Historical Notes
From the 17th century onward, France has played a major role in the scholarly world, as may be seen by a glance at the table of contents of Scudder's geographical index of scientific serials.
Governing Regimes
The information below on governing regimes in France is drawn largely from the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Webster's New Geographical Dictionary. Information about Napoleon's brief return to power in 1815 is drawn from p.761 of Europe: a History, by Norman Davies (London: Pimlico / Random House, 1997).
768 - 1792	Monarchy
1792 - 1795	National Convention NOTE: On August 8, 1793, the Convention Nationale decreed the abolition of "toutes les académies et sociétés littéraires patentées ou dotées par la Nation" [all academies and learned societies licensed or endowed by the Nation] (Institut de France (1995), p.299). This edict appears not to have extended to provincial or metropolitan societies lacking a clear national connection (such as licensing or endowment by the Nation).
1795 - 1799	Directorate
1799 - 1804	Consulate (Napoleon Bonaparte)
1804 - 1814	First Empire (Napoleon Bonaparte)
1814 - 1848	Monarchy [The Monarchy was replaced by the Empire for a brief period of time, from March to July of 1815, when Napoleon returned from exile and took control of France from the monarch Louis XVIII.]
1848 - 1852	2nd Republic (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte)
1852 - 1870	2nd Empire (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte)
1871 -	Republic