France

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Pod Emma Rothschild WL

A family history of France . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Bal des Ardents (the 'Ball of the Burning Men'), from 'The Chronicler of European Chivalry' by GG Coulton (London, 1930). The 1393 tragedy claimed the lives of four people. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Q&A What was the ‘Ball of the Burning Men’?

Women carrying flags and scythes or beating drums - one has a child on her shoulders - march on the Palace of Versailles to protest to the king

General Early Modern

Women in the French Revolution: fighting for equality

Illustration of the man in the iron mask standing by the window of his cell and guarded by two musketeers

Unmasking the ‘man in the iron mask’: do we know the identity of the famous prisoner?

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Politicians in suits discuss the Paris Peace Treaty inside the Palace of Versailles

The Paris Peace Conference: everything you wanted to know . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Soldiers disembark a landing craft with a battle on the beach beyond

How to win a 20th-century battle

Partnered content Gaijin War Thunder

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Christian Cooijmans explains what we know about Viking raids on Francia and Europe’s western seaboard. (Image by Getty Images)

Vikings and Franks . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Colin Jones tells the story of Maximilien Robespierre’s fall from power – a dramatic 24 hours that ended with the revolutionary titan facing the guillotine. (Image from Getty Images)

Robespierre’s brutal downfall . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A runner is helped across a finish line

21 key moments in the history of the modern Olympics

The Persian ambassador bows before Louis XIV in the Palace of Versailles

King of the world: how Louis XIV turned France into a global power

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Belgium and the Netherlands compete in a tug of war at the Antwerp Olympic

Olympic oddballs: 5 unusual Olympic sports from the past . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

French Revolution Quiz – test your knowledge with our history quiz

Quiz How much do you know about the French Revolution?

Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle

Q&A Who wrote the French national anthem?

Napoleon portrait by Jacques-Louis David shows is perhaps the most famous painting of the French emperor with one hand tucked out of sight

Why do Napoleon’s portraits often show him with one hand inside his shirt? The story of the French emperor’s missing hand…

Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier’s painting portrays the Declaration of the Rights of Man

How progressive was the French Revolution?