Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Kingdom of France began in the year 843 when Charles the Bald became King of the Franks following the Treaty of Verdun. Charles the Bald did not use the title King of France but instead ruled West Francia as a decentralized realm.
Philip II officially adopted the title King of France in 1204 to signal a shift from ruling a people to ruling a defined territory. This change marked the transition from the earlier title King of the Franks that had persisted for centuries.
The Hundred Years War began in 1328 after Charles IV died without a male heir, triggering a succession crisis under Salic law. Edward III of England claimed the throne through his mother Isabella, leading to conflict over Gascony and economic tensions with Flemish cloth towns.
The Black Death reduced the population of what is now France by 50 percent or more, dropping from 18 to 20 million to perhaps 9 million. The plague spread rapidly up the Rhône valley and across the country starting in 1348.
Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, leading to the exodus of between 150,000 and 300,000 Huguenots. This brain drain stripped France of many of its most skilled artisans and intellectuals and weakened the kingdom.
The French monarchy was effectively abolished on the 21st of September 1792 by the proclamation of the French First Republic. Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on Monday, the 21st of January 1793, ending the role of the King in France.