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French Imperial (Civ7)

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The French Imperial people represent the First French Empire and subsequent French states, a Modern Age civilization in Civilization VII.

The French Imperials' civilization ability is Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, which allows them to select the Celebration Celebration effects of any Government Government in the Modern Age. Their associated Wonder Wonder is the Eiffel Tower, and their unique components are as follows:

Intro[]

The spark of revolution catches, and France is born. Standing in defiance of the right of kings, the French people choose a future governed by science and learning, provided that the old ways pass first through the guillotine. Bring the Revolution’s promise of a more just world, or resurrect the specters of autocracy.

Tips and hints[]

The French Empire benefits from large Cities and larger Armies. Their Jacobin Unique Civilian can increase yields on Quarters, provide Units additional Combat Strength, or even grant a unique Tradition.

Strategy[]

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Civilopedia entry[]

In the wake of Napoleon’s rise after the French Revolution, the French Empire became a major force on the world stage and Britain's principal antagonist. Though the Revolution deposed monarchies, France moved between various monarchies and new republics before its eventual defeat during the two World Wars. In that period, France became synonymous with culture, arts, and strident military conquest.

The Kingdom of France was the cultural center of the world for much of the 18th century. Most European courts (Austria, Germany, Russia, etc.) spoke French in an attempt to emulate the finery of Louis XIV's court. By the mid-18th century, France became one of the most powerful and influential forces in Europe. The French system epitomized absolute monarchy, a system that predominated Europe's Industrial era.

This system was different from what had come before. For example, feudal monarchs were not absolute authorities; they existed in relationship with a tree of marquises, dukes, etc. On the other hand, an absolute monarch gave all control to one person (and often rested atop a merit-based system). As observed by Louis XIV, "L'etat, c'est moi" (“I am the state”). Traditional checks on royal power were removed, which could be terrifying if the ruler was corrupt.

Still, this system rested on inequality, and the French Revolution in 1789 sought to correct that. Over the 18th century, the French population grew at an enormous rate leading to famine and calls for redress. Given the opulence of the palace and the U.S.'s example of a different kind of government, the population's desire to overthrow the old regime soon boiled over. The following period was a cycle of moderate steps toward a constitutional monarchy, violent revolution, and violent counter-revolution, etc. By 1799, ten years of chaos had left the French eager for stability. Enter Napoleon, a triumphant army general appointed First Consul by the coup of 18 Brumaire (the revolution had even re-named the months). The chaos of the French Revolution (at times, democratic chaos) tilted toward the proto-fascism of the French Empire. This is where our story truly starts.

In this reckoning, the French Empire refers to a few political systems. Our use in Civilization refers to Napoleon's attempt to take over Europe, and the subsequent period of monarchical restorations and republics. At this time, France was a proving ground for novel political forms: democracy, military dictatorship, a cult of personality (which would later help give rise to fascism), and a call for absolute class equality (what became communism). France also oversaw a massive colonial empire with possessions in Asia, Africa, and a few in the New World.

While France was being reborn, other European states saw it as a radical, existential threat to monarchical power and launched several attacks – the War of the First Coalition, the War of the Second Coalition, and the War of the (surprise) Third Coalition – which began in 1792 and lasted until 1806. These waves of conflict initially focused on reversing the French Revolution, then containing its spread, and finally restricting the expansion of France. The end result was an embattled France that turned its conflicts outward. France's powerful and influential army, and a triumphantly popular Napoleon, immediately returned to war. Napoleon was defeated at sea but triumphant on land and spread across Europe, reshaping the order of things as he went. Only after nearly twelve years was he finally stopped. The First French Empire existed in this state of near-constant war.

France during the "long 19th century," which existed between Napoleon's defeat and World War I, was a changed place. The traditional orders of power – the Catholic Church and the Bourbon dynasty – never recovered their old positions, and France vacillated between monarchical restoration, republic, and empire. The modernized country could better cope with economic shocks, and the subsequent years were relatively peaceful and prosperous. But this also bred conflicts; peace and prosperity gave rise to bourgeois wealth, which in turn posed a threat to the absolute order founded on aristocracy. An uprising in 1830 led to the end of the weakened Bourbon monarchy and the rise of a more liberal, bourgeois-allied monarch, Louis-Phillippe I. Louis-Philippe did not rule as "King of France" but as "King of the French," an important distinction as he had no pretensions toward divine right over the land, but he ruled a people known as "the French."

Then came the conflicts of 1848. These arose thanks to the divisions between three social groups: the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the proletariat. The aristocracy were nobles, of course, but nobles with severe limits on their power – absolute monarchies tend to take power away from their own nobles and consolidate it in the king. The aristocracy's power is based on heritage and a sense of natural rule of land. The bourgeoisie refers to business owners, whose power rested on owning property and capital. Finally, the proletariat were people who owned nothing but their bodies and skills, which they had to "sell" to the bourgeoisie for wages or give to their lords in the aristocracy.

What are fair terms for work in such a system? Should protections against the bourgeoisie be given to the proletariat? In the past, the people could appeal to the monarch to intervene, but without a monarchy, how could one seek rectitude? Then, in 1848, the proletariat and petit bourgeoisie (lower middle class) rallied for a state that might curb the excesses of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy. If this sounds like Marxist theory, that is because it was Marx who was writing at the time, using French examples to develop his ideas. In France, these protests led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the formation of a new republic. This uprising wasn't contained to France; across Europe, others were having the same conversations, leading to the same fights.

The Republic lasted until the people voted for a tyrant – or at least an emperor – Napoleon III. Though his authoritarian reign was a step backward and was marred by poor foreign policy, it was also the source of one of the best pieces of political writing: Marx's reflections on Napoleon's rise, in which he points out how Napoleon III manipulated the symbols of empire to seduce a populace. The essay is considered the first real study and critique of modern fascism.

But that conclusion might be a little unfair. Napoleon III was caught between a few interest groups. Catholics in France were growing increasingly concerned over the unification of Italy at the time, as the new Italian kingdom was secular. The Catholics sought to turn France into the new haven of Catholicism, and Napoleon acquiesced to these demands, although he still permitted freedom of worship. Rising discontent led to mistakes on both sides, but after a member of the royal family killed an opposition journalist, public sentiment tilted dangerously against the monarch. This discontent eventually cracked after France's defeat in an 1870 war against Prussia, and a new republic was born.

Overseas, the French had two colonial empires. The first was largely gone by Napoleon III's time, but the Second Empire expanded into Algeria, West Africa, and Indochina. France was playing two games. On one hand, its heavily militaristic approach produced a deal of bloodshed. On the other, France had always been more assimilationist than the British, imparting more French cultural features onto colonial possessions in a shorter period.

French society in the late 1800s was a time of peace and a flowering of the arts. The country rapidly industrialized and France embraced new technological innovations as quickly as it embraced new social ones. It was a place of painters, of poets, of electric streetlights, and railroads. During this time, Paris became the City of Light. The Third Republic remained until World War II, when a fascist puppet regime was installed in Vichy.

Cities[]

Main article: French Imperial cities (Civ7)

Trivia[]

Soundtrack[]

Main article: Soundtrack (Civ7)
Original Track № Based on Credits Length
"The French Empire (Modern Age)" 38 La Marseillaise
Ça Ira
Le Bouvier 		Composed by Roland Rizzo

Performed by FILMharmonic Orchestra, Prague; with Josef Hřebík
Conducted by Andy Brick

5:32

Gallery[]

Videos[]

See also[]

External links[]

Civilization VII Civilizations [edit]
Antiquity
Exploration
Modern
1 Requires DLC
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