France

France was a large nation located in the far west of Europe, one of the most prominent nations in all of Europe. France was west of Germany, north of the Iberian peninsula and east of the English Channel. The climate ranged from temperate in the north to warm in the south, where wines from the Chateau de La Jaubertie and other vineyards were prized as luxuries all over the world. France's history technically begins with the Gauls during the Roman era, who possessed a distinctive identity even after Rome conquered them (aside from a single village that held out centuries past the Roman conquest). After the fall of Rome, France began to take on a unique national shape. Supernatural influences played a key role in this early period, as numerous nonhuman beings such as fairies, ogres and sentient animals all emerged in large quantities in this era. These beings were targeted for persecution by the proto-French kingdom of Duloc. French princes' love lives would form the basis of many popular folk tales and the rise of poorer individuals such as Cinderella to wealth often inspired the peasantry. During this period, magical influences were often accepted, as "fairy godmothers" earned great prominence and the wizarding school of Beauxbatons was opened in southern France. However, this would change following the rising power of the Catholic Church. The various popes of this era were hostile to supernatural forces and ultimately France would push the supernatural beings of this period into hiding at the Catholic Church's request (aside from dragons which were tolerated for their continued use in warfare). They would often be hunted by the French Inquisition (which was almost as unexpected as their Spanish counterparts).

France still reckoned with unusual phenomena even after this point. In the 15th century, the magical girl Joan of Arc would experience visions from the Christian God that would inspire her to wage war on the English invaders of France. She additionally may have been the Slayer and conflicted with British-supporting demons before her (apparent) death. Outside of these phenomena, France would become one of the preeminent states of Europe, playing a key role in exploring the New World and colonisation. Domestically, France would contend with a variety of issues, including the increasing presence of gypsies in the country (which led to persecution from the likes of Claude Frollo) and the rise of heroic figures such as Charles D'Artagnan. Meanwhile France continued to build up a colonial empire, settling in what would later be Quebec and Louisiana. This development obviously would bring them into conflict with the British Empire and France lost numerous colonies during the Seven Years' War (though they got even by backing American independence).

In the aftermath of the Seven Years War, France's monarchy became increasingly unpopular. While there had been controversial monarchs before, the current King Louis had a habit of using the peasantry as clay pigeons and his wife Marie Antoinette dismissed the suffering of the poor by declaring "let them eat cake." This all would culminate in the French Revolution, which saw the monarchy overthrown. Nobles such as the degenerate Duc de Blangis were also targeted during the Revolution for execution via guillotine, though the Scarlet Pimpernel would save a number of these nobles, enabling them to flee the country. The Revolution paved the way for the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte to power. Napoleon, an infamously short, ill-tempered man, nevertheless managed to conquer much of Europe before finally being defeated at the Battle of Waterloo (occurring amidst the loss of the world's dragon fleets and in the wake of being sent forward in time temporarily).

The French Revolution was not the last revolution the country would experience. 1832 would see a revolt break out in the streets of Paris once again, although thanks to the actions of an inspector named Javert the uprising would ultimately fail. Similar uprisings in 1848 would likewise not be successful (though 1870 saw the formation of the brief Paris Commune, which famously allowed the so-called "Phantom" to build a layer in the Paris Opera House). The discontent present in France would give rise to criminals such as Maitre d'Ecole, the Chourineur, Arsène Lupin (the founder of a line of thieves), Robur the Conqueror and Fantômas. These individuals would not go unmatched, as the likes of C. Auguste Dupin, the Count of Monte Cristo and Paul Picard would emerge to challenge their activities. France would become a major center of science, discovering a lost world near the North Pole (inspiring the famed Lindenbrock expedition). Additionally, France would begin reconciliation with their longtime British rivals, forming the Entente shortly after the Sarmak invasion of 1898.

France was badly damaged by the full outbreak of World War I. Even though they deployed fabrications into battle alongside Britain and saw the likes of Judex, Rouletabille and Captain Hyx emerge to support the conflict, the country was badly devastated due to being a battlefield. Postwar France struggled with its returning "lost generation." Even during the Roaring Twenties, when the economy was booming and science advanced (the first cloning of a human, the discovery of three-eyed aliens on Venus and grafting human hands onto the pianist Orlac all occurred in this time), France struggled to reckon with the war's aftermath. France faced strained relations with the US when President John P. Wintergreen refused to marry a beauty pageant winner descended from an illegitimate nephew of Napoleon. A large number of master criminals reemerged in this era, including the infamous Santanas and Dr. Lorde, which led to the rise of vigilantes such as the Nyctalope and Fascinax. France would early on join with Britain to support appeasement of Hynkel's Germany before the invasion of Poland sparked the Second World War. France would infamously surrender to the Axis and be occupied until the D-Day invasions.

Postwar, France allied with the US (albeit fairly reluctantly) and joined NATO. France contributed to anti-communist defenses during this standoff, commissioning the SNIF intelligence service to combat communist espionage. While the likes of Serge Kovacs, Le Special, Glenne and the Vicomte never earned the notability of their British or American counterparts, they played a key role in combatting the spread of communism. France served as a front in the Third World War, serving as a staging ground to defend West Germany during the USSR's invasion attempt. After the Third World War, France under President Jacques Clouseau helped take on the Augment powers in the Eugenics Wars and contributed troops to fight the Brotherhood of Nod. The Harvester invasion destroyed Paris, but otherwise France remained untouched by the 1990's alien invasions. In the 21st century, new rifts opened up with their old American ally. This all spurred increasing cooperation with fellow European countries and France became one of the dominant members of the continent-wide European Federation. As a member of this Federation, France withstood the Second Jihad and the attempts by EF President Julian Felsenburgh to purge religious influences from Europe.

As a member of the European Federation, France fought with the western powers during the Great War, contributing troops to defeating Russia. Following the outbreak of nuclear war, most major cities were wiped out—the remains of France's corporate and governmental elite would concentrate rebuilding around (ironically enough) the city of Vichy, where they utilised a mutated tree as a source of power for their city. This came at the cost of essentially enslaving would-be immigrants to this refuge to power the city, at least until a dissident caused this system to collapse. Cannibalism was also rampant in France. Towards the end of the 21st century, however peacekeepers from outside and increasingly powerful conquerors from inside succeeded in returning order to France. France would subsequently become an early member of the Terran Federation.