Although England is credited with the invention of Postage Stamps by Sir Rowland Hill on 1840 with the issuance of the famous "Penny Black" and "Two Pence Blue" to improve the then crude postal system, significantly across the English Channel, France in 1849 followed the British lead in reforming their own postal system, not just by issuing their 1st version of stamps to facilitate communications thru the "mails" for the French Empire of 1880 to 1900 and for its "Community of Nations" after World War II. In fact, France was among the first group of countries in the world which adopted the British innovation and led in enhancing worldwide philately by issuing beautiful commemoratives that can illustrate the history of the French Empire thru stamps.
Only by collecting French stamps, both of France itself and its former colonies shall the worldwide philatelist appreciate the contribution of France to World Philately. It is for this reason why I was enthused to collect French stamps. That said, I hope you find the time to enjoy your collection of French stamps as I have and learn it's history, the various landscapes, art museums, fine cuisines and people that make France one of the most popular countries in Europe and in the world of stamp collecting. If you've been to France, it's culture is very different from American culture. For anyone to know what it's like to live in France, one must experience the life in France. As the popular French saying goes, "Tout est bien qui finit bien" which in English literally means, "He/she who lives, shall see."