To French users: who whould you pick as French national hero

[MinervaItalica]

You mean those with heroic destiny or great national leaders ?

The one you think fits better for a true national hero for France.

[TheOldNorth]

Exactly my thoughts, if we were not to care about some specific dynasty Anglo-Franco union would've been a good deciession most likely, considering that after that France was destined to become the leader and how it was always stopped by Anglos in later centuries.

very true, a anglo-french union would be very powerful, especially in the colonial era, and without a france to fight in the french and indian war, the colonies would've stayed part of the union, and thus the anglo-french empire would spread across the face of north america to this day!

[bandeirante]

Yes, it was a miracle that for some time Vercingetorix was able to rally a near majority of Gaulish tribes. But don't forget that Caesar's army was entirely made of Gaulish troops. The Romans took brilliantly advantage of Gallia's endless internal conflicts.

I'm sorry for the Celts but wherever they were they couldn't but fail. Even their cultures were predestined to be absorbed by Roman or Germanic languages.



What?... Catherine de Medicis was the enemy, anything but a hero!



Indeed, Joan of Arc was primarily a symbol. After her victory in Orléans, she repeatedly begged the French king "Buy me an army!", her troops were reduced to a limited number of die-hard supporters and from that moment she never reaped any significant military success.

The king saw that one after another all provinces and cities began joining him, time was on his side, so that there was no point funding the adventurous operations led by a hot-headed teenage girl. He thought more convenient to manufacture hi-tech (to the the standards of the era) artillery, that was a better investment. He used her as a symbol but didn't even mind to pay a ransom to free her.

I remember I had at school a history professor saying that Joan had been ultimately a disaster for France: if it was not for her England would have ended up being fully Frenchified! (Actually, Middle English started catching up in the British Isles from the moment the English troops were ousted from France, at the end of the War of Hundred Years).



Two very important names are missing:


Clovis, a.k.a. Louis the 1st.
The Frankish leader who literally created France, gave her her name and her geopolitical placing (from the Rhine to the Pyrenees mountains) and made Paris his capital.


Cardinal Duke de Richelieu — After the disasters France experienced in the 16th century, he created Europe's first efficient State, put an end to Spanish military dominance, and though he was technically a Catholic bishop he identified Catholic powers as France's main enemies and supported the Protestant side abroad. This distinction between religion and politics was a founding moment in French history.

Unfortunately he is often depicted as a villain (cause of Alexandre Dumas' novels!...)

wtf? Philippine dynasty Spanish Golden Age:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Golden_Age