When Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls in the 1st century BC., he had subdued a diverse grouping of tribes that had at one time extended from the western shores of Europe to as far east as Italy. The borders of what was Gaul in the time of Caesar are now still roughly the borders of modern day France.

Armed with a certain perspective on the natural rights of man, the French have historically recognized a ruler who was no longer fit to rule. By the 18th century, the French people had grown weary of royal indifference, and the glory of the French monarchy could not last. In 1789, Revolution ended the age of kings with the beheading of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The prison doors of the Bastille were thrown open, and a new rule begun according to The Declaration of the Rights of Man.

Contemporary French society is remarked for its sophistication, cosmopolitan flare, and a great concern for maintaining its cultural identity. Specific laws and government sponsored actions designed to promote French culture and the French language are characteristic. For example, there exists a system of preferential loans and subsidies to support the French film industry. Meanwhile, it remains mandatory under the Toubon Law that all public advertisements be written or spoken in French.