Gallic tribes founded Poitiers years before Caesar's arrival, and Poitiers has played host to French victories during the Battle of Tours and French defeats during the Hundred Years War.

The city has been a university town, a hotbed of religious conflict, and a garrison town all within several centuries. Nowadays, Poitiers finds itself in an interesting position, halfway between Paris and Bordeaux. The central-western town of France is once again a strategic location for the three divided powers seeking to rule their fraction of Western Europe.