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

'We lack everything in France except taxes': Jordan Bardella