- "You know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris?"
"How many, Dugan?"
"I dunno. They've never tried." - ―Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones[src]
France, officially the French Republic, is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe, with some regions located outside of Europe, and also possesses several overseas territories.
History[]
Hundred Years' War[]
- "The Monolith changed hands a lot. Germanic tribes. Spent the Hundred Years' War in France. But before the Napoleon era, it was moved again."
- ―Leo Fitz[src]
By the Middle Ages, a secret society dedicated to the sacrificial worship of the ancient Inhuman Alveus had become active and influential in the Kingdom of France.
From 1337 to 1453, French territories served as the battleground for the Hundred Years' War, fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. During the war, the ancient society guarded an otherworldly monolith on French soil.[1]
Asgardian Warrior[]
In 1546, an Asgardian Berserker warrior, who remained on Earth for years unnoticed after his fellow warriors returned to Asgard, is seduced by a French girl. To satisfy her love for stories, he told her the story of his own decision to stay behind.
The woman then told the story to her brother, who, as a priest, used it as the basis for writing the myth of the Asgardian Warrior and the Berserker Army.[2]
Napoleonic Era[]
In 1799, General Napoleon Bonaparte seized executive power in the French First Republic through a coup d'état and initiated an autocratic regime that lasted until 1815.
By this time, the worshippers of Alveus had transported their monolith out of France and into England.[1]
World War II[]
Capture of Paris[]
- "Paris has fallen."
- ―Peggy Carter[src]
Paris was captured by the German Armed Forces during World War II. This event became an object of mockery among the Allied troops, often asking how many Frenchmen would take to defend Paris, answering that none knew, as they never tried.[3]
French Resistance[]
- "My people were resisting the Nazi occupiers in Marseille."
- ―Jacques Dernier[src]
Jacques Dernier become a member of the French Resistance. Together with his comrades, he resisted the Nazi occupiers in Marseille during World War II, at least until he was made a prisoner of war and taken to HYDRA Base Camp C3.[3]
Targeted by HYDRA[]
France marked as one of Johann Schmidt's targets
In 1943, Johann Schmidt and his HYDRA division went rogue, separating themselves from the Nazi regime. According to one of HYDRA's maps, France was among the European countries planned to be invaded following the destruction of the United States.[4]
HYDRA Facilities[]
In 1943, Captain America witnessed a map showing the location of HYDRA facilities in Europe while liberating the prisoners in HYDRA Base Camp C3. For that he was tasked to destroy all those facilities with a team while MI6 focused on locating the central HYDRA Headquarters.
Captain America enlisted the help of Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth and Jacques Dernier, and also convinced his childhood friend Bucky Barnes to help him.
Known as the Howling Commandos, Captain America and his unit traveled to France, aiming to destroy the HYDRA base. In December 1943, Captain America and his men stormed the facility, breaking through the door and opening fire on the HYDRA soldiers inside.[4]
Normandy Landings[]
Wehrmacht soldiers surrender to Captain America on Utah Beach
In 1944, Captain America and the United States Armed Forces, British Armed Forces, and Canadian Armed Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy to relieve France, as well as the rest of Western Europe, from Nazi and HYDRA occupation. Captain America landed on Utah Beach, and in the aftermath of the battle, several Wehrmacht soldiers surrendered to him.
Others, including a man who would attend a party at Avengers Tower seventy years later, landed on Omaha Beach.[5]
Birth of Georges Batroc[]
Georges Batroc was born in Marseille on May 19, 1981.[6]
Hunt of Bruce Banner[]
Paris was one of the potential locations of Bruce Banner after his track was lost following an incident in the jungles of South America. General Thaddeus Ross, responsible for the hunt of Banner, figured that he could be anywhere in the world, even in Paris painting landscapes.[7]
Imprisonment of Ivan Vanko[]
Ivan Vanko was arrested and transported to a prison in France for his crimes during the Grand Prix de Monaco in Monte Carlo, particularly the murder attempt of Tony Stark.
Stark visited Vanko in prison, and Detective Lemieux informed Stark that the police were unable to verify Vanko's identity based on his fingerprints, and he had not said a word since he arrived. Meeting face to face, Stark praised his attempt at duplicating the Arc Reactor technology, pointing some of its flaws, but he could have sold it in the black market to such countries as North Korea, Iran, or China.
Vanko replied that Stark belongs to a family of thieves and assassins, and that while trying to rewrite his own history, Stark forget all the lives his family had destroyed, and revealed that his design came from Anton Vanko, his father. Vanko seemingly accomplished one of his goals, to prove that Stark was not invulnerable nor unique.
Finally, Vanko taunted Stark with the knowledge of the effect of having a Palladium core in the Arc Reactor embedded in the chest had, and it would be a painful death.
Few hours later, Vanko was provided with a body double and an explosive to escape and fake his death in the prison, in an event orchestrated by Justin Hammer.
Vanko was transported to an hangar where he personally met Hammer, to discuss the terms of a mutually beneficial collaboration to destroy Tony Stark and his legacy, with Vanko providing his knowledge, and Hammer providing his resources.[8]
One of Many Houses[]
In the hypothetical situation Elektra outlined for Matt Murdock the two of them would get married and buy multiple houses. One of these houses would be in Paris, France.[9]
Hammer Industries Technology[]
A former employee of Justin Hammer boarded Yuri Klementiev's yacht in Cannes, carrying a briefcase containing a part of a bootleg Starktech from Hammer Industries, the targeting software for Hammer's version of the Jericho missile.
General Starodoub, one of Klementiev's associates, sent the man handcuffed to the briefcase to the lower decks of the yacht before traveling to the city of Sochi in Russia.[10]
S.H.I.E.L.D. Missions[]
Grant Ward on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission in Paris
In 2013, a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stationed at Paris were tasked with the retrieval a Chitauri Neural Link that had come into the possession of the international criminal T. Vanchat following the Battle of New York.
Agent Grant Ward infiltrated a restaurant disguised as a waiter in order to scan and replicate a set of fingerprints. Despite the Rising Tide published the location of the item, Ward entered into Vanchat's safe house and used the fingerprints to access a hidden safe behind a fireplace, retrieving the item.
Ward had to fight two guards, but was able to defeat them and access the rooftop, where he was extracted via helicopter.[11]
Coulson's Team later went to France while looking for the core of the Chitauri Overkill Weapon during the Tour de France. Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, and Skye triangulated the core's location while Phil Coulson and Grant Ward infiltrated the base. However, Coulson, Ward, and Fitz were captured by South Ossetian separatists who hoped to use the weapon. Melinda May rescued Coulson and Ward, but the separatists escaped with Fitz, bringing him to Antarctica.[12]
Chasing a Dream[]
Over the years, Ben and Doris Urich talked many times about traveling to Paris, but due to their respective obligations, and especially, due to Ben's devotion to his job, the trip never came to fruition.
Once Urich was fired from the New York Bulletin for pursuing a story regarding Wilson Fisk's true identity as a criminal, Urich proposed to leave New York City behind and travel to Paris, but again, Doris convinced her husband to stay and do what he felt was right.[13]
Stolen Dress[]
- "Is every girl in Sokovia getting a dress from Paris?"
- ―Wanda Maximoff[src]
Quicksilver went to Paris and stole an expensive dress that he later gave to Zrinka, raising the ire of his sister, who warned him against using his super speed for theft.[5]
Sokovia Accords[]
In 2016, France was one of the many countries who subscribed the Sokovia Accords for the registration of superpowered individuals.[14]
Steel Serpent's Sales[]
Châtellerault, Levallois-Perret, Nevers and Saintes were the hometowns of some of the Hand's clients that bought their Steel Serpent using the Rand Enterprises' resources.[15]
Framework Network[]
With the knowledge of the Darkhold, Holden Radcliffe and Aida began perfecting the Framework. Upon completion, the code had become so powerful that it had to be processed on devices from all around the world. Part of the data was transmitted to a defense server in Paris, France.[16]
Flag Smashers' Political Ultimatum[]
After the Blip, the Global Repatriation Council set up a refugee camp in Paris. In 2024, the Flag Smashers targeted that camp on their campaign.[17]
Wankandan Outreach Ambush[]
| This section requires expansion |
Upon hearing of vibranium's uses as weapons of destruction, France sent a team of mercenaries to Wakanda's Outreach Center in Ansongo, Mali. There, they demanded the vibranium tools. However, the mercenaries were captured by the Dora Milaje and taken to the United Nations in Geneva to prove France's part in the ambush.[18]
Alternate Universes[]
Attack on HYDRA Facilities[]
Steve Rogers led the Howling Commandos in an attack on the HYDRA base in France. Being a weaker station, it was easy for the Howling Commandos to take over.[19]
Investigating a Nexus Event[]
In an alternate 1549, an attack against the Time Variance Authority's Minutemen occurred in Aix-en-Provence, France. Investigating the incident, Mobius M. Mobius and Hunter U-92 came to the conclusion that it was a Loki Variant committing the attacks. Mobius then met a boy, who he befriended and obtained the pack of Kablooie he had as evidence.[20]
Loki's Conquest[]
| This section requires expansion |
To be added
Notable Citizens[]
- Georges Batroc † (also Algerian)
- Jacques Dernier †
Alternate Universes[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 3.02: Purpose in the Machine
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.08: The Well
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Captain America: First Vengeance
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Captain America: The First Avenger
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Avengers: Age of Ultron
- ↑ Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- ↑ The Incredible Hulk: The Big Picture
- ↑ Iron Man 2
- ↑ Daredevil: 2.05: Kinbaku
- ↑ The Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1.01: Pilot
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase
- ↑ Daredevil: 1.12: The Ones We Leave Behind
- ↑ Captain America: Civil War
- ↑ Iron Fist: 1.07: Felling Tree with Roots
- ↑ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4.14: The Man Behind the Shield
- ↑ The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: 1.05: Truth
- ↑ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- ↑ Captain America: The First Avenger
- ↑ Loki: 1.01: Glorious Purpose
External Links[]
France on Marvel Database- France on Wikipedia
