Divine voices guided a young girl to lead the French against the English. Burned as a heretic in 1431, the Maid of Orléans was both shaped and destroyed by the religious fervor and politics.

French and British fishing fleets have come to blows over when they can catch scallops French and British fishermen have clashed in the English Channel in an escalating battle over scallops.

"French is a spoil of war, but English is an international language," he said. Algeria gained independence from France in 1962 after a bloody eight-year war that continues to complicate relations ...