For the first time in Russian educational literature, an attempt was made to give a systematic presentation of the history of the country from ancient times to the beginning of the XXI century. based on a concrete historical method. The authors focus on the main issues of French history at each stage of its development: the political and social system of ancient Gaul, the formation of the Merovingian state, the conquest and creation of the management system of the Carolingian empire, the formation of the French language, the emergence of cities, the formation of the French centralized state and absolutism, revolutions, political regimes of new and modern times, the country's internal and foreign policy, etc. For students of historical faculties of universities, pedagogical universities and institutes of foreign languages, where the course of history of foreign countries is studied, as well as for students of colleges, lyceums and gymnasiums of a humanitarian profile as a textbook on country studies.