This period begins with the Paleolithic era, and ends with the Celtic La Tene Culture of the Iron Age. In the Paleolithic, the inhabitants of present-day France were hunters and gatherers. With the use of Acheulean (stone) tools they built shelters at Terra Amata, a site near Nice. The stone arrangements discovered there are considered early settlements resembling huts. These discoveries date back to the Lower Paleolithic.

The earliest homo sapiens that settled permanently in Europe were the Neanderthals. They arrived in modern France around 300,000 BC, and their culture had been wiped out by 30,000 BC. They were succeeded by modern humans, who were better at coping with the cold weather. Many Neanderthal artifacts from this period have been discovered, especially from the Middle Paleolithic.

The Cro-Magnons, another type of homo sapiens, entered Europe around 40 millennia ago, during a period of mild climate. They brought a large number of skills with them, such as painting, sculpture, music, engraving and body ornamentation. The cave paintings at Lascaux, an area in southern France, date back to this period.

The next historical epoch was the Mesolithic. The so-called Magdalenian and Azilian cultures developed at this time, around 10,000 years ago. These were succeeded by the Tardenoisian culture in Northern France and the Sauveterrian culture in the south of the country.

During the Neolithic period (4500 BC - 1700 BC), agriculture appeared for the first time. Other developments included larger settlements and the introduction of the craft of pottery. The settlers lived in small family-based communities, ate domestic plants and animals and produced pottery. Discoveries from this period in France include items from the Linear Pottery culture, the Rossen culture and the Chasseen culture. The latter was named after Chassey-le-Camp, an area in eastern France. It spread throughout the plateaus and plains of France, including the upper Loire river valleys and the Seine basin. Megalithic monuments (stone circles, dolmens and chamber tombs) scattered across France probably date back to his period as well.