Powerful vassals paid homage to the French king. [251] France managed to regain its international status thanks to a successful production strategy, a demographic spurt, and technical and political innovations. This led to the ascension of the Huguenot Henry IV; in order to bring peace to a country beset by religious and succession wars, he converted to Catholicism. Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799 becoming First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1814; 1815). [86] During the 1970s France faced economic crisis and allowed new immigrants (mostly from the Maghreb)[86] to permanently settle in France with their families and to acquire French citizenship. [165], The French Armed Forces (Forces armées françaises) are the military and paramilitary forces of France, under the President of the Republic as supreme commander. Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, "Cultura statistics", Musée d'Orsay (official website), History of the museum –. It was this Gaulish participation that caused Provence to be annexed in 122 BC by the Roman Republic. Since 1635, the Académie française has been France's official authority on the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal weight. [84] France has also gradually but fully reintegrated into NATO and has since participated in most NATO sponsored wars. In the late 19th century, Gustave Eiffel designed many bridges, such as Garabit viaduct, and remains one of the most influential bridge designers of his time, although he is best remembered for the iconic Eiffel Tower. The authority of the king was more religious than administrative. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cubism was developed by Georges Braque and the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, living in Paris. The war played out in North America and India as well as Europe, and inconclusive terms were agreed to in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). The association of France with fashion and style (French: la mode) dates largely to the reign of Louis XIV[382] when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe. In recognition of his successes and his political support for the Papacy, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans, or Roman Emperor in the West, by Pope Leo III in 800. Churchill, caught between the U.S. and de Gaulle, tried to find a compromise.[235][236]. It helped the other powers deal with Greece and Turkey. Napoleon abdicated on 6 April 1814, and was exiled to Elba. The government nationalized arms suppliers, and dramatically increased its program of rearming the French military in a last-minute catch up with the Germans. The Roman polytheism merged with the Gallic paganism into the same syncretism. [25], In English, 'France' is pronounced /fræns/ FRANSS in American English and /frɑːns/ FRAHNSS or /fræns/ FRANSS in British English. In 1940, France was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany and Italy. There are various theories as to the origin of the name Frank. This movement may well have been the largest single movement of civilians in history prior to 1947. November 1918 brought a surge of pride and unity, and an unrestrained demand for revenge. Great Britain had bought the Egyptian share from Isma'il Pasha and was the second-largest owner of the canal before the crisis.