This post is a list of French political leaders (level 4 vital articles on Wikipedia). There are 26 political leaders listed below chronologically. Source: Wikipedia
Clovis I (c. 466 - 511 AD)
"...first Frankish king to unite the Franks... founder of the Merovingian dynasty... succeeded his father Childeric I, as a king of the Salian Franks in 481... area extending from what is now the southern Netherlands to northern France... adoption of Catholicism..." (Wikipedia: Clovis I, 2.15.26 UTC 21:53)
Charles Martel (c. 686 - 741 AD)
"...Frankish political and military leader... Duke and Prince of the Franks... Mayor of the Palace... de facto rule of the Franks from 718... military campaigns that re-established the Franks... victory against an Umayyad invasion of Aquitaine... divided Francia between his sons, Carloman and Pepin..." (Wikipedia: Charles Martel, 1.4.26 UTC 22:50)
Charlemagne (748 - 814 AD)
"...King of the Franks... Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800... united most of Western and Central Europe... Carolingian dynasty... eldest son of Pepin the Short... conquests of Bavaria, Saxony, and northern Spain... crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III... forerunner to the line of Holy Roman Emperors... reforms in administration, law, education, military organization, and religion..." (Wikipedia: Charlemagne, 2.23.26 UTC 18:59)
Louis the Pious (778-840 AD)
"...King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne... King of Aquitaine... conquered Barcelona from the Emirate of Córdoba... authority over Pamplona and the Basques south of the Pyrenees... sought to establish a suitable division of the realm... empire torn by civil war between his sons..." (Wikipedia: Louis the Pious, 2.7.26 UTC 11:11)
Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1124-1204)
"...duchess of Aquitaine... queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII... queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II... House of Poitiers..." (Wikipedia: Eleanor of Aquitaine, 2.23.26 UTC 12:36)
Philip II of France (1165-1223)
"...King of France... conflicts with the House of Plantagenet, Philip succeeded in putting an end to the Angevin Empire... transformed France into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe... checked the power of the nobles..." (Wikipedia: Philip II of France,
Louis IX of France (1214-1270)
"...King of France... most distinguished of the Direct Capetians... annexing several provinces, including parts of Aquitaine, Maine, and Provence... led the ill-fated Seventh and Eighth Crusades... reforms in the French legal system... enforced Catholic orthodoxy..." (Wikipedia: Louise IX of France, 2.25.26 UTC 01:01)
Philip IV of France (1268-1314)
"...King of France... King of Navarre... war with the County of Flanders... expelled the Jews from France, followed by the total destruction of the Knights Templar... tried to tax and impose state control over the Catholic Church in France... Avignon Papacy of 1309 to 1376..." (Wikipedia: Philip IV of France, 1.9.26 UTC 13:07)
Louis XI (1423-1483)
"...King of France... Charles the Bald, took up arms against his rival Louis. However, Louis was able to isolate Charles from his English allies by signing the Treaty of Picquigny (1475) with Edward IV of England. The treaty formally ended the Hundred Years' War... seize numerous Burgundian territories..." (Wikipedia: Louis XI, 2.5.26 UTC 17:11)
Francis I of France (1494-1547)
"...King of France... promoted the emergent French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work for him, including Leonardo da Vinci... spread of humanism and Protestantism... exploration of the New World... continued the Italian Wars... formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance..." (Wikipedia: Francis I of France, 2.8.26 UTC 19:05)
Catherine de' Medici (1519-1589)
"...Italian Florentine noblewoman... Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II... became regent on behalf of her 10-year-old son Charles IX... civil and religious war in France... rebelling Calvinist Protestants... St. Bartholomew's Day massacre..." (Wikipedia: Catherine de' Medici, 2.21.26 UTC 19:50)
Henry IV of France (1553-1610)
"...King of Navarre... King of France from 1589 to 1610... House of Bourbon... involved in the French Wars of Religion... led Protestant forces against the French royal army... converted to Catholicism... promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598), which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants... French colonization of the Americas..." (Wikipedia: Henry IV of France, 2.26.26 UTC 00:34)
Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)
"...French Catholic prelate and statesman... Consecrated a bishop in 1607... appointed Foreign Secretary in 1616... cardinal in 1622... chief minister to King Louis XIII in 1624... Thirty Years' War... suppressing the Huguenot rebellions... alliances with Protestant states like the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Republic..." (Wikipedia: Cardinal Richelieu, 2.22.26 UTC 16:48)
Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661)
"...Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician... chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis XIV... cardinal in 1641... services to Cardinal Richelieu... victories in the Thirty Years' War... Peace of Westphalia... Treaty of the Pyrenees..." (Wikipedia: Cardinal Mazarin, 1.7.26 UTC 11:25)
Louis XIV (1638-1715)
"...King of France... His reign last 72 years and 110 days, which is the longest of any monarch in history... French colonial expansion... conclusion of the Thirty Years' War... sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism... enforced uniformity of religion under the Catholic Church... revocation of the Edict of Nantes... Franco-Dutch War, the Nine Years' War, and the War of Spanish Succession..." (Wikipedia: Louis XIV, 2.18.26 UTC 12:05)
Louis XV (1710-1774)
"...King of France... succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV... returned the Austrian Netherlands... ceded New France in North America to Great Britain and Spain at the conclusion of the disastrous Seven Years' War... incorporated territories of the Duchy of Lorraine and the Corsican Republic..." (Wikipedia: Louis XV, 2.19.26 UTC 07:51)
Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764)
"...member of the French court... chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751... valued aide and advisor... patron of architecture and decorative arts..." (Wikipedia: Madame de Pompadour, 2.11.26 UTC 08:30)
Louis XVI (1754-1793)
"...last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution... efforts to increase tolerance toward non-Catholics... deregulation of the grain market... supported the North American colonists... Estates General of 1789... storming of the Bastille, which forced Louis to recognize the legislative authority of the National Assembly... arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792... executed by guillotine..." (Wikipedia: Louis XVI, 2.13.26 UTC 15:53)
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)
"...queen of France... execution during the French Revolution... Born an archduchess of Austria... youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor France I... target of criticism by opponents of the domestic and foreign policies of Louis XVI... country's financial crisis was blamed on her lavish spending..." (Wikipedia: Marie Antoinette, 2.24.26 UTC 19:53)
Napoleon (1769-1821)
"...campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars... First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then ruled the French Empire as Emperor of the French... campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies... invasion of Egypt and Syria... Coup of 18 Brumaire... dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire... defeated Prussia... defeated the Russians... invaded the Iberian Peninsula... defeated at the Battle of Leipzig... exiled him to the Mediterranean island... escaped Elba on a brig... defeated him at the Battle of Waterloo... exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena..." (Wikipedia: Napoleon, 2.20.26 UTC 21:55)
Louis Philippe I (1773-1850)
"...King of the French from 1840 to 1848... Orléans branch of the Bourbon family... abdicated from his throne during the French Revolution of 1848... exile for 21 years until the Bourbon Restoration... sponsored colonial expansion, notably the French conquest of Algeria..." (Wikipedia: Louis Philippe I, 2.23.26 UTC 23:58)
Napoleon III (1808-1873)
"...President of France from 1848 to 1852... Emperor of the French from 1852... son of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland and the nephew of Napoleon... grand reconstruction of Paris... building of the Suez Canal... defeated Russia in the Crimean War... defeating the Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence... annexed Savoy and Nice... doubled the area of the French colonial empire... declared war on Prussia..." (Wikipedia: Napoleon III, 2.21.26 UTC 13:12)
Adolphe Thiers (1797-1877)
"...President of France from 1871 to 1873... key figure in the July Revolution of 1830... Revolution of 1848... served as a prime minister in 1836 and 1840... When the Paris Commune seized power in March 1971, Theirs gave orders to the army for its suppression... departure of German soldiers from most of French territory..." (Wikipedia: Adolph Thiers, 2.22.26 UTC 10:10)
Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929)
"...prime minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920... amid the end of the First World War... advocating for the separation of church and state... amnesty of the Communards... stood for reparations, a transfer of colonies, strict rules to prevent a rearming process... restitution of Alsace-Lorraine... achieved these goals through the Treaty of Versailles..." (Wikipedia: Georges Clemenceau, 2.23.26 UTC 22:30)
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
"...French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany and Vichy France in World War II... chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946... commissioned a new constitution which was approved by voters in a referendum, establishing the Fifth Republic... elected President of France... protests by students and workers in May 68..." (Wikipedia: Charles de Gaulle, 2.24.26 UTC 16:46)
François Mitterrand (1916-1996)
"...President of France from 1981 to 1995... left-wing economic agenda, including nationalization of key firms... end of a government monopoly in radio and television broadcasting... abandoned his nationalization program, in favor of austerity and market liberalization... bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace vessel... advanced European integration..." (Wikipedia: François Mitterrand, 2.21.26 UTC 13:25)
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