Prehistory
Stone tools discovered at Lézignan-la-Cèbe in 2009 indicate that early man was present in France at least 2 million years ago.
Neanderthal man was present in Europe from about 200,000 BC, but died out about 30,000 years ago, possibly out-competed by the modern humans during a period of cold weather. The earliest modern humans – Homo sapiens – entered Europe by 43,000 years ago (the Upper Palaeolithic). The cave paintings of Lascaux and Gargas (Gargas in the Hautes-Pyrénées) as well as the Carnac stones are remains of the local prehistoric activity.
Read more about this topic: History Of France