one's early years
Napoleon (meaning wild lion) was born in ajaccio, Corsica, and has just been sold to France. His family is a local aristocratic family. Under the arrangement of his father, Napoleon went to Brehon, France, to receive education at the age of 9.
Napoleon thought he was a foreigner at first, hoping to make Corsica independent from France one day. /kloc-at the age of 0/6, he was awarded the title of artillery second lieutenant. 1789 After the French Revolution broke out, Napoleon returned to Corsica, hoping to promote Corsica's independence, but was excluded by another pro-British and anti-French Poly Group, and finally his family fled to France. 1793 In July, Napoleon led an army to capture Toulon, a royalist fortress, and was therefore appreciated by jacobins. Napoleon was investigated for his close relationship with the robespierre brothers in the hot month coup of 1794, and was later removed from the rank of brigadier general because he refused to serve in the infantry unit of the Italian legion. 1795, entrusted by ballas, the governor of Paris, successfully put down the armed rebellion of the royalist party, and was promoted to lieutenant general of the army and commander of the garrison in Paris overnight, making a name for himself in the military and political circles.
Napoleon was an excellent strategist, who had a deep study of military knowledge at that time and was good at applying various military strategies to actual combat, especially advocating the centralized use of artillery and giving full play to the mobile role of cavalry. 1796 On March 2, 26, Napoleon was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the French Italian army. On March 9, he and his lover Josephine? Bohanas got married and hurried to the front. In Italy, Napoleon's army repeatedly defeated the first anti-French alliance between Austria and Sa Ding, and finally forced the other side to sign a truce treaty in favor of France, and returned home in triumph.
The Battle of Egypt and the Acquisition of Power
After the victory of the Italian campaign, Napoleon's prestige became higher and higher, and he became a new hero of the French. His rise made the governor feel threatened, so he was appointed as the commander of the Egyptian army and sent to the east to curb the expansion of British power in the region. In Napoleon's expedition, in addition to 2000 cannons, he also brought 175 scholars from various industries, as well as hundreds of boxes of books and research equipment. During the expedition, Napoleon once issued a famous instruction: "Let donkeys and scholars walk in the middle of the team." Napoleon himself was proficient in mathematics and loved literature and religion very much, which was greatly influenced by the Enlightenment.
However, 1798' s expedition to Egypt itself was a great failure. Napoleon's fleet was completely destroyed by British Admiral Nelson, and his troops were trapped in Egypt. 1799 When returning to China, there were only two small boats left in the 400 warships, and the original plan to invade India was blocked and suffered heavy losses.
At this time, the European anti-French alliance gradually formed, while the French royalist forces gradually rose. 1799 In August, Napoleon finally decided to go back to Paris. 1799165438+1October 9, Napoleon, who returned to France, staged a coup in the foggy month and succeeded, becoming the first ruling power in France, actually a dictator.
After Napoleon, many major reforms were carried out in politics, education, justice, administration, legislation and economy. Among them, the most famous Code of Napoleon still has an important influence. It was drafted by Napoleon on the night of the coup, and many articles were finalized by Napoleon himself, basically adopting the more rational principles put forward in the early days of the French Revolution. This code was formally implemented in 1804. Even after more than a century, it is still the current law in France. Code plays an important role in the legislation of Germany, Spain, Switzerland and other countries. In an announcement to the people three weeks after the coup, Napoleon proudly declared: "Citizens, the Great Revolution has returned to the principles from which it originated. The Great Revolution is over. "
Conquer Europe and become emperor
1800, Napoleon defeated the Austrian army again, and Britain had to sign a peace treaty with France, forcing the second anti-French alliance to fall apart. 1May, 80418th, Napoleon announced that he was the first emperor of France, but instead of being crowned by Pope pope pius vii, he put a crown on his head and crowned his wife as the queen. A year later, he was crowned king of Italy by the Pope in Italy.
1805 In August, Austria, Britain and Russia formed the third anti-French alliance, so Napoleon left Paris on September 24 and went eastward in person. By June of 10, the French army had occupied Munich. 101October 17 After fierce fighting between France and Austria in Ulm, the anti-French alliance surrendered. Then France won the battle of Austerlitz, and the anti-French alliance collapsed again. Napoleon then United the German vassal states to form the "Rhine Union" and put it under his own protection. The following autumn, Britain, Russia and Prussia formed the fourth anti-French alliance, but in June 65438 +65438 10+April, the French army defeated the enemy in Jena and Olstadt at the same time, and the Prussian army was almost wiped out, so Napoleon gained most of Germany. 1in June, 807, the French army defeated the Russian army again in Poland. Napoleon met with Russian czar Alexander I and the two sides signed a peace treaty. The year before, Napoleon issued an Amnesty in Berlin, announcing the mainland blockade policy and prohibiting any trade between the European continent and Britain.
Turning point: invasion of Spain, Austria and Russia
/kloc-at the end of 0/807, civil strife broke out in Spain, and the Spanish king was spurned by the people. Napoleon then took the opportunity to invade Spain and let his eldest brother Joseph? Joseph Bonaparte became king of Spain. But this move was opposed by the Spanish, and Napoleon could not quell the local riots at all. 1808 Britain intervened in the Spanish dispute. British troops landed in Montego Bay on August 8th and occupied the whole of Portugal on August 30th. Later, with the support of local nationalists, they gradually drove the French out of the Iberian Peninsula.
Napoleon was in the quagmire of Spain, and the fifth anti-French alliance was formed at the beginning of 1809. Austria attacked French territory in Germany from behind, and Napoleon was forced to withdraw from Spain and lead his army eastward. Although the Austrian army gained an advantage at first, Napoleon soon turned defeat into victory, forcing Austria to cede land again.
By the end of 18 1 1, the relationship between France and Russia began to deteriorate. Russian czar Alexander I refused to continue to cooperate with France against Britain, and eventually the war broke out. Napoleon led 500,000 troops into Russia. Russian troops retreated and did not resist until the French army entered Moscow after the bloody battle in Borodino on September 18 12 (70,000 French troops were killed and seriously injured). Napoleon thought Alexander I would compromise, but he was greeted by a fire in Moscow. At this time, another failed coup was planned in China, forcing him to rush back to France, and only 10000 people finally returned to France.
Defeat, Exile, Hundred Days Regime and Waterloo
18 13 Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria formed the sixth anti-French alliance, and the two sides fought fiercely in Germany many times. Although the French army won many victories, Napoleon's pressure was increasing. Until June, 5438+00, the French army was defeated in the battle of Leipzig, the vassal state also became independent from France, and the allies began to advance to Paris. 1865438+March 3, 20041day, Paris was occupied. The Allies demanded the unconditional surrender of France, and Napoleon had to abdicate. 181April 13 Napoleon signed the abdication edict at Fontainebleau Palace in Paris, and two days later Napoleon announced his unconditional surrender. Napoleon himself was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba after he abdicated. Napoleon retained the title of "Emperor", but his territory was limited to that small island.
Napoleon was almost assassinated on his way to the island of Elba and tried to commit suicide. In Paris, Louis Stanislas Xavier returned to France, became the king of France again, and the Bourbon Dynasty was restored. Napoleon's wife and son were imprisoned in Austria, and it was rumored that Napoleon would be exiled to an island in the Atlantic Ocean. All these left Napoleon with no choice. Finally, he escaped from the island on February 26th of 18 15 and returned to France on March 26th of 1 year. The French army sent to stop him continued to support Napoleon. On March 20th, Napoleon returned to Paris. By this time, his regular army10.4 million people, volunteers 200 thousand people. The Hundred Days Dynasty began.
However, the good times did not last long, and European countries quickly formed the seventh anti-French alliance. 18 15 June 18 Napoleon's army was completely annihilated in the Battle of Waterloo, Belgium. /kloc-in July of 0/5, he formally surrendered and was exiled to St. Helena. 1821May 5, Napoleon died on the island. On May 8th, the conqueror was buried beside Tolbert Springs on St Helena and paid tribute to him. Today, there are still different opinions about the cause of Napoleon's death. The autopsy report of a British doctor showed that he died of severe gastric ulcer, but new research believes that Napoleon died of arsenic poisoning.
Nine years after his death, under the pressure of the people, the New Orleans dynasty erected a statue of Napoleon on the pillar of Vendom. 1840, Louis of the July dynasty in France? Philip sent his son to retrieve Napoleon's body. 65438+ February 65438+In May of that year, Napoleon's coffin was transported back to Paris, passed through the Arc de Triomphe, and was buried in the old disabled soldiers' retirement home (Honorary Military Hospital) on the banks of the Seine.
Napoleon's tomb in the dome hall of the retirement home for old disabled soldiers
affect
Napoleon was an excellent strategist. He personally participated in more than 60 battles in his life, and many battles he commanded are still of great significance in military history until today. However, his campaign broke the balance of power in Europe, leading other European powers to form anti-French alliances seven times, and finally defeated Napoleon completely. At the Vienna Conference after Napoleon's defeat, the new European order and balance were quickly rebuilt.
Although Napoleon was all-powerful for decades, his achievements were short-lived. After his abdication, the territory of France quickly returned to what it was before he took office. Napoleon's military career did not have a significant impact on later European history. The only thing that can make him go down in history is the Napoleonic Code, which is the embryonic form of legal systems in many modern democratic countries.
In addition, Napoleon was also the first person who put forward the idea of a United States of Europe and tried to realize it by force. Although he himself did not successfully realize this dream, today's Europe is moving towards the goal of integration.
Napoleon brought glory to France, and the French people always loved this French soldier (interestingly, he always thought that France was not his motherland before 18). After his body arrived in Paris on February 1840, 900,000 Parisians braved the cold to meet him. Years later, Napoleon also won the respect of his opponent. 1855, Queen Victoria of England took the Crown Prince (later Edward VII) to the Veterans Hospital, and the Queen asked the Prince to "kneel at the tomb of the great Napoleon".
▲ French history
The first Iron Age (850- 450 BC) witnessed the division between ministers and chiefs.
On the other hand, with the help of archaeological discoveries, we can safely reproduce the sudden military and social changes after the relatively stable society in the late Stone Age and the Bronze Age. The "terminal postmark" of many sites shows that these drastic changes occurred about 850 years ago, that is, the first iron age.
In this era, archaeologists can rediscover the economically and technologically developed settlements at that time, one of which is located in the Alps, probably the site before the arrival of the Celts.
The characteristics of this era seem to be ruled by a large-scale head of state and a belligerent aristocratic system. These "princes and queens of Celtic tribes" (see Patrice BRUN) are buried in weapons and gorgeous two-wheeled chariots, as seen in Vix in Qiu Jin province (Burgundy region) and Hochdorf in Wü rttemberg. Their tombs also reveal the face of luxury goods from the Mediterranean cultural circle (especially Egypt), and witness that the wealth of these nobles also has a commercial and trade side.
At the beginning of the 6th century, Greek merchants established Masalia in Laxton Bay in the Mediterranean Sea, and this Greek colony became a trade center. The Greeks who settled in Marseilles came from Fossey in Asia Minor.
Celts (from 1950s to the 2nd century)
From the first 450 years to the first 400 years, great changes have taken place in artistic style, which may mean that political aspects have also changed. At that time, Lartet's inner culture appeared. According to the traditional view, the Gaul era officially began, but the reasons for the changes in archaeological sites are still under debate.
The first view is that under the influence of Mediterranean civilization, society has undergone gradual changes and foreign nationalities have gradually spread. According to the second view, the Celts invaded the territory of the aborigines, and these aborigines did not change much from their previous history to the arrival of the Celts.
We can't understand the facts of these social changes, so we can only make some assumptions. At present, most experts put forward a compromise view: there is a long process of cultural diffusion and Celtic invasion.
Gaul independence era
By the second century BC, there were more and more records about Gaul and Gaul in Greek and Latin, which unveiled the mystery of Gaul. Gaul (Latin Galli) first appeared in the pen of Roman politician Caton (BC 168), referring to Gauls who invaded northern Italy from France.
At the end of the second century BC, under the influence of Marseille, a Greek colony, and due to the trade between Gaul and the Mediterranean, some tribes in Gaul began to Hellenize and began to write Gaul in Greek. However, due to religious taboos, Gaul did not write his rich oral history into words, limiting the use of words to commerce and trade. So after Gaul disappeared, these traditions were forgotten.
Gaul is divided into several tribes, and the territorial boundaries between these tribes are clearly defined. These boundaries are consistent with the boundaries of the future Roman "city" (Civis) and with the boundaries of modern French provinces.
Gaul at the end of Lartet's inner culture showed a stable state in language and culture. However, according to Roman historians, in social politics, the monarchy and aristocracy of Gaul gradually disappeared and were replaced by elected judges (vergobretos of Gaul).
The century before the Romans conquered Gaul was the heyday of Gaul civilization, with prosperous economy and developed culture, which was not as barbaric and backward as the19th century described by Roman writers and western historians. At that time, there were very large-scale castles (oppidia) and coins began to be used: the level of Gaul civilization was not lower than that of Rome in the second century.
Gauls contributed a lot to Roman culture. In military law and technology, the Romans not only adopted many inventions of Gaul, but also borrowed Gaul's vocabulary, such as barrel, sword (gladius), chain mail, soap, carriage (carrus) and so on.
Rome conquered Gaul (125 BC to 5 1 year BC).
By the end of the 2nd century, Rome had conquered the southeast of Gaul (now Provence-Alpes-Cote d 'Azur and Languedoc-roussillon). These areas are called "Gallia togata", that is, "Gauls in Roman robes", because the Gauls in these areas were first influenced by Rome and began to adopt the Roman way of life.
Germanic invasion
1February 3, 406 1406 On the night, the "barbaric" Germanic peoples, such as Vandals and Su Weihui, took advantage of the freezing of the Rhine River in winter and invaded the Roman Empire with the Alans. From this point until the demise of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the emperor's rights were decreasing day by day, and the Roman representatives of Gaul did not dare to resist the Germans. In imperial management, Germans were divided into two different classes: the federalist foederati and the colonialist lètes.
At present, French territory consists of Gaul. From 65438 BC to the 5th century, Rome ruled the population in the southwest, which was mainly composed of Gauls, Celts and Basques. In 486, Clovis I, the leader of Francs from the East, conquered the Roman territory between the Loire River and the Somme River. Later, he brought the present northern and central France under his own rule, and made Roman Catholicism the state religion in 496. Other Germanic rulers still take Arioux as their religion.
After the death of Clovis I in 5 1 1 year, his territory was continuously divided and unified; The ruling power was gradually transferred from his immediate gentry to the hereditary mayor of the judicial palace. In 75 1 year, Pippin, the son of Charlie martel and a dwarf, established his Carolingian dynasty.
This dynasty reached its peak under the rule of Charlemagne, the son of Peiping. Charlemagne unified the divided Frankish territory in 77 1 year, conquered Lombardy, which occupied northern Italy 100 years in 774, brought Bavaria into the rule in 778, defeated the Avars in the Danube Plain in 796, and pushed the southern border to Barcelona in 80 1 year, bordering on the Islamic Spanish territory and making a large-scale expedition.
Middle Ages
In 800, Pope Leon III crowned Charlemagne as Emperor of Rome in recognition of his achievements and support for the Holy See. But after the death of his son Louis I, three sons of Louis divided Charlemagne's territory into three parts in treaty of verdun. Although the Carolingian dynasty was briefly unified in 884-887, the title of Holy Roman Emperor no longer circulated in the West, and the West gradually evolved into the Kingdom of France.
In the later period of Charlemagne's rule, the Vikings marched along the northern and western borders of his kingdom. Since Charlemagne died in August14, his successors failed to unite to stop the Viking invasion. The Vikings and their long ships crisscrossed the Loire River and other inland rivers, attacking everywhere: in 843, they killed the Bishop of Nantes, a few years later, they burned down L'église Saint Martin in Tours, and even captured Paris in 845.
At present, the territory of France is roughly equivalent to the confused king Charles Le Simplicity. He was forced to cut a large area of land on both sides of the lower reaches of the Seine River to the Vikings, forming the Principality of Normandy. Finally, in the intermittent power struggle, the Carolingian Dynasty followed in the footsteps of the previous dynasty: Duke Frank and the Earl of Paris Hughes Cappe established the Kaptyn Dynasty in 987. It and its branches, valois and Bourbon, will rule France for more than 800 years.
The rise of the Capuet dynasty made France develop a new political structure: the monarch recognized the administrative power of the nobles who owned the territory in exchange for their limited loyalty and military support. This system limited the territory directly controlled by the Cape Dynasty to the middle reaches of the Seine River and its adjacent areas. On the other hand, powerful vassals, such as the Earl of bulova in 10 century and10 century, accumulated a considerable amount of territory through marriage and fostering weak nobles.
In 9 1 1, the principality of Normandy, which was ceded to the vikings, became the base for William the Conqueror to invade Britain. 1066, Duke William successfully won the English throne for King William I of England. Duke William still retained the title of Duke of Normandy and his fief, and passed it on to the later king of England, laying the fuse for the future conflict between Britain and France. 1 154, Henry, Earl of Anjou, France, succeeded to the British throne and the title of Normandy and became King Henry II of England. Henry relegated his French territories (Anjou and Normandy) to the British royal family. In addition, in 1 152, he married Alié nor d 'Aquitaine, the ex-wife of French King Louis VII, which extended his influence to southwest France. These events made the relationship between Britain and France increasingly tense, which eventually led to the Hundred Years War between Britain and France (1337- 1453).
/kloc-in the 3rd century, the French royal family annexed many southern territories to the central government, which incited the wave of Christian slaughter of pagans (the peak was 1209) and took languedoc in the south as the royal territory. Lebel, the king of justice, tried to capture Flanders (1300), but two years later, the French army was finally defeated by the allied forces of Flanders in the Battle of Golden Boot in Kortrijk.
the Hundred Year's War
1328, King Charles IV of France died, and Capetiennes died. Philip VI, a member of the Valois dynasty, succeeded to the throne. But Edward III, the grandson of former French King Philip IV, declared himself the sole legal heir to the French throne. This battle for the throne became the fuse of the hundred-year war between Britain and France. 1337 1 1 In October, King Edward III of England led an army to attack France, and the war began. The Hundred Years' War between Britain and France greatly improved the national consciousness of the two countries. However, during the Hundred Years' War, civil strife occurred in both countries, such as 138 1 British Taylor Uprising and 1358 French Jacques Revolution.
The French army retreated from 1337 to 1360, and was on the verge of national subjugation. But from 1369 to 1396, we turned to counterattack. 14 15, the victory of Henry V in the Battle of Ginkul (French: Bataille d 'Azincourt) made the Valois royal family lose the support of other noble families, which finally led to the fall of Paris seven years later and the signing of treaty of troyes in 1420. As a result, the French royal family's sovereignty over the south of the Loire River was greatly weakened.
1428, the British army went further, occupied northern France, including Paris, and besieged the fortress of Orleans leading to southern France. This move once again aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the French, and they rose up and rebelled. The following year, Joan of Arc, the heroine, led an army to help Orleans and repelled the British. And established Charles VII as the new French king in the historic city of Reims. But Joan was quickly arrested by the Burgundy and handed over to the British army. Joan of Arc was convicted of heresy under the unfair trial of the British Inquisition and was crucified and burned alive in 143 1.
Later, the internal conflict in England, coupled with the reconciliation between the French king and duke of burgundy Philip, led to the gradual turnaround of France. In the end, Paris (1436), Normandy (1450) and Bordeaux (1453 10) were successively recovered, and the French army won the final victory and recovered all the territory except Calais. After this war, the French king gradually strengthened centralization and brought Burgundy (1477) and Brittany (149 1) into the central government respectively.
Valois dynasty
The loss of the Hundred Years' War was enormous, especially due to the outbreak of the plague (the Black Death, generally considered as bubonic plague). 1348, the disease spread rapidly from Italy to the Rhone Valley, thus spreading to most parts of the country. It is estimated that there are almost18-20 million people in modern France. When the tax return on the stove decreases 1328, it will be calculated as 40% or more after 150 years. Despite the starting point of rapid population and economic recovery, this half-century acquisition will further prolong the conflict. At this time, in Italy (1494- 1559), France's efforts to gain superiority came to an end in the place where Habsburg's holy Roman emperor strengthened his strength. Compared with France, it was caught in a far-reaching domestic crisis, and there was almost no Italian war. Although the contract was concluded between France and the Pope (15 16) and the unparalleled power of the gift crown was appointed by senior missionaries, Protestants' attempts to reform France deeply influenced the rupture of the Catholic European Union?
Become European hegemony
France-1552 rpm 1798
The French Revolution and its subsequent political chaos.
During the reign of Louis XVI (1774- 1792), the French monarchy came to an end. Louis XVI's France supported the war of independence of thirteen colonies in North America against British rule (1778-1783), but the direct involvement of the French navy also exposed some of its own problems. Centuries of extravagance and the difficulty of fighting against European powers. The deteriorating economic situation, the general hatred towards the privileged classes such as nobles and priests, and the lack of alternative reform methods are the main motives of the French Revolution. This eventually led to the establishment of the first * * * Republic in 1792, and the announcement of the second * * * Republic after 1848 overthrew the July Dynasty on February 26th. Although French revolutionaries adhered to the principle of equality, France restored absolute monarchy or constitutional monarchy four times during this period: Napoleon I Empire, Bourbon Restoration in Louis Stanislas Xavier, Louis Philippe July Dynasty and Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte II Empire. In 1870 after the Franco-Prussian War, the third * * * Republic was proclaimed (during which the Paris Commune, the world's first proletarian regime, appeared), and this time the * * * system continued until 1940 when Germany occupied it in World War II.
World War
The First World War (1914-1918) caused heavy casualties of French soldiers and huge equipment losses. /kloc-in the 1920s, France established the maginot line on the border with Germany, and formed an alliance of "small allies" with emerging small countries in Eastern Europe to prevent the revival of Germany and Austria. However, the appeasement policy pursued by the British and French governments in the 1930 s led to the expansion of the German Nazi Party and Hitler, and the fall of Austria and Czechoslovakia immediately wiped out the alliance of the "small allies." Later, the Nazi Germans bypassed maginot line in June 1940 and quickly captured three-fifths of the land in northern France, including the rich Lorraine-Assaselin.
On July 10 of the same year, Henry philip petain, a hero of the French army in World War I, was elected as the puppet government leader of Vichy in southern France. In order to maintain the only sovereignty of Vichy government, Petain had to acquiesce in Germany's plundering of France's resources, even recruited French as servants to serve Nazi Germans, and even "paid" half of the government taxes to Germany. But in the end, the Vichy government could not escape the fate of being destroyed by Nazi Germany. 1942, 1 1 year1October, Nazi Germany invaded southern France and took over the local military and political power. Petain and his government were forced to "exile" in Germany and were placed under house arrest by the Nazi authorities.
On the other hand, the last defense minister of the Third Republic, General Charles de Gaulle, fled to Britain and set up the "Free France" armed resistance organization to develop underground movements in France in order to recover France one day. Finally, at the end of 1944, the allies of "Free France" regained the whole of France.
Modern Times
After World War II, the new French government had to face a lot of new problems after the war. After the adoption of * * * and the new constitution (1946 10), the interim government led by General De Gaulle immediately handed over power to the government of the Fourth Republic of China based on the ruling coalition of political parties, and General De Gaulle himself quickly retired to the countryside and faded out of politics. However, there is often a lack of coordination between the government and the IPU, which is manifested in the French government's policies in dealing with the Indian zhina Peninsula and the Algerian independence movement, and even leads to a series of crises and changes in the ruling cabinet. 1958 in may, officers and French residents in Algiers launched a mutiny in an attempt to prevent the French government from allowing Algeria to become independent, further escalating the crisis of the collapse of the French government. Finally, the French president had to ask Charles de Gaulle to come out again to clean up the mess. De Gaulle quickly established an emergency government, and immediately adopted another republic constitution, and immediately held a presidential election. In February 65438+, Charles de Gaulle was elected as the first president of the Fifth Republic of France.
Seven years later, once, this label was first used in the 20th century. People's France voted for the president directly, and Charles de Gaulle won 55% of the re-election and this vote, defeating francois mitterrand. 1In April 1969, Charles de Gaulle resigned because the government failed to put forward a referendum on the establishment of limited political power in 2 1 area. He succeeded because the French President was Charles de Gaulle's Georges Pompidou (1969- 1974), the independent * * and the party Valery Giscard d'Estaing (1974-8 1), and francois mitterrand of the Socialist Party (1974). As France continues to respect its rich history and independence, its leading position is increasingly linked with its future sustainable development in Europe. During President Mitterrand's administration, he emphasized the importance of European integration and advocated the European economic and political union of the Maastricht Treaty. All French voters narrowly passed in September 1992. Jacques Chirac, the current president, took office in May 2007. After the election, he concentrated on fighting stubbornly against the high unemployment rate in France. However, the focus of France's domestic attention soon shifted to economic reform and belt-tightening measures, which are necessary for France to meet the standards of the Maastricht Treaty's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). 1at the end of 995, France experienced the most serious labor unrest in at least a decade, just like employees were protested against government layoffs. On the front line of foreign and security policy, Chirac took a more decisive approach to protect France, maintain peace in the former Yugoslavia, and help promote the negotiation of the peace agreement in Dayton, Ohio, which was signed in Paris in 1995+02. In the Balkans, France is the staunchest supporter of NATO and European policies.
On April 22, 2007, the presidential election was held. Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal entered the second round. [2] On May 6th, a second round of voting was held. [3] Sarkozy was elected. [4] On May 7, 2007, President Sarkozy appointed francois fillon as Prime Minister.