Before the empire and before the republic, life in France was shaped by monarchy, faith, and the weight of tradition — until the revolution. Afterward, empire and republic struggled to define modern order. This category explores the legal systems, cultural tensions, and theological disputes that both preserved and disrupted the kingdom.
You’ll find accounts of trials and edicts, guilds and feasts, constitutions and campaigns, sermons and scarcity. These are stories of how power moved — through courts, parishes, armies, emperors, and parliaments, and the fragile balance they tried to enforce.
Jeanne Calment’s viager contract — a French property deal where the buyer pays until the seller dies — seemed routine in 1965. She was 90, he was 47. She lived to 122, outlasting him and forcing his estate to pay more than double the apartment’s value. A historical twist that really happened — documented, ironic, unforgettable.
The Lawyer Who Bet on Jeanne Calment’s Death — and Lost Read More
