The Oldest Nation in the World?

France is often considered the first modern nation in history due to its early development of national identity, centralized government, and defined borders. While other empires and kingdoms existed before, France was one of the first to establish the key elements that would come to define a modern nation-state. While great civilizations like Rome, Egypt, and China built vast empires, they didn’t foster the kind of unified national identity or governance we associate with modern nations today. These empires were collections of diverse peoples, often ruled through local authorities and distant, imperial oversight.