France (Wilhelmine Era)

France, officially the Kingdom of France, is a country in western Europe. It extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Flanders, Wallonia and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the East and Spain and Andorra to the South. France is a constitutional monarchy with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.

In the 19th century Napoleon took power and created the First French Empire. His subsequent Napoleonic Wars helped to shape the map of Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire France a number of regimes held power, before the formation of the Third Republic in 1870. France suffered a major defeat in the Great War, and the Third Republic was replaced by the highly unstable Fourth Republic. War hero Philippe Petain seized power in 1934, creating an authoritarian regime that lasted until 1951. Upon Petain's death he was succeeded by king Henri VI, who established the modern French constitutional monarchy.