Louis XIV (1638–1715) — the Sun King, who ruled France for seventy-two years, the longest reign of any European monarch. He took the throne at four, seized personal power at twenty-two, and never shared it again, governing without a chief minister and famously identifying himself with the state. He built Versailles and moved his court there, turning the nobility into courtiers who competed for the privilege of watching him dress. Under him France dominated Europe culturally and militarily — and

Niger has blamed France for inciting an attack on a key military airbase by mutinous soldiers last week. Clashes at an airbase in the capital erupted during an attempted mutiny against the military junta that has ruled since 2023.