liberty, equality, fraternity

1. Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel was a French fashion designer and businesswoman who revolutionized the style and aesthetics of women's clothing in the 20th century. She was born in a poorhouse in Saumur, France, and raised by nuns after her mother's death. She learned to sew at a young age and started her career as a milliner. She opened her first shop in Paris in 1910, selling hats and later expanding to clothing. She introduced simple, elegant, and comfortable designs that contrasted with the corseted and elaborate fashion of the time. She popularized the use of jersey fabric, tweed, and black color in women's clothing. She also created iconic accessories such as the quilted purse, costume jewelry, and the interlocked-CC monogram. She launched her first perfume, Chanel No. 5, in 1921, which became one of the most famous fragrances in the world. She also designed costumes for theater and cinema, collaborating with artists such as Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, and Jean Cocteau. She closed her fashion house during World War II and faced controversy for her involvement with a German officer. She returned to fashion in 1954, at the age of 71, and continued to create influential collections until her death in 1971. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in fashion history and a symbol of modern, liberated, and independent womanhood.

2. Napoleon Bonaparte

3. Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo was a renowned poet, novelist and playwright of the Romantic Movement in 19th century France. He is considered by many as one of the greatest and best-known French authors of all times. He was also a political statesman and human rights activist, although he is primarily remembered for his literary creations like poetry and novels. Hugo was born on 26 February 1802 in Besançon in Eastern France. His father was a general in Napoléon’s army, and much of his childhood was therefore spent amid the backdrop of Napoléon’s campaigns in Spain and in Italy. At the age of eleven, Hugo returned to live with his mother in Paris, where he became infatuated with books and literature. Hugo began his literary career as a poet, publishing his first collection of poems, Odes et poésies diverses, in 1822. He soon became a leader of the Romantic movement with his play Cromwell (1827) and drama Hernani (1830), which challenged the classical rules of theatre. He also wrote several novels that explored social issues and human passions, such as Notre-Dame de Paris (1831), also known as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and Les Misérables (1862), which is considered one of the greatest novels of all time. Hugo was also involved in politics, serving as a deputy and a senator in the French parliament. He was a staunch supporter of republicanism and democracy, and opposed the monarchy and the dictatorship of Napoléon III. He was exiled from France from 1851 to 1870, living in Brussels, Jersey, and Guernsey. During his exile, he wrote some of his most famous works, such as Les Contemplations (1856), La Légende des siècles (1859), and Les Châtiments (1853), a collection of poems denouncing Napoléon III. Hugo returned to France in 1870 after the fall of the Second Empire. He continued to write and publish until his death on 22 May 1885. He was given a state funeral in the Panthéon of Paris, which was attended by over two million people. He is regarded as a national hero and a symbol of French culture.

4. Louis XIV

Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 at St Germain-en-Laye. He became king at the age of four on the death of his father, Louis XIII. His mother, Anne of Austria, and his chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, ruled on his behalf until he came of age in 1661. He declared that he would rule as an absolute monarch, with the famous phrase "L'état, c'est moi" ("I am the state"). He consolidated his power by building a magnificent palace at Versailles, where he moved his court and government in 1682. He patronized the arts and culture, and employed famous artists such as Molière, Racine, Lully, Le Brun, and Le Nôtre. He also reformed the legal system with the Code Louis, which unified the laws of France and served as a model for other countries. He also expanded France's territory through a series of wars, such as the War of Devolution, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. He secured the Spanish throne for his grandson Philip V in 1714. However, his wars also drained France's resources and provoked resentment from other European powers. He also faced domestic opposition from the Huguenots (French Protestants), whom he persecuted and deprived of their rights with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He died on 1 September 1715, after a reign of 72 years, the longest in European history. He was succeeded by his great-grandson Louis XV.

5. Charlemagne

Charlemagne was a medieval ruler who unified most of Western Europe under his rule. He was the son of Pepin the Short, who was the first Carolingian king of the Franks. He inherited half of his father's kingdom in 768 and became sole ruler after his brother Carloman's death in 771. He expanded his domain by conquering the Lombards in Italy, the Saxons in Germany, the Avars in Hungary, and other peoples in Spain and Central Europe. He also defended his lands from the attacks of the Muslims, Slavs, Danes, and Magyars. He was a devout Christian who supported the church and promoted education and culture. He reformed the administration, law, coinage, and military of his empire. He also fostered a revival of art, architecture, literature, and learning known as the Carolingian Renaissance. In 800, he was crowned as the emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in Rome. This act restored the concept of a unified Christian empire in Western Europe and established Charlemagne as the successor of the ancient Roman emperors. He was also recognized as the protector of the papacy and the leader of Christendom. His empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire after his death. Charlemagne died in 814 after a reign of 46 years. He was buried in his palace chapel in Aachen. He was succeeded by his son Louis the Pious, who divided the empire among his three sons in 843. Charlemagne's legacy was immense and lasting. He is regarded as one of the greatest rulers in history and as the father of Europe. He was canonized by some medieval popes and is venerated as a saint by some Christian churches. He is also a national hero and a cultural icon in many European countries.

6. Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was a French soldier, writer, statesman, and architect of France’s Fifth Republic. He was born in Lille on 22 November 1890 and grew up in Paris, where his father was a teacher. He graduated from the military academy of Saint-Cyr in 1912 and served in World War I, where he was wounded and captured by the Germans. He escaped several times but was recaptured each time. After the war, he pursued a career in the army and became an expert on tank warfare. He also wrote several books on military strategy and history. In 1940, after the fall of France to Nazi Germany, he fled to London and broadcast a famous speech on the BBC, calling on the French people to resist the occupation and join him in exile. He formed the Free French Forces, which fought alongside the Allies in Africa, Europe, and Asia. He also established a provisional government in Algiers, which later moved to Paris after the liberation of France in 1944. He became the head of the provisional government until 1946, when he resigned over constitutional disagreements. He returned to politics in 1958, when France faced a crisis over the Algerian War. He was elected as the president of the newly created Fifth Republic, which gave him extensive powers. He granted independence to Algeria and other French colonies, pursued an independent foreign policy that distanced France from NATO and the United States, and developed France’s nuclear deterrent. He also initiated a series of social and economic reforms, such as the introduction of a new franc, the expansion of social security, and the promotion of regional development. He faced several challenges during his presidency, such as the student protests and workers’ strikes of May 1968, the assassination attempts by the OAS (a militant group opposed to Algerian independence), and the growing opposition from his former allies. He resigned in 1969 after losing a referendum on constitutional reform. He retired to his country home in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, where he died on 9 November 1970 from an aneurysm. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in French history and a symbol of national unity and resistance. His political ideology, known as Gaullism, has influenced many French politicians across the political spectrum. He is also celebrated for his role in World War II and his vision of a united Europe. He is buried in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, alongside his wife and daughter Anne, who had Down syndrome. His other two children, Philippe and Élisabeth, became prominent figures in French politics and culture.

7. Claude Monet

Claude Monet was a French painter who initiated, led, and unswervingly advocated for the Impressionist style. He is best known for his series of paintings of the same motif in different lights and seasons, such as haystacks, Rouen Cathedral, and water lilies. He was inspired by nature and sought to capture its beauty and essence with his brushstrokes. He was also influenced by Japanese art and culture, which he collected and displayed in his home in Giverny. He created a large garden there, where he planted various flowers and built a water-lily pond with a Japanese bridge. He painted many scenes of his garden, especially the water lilies, which became his signature subject. He experimented with color and light, creating vibrant and luminous paintings that expressed his impressions of the moment. He was a prolific and influential artist who paved the way for modernism and abstract art. He had many friends and admirers among his fellow artists, such as Renoir, Pissarro, Cézanne, Degas, and Sisley. He also received support from patrons like Gustave Caillebotte, Ernest Hoschedé, Georges Clemenceau, and Sergei Shchukin. He faced some financial difficulties and health problems in his life, but he never gave up his passion for painting. He died of lung cancer at the age of 86 and was buried in his beloved garden in Giverny.

8. Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was a peasant girl who believed that she had visions from God instructing her to help Charles VII of France to reclaim his throne from the English during the Hundred Years' War. She convinced Charles to let her lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where she achieved a remarkable victory in 1429. She then escorted Charles to Reims, where he was crowned as the King of France. Joan continued to fight in several battles, but was captured by the Burgundians, allies of the English, in 1430. She was handed over to the English and put on trial for heresy and witchcraft by Bishop Pierre Cauchon. She was accused of blasphemy, cross-dressing, and acting on demonic visions. She was found guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, at the age of about 19. In 1456, a posthumous retrial declared her innocent and a martyr. She was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920. Joan of Arc is regarded as a national heroine of France and a symbol of courage, faith, and patriotism.

9. Clovis I

Clovis I was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single king and ensuring that the kingship was passed down to his heirs. He is considered to have been the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as "the first king of what would become France". He succeeded his father, Childeric I, as a king of Salian Franks in 481, and eventually came to rule an area extending from what is now the southern Netherlands to northern France, corresponding in Roman terms to Gallia Belgica (northern Gaul). At the Battle of Soissons (486) he established his military dominance of the rump state of the fragmenting Western Roman Empire which was then under the command of Syagrius. By the time of his death in either 511 or 513, Clovis had conquered several smaller Frankish kingdoms in the northeast of Gaul including some northern parts of what is now France. Clovis also conquered the Alemanni tribes in eastern Gaul, and the Visigothic kingdom of Aquitania in the southwest. These campaigns added significantly to Clovis's domains, and established his dynasty as a major political and military presence in western Europe. Clovis is also significant because of his conversion to Nicene Christianity in 496, largely at the behest of his wife, Clotilde, who would later be venerated as a saint for this act, celebrated today in both the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Clovis was baptized on Christmas Day in 508. The adoption by Clovis of Nicene Christianity (as opposed to the Arianism of most other Germanic tribes) led to widespread conversion among the Frankish peoples; to religious unification across what is now modern-day France, the Low Countries and Germany; three centuries later, to Charlemagne's alliance with the Bishop of Rome; and in the middle of the 10th century under Otto I the Great, to the consequent birth of the early Holy Roman Empire.

10. Honore de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac was a French literary artist who produced a vast number of novels and short stories collectively called La Comédie humaine (The Human Comedy). He helped to establish the traditional form of the novel and is generally considered to be one of the greatest novelists of all time. Balzac’s works offer a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, especially the upper and middle classes. His realistic characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. His writing influenced many famous writers, such as Charles Dickens, Marcel Proust, Gustave Flaubert, and Henry James. Balzac was born in Tours, France, in 1799. He was the second son of Bernard-François Balssa, a former peasant who became a civil servant, and Anne-Charlotte-Laure Sallambier, who came from a family of Parisian cloth merchants. Balzac had a troubled relationship with his parents, who sent him away to boarding school at an early age. He later studied law in Paris, but soon abandoned it to pursue a literary career. He wrote under various pseudonyms and experimented with different genres, such as drama, journalism, and criticism. He also tried to be a publisher, printer, businessman, and politician, but failed in all these endeavors. Balzac’s breakthrough came in 1831 with the publication of La Peau de chagrin (The Wild Ass's Skin), a novel that combined realism and fantasy. He then began to work on a series of interconnected novels that would form La Comédie humaine, which he divided into three sections: Etudes de moeurs (Studies of Manners), Etudes analytiques (Analytical Studies), and Etudes philosophiques (Philosophical Studies). Some of his most famous novels include Eugénie Grandet (1833), Le Père Goriot (1835), Illusions perdues (Lost Illusions, 1837–1843), and La Cousine Bette (Cousin Bette, 1846). Balzac’s novels depict the social, economic, political, and cultural changes that occurred in France after the French Revolution and the rise of capitalism. He explored themes such as ambition, greed, love, marriage, family, class, money, power, corruption, crime, and justice. He also created memorable characters from all walks of life, such as Rastignac, Vautrin, Goriot, Grandet, Bette, Nucingen, Rubempré, and many others. Balzac’s personal life was also full of drama and romance. He had many affairs with women of different social backgrounds and statuses. He was engaged to Madame de Berny, a married woman who was 22 years older than him. He also had a long-distance relationship with Ewelina Hańska (née Contessa Rzewuska), a Polish aristocrat who was married to a Russian count. They exchanged hundreds of letters over 15 years before they finally met in person in 1833. They married in March 1850 in Berdychiv (now Ukraine), after the death of Ewelina’s husband. Balzac suffered from health problems throughout his life due to his intense writing schedule and lifestyle. He often worked for 15 hours a day without rest or sleep. He consumed large amounts of coffee and other stimulants to keep himself awake and productive. He also spent lavishly on clothes, furniture, art, and books. He accumulated huge debts that he struggled to pay off. He died in Paris on August 18th 1850 at the age of 51 from heart failure. He was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery, where his tombstone bears the inscription: He was a giant