmegen. The Spanish Netherlands, which had been acquired earlier were lost.

During the Nine Years War (1688-1697), France invaded Germany and also seized the papal territory of Avignon in southern France. Nonetheless, Louis XIV was not able to sustain these acquisitions, and at the Treaty of Ryswick, surrendered much of what he had gained in Germany, the Spanish Netherlands, and Northern Spain. He also returned Avignon to the Pope.

During the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1713), Louis XIV gained territory along France's Eastern border but the cost of war was immense to France.