<Li> Louis XV the Beloved and his minister Cardinal André - Hercule de Fleury, 1715--74 </Li> <Li> Louis XVI, 1774--92 </Li> <P> France in the Ancien Régime covered a territory of around 520,000 square kilometres (200,000 sq mi). This land supported 13 million people in 1484 and 20 million people in 1700 . France had the second largest population in Europe around 1700 . Britain had 5 or 6 million, Spain had 8 million, and the Austrian Habsburgs had around 8 million . Russia was the most populated European country at the time . France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other countries grew faster . </P> <P> The sense of "being French" was uncommon in 1500, as people clung to their local identities . By 1600, however, people were starting to call themselves "bon françois ." </P>

When did france gain their independence from england