- 6th-9th centuries: Gregorian chant develops in French monasteries
- 1150-1201: Léonin active at Notre-Dame de Paris
- c. 1200: Pérotin creates four-voice organum
- 12th-13th centuries: Troubadours flourish in southern France
- 13th century: Trouvères adapt troubadour tradition to northern France
- 1320-1370: Ars Nova period with Guillaume de Machaut
Renaissance (1400-1600)
- 15th century: Burgundian School influences European music
- 1494-1551: Pierre Attaingnant publishes dance music
- 1485-1558: Clément Janequin creates programmatic chansons
- 1514-1572: Claude Goudimel harmonizes Protestant psalms
- 1572: St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre disrupts Protestant music
Baroque Period (1600-1750)
- 1632-1687: Jean-Baptiste Lully establishes French opera
- 1668-1733: François Couperin "Le Grand" elevates harpsichord music
- 1683-1764: Jean-Philippe Rameau revolutionizes harmony theory
- 1725: Concert Spirituel founded
- 1749: Rameau's "Zoroastre" premiered
Classical Period (1750-1820)
- 1774: Gluck's "Iphigénie en Aulide" premieres in Paris
- 1777-1779: Gluckistes vs. Piccinnistes controversy
- 1789: French Revolution transforms musical institutions
- 1792: "La Marseillaise" composed
- 1795: Paris Conservatoire founded
Romantic Era (1800-1910)
- 1830: Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" premiered
- 1831: Meyerbeer's "Robert le diable" establishes grand opera
- 1859: Gounod's "Faust" premiered
- 1875: Bizet's "Carmen" premiered
- 1875: Palais Garnier opens
- 1888: Franck's Symphony in D minor
- 1894: Debussy's "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune"
Modern Era (1910-1945)
- 1913: Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" riot at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
- 1920: Les Six form
- 1934: Django Reinhardt forms Quintet of the Hot Club of France
- 1940s: Messiaen writes "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" in POW camp
Contemporary Era (1945-present)
- 1948: Pierre Schaeffer creates first musique concrète
- 1958: Brassens, Brel, and Ferré dominate chanson
- 1960s: Yé-yé movement begins
- 1977: IRCAM opens
- 1980s: French hip-hop emerges
- 1990s: French Touch electronic music conquers world
- 2013: Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" tops global charts
- 2020: CNM (Centre National de la Musique) established