From the Renaissance onward, specific cultural and language politics has been imposed on the French territory at the expense of regional dialects. This politics was reinforced throughout the entire Ancien Régime and aggravated in the colonial empire era until the 20th century, when it eventually began to crumble due to the decolonization and uprising national and regional demands. Today, France finds itself in an era of strong individuality and communitarianism, responsible for a profusion of cultural identities at the heart of the European community, whose boundaries keep getting blurred.

By looking into relevant texts that will explain what being French has meant for five centuries, we will be able to understand better the multiple references made to the cultural and national identity in publications in the fields of history and political science. With those works, which have nourished the intellectual views on the social and identity fracture, we will complete our course.