France (FRA)

At the end of the 17th century, the question of succession to the childless Charles II came to the attention of European rulers. The confiscation of the Spanish heritage would upset the balance on the European continent ...

Corps General Marcel Bigeard was one of the most popular and controversial French soldiers. He was celebrated as a hero by Dien Bien Phu, but at the same time he was suspected of being involved in the torture of prisoners.

This article briefly describes the conflict between England and France lasting several centuries - from the conquest of England in 1066 by the Norman Duke William, who connected England with Normandy, and thus inevitably led it to conflict with France, until the end of the 15th century, when France gained about today's territorial area - focusing on the period referred to as the Hundred Years' War, but also the internal development in England and France at that time.

The jealousy and growing divisions between feudal England and France reached such a level in the first half of the 14th century that there was an open clash between these countries, the so-called Hundred Years' War. The roots of this war go deep into the past, in fact until the early Middle Ages, when the famous Anglo-French antagonism arose.

The immediate pretext for this conflict was the dispute between the two countries over supremacy in rich Flanders. Before the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, the French had the upper hand and, at the instigation of King Philip VI of France. In 1336, Count Ludvík of Flanders had all the English living in Flanders arrested. This was followed by retaliation by England against all Flemish traders on the island, and a ban on the export of English wool to Flanders and the import of Flemish products into England.

Dauphin Charles ascended the French throne as Charles V called the Wise, and in a few years the French resumed fighting. Now, however, they had changed tactics and, under the leadership of the capable Brittany soldier Bertrand de Guescelin, were waging a petty war, defending the cities and avoiding major battles.

Henry ruled all of Normandy, and in 1420 he made a treaty in Troyes with Queen Isabella of France and Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy. According to her, Jindřich was to marry the daughter of Charles VI. Catherine and after his father-in-law's death sit on the French throne. At that time, the English also found a powerful ally in the Duke of Burgundy.

After the expulsion of the English, the whole revival of France began. Charles VII he chose counselors from among the petty nobility and burghers, with the help of which he rid the country of marauding gangs of former mercenaries. He built a permanent army, a powerful weapon against the nobility and the external enemy. Towards the end of his reign he had to contend with the revolt of his masters, on whose side was also his son dauphin Ludvík , who after his father's death in 1461 ascended the throne as Louis XI .

Overview of significant events of the Hundred Years' War.

Can the media only inform and not provoke or are they allowed to provoke in order to bring the essence of the information closer? A similar question can be asked in the context of two recent cases from France.

It has been almost 60 years since the United States military invaded occupied Europe by landing on the northwestern beaches of France. Probably the most famous of these is probably Omaha Beach. I had the honor of visiting it on August 9, 2003.

The successful rescue mission of the French Foreign Legion Parachute Unit ( 2REP ) was the first operational airborne raid by French troops since 1956. It more than adequately justified the existence and training of 2REP and demonstrated the value of having a unit capable of rapid deployment and implementation. air raids.

France is living a court scandal. It started quite innocently. A court in Lille annulled the marriage of two Muslims. It would be said there are thousands of such divorces. Nevertheless, the case caused a stir and the commotion reached the Bourbon Palace in Paris, the seat of the National Assembly. The chair swings with the Minister of Justice. The public discusses no less excitedly than the political and intellectual elite. The judicial verdict struck France at a sensitive point, raising a mix of questions about gender equality, the non-religion of civil society and the pressures of the Islamic tradition on the behavior and attitudes of individuals.