Should France be renamed Gaul?

Question

The French people are named after the Germanic Franks from the Rhineland who, under Chlodwig, invaded and conquered the country.

But the French language and culture is rooted in the Gallo-Roman tradition that defined the national identity.

Wouldn't it be better for the French to throw off their false "German/ Frankish" identity and reassert their Gallic pride by renaming their country "Gaul"?

Answer 1

Only if we get back Belgium and a good chunk of Netherlands as well as part of Germany, plus the whole of Switzerland. This was what the Romans called Gaul and has nothing to do with the actual country of France. Gaul was used to name an area where Celtic tribes of the same 'family' lived and ruled independently, not an actual country.

The name French comes from Frank, true, but it came to be used for all of France not because the Franks settled in the north and east of France but because the king came from an area called Isle of France. As the powerful vassals lost their power and independence and their lands were integrated in the kingdom of France they became known under the name of French, meaning vassal of the king of France. Between themselves they called each other by their land's name. Bourguignons, Poitevins, Bretons.... Each with their own language and culture.

As for the language, the French language became the official administrative language in the Middle Age but that was for people who could read and write or who lived in Isle of France, everyone else spoke their own local language. By the time of the French revolution there were still four official languages in France, French being only one of them. It wasn't until the end of the 19th century that there was a deliberate drive to wipe out the other languages to make French the only language of the country, when the idea of France as a single country had already been well integrated in the collective French mind.  

Besides, with all the immigration France got over the centuries not many people could claim to be Gauls so why use a name which means nothing now? France is not a German identity, except for the etymology of the word, it is a country which took 2000 years to built itself and has its own culture and identity, and integrated the Franks as they did all the previous settlers, Celts or the previous ones who survived only in places like the Basque country (you did know that the Celts were invaders, didn't you?)

Answer 2

The Franks didn't exactly invade France, they created it, in 842

Others people were in France before, like the gauls (celtic people), and the romans (real invasion in this case). Then, the gauls adopted most of the roman culture and language.

The Franck "invaded" Gaul and defeated the Romans, and it's this people wich created the actual France, and even if the Francks are a "Germanic" people (like the anglo-saxons), they moved to France and only lived there.

So we can't say that the Franck are real invadors. They gave France a state and in fact, France was their country.

Nowadays, the French people can be divided in 3 branches: the germanics (Francks), the Celts (Gauls and others), and the Latins (Romans). But French people is not really divided, it's just a mix of these 3 origins. The Gauls were the first, the roman gave the culture, and the Francks gave a state and the military conquests, but all were, and are French.

But the name Gaul, or Gauls is usually used by French people to insist on the pride in comparision with other countries or on the French origins of someone (for instance, the Frenchies in the French Foreign Legion are called "Gaulois" (Gauls))

And sorry for my English, but I live in Gaul.

Answer 3

I'm from England, after the Anglo Saxons, though I'm fairly sure that our population is mainly Celt and Norman based peoples, and now with more immigration, it would be foolish to name country's after their original ethnic groups.

Answer 4

Gaul (Gallia) was the name used by the Roman invaders, and covered not only France but Northern Italy, Western Switzerland and Belgium.

Why would the French want to be known by a name given them by a country who invaded and then colonised their land?