France–Sweden relations

One of the first contacts between France and Sweden was in 799 during the first Viking raids of the Frankish northern coast. In March 845 Viking Danish-Swedish King Ragnar brought 120 ships up the Seine river for the Siege of Paris. The Vikings left Paris after a month of battle when Frankish King Charles the Bald paid them 7,000 lbs of silver and gold.[1] In 911 after multiple Viking invasions, Frankish King Charles the Simple conceded the town of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte to the Vikings.[2]

In 1499, France and Sweden signed a Trade Treaty for which Sweden sent France hides, skins, furs, butter, fish oil, herrings, whales, tar, timber for the navy, iron and copper. In exchange, the French sent salt Brouage, wheat, wine, canvas, sheets, silks and spices.[2] Across the 16th century, French mercenaries such as Claude Collart and Pontus de La Gardie entered Swedish service. In 1631, during the Thirty Years' War, France and Sweden signed the Treaty of Bärwalde which obliged Sweden to maintain an army of 36,000 troops, and France to fund the Swedish army annually with 400,000 Reichsthalers.[2]

In the 1700s, French culture and the French language became a big influence on the Swedish monarchy. Swedish king Gustave III received a French education as a child.[2] Several prominent Swedish nobles studied in France. Influenced by the French Academy of Sciences, Sweden created the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.[3]

Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (Charles XIV John) as Crown Prince of Sweden

In 1805, Sweden entered into the War of the Third Coalition and fought against France in the Franco-Swedish War in an effort to defeat France under Napoleon Bonaparte. The war lasted until January 1810, when Sweden was defeated by France's then-ally, Russia. After the war, France and Sweden signed the Treaty of Paris (1810). The next year, French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, who served under Emperor Napoleon, was elected as the heir-presumptive to King Charles XIII of Sweden, who was childless. Bernadotte was elected partly because a large part of the Swedish Army, in view of future complications with Russia, supported electing a soldier and partly because he was popular with the Swedish army because of the kindness he had shown to the Swedish prisoners in Lübeck. Bernadotte accepted the offer.

In 1813, Bernadotte successfully led Swedish troops against Napoleon during the War of the Sixth Coalition which resulted in Napoleon being exiled to the Island of Elba in 1814. In 1818 Bernadotte was crowned King of Sweden and King of Norway after defeating Norway in the war of 1814 after demanded Denmark to cede Norway to Sweden after the Napoleonic Wars as compensation for the loss of Finland in the Finnish War to which the allies agreed, mainly to prevent further conflict. The Danish king ceded Norway shortly after the demands out of fear of Sweden declaring war on Denmark. After the defeat of Norway in 1814 the creation of the union between Sweden and Norway came through. The union lasted for almost a century until it was peacefully dissolved in 1905.[4] After this he became Charles XIV John of Sweden, and simultaneously founded the House of Bernadotte from which the current Swedish royal family hails from.[5] Sweden declared itself officially neutral in 1818 from future conflicts.

During World War I and World War II Sweden remained officially neutral during both conflicts, however, unofficially sympathized more with the allies and provided military training to allied soldiers. During World War II, French born Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling secretly met with German General Dietrich von Choltitz to try to limit the bloodshed and damage to the city of Paris during the Liberation of Paris.[6]

Since the end of the world wars, both France and Sweden have joined the European Union. Both nations have had numerous high-level visits and cooperate jointly in several multilateral organizations. There are approximately 15,000 Swedish nationals living in France and 3,500 French nationals living in Sweden.[2]