Who Should Have Been the French Leader?

[St Leo]

Who do you think should have led France in CivIII instead of Jeanne D'Arc?

[St Leo]

Crap, I forgot Richelieu.

[Kc7mxo]

Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry!

[jdd2007]

Napoleon-brilliant general overrated sometimes () but still brilliant...ALSO as well as being a good general he was a pretty good leader...

ANYONE but joan...

[squid]

who was not even a world leader.

Charlemagne did the most, of course the dictators like Napoleon get a lot of credit because he attempted to conquer but not control large areas and sort of got his tail kicked in a short period of time. His lasting impact was minimal.

[orange]

squid makes a good point But I still voted Napoleon. If not him, then Louis Louis.

[civcop]

Well...

I voted for Nappy for two reasons:
1. He's qualified for the position
2. At least you would view the French under him as having some bite.

Perhaps I am alone in this, but I tend to view the French as being less willing to fight than most other nations. I realize that they were once a world power (and still are, for that matter), but that was centuries ago and I wasn't alive then. So when I hear "French", I think of WWII. When I hear "Joan of Arc" I think of the Catholic Church's error. Seriously, when the leader of the pink civ appears on your screen demanding tribute (and she looks like a teenage girl minus the acne), will you be inclined to yield or feel threatened? DeGaulle is even a better choice than Joan, and Firaxis probably couldn't create a harald whose nose fit in the screen field.

[Imran Siddiqui]

His lasting impact was minimal.

Kidding, right?

His bringing of French Revolutionary ideas to the rest of Europe would later help the revolts against the Monarchs, and his conquests would lead to a reshaping of Europe after he was defeated.

[PGM]

I'm voting for Joan. Yeah, you heard me. I don't mind such a nice woman coming over to my office to negotiate.
EDIT:

[JellyDonut]

I can't believe you left out François Mitterrand!

P.S. I was the one who voted 'Other' because I would like to see either Mitterrand or moi as the French leader (oh sure, I haven't led France yet, but after my campaign for world domination is over, I will ), err, umm, go François!

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

His lasting impact was minimal.

Kidding, right?

His bringing of French Revolutionary ideas to the rest of Europe would later help the revolts against the Monarchs, and his conquests would lead to a reshaping of Europe after he was defeated.

Thank you, you saved me from having to scream my head off.

Napoleon changed the world, no question about it. Europe and the world was forever changed. One can consider the Napoleonic Wars to be the precursor to pan-global conflict a la World Wars I and II. Certainly, he had a profound impact on French government and the legal system.

Unreservedy voted for Napoleon. Most recognizable French ruler, at any rate.

Cheers.

(What the heck IS up with Joan? She wasn't even a ruler, she was a military leader. Cha!)

[squid]

What I'm saying is that Napoleon's empire was basically the same ( in size ) before Napoleon came to power as when he left. As for the "great general thing", there is a reason the term "Napoleonic tactics" is used with scorn. There isn't any tactics in that.

Alexander, by comparision, was responsible for the spread of Greek culture throughout much of the East, several great libraries, etc, etc. He held his territory and people were assimilated by Greek culture

I'm just arguing against Napoleon because he is the popular choice. Not neccesarily the best. We are definitely neglecting
medieval European history.

Sure, the "Holy Roman Emporor" was neither Holy nor Roman, but that was a very interesting time...perhaps more so that Napoleon running around at random and then getting half his troops killed in Russia.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by squid
What I'm saying is that Napoleon's empire was basically the same ( in size ) before Napoleon came to power as when he left. As for the "great general thing", there is a reason the term "Napoleonic tactics" is used with scorn. There isn't any tactics in that.

Alexander, by comparision, was responsible for the spread of Greek culture throughout much of the East, several great libraries, etc, etc. He held his territory and people were assimilated by Greek culture

But the point isn't empire size, it's influence on the world. Napoleon's rule is indisputably the most influential part of French history following the Revolution. The Napoleonic Wars had a cataclysmic effect on Europe. And he was indeed a great general, because he won battles. Lots of them. They all had to team up against him to beat him.

Oh, and Alexander's empire collapsed right after his death. So much for territory gain. I wouldn't say "assimilated by Greek culture." Certainly, permeated by Hellenistic culture is more apt. There was a mingling, not a takeover. In many ways the Greeks in those areas became more exoticized than those cultures became Greek!

Cheers.

[Martinus]

In case you haven't noticed, Charles the Great IS Charlemagne

[Martinus]

Go Mila Jovovich!
Uhmm... I mean Joan of Arc.

Of course her impact was minimal if compared with Charlemagne, Louis XIV or Napoleon, but she looks so cute in this uniform