Florent Lefortier answered
The area of land that makes up France has always been there! However, until 1792, it was actually known as West Francia, and before that, just Francia.
It's hard to say exactly when France came into existence, as the territories and names have changed quite significantly over the years.
France Through the Ages
It's hard to say exactly when France came into existence, as the territories and names have changed quite significantly over the years.
France Through the Ages
- Archaeologists have found evidence of human life dating back around 1,800,000 years, but the climate was very different back then, and we’ve had several ice ages since!
- The oldest city in France is Marseille, which was founded by the Greeks in 600BC and used as a shipping port.
- During the Iron Age – around 3BC - there was a region known as Gaul, which consisted of what we now know as France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Parts of Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands were also included. Over the course of several centuries, this was divided up, eventually becoming Francia.
- Francia was then divided up even further, with the area we know as France becoming West Francia.
- In 498, France became a Catholic region. King Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror to convert to Catholicism, which is why France is often called the “eldest daughter of the Church.”
- In 1789, during the French Revolution, France lost its monarchy and became a republic.
