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French Republic
République francaise
Timeline: The Era of Relative Peace

OTL equivalent: France
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Location of French Republic
Map of France and overseas possessions
Motto
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
("Liberty, Fraternity, Equality")
Anthem "La Marseille"
Capital
(and largest city)
Paris
Other cities Marseille, Brest, Lyon, Orleans, Tours, Bordeaux
Language
  official
 
French
  others Corsican, Breton, Norman, Walloon
Legislature Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
President Jean Marie Lepen
Organizations EU, UN, NATO

France (officially known as the French Republic, French: République francaise) is one of the oldest countries in Western Europe. The country borders Spain to east, Belgium to the northeast, Italy to the Southeast, and Germany to the east. In addition to the mainland, France possesses several territories located in the Atlantic, South America, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific.

History[]

See also: History of France

Pre-War[]

World War II[]

France was a member of the Allied Powers during World War II. France and the United Kingdom both declared war on Nazi Germany after it invaded Poland. British Expeditionary Forces and French troops tried to halt the German war machine but were continuously pushed back. The country fell to the Germans on June 1940 after the famous Operation Dynamo in Dunkirk, in which thousands of British and French troops successfully evacuated to the UK. A puppet government was established called Vichy France. Yet, resistance activity continued against the Nazis. These partisans were mainly composed of differing factions so it was common for infighting among many groups. They were mainly supplied by American and British aid. On June 6, 1944, American, British, and Canadian troops launched the largest amphibious assault termed Operation Overload. Landings occurred at Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches in Normandy. The country was liberated from the Nazis in August 1944. Free French Forces then participated on the drive to Germany, eventually giving them a piece of the Allied occupation and portion of Berlin.

Cold War[]

France was one of the founding members of NATO in 1949, created to counter Soviet aggression in Eastern Europe. Following WWII, France was beginning to lose grips on their colonies. Following the First Indochina War, France recognized the independence of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Some colonies also began to declare independence. In 1956, France along with the United Kingdom and Israel took part in the Suez Canal Crisis. It was from the failure of this event that stripped France the UK of its superpower status.

During the 1960s, French troops were involved in the Algerian War of Independence. In 1966, the country withdrew from NATO for the fear of a Soviet attack. Despite leaving the intergovernmental organization, the French were quick to dive in into NATO military activity. Much throughout the proxy wars of the 1970s and 1980s, France supported the African country of Chad in the Chad-Libya conflict, supplying the FANT with guns, ammunition, supplies, fuel, and Toyota pick up trucks - hence part of the conflict was called the Toyota War. On October 23, 1983, 58 French paratroopers were killed in the 1983 Beirut barracks attack, alongside with 241 U.S. Marines, 6 civilians, and the two perpetuators. The French were part of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon hence their involvement in the Middle East.

World War III[]

Even though France was not a member of NATO in 1989, the country quickly came into the defense of West Germany from an attack from the Soviet Union. French troops were deployed alongside their NATO counterparts, but were quickly routed from each defensive line. After weeks of fighting, French and NATO forces were able to halt the Soviet advance into Western Europe.

After much of the Balkans fell to the Soviets, a new front in the Mediterranean opened. Using captured ports and naval vessels, the Soviet Navy defeated a fleet of Allied ships in the Mediterranean. This was followed by invasions of Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, and the southern coast of France. The city of Marseille was invaded due to the strategic port it had along with the French Mediterranean Fleet. Some elements of the French fleet escaped to the strait of Gibraltar, where some retreating allied ships were able to effectively cut-off Soviet ships or submarines from escaping into the Atlantic. In the Southern coast, the Soviets occupied a few miles in land before being halted by the French. At this point, both American and British forces started deploying troops into France by late-November 1989. It was after a grueling fight that the Soviets were expelled from French soil by the end of December 1989.

Politics[]

Administrative Regions[]

Overseas Dependencies[]

Flag Name Location Motto Area Population Capital
Clipperton Islands South Pacific 0 (uninhabited)
French Guiana South America
French Polynesia South Pacific
French Southern and Antarctic Lands Antarctica
Guadeloupe Caribbean
Martinique Caribbean
Mayotte Caribbean
New Caledonia South Pacific
Réunion Indian OCean
Saint Barthélemy Caribbean
Saint Martin Caribbean
Saint Pierre and Miquelon North Atlantic
Wallis and Futuna South Pacific

Military[]

France has one of the most powerful militaries in Europe. During the Third World War, while numerically inferior against the Soviets, its technologically advance arsenal was able to halt the Soviet advance into the southern coast. The common French infantry soldier id armed with the FAMAS bullpup assault rifle; other small arms include the MAS AA LMG series and the PSG-1 Sniper rifle. For their armor regiments, they use the AMX-10 RC armored car and the AMX-30 MBT.

The Navy (Marine National) operates frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and minesweepers. The two aircraft carriers FS Foch and FS Charles de Guelle performed well during the Third World War. The Air Force mainly operates the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Rafaelle series of fighter jets.

France is a nuclear armed country, first testing its nuclear weapon in 1960. No French nukes were used during World War III.

Economy[]

Culture[]

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