Timeline of Key Events

Pre-20th Century

  • 1534: Jacques Cartier claims parts of North America for France
  • 1608: Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec
  • 1635: Martinique and Guadeloupe colonized
  • 1791-1804: Haitian Revolution - first successful slave revolt
  • 1830: French invasion of Algeria begins
  • 1881: Tunisia becomes French protectorate
  • 1884-1885: Berlin Conference partitions Africa
  • 1887: Creation of French Indochina
  • 1895: Formation of French West Africa (AOF)

Early 20th Century

  • 1912: Morocco becomes French protectorate
  • 1914-1918: Over 500,000 colonial troops serve France in WWI
  • 1931: Paris Colonial Exhibition
  • 1939-1945: Colonial troops crucial to Free France efforts
  • 1944: Thiaroye massacre of Senegalese soldiers
  • 1945: Sétif and Guelma massacres in Algeria (thousands killed)
  • 1945: Creation of CFA franc
  • 1946: French Union established; Caribbean colonies become departments
  • 1947: Madagascar uprising brutally suppressed

Decolonization Era

  • 1954: Battle of Dien Bien Phu; First Indochina War ends
  • 1954: Algerian War of Independence begins
  • 1956: Independence of Tunisia and Morocco
  • 1958: Guinea votes for immediate independence
  • 1960: Year of Africa - 14 French colonies gain independence
  • 1962: Algerian independence after 8-year war
  • 1968: Last major French military base in Africa established

Post-Colonial Period

  • 1974: France suspends labor immigration
  • 1981: François Mitterrand elected; promises new Africa policy
  • 1983: March for Equality and Against Racism
  • 1989: First "headscarf affair" in schools
  • 1994: France's controversial role in Rwandan genocide
  • 1998: France wins World Cup with diverse team

21st Century

  • 2004: Law banning conspicuous religious symbols in schools
  • 2005: Urban rebellions in banlieues across France
  • 2011: French military intervention in Ivory Coast
  • 2013: Operation Serval in Mali begins
  • 2017: Emmanuel Macron promises artifact restitution
  • 2020: George Floyd protests resonate in France
  • 2021: Return of 26 artifacts to Benin
  • 2022: France expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso
  • 2023: Niger expels French troops; Nahel Merzouk killing sparks protests

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