France

Faction Overview	/Strategic Overview/	/History/
:For the precursor culture of this faction, see Franks.
France have the power of Concord.
For almost more than a century, sacred France has been crushed under the jackboot of perfidious Albion and her allies - the traitorous Bretons and Burgundians, and the barbarian Gascons - for the English not only have adopted that most ignoble of weapons, the peasant longbow, to great effect, but also added a strange new weapon of which only whispers have been muttered: gunpowder. It is this militant perfidy which has left France to the mercies of multiple unequal treaties which have not just ceded land to the English in the south, east and north, but also damaged French prestige in all Christendom, even as the king of France, now best by madness, has now become little more than a pawn between the many smaller nobles on both sides - the Burgundians under Philip the Bold, who is himself uncle to the French king but allied to the English, and the noble houses of Orléans and Armagnac who seek to foil any attempts by the English to annex all of France.
Yet, even now, the English are wavering. For all the chaos and destruction they have wreaked, the English now face disorder, not just in France, but at home where tensions beteen the English crown and the Welsh have been simmering. The high seas too seem to be France's ally: deprived coastal folk have taken up commerce raiding as a profession - a fact not lost on the French crown, as feeble as it may be, as well as their most distant friends to the north of England, the Scots, who have joined in the fray albeit in limited numbers. Anti-English sentiment is rising in France itself, and people speak of throwing their lot in with either Orléans or Armagnac while France's Iberian allies, the Trastamarans, have seized control of Castile. Soon, Trastámara should set the stage for a full Castilian domination of Spain, notwithstanding the setbacks in annexing Portugal to the distant west. All that is left, though, is for the French to find a leader around whom the smallfolk and the nobility can fully unite around to achieve the monumental task of liberation .... 
Cavalry - thanks to the great and vast reach of France's borders, and the fecundity of her lands - is the mainstay of the French army, early on as heavy cavalry, then evolving to the all-new gunpowder-equipped units of later centuries upon the introduction of better firearms. However, there is simply more than just warfare when it comes to France - it has, in the decades between the restoration of French rule in Normandie by Philippe II and the English invasions, been an economic and cultural powerhouse in Christendom. Even the English themselves would be considered a petty noble family by French reckoning, but for the sheer size of English Britain and the barbarous tongues spoken by the villiens oppressed by England's French-speaking overlords. France may not hold a candle to the wealth of the Italians or the Tatars, or the sheer size of the Saracen kingdoms, but it is definitely a future power in Europe proper. Yet, the English remain to be reckoned with, for their grip through their continental fortresses poses a stumbling block to France ... and may do so well into the distant future.	
For almost more than a century, sacred France has been crushed under the jackboot of perfidious Albion and her allies - the traitorous Bretons and Burgundians, and the barbarian Gascons - for the English not only have adopted that most ignoble of weapons, the peasant longbow, to great effect, but also added a strange new weapon of which only whispers have been muttered: gunpowder. It is this militant perfidy which has left France to the mercies of multiple unequal treaties which have not just ceded land to the English in the south, east and north, but also damaged French prestige in all Christendom, even as the king of France, now best by madness, has now become little more than a pawn between the many smaller nobles on both sides - the Burgundians under Philip the Bold, who is himself uncle to the French king but allied to the English, and the noble houses of Orléans and Armagnac who seek to foil any attempts by the English to annex all of France.
Yet, even now, the English are wavering. For all the chaos and destruction they have wreaked, the English now face disorder, not just in France, but at home where tensions beteen the English crown and the Welsh have been simmering. The high seas too seem to be France's ally: deprived coastal folk have taken up commerce raiding as a profession - a fact not lost on the French crown, as feeble as it may be, as well as their most distant friends to the north of England, the Scots, who have joined in the fray albeit in limited numbers. Anti-English sentiment is rising in France itself, and people speak of throwing their lot in with either Orléans or Armagnac while France's Iberian allies, the Trastamarans, have seized control of Castile. Soon, Trastámara should set the stage for a full Castilian domination of Spain, notwithstanding the setbacks in annexing Portugal to the distant west. All that is left, though, is for the French to find a leader around whom the smallfolk and the nobility can fully unite around to achieve the monumental task of liberation .... 
Cavalry - thanks to the great and vast reach of France's borders, and the fecundity of her lands - is the mainstay of the French army, early on as heavy cavalry, then evolving to the all-new gunpowder-equipped units of later centuries upon the introduction of better firearms. However, there is simply more than just warfare when it comes to France - it has, in the decades between the restoration of French rule in Normandie by Philippe II and the English invasions, been an economic and cultural powerhouse in Christendom. Even the English themselves would be considered a petty noble family by French reckoning, but for the sheer size of English Britain and the barbarous tongues spoken by the villiens oppressed by England's French-speaking overlords. France may not hold a candle to the wealth of the Italians or the Tatars, or the sheer size of the Saracen kingdoms, but it is definitely a future power in Europe proper. Yet, the English remain to be reckoned with, for their grip through their continental fortresses poses a stumbling block to France ... and may do so well into the distant future.	
For almost more than a century, sacred France has been crushed under the jackboot of perfidious Albion and her allies - the traitorous Bretons and Burgundians, and the barbarian Gascons - for the English not only have adopted that most ignoble of weapons, the peasant longbow, to great effect, but also added a strange new weapon of which only whispers have been muttered: gunpowder. It is this militant perfidy which has left France to the mercies of multiple unequal treaties which have not just ceded land to the English in the south, east and north, but also damaged French prestige in all Christendom, even as the king of France, now best by madness, has now become little more than a pawn between the many smaller nobles on both sides - the Burgundians under Philip the Bold, who is himself uncle to the French king but allied to the English, and the noble houses of Orléans and Armagnac who seek to foil any attempts by the English to annex all of France.
Yet, even now, the English are wavering. For all the chaos and destruction they have wreaked, the English now face disorder, not just in France, but at home where tensions beteen the English crown and the Welsh have been simmering. The high seas too seem to be France's ally: deprived coastal folk have taken up commerce raiding as a profession - a fact not lost on the French crown, as feeble as it may be, as well as their most distant friends to the north of England, the Scots, who have joined in the fray albeit in limited numbers. Anti-English sentiment is rising in France itself, and people speak of throwing their lot in with either Orléans or Armagnac while France's Iberian allies, the Trastamarans, have seized control of Castile. Soon, Trastámara should set the stage for a full Castilian domination of Spain, notwithstanding the setbacks in annexing Portugal to the distant west. All that is left, though, is for the French to find a leader around whom the smallfolk and the nobility can fully unite around to achieve the monumental task of liberation .... 
Cavalry - thanks to the great and vast reach of France's borders, and the fecundity of her lands - is the mainstay of the French army, early on as heavy cavalry, then evolving to the all-new gunpowder-equipped units of later centuries upon the introduction of better firearms. However, there is simply more than just warfare when it comes to France - it has, in the decades between the restoration of French rule in Normandie by Philippe II and the English invasions, been an economic and cultural powerhouse in Christendom. Even the English themselves would be considered a petty noble family by French reckoning, but for the sheer size of English Britain and the barbarous tongues spoken by the villiens oppressed by England's French-speaking overlords. France may not hold a candle to the wealth of the Italians or the Tatars, or the sheer size of the Saracen kingdoms, but it is definitely a future power in Europe proper. Yet, the English remain to be reckoned with, for their grip through their continental fortresses poses a stumbling block to France ... and may do so well into the distant future.	
For almost more than a century, sacred France has been crushed under the jackboot of perfidious Albion and her allies - the traitorous Bretons and Burgundians, and the barbarian Gascons - for the English not only have adopted that most ignoble of weapons, the peasant longbow, to great effect, but also added a strange new weapon of which only whispers have been muttered: gunpowder. It is this militant perfidy which has left France to the mercies of multiple unequal treaties which have not just ceded land to the English in the south, east and north, but also damaged French prestige in all Christendom, even as the king of France, now best by madness, has now become little more than a pawn between the many smaller nobles on both sides - the Burgundians under Philip the Bold, who is himself uncle to the French king but allied to the English, and the noble houses of Orléans and Armagnac who seek to foil any attempts by the English to annex all of France.
Yet, even now, the English are wavering. For all the chaos and destruction they have wreaked, the English now face disorder, not just in France, but at home where tensions beteen the English crown and the Welsh have been simmering. The high seas too seem to be France's ally: deprived coastal folk have taken up commerce raiding as a profession - a fact not lost on the French crown, as feeble as it may be, as well as their most distant friends to the north of England, the Scots, who have joined in the fray albeit in limited numbers. Anti-English sentiment is rising in France itself, and people speak of throwing their lot in with either Orléans or Armagnac while France's Iberian allies, the Trastamarans, have seized control of Castile. Soon, Trastámara should set the stage for a full Castilian domination of Spain, notwithstanding the setbacks in annexing Portugal to the distant west. All that is left, though, is for the French to find a leader around whom the smallfolk and the nobility can fully unite around to achieve the monumental task of liberation .... 
Cavalry - thanks to the great and vast reach of France's borders, and the fecundity of her lands - is the mainstay of the French army, early on as heavy cavalry, then evolving to the all-new gunpowder-equipped units of later centuries upon the introduction of better firearms. However, there is simply more than just warfare when it comes to France - it has, in the decades between the restoration of French rule in Normandie by Philippe II and the English invasions, been an economic and cultural powerhouse in Christendom. Even the English themselves would be considered a petty noble family by French reckoning, but for the sheer size of English Britain and the barbarous tongues spoken by the villiens oppressed by England's French-speaking overlords. France may not hold a candle to the wealth of the Italians or the Tatars, or the sheer size of the Saracen kingdoms, but it is definitely a future power in Europe proper. Yet, the English remain to be reckoned with, for their grip through their continental fortresses poses a stumbling block to France ... and may do so well into the distant future.
Faction Type: West European, CatholicNational Bonuses:
*Cultural Emphasis : Start with university. Universities built 50% cheaper.
*Patriot Movement : Town Centre  is 50% cheaper, researches 100% faster at -10% cost.
*L'Etât, C'est Moi : French Castles and Dockyards have -20% HP, but can be built 3 times as fast.
Unique Units:
*Peasant Commune: Peasant Levy, Pike Levy [1-2] => Conscript Pikemen [3]
*Town Watch Guild: Skirmisher Levy, Levy Crossbowmen => Armed Mobs
*Drill Square : 
**Spear sergeants => Billmen [1, consumed by Maison du Roi], Hussars [3]
**Fauchards => Halberds [1] => Musketeers [2] => Line Infantry [3]
**Arbalest Infantry [1] => Musketeers, Chasseurs [3]
*Armoury :
**Coustilliers [1, consumed by Hussars], Maison du Roi Grenadiers [2]
**Gendarmerie d'Ordonnance [1] => Gendarme Cuirassiers [2] => Garde du Corps [3]
**Mounted Cranequiniers => [1] => Reiters => Mosquetaires de la Garde [2] => Chasseurs a Cheval [3]
*Castle:
**Siege: Bombard => Cannon 
**Light: Culverin => Serpentine 
**Gun: Arquebusiers => Landsknecht Gunners [1] => Musketeers [2]
*Nobles' Court: Lay Knight => Holy Order Marshall, Brother-Knight
*Dockyard:
**War Galley => Brigantine [1-2] => Corvette [3]
**Frigate [2] => Heavy Frigate [3]
**Cog => Carrack [1] => Galleon [2] => Man of War [3]
*Siege Workshop: Ram, Trebuchet, Springald [1] => Serpentine [2] => Cannon => de Valière Cannon [3]
Mercenaries:
*Castle: Stuart Exile, Jazda? [3]
*Temple: Swiss Guards [2]
*Outpost:
**Level 1:  Galloglaich
**Level 2: Merchant Cavalry [1, consumed by Stuart Exile[
**Level 3: Genoese Crossbow, Handgonne?
**Level 4: Reislaufer [1, consumed by Swiss Guards], Montgolfier (slow, vulnerable, but very useful unit for use as a mobile observation post, can detect hidden enemies. Functions as a helicopter)	
Faction Type: West European, CatholicNational Bonuses:
*Cultural Emphasis : Start with university. Universities built 50% cheaper.
*Patriot Movement : Town Centre  is 50% cheaper, researches 100% faster at -10% cost.
*L'Etât, C'est Moi : French Castles and Dockyards have -20% HP, but can be built 3 times as fast.
Unique Units:
*Peasant Commune: Peasant Levy, Pike Levy [1-2] => Conscript Pikemen [3]
*Town Watch Guild: Skirmisher Levy, Levy Crossbowmen => Armed Mobs
*Drill Square : 
**Spear sergeants => Billmen [1, consumed by Maison du Roi], Hussars [3]
**Fauchards => Halberds [1] => Musketeers [2] => Line Infantry [3]
**Arbalest Infantry [1] => Musketeers, Chasseurs [3]
*Armoury :
**Coustilliers [1, consumed by Hussars], Maison du Roi Grenadiers [2]
**Gendarmerie d'Ordonnance [1] => Gendarme Cuirassiers [2] => Garde du Corps [3]
**Mounted Cranequiniers => [1] => Reiters => Mosquetaires de la Garde [2] => Chasseurs a Cheval [3]
*Castle:
**Siege: Bombard => Cannon 
**Light: Culverin => Serpentine 
**Gun: Arquebusiers => Landsknecht Gunners [1] => Musketeers [2]
*Nobles' Court: Lay Knight => Holy Order Marshall, Brother-Knight
*Dockyard:
**War Galley => Brigantine [1-2] => Corvette [3]
**Frigate [2] => Heavy Frigate [3]
**Cog => Carrack [1] => Galleon [2] => Man of War [3]
*Siege Workshop: Ram, Trebuchet, Springald [1] => Serpentine [2] => Cannon => de Valière Cannon [3]
Mercenaries:
*Castle: Stuart Exile, Jazda? [3]
*Temple: Swiss Guards [2]
*Outpost:
**Level 1:  Galloglaich
**Level 2: Merchant Cavalry [1, consumed by Stuart Exile[
**Level 3: Genoese Crossbow, Handgonne?
**Level 4: Reislaufer [1, consumed by Swiss Guards], Montgolfier (slow, vulnerable, but very useful unit for use as a mobile observation post, can detect hidden enemies. Functions as a helicopter)	
Faction Type: West European, CatholicNational Bonuses:
*Cultural Emphasis : Start with university. Universities built 50% cheaper.
*Patriot Movement : Town Centre  is 50% cheaper, researches 100% faster at -10% cost.
*L'Etât, C'est Moi : French Castles and Dockyards have -20% HP, but can be built 3 times as fast.
Unique Units:
*Peasant Commune: Peasant Levy, Pike Levy [1-2] => Conscript Pikemen [3]
*Town Watch Guild: Skirmisher Levy, Levy Crossbowmen => Armed Mobs
*Drill Square : 
**Spear sergeants => Billmen [1, consumed by Maison du Roi], Hussars [3]
**Fauchards => Halberds [1] => Musketeers [2] => Line Infantry [3]
**Arbalest Infantry [1] => Musketeers, Chasseurs [3]
*Armoury :
**Coustilliers [1, consumed by Hussars], Maison du Roi Grenadiers [2]
**Gendarmerie d'Ordonnance [1] => Gendarme Cuirassiers [2] => Garde du Corps [3]
**Mounted Cranequiniers => [1] => Reiters => Mosquetaires de la Garde [2] => Chasseurs a Cheval [3]
*Castle:
**Siege: Bombard => Cannon 
**Light: Culverin => Serpentine 
**Gun: Arquebusiers => Landsknecht Gunners [1] => Musketeers [2]
*Nobles' Court: Lay Knight => Holy Order Marshall, Brother-Knight
*Dockyard:
**War Galley => Brigantine [1-2] => Corvette [3]
**Frigate [2] => Heavy Frigate [3]
**Cog => Carrack [1] => Galleon [2] => Man of War [3]
*Siege Workshop: Ram, Trebuchet, Springald [1] => Serpentine [2] => Cannon => de Valière Cannon [3]
Mercenaries:
*Castle: Stuart Exile, Jazda? [3]
*Temple: Swiss Guards [2]
*Outpost:
**Level 1:  Galloglaich
**Level 2: Merchant Cavalry [1, consumed by Stuart Exile[
**Level 3: Genoese Crossbow, Handgonne?
**Level 4: Reislaufer [1, consumed by Swiss Guards], Montgolfier (slow, vulnerable, but very useful unit for use as a mobile observation post, can detect hidden enemies. Functions as a helicopter)	
Unique buildings:
*Noble Residence
*Peasants' Commune
*Constabulary
*Magistracy
*Stronghold
Wonders:
*Grand Cathedral
*Stock Exchange
*National Institute of Sciences
*Royal Military Academy
*Versailles
Upgrades:
*Myths and Mysteries
Settlements:	Settlements:	Settlements:	Leaders:
*Paris
*Rheims
*Orleans
*Lorient
*Mont-Saint-Aignan
*Angouleme
*Chartres
*Amiens
*Cluny
*Toulouse
*Bayonne
*Tours
*Quevilly
*Poitiers
*Calvados
*Brest
*Metz
*Aubusson
*Cherbourg
*Harfleur
*Lisieux
*Verdun	
*Moulins
*Castillon
*Calais
*Varennes
*Fresnoy
*Evreux
*Nîmes
*Rocroi
*Boulogne
*Vendôme
*Coutrai
*Bordeaux
*Nantes
*Blois
*Narbonne
*Bourges
*Soissons
*Pont-Audemer
*Pont-L'Evêque
*Saint-Etienne de Rouvray
*Pondicherry	
*Senlis
*Strasbourg
*Marseilles
*Honfleur
*Artois
*Fort-de-France
*Saint-Croix
*Trois-Rivières
*Québec
*Port-Royal
*Charlesfort
*Des Moines
*Detroit
*Cap-Français
*Biloxi
*Mobile
*Montréal
*Nouvelle-Orleans
*Baton Rouge
*Port au Prince
*Ajaccio
*Gênes
*Fort du Quesne	
*Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne
*Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
*Armand Jean du Plessis
*Catherine de' Medici
*Claude de Villars
*Jules Mazarin
*Jean-Baptiste Colbert
*François
*Philippe
*Jeanne d'Arc
*Charles
*Henri
*Louis
*François-Michel le Tellier
*Bailli de Suffren
Category:The Southeastern Dragon factions