ABSTRACT
Originally from Alemannic Switzerland, * by the end of the thirteenth century the Habsburgs had extended their possessions in the Danube basin and would go on to affirm in the fifteenth century their European destiny, indeed, in the sixteenth century with Charles V, their pretensions to universal monarchy. It was inevitable, therefore, that after the death of Charles the Bold (1477) the Habsburgs would clash with French interests since they were the heirs of the Burgundian Valois. Apart from short-lived alliances, from 1477 to 1918 it is rare to find France and the Habsburgs on the same side. In France it is difficult to speak of the Habsburgs without passion and hostility.
