France is the largest country in Western Europe by area and has been glorious in history. And France's glorious history is always accompanied by "short people".
The first famous "dwarf" in France should be the Pepin who directly named it "dwarf". He founded the famous Carolingian dynasty, and his feat of "dedicating the soil" allowed the Catholic Pope to stubbornly remain in Italy, leading to a new world of the largest, the smallest country (the Vatican). In short, this "dwarf" allowed religion to influence the continent.
Vatican City
The second famous "dwarf" in France was Louis XIV. The "Sun King's" brilliance could not hide his lack of height. Even with the world-famous Palace of Versailles, he still needed to wear high heels to earn his self-esteem. He not only led the fashion of high heels, but also made French the "elegant language" of Europe. There is no doubt that this "dwarf" made the language influence the continent.
Versailles
The third famous "dwarf" in France was Napoleon. The "Corsican dwarf" can conquer good battles and make him the "God of War" in Europe. Although he avoided the defeat of Waterloo, he spread the seeds of bourgeois revolution to the European continent, and his Civil Code destroyed feudal despotism. Obviously, this "dwarf" influenced the continent with law.
triumphal arch
These "dwarfs" of France once had an iron fist of force, but in the end it was the soft power of religion, language, law and so on that had a huge impact. Therefore, we must acknowledge that hard power is indeed important, but the real lasting power is soft power. The soft power of culture is often "silent", and it needs to be done for a long time.
Louvre