Rulers of France

Merovingians

Childeric I
Became leader of the Merovingians in 458
Clovis I, or Chlodwig, Ludwig, Louis
Crowned 481
Pepin of Herstal
(687-714) took over as leader of the Franks
Charles, called Martel, or the Hammer
Defeated the Saracens in 732
Pepin the Short
(741-768) deposed Childeric III in 751

Carolingians

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great
(742-814) became king of the Franks, 768, with his brother Carloman, who died 771. He ruled France, Germany, parts of Italy, Spain, Austria, and enforced Christianity. Crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in St. Peter’s, Rome, Dec. 25, 800 AD.
Louis I the Pious
(814-840) At death, 840, Louis left empire to sons, Lothair (Roman emperor); Pepin I (king of Aquitaine); Louis II (of Germany); Charles the Bald (France). They quarreled and by the peace of Verdun, 843, divided the empire.
Charles I the Bald
(843-877) Roman Emperor, 875
Louis II the Stammerer
(877-879) son
Louis III
(879-882) died 882
Carloman
(879-885) brother of Louis III
Charles II the Fat
(885-888) Roman Emperor, 881
Eudes or Odo
(888-898) elected by nobles
Charles III the Simple
(898-922) son of Louis II, defeated by Robert
Robert
(922-923) brother of Eudes, killed in war
Rudolph or Raoul
(923-936) Duke of Burgundy
Louis IV
(936-954) son of Charles III
Lothair
(954-986) son, aged 13, defeated by Capet
Louis V the Sluggard
(986-987) left no heirs

Capets

Hugh Capet
(987-996) son of Hugh the Great
Robert II the Wise
(996-1031) Hugh Capet's son
Henry I
(1031-1060) Robert II's son
Philip I the Fair
(1060-1108) son
Louis VI the Fat
(1108-1137) son
Louis VII the Younger
(1137-1180) son
Philip II Augustus
(1180-1223) son, crowned at Reims
Louis VIII the Lion
(1223-1226) son
Louis IX
(1226-1270) son, crusader; Louis IX (1214-1270) reigned 44 years, arbitrated disputes with English King Henry III; led crusades, 1248 (captured in Egypt 1250) and 1270, when he died of plague in Tunis. Canonized 1297 as St. Louis.
Philip III the Hardy
(1270-1285) son
Philip IV the Fair
(1285-1314) son, king at 17
Louis X the Headstrong
(1314-1316) son of Philip IV
John I
(1316) Louis X's posthumous son, lived only 7 days
Philip V the Tall
(1316-1322) brother of Louis X
Charles IV the Fair
(1322-1328) brother of Louis X

House of Valois

Philip VI of Valois
(1328-1350) grandson of Philip III
John II the Good
(1350-1364) his son, retired to England
Charles V the Wise
(1364-1380) son
Charles VI the Beloved
(1380-1422) son
Charles VII the Victorious
(1422-1461) son. In 1429 Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) promised Charles to oust the English, who occupied northern France. Joan won at Orleans and Patay and had Charles crowned at Reims July 17, 1429. Joan was captured May 24, 1430, and executed May 30, 1431, at Rouen for heresy. Charles ordered her rehabilitation, effected 1455.
Louis XI the Cruel
(1461-1483) son, civil reformer
Charles VIII the Affable
(1483-1498) son
Louis XII
(1498-1515) great-grandson of Charles V
Francis I
(1515-1547) of Angouleme, nephew, son-in-law. Francis I (1494-1547) reigned 32 years, fought 4 big wars, was patron of the arts, aided Cellini, del Sarto, Leonardo da Vinci, Rabelais, embellished Fontainebleau.
Henry II
(1547-1559) son, killed at a joust in a tournament. He was the husband of Catherine de Medicis (1519-1589) and the lover of Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566). Catherine was born in Florence, daughter of Lorenzo de Medici. By her marriage to Henry II she became the mother of Francis II, Charles IX, Henry III and Queen Margaret (Reine Margot), wife of Henry IV. She persuaded Charles IX to order the massacre of Huguenots on the Feast of St. Bartholomew, Aug. 24, 1572, the day her daughter was married to Henry of Navarre.
Francis II
(1559-1560) son. In 1548, Mary, Queen of Scots since in-fancy, was betrothed when 6 to Francis, aged 4. They were married 1558. Francis died 1560, aged 16; Mary ruled Scotland, abdicated 1567.
Charles IX
(1560-1574) brother
Henry III
(1574-1589) brother, assassinated

House of Bourbon

Henry IV
(1589-1610) of Navarre, assassinated. Henry IV made enemies when he gave tolerance to Protestants by Edict of Nantes, 1598. He was grandson of Queen Margaret of Navarre, literary patron. He married Margaret of Valois, daughter of Henry II and Catherine de Medicis; was divorced; in 1600 married Marie de Medicis, who became Regent of France, 1610-17, for her son, Louis XIII, but was exiled by Richelieu, 1631.
Louis XIII the Just
(1610-1643) son. Louis XIII (1601-1643) married Anne of Austria. His ministers were Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin.
Louis XIV The Grand Monarch
(1643-1715) son. Louis XIV was king 72 years. He exhausted a prosperous country in wars for thrones and territory. By revoking the Edict of Nantes (1685) he caused the emigration of the Huguenots. He said: "I am the state."
Louis XV
(1715-1774) great-grandson. Louis XV married a Polish princess; lost Canada to the English. His favorites, Mme. Pompadour and Mme. Du Barry, influenced policies. Noted for saying "After me, the deluge."
Louis XVI
(1774-1792) grandson; married Marie Antoinette, daughter of Empress Maria Therese of Austria. King and queen beheaded by Revolution, 1793. Their son, called Louis XVII, died in prison, never ruled.

First Republic

National Convention of the French Revolution
1792
Directory, under Barras and others
1795
Consulate, Napoleon Bonaparte, first consul. Elected consul for life, 1802.
1799

First Empire

Napoleon I
(1804-1814) emperor. Josephine (de Beauharnais), empress, 1804-09; Marie Louise, empress, 1810-1814. Her son, Francois (1811-1832), titular King of Rome, later Duke de Reichstadt and "Napoleon II," never ruled. Napoleon abdicated 1814, died 1821.

House of Bourbon (restored)

Louis XVIII
(1814-1824) king; brother of Louis XVI
Charles X
(1824-1830) brother; reactionary; deposed by the July Revolution, 1830

House of Orleans

Louis-Philippe
(1830-1848) the "citizen king"

Second Republic and Empire

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
(1848-1852) president, nephew of Napoleon I. He became:
Napoleon III
(1852-1871) emperor; Eugenie (de Montijo), empress. Lost Franco-Prussian war, deposed 1870. Son, Prince Imperial (1856-79), died in Zulu War. Eugenie died 1920.

Third Republic

Louis Adolphe Thiers
Term: 1871-1873
Birth: 1797
Death: 1877
Marshal Patrice M. de MacMahon
Term: 1873-1879
Birth: 1808
Death: 1893
Paul J. Grevy
Term: 1879-1887
Birth: 1807
Death: 1891
M. Sadi-Carnot
Term: 1887-1894
Birth: 1837
Death: 1894, assassinated
Jean P. P. Casimir-Perier
Term: 1894-1895
Birth: 1847
Death: 1907
François Felix Faure
Term: 1895-1899
Birth: 1841
Death: 1899
Emile Loubet
Term: 1899-1906
Birth: 1838
Death: 1929
C. Armand Fallieres
Term: 1906-1913
Birth: 1841
Death: 1931
Raymond Poincare
Term: 1913-1920
Birth: 1860
Death: 1934
Paul Deschanel
Term: 1920
Birth: 1856
Death: 1922
Alexandre Millerand
Term: 1920-1924
Birth: 1859
Death: 1943
Gaston Doumergue
Term: 1924-1931
Birth: 1863
Death: 1937
Paul Doumer
Term: 1931-1932
Birth: 1857
Death: 1932, assassinated
Albert Lebrun
Term: 1932-1940, resigned 1940
Birth: 1871
Death: 1950

Vichy government under German armistice

Henri Philippe Petain
Term: 1940-1944, Chief of State.
Birth: 1856
Death: 1951

Provisional government after Liberation

Charles de Gaulle
Term: Oct. 1944-Jan. 21, 1946
Birth: 1890
Death: 1970
Felix Gouin
Term: Jan. 23, 1946-June 1946
Birth: 1884
Death: 1977
Georges Bidault
Term: June 24, 1946-1947
Birth: 1899
Death: 1983

Fourth Republic

Vincent Auriol
Elected: 1947
Birth: 1884
Death: 1966
Rene Coty
Elected: 1954
Birth: 1882
Death: 1962

Fifth Republic

Charles Andre J. M. de Gaulle
Elected: 1959
Birth: 1890
Death: 1970
Georges Pompidou
Elected: 1969
Birth: 1911
Death: 1974
Valery Giscard d'Estaing
Elected: 1974
Birth: 1926
François Mitterand
Elected: 1981
Born: 1916
Death: 1996
Jacques Chirac
Elected: 1995
Born: 1932
Nicolas Sarkozy
Elected: 2007
Born: 1955
François Hollande
Elected: 2012
Born: 1954
Emmanuel Macron
Elected: 2017
Born: 1977

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