(Redirected from French Republic)
'France' (
French: ), officially the 'French Republic' (, ), is a
country whose
metropolitan territory is located in
Western Europe and that also comprises various overseas islands and territories located in other continents.
[7] Metropolitan France extends from the
Mediterranean Sea to the
English Channel and the
North Sea, and from the
Rhine to the
Atlantic Ocean. French people often refer to Metropolitan France as ''L'Hexagone'' (The "
Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory.
France is bordered by
Belgium,
Luxembourg,
Germany,
Switzerland,
Italy,
Monaco,
Andorra, and
Spain. Due to its
overseas departments, France also shares land borders with
Brazil and
Suriname (bordering
French Guiana), and the
Netherlands Antilles (bordering
Saint-Martin). France is also linked to the
United Kingdom by the
Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the
English Channel.
The French Republic is a
democracy that is organised as a
unitary semi-presidential republic. Its main ideals are expressed in the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It is a
developed country with the sixth-largest economy in the world.
[8] France is the most visited country in the world, receiving over 79
million foreign tourists annually (including business visitors, but excluding people staying less than 24 hours in France).
[9] France is one of the founding members of the
European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the
United Nations, and a member of the
Francophonie, the
G8, and the
Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council; it is also an acknowledged
nuclear power.
The
name France originates from the
Franks (''Francs''), a
Germanic tribe that occupied northern Europe after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire. More precisely, the region around
Paris, called
ÃŽle-de-France, was the original French royal
demesne. The first
King of the Franks,
Clovis, is regarded as the forefather of the
French kings.
Origin and history of the name
The name "France" comes from
Latin ''Francia'', which literally means "land of the
Franks" or "Frankland". There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks. One is that it is derived from the
Proto-Germanic word ''frankon'' which translates as ''javelin'' or ''lance'' as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a
francisca.
Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Frank means ''free'' as opposed to
slave. This word still exists in French as ''franc'', it is also used as the translation of "Frank" and to name the local money, until the use of the
Euro in the 2000s.
However, rather than the ethnic name of the Franks coming from the word ''frank'', it is also probable that the word is derived from the ethnic name of the Franks, the connection being that only the Franks, as the conquering class, had the status of freemen. The
Merovingian kings claimed descent of their dynasty from the
Sicambri, a Scythian or
Cimmerian tribe, asserting that this tribe had changed their name to "Franks" in 11 BC, following their defeat and relocation by
Drusus, under the leadership of a certain chieftain called Franko, although they had actually come from present day
Netherlands,
Lower Saxony, and possibly, ultimately
Scandinavia. In
German, France is still called ''Frankreich'', which literally means "
Realm of the Franks". In order to distinguish from the Frankish Empire of
Charlemagne, Modern France is called ''Frankreich'', while the Frankish Realm is called ''Frankenreich''.
The word "Frank" had been loosely used from the fall of Rome to the Middle Ages, yet from
Hugh Capet's coronation as "King of the Franks" ("Rex Francorum") it became used to strictly refer to the
Kingdom of Francia, which would become France. The
Capetian Kings were descended from the
Robertines, who had produced two Frankish kings, and previously held the title of "
Duke of the Franks" ("dux francorum").
This Frankish duchy encompassed most of modern
northern France but because the royal power was sapped by regional princes the term was then applied to the royal
demesne as shorthand. It was finally the name adopted for the entire Kingdom as central power was affirmed over the entire kingdom.
[10]
Geography
Main articles: Geography of France
While
Metropolitan France is located in
Western Europe, France also has a number of territories in
North America, the
Caribbean,
South America, the southern
Indian Ocean, the
Pacific Ocean, and
Antarctica.
[11] These territories have varying forms of government ranging from
overseas department to
overseas collectivity.
Metropolitan France covers 551,695
square kilometres (213,010
sq mi) and possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the
Alps in the south-east, the
Massif Central in the south-central and
Pyrenees in the south-west. At 4,807
metres (15,770
ft) above sea-level, the highest point in Western Europe,
Mont Blanc, is situated in the
Alps on the border between France and
Italy.
[12] Metropolitan France also has extensive
river systems such as the
Loire, the
Garonne, the
Seine and the
Rhône, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean sea at the
Camargue, the lowest point in France (2 m / 6.5 ft below sea level).
Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.
Satellite picture of metropolitan France, August 2002
France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding
Adélie Land), is 674,843 square kilometres (260,558 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. However, France possesses the second-largest
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 square kilometres (4,260,000
sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the
United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi) and ahead of
Australia (8,232,000 km² / 3,178,000 sq mi).
[13]
Metropolitan France is situated between 41° and 50° North, on the western edge of Europe and thus lies within the
northern temperate zone. The north and northwest have a temperate climate, however, a combination of maritime influences,
latitude and
altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France.
[14] In the south-east a
Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly
oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool summers. Inland the climate becomes more
continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The
climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions are mainly
alpine in nature with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snowcover lasting for up to six months.
History
Rome to revolution
The borders of modern France are approximately the same as those of ancient
Gaul, which was inhabited by
Celtic ''Gauls''. Gaul was conquered for
Rome by
Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC, and the Gauls eventually adopted
Roman speech (
Latin, from which the
French language evolved) and Roman culture.
Christianity took root in the 2nd century and 3rd century AD, and became so firmly established by the fourth and fifth centuries that
St. Jerome wrote that Gaul was the only region "free from heresy".
In the 4th century AD, Gaul's eastern frontier along the
Rhine was overrun by
Germanic tribes, principally the
Franks, from whom the ancient name of "Francie" was derived. The modern name "France" derives from the name of the feudal domain of the
Capetian Kings of France around Paris. The Franks were the first tribe among the Germanic conquerors of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to
Catholic Christianity rather than
Arianism (their King
Clovis did so in 498); thus France obtained the title "Eldest daughter of the Church" (''La fille ainée de l'Église''), and the French would adopt this as justification for calling themselves "the Most Christian Kingdom of France".
Existence as a separate entity began with the
Treaty of Verdun (843), with the division of
Charlemagne's
Carolingian empire into
East Francia,
Middle Francia and
Western Francia. Western Francia approximated the area occupied by modern France and was the precursor to modern France.
The
Carolingians ruled France until 987, when
Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France. His descendants, the
Direct Capetians, the
House of Valois and the
House of Bourbon, progressively unified the country through a series of wars and dynastic inheritance. The monarchy reached its height during the 17th century and the reign of
Louis XIV. At this time France possessed the largest population in Europe (see
Demographics of France) and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Monarchy to republic
Lord Cornwallis' surrender following the
Siege of Yorktown. French participation was decisive in this battle, 1781
The monarchy ruled France until the
French Revolution, in 1789.
King Louis XVI and his wife,
Marie Antoinette, were executed, along with thousands of other French citizens. After a series of short-lived governmental schemes,
Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799, making himself
First Consul, and later
Emperor of what is now known as the
First French Empire (1804–1814). In the course of
several wars, his armies conquered most of continental Europe, with members of the
Bonaparte family being appointed as monarchs of newly established kingdoms.
Following Napoleon's final defeat in 1815 at the
Battle of Waterloo, the French monarchy was re-established, but with new constitutional limitations. In 1830, a
civil uprising established the
constitutional July Monarchy, which lasted until 1848. The short-lived
Second Republic ended in 1852 when
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed the
Second French Empire. Louis-Napoléon was unseated following defeat in the
Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and his regime was replaced by the
Third Republic.
France had
colonial possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century until the 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, its
global colonial empire was the second largest in the world behind the
British Empire. At its peak, between 1919 and 1939, the second French colonial empire extended over 12,347,000 square kilometres (4,767,000 sq mi) of land. Including
metropolitan France, the total area of land under French
sovereignty reached 12,898,000 square kilometres (4,980,000 sq mi) in the 1920s and 1930s, which is 8.6% of the world's land area.
Though ultimately a victor in
World War I, France suffered enormous human and material losses that weakened it for decades to come. The 1930s were marked by a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government. At the start of
World War II, France held a series of unsuccessful rescue campaigns in
Norway,
Belgium and
The Netherlands from 1939 to 1940. Upon the May-June 1940
Nazi German blitzkrieg and its
Fascist Italian support, France's political leadership disregarded
Churchill's proposal of a
Franco-British Union and signed the
''Second Armistice at Compiègne'' surrender on
June 22 1940. The Germans established a puppet regime under Marshal
Philippe Pétain known as
Vichy France, which pursued a policy of collaboration with Nazi Germany. The regime's opponents formed the
Free French Forces outside of France and the
French Resistance inside. France was liberated with the joint effort of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Free French Forces and the French resistance in 1944. Soon the Nouvelle Armée Française ("new French army") was established with the massive help of US-built material and equipment, and pursued the fight along the Allies in various battles including the campaign of Italy.
The
French Fourth Republic was established after World War II and struggled to maintain its economic and political status as a dominant
nation state. France attempted to hold on to its
colonial empire, but soon ran into trouble. The half-hearted 1946 attempt at regaining control of
French Indochina resulted in the
First Indochina War, which ended in French defeat at the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Only months later, France faced a new, even harsher
conflict in its oldest major colony,
Algeria.
The debate over whether or not to keep control of Algeria, then home to over one million European settlers, wracked the country and nearly led to civil war. In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the
Fifth Republic, which contained a strengthened Presidency. In the latter role,
Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The Algerian War and Franco-French civil war that resulted in the capital
Algiers, was concluded with peace negotiations in 1962 that led to Algerian independence.
In recent decades, France's reconciliation and cooperation with
Germany have proved central to the political and economic integration of the evolving
European Union, including the introduction of the
euro in January 1999. France has been at the forefront of the European Union member states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to create a more unified and capable European Union political, defence, and security apparatus. However, the French electorate voted against ratification of the
European Constitutional Treaty in May 2005.
Government
Main articles: Government of France,
Constitution of France,
Politics of France
Logo of the French government
The French Republic is a
unitary semi-presidential republic with strong democratic traditions. The
constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by
referendum on
28 September 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to
parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the
President of the Republic, who is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year term (formerly 7 years) and is the Head of State, and the Government, led by the president-appointed
Prime Minister.
The French
parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a
National Assembly (''Assemblée Nationale'') and a
Senate. The National Assembly deputies represent local constituencies and are directly elected for 5-year terms. The Assembly has the power to dismiss the cabinet, and thus the majority in the Assembly determines the choice of government. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 6-year terms (originally 9-year terms), and one half of the seats are submitted to election every 3 years starting in September 2008.
[15] The
Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the National Assembly has the final say, except for constitutional laws and ''lois organiques'' (laws that are directly provided for by the constitution) in some cases. The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament.
French politics are characterised by two politically opposed groupings: one
left-wing, centred around the
French Socialist Party, and the other
right-wing, centred previously around the
Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) and now its successor the
Union for a Popular Movement. The executive branch is currently composed mostly of the UPM.
Conventions and notations
★ France is the home of the
International System of Units (the metric system). The
Imperial System is almost completely ignored in France. Some pre-metric units are still used, essentially the ''
livre'' (a unit of weight equal to half a
kilogram) and the ''
quintal'' (a unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms).
★ In mathematics, France uses the
infix notation like most countries. For large numbers the
long scale is used. Thus, the French use the word ''billion'' for what English speakers call a
trillion. However, there exist a French word, ''milliard'', for what the English speakers call a
billion. Thus, despite the use of the long scale, one billion is called ''un milliard'' ("one milliard") in French, and not ''mille millions'' ("one thousand million"). It should also be noted that names of numbers above the ''milliard'' are rarely used. Thus, one trillion will most often be called ''mille milliards'' ("one thousand milliard") in French, and rarely ''un billion''.
★ In the French numeral notation, the comma (,) is the
Decimal separator, whereas the dot (.) is used between each group of three digits especially for big numbers. A space can also be used to separate each group of three digits especially for small numbers. Thus three thousand five hundred and ten may be written as 3 510 whereas fifteen million five hundred thousand and thirty-two may be written as 15.500.032. In finances the symbol associated to the currency is put after the numbers and not before. For example €25,000.00 is written 25 000,00 € (always with an extra space between the figure and the currency symbol, and often a space between every block of 3 digits).
★ Cars are
driven on right.
★ In computing, if a
bit is still called a bit a
byte is called an
octet (from the Latin root ''octo'', meaning "8").
SI prefixes are used.
★
24-hour clock time is used, with h being the separator between hours and minutes (for example 2pm30 is 14h30).
★ The all-numeric form for dates is in the order day-month-year, using a slash as the separator (example: 31/12/1992 or 31/12/92).
Law
Main articles: Law of France
France uses a
civil legal system; that is, law arises primarily from written statutes; judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judge interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to
case law). Basic principles of the
rule of law were laid in the
Napoleonic Code. In agreement with the principles of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society. As
Guy Canivet, first president of the
Court of Cassation, wrote about the management of prisons:
[1]
:''Freedom is the rule, and its restriction is the exception; any restriction of Freedom must be provided for by Law and must follow the principles of necessity and proportionality.''
That is, law may lay out prohibitions only if they are needed, and if the inconveniences caused by this restriction do not exceed the inconveniences that the prohibition is supposed to remedy.
French law is divided into two principal areas:
private law and
public law. Private law includes, in particular,
civil law and
criminal law. Public law includes, in particular,
administrative law and
constitutional law. However, in practical terms, French law comprises three principal areas of law: civil law; criminal law and administrative law.
France does not recognise
religious law, nor does it recognise religious beliefs or morality as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions. As a consequence, France has long had neither
blasphemy laws nor
sodomy laws (the latter being abolished in 1791). However "offences against
public decency" (''contraires aux bonnes mœurs'') or
breach of the peace (''trouble à l'ordre public'') have been used to repress public expressions of
homosexuality or street
prostitution.
Laws can only address the future and not the past (
ex post facto laws are prohibited); and to be applicable, laws must be officially published in the ''
Journal Officiel de la République Française''.
Foreign relations
Main articles: Foreign relations of France
French foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership of the
European Union, of which France was a founding member. France is also a member of the
United Nations, the
WTO, the
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the
Indian Ocean Commission (COI), and is a partial member of
NATO where it contributes troops and arms but has withdrawn from the joint military command. It is an associate member of the
Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and a leading member of the
International Francophone Organisation (OIF) of fifty-one fully or partly French-speaking countries. It hosts the headquarters of the
OECD,
UNESCO,
Interpol, and the
International Bureau for Weights and Measures.
In 1953 France received a request from the
United Nations to pick a coat of arms that would represent it internationally. Thus the French emblem was adopted and is currently used on passports.
Military
Main articles: Military of France
The French
armed forces are divided into four branches:
★
Armée de Terre (Army)
★
Marine Nationale (Navy)
★
Armée de l'Air (Air Force)
★
Gendarmerie Nationale (Military police)
Since the
Algerian War,
conscription was steadily reduced and was finally suspended in 2001 by
Jacques Chirac. The total number of military personnel is approximately 359,000. France spends 2.6% of its
GDP on defence, slightly more than the United Kingdom (2.4%), and is the highest in the European Union where defence spending is generally less than 1.5% of GDP. Together they account for 40% of EU defence spending. About 10% of France's defence budget goes towards its ''
force de frappe'', or
nuclear weapons. A significant part of French military equipment is made in France. Examples include the
Rafale fighter, the
Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the
Exocet missile, and the
Leclerc tank. Some weaponry, like the
E-2 Hawkeye or the
E-3 Sentry was bought from the United States. Despite withdrawing from the
Eurofighter project, France is actively investing in European joint projects such as the
Eurocopter Tiger,
multipurpose frigates, the
UCAV demonstrator
nEUROn and the
Airbus A400M. France is a major arms seller as most of its arsenal's designs are available for the export market with the notable exception of nuclear powered devices. Some of the French designed equipments are specifically designed for exports like the Franco-Spanish
Scorpène class submarines. Some French equipments have been largely modified to fit allied countries' requirements like the
Formidable class frigates (based on the La Fayette class) or the
Hashmat class submarines (based on the Agosta class submarines).
★ Although it includes very competent anti-terrorist units such as the
GIGN or the
EPIGN the gendarmerie is a military police force which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force. Since its creation the GIGN has taken part in roughly one thousand operations and freed over five-hundred hostages; the
Air France Flight 8969's hijacking brought them to the world's attention.
★ French intelligence can be divided into two major units: the
DGSE (the external agency) and the
DST (domestic agency). The latter being part of the police while the former is associated to the army. The DGSE is notorious for the
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, but it is also known for revealing the most extensive technological spy network uncovered in Europe and the United States to date through the mole
Vladimir Vetrov.
★ The French "''
Force de frappe''" relies on a complete independence. The current French nuclear force consists of four submarines equipped with
M45 ballistic missiles. The current
''Triomphant'' class is currently under deployment to replace the former
''Redoutable'' class. The
M51 will replace the M45 in the future and expand the ''Triomphant''s firing range. Aside of the submarines the French dissuasion force uses the
Mirage 2000N; it is a variant of the Mirage 2000 and thus is designed to deliver nuclear strikes. Other nuclear devices like the
Plateau d'Albion's
Intercontinental ballistic missiles and the short range
Hadès missiles have been disarmed. With 350 nuclear heads stockpiled France is the world's third largest nuclear power.
[16]
★ The
Marine Nationale is regarded as one of the world's most powerful. The professional compendium ''flottes de combats'', in its 2006 edition, ranked it world's 6th biggest navy after the American, Russian, Chinese, British and Japanese navies.
[2]. It is equipped with the world's only nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier, with the exception of the American navy. Recently
Mistral class ships joined the Marine Nationale, the Mistral itself having taken part to operations in Lebanon. For the 2004 centennial of the
Entente Cordiale President Chirac announced the
Future French aircraft carrier would be jointly designed with Great Britain. The French navy is equipied with the
La Fayette class frigates, early examples of stealth ships, and several ships are expected to be retired in the next few years and replaced by more modern ships, examples of future surface ships are the
Forbin and the
Aquitaine class frigates. The attack submarines are also part of the
Force Océanique Stratégique although they do not carry the nuclear dissuasion, the current class is the
Rubis Class and will be replaced in the future by the expected
Suffren Class.
★ The
Armée de Terre employs 133,500 people, it is very famous for the
Légion Etrangère though the French special forces aren't the Legion but the
Dragons Parachutistes and the
Marines Parachutistes. The French assault rifle is the
FAMAS and future infantry combat system is the
Félin. France uses both tracked and wheeled vehicles to a significant points, examples of wheeled vehicles would be the
Caesar or the
AMX 10 RC. Although its main battle tank is the
Leclerc many older
AMX 30 tanks are still operational. It uses the
AMX 30 AuF1 for artillery. Finally it is getting equipied with
Eurocopter Tigers helicopters.
★ The
Armée de l'Air is the oldest and first professional air force worldwide. It still today retains a significant capacity. It uses mainly two aircraft fighters: the older
Mirage F1 and the more recent
Mirage 2000. The later model exists in a ground attack version called the
Mirage2000D. The highly modern
Rafale is in deployment in both the French air force and navy.
Transportation
Main articles: Transport in France
The
railway network in France totals 31,840
kilometres (19,784
mi), the most extensive in Western Europe, and is operated by the
SNCF. High speed trains include the
Thalys, the
Eurostar and the
TGV, which travels at 320 km/h (200 mph) in commercial use. The
Eurostar, along with the
Eurotunnel Shuttle, connects with the United Kingdom through the
Channel Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries in Europe, except
Andorra. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both
underground services and
tramway services complementing
bus services.
There is approximately 893,300 kilometres (555,070 mi) of serviceable roadway in France. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; however, motorway usage is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The new car market is dominated by national brands such as
Renault (27% of cars sold in France in 2003),
Peugeot (20.1%) and
Citroën (13.5%).
[17] Over 70% of new cars sold in 2004 had
diesel engines, far more than contained
petrol or
LPG engines.
[18] France possesses the world's tallest road bridge: the
Millau Viaduct, and has built many important bridges such as the
Pont de Normandie.
There are approximately 478
airports in France, including landing fields. The most important and largest of these is
Charles de Gaulle International Airport just outside Paris; it is also the main hub of
Air France, the French national airline. There are ten major ports in France, the largest of which is in
Marseille, which also is the largest bordering the Mediterranean Sea. 14,932 kilometres (9,278 mi) of waterways traverse France.
Administrative divisions
France is divided into 26 administrative
regions. 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are on the continental part of metropolitan France; one is the territorial collectivity of
Corsica), and four are
overseas regions. The regions are further subdivided into 100
departments which are numbered (mainly alphabetically). This number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates amongst others. Four of these departments are found in the overseas regions and are simultaneously overseas regions and
overseas departments and are an integral part of France (and the
European Union) and thus enjoy a status similar to metropolitan departments. The 100 departments are subdivided into 341
arrondissements which are, in turn, subdivided into 4,032
cantons. These cantons are then divided into 36,680
communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. There also exist 2,588
intercommunal entities grouping 33,414 of the 36,680 communes (i.e. 91.1% of all the communes). Three communes, Paris, Lyon and Marseille are also subdivided into 45
municipal arrondissements.
The regions, departments and communes are all known as
territorial collectivities, meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissements were also territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these were suspended by the
Vichy regime and definitely abolished by the
Fourth Republic in 1946. Historically, the cantons were also territorial collectivities with their elected assemblies.
In addition to the 26 regions and 100 departments, the French Republic also has six
overseas collectivities, one ''
sui generis'' collectivity (
New Caledonia), and one
overseas territory. Overseas collectivities and territories form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the European Union or its fiscal area. The Pacific territories continue to use the
Pacific franc whose value is linked to that of the
euro. In contrast, the four overseas regions used the French franc and now use the euro.
France also maintains control over a number of small non-permanently inhabited islands in the
Indian Ocean and the
Pacific Ocean:
Bassas da India,
Clipperton Island,
Europa Island,
Glorioso Islands,
Juan de Nova Island,
Tromelin Island.
Overseas Regions
Overseas departments have the same political status as metropolitan departments.
★
Guadeloupe (since 1946)
★
Martinique (since 1946)
★
French Guiana (since 1946)
★
Réunion (since 1946)
Economy
Main articles: Economy of France
France's economy combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered) with substantial (though declining) government intervention (see
dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunication firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early
1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in
France Télécom,
Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries.
A member of the
G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it is ranked as the
sixth largest economy in the world in 2005, behind the
United States,
Japan,
Germany,
The People's Republic of China and the
United Kingdom. France joined 11 other
EU members to launch the
Euro on
January 1 1999, with
euro coins and
banknotes completely replacing the French
franc (â‚£) in early 2002.
According to the
OECD, in 2004 France was the world's fifth-largest exporter and the fourth-largest importer of manufactured goods. In 2003, France was the 2nd-largest recipient of
foreign direct investment among OECD countries at $47
billion, ranking behind Luxembourg (where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers to banks located in that country) but above the United States ($39.9 billion), the United Kingdom ($14.6 billion), Germany ($12.9 billion), or Japan ($6.3 billion). In the same year, French companies invested $57.3 billion outside of France, ranking France as the second most important outward direct investor in the OECD, behind the United States ($173.8 billion), and ahead of the United Kingdom ($55.3 billion), Japan ($28.8 billion) and Germany ($2.6 billion).
In the 2005 edition of ''OECD in Figures'', the OECD also noted that France leads the
G7 countries in terms of productivity
(measured as GDP per hour worked).
[19] In 2004, the GDP per hour worked in France was $47.7, ranking France above the United States ($46.3), Germany ($42.1), the United Kingdom ($39.6), or Japan ($32.5).
[ Differentials in GDP per capita and their decomposition, 2004 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ]
Despite figures showing a higher productivity per hour worked than in the US, France's GDP per capita is significantly lower than the US GDP per capita, being in fact comparable to the GDP per capita of the other European countries, which is on average 30% below the US level. The reason for this is that a much smaller percentage of the French population is working compared to the US, which lowers the GDP per capita of France, despite its higher productivity. In fact, France has one of the lowest percentages of its population aged 15-64 years at work among the OECD countries. In 2004, 68.8% of the French population aged 15-64 years was in employment, compared to 80.0% in Japan, 78.9% in the UK, 77.2% in the US, and 71.0% in Germany.
[20] This phenomenon is the result of almost thirty years of massive unemployment in France, which has led to three consequences reducing the size of the working population: about 9% of the active population is without a job; students delay as long as possible their entry into labour market; and finally, the French government gives various incentives to workers to retire in their early 50s, though these are now receding.
As many economists have stressed repeatedly over the years, the main issue with the French economy is not an issue of productivity. In their opinion, it is an issue of structural reforms, in order to increase the size of the working population in the overall population.
Liberal and
Keynesian economists have different answers to that issue. Lower working hours and the reluctance to reform the labour market are mentioned as weak spots of the French economy in the view of the
right and lack of government policies fostering social justice by the
left. Recent government attempts at adjusting the youth labour market, to combat unemployment, have met with fierce resistance.
With 79.1 million foreign tourists in 2006,
9 France is
ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of
Spain (55.6 million in 2005) and the
United States (49.4 million in 2005). This 79.1 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Spain or Italy during the Summer. France features cities of high cultural interest (
Paris being the foremost), beaches and seaside resorts,
ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Aside of casual tourism France attracts a lot of religious pilgrims to
Lourdes, a town the Hautes-Pyrénées département, that hosts a few million tourists a year.
France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium
Airbus, and is the only European power (excluding Russia) to have its own national
spaceport (''
Centre Spatial Guyanais''). France is also the most energy independent Western country due to heavy investment in nuclear power, which also makes France the smallest producer of
carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialised countries in the world. As a result of large investments in nuclear technology, most of the electricity produced in the country is generated by nuclear power plants (78.1% in 2006,
[21] up from only 8% in 1973, 24% in 1980, and 75% in 1990).
Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EU subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer and exporter in Europe. Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as an internationally recognised
foodstuff and wine industry are primary French agricultural exports. EU agriculture subsidies to France total almost $14 billion.
Since the end of the Second World War the government made efforts to integrate more and more with
Germany, both economically and politically. Today the two countries form what is often referred to as the "core" countries in favour of greater integration of the European Union.
Demography
Main articles: Demography of France,
Languages of France,
Religion in France
Metropolitan French cities with over 100,000 inhabitants
With an estimated population of 64 million people, France is the 23rd most populous country in the world. France's
largest cities are
Paris,
Marseille,
Lyon,
Toulouse,
Nice, and
Nantes.
In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding
immigration) was responsible for almost all natural population growth in the
European Union. In 2004, population growth was 0.68% and then in 2005 birth and fertility rates continued to increase. The natural increase of births over deaths rose to 299,800 in 2006. The lifetime fertility rate rose to 2.00 in 2007, from 1.92 in 2004.
[3]
In 2004, a total of 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from
Africa and 13,710 from
Europe.
[22] In 2005, immigration level fell slightly to 135,890.
[23] France is an ethnically diverse nation. According to the
French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies, it has an estimated 4.9 million foreign-born immigrants, of which 2 million have acquired French citizenship.
[24] France is the leading
asylum destination in Western Europe with an estimated 50,000 applications in 2005 (a 15% decrease from 2004).
[25] The
European Union allows free movement between the member states. While the
UK (along with
Ireland) did not impose restrictions, France put in place controls to curb
Eastern European migration.
A perennial political issue concerns
rural depopulation. Over the period 1960-1999 fifteen rural ''départements'' experienced a decline in population. In the most extreme case, the population of
Creuse fell by 24%.
According to Article 2 of the Constitution,
French is the sole official language of France since 1992. This makes France the only Western European nation (excluding
microstates) to have only one officially recognised language. However, 77
regional languages are also spoken, in metropolitan France as well as in the overseas departments and territories. Until recently, the French government and state school system discouraged the use of any of these languages, but they are now taught to varying degrees at some schools.
[26] Other languages, such as
Portuguese,
Italian,
Maghrebi Arabic and several
Berber languages are spoken by immigrants.
Demography evolution from 1961 up to 2003 (according to the
FAO, 2005). Population in thousands of inhabitants
A
variety of religions are practised in France, as freedom of religion is a constitutional right, although some religious doctrines such as
Scientology,
Children of God, the
Unification Church, and the
Order of the Solar Temple are considered as cults. According to a January 2007 poll:
[27][28]
★ 51% of people polled identified as being
Catholics.
★ 31% of those polled declared being
agnostics or
atheists. (Another poll
[29] concluded that 27% identified as being atheists.)
★ 10% of those polled identified as being from other religions or being without opinion.
★ 4% identified as
Muslim.
★ 3% as
Protestant.
★ 1% as
Jewish.
In France, 32% declare themselves to be
atheists, with an additional 32% declaring themselves agnostic
[30]. The current
Jewish community in France numbers around 600,000 according to the
World Jewish Congress and is largest in Europe. Estimates of the number of
Muslims in France vary widely. According to the 1999 French census returns, there were only 3.7 million people of "possible Muslim faith" in France (6.3% of the total population). There are an estimated 200,000 to 1 million illegal immigrants in France.
The concept of ''
laïcité'' exists in France and because of this the French government is legally prohibited from recognising any ''religion'' (except for legacy statutes like those of military
chaplains and
Alsace-Moselle). Instead, it merely recognises ''religious organisations'', according to formal legal criteria that do not address religious doctrine. Conversely, religious organisations should refrain from intervening in policy-making. Tensions occasionally erupt about alleged discrimination against minorities, especially against Muslims (see
Islam in France).
Public health
The French healthcare system was ranked first worldwide by the
World Health Organization in 1997.
[31] It is almost entirely free for people affected by
chronic diseases (Affections de longues durées) such as
cancers,
AIDS or
Cystic Fibrosis. Average life expectancy at birth is 79.73 years.
As of 2003, there are approximately 120,000 inhabitants of France who are living with AIDS
[4]
France, as all EU countries, is under an
EU directive to reduce sewage discharge to sensitive areas. As of 2006, France is only 40 per cent in compliance with this directive, placing it as one of the lowest achieving countries within the EU with regard to this
wastewater treatment standard
[5].
Culture
Main articles: Culture of France
★
Académie française
★
French art
★
Cuisine of France
★
Cinema of France
★
Music of France
★
Social structure of France
★
Education in France
★
Holidays in France
★
List of French people
Architecture
There is, technically speaking, no architecture named ''French Architecture'', although that has not always been true.
Gothic Architecture's old name was ''French Architecture'' (or Opus Francigenum). The term "Gothic" appeared later as a stylistic insult and was widely adopted. Northern France is the home of some of the most important Gothic
cathedrals and
basilicas, the first of these being the
Saint Denis Basilica (used as the royal necropolis); other majestuous and important French Gothic cathedrals are
Notre-Dame de Chartres and
Notre-Dame d'Amiens. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church:
Notre-Dame de Reims. Aside from churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one being the
Palais des Papes in Avignon.
During the Middle Ages, fortified castles were built by feudal nobles to mark their powers against their rivals. When
King Philip II took
Rouen from
King John, for example, he demolished the ducal castle to build a bigger one. Fortified cities were also common, unfortunately most French castles did not survive the passage of time. This is why
Richard Lionheart's castle -
Château-Gaillard- was demolished as well as the
Château de Lusignan. Some important French castles that survived are
Chinon Castle,
Château d'Angers, the massive
Château de Vincennes and the so called
Cathar castles.
Before the appearance of this architecture France had been using
romanesque architecture like most of Western Europe (with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula, which used Mooresque architecture). Some of the greatest examples of Romanesque Churches in France are the
Saint Sernin Basilica in Toulouse and the remains of the
Cluniac Abbey (largely destroyed during the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars).
The end of the Hundred Years' War marked an important stage in the evolution of French architecture. It was the time of the
French Renaissance and several artists from Italy and Spain were invited to the French court; many residential palaces, Italian-inspired, were built, mainly in the Loire Valley. Such residential castles were the
Château de Chambord, the
Château de Chenonceau, or the
Château d'Amboise. Following the renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages,
Baroque Architecture replaced the gothic one. However, in France, baroque architecture found a greater success in the secular domain than in the religious one. It was a political tool employed by the church of Rome, as a part of the
Counter-Reformation to make the Catholic church more appealing to the masses. The religious baroque did not find the success the church expected in France.
[32] In the secular domain the
Palace of Versailles has many baroque features.
Jules Hardouin Mansart can be said to be the most influential French architect of the baroque style, with his very famous baroque dome of
Les Invalides. Some of the most impressive provincial baroque architecture is found in places that were not yet French such as the
Place Stanislas in
Nancy. On the military architectural side
Vauban designed some of the most efficient fortresses of Europe and became a very influential military architect.
After the French revolution the Republicans favoured
Neoclassicism. Although neoclassicism was introduced in France prior to the revolution with such building as the
Parisian Pantheon or the
Capitole de Toulouse. Built during the French Empire the
Arc de Triomphe and
Sainte Marie-Madeleine represent this trend the best.
Under Napoleon III a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth. If some very extravagant buildings such as the
neo-baroque Palais Garnier were built, the urban planing of the time was very organised and rigorous. For example
Baron Haussmann rebuilt Paris. These times also saw a strong Gothic-Revival trend across Europe, in France the associated architect was
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In the late 19th century
Gustave Eiffel designed many bridges (like the
Garabit viaduct) and remains one of the most influential bridge designer of his time, although he is best remembered for the
Eiffel Tower.
In the 20th century the Swiss Architect
Le Corbusier designed several buildings in France. More recently French architects have combined both modern and old architectural styles. The
Louvre Pyramid is a good example of modern architecture added to an older building. Certainly the most difficult buildings to integrate within French cities are skyscrapers, as they are visible from afar. France's largest financial district is
La Defense, where a significant number of skyscrapers are located. Other massive buildings that are a challenge to integrate into their environment are large bridges; a good example of the way this has been done is the
Millau Viaduct. Some famous modern French architects include
Jean Nouvel or
Paul Andreu.
Literature
Main articles: French literature
French literature tracks its origins back to the Middle Ages. French was not yet a uniform language but was divided into several dialects (mainly: northern '''oïl''', southern '''oc''' dialects). Each writer used his own spelling and grammar. Several French mediaeval texts are not signed- such is the case with
Tristan and Iseult, or with
Lancelot and the Holy Grail, among many others. A significant part of mediaeval French poetry and literature was inspired by the
Matter of France, such as the
The Song of Roland and the various
Chansons de geste. The "Roman de Renart" was written in 1175 by
Perrout de Saint Cloude, and told the story of the medieval character
Reynard ('the Fox'); it is also a popular example of early French story-telling.
In spite of the anonymous character of many French writings of the Middle-Ages, some medieval writers became quite famous:
Chrétien de Troyes, for instance.
''Oc'' culture was also quite influent in the Middle Ages. An early example of a
vernacular poet writing in
Occitan was
Duke William IX of Aquitaine.
About the history of the French language, one of the most important writer is unquestionably
François Rabelais. Modern French took a great deal from his style. His most famous work is quite probably
Gargantua and Pantagruel. Later on,
Jean de La Fontaine wrote his famous "Fables", a collection of short stories, written in verse, and usually ending with a "moral teaching".
But it is most certainly in the 18th and 19th centuries which French literature and poetry reach its highest point. The 18th century saw the writings of such huge writers, essayists and moralists as
Voltaire,
Denis Diderot and
Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
As concerns French children's literature in those times,
Charles Perrault was probably the most prolific writer, with stories such as: "
Puss in Boots", "
Cinderella", "
Sleeping Beauty" and "
Bluebeard".
The 19th century saw the birth of many French novels of world renown;
Victor Hugo,
Alexandre Dumas and
Jules Verne are probably among the most famous among these writers, both in and outside of France, with such highly popular novels such as
The Three Musketeers,
The Count of Monte-Cristo,
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, or
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Other 19th century fiction writers include
Emile Zola,
Guy de Maupassant,
Théophile Gautier and
Stendhal.
Symbolist poetry of the turn of the 19th century also proved to be a strong movement in French poetry, with artists such as
Charles Baudelaire,
Paul Verlaine and
Stéphane Mallarmé.
Now become famous outside of France, as well (whereas they used to be mostly known inside of France) are
Louis-Ferdinand Céline and
Albert Camus. One of the most well-known 20th century writers is Antoine de St.-Exupéry, whose "
Little Prince" has been translated and become a bestseller in a great many countries, remaining popular both with children and adults.
Nowadays, the
Prix Goncourt (first given in 1903) rewards "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". It has quite probably become France's best-known contemporary literary award.
Sport
Main articles: Sport in France
Popular sports include
football (soccer), both codes of
rugby football and in certain regions
basketball and
handball. France has hosted events such as the
1938 and
1998 FIFA World Cups, and will host the upcoming
2007 Rugby Union World Cup.
Stade de France in Paris is the largest stadium in France and was the venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup final, and will host the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in September. France also hosts the annual
Tour de France, the most famous
road bicycle race in the world. France is also famous for its
24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race held in the
Sarthe department. Several major
tennis tournaments take place in France, including the
Paris Masters and the
French Open, one of the four
Grand Slam tournaments.
France is the country of creation of the
Modern Olympic Games, due to a French aristocrat, Baron
Pierre de Coubertin, in the end of the 19th century. After
Athens in reference to the Greek origin of the ancient Olympic Games,
Paris hosted the second Games in 1900.
Paris was also the first home of the
IOC, before moving to
Lausanne for more neutrality. During the Modern era, France has hosted the
Olympic Games fives times: two
Summer Games (
1900 and
1924, both in
Paris) and three
Winter Games (
1924 in
Chamonix -the first edition-,
1968 in
Grenoble and
1992 in
Albertville).
Both the
national football team and the
national rugby union team are nicknamed "''Les Bleus''" in reference to the team's shirt color as well as the national French tricolor flag. The football team is regarded as one of the most skillful teams in the world with one
FIFA World Cup victory in 1998, one FIFA World Cup second place in 2006, and two
European Championships in
1984 and
2000. The top national club competition is the
Ligue 1. Rugby is very popular, particularly so in the southwest of France and Paris. The national team have competed at every
Rugby World Cup, and take part in the annual
Six Nations Championship. The French rugby team has never won a World Cup (despite having reached the semi-finals on all but one occasion, and playing in two finals), yet it has won sixteen Six Nations Championship, including eight grand slams. They are considered one of the top teams in the world. The top national club competition is the
Top 14.
French comic books
Main articles: Franco-Belgian comics
Asterix the ''gaulois'', famous french comic's character
French comic books and Francophone Belgian ones are often discussed together. These two countries share a long lasting tradition in comics and comic books. In French they are called ''bandes dessinées'', or more simply ''BD''. It is important to note the French term does not indicate the subject matters. In common English usage the term comics is often associated to what is fun, or ''funnies'' while the French language comics are often referred as the ''le neuvième art'' (the ninth art). In the USA several French comics would be seen as
Graphic novels rather than simply comics. The famous ''irreductible Gaulois''
Asterix is the character of the most famous French comics outside France itself, although destined to children at first the BD includes many subtilities and word games that require some culture to be understood. The
Black Moon Chronicles were also quite important and inspired a generation of Francophone role-players.
Olivier Ledroit who drew albums of the Black Moon Chronicles worked with
Pat Mills on
Requiem Chevalier Vampire, although Pat Mills is British this comic is unfortunately unavailable in English. Ledroit also designed characters and backgrounds for the
Heroes of Might and Magic V video game. A new artistic movement called
La Nouvelle Manga is trying to merge the Franco-Belgian style with the Japanese one, as manga are very popular in France.
French comics are quite present in science-fiction and remain influential in the domain.
Jean Giraud,
Philippe Druillet and
Enki Bilal (Serbian born) are examples of French SF writers. Enki Bilal is famous most notably for the Nikopol Trilogy which as been made a movie named
Immortel (Ad Vitam). Druillet has been named the ''space architect'' because of his backdrops of gigantic structures inspired by Art Nouveau, Indian temples and Gothic cathedrals. Jean Giraud, also known as Moebius, is famous outside France for his works on movies such as:
Tron,
The Abyss,
Willow and
The Fifth Element and his comic
The Incal. Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet worked together several times and founded
Métal Hurlant, a magazine specialised in science-fiction published as
Heavy Metal in the USA. There are many others important artists in France like
Thierry Cailleteau who wrote
Aquablue who did not achieve fame outside of their homeland.
Foreign comics often get good receptions within France. Several Belgian comics met great success in France such as
Blake and Mortimer,
XIII or
The Adventures of Tintin. As a consequence French and Belgian artists often worked together to produce comics, and example would be
Blueberry by
Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean Giraud. The Italian artist
Hugo Pratt found a large public with the
Corto Maltese comics; Corto Maltese's success in France was such that it was made animated movies by
Canal+.
Manga most notably are very influencials. In the early 90s manga like
Saint Seiya and
Dragon Ball Z were well received.
Masamune Shirow (with
Ghost in the Shell and
Appleseed) and
Katsuhiro Otomo (with
Akira) found themselves a base of fans in France. American comics also met success in France as Jean Giraud's participation to the
Silver Surfer with
Stan Lee examplifies.
Marvel Comics,
Image Comics and
Dark Horse Comics enjoyed large distributions and both
Todd McFarlane and
Frank Miller reached some fame.
Marianne
Main articles: Marianne
Masonic Marianne bronze
is a symbol of the French Republic. She is an allegorical figure of liberty and the Republic and first appeared at the time of the
French Revolution. The earliest representations of Marianne are of a woman wearing a
Phrygian cap. The origins of the name Marianne are unknown, but Marie-Anne was a very common first name in the 18th century. Anti-revolutionaries of the time derisively called her La Gueuse (the Commoner). It is believed that revolutionaries from the South of France adopted the Phrygian cap as it symbolised liberty, having been worn by freed slaves in both Greece and Rome. Mediterranean seamen and convicts manning the galleys also wore a similar type of cap.
Under the Third Republic, statues, and especially busts, of Marianne began to proliferate, particularly in town halls. She was represented in several different manners, depending on whether the aim was to emphasise her revolutionary nature or her "wisdom". Over time, the Phrygian cap was felt to be too seditious, and was replaced by a diadem or a crown. In recent times, famous French women have been used as the model for those busts. Recent ones include
Sophie Marceau, and
Laetitia Casta. She also features on everyday articles such as postage stamps and coins.
Miscellaneous topics
Palais des papes (Palace of the Popes),
Avignon★ ''Description of the flag:'' three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red became the flag during the French Revolution and made popular by Marquis de Lafayette; known as the ''
drapeau tricolore'' (Tricolour Flag). It is traditional to refer to the three colours in the order: blue, white, red. (''bleu, blanc, rouge''); blue and red are the colours of Paris, while white was the colour of the
Bourbon monarchy. The white inserted between the blue and the red expresses the idea that the king was under control of the people.
★ The foundation of France as a kingdom is dated to 496 (the year of the baptism of
Clovis I) since this event puts together three essential features of the country: the definition of a territorial limit (however much smaller than the current one), the definition of a power rule (succession from a king to his first son) and the definition of a social system (3 categories of people: warriors, priest and workers). The
Treaty of Verdun in 843, which divided the
Frankish Empire and created the kingdom of Francia Occidentalis (“Western Franklandâ€), from which France is descended, represents only the legal founding of the state. The French state has been in continuous existence since 843, among the oldest states in existence in the world, although its form of government has changed from one of a kingdom to one of a republic.
★ Although commonly associated with the
French Revolution and suggested by
Robespierre in December, 1790, France's motto, "
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" was not adopted until
the Revolutions of 1848 in France.
[33]
★ The national holiday of France since 1880 is the ''Fête Nationale'' (National Holiday), colloquially known as ''le 14 juillet'', officially celebrating the ''
Fête de la Fédération'' (
14 July 1790) and ''not'' the storming of the
Bastille (
14 July 1789) as is often believed, even by a majority of French people, and is the reason why the holiday is referred to as
Bastille Day in
English. On the occasion of the ''Fête de la Fédération'', celebrated exactly one year after the storming of the Bastille, all the representatives of the provinces of France gathered on the
Champ de Mars in
Paris in presence of the king
Louis XVI and proclaimed the national unity of France. They vowed to remain faithful to "the Nation, the Law, the King".
:This day is considered by French Republicans as the real birth of France: France is no more a country made up of provinces conquered by kings, but a country of provinces and men who freely agree to form a common Nation. This concept of a Nation agreed upon is opposed to the German concept of a Nation based on ethnicity and race, and it was responsible for much of the conflicts between France and Germany in the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Alsace was a German land that had been annexed by the conquest of the French kings, while France considered that although Alsace had indeed been a conquered province in the first place, it had legitimately and freely become a part of France by the oath of
14 July 1790. It is thus no surprise that the 14th of July was proclaimed the National Holiday of France in 1880, 9 years after Germany had reunited with
Alsace-Lorraine.
:Despite being associated with the ''Fête de la Fédération'',
14 July irked many French monarchists, to whom it recalled the bloody memory of the storming of the Bastille. French monarchists formerly wore a black armband each
14 July in defiance of the national holiday.
★ The French city of
Avignon replaced
Rome as home to the
Papacy between 1309-1377. The town remained under papal control until 1791, when it was incorporated into France.
★ Popular tourist sites include: (according to a 2003 ranking
[6] visitors per year) :
Eiffel Tower (6.2 million),
Louvre Museum (5.7 million),
Palace of Versailles (2.8 million),
Orsay Museum (2.1 million),
Arc de Triomphe (1.2 million),
Centre Pompidou (1.2 million),
Mont-Saint-Michel (1 million),
Château de Chambord (711,000),
Sainte-Chapelle (683,000),
Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg (549,000),
Puy de Dôme (500,000),
Musée Picasso (441,000),
Carcassonne (362,000). Other very popular
[7] and well-known tourist sites include:
Palace of the Popes, Avignon,
Disneyland Resort Paris, the
châteaux of the
Loire Valley, the ski resorts of the French
Alps or
Pyrenees,
Tahiti and the
lagoons of
French Polynesia, etc.
★ France is home to the international cycling competition
Le Tour de France.
International rankings
★ Total
GDP, 2005:
6th (out of 180) (
World Bank data)
★ Total value of
foreign trade (
imports and
exports), 2002: 4th (out of 185)
★
Reporters Without Borders world-wide press freedom index 2005: Rank 30 out of 167 countries
★
Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2006 - 18th of 163 countries
★ France is home to the second highest prostitution rate in the world
Images of France
Notes and references
1. Bilan démographique 2006 : un excédent naturel record
2. Tableau 2 - Répartition de la population totale par groupe d'âges, France métropolitaine
3. Whole of the French Republic except the overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean.
4. French overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean only.
5. In addition to .fr, several other Internet TLDs are used in French overseas ''départements'' and territories: .re, .mq, .gp, .tf, .nc, .pf, .wf, .pm, .gf and .yt. France also uses .eu, shared with other members of the European Union.
6. The overseas regions and collectivities form part of the French telephone numbering plan, but have their own country calling codes: Guadeloupe +590; Martinique +596; French Guiana +594, Réunion and Mayotte +262; Saint Pierre et Miquelon +508. The overseas territories are not part of the French telephone numbering plan; their country calling codes are: New Caledonia +687, French Polynesia +689; Wallis and Futuna +681
7. For more information, see .
8. Rank by nominal GDP: 6 (2006); Rank by GDP per capita: 17 (2005); Rank by GDP at purchasing power parity per capita: 21 (2005).
9. 79 millions d’arrivées de touristes internationaux en 2006
10. Elizabeth M. Hallam & Judith Everard - Capetian France 937-1328, chapter 1 "The origins of Western Francia" page 7: "What did the name Francia mean in the tenth and eleventh centuries? It still retained a wide general use; both Byzantine and western writers at the time of the crusades described the western forces as Franks. But it was also taking on more specific meanings. From 911 onwards the west Frankish king was known as the ''Rex Francorum'' -king of the Franks- and the name Francia could be used to describe his kingdom, as it was also used by the east Frankish, or German, kingdom... The Robertines, forerunners of the Capetians, were ''duces francorum'', dukes of the Franks, and their 'duchy' covered in theory most of northern France. Then as royal power contracted further, leaving the early Capetian only a small bloc of lands around Paris and Orleans, the term Francia was used for this region."
11. Sovereignty claims in Antarctica are governed by the Antarctic Treaty System
12. The World Factbook: Field Listing - Elevation extremes CIA
13. According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would be 10,084,201 square kilometres (3,893,532 sq mi), still behind the United States (12,174,629 km² / 4,700,651 sq mi), and still ahead of Australia (8,980,568 km² / 3,467,416 sq mi) and Russia (7,566,673 km² / 2,921,508 sq mi).
14. Discovering France: Geography Ministry of Foreign Affairs
15.
16. Comparison of recognised and alleged nuclear powers.
17. L'automobile magazine, hors-série 2003/2004 page 294
18. http://www.ademe.fr/particuliers/Fiches/voiture/rub3.htm
19. Labour productivity 2003 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
20. OECD Employment Outlook 2005 - Statistical Annex Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
21. Électricité en France : les principaux résultats en 2006. DGEMP / Observatoire de l'énergie
22. Inflow of third-country nationals by country of nationality
23. Immigration and the 2007 French Presidential Elections
24. Enquêtes annuelles de recensement 2004 et 2005 INSEE
25. UNHCR Global Report 2005: Western Europe UNHCR
26. Jeanjean, Henri. "Language Diversity in Europe: Can the EU Prevent the Genocide of Frnech Linguistic Minorities?
27. France is no longer Catholic, survey shows Catholic World News
28. Franţa nu mai e o ţară catolică, ''Cotidianul'', 2007-01-11
29. ''La Vie'', issue 3209, 2007-03-01
30. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1131.
31. the ranking, see spreadsheet details for a whole analysis
32. Claude Lébedel - Les Splendeurs du Baroque en France: ''Histoire et splendeurs du baroque en France'' page 9: "Si en allant plus loin, on prononce les mots "art baroque en France", on provoque alors le plus souvent une moue interrogative, parfois seulement étonnée, parfois franchement réprobatrice: Mais voyons, l'art baroque n'existe pas en France!"
33. The symbols of the Republic and Bastille Day French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
External links
'French government'
★
Official site of the French Embassy in the United Kingdom
★
Official site of the French public service - Contains many links to various administrations and institutions
'Country profiles'
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Encyclopaedia Britannica - France's country page
★
CIA - The World Factbook
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Phone numbers from France Télécom
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'Culture'
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Cocorico! French culture
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