France

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 'France ' ( in French language), officially the  'French Republic ' (, ), is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents.For more information, see Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and 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. In some of its overseas departments, France also shares land borders with Brazil, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. France is also linked to the United Kingdom via the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel ( La Manche  in French). The French Republic is a democracy which is organised as a unitary state semi-presidential system republic. It is a developed country with the seventh-largest economy in the world.List of countries by GDP (nominal): 6 (2006); List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita: 17 (2005); List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita: 21 (2005). Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. 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 La Francophonie, the G8, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also one of eight acknowledged List of countries with nuclear weapons. With almost 75 million foreign tourists each year, France is the most popular international tourist destination in the world above Spain (52 million) and USA (41 million). The country has a close relationship with the Canadian province of Québec. The Name of France originates from the Franks, a Germanic peoples that occupied the region after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. More precisely, the region around Paris, called Île-de-France (province), was the original French royal demesne.

Geography

While the main territory of France (metropolitan France; French:  la Métropole ,  France métropolitaine  or informally  l'hexagone ) is located in Western Europe, France is also constituted from a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica (sovereignty claims in Antarctica are governed by the Antarctic Treaty System). These territories have varying forms of government ranging from département d'outre-mer to "pays d'outre-mer". Metropolitan France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges in the south-east (the Alps) and the south-west (the Pyrenees). The highest point in western Europe is situated in the French Alps: Mont Blanc at 4,810 metres (15,781 foot (unit of length)) above sea-level. There are several other elevated regions such as the Massif Central, the Jura mountains, the Vosges mountains, and the Ardennes which are quite rocky and forested. France also has extensive river systems such as the Loire River, the Rhône River, the Garonne and the Seine. Due to its overseas departments and territories scattered on all oceans of the planet, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 1 E13 m² square kilometres (4,260,000 square mile), just behind the EEZ of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi), but ahead of the EEZ of Australia (8,232,000 km² / 3,178,000 sq mi).According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would be 1 E13 m² 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). The EEZ of France covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, whereas the land area of the French Republic is only 0.45% of the total land area on Earth.

Contrast and diversity

France is known around the world as a diverse country in its people, architectures and landscapes. About 50% of the French population claim to have foreign background which makes France one of the most diverse countries in the world. Old and more recent immigrants came to France from the five continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas). France is also home of the highest point in Europe (Mont-Blanc 4,810 m; 15,780 ft) and the lowest point of Europe, Delta du Rhone, (-5 m; -15 ft). France is seventeen-times smaller than Brazil and half the size of Ontario, which means that one hour by plane or eight hours by car are enough to cross the whole country from one extremity to the other. In spite of its size, France's landscapes are extremely varied from one region to another, ranging from Paris and its suburbs to high alpine territory to oceanfront resort towns. On one hand, France is highly densified with old architecture such as the city of Paris or the Centre of Troyes. The French Familly code is 200 years old and has been written under Napoleon. On the other hand, France is a highly developed country with an extensive highway network (for example: France is slightly bigger than California but its highway network is more than twice as long), 32,000 kilometres (20,000 mile) of railways (SNCF), along with modern ski resorts and gigantic malls. France is also the country with the fastest average internet connection speed (DSL), and in 2004, for the 3rd time in a row, the French healthcare system has been ranked number one in the world by the World Health Organisation.

History

The borders of modern France are roughly the same as those of ancient Gaul, which was inhabited by Celtic  Gauls . Gaul was conquered by Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC, and the Gauls eventually adopted Romance languages speech (Latin, which evolved into the French language) and Roman culture. History of 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 Middle Ages, the French would adopt this as a justification for calling themselves “the Most-Christian Kingdom of France.” In the 4th century AD, Gaul's eastern frontier along the Rhine was overrun by Germanic peoples, 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. 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. The Carolingians ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet of France, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France. His descendants, the Capetian, Valois Dynasty and House of Bourbon dynasties 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 of France. At this time France had a tremendous influence over European politics, economy and culture and possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France). The monarchy ruled France until 1789, when the French Revolution took place. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were killed, along with thousands of other French citizens. Napoleon I of France 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 defeat in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the French monarchy was re-established. In 1830, a July Revolution established the constitutional monarchy July Monarchy followed by the French Second Republic in 1848. The short-lived Second Republic ended in 1852 when Napoleon III of France proclaimed the Second French Empire. Louis-Napoléon was unseated following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to be replaced by the French Third Republic. France had Colony possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century until the 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, its Global Empire 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 1 E13 m² (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 had suffered enormous losses both human and material that weakened it for the decades to come. The 1930s were marked by a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government. During World War II, after a short but grievous and violent battle, France's political leadership chose to surrender to Germany and enter a policy of collaboration with the enemy, a move that some disagreed with, leading to the formation of the Free French Forces outside of France and of the French Resistance inside. France was finally liberated by the Allies in 1944. After its liberation the country attempted to hold on to its colonial empires, the comparative economic status, population and status as a dominant Nation-state. The French Fourth Republic was established after World War II, but was soon found too weak and unstable, and was replaced in 1958 by the current semi-presidential French Fifth Republic established under General Charles de Gaulle. In 1946, France's half-hearted attempt at regaining control of its French Indochina colony resulted in the First Indochina War, which finally ended with French defeat and withdrawal in 1954. Only months later, France faced a new, and even harsher Nationalism and resistance in Algeria in its oldest major colony, Algeria. The debate over whether or not to keep control of Algeria, then home to over 1 million European settlers, wracked the country and nearly led to civil war. In 1958, the Fifth French Republic was established, with a greatly strengthened presidency; in this role, Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The Algerian War of Independence was concluded with peace negotiations in 1962, which 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 European Union member states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to create a more unified and capable European Union based political, defence and security apparatus. However the French electorate voted against ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in May 2005.

Government and politics

The Constitution of France of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to Government of France#The legislative branch. Under the constitution, the President of the French Republic is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year (originally 7-year) term. Presidential arbitration assures regular functioning of the public powers and the continuity of the state. The president names the prime minister, presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, and concludes treaties. The French parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a French National Assembly ( Assemblée Nationale ) and a French 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.  Page is in French without apparent English version available  The French 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 (amendments to the constitution & "lois organiques"). The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. For the past thirty years, French politics has been characterised by two politically opposed groupings: one Left-wing politics, centred around the Socialist Party (France), and the other Right-wing politics, centred around the Rally for the Republic and its successor the Union for a Popular Movement. The right-wing Front National (France) party made significant inroads in the early 1980s by seizing on voter concern about the perceived decline of France, 'national dissolution' as a result of immigration and globalisation, and by advocating tougher law-and-order and immigration policies. Lately its share of the votes has remained stable at approximately 16%. French foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership of the European Union. On 29 May 2005 the French electorate voted in the French referendum on the European Constitution with about 55% against ratification of the proposed Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. The outcome of the vote was widely regarded as crucial for the future development of the EU, as well as for France's ability to retain leadership in Europe. France is also a member of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Indian Ocean Commission (COI), an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and a leading member of the La Francophonie (OIF) of fifty-one fully or partly French-speaking countries. France hosts the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, UNESCO, Interpol, and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in charge of the international SI.

Administrative divisions

France is divided into 26 administrative  Région in France : 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are on the continental part of metropolitan France; one is the "territorial collectivity" of Corsica, on the island of Corsica, commonly referred to as a  région  in common speech), and four are overseas  régions . The  régions  are further subdivided into 100  département in Frances . The departments are numbered (mainly alphabetically) and this number is used, for instance, in postal codes and vehicle number plates. The departments are further subdivided into 342 Arrondissement in France, but they have no elected assembly and serve only for the districting of state administrations. The arrondissements are further divided into 4,035 Canton in France, but again these serve only administrative and electoral purposes. Finally, the arrondissements are divided into 36,682 Commune in France, which are municipalities with an elected assembly (municipal council). The  régions ,  départements , and  communes  are known as "territorial collectivities" ( collectivités territoriales ), meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive, while the  arrondissements  and the  cantons  are mere administrative divisions. Until 1940, the  arrondissements  were also territorial collectivities with an elected assembly (arrondissement council), but these were suspended by the Vichy France and definitely abolished by the French Fourth Republic in 1946. Historically, the  cantons  were also territorial collectivities with their elected assemblies. Four of the  départements  are overseas  départements  (coterminous with the four overseas  régions ) which are an integral part of France (and the European Union) and thus enjoy a status similar to metropolitan départments. In addition to the 26  régions  and 100  départements , the French Republic is further made up of four Collectivité d'outre-mer, one  sui generis  collectivity (New Caledonia), and one Territoire d'outre-mer. 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 CFP franc whose value is linked to that of the euro. In contrast, the four overseas  régions / départements  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: Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean#Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean#Europa, Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean#Glorioso, Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean#Juan de Nova, Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean#Tromelin. See Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Transportation

Military

The French armed forces are divided into four branches:

• French Army (Armée de Terre)
• French Navy (Marine Nationale)
• French Air Force (Armée de l'Air)
• French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), a military police force which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force. Military age is 17. Since the Algerian War of Independence, conscription has been steadily reduced and was abolished by the government of Jacques Chirac in 1996. Among the larger European Union economies, France and the United Kingdom are the only significant spenders on defence: France with 2.6% of GDP, and the United Kingdom at 2.4%, according to 2003 figures from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Those two countries account for 40% of EU defence spending. In most other EU countries, defence spending is less than 1.5% of GDP. About 10% of France's defence budget goes toward its  force de frappe , or France and weapons of mass destruction.

Economy

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#Economics. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defense industries. A member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it 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 10 other European Union members to launch the Euro on January 1 1999, with euro coins and euro banknotes completely replacing the French French franc in early 2002. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in 2004 France was the world's fifth-largest exporter of manufactured goods, behind the United States, Germany, Japan, and The People's Republic of China, and ahead of the United Kingdom. It was also the fourth-largest importer of manufactured goods (behind the United States, Germany, and China, but ahead of the United Kingdom and Japan). 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 G8 countries in terms of productivity (measured as GDP per hour worked). 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). 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 because a much smaller percentage of the French population is working compared to the US, which sinks 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. 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 theory of economics and Keynesian economics 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 With over 75 million foreign tourists in 2003, France is World Tourism Rankings as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (52.5 million) and the United States (40.4 million). It 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). 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 Greenhouse gas among the seven most industrialised countries in the world. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EU subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer in Europe. 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.

Demographics

Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions. Four basic European ethnic stocks - pre-Celtic, Celtic (Gallic and Breton), Latin, and Germanic (Franks, Visigoths, Burgundians, Vikings) - have blended over the centuries to make up its present population. Besides these "historic" populations, new populations have migrated to France since the 19th century: List of Belgians, Italian people, Spanish people, Portuguese people, Poles, Romanian people, Greeks, Jews from Eastern Europe and the Maghreb, Arabs and Berbers from the Maghreb, Black Africans, and Han Chinese, to list only the most prominent. It is currently estimated that about 40% of the French population descends in varying amounts from these different waves of migrations, making France one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, despite the still popular stereotypes of France as an essentially Gallic country. Nevertheless, the immigrants from other European countries have an easier time blending in, while the non-European groups tend to assimilate at a slower pace, because of greater cultural barriers and social discrimination.

Population

Starting with the 19th century, the historical evolution of the population in France has been extremely atypical in the Western world. Unlike the rest of Europe, France did not experience a strong population growth in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. On the other hand, it experienced a much stronger growth in the second half of the 20th century than the rest of Europe or indeed its own growth in the previous centuries. After 1974, France's population growth stalled, and reached its nadir in the 1990s with only 0.39% annual growth, being now more in tune with the rest of Europe, which has entered demographic decline. However, first results from the 2004 French census have greatly surprised demographers. The census revealed that population growth rebounded significantly after the 1999 census, something nobody had anticipated. From 1999 to 2003, annual population growth was 0.58%. In 2004, population growth was 0.68%, almost reaching North American levels. 2004 was the year with the highest increase in French population since 1974. France is now well ahead of all other European countries (except for the Republic of Ireland). In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding immigration) was responsible for almost all the natural growth in European population: the population of the European Union increased by 216,000 inhabitants (without immigration), of which 211,000 was the increase in France's population alone, and 5,000 was the increase in all the other countries of the EU combined. In 2004 the natural increase in France's population reached 256,000, but figures for other European countries are not available yet. These unexpected results bear great consequences for the future. At the moment, France is the third most populous country of Europe, behind Russia and Germany. By 2050, demographers initially thought the population of metropolitan France would be 64 million inhabitants, but they now agree that their estimates were too conservative, being based on the 1990s growth rate of population. Demographers now estimate that by 2050 metropolitan France's population will be 75 million, at which time it will be the most populated country of the European Union, above Germany (71 million), the United Kingdom (59 million), and Italy (43 million). In 2005, birth and fertility rates continued to increase. The natural increase of births over deaths rose to 270,100. The lifetime fertility rate rose to 1.94 in 2005, from 1.92 in 2004. Net immigration fell slightly in 2005 to 97,500. In France immigration accounts for about on quarter of the total population increase--the average for all of Europe is about 80%. If these estimates become reality, it may fundamentally alter the balance of power in Brussels. It would be the first time since the 1860s that France is the nation with the largest population within Europe (Russia excluded). In mid-2004 the EU had 460 million inhabitants, 13.6% of whom were living in France (including overseas  départements ). By 2050 it is estimated that the population of the European Union (of the current 25 members) will have declined to 445 million inhabitants, of whom 17.5% will be living in France. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of people seeking refugee in France rose by around 3 % between 2003 and 2004, while in the same period, the number of asylum applications submitted in the United States fell by about 29 %. France thereby replaced the United States as the world's top destination for asylum-seekers in 2004. 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%.

Languages

The sole official language of France is French language, according to Article 2 of the Constitution since 1992. However, several Languages of France (including Alsatian language, Basque language, Breton language, Catalan language, Corsican language, West Flemish, Franco-Provençal dialects, West Central German dialect, Norman language, Occitan language (Gascon language and Provençal language), and some Langues d'oïl dialects - e.g., Picard language) are also occasionally understood and spoken, mostly by elderly people. Also several creole languages are spoken in overseas departments. However, the French government and state school system discouraged the use of any of those languages until recently. These historical regional languages have been known as  patois , though this has been considered depreciative. They are now taught at some schools, though French remains the only official language in use by the government, local or national. Some languages spoken by immigrants are also frequently spoken, especially in large cities: Portuguese language, Maghreb Arabic, several Berber languages, several languages of Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkish language, several Spoken Chinese (most notably Wu (linguistics), Cantonese (linguistics), Min Nan, and Mandarin (linguistics)), Vietnamese language, and Khmer language are the most frequently spoken. Despite popular stereotypes, many French people can speak at least one foreign language, especially in border regions such as the Pyrennées, Alsace, or the Alps. German (language), Spanish (language), Italian (language) and even English (language) are spoken with various degrees of proficiency and many families living near the borders are perfectly bilingual.

Statistics

At the 1999 census, INSEE sampled 380,000 adult people all across Metropolitan France, and asked them questions about their family situation. One of the questions was about the languages that their parents spoke with them before the age of 5. This is the first time serious statistics were computed about the proportion of mother tongues in France. The results were published in  Enquête familiale, Insee, 1999 . Here is a list of the nine most prominent mother tongues in France based on  Enquête familiale . It is important to read the Languages of France#Important notes to understand the table in order to correctly interpret the numbers. If we add up people with mother tongue and people with some exposure to the language before the age of 5, then the five most important languages in metropolitan France are (note that the percentages add up to more than 100, because many people are now counted twice):

• French: 42,100,000 (92%)
• Oc languages: 1,670,000 (3.65%)
• German and German dialects: 1,440,000 (3.15%)
• Oïl languages: 1,420,000 (3.10%)
• Arabic: 1,170,000 (2.55%)

Cities

The principal cities by population include (except Ile-de-France cities): :Aix-en-Provence, Ajaccio, Albi, Amiens, Angers, Angoulême, Annecy, Antibes, Arles, Avignon, Bastia, Beauvais, Belfort, Besançon, Béziers, Blois, Bordeaux, Bourges, Brest, France, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Caen, Calais, Cannes, Carcassonne, Chalon-sur-Saône, Châlons-en-Champagne, Chambéry, Charleville-Mézières, Châteauroux, Cholet, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Dijon, Dunkirk, Évreux, Fréjus, Grenoble, Hyères, La Rochelle, La Roche-sur-Yon, Le Havre, Le Mans, Lille, Limoges, Lorient, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Montauban, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Narbonne, Nice, Nîmes, Niort, Orléans, Paris, Pau, Perpignan, Poitiers, Quimper, Reims, Rennes, Roubaix, Rouen, Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Étienne, Saint-Malo, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Quentin, Aisne, Strasbourg, Tarbes, Toulon, Toulouse, Tourcoing, Tours, Troyes, Valence, Drôme, Vannes, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, and Villeurbanne.

Culture

• Education in France
• Sport in France
• Académie française
• French literature
• French art
• List of French people
• Cuisine of France
• Cinema of France
• Music of France
• Holidays in France
• Social structure of France

Marianne

Marianne 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 actresses are given the title of Marianne. Recent ones are Sophie Marceau, and Laetitia Casta. She also features on everyday articles such as postage stamps and coins.

Religion

:  Main article: Religion in France#Religion.  Traditionally a predominantly Roman Catholic Church country, yet also with anti-clericalism leanings, France has since the 1970s been a very secular country. Freedom of religion is constitutionally a right, inspired by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The dominant concept of the relationships between the public sphere and religions is that of  laïcité , which implies that the government and government institutions (such as French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools) should not endorse any particular religion or intervene in religious dogma, and that religions should refrain from intervening in policy-making. Tensions occasionally erupt about alleged discrimination against minorities; see Islam in France. The government does not maintain statistics as to the religion of its inhabitants. Statistics from an unspecified source and date given in the The World Factbook gives the following number: Roman Catholic 83 to 88%, Islam 5 to 10%, Protestantism 2%, Judaism 1%. However, in a 2003 poll 41% said that the existence of God was "excluded" or "unlikely".  Page is in French without apparent English version available  33% declared that "atheist" described them rather or very well, and 51% said they were "Christian". When questioned about their religion, 62% answered Roman Catholic, 6% Muslim, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 2% "other religions" (except for Eastern Orthodox Church or Buddhism, which were negligible), 26% "no religion" and 1% declined to answer. A Gallup poll established that 15% of the French population attend places of worship. In a more recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005, 34% of French citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 27% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 33% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".

• Roman Catholicism in France
• Islam in France

Miscellaneous topics

* 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  Flag of France  (Tricolour Flag). It is traditional to refer to the three colors in the order: blue, white, red. (bleu, blanc, rouge)

• The foundation of France as a kingdom is dated 496 (baptism of Clovis I) since this event funds put 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 Frankland”), 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 Maximilien Robespierre in December, 1790, France's motto, "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" was not adopted until Revolutions of 1848 in France.
• 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 language. 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 of France 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. Germany considered that 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 detached Alsace-Lorraine from France.
  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 used to wear a black armband each 14 July in defiance of the National Holiday.
• The Mont-Saint-Michel is one of the most visited tourist sites in France. Other very popular and well-known tourist sites include: Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Palace of Versailles, Palais des Papes, Disneyland Resort Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, the Chateau of the Loire Valley, the ski resorts of the French Alps, Tahiti and the lagoons of French Polynesia, etc.
• France is home to the international cycling competition Le Tour de France.

International rankings

• Total Gross domestic product, 2005: 6th (out of 180) (World Bank Group data)
• Total value of foreign trade (International trades 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 2005 - 18th of 159 countries

See also

• Major power#France
• Trente Glorieuses
• Europe
• Latin Union
• Scoutisme Français
• Military history of France
• Catholic countries
• List of French people

Notes and references

External links

Directories

• - World History Database Chronology of France
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - France's country page
• CountryReports.org- France
• CIA - The World Factbook
• Official site of the French public service - Contains many links to various administrations and institutions
• White Pages - Residential phone numbers from France Télécom (does not include other operators)
• Yellow Pages - Business phone numbers from France Télécom
• Parks in France - National parks, nature parks, reserves and other protected areas in France
• National Symbols of France Tricolore, motto, arms, Seal of State, French cockerel, Marianne, and the French national anthem - the Marseillaise.

Tourism, history, gastronomy

• The picturesque France

Maps and travel guides

• Physical Map of France
• Highresolution maps of france
  
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