France in the 1920s

The 1920s, the period between January 1, 1920 and December 31, 1929, is frequently referred to as the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age in the United States. In Europe the period is sometimes referred to as the Golden Twenties because of the economic boom that followed World War I. In France, it was referred to as les années folles, (the wild years) because of the era's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

The Utopian positivism of the 19th century and its progressive creed led to individualism. Art nouveau extravagance began to evolve into Art Deco after the First World War.

André Gide, who founded the Nouvelle Revue Française literary review in 1908, was an influence on Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. The books that make up Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past were published in French between 1913 and 1927, foreshadowing the surrealist literary trend that evolved into the Dada movement punctuated by Tristan Tzara's publication in 1918 of a Dada manifesto. Dada was very much a product of the interbellum: "Dadaists both embraced and critiqued modernity, imbuing their works with references to the technologies, newspapers, films, and advertisements that increasingly defined contemporary life".

André Breton's surrealist manifesto appeared in 1924.

During the années folles, Montparnasse hosted cafes such as Brasserie La Coupole (), Le Dôme Café, Café de la Rotonde and La Closerie des Lilas ().

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