France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the country. For other uses, see France (disambiguation).

French Republic
République française[1]

National Emblem
Flag
(unofficial)

Motto: 
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
(Liberty, Equality, Fraternity)

Anthem: "La Marseillaise"

Location of Metropolitan France  (dark green)

 

– on the European continent  (green & dark grey)

 – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]

Territory of the French Republic in the world

(excl. Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended)

Capital Paris
(and largest city)

Official language(s) French

 
Alsatian
Basque
Breton
Bushi (Mayotte)2
Catalan
Corsican
Creoles2
Regional languages
Flemish
(both official
Franco-Provençal
and not official)
Lorrain
New Caledonian
languages2
Occitan
Oïl
Shimaore dialect
(Mayotte)2
Tahitian2[2]

Demonym French

Unitary semi-presidential
Government
republic

 - President Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP)

 - Prime Minister François Fillon (UMP)

Legislature Parliament

 - Upper House Senate

 - Lower House National Assembly

Formation

 - Francia 486 (Unification by Clovis) 

 - West Francia 843 (Treaty of Verdun) 

 - Current constitution 5 October 1958 (5th Republic) 

EU accession 25 March 1957

Area
674,843 km2
 (41st)
 - Total[3]
260,558 sq mi 

 - Metropolitan France
551,695 km2
 (47th)
  - IGN[4]
213,010 sq mi
543,965 km2
 (47th)
  - Cadastre[5]
210,026  sq mi

Population

  (1 January 2011 estimate)

 - Total[3] 65,821,885[7] (20th)

 - Metropolitan France 63,136,180[6] (22nd)

116/km2 (89th)
 - Density[8]
301/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate

 - Total $2.145 trillion[9] 

 - Per capita $34,077[9] 

GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate

 - Total $2.582 trillion[9] 

 - Per capita $41,018[9] 

 Gini (2008) 32.7[10] 

HDI (2010) 0.872[11] (very high) (14th)

Euro,[12] CFP franc[13]

Currency
  (EUR,    XPF)

Time zone CET[8] (UTC+1)

 - Summer (DST) CEST[8] (UTC+2)

Drives on the right

ISO 3166 code FR

Internet TLD .fr[14]

Calling code 331

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

1
Mayotte +262; Saint Pierre and 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

2
Spoken mainly in overseas territories

France ( i /ˈfræns/ franss or /ˈfrɑːns/ frahnss; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]),

officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is
a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and
islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans.[15]
Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North
Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The
Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory[citation needed]. It is bordered (clockwise
starting from the northeast) by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco;
with Spain and Andorra to the south. France is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel
Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel. In addition to these borders on the
European continent France has land borders with Suriname and Brazil through French Guiana, as
well as with the Netherlands through the Collectivity of Saint Martin. It is the largest west-
European country and it possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world,
covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States
(11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).

Over the past 500 years,[16] France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic,
military and political influence in Europe and in the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries,
France colonised great parts of North America and South Asia; during the 19th and early 20th
centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North,
West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

France has its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
The French Republic is defined as indivisible, secular, democratic and social by its constitution.
[17]
France is one of the world's most developed countries[18] and possesses the world's fifth largest
and Europe's second largest economy by nominal GDP.[19] France is the wealthiest European
(and the world's 4th) nation[20] in aggregate household wealth. France enjoys a high standard of
living as well as a high public education level, and has also one of the world's highest life
expectancies.[21] France has been listed as the world's "best overall health care" provider by the
World Health Organization.[22] It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82 million
foreign tourists annually.[23]

France has the world's fourth largest nominal military budget, the third largest military in NATO
and EU's largest army. France also possesses the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the
world[24] - with ~300 active warheads as of 25 May 2010 - and the world's second largest
diplomatic corps (second only to that of the United States).[25]

France is a founding member of the United Nations, one of the five permanent members of the
UN Security Council, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO,
and the Latin Union. It is also a founding and leading member state of the European Union and
the largest one by area.[26] In 2010, France was listed 14th on the Human Development Index and
24th on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

Contents
 1 History
o 1.1 Etymology
o 1.2 Prehistory and Antiquity
o 1.3 Middle Age to Revolution
o 1.4 Monarchy to Republic
 2 Geography
o 2.1 Environment
o 2.2 Administrative divisions
o 2.3 Overseas regions and territories
 3 Politics
o 3.1 Government
o 3.2 Law
o 3.3 Foreign relations
o 3.4 Development aid
o 3.5 Military
 4 Economy
o 4.1 Agriculture
o 4.2 Labour market
 o 4.3 Tourism
o 4.4 Transport
 5 Demographics
o 5.1 Language
o 5.2 Religion
o 5.3 Health
o 5.4 Education
 6 Culture
o 6.1 Painting
o 6.2 Architecture
o 6.3 Literature
o 6.4 Music
o 6.5 Cinema
o 6.6 Fashion
o 6.7 Media
o 6.8 Society
o 6.9 Cuisine
o 6.10 Sports
 7 See also
 8 References
 9 External links

History
Main article: History of France
See also: Military history of France, Economic history of France, and Territorial formation of
France

Etymology

Main article: Name of France

See also: List of country name etymologies

The name "France" comes from the Latin Francia, which means "country of the Franks".[27]
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.[28] Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient
Germanic language, Frank means free as opposed to slave.

However, it is also possible that the word is derived from the ethnic name of the Franks because,
as the conquering class, only the Franks had the status of freemen.[citation needed] In German (and
other Germanic languages, such as Scandinavian languages and Dutch), France is still called
"Realm of the Franks" (Frankreich, Frankrike, Frankrige). In order to distinguish from the
Frankish Empire of Charlemagne, Modern France is called Frankreich in German, while the
Frankish Realm is called Frankenreich.

Prehistory and Antiquity

Main articles: Prehistory of France, Gaul, and Roman Gaul

One of the paintings of Lascaux which represents a horse (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC).

The oldest traces of human life, in what is now France, date from approximately 1,800,000 years
ago.[29] Men were then confronted by a hard and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras
which modified their framework of life and led them to a nomadic life of hunters-gatherers.[29]
France counts a large number of decorated caves from the upper Paleolithic era, including one of
the most famous and best preserved: Lascaux[29] (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC).

At the end of the Last glacial period (10.000 BC), the climate softened[29] and from
approximately 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered the Neolithic era and its
inhabitants became sedentary. After a strong demographic and agricultural development between
the 4th and 3rd millennia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium, initially with the
work of gold, copper and bronze, and later with iron.[30] France counts numerous megalithic sites
from the Neolithic period, including the exceptionally dense Carnac stones site in Brittany (c.
3,300 BC).

In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks, originating from Phocaea, founded the colony of Massalia (present-
day Marseille), on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, making it the oldest city of France.[31][32]
At the same time, some Gallic Celtic tribes penetrated some parts of the current territory of
France, but this occupation spread in the rest of France only between the 5th and 3rd century BC.
[33]

The concept of Gaul emerged at that time; it corresponds to the territories of Celtic settlement
ranging between the Rhine, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The borders of
modern France are approximately the same as those of ancient Gaul, which was inhabited by
Celtic Gauls. Gaul was then a prosperous country of which the southernmost part was heavily
subject to Greek and Roman influences. However, around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain Brennus
made his own way through the Alps, defeated the Romans in the Battle of the Allia and sacked
Rome for several months. The Gallic invasion left Rome weakened and encouraged several
subdued Italian tribes to rebel. One by one, over the course of the next 50 years, these tribes were
defeated and brought back under Roman dominion. Meanwhile, the Gauls would continue to
harass the region until 345 BC, when they entered into a formal treaty with Rome. But Romans
and Gauls would maintain an adversarial relationship for the next several centuries and the Gauls
would remain a threat in Italia.

Gallic tribes before the Roman conquest

Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans who called this region
Provincia Romana ("Roman Province"), which evolved into the name Provence in French.[34]
The sacking of Rome was still remembered by Romans, when Julius Caesar conquered the
remainder of Gaul, and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52
BC.[35]

The Maison Carrée was a temple of the Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day Nîmes) and
is one of the best preserved vestiges of the Roman Empire

Gaul was divided by Augustus into Roman provinces, the principal ones being Gallia
Narbonensis in the south, Gallia Aquitania in the south-west, Gallia Lugdunensis in the center
and Gallia Belgica in the north.[36] Many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period,
including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon), which is considered to be the capital of the Gauls.[37]
These cities were built in the traditional Roman style, with a forum, a theatre, a circus, an
amphitheatre and thermal baths. The Gauls mixed with Roman settlers and eventually adopted
Roman speech (Latin, from which the French language evolved) and Roman culture. The Roman
polytheism merged with the Gallic paganism into the same syncretism.

Around the 3rd century AD, Roman Gaul underwent a serious crisis with its "limes" (fortified
borders protecting the Empire) crossed on several occasions by Barbarians.[38] The weakness of
the central imperial power, at this time, led Gallo-Roman leaders to proclaim the independence
of the short-lived Gallic Empire,[39] which ended with the Battle of Châlons in 274, which saw
Gaul reincorporated in the Roman Empire.

Nevertheless, the situation improved in the first half of the 4th century AD, which was a period
of revival and prosperity for Roman Gaul.[40] In 312, the emperor Constantin I converted to
Christianity. Christians, persecuted until then, multiplied across the entire Roman Empire.[41] But,
from the second half of the 4th century AD, the Barbarian Invasions started again,[42] and
Germanic tribes, such as the Vandals, Suebi and Alans crossed the Rhine and settled in Gaul,
Spain and other parts of the collapsing Roman Empire.[43] At the end of the Antiquity period,
ancient Gaul was divided into several Germanic kingdoms and some remaining Gallo-Roman
territories, notably the Kingdom of Syagrius.

Middle Age to Revolution

Main articles: France in the Middle Ages, Absolute monarchy in France, Ancien Régime in
France, Early modern France, and List of French monarchs

Frankish expansion from the early Clovis I' kingdom (481) to the divisions of Charlemagne's
Empire (843/870).
French territorial gains (green) and losses (red) from 985 to present-day (Overseas possessions
not shown, see below)

The pagan Franks, from whom the ancient name of “Francie” was derived, originally settled the
North-East of Gaul, but conquered most of northern and central Gaul, under Clovis I. The
Frankish King Clovis I was the first Germanic conquerors after the fall of the Roman Empire to
convert, in 498, to Catholic Christianity, rather than Arianism; thus France obtained the title
“Eldest daughter of the Church” (La fille aînée de l’Église) from the papacy,[44] and the French
kings would adopt this as justification for calling their country “the Most Christian Kingdom of
France”, until the French Revolution. The Franks embraced the Christian Gallo-Roman heritage,
and ancient Gaul was progressively renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic
Franks adopted Romanic languages, except in northern Gaul where Roman settlements were less
dense and where Germanic languages emerged. Clovis made Paris his capital and established the
Merovingian dynasty but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land
purely as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged: Paris,
Orléans, Soissons, and Rheims. The last Merovingian kings, sometimes referred as Rois
fainéants ("lazy kings"), lost effective power to their mayors of the palace.

The mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated a Muslim invasion from Hispania at the Battle
of Tours (732) and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdoms. His son Pepin the
Short eventually seized the crown of Francia from the discredited Merovingians and founded the
Carolingian dynasty. Pippin's son, Charlemagne reunited the Frankish Kingdoms and built a vast
empire across Western and Central Europe.

Joan of Arc led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War
which paved the way for the final victory.

Proclaimed "Roman Emperor" by the Pope, Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman
Empire and its cultural grandeur, from its Palace of Aachen. The efficient administration of this
immense empire was ensured by high civil servants, carrying the, still non-hereditary, titles of
counts (in charge of a County), marquis (in charge of a March), dukes (military commanders),
etc.
Charlemagne's son Louis I (emperor 814–840) kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian
Empire would not survive Louis I's death. The Empire was divided between Louis' three sons,
with the Treaty of Verdun (843), into East Francia to Louis the German, Middle Francia to
Lothair I and West Francia to Charles the Bald. Western Francia approximated the area occupied
by modern France and was the precursor to modern France.[45] Constantly threatened by Viking
invasions, France became a very decentralised state: the nobility's titles and lands became
hereditary, the authority of the king became more religious than effective and constantly
challenged by powerful noblemen. Thus was established feudalism in France. Some of the king's
vassals would grow so powerful that they would become a threat to the king. By example, after
the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, the Duke of Normandy added "King of England" to his titles,
becoming vassal (as Duke of Normandy) and equal (as king of England) to the king of France.

The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of
Paris, was crowned King of France.[46] His descendants, the Direct Capetians, the House of
Valois and the House of Bourbon, progressively unified the country through a series of wars,
such as the Saintonge War, and dynastic inheritance into a Kingdom of France. The Albigensian
Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of
modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of
Toulouse was annexed.[47] Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern
continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. French knights took
also an active part in the various Crusades that were fought, between 1095 and 1291, to restore
Christian control over the Holy Land. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more
assertive, centred around a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and
commoners.

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572) during the French Wars of Religion.

Charles IV (The Fair) died without an heir in 1328.[48] Under the rules of the Salic law adopted in
1316, the crown of France could not pass to a woman, nor could the line of kinship pass through
the female line.[48] Accordingly, the crown passed to the cousin of Charles, Philip of Valois,
rather than through the female line to Charles' nephew, Edward, who would soon become
Edward III of England. In the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height
of its medieval power.[48] However, Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of
England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death,[49] England and France
went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.[50] The exact boundaries
changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for
decades. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French
counterattacks won back all English continental territories, except Calais which was captured in
1558 by the French. Like the rest of Europe, France was struck by the Black Death. Around
1340, France had a population of about 17 million,[51] which by the end of the pandemic had
declined by about one-half.[52]

Louis XIV of France, the "sun king" was the absolute monarch of France and made France the
leading European power.

The French Renaissance saw a long set of wars, known as the Italian Wars, between the
Kingdom of France and the powerful Holy Roman Empire It saw also the first standardization of
the French language, which would become the official language of France and the language of
Europe's aristocracy. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed
lands in the Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of the First French colonial
empire. The rise of Protestantism in Europe led France to a civil war known as the French Wars
of Religion, where, in the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.[53] The wars of Religion were ended in France by
Henry IV's Edict of Nantes which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Henry IV
was eventually murdered by a Catholic fanatic.

The monarchy reached its height during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By turning
powerful feudal lords into courtiers in Versailles, Louis XIV's personal power became
unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power.
At this time, France possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France)
and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. Since the 18th
century, French was the most used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international
affairs, until the emergence of the USA in the 20th century.[54] In addition, France obtained many
overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia.

Under Louis XV, while the continental territory of France kept growing, with notable
acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770), most of its overseas possessions were
lost after the French defeat during the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763.
Louis XVI actively supported the Americans seeking independence from Great Britain (realized
in the 1783 Treaty of Paris). The example of the American Revolution was one of the many
contributing factors to the French Revolution.

Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific
breakthroughs and inventions, such as the automobile (1771) and the first hot air balloon
carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists in the 18th century. The
Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason was advocated as the primary source for legitimacy
and authority, undermined the Absolute monarchy and prepared the French Revolution.

Monarchy to Republic

Main articles: France in the long nineteenth century and France in the twentieth century
See also: French Revolution, Napoleonic era, and French colonial empire

The Storming of the Bastille, on 14 July 1789, was the starting event of the French Revolution.

After the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the absolute monarchy was abolished and
France became a constitutional monarchy. Through the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen, the French Republic established fundamental rights for French citizens and all men
without exception. The Declaration affirms "the natural and imprescriptible rights of man" to
"liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression". It called for the destruction of
aristocratic privileges by proclaiming an end to exemptions from taxation, freedom and equal
rights for all men, and access to public office based on talent rather than birth. The monarchy
was restricted, and all citizens were to have the right to take part in the legislative process.
Freedom of speech and press were declared, and arbitrary arrests outlawed. The Declaration also
asserted the principles of popular sovereignty, in contrast to the divine right of kings that
characterized the French monarchy, and social equality among citizens, eliminating the
privileges of the nobility and clergy.
Napoleon I, Empereur des Français, built a Great Empire across Europe.

In 1792, the French Republic was proclaimed. As European monarchies attacked the new
Republic to restore the French monarchy, Louis XVI (and later his wife Marie Antoinette) was
convicted of treason and guillotined in 1793. Facing increasing pressures from European
monarchies and facing internal guerrilla wars and counterrevolutions, like the War in the Vendée
or the Chouannerie, the young Republic fell into the Reign of Terror, between 1793 and 1794,
where 16,000 to 40,000 persons were executed. In Western France, the civil war between the
Bleus (the "Blues", supporters of the Revolution) and the Blancs (the "Whites", supporters of the
Monarchy) last from 1793 to 1796 and cost around 450,000 lives (200,000 Patriotes and 250,000
Vendéens).[55] Both foreign armies and French counterrevolutionnaries were crushed and the
French Republic survived. Furthermore, the French Republic extended greatly its boundaries,
following its victories, and established "Sister Republics" in the surrounding countries.

Animated map of the growth and decline of the French colonial empire.

After a short-lived governmental scheme, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in
1799, making himself First Consul, and later Emperor of the First Empire (1804–1814/1815). As
a continuation of the wars sparked by the European monarchies against the French Republic,
changing sets of European Coalitions declared wars to Napoleon's French Empire. His armies
conquered most of continental Europe, with members of the Bonaparte family being appointed as
monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms. After the catastrophic Russian campaign,
Napoleon was finally defeated and the Bourbon monarchy restored. About a million Frenchmen
died during the Napoleonic Wars.[56]
After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of
Waterloo, the monarchy was re-established (1815–1830), but with new constitutional limitations.
The discredited Bourbon dynasty was overthrown by the civil uprising of 1830, which
established the constitutional July Monarchy, which lasted until 1848, when the French Second
Republic was proclaimed. In 1852, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoleon I’s nephew,
proclaimed the second Empire, as Napoleon III. He multiplied the French interventions abroad,
especially in Crimea, in Mexico and Italy but was unseated following defeat in the Franco-
Prussian war of 1870 and his regime was replaced by the Third Republic.

Charles de Gaulle took an active part in all major events of the 20th century : a hero of World
War I, leader of the Free French during World War II, he then became President, where he
facilitated the decolonization, maintained France as a major power and overcame the May 1968
revolt.

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 overseas 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.

France was a member of the Triple Entente when World War I broke out. A small part of
Northern France was occupied, but France and its allies eventually emerged victorious against
the Central Powers, at a tremendous human and material cost: the first war left 1.4 million
French soldiers dead.[57] The interbellum phase was marked by a variety of social reforms
introduced by the Popular Front government. Following the German Blitzkrieg campaign in
World War II, metropolitan France was divided in an occupation zone in the north and Vichy
France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, in the south.[58]
The Allies and the French Resistance eventually emerged victorious from the Axis powers and
French sovereignty was restored.
The Fourth Republic was established after World War II and saw spectacular economic growth
(les Trente Glorieuses). France was one of the founding members of the NATO (1949), which
was the Western counterpart of the Warsaw Pact system of collective defence. France attempted
to regain control of French Indochina but was defeated by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien
Bien Phu in 1954. Only months later, France faced a new conflict in Algeria. The debate over
whether or not to keep control of Algeria, then home to over one million European settlers,[59]
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.[60] In the latter role,
Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The
Algerian War was concluded with peace negotiations in 1962 that led to Algerian independence.
France granted independence progressively to its colonies, the last one being Vanuatu in 1980. A
vestige of the colonial empire are the French overseas departments and territories that include
French Guiana, Martinique and French Polynesia.

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.[61]

Geography
Main article: Geography of France
See also: Outline of France

Metropolitan French cities with over 100,000 inhabitants

Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41° and 51° N (Dunkirk is just north of
51°), and longitudes 6° W and 10° E, on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the
northern temperate zone

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.[62] These territories have varying forms of government ranging from overseas
department to overseas collectivity. France's overseas departments and collectivities share land
borders with Brazil, and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles
(bordering Saint-Martin).

The Exclusive Economic Zone of France extends over 11,000,000 km2 (4,200,000 sq mi) of
ocean across the world.[63]

Metropolitan France covers 547,030 square kilometres (211,209 sq mi),[10] having the largest area
among European Union members.[26] France 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 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft)[64] above sea
level, the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, is situated in the Alps on the border
between France and Italy. Metropolitan France also has extensive river systems such as the
Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps
and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.

France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is
674,843 km2 (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,[65] covering 11,035,000 km2
(4,260,637 sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just
behind the United States (11,351,000 km2/4,382,646 sq mi) and ahead of Australia
(8,232,000 km2/3,178,393 sq mi).[66] The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a
combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of
Metropolitan France.[67] 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 to warm
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 is mainly alpine, with the
number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for
up to six months.

Landscapes and climates of France

Limestone cliffs of Normandy
near Étretat.  

Mediterranean vegetation
(lavender) in Provence.  

Alpine climate in Savoie (note

the Alpine Ibex on the left).  
Vineyards in Côte de Nuits,
Burgundy.  

The Vosges Mountains.  

Bora-Bora in French Polynesia.

Calanques de Sugiton, near
Marseille.  

Environment

See also: Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Sea, National parks of
France, and Regional natural parks of France

Regional and National natural parks in France. Indicated in green and purple colour respectively.

France was one of the first countries to create a Ministry of the Environment, in 1971.[68]
Although France is one of the most industrialised and developed countries, it is ranked only
seventeenth by carbon dioxide emissions, behind such less populous nations as Canada, Saudi
Arabia or Australia. This situation results from the French government's decision to invest in
nuclear power in 1974 (after the 1973 oil crisis[69]), which now accounts for 78% of France's
electricity production[70] and explains why France pollutes less than comparable countries.[71][72]
Like all European Union members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of
1990 levels by the year 2020,[73] in comparison the USA agreed to a fall of 4% of its emissions[74]
whereas China stated it wanted to "reduce its carbon intensity by 40-45% by the year 2020"
(compared with 2005 levels),[75] which means with a GDP growth of 8% yearly an augmentation
of 80%[74] to 250%[76] of the Chinese carbon emissions by 2020.

In 2009, the French carbon dioxide emissions per capita level is lower than the Chinese one.[77]

France was even set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide
emitted.[78] The carbon tax would have brought in 4.3 billion Euros of revenue per year.[79]
However, 6 months later, the plan for a carbon tax was abandoned for various reasons, one being
that French companies would have a more difficult time competing with companies in
neighboring countries who would not have to pay such steep taxes on carbon dioxide emissions.
Instituting a carbon tax was also an unpopular political move for President Sarkozy.[80]

In 2010, a study at Yale and Columbia universities ranked France the most environmentally
conscious nation of the G20.[81][82]

Forests account for 28,27% of the land area of France.[83][84] France is the second most wooded
country of the EU.[85] French forests are also some of the most diversified of Europe, with more
than 140 differents varieties of trees.[86] There are 9 national parks[87] and 46 natural parks in
France.[88] France wants to convert 20% of its Exclusive Economic Zone in a Marine Protected
Area by 2020.[89]

Administrative divisions

The Place du Capitole in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) in the Midi-Pyrénées region

Main articles: Administrative divisions of France, Regions of France, and Departments of
France
See also: Metropolitan Area (France) and List of communes in France with over 20,000
inhabitants (1999 census)

France is divided into 27 administrative regions.[10] 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are on the
continental part of metropolitan France; one is the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and five are
overseas regions. The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments[90] which are
numbered (mainly alphabetically). This number is used in postal codes and vehicle number
plates amongst others. The 101 departments are subdivided into 341 arrondissements which are,
in turn, subdivided into 4,051 cantons. These cantons are then divided into 36,697 communes,
which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. There also exist 2,588
intercommunal entities grouping 33,414 of the 36,697 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.

The 22 regions and 96 departments of metropolitan France includes Corsica (Corse, lower right).
Paris area is expanded (inset at left)
Region Departments
 Alsace Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin
 Aquitaine Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
 Auvergne Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme
 Basse-Normandie Calvados, Manche, Orne
 Bourgogne Côte-d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne
 Brittany Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan
 Centre Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher
 Champagne-Ardenne Ardennes, Aube, Haute-Marne, Marne
 Corsica (Corse) Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse
 Franche-Comté Doubs, Haute-Saône, Jura, Territoire de Belfort
 Haute-Normandie Eure, Seine-Maritime
Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-
 Île-de-France
Marne, Val-d'Oise, Yvelines
 Languedoc-Roussillon Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales
 Limousin Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne
 Lorraine Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges
Ariège, Aveyron, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Lot, Tarn, Tarn-et-
 Midi-Pyrénées
Garonne
 Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord, Pas-de-Calais
  Pays de la Loire Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Vendée
 Picardie Aisne, Oise, Somme
 Poitou-Charentes Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne
 Provence-Alpes-Côte Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-
d'Azur Alpes, Var, Vaucluse
 Rhône-Alpes Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie

Overseas regions and territories

Main article: Overseas departments and territories of France

Among the 101 departments of France, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte,
and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments
(DOMs) and are an integral part of France (and the European Union) and thus enjoy a status
similar to metropolitan departments.

In addition to the 27 regions and 101 departments, the French Republic also has five overseas
collectivities (French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and
Wallis and Futuna), one sui generis collectivity (New Caledonia), one overseas territory (French
Southern and Antarctic Lands), and one island possession in the Pacific Ocean (Clipperton
Island).

The lands making up the French Republic, shown at the same geographic scale.
Name Constitutional status
 Clipperton Island State private property under the direct authority of the French government
Overseas region (régions d'outre-mer) and simultaneously overseas
 French Guiana
department (département d'outre-mer or DOM)
Designated as an overseas land (pays d'outre-mer or POM), the status is the
 French Polynesia
same as an overseas collectivity.
 French Southern and
overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer or TOM)
Antarctic Lands
 Guadeloupe Overseas region and department (DOM)
 Martinique Overseas region and department (DOM)
  Mayotte Overseas region and department (DOM)
 New Caledonia Sui generis collectivity
 Réunion Overseas region and department (DOM)
 Saint Barthélemy Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM)
 Saint Martin Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM)
Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as
 Saint Pierre and Miquelon
a collectivité territoriale.
Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as
 Wallis and Futuna
a territoire.

Overseas collectivities and territories form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of
the European Union or its fiscal area (with the exception of St. Bartelemy, which seceded from
Guadeloupe in 2007). The Pacific Collectivities (COMs) of French Polynesia, Wallis and
Fortuna, and New Caledonia continue to use the CFP franc[91][92][93] whose value is linked to that
of the euro. In contrast, the five overseas regions used the French franc and now use the euro.[94]

Politics
Main article: Politics of France

Government

Main articles: Government of France and Constitution of France

Logo of the French Republic

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.[95] It
greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to parliament. The executive
branch itself has two leaders: the President of the Republic, currently Nicolas Sarkozy, who is
head of state and is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year term (formerly 7
years),[96] and the Government, led by the president-appointed Prime Minister, currently François
Fillon.
Nicolas Sarkozy has been the President of the French Republic since 2007

The French parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a National Assembly (Assemblée

Nationale) and a Senate.[97] The National Assembly deputies represent local constituencies and
are directly elected for 5-year terms.[98] 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.[99]

The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two
chambers, the National Assembly has the final say.[100] 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 (UMP).[101] The executive branch is currently composed mostly of the UMP.

Law

Main article: Law of France

The basic principles that the French Republic must respect are found in the 1789 Declaration of
the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
France uses a civil legal system;[10] 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: :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 should 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 disturbing public order (trouble à
l'ordre public) have been used to repress public expressions of homosexuality or street
prostitution.

Criminal laws can only address the future and not the past (criminal ex post facto laws are
prohibited) ; and to be applicable, laws must be officially published in the Journal Officiel de la
République Française.

France is tolerant of the LGBT community. Since 1999, civil unions for homosexual couples are
permitted, although same-sex marriage is illegal in France. Laws sentencing racism, sexism or
antisemitism are old and important, for instance, laws prohibiting discriminatory speech in the
press are as old as 1881.[102] France is one of the most tolerant countries of the world, religiously
speaking, according to a survey conducted in 15 different countries.[103]

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of France

See also: European Union, Latin Union, Francophonie, United Nations Security Council, and
NATO
Signing of the Rome Treaty. France is a founding member of the EEC in 1957 and the European
Union in 1993.

France is a member of the United Nations and serves as one of the permanent members of the
UN Security Council with veto rights.[104] It is also a member of the G8, World Trade
Organisation (WTO),[105] the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)[106] and the Indian
Ocean Commission (COI).[107] It is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States
(ACS)[108] and a leading member of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) of fifty-
one fully or partly French-speaking countries.[109] It hosts the headquarters of the OECD,[110]
UNESCO,[111] Interpol,[112] Alliance Base[113] and the International Bureau for Weights and
Measures.[114] 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.[115]

French foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership of the European Union, of which
it was a founding member. In the 1960s, France sought to exclude the British from the
organisation,[116] seeking to build its own standing in continental Europe. Since the 1960s, France
has developed close ties with reunified Germany to become the most influential driving force of
the EU.[117]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and United States President Barack Obama, before NATO
summit, in Strasbourg, on 3 April 2009.

France is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but under President de Gaulle, it
excluded itself from the joint military command to avoid the American domination of its foreign
and security policies.[118] However, as a result of Nicolas Sarkozy's (much criticised in France by
the leftists and by a part of the right)[119][120] pro-American politics, France rejoined the NATO
joint military command on 4 April 2009. In the early 1990s, the country drew considerable
criticism from other nations for its underground nuclear tests in French Polynesia.[121] France
vigorously opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq,[122][123] straining bilateral relations with the US[124]
[125]
and the UK.[126] France retains strong political and economic influence in its former African
colonies (Françafrique)[127] and has supplied economic aid and troops for peace-keeping missions
in the Ivory Coast and Chad.[128]

France has the second largest network of diplomatic missions in the world, second only to the
USA.[129]
Development aid

In 2007, France is the third largest (in absolute numbers) donor of development aid in the world,
behind the US and Germany, but ahead of Japan and the UK.[130] This represents 0.5 % of its
GDP, in this regard rating as average among the developed countries and not meeting the
International Aid Target of 0.7 %.[131] The organism managing the French help is the French
Development Agency, which finances primarily humanitarian projects in sub-Saharan Africa.[132]
The main goals of this help are "developing infrastructure, access to health care and education,
the implementation of appropriate economic policies and the consolidation of the rule of law and
democracy."[132]

Military

Main article: French Armed Forces

See also: Military history of France and Deployments of the French military

Examples of France's military. Clockwise from top left: Nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de
Gaulle; A pair of Rafale fighter aircraft; French Chasseurs alpins patrolling the valleys of Kapisa
province in Afghanistan; a Leclerc tank in Paris for the 14th July Bastille Day Military Parade.

France's armed forces (Armées françaises), comprising the French Army (Armée de Terre),
French Navy (Marine Nationale), and the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air), and the auxiliary
paramilitary force, the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) is the thirteenth largest in
the world.[133] Individually, the Navy employs 42,550 professional sailors and 15,000 part-time
reservists[134] and has a displacement 307,000 tons making it the world's sixth biggest navy.[135]
The Army employs 123,100 regulars and 118,350 part-time reservists [136] making it the fourth
largest in NATO. The Air Force is the oldest and first professional air force in the world[137] and
employs 57,400 regulars making it also the fourth largest in NATO. While administratively a
part of the French armed forces, and therefore under the purview of the Ministry of Defence, the
Gendarmerie is operationally attached to the Ministry of the Interior. The gendarmerie is a
military police force which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force. It
encompasses the counter terrorist units of the Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National
Gendarmerie (Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) and the
National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale).
One of the French intelligence units, the Directorate-General for External Security (Direction
Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure) reports to the Ministry of Defence. The other, the Central
Directorate of Interior Intelligence (Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur), reports
directly to the Ministry of the Interior. There has been no national conscription since 1997.[138]
The president is the supreme commander of the French Armed Forces. France is a permanent
member of the Security Council of the UN, and a recognised nuclear state since 1960. France has
signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)[139] and acceeded to the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. France's annual military expenditure in 2010 was US$61.3
billion, or 2.5 percent of its GDP,[140] making it the third biggest military spender in the world
after China and the United States of America.[140]

The French deterrence, (formerly known as “Force de frappe”), relies on complete

independence. The current French nuclear force consists of four Triomphant class submarines
equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In addition to the submarine fleet, it is
estimated that France has about 60 ASMP medium-range air-to-ground missiles with nuclear
warheads,[141] of which ~50 are carried by the Mirage 2000N long-range multirole fighter and
arm the Air Force and ~10 can be carried by the French Navy's Super Étendard Modernisé
(SEM) attack planes which use the only non-American nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the
world, the Charles de Gaulle when at sea. The new Rafale F3 aircraft will gradually replace all
Mirage 2000N and SEM in the nuclear strike role with the improved ASMP-A missile with a
nuclear warhead.

France has major military industries that have produced the Rafale fighter, the Charles de Gaulle
aircraft carrier, the Exocet missile and the Leclerc tank amongst others. 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 has the largest aerospace industry in Europe.[142][143] France is a major arms seller,
[144][145]
with most of its arsenal's designs available for the export market with the notable
exception of nuclear-powered devices.

Economy
Main articles: Economy of France and Energy in France
Further information: List of French companies  and Economic history of France

The first completed Airbus A380 at the “A380 Reveal” event in Toulouse on 18 January 2005.
Airbus is a symbol of the globalisation of the French and European economy.

A member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it is ranked as the world's fifth
largest and Europe's second largest economy by nominal GDP;[146] with 39 of the 500 biggest
companies of the world in 2010, France ranks world's 4th and Europe's 1st in the Fortune Global
500 ahead of Germany and the UK. France joined 11 other EU members to launch the euro on 1
January 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc (₣) in early
2002.[147]

France derives 79% of its electricity from nuclear power, the highest percentage in the world.[148]

France has a mixed economy which combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million
companies registered)[149][150] with substantial (though declining[151]) state enterprise and
government intervention (see dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over
key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft,
nuclear power and telecommunications.[151] It has been gradually relaxing its control over these
sectors since the early 1990s.[151] The government is slowly corporatising the state sector and
selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and
defence industries.[151] France has an important aerospace industry led by the European
consortium Airbus, and has its own national spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais.

France is part of a monetary union, the Eurozone (dark blue), and of the EU single market.

According to the WTO, in 2009 France was the world's sixth-largest exporter and the fourth-
largest importer of manufactured goods.[152] In 2008, France was the third-largest recipient of
foreign direct investment among OECD countries at $117.9 billion, ranking behind Luxembourg
(where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers to banks located in that
country) and the United States ($316.1 billion), but above the United Kingdom ($96.9 billion),
Germany ($24.9 billion), or Japan ($24.4 billion).[153][154] In the same year, French companies
invested $220 billion outside of France, ranking France as the second most important outward
direct investor in the OECD, behind the United States ($311.8 billion), and ahead of the United
Kingdom ($111.4 billion), Japan ($128 billion) and Germany ($156.5 billion).[153][154] With 39 of
the 500 biggest companies of the world in 2010, France ranks 4th in the Fortune Global 500,
behind the USA, Japan and China, but ahead of Germany and the UK.[155]

France is the smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialized countries in
the world, due to its heavy investment in nuclear power.[156] As a result of large investments in
nuclear technology, most of the electricity produced in the country is generated by 59 nuclear
power plants (78% in 2006,[157] up from only 8% in 1973, 24% in 1980, and 75% in 1990). In this
context, renewable energies (see the power cooperative Enercoop) are having difficulties taking
off the ground.

Agriculture

Vineyards near Carcassonne.

France has historically been an important producer of agricultural products.[158] 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[159] (representing alone 20% of
the EU's agricultural production[160]) and the world's third biggest exportator of agricultural
products.[161]

Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as an internationally recognized foodstuff and wine
industry are primary French agricultural exports. EU agriculture subsidies to France have
decreased for the last years, but still amounted to $8 billion in 2007.[162] This same year, France
sold 33.4 billion euros of transformed agricultural products.[163]

Agriculture is thus an important sector of France's economy : 3.5% of the active population is
employed in agriculture,[160] whereas the total agri-food industry made up 4.2% of French GDP in
2005.[160]

Labour market

The French GDP per capita is similar to the GDP per capita of other comparable European
countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom.[164] GDP per capita is determined by (i)
productivity per hour worked, which in France is the highest of the G8 countries in 2005,
according to the OECD,[165] (ii) the number of hours worked, which is one the lowest of
developed countries,[166] and (iii) the employment rate. France has one of the lowest 15–64 years
employment rates of the OECD countries: in 2004, only 69% of the French population aged 15–
64 years were in employment, compared to 80% in Japan, 79% in the UK, 77% in the US, and
71% in Germany.[167]

La Défense, just outside Paris, is the largest business district in Europe.[168]

This gap is due to the very low employment rates at both age extremes: the employment rate of
people aged 55–64 was 38.3% in 2007, compared to 46.6% in the EU15;[169] for the 15–24 years
old, the employment rate was 31.5% in 2007, compared to 37.2% in EU25.[170] These low
employment rates are explained by the high minimum wages which prevent low productivity
workers – such as young people – from easily entering the labour market,[171] ineffective
university curricula that fail to prepare students adequately for the labour market,[172] and,
concerning the older workers, restrictive legislation on work and incentives for premature
retirement.[173][174]

The unemployment rate decreased from 9% in 2006 to 7% in 2008 but remains one of the
highest in Europe.[175][176] In June 2009, the unemployment rate for France was 9.4%.[177] Shorter
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, when the left mentions the lack of government policies
fostering social justice. Liberal economists have stressed repeatedly over the years that the main
issue of the French economy is an issue of structural reforms, in order to increase the size of the
working population in the overall population, reduce the taxes' level and the administrative
burden.

Keynesian economists have different answers to the unemployment issue, and their theories led
to the 35-hour workweek law in the early 2000s, which turned out to be a failure in reducing
unemployment. Afterwards, between 2004 and 2008, the Government made some supply-
oriented reforms to combat unemployment but met with fierce resistance,[178] especially with the
contrat nouvelle embauche and the contrat première embauche which both were eventually
repealed.[179] The current Government is experiencing the revenu de solidarité active to redress
the negative effect of the revenu minimum d'insertion on work incentive.[180]

Tourism
Main article: Tourism in France

The Palace of Versailles is one of the most popular tourist destinations in France.

With 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007,[23] France is ranked as the first tourist destination in
the world, ahead of Spain (58.5 million in 2006) and the United States (51.1 million in 2006).
This 81.9 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.

The Mont Saint-Michel is one of the most visited sites of France

France features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost, but also Toulouse,
Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon...), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that
many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Small and picturesque French
villages of quality heritage (such as Collonges-la-Rouge or Locronan) are promoted through the
association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (litt. "The Most Beautiful Villages of France").
The "Remarkable Gardens" label is a list of the over two hundred gardens classified by the
French Ministry of Culture. This label is intended to protect and promote remarkable gardens
and parks. France also attracts many religious pilgrims on their way to St. James, or to Lourdes,
a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées that hosts a few million visitors a year.

France, and especially Paris, have some of the world's largest and renowned museums, including
the Louvre, which is the most visited art museum in the world, but also the Musée d'Orsay,
mostly devoted to impressionism, and Beaubourg, dedicated to Contemporary art.
The Château de Chambord is one of the many French royal residences of the Loire Valley.

Disneyland Paris is France's and indeed Europe's most popular theme park, with 15,405,000
combined visitors to the resort's Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park in 2009.[181] The
historical theme park Puy du Fou in Vendée is the second most visited park of France.[182] Other
popular theme parks are the Futuroscope of Poitiers and the Parc Astérix.

With more than 10 millions tourists a year, the French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur), in south-eastern
France, is the second leading tourist destination in the country, after the Parisian region.[183]
According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, it benefits from 300 days of
sunshine per year, 115 kilometres (71 mi) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski
resorts and 3,000 restaurants.[184] Each year the Côte d'Azur hosts 50% of the world's superyacht
fleet, with 90% of all superyachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime.[185]

An other major destination are the Châteaux of the Loire Valley, this World Heritage Site is
noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage, in its historic towns such as Amboise,
Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its castles
(châteaux), such as the Châteaux d'Amboise, de Chambord, d'Ussé, de Villandry and
Chenonceau, which illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the French Renaissance.

The most popular tourist sites include: (according to a 2003 ranking[186] visitors per year): Eiffel
Tower (6.2 million), Louvre Museum (5.7 million), Palace of Versailles (2.8 million), Musée
d'Orsay (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).

Transport

Main articles: Transport in France and Rail transport in France

A TGV Sud-Est, which can reach a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186.41 mph).

The railway network of France, which as of 2008 stretches 29,473 kilometres (18,314 mi)[187] is

the second most extensive in Western Europe after the German one.[188] It is operated by the
SNCF, and high-speed trains include the Thalys, the Eurostar and TGV, which travels at
320 km/h (199 mph) in commercial use.[189][190] 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 are approximately 1,027,183 kilometres (638,262 mi) of serviceable roadway in France,

ranking it the most extensive network of the European continent.[191] The Paris region is
enveloped with the most dense network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all
parts of the country. French roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with
cities in neighboring Belgium, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. 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 domestic brands such as
Renault (27% of cars sold in France in 2003), Peugeot (20.1%) and Citroën (13.5%).[192] Over
70% of new cars sold in 2004 had diesel engines, far more than contained petrol or LPG engines.
[193]
France possesses the Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge,[194] and has built many
important bridges such as the Pont de Normandie.

There are 475 airports in France.[10] Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport located in the vicinity of
Paris is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and
commercial traffic and connecting Paris with virtually all major cities across the world. Air
France is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide
domestic and international travel services. There are ten major ports in France, the largest of
which is in Marseille,[195] which also is the largest bordering the Mediterranean Sea.[196][197]
12,261 kilometres (7,619 mi) of waterways traverse France including the Canal du Midi which
connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean through the Garonne river.[10]

Demographics
Main articles: Demography of France and French people
Population density in the French Republic at the 1999 census.

With an estimated population of 65.8 million people (as of 1 Jan. 2011),[7] France is the 20th
most populous country in the world. In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding
immigration) was responsible for almost all natural population growth in the European Union.
The natural growth (excess of births over deaths) rose to 302,432 in 2006,[198] its highest since the
end of the baby boom in 1973. The total fertility rate rose to 2.01 in 2010,[7] from a nadir of 1.68
in 1994.[199] In the five years between Jan. 2006 and Jan. 2011, population growth was on average
+0.58% per year.[198]

The largest cities in France, in terms of metropolitan area population, are Paris (11,836,970),
Lyon (1,757,180), Marseille (1,618,369), Lille (1,163,934), Toulouse (1,118,472), Bordeaux
(1,009,313), Nice (999,678), Nantes (768,305) and Strasbourg (641,853).

In 2004, a total of 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and
13,710 from Europe.[200] In 2008, France granted citizenship to 137,000 persons, mostly to people
from Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.[201]

It is illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and race, a law with its origins in the
1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1958.[202] While official data on the size of
the country's ethnic minorities is not available, it has been estimated that between three
million[203] and six million [204] people are of North African ancestry while an estimated
2.5 million people are of Black African ancestry.[205][206] It is currently estimated that 40% of the
French population is descended at least partially from the different waves of immigration the
country has received.[207] Between 1921 and 1935 about 1.1 million net immigrants came to
France.[208] An estimated 1.6 million European pieds noirs returned to France as the country's
North African possessions gained independence.[209][210]

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.[211] France is the leading asylum destination in Western Europe with an estimated
50,000 applications in 2005 (a 15% decrease from 2004).[212] The European Union allows free
movement between the member states. While UK and 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%.

Language

Main article: French Language

See also: Languages of France, Language policy in France, and Francophonie

France's legacy: a map of the Francophone world

  native language
  administrative language
  secondary or non-official language
  francophone minorities

According to Article 2 of the Constitution, the official language of France is French,[213] a

Romance language derived from latin. Since 1635, the Académie française is France's official
authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language, although its
recommendations carry no legal power.

The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals
but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications. In
addition to mandating the use of French in the territory of the Republic, the French government
tries to promote French in the European Union and globally through institutions such as La
Francophonie. The perceived threat from anglicisation has prompted efforts to safeguard the
position of the French language in France. Besides French, there exist 77 vernacular minority
languages of France, 8 in the French metropolitan territory of continental Europe and 69 in the
French overseas territories.
From the 17th century to the mid 20th century, French served as the pre-eminent international
language of diplomacy and international affairs as well as a lingua franca among the educated
classes of Europe.[214] The dominant position of French language in international affairs has only
been challenged recently by English, since the emergence of the USA as a major power.[54][215][216]

As a result of France's extensive colonial ambitions between the 17th and 20th centuries, French
was introduced to America, Africa, Polynesia, South-East Asia, and the Caribbean. French is the
second most-studied foreign language in the world after English,[217] and is a lingua franca in
some regions, notably in Africa. The legacy of French as a living language outside Europe is
mixed: it is nearly extinct in some former French colonies (Southeast Asia), while creoles, and
pidgins based on French have emerged in the French departments in the West Indies and the
South Pacific (French Polynesia). On the other hand, many former French colonies have adopted
French as an official language, and the total number of French speakers is increasing, especially
in Africa.

Religion

Main article: Religion in France

France is a secular country, and freedom of religion is a constitutional right. The French
government does not keep statistics on religious adherence, nor on ethnicity or on political
affiliation. However, some unofficial survey estimates exist.

Roman Catholicism has been the predominant religion in France for more than a millennium,
though it is not as actively practiced today as it once was. A survey by the Catholic newspaper
La Croix found that whilst in 1965, 81% of the French declared themselves to be Catholics, in
2009 this proportion was 64%. Moreover, whilst 27% of the French went to Mass once a week or
more in 1952, only 4.5% did so in 2006; 15.2% attended Mass at least once a month.[218] The
same survey found that Protestants accounted for 3% of the population, an increase from
previous surveys, and 5% adhered to other religions, with the remaining 28% stating that they
had no religion.[218]
Notre-Dame de Reims is the Roman Catholic cathedral where the kings of France were crowned
until 1825.[219]

According to a January 2007 poll by the Catholic World News,[220] only 5% of the French
population attended church regularly (or 10% attend church services regularly among the
respondents who did identify themselves as Catholics). The poll showed[221] 51% identified as
being Catholics, 31% identified as being agnostics or atheists (another poll[222] sets the
proportion of atheists equal to 27%), 10% identified as being from other religions or being
without opinion, 4% identified as Muslim, 3% identified as Protestant, 1% identified as
Buddhist, 1% identified as Jewish. Meanwhile, an independent estimate by the politologist Pierre
Bréchon in 2009 concluded that the proportion of Catholics had fallen to 42% while the number
of atheists and agnostics had risen to 50%.[223] According to the Pewforum "In France,
proponents of a 2004 law banning the wearing of religious symbols in schools say it protects
Muslim girls from being forced to wear a headscarf, but the law also restricts those who want to
wear headscarves – or any other “conspicuous” religious symbol, including large Christian
crosses and Sikh turbans – as an expression of their faith"[224]

According to the most recent but in 2010 somewhat outdated Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[225] 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”. One other study shows 32% of people in France declaring
themselves to be atheists, and another 32% declaring themselves “sceptical about the existence
of God but not an atheist”.[226]

Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely. According to the more than one
decade old 1999 French census returns, there were 3.7 million people of “possible Muslim faith”
in France (6.3% of the total population). In 2003, the French Ministry of the Interior estimated
the total number of Muslims to be between five and six million (8–10%).[227][228] The current
Jewish community in France numbers around 600,000 according to the World Jewish Congress
and is the largest in Europe. However, both the North American Jewish Data bank and the Vitual
Jew Library put the estimates closer to 480,000 as of 2010.

Since 1905 the French government has followed the principle of laïcité, in which it is prohibited
from recognising any religion (except for legacy statutes like that of military chaplains and the
local law in Alsace-Moselle). Instead, it merely recognises religious organisations, according to
formal legal criteria that do not address religious doctrine. Conversely, religious organizations
should refrain from intervening in policy-making.

Certain bodies of beliefs such as Scientology, Children of God, the Unification Church, or the
Order of the Solar Temple are considered cults ("sectes" in French),[229] and therefore do not have
the same status as religions in France. Secte is considered a pejorative term in France.[230]

Health

Main article: Health in France

The Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, a teaching hospital in Paris, one of Europe's largest hospitals.[231]

The French healthcare system was ranked first worldwide by the World Health Organization in
1997[232] and then again in 2000.[233] Care is generally free for people affected by chronic diseases
(Affections de longues durées) such as cancer, AIDS or Cystic Fibrosis. Average life expectancy
at birth is 77 years for men and 84 years for women, one of the highest of the European Union.
[234]
There are 3.22 physicians for every 1000 inhabitants in France,[235] whereas average health
care spending per capita is US$4,719 in 2008.[236] As of 2007, there are approximately 140,000
inhabitants (0.4%) of France who are living with HIV/AIDS.[151]

Even if the French have the reputation of being one of the thinnest people in developed
countries,[237][238][239][240][241][242] France—like other rich countries—faces an increasing and recent
epidemic of obesity, due mostly to the replacement of traditional healthy French cuisine by junk
food in French eating habits.[237][238][243] Nevertheless, the French obesity rate is far below that of
the USA (for instance, obesity rate in France is the same that the American once was in the
1970s[238]), and is still the lowest of Europe,[240][243] but it is now regarded by the authorities as one
of the main public health issues[244] and is fiercely fought; rates of childhood obesity are slowing
in France, while continuing to grow in other countries.[245]

France, as all EU countries, is under an EU directive to reduce sewage discharge to sensitive

areas. As of 2006, France is only 40% in compliance with this directive, placing it as one of the
lowest achieving countries within the EU with regard to this wastewater treatment standard.[246]

The death of Chantal Sébire revived the debate over euthanasia in France. It was reported on 21
March 2008.[247]

Education

Main article: Education in France

See also: History of education in France  and Baccalauréat
School system in France

In 1802, Napoléon Bonaparte created the lycée.[248] Nevertheless it is Jules Ferry who is
considered to be the father of the French modern school, which is free, secular, and compulsory
until the age of 13 since 1882[249] (school attendance in France is now compulsory until the age of
16[250]).

Nowadays, the schooling system in France is centralized, and is composed of three stages,
primary education, secondary education, and higher education. The Programme for International
Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks France's education as the 25th
best in the world, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.[251]
Primary and secondary education are predominantly public, run by the Ministry of National
Education.

Culture
Main article: Culture of France

Marianne, in painting by Eugène Delacroix, La Liberté guidant le peuple (1830)

France has been a center of cultural creation for centuries. Many French artists have been among
the most renowned of their time, and France is still recognized in the world for its rich cultural
tradition.

The successive political regimes have always promoted artistic creation, and the creation of the
Ministry of Culture in 1959 helped preserve the cultural heritage of the country and make it
available to the public. The Ministry of Culture has been very active since its creation, granting
subsidies to artists, promoting French culture in the world, supporting festivals and cultural
events, protecting historical monuments. The French government also succeeded in maintaining
a cultural exception to defend audiovisual products made in the country.

France receives the highest number of tourists per year, largely thanks to the numerous cultural
establishments and historical buildings implanted all over the territory. It counts 1,200 museums
welcoming more than 50 million people annually.[252] The most important cultural sites are run by
the government, for instance through the public agency Centre des monuments nationaux, which
have around a hundred national historical monuments at charge.[clarification needed] The 43,180
buildings protected as historical monuments include mainly residences (many castles, or
châteaux in French) and religious buildings (cathedrals, basilicas, churches, etc.), but also
statutes, memorials and gardens.

Painting

Main article: French painting

Claude Monet founded the Impressionist movement (Femme avec un parasol, 1886, Musée
d'Orsay).

The origins of French painting were very much influenced by Italian art. The two most famous
French artists of the time of Renaissance, Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, lived in Italy.
Louis XIV's prime minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded in 1648 the Royal Academy of
Painting and Sculpture to protect these artists, and in 1666 he created the still-in-activity French
Academy in Rome to have direct relations with Italian artists. French painting also followed the
evolution of Italian painters towards a rococo style in the 18th century, as an imitation of old
baroque style, the works of court-endorsed artists Antoine Watteau, François Boucher and Jean-
Honoré Fragonard being the most representative in the country. The French Revolution brought
great changes, as Napoleon I favoured painters of neoclassic style as Jacques-Louis David. The
middle of the eighteen century was dominated by two successive movements, at first
Romanticism with Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix, a more realistic painting with
Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet.

In the second part of the 18th century, France became a center of artistic creation, developing a
new style of painting and counting on the most famous impressionist painters of the period,
among them Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir.[253]
Second generation of impressionist-style painters Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Toulouse-
Lautrec and Georges Seurat were also at the avant-guarde of artistic evolutions,[254] as well as
fauvist artists Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck.[255][256] At the beginning of
20th century, Cubism was developed by Georges Braque and Spanish painter Pablo Picasso,
living in Paris. Other foreign artists also settled and worked in or near Paris, like Vincent van
Gogh, Marc Chagall and Wassily Kandinsky.

Many museums in France are entirely or partly devoted to painting works. A huge collection of
old masterpieces created before or during the 18th century are displayed in the state-owned
Musée du Louvre, such as Mona Lisa, also known as La Joconde. While the Louvre Palace has
been for a long time a museum, the Musée d'Orsay was inaugurated in 1986 in the old railway
station Gare d'Orsay, in a major reorganization of national art collections, to gather French
paintings from the second part of the 19th century (mainly Impressionism and Fauvism
movements).[257][258] Modern works are presented in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, which
moved in 1976 to the Centre Georges Pompidou. These three state-owned museums welcome
close to 17 million people a year.[259] Other national museums hosting paintings include the
Grand Palais (1,3 million visitors in 2008), but there are also many museums owned by cities,
the most visited being the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (0,8 million entries in 2008),
which hosts contemporary works.[259]

Architecture

Main article: French architecture

Technically speaking, there is no standard type of "French" architecture, although that has not
always been true. Gothic Architecture's old name was French Architecture (or Opus
Francigenum).[260] The term “Gothic” appeared later as a stylistic insult and was widely adopted.
The Gothic Architecture was the first French style of Architecture to be copied in all Europe.[261]
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 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.[262] Aside from
churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one
being the Palais des Papes in Avignon.
Saint Louis' Sainte Chapelle represents the French impact on religious architecture.

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 the
Lionheart's Château Gaillard was demolished, as well as the Château de Lusignan. Some
important French castles that survived are Chinon, 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, which now consists of Spain and Portugal). Some of the greatest examples of
Romanesque churches in France are the Saint Sernin Basilica in Toulouse (largest romanesque
church in Europe[263]) and the remains of the Cluniac Abbey (largely destroyed during the
Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars).

Opéra Garnier, Paris, a symbol of the French Neo-Baroque style

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, inspired by the Italians, were built,
but 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 traditional gothic style. However, in France,
baroque architecture found a greater success in the secular domain than in a religious one.[264] In
the secular domain the Palace of Versailles has many baroque features. Jules Hardouin Mansart
was said to be the most influential French architect of the baroque era, with his famous dome,
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 in Europe and became an influential
military architect; as a result, imitations of his works can been found all over Europe, the
Americas, Russia and Turkey.[265][266]

The Eiffel Tower is an icon of both Paris and France

After the 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.[267]

Under Napoleon III a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth. If extravagant
buildings such as the neo-baroque Palais Garnier were built, the urban planning of the time was
very organised and rigorous.[citation needed] For example, Baron Haussmann rebuilt Paris. The
architecture associated to this era is named Second Empire in English, the term being taken from
the Second French Empire. At this time there was a strong Gothic resurgence across Europe and
in France the associated architect was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In the late 19th century Gustave
Eiffel designed many bridges, such as Garabit viaduct, and remains one of the most influential
bridge designer of his time, although he is best remembered for the iconic Eiffel Tower.

In the 20th century, 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 an 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.
For instance, in Paris, since 1977, new buildings had to be under 37 meters, or 121 feet.[268]
France's largest financial district is La Defense, where a significant number of skyscrapers are
located.[269] 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 article: French literature

French literary figures. Clockwise from top left: Molière is the most played author in the
Comédie-Française[270]; Victor Hugo is one of the most important French novelists and poets, and
is sometimes seen as the greatest French writer of all time.[271]; 19th century poet, writer, and
translator Charles Baudelaire; 20th century philosopher and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre.

The earliest French literature dates from the Middle Ages, when what is now known as modern
France did not have a single, uniform language. There were several languages and dialects and
each writer used his own spelling and grammar.[citation needed] The authors of French mediaeval texts
are unknown, such as Tristan and Iseult and Lancelot and the Holy Grail. Much mediaeval
French poetry and literature were inspired by the legends of the Matter of France, such as The
Song of Roland and the various Chansons de geste. The “Roman de Renart”, written in 1175 by
Perrout de Saint Cloude tells the story of the mediaeval character Reynard ('the Fox') and is
another example of early French writing. The names of some authors from this period are
known, for example Chrétien de Troyes and Duke William IX of Aquitaine, who wrote in
Occitan.

An important 16th century writer was François Rabelais who influenced modern French
vocabulary and metaphor.[citation needed] During the 17th century, plays by Pierre Corneille, Jean
Racine and Molière, as well as the moral and philosophical books by Blaise Pascal and René
Descartes, deeply influenced the French aristocracy leaving an important new niche for authors
of the following decades, such as Jean de La Fontaine, who was an important poet from this
century.

French literature and poetry flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The 18th century saw the
works of writers, essayists and moralists such as Voltaire, Denis Diderot and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. Charles Perrault was a prolific writer of famous children's fairy tales including “Puss
in Boots”, “Cinderella”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Bluebeard”.
At the turn of the 19th century symbolist poetry was an important movement in French literature,
with poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé.[clarification needed][272]
The 19th century saw the writings of French authors: Victor Hugo (Les Misérables), Alexandre
Dumas (The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte-Cristo), and Jules Verne (Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), which are amongst the most well-known in France and the
world. Other 19th century fiction writers include Émile Zola, Honoré de Balzac, Guy de
Maupassant, Théophile Gautier and Stendhal.

The Prix Goncourt is a French literary prize first awarded in 1903.[273] Important writers of the
20th century include Marcel Proust, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul
Sartre. Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote Little Prince which has remained popular for decades
with children and adults around the world.[274] For most of the 20th century, French authors had
more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation.[275] Compare the Evolution of Nobel
Prizes by country.

Music

Main article: Music of France

Although the musical creation in France dates back to the Middle Ages, it knew its golden age in
the 17th century thanks to Louis XIV, who employed several musicians and composers in the
royal court. The most renowned composers of this period include Marc-Antoine Charpentier,
François Couperin, Michel-Richard Delalande, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Marin Marais, all of
them composers at the court. After the death of the "Roi Soleil", French musical creation lost
dynamism, but in the next century the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau reached some prestige,
and today he is still one of the most renowned French composers. French classical music knew a
revival in the 19th and 20th century, at the end of the romantic movement, at first with opera
composers Hector Berlioz, Georges Bizet, Gabriel Fauré, Charles Gounod, Jacques Offenbach,
Édouard Lalo, Jules Massenet and Camille Saint-Saëns. This period was a golden age for operas,
being popular in the country the opéra bouffon, the opera-ballet and the opéra comique genres.
Later came precursors of modern classical music Érik Satie, Francis Poulenc, and above all
Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, who invented new musical forms.[276][277][278][279] More
recently, at the middle of the 20th century, Maurice Ohana, Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Boulez
contributed to the evolutions of contemporary classical music.[280]

Daft Punk, pioneers of the French house.

French music then followed the rapid emergence of pop and rock music at the middle of the 20th
century. Although English-speaking creations achieved popularity in the country, French pop
music, known as chanson française, has also remained very popular. Among the most important
French artists of the century are Edith Piaf, Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré, Charles Aznavour and
Serge Gainsbourg. Although there are very few rock bands in France compared to English-
speaking countries,[281] bands such as Noir Désir, Mano Negra, Niagara, Rita Mitsouko and more
recently Superbus, Phoenix and Gojira[282] have reached worldwide popularity. Other French
artists with international careers have been popular in several countries, for example female
singers Mireille Mathieu and Mylène Farmer,[282] electronic music pioneers Jean-Michel Jarre,
Laurent Garnier and Bob Sinclar, and later David Guetta. In the 1990s and 2000s, electronic
duos Daft Punk, Justice and Air also reached worldwide popularity and contributed to the
reputation of modern electronic music in the world.[282][283][284]

Among current musical events and institutions in France, many are dedicated to classical music
and operas. The most prestigious institutions are the state-owned Paris National Opera (with its
two sites Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille), the Opéra National de Lyon, the Théâtre du
Châtelet in Paris, the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. As
for music festivals, there are several events organized, the most popular being the Eurockéennes
and Rock en Seine. The Fête de la Musique, imitated by many foreign cities, was first launched
by the French government in 1982.[285][286] Major music halls and venues in France include Le
Zénith sites present in many cities and other places in Paris (Paris Olympia, Théâtre Mogador,
Élysée Montmartre, etc.).

Cinema

Main article: Cinema of France

World's first movie advertising for l'Arroseur Arrosé, 1895

France has historical and strong links with cinema. It is two Frenchmen, Auguste and Louis
Lumière (known as the Lumiere Brothers) who created the cinema in 1895.[287] More recently, in
2006, France produced more films than any other European country.[288] Cannes Festival is one of
the most important and famous film festivals in the world.[289][290]

Although the French film market is dominated by Hollywood, it is however the Western country
(out of the United States) where the share of the American films in the total film revenues is the
smallest, at 50.1%, to compare with 77.3% of Germany and 69.4% of Japan.[291] Thus, French
films account for 34.8% of the total film revenues of France, which is the highest percentage of
national films revenues in developed countries (the U.S. not included), to compare with 13.7% in
Spain and 8.3% in the UK.[291]

France was for centuries, and not so long ago, the cultural center of the world.[214] But France's
dominant position has been overthrown by American culture, and thus France tries to protect its
culture. France has been a strong advocate of the cultural exception.[292] France therefore
succeeded in convincing all the EU members to refuse to include culture and audiovisuals in the
list of liberalized sectors of the WTO in 1993.[293]

Moreover, this decision was confirmed in a voting in the UNESCO in 2005, and the principle of
"cultural exception" won an overwhelming victory: 198 countries voted for it, only 2 countries,
the U.S and Israel, voted against it.[294]

Fashion

Main article: French fashion

Chanel's headquarters on the Place Vendôme, Paris.

Fashion has been an important industry and cultural export of France since the 17th century, and
modern "haute couture" originated in Paris in the 1860s. Today, Paris, along with London,
Milan, and New York City, is considered one of the world's fashion capitals, and the city is home
or headquarters to many of the premier fashion houses. The expression Haute couture is, in
France, a legally protected name, guaranteeing certain quality standards.

The association of France with fashion and style (French: la mode) dates largely to the reign of
Louis XIV[295] when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control
and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe. But France
renewed its dominance of the high fashion (French: couture or haute couture) industry in the
years 1860-1960 through the establishing of the great couturier houses such as Chanel, Dior, and
Givenchy.
In the 1960s, the elitist "Haute couture" came under criticism from France's youth culture. In
1966, the designer Yves Saint Laurent broke with established Haute Couture norms by launching
a prêt-à-porter ("ready to wear") line and expanding French fashion into mass manufacturing.
With a greater focus on marketing and manufacturing, new trends were established by Sonia
Rykiel, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix in the 1970s
and 80s. The 1990s saw a conglomeration of many French couture houses under luxury giants
and multinationals such as LVMH.

Media

Main article: Telecommunications in France

Compared to other developed countries, the French do not spend much time reading newspapers,
due to the popularity of broadcast media. Best-selling daily national newspapers in France are Le
Monde and right-wing Le Figaro, with around 300.000 copies sold daily, but also L'Équipe,
dedicated to sports coverage.[296] In the past years, free dailies made a breakthrough, with Metro,
20 Minutes and Direct Plus distributed at more than 650.000 copies respectively.[297] However,
the widest circulations are reached by regional daily Ouest France with more than 750.000
copies sold, and the 50 other regional papers have also high sales.[298][299] The sector of weekly
magazines is stronger and diversified with more than 400 specialized weekly magazines
published in the country.[300]

The most influential news magazine are left-wing Le Nouvel Observateur, centrist L'Express and
right-wing Le Point (more than 400.000 copies),[301] but the highest circulation for weeklies is
reached by TV magazines and by women’s magazines, among them Marie Claire and ELLE,
which have foreign versions. Influential weeklies also include investigative and satirical papers
Le Canard Enchaîné and Charlie Hebdo, as well as Paris Match. Like in most industrialized
nations, the print media have been affected by a severe crisis in the past decade. In 2008, the
government have launched a major initiative to help the sector reform to be financially
independent,[302][303] but in 2009 it had to give 600.000 euros to help the print media cope with the
economic crisis, in addition to existing subsidies.[304]

In 1974, after years of centralized monopoly on radio and television, the governmental agency
ORTF was split into several national institutions, but the three already-existing TV channels and
four national radio stations[305][306] remained under state-control. It was only in 1981 when the
government allowed free broadcasting in the territory, ending state monopoly on radio.[306]
French television was partly liberalized in the next two decade with the creation of several
commercial channels, mainly thanks to cable and satellite television. In 2005 the national service
Télévision Numérique Terrestre introduced digital television all over the territory, allowing the
creation of other channels.

The four existing national channels are now owned by state-owned consortium France
Télévisions, while public broadcasting group Radio France run five national radio stations.
Among these public media are Radio France Internationale, which broadcasts programs in
French all over the world, and Franco-German TV channel TV5 Monde. In 2006, the
government created global news channel France 24. Long-established TV channels TF1
(privatized in 1987), France 2 and France 3 have the highest shares, while radio stations RTL,
Europe 1 and state-owned France Inter are the least listened to.

Society

Voltaire fought intolerance and fanaticism, and was a prominent and very prolific philosopher of
the Enlightenment.

According to a 2010 BBC poll based on 29,977 responses in 28 countries, France is globally
seen as a positive influence in the world's affairs: 49 % have a positive view of the country's
influence, whereas 19 % have a negative view.[307][308] The Nation Brand Index of 2008 suggested
that France has the second best international reputation, only behind Germany.[309]

In January 2010, the International Living ranked France as "best country to live in", ahead of 193
other countries surveyed, for the fifth year running, according to a survey taking in account 9
criteria of quality of life: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom,
Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk and Climate.[310][311]

France has historical strong ties with Human Rights.[312] Since the Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen of 1789, France is often nicknamed as "the country of Human Rights".[313]
Furthermore, in 1948, a Frenchman, René Cassin, was one of the main redactors of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the UN members in Paris.[312]

National symbols strongly reflect the heritage of the Revolution. The four official symbols of the
Republic, as stated by the Constitution,[314] all commemorate events from the period. Bastille
Day, the national holiday, commemorate the Fête de la Fédération, held on 14 July 1790 to
celebrate the storming of the Bastille.[315] The origins of Tricolored flag also date back to the
Revolution, as the cockade was the symbols adopted by the revolutionaries in 1789.[316]

As for the national anthem La Marseillaise, it was written in 1792 as a war song for the French
Army.[317][318] The official motto of the French Republic, "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (Liberty,
equality, brotherhood) also appeared during the French Revolution.[319] Marianne, unofficial
symbol, is an allegorical figure of liberty and of the Republic and also appeared at the time of the
Revolution.[320]
A common and traditional symbol of the French people is the Gallic rooster. Its origins date back
to Antiquity, since the Latin word Gallus meant both "rooster" and "inhabitant of Gaul". Then
this figure gradually became the most widely shared representation of the French, used by
French monarchs, then by the Revolution and under the successive republican regimes as
representation of the national identity, used for some stamps and coins.[321] Although it is not an
official symbol of the Republic, it is the most common image to symbolize France in the
collective imagination and abroad.

Cuisine

Main article: French cuisine

Foie gras

French cuisine is renowned for being one of the finest in the world.[322][323][324][325][326][327][328] French
cuisine is extremely diverse and has exerted a major influence on other western cuisines.[329]
According to the regions, traditional recipes are different, the North of the country prefers to use
butter as the preferred fat for cooking, whereas olive oil is more commonly used in the South.[330]

Moreover, each region of France has iconic traditional specialities : Cassoulet in the Southwest,
Choucroute in Alsace, Quiche in the Lorraine region, Beef bourguignon in the Bourgogne,
provençal Tapenade, etc. France's most renowned products are wines,[331] including Champagne,
Bordeaux, Bourgogne, and Beaujolais as well as a large variety of different cheeses, such as
Camembert, Roquefort and Brie. There are more than 400 different varieties.[332][333]

French cuisine is also regarded as a key element of the quality of life and the attractiveness of
France.[311] A French publication, the Michelin guide, had by 2006 awarded 620 stars to French
restaurants, at that time more than any other country, although the guide also inspects more
restaurants in France than in any other country (by 2010, Japan was awarded as many Michelin
stars as France, despite having half the number of Michelin inspectors working there).[334][335]

Sports

Main article: Sport in France

Tour de France

Popular sports played in France include football, judo and tennis.[336] France has hosted events
such as the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups,[337] and hosted the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.
[338]
Stade de France in Paris is the largest stadium in France and was the venue for the 1998
FIFA World Cup final, and hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in October 2007. France
also hosts the annual Tour de France, the most famous road bicycle race in the world.[339][340]
France is also famous for its 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race held in the Sarthe
department.[341] Several major tennis tournaments take place in France, including the Paris
Masters and the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

France has a close association with the Modern Olympic Games; it was a French aristocrat,
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who suggested the Games' revival, at the end of the 19th century.[342]
[343]
After Athens was awarded the first Games, in reference to the Greek origins of the ancient
Olympics, Paris hosted the second Games in 1900.[344] Paris was also the first home of the
International Olympic Committee, before it moved to Lausanne.[345] Since that 1900 Games,
France has hosted the Olympics on four further occasions: the 1924 Summer Olympics, again in
Paris[343] and three Winter Games (1924 in Chamonix, 1968 in Grenoble and 1992 in Albertville).
[343]

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 among the most successful in the world, particularly at the turn of the 21st century, with one
FIFA World Cup victory in 1998,[346] one FIFA World Cup second place in 2006,[347] and two
European Championships in 1984[348] and 2000.[349] The top national football club competition is
the Ligue 1. Rugby is also very popular, particularly in Paris and the southwest of France.[350] The
national rugby team has competed at every Rugby World Cup, and takes part in the annual Six
Nations Championship. Following from a strong domestic tournament the French rugby team has
won sixteen Six Nations Championships, including eight grand slams; and have reached the
semi-finals and final of the Rugby World Cup.

Rugby league in France is a sport that is most popular in the south with cities such as Perpignan
and Toulouse having a strong presence in the game. The Catalans Dragons currently play in
Super League which is the top tier rugby league competition in Europe. Toulouse Olympique
play in the Co-operative Championship which is the 2nd tier of European rugby league. The Elite
One Championship is the top tier of French rugby league.
See also
France portal
European Union portal
Main article: Outline of France
 Articles related to France

   Geographic locale
Coordinates:

v · d · eSovereign states and dependent territories of Europe

Albania · Andorra ·
Armenia · Austria ·
Azerbaijan · Belarus ·
Belgium · Bosnia and
Herzegovina · Bulgaria ·
Croatia · Cyprus · Czech
Republic · Denmark ·
Estonia · Finland · France ·
Georgia · Germany ·
Greece  · Hungary ·
Iceland · Ireland · Italy ·
Kazakhstan · Latvia ·
Sovereign states
Liechtenstein · Lithuania ·
Luxembourg · Macedonia ·
Malta · Moldova ·
Monaco · Montenegro ·
Netherlands · Norway ·
Poland · Portugal ·
Romania · Russia · San
Marino · Serbia · Slovakia ·
Slovenia · Spain · Sweden ·
Switzerland · Turkey ·
Ukraine · United
Kingdom · Vatican City

Abkhazia · Kosovo ·
Nagorno-Karabakh ·
States with limited recognition
Northern Cyprus · South
Ossetia · Transnistria

Dependencies and other Faroe

Denmark
territories Islands
 Åland
Finland
Islands
NorwaySvalbard
Akrotiri
and
Dhekelia ·
UnitedGibraltar ·
KingdomGuernsey ·
Isle of
Man ·
Jersey
v · d · eCountries and dependencies of North America
Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados ·
Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba ·
Dominica · Dominican Republic · El
Salvador · France (Guadeloupe · Martinique) ·
Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras ·
Sovereign states
Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Netherlands
(Bonaire · Saba · Saint Eustatius) · Panama · St.
Kitts and Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Vincent and
the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago ·
United States

DenmarkGreenland
St. Barthélemy · St. Martin ·
FranceSt. Pierre and Miquelon ·
Clipperton
Aruba · Curaçao · Sint
Netherlands
Maarten
Dependencies Anguilla · Bermuda · British
UnitedVirgin Islands · Cayman
KingdomIslands · Montserrat · Turks
and Caicos Islands
Bajo Nuevo Bank · Navassa
Island · Puerto Rico ·
United States
Serranilla Bank · U.S. Virgin
Islands
v · d · eCountries and dependencies of South America
 Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia ·
Ecuador · France (French Guiana) · Guyana · Netherlands
Sovereign states
(Bonaire) · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname ·
Uruguay · Venezuela

NetherlandsAruba · Curaçao
Dependencies Falkland Islands · South Georgia and
United Kingdom
the South Sandwich Islands

v · d · eCountries and territories of Africa

Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana ·
Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon ·
Cape Verde · Central African Republic ·
Chad · Comoros · Democratic Republic
of the Congo · Republic of the Congo ·
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) · Djibouti ·
Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea ·
Ethiopia · France (Mayotte · Réunion) ·
Gabon · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea ·
Guinea-Bissau · Italy (Pantelleria) ·
Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya ·
Sovereign states
Madagascar · Malawi · Mali ·
Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco ·
Mozambique · Namibia · Niger ·
Nigeria · Portugal (Madeira) · Rwanda ·
São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal ·
Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia ·
South Africa · Spain (Canary Islands ·
Ceuta · Melilla · Plazas de soberanía) · Sudan ·
Swaziland · Togo · Tanzania · Tunisia ·
Uganda · Yemen (Socotra) · Zambia ·
Zimbabwe

States with Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ·

limited recognition Somaliland
 Îles Éparses (France) · Saint Helena,
Dependencies Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United
Kingdom)

Unclear sovereignty Western Sahara

v · d · eCountries and territories of Oceania
Australia · Chile (Easter
Island · Juan Fernández Islands) ·
East Timor (Timor-Leste) ·
Fiji · Indonesia · Kiribati ·
Marshall Islands · Federated
States of Micronesia · Japan
Sovereign states (Bonin Islands) · Nauru · New
Zealand · Palau · Papua
New Guinea · Samoa ·
Solomon Islands · Tonga ·
Tuvalu · United States
(Hawaii · Palmyra Atoll) ·
Vanuatu

Ashmore
and Cartier
Islands ·
Christmas
Island ·
Cocos
Australia(Keeling)
Islands ·
Coral Sea
Dependencies and other Islands
territories Territory ·
Norfolk
Island
FranceClipperton
Island ·
French
Polynesia ·
New
Caledonia 
 · Wallis
and Futuna
Cook
Islands ·
New Zealand
Niue ·
Tokelau
UnitedPitcairn
KingdomIslands
American
Samoa ·
Baker
Island ·
Guam ·
Howland
Island ·
Jarvis
Island  ·
Johnston
United States
Atoll  ·
Kingman
Reef  ·
Midway
Atoll  ·
Northern
Mariana
Islands ·
Wake
Island
v · d · eCountries and territories of the Mediterranean Sea
 Albania •  Algeria •  Bosnia-Herzegovina •  Croatia •  Cyprus •  Egypt •
 France •  Gibraltar •  Greece •  Israel •  Italy •  Lebanon •  Libya •  
Malta •  Monaco •  Montenegro •  Morocco •  Palestinian Authority •  
Slovenia •  Spain •  Syria •  Tunisia •  Turkey •  Akrotiri / Dhekelia
 France in the European Union
v · d · eMember states of the European Union
Austria · Belgium · Bulgaria · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland ·
France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Ireland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg ·
Malta · Netherlands · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden ·
United Kingdom
Member states by: political system · GDP
 International organisations
v · d · eGroup of Eight (G8)
 Canada · France · Germany · Italy · Japan · Russia · United Kingdom ·
Members
United States
Representative European Union
v · d · eGroup of Twenty (G-20)
Argentina · Australia · Brazil · Canada · China · European Union ·
France · Germany · India · Indonesia · Italy
Japan · Mexico · Russia · Saudi Arabia · South Africa · South Korea ·
Turkey · United Kingdom · United States
v · d · eMembers of the United Nations Security Council
China · France · Russia · United Kingdom ·
Permanent members
United States

Bosnia and Herzegovina · Brazil · Gabon ·

Term ends December 31, 2011
Lebanon · Nigeria

Colombia · Germany · India · Portugal ·

Term ends December 31, 2012
South Africa
v · d · eCouncil of Europe
Secretary General · Committee of Ministers ·
Parliamentary Assembly · Congress · Court of
Institutions Human Rights · Commissioner for Human Rights ·
Commission for the Efficiency of Justice ·
Commission against Racism and Intolerance

Members FullAlbania · Andorra ·

Armenia · Austria ·
Azerbaijan · Belgium ·
Bosnia and
Herzegovina ·
Bulgaria · Croatia ·
Cyprus · Czech
Republic · Denmark ·
Estonia · Finland ·
France · Georgia ·
Germany · Greece ·
Hungary · Iceland ·
Ireland · Italy · Latvia ·
Liechtenstein ·
Lithuania ·
Luxembourg ·
Macedonia1 · Malta ·
Moldova · Monaco ·
Montenegro ·
 Netherlands · Norway ·
Poland · Portugal ·
Romania · Russia · San
Marino · Serbia ·
Slovakia · Slovenia ·
Spain · Sweden ·
Switzerland · Turkey ·
Ukraine · United
Kingdom
Canada · Israel ·
Japan · Mexico ·
Observer
United States · Vatican
City
Czechoslovakia (1991–
Former1992) · Saar (assoc.
1950–1956)
1
 Provisionally referred to by the Council of Europe as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"; see
Macedonia naming dispute.

v · d · eOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
History
Development · OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
Guidelines Multinational Enterprises · Testing of Chemicals
Australia · Austria · Belgium · Canada · Chile · Czech Republic · Denmark ·
Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland ·
Members Italy · Israel · Japan · Luxembourg · Mexico · Netherlands · New Zealand ·
Norway · Poland · Portugal · Slovakia · Slovenia · South Korea · Spain ·
Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States
v · d · eNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
History North Atlantic Treaty · Summit · Enlargement

North Atlantic Council (Secretary General) · Chairman of the NATO

Structure Military Committee · Allied Command Operations (Supreme Allied
Commander) · Allied Command Transformation

Albania · Belgium · Bulgaria · Canada · Croatia · Czech Republic ·

Denmark · Estonia · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland ·
Members Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Norway ·
Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Turkey ·
United Kingdom · United States
v · d · eLatin Union
Member nations Andorra · Angola · Bolivia · Brazil · Cape Verde · Chile ·
Colombia · Costa Rica · Côte d'Ivoire · Cuba · Dominican
 Republic · East Timor · Ecuador · El Salvador · France ·
Guatemala · Guinea-Bissau · Haiti · Honduras · Italy · Mexico ·
Moldova · Monaco · Mozambique · Nicaragua · Panama ·
Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Portugal · Romania · San Marino ·
São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Spain · Uruguay · Venezuela
Permanent observers Argentina · Holy See · Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Official languages Catalan · French · Italian · Portuguese · Romanian · Spanish
v · d · eMember states and observers of the Francophonie
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Belgium (French Community) · Benin · Bulgaria ·
Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada (New Brunswick •
Quebec) · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Cyprus1 ·
Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire ·
Djibouti · Dominica · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · France (French Guiana •
Members
Guadeloupe • Martinique • St. Pierre and Miquelon) · Gabon · Ghana1 · Greece ·
Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Haiti · Laos · Luxembourg · Lebanon · Macedonia2 ·
Madagascar · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Moldova · Monaco · Morocco ·
Niger · Romania · Rwanda · St. Lucia · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal ·
Seychelles · Switzerland · Togo · Tunisia · Vanuatu · Vietnam

Austria · Croatia · Czech Republic · Dominican Republic · Georgia ·

Observers Hungary · Latvia · Lithuania · Mozambique · Poland · Serbia · Slovakia ·
Slovenia · Thailand · Ukraine
1
Associate member. 2 Provisionally referred to by the Francophonie as the "former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"; see Macedonia naming dispute.

References
1. ^ The country's long name in its regional languages include:
 Alemannic German: Französisch Republik;
 Basque: Frantziako Errepublika;
 Breton: Republik C'hall;
 Catalan: República Francesa;
 Corsican: Republica Francese;
 Dutch: Franse Republiek;
 West-Flemish: Fransche Republiek;
 Arpitan: Rèpublica francêsa;
 German: Französische Republik;
 Norman: Républyique fraunceise;
 Occitan: Republica Francesa;
 Picard: République franchoèse
2. ^ (French) Ministère de la culture et de la communication – Délégation générale à la langue
française et aux langues de France. "DGLF – Langues régionales et " trans-régionales " de France".
 Culture.gouv.fr. http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/dglf/lang-reg/methodes-apprentissage/1langreg.htm.
Retrieved 27 January 2010.
3. ^ a b Whole territory of the French Republic, including all the overseas departments and territories,
but excluding the French territory of Terre Adélie in Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended since the
signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
4. ^ (French) French National Geographic Institute data.
5. ^ French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km²
(0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers.
6. ^ (French) INSEE, Government of France. "Population totale par sexe et âge au 1er janvier 2011,
France métropolitaine". http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/detail.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=bilan-
demo&page=donnees-detaillees/bilan-demo/pop_age2.htm. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
7. ^ a b c (French) INSEE, Government of France. "Bilan démographique 2010".
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?ref_id=ip1332. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
8. ^ a b c Metropolitan France only.
9. ^ a b c d "France". International Monetary Fund.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?
sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=132&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC
%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=84&pr.y=6. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
10. ^ a b c d e f "The World Factbook : France". Cia.gov. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
world-factbook/geos/fr.html. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
11. ^ "Human Development Report 2010" (PDF). United Nations. 2010.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table1.pdf. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
12. ^ Whole of the French Republic except the overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean.
13. ^ French overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean only.
14. ^ 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. The .cat domain is used in Catalan-speaking territories.
15. ^ For more information, see Category:Overseas departments, collectivities and territories of
France.
16. ^ Encarta. MSN. 2008. Great Powers. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
17. ^ French constitution article I ... La France est une République indivisible, laïque, démocratique et
sociale.
18. ^ UNDP.org PDF
19. ^ Field listing – GDP (official exchange rate), CIA World Factbook
20. ^ Credit Suisse 2010's Global Wealth Report "In euro and USD terms, the total wealth of French
households is very sizeable. Although it has just 1.1% of the world’s adults, France ranks fourth among
nations in aggregate household wealth – behind China and just ahead of Germany. Europe as a whole
accounts for 35% of the individuals in the global top 1%, but France itself contributes a quarter of the
European contingent." [1]
21. ^ "World Population Prospects - The 2006 Revision" (PDF). UN.
http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf. Retrieved 27 April
2010.
22. ^ World Health Organization Assesses the World's Health Systems
23. ^ a b (French) "Tourisme international en France en 2007" (PDF). Direction du Tourisme (French
government's tourism agency). Archived from the original on 24 June 2008.
http://web.archive.org/web/20080624195206/http://www.tourisme.gouv.fr/fr/z2/stat/tis/att00018288/TIS_E
VE2007_2008-5.pdf. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
24. ^ "Federation of American Scientists : Status of World Nuclear Forces". Fas.org. 26 May 2010.
http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/nuclearweapons/nukestatus.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
25. ^ [2]
26. ^ a b France on Europa Official Site
27. ^ History of France on DiscoverFrance
28. ^ Tarassuk, Leonid; Blair, Claude (1982). The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons: the
most comprehensive reference work ever published on arms and armor from prehistoric times to the
present with over 1,250 illustrations. Simon & Schuster. p. 186. ISBN 067142257X.
http://books.google.com/?
id=UJbyPwAACAAJ&dq=The+Complete+Encyclopedia+of+Arms+and+Weapons&cd=1.
29. ^ a b c d Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-
Marie Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000
(1re éd. 1987), p.17 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
30. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), pp.20-24 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
31. ^ ''The Cambridge ancient history'' p.754. Books.google.com. 2000. ISBN 9780521086912.
http://books.google.com/books?id=n1TmVvMwmo4C&pg=RA1-PA754. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
32. ^ ''A history of ancient Greece'' Claude Orrieux p.62. Books.google.com. 1999-12-08.
ISBN 9780631203094. http://books.google.com/books?id=b8cA8hymTw8C&pg=PA62. Retrieved 23
January 2011.
33. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.29 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
34. ^ Life magazine, 13  July 1953, p.76. Books.google.com. 13 July 1953. http://books.google.com/?
id=ZEIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA76&dq=Provincia+Romana+Roman+Province+Provence#v=onepage&q=P
rovincia%20Romana%20Roman%20Province%20Provence&f=false. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
35. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.44-45 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
36. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.53-55 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
37. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.53-54(ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
38. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.76-77 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
39. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.77 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
40. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.79-82 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
41. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.81 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
42. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.84 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
43. ^ Jean Carpentier (dir.), François Lebrun (dir.), Alain Tranoy, Élisabeth Carpentier et Jean-Marie
Mayeur (préface de Jacques Le Goff), Histoire de France, Points Seuil, coll. « Histoire », Paris, 2000 (1re
éd. 1987), p.84-88 (ISBN 2-02-010879-8)
44. ^ Faith of the Eldest Daughter - Can France retain her Catholic heritage? - Women for Faith and
Family
45. ^ Treaty of Verdun - Howstuffworks
46. ^ History of France : The Capetian kings of France: AD 987-1328 - History World
47. ^ "Massacre of the Pure". Time (New York). 28 April 1961.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897752-2,00.html.
48. ^ a b c Albert Guerard, France: A Modern History (University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor,
1959) pp. 100, 101.
49. ^ France VII. – History[dead link] Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. Archived 31 October
2009.
50. ^ Don O'Reilly. "Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc and the Siege of Orléans". TheHistoryNet.com.
51. ^ Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie (1987). "The French peasantry, 1450-1660". University of
California Press. p.32. ISBN 0520055233
52. ^ Peter Turchin (2003). "Historical dynamics: why states rise and fall". Princeton University
Press. p.179. ISBN 0691116695
53. ^ Massacre of Saint Bartholomew’s Day. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
54. ^ a b Language and Diplomacy - Naked Translations
55. ^ Dr Linton, Marisa. "The Terror in the French Revolution". Kingston University.
http://www.port.ac.uk/special/france1815to2003/chapter1/interviews/filetodownload,20545,en.pdf.
56. ^ Blanning, Tim (April 1998). "Napoleon and German identity". History Today (London) 48.
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001329960.
57. ^ "France's oldest WWI veteran dies". BBC News Online (London). 20 January 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7199127.stm.
58. ^ "Vichy France and the Jews". Michael Robert Marrus, Robert O. Paxton (1995). Stanford
University Press. p.368. ISBN 0804724997
59. ^ Kimmelman, Michael (4 March 2009). "In France, a War of Memories Over Memories of War".
The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/arts/design/05abroad.html?_r=1.
60. ^ From Fourth to Fifth Republic - University of Sunderland
61. ^ Declaration by the Franco-German Defense and Security Council - Elysee.fr 13 May 2004
62. ^ Sovereignty claims in Antarctica are governed by the Antarctic Treaty System
63. ^ France Eyes Massive Expansion of its Oceans - Spiegel
64. ^ "Mont Blanc shrinks by 45 cm (17.72 in) in two years". Smh.com.au. 6 November 2009.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/mont-blanc-shrinks-by-45cm-in-two-years-20091106-i0kk.html.
Retrieved 9 August 2010.
65. ^ (French) Méditerranée : la France prend le contrôle en créant une zone économique exclusive
66. ^ According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would
be 10,084,201 km2 (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 km2/3,467,417 sq mi) and Russia (7,566,673 km2/2,921,509 sq mi).
67. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2005). "Discovering France: Geography".
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/discovering-france_2005/france-from-to-
z_1978/country_2004/geography_4405/geography_1507.html. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
68. ^ Protection of the Environment on the Official Site of the French Ambassy in Canada
69. ^ Nuclear Power in France - World Nuclear Association
70. ^ Energy profile of France - The encyclopedia of Earth
71. ^ (French) CO2 : la France mois pollueuse grâce au nucléaire
72. ^ (French) L'énergie nucléaire en France - Ambassade française en Chine
73. ^ EU promises 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 - The Guardian
74. ^ a b (French) Les quatres enjeux de Copenhague - La Croix
75. ^ China unveils emissions targetsahead of Copenhagen - BBC
76. ^ China's Carbon Intensity Target - World ressources Institute
77. ^ Per-Capita Emissions Rising in China - The New York Times
78. ^ France Sets Carbon Tax at 17 Euros a Ton - The NY Times
79. ^ France set to impose carbon tax - BBC NEWS
80. ^ France Abandons Plan for Carbon Tax - The NY Times
81. ^ "Environmental Performance Index : France". Epi.yale.edu.
http://epi.yale.edu/Countries/France. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
82. ^ (French) La France au 7ème rang mondial pour l'environnement - Le Monde
83. ^ "Forest area by country". Nationmaster.com.
http://www.nationmaster.com/red/graph/env_for_are_of_lan_are-environment-forest-area-of-
land&date=2005&b_map=1. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
84. ^ Evolution of the French forest from 1984 to 1996 - French National Forest Inventory
85. ^ (French) Economie de la France - Mission permanente de la France auprès de l'office des
Nations Unies à Genève
86. ^ (French) Une situation privilégiée en France et en Europe - Papier, bois et forêt
87. ^ Parks, Reserves, and Other Protected Areas in France - The portal about parks in Italy
88. ^ (French) Fédération des parcs naturels régionaux de France
89. ^ (French) La France veut créer une Zone Économique Exclusive en Méditérannée - Actu-
Environnement
90. ^ Departments of France - My French Property
91. ^ Currency and Exchange Rate - The Tahiti Traveler
92. ^ Walis and Futuna - Pacific Islands Network
93. ^ New Caledonia travel Guide - South Pacific Organizer
94. ^ The euro outside the euro area - The European Commission
95. ^ France: Fifth Republic - Flags of the World
96. ^ (French) Le quinquennat : le référendum du 24 Septembre 2000
97. ^ The National Assembly and the Senate - General Characteristics of the Parliament on the
Official Site of the French National Assembly
98. ^ Election of deputies on the Official Site of the National Assembly
99. ^ The senatorial elections - on the Official Site of the Senate
100. ^ (French) Le role du Sénat
101. ^ (French) Grunberg, Gérard (2007). La France vers le bipartisme  ?  : La présidentialisation du
PS et de l'UMP. ISBN 2724610105. http://www.pressesdesciencespo.fr/fr/livre/?GCOI=27246100617740.
102. ^ (French) La lutte contre le racisme et l'antisémintisme en France - AmbaFrance
103. ^ High degree of tolerance in France - AmbaFrance
104. ^ Membership of the Security Councils of the UN on the Official Site of the UN
105. ^ "Understanding the WTO - Members". Wto.org.
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
106. ^ History on the Official Site of the SPC
107. ^ (French) Pays membres - Site officiel de la COI
108. ^ About the Association of Caribbean States on the Official site of the ACS
109. ^ (French) États et gouvernements : le monde de la Francophonie - Site officiel de l'OIF
110. ^ History of the Château de la Muette, OECD headquarters, Paris - Official Site of the OECD
111. ^ Paris Headquarters on the Official Site of the UNESCO
112. ^ Interpol. "Official Site of the Interpol". Interpol.int. http://www.interpol.int/. Retrieved 9 August
2010.
113. ^ (French) "Alliance Base" existe bien - L'Express
114. ^ "Home page of the IBWM". Bipm.org. http://www.bipm.org/en/home/. Retrieved 9 August
2010.
115. ^ (French) Le faisceau de licteur - Présidence de la République
116. ^ De Gaulle says 'non' to Britain - again BBC
117. ^ (French) L'alliance franco-allemande au coeur de la puissance européenne
118. ^ (French) Quand Mitterand, déjà, négociait le retour de la France dans l'OTAN - Le Figaro
119. ^ France ends four-decade Nato rift - BBC
120. ^ (French) Roger, Patrick (11 March 2009). "Le retour de la France dans l'OTAN suscite un
malaise dans les rangs de la droite". Le Monde (Paris).
http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2009/03/11/le-retour-de-la-france-dans-l-otan-suscite-un-malaise-
dans-les-rangs-de-la-droite_1166352_823448.html.
121. ^ Fifth French nuclear test sparks international outrage - CNN
122. ^ China adds voice to Iraq war doubts CNN
123. ^ EU allies unite against Iraq war BBC
124. ^ "Foreign Policy Implications of the Iraq War". Usforeignpolicy.about.com. 11 March 2004.
http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/newsiss3/tp/iraqwarrelations.htm. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
125. ^ House cafeterias change names for 'french' fries and 'french' toast CNN
126. ^ (French) France-Diplomatie : Royaume-Uni - Ministère des Affaires Étrangères
127. ^ (French) L'empire colonial français
128. ^ "France involvement in peace-keeping operations". Delegfrance-onu-geneve.org.
http://www.delegfrance-onu-geneve.org/spip.php?article417. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
129. ^ Embassies and consulates on the Official Site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France
130. ^ Aids targets slipping out of reach ? - OECD
131. ^ Development assistance and humanitarian action - France Diplomatie
132. ^ a b France priorities - France Diplomatie
133. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies; Hackett, James (ed.) (2010-02-03). The Military
Balance 2010. London: Routledge. pp. 129–134. ISBN 1857435575.
134. ^ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/decouverte/personnel/organisation-du-personnel-de-la-
marine-nationale
135. ^ (French) "La marine chinoise accède au rang de 3ème puissance mondiale".
http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=958.
136. ^ (French) Direction des ressources humaines de l'armée de Terre - Ministère de la Défense
137. ^ French Military Aircraft - Military Aircraft
138. ^ (French) La fin du service militaire obligatoire - La documentation française
139. ^ "Status of signature and ratification: CTBTO Preparatory Commission". CTBTO Preparatory
Commission. 2010-05-26. http://www.ctbto.org/the-treaty/status-of-signature-and-ratification/. Retrieved
2010-05-27.
140. ^ a b The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database
141. ^ (French) Centre de Documentation et de Recherche sur la Paix et les Conflits, Etat des forces
nucléaires françaises au 15 août 2004
142. ^ The aerospace industry : XII. Foreign countries in aerospace - Yale University
143. ^ "Aerospace industry of France". Bbfrenchtranslation.com.
http://www.bbfrenchtranslation.com/aerospace-industry-of-france.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
144. ^ "En 2001, la France a vendu pour 1,288 milliard de dollars d'équipements militaires, ce qui la
met au troisième rang mondial des exportateurs derrière les Etats-Unis et la Russie." " In 2001, France sold
for $1,288 billion of military equipments, ranking 3rd in the world for arms exportations behind the USA
and Russia" France stays one of the biggest arms supplier - L'express
145. ^ "La France est au 4ème rang mondial des exportateurs d'armes, derrière les Etats-Unis, le
Royaume-Uni et la Russie, et devant Israël, selon un rapport du ministère de la Défense publié l'an dernier."
"France is 4th biggest arms exportator, behind the USA, the UK and Russia, and ahead of Israel, according
to a report of the Ministry of Defense published a year ago" Arms sellings explode in 2009 - 20 minutes
146. ^ "Gross domestic product 2009" (PDF). World Bank.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
147. ^ "History of the Euro". BBC News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/business/2001/euro_cash/history/. Retrieved 30 October
2010.
148. ^ EnerPub (8 June 2007). "France: Energy profile". Spero News.
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idarticle=9839&t=France%3A+Energy+profile. Retrieved 25
August 2007.
149. ^ (French) "Entreprises selon le nombre de salariés et l'activité". INSEE. July 2008.
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=NATTEF09203.
150. ^ (French) "Entreprises publiques selon l'activité économique". INSEE. March 2009.
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=NATTEF9303.
151. ^ a b c d e "France". The World Factbook. CIA. 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
world-factbook/geos/fr.html#Econ.
152. ^ "International Trade Statistics 2008". WTO. 2009. p. 12.
http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/its2008_e/its2008_e.pdf.
153. ^ a b "Country fact sheet: France" (PDF). World Investment Report 2009. UNCTAD.
http://www.unctad.org/sections/dite_dir/docs/wir09_fs_fr_en.pdf. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
154. ^ a b "Country fact sheet: Japan" (PDF). World Investment Report 2009. UNCTAD.
http://www.unctad.org/sections/dite_dir/docs/wir09_fs_jp_en.pdf. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
155. ^ Global 500 by Country - Fortune
156. ^ "CO2 emissions per capita in 2006". Environmental Indicators. United Nations. August 2009.
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/environment/air_co2_emissions.htm.
157. ^ DGEMP / Observatoire de l'énergie (April 2007). "Électricité en France: les principaux résultats
en 2006". http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/energie/statisti/se_elec.htm. Retrieved 23 May 2007.[dead link]
158. ^ France - Agriculture - Encyclopedia of the Nations
159. ^ "Key figures of the French economy". French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/economy_6815/overview-of-the-french-economy_6831/key-
figures-of-the-french-economy_1402.html#sommaire_1. "France is the world’s fifth largest exporter of
goods (mainly durables). The country ranks fourth in services and third in agriculture (especially in cereals
and the agri-food sector). It is the leading producer and exporter of farm products in Europe."
160. ^ a b c A panorama of the agriculture and agri-food industries - Ministère de l'Alimentation, de
l'Agriculture et de la Pêche
161. ^ (French) Un ministère au service de votre alimentation - Ministère de l'Alimentation, de
l'Agriculture et de la Pêche
162. ^ "Financial year 2007" (PDF). Distribution of direct aid to farmers. European Commission. 22
April 2009. http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/fin/directaid/2007/annex1_en.pdf. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
163. ^ (French) Les enjeux des industries agroalimentaires françaises - Panorama des Industries
Agroalimentaires
164. ^ "Rank Order – GDP – per capita (PPP)". The World Factbook. 2008.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html.
165. ^ OECD in Figures 2005, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005).
"Labour productivity 2003" (Microsoft Excel). Archived from the original on 23 January 2007.
http://web.archive.org/web/20070123075528/http://ocde.p4.siteinternet.com/publications/doifiles/0120050
61G006.xls. Retrieved 20 April 2006. ; in 2004, the GDP per hour worked in France was $48, ranking
France above the United States ($46.3), Germany ($42.1), the United Kingdom ($39.6), or Japan ($32.5)
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005). "Differentials in GDP per capita and
their decomposition, 2004" (Microsoft Excel). http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/40/29867116.xls.
Retrieved 20 April 2006.)
166. ^ (French) Objectif croissance 2008, OCDE, February 2008, page 67 ; graphic visible in the
Summary page 8; effective annual working duration in France is 1580 hours, compared to 1750 for
developed countries
167. ^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005). "OECD Employment
Outlook 2005 – Statistical Annex" (PDF). http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/36/30/35024561.pdf. Retrieved
29 June 2006.
168. ^ La Défense: Europe largest buisiness district Sets a New Standart for Sustainable Devloment -
EcoHeart
169. ^ INSEE (2008). "Taux d'emploi des travailleurs âgés de 55 à 64 ans" (in French).
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=98&ref_id=CMPECF03159. Retrieved 1 September
2008.
170. ^ INSEE (2008). "Taux d'emploi des jeunes de 15 à 24 ans dans l'Union européenne" (in French).
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=98&ref_id=CMPTEF03135. Retrieved 1 September
2008.
171. ^ (French) Philippe Aghion; Gilbert Cette, Élie Cohen and Jean Pisani-Ferry (2007). "Les leviers
de la croissance française" (PDF). Conseil d'analyse économique. p. 55.
http://www.cae.gouv.fr/rapports/dl/072.pdf. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
172. ^ "Enhancing Incentives to Improve Performances in the Education System in France" (PDF).
OECD. 1 August 2007.
http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2007doc.nsf/LinkTo/NT00002ECA/$FILE/JT03230693.PDF. "Initial
education, especially secondary education and the universities, along with labour market policies
themselves, do not always succeed in improving labour market entry for a significant proportion of young
people."
173. ^ "Employment Outlook 2008 – How does FRANCE compare?" (PDF). OECD.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/35/40904315.pdf. Retrieved 7 October 2010. "Only 38% of people aged
55 to 64 are working, 15.5 percentage points less than the OECD average."
174. ^ "France: Jobs and older workers". Oecdobserver.org.
http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/1672/. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
175. ^ (French) INSEE (2008). "Taux de Chômage en France Métropolitaine".
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=99&ref_id=CMRSOS03311. Retrieved 1 September
2008.
176. ^ (French) INSEE (2008). "Taux de Chômage dans l'Union Européenne".
http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=98&ref_id=CMPTEF03309. Retrieved 1 September
2008.
177. ^ Harmonised unemployment rate by gender – total – % (SA). Eurostat.
178. ^ More than 1 million protest French jobs law - CNN
179. ^ Q&A: French labour law row - BBC
180. ^ "Le Revenu de Solidarité active". Rsa.gouv.fr. http://www.rsa.gouv.fr/-English-version-.html.
Retrieved 9 August 2010.
181. ^ "2009 Theme Index. The Global Attractions Attendance Report, 2009." (PDF). Themed
Entertainment Association. http://www.themeit.com/etea/2009report.pdf. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
182. ^ "Weekend Breaks: the Vendée's Puy du Fou < Travel & Tourism | Expatica France".
Expatica.com. http://www.expatica.com/fr/leisure/travel_tourism/weekend-breaks-the-vendes-puy-du-fou-
39717.html. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
183. ^ "The French Riviera Tourist Board". Frenchriviera-tourism.com. http://www.frenchriviera-
tourism.com/regional-tourism-organization/the-french-riviera-tourist-board-06_191.html. Retrieved 23
January 2011.
184. ^ Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency - p.31 CRDP-Nice.net
185. ^ Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, op.cit. p.66
186. ^ (French) "Fréquentation des musées et des bâtiments historiques".
http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/deps/mini_chiff_03/fr/musee.htm.
187. ^PDF (French) "Chiffres clés du transport 2010" (PDF). http://www.developpement-
durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Chiffres_transport-pdf.pdf. Retrieved 7 October 2010. - Site officiel du Ministère
de l'Écologie, de l'Énergie, du Développement Durable et de la Mer
188. ^ Country comparison : railways - The World Factbook
189. ^ TGV High-Speed Rail Network, France - Railways-technology.com
190. ^ TGV - The French High-speed Train Service - BBC
191. ^ Country Comparison : roadways - The World Factbook
192. ^ (French) L'automobile magazine, hors-série 2003/2004 page 294
193. ^ "Guide pratique de l' ADEME, la voiture". Ademe.fr.
http://www.ademe.fr/particuliers/Fiches/voiture/rub3.htm. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
194. ^ France builds world's tallest bridge - BBC
195. ^ Strikes block French ports - BDP International
196. ^ (French) Marseille : un grand port maritime qui ne demande qu'à se montrer - La Provence
197. ^ Marseille – A French Pearl in the Mediterranean Sea - Hotel Club Travel Blog
198. ^ a b (French) INSEE, Government of France. "Évolution générale de la situation démographique,
France". http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/detail.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=bilan-demo&page=donnees-
detaillees/bilan-demo/pop_age3.htm#evol-gen-sit-demo-fe. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
199. ^ (French) INSEE, Government of France. "Tableau 44 – Taux de fécondité générale par âge de la
mère". http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/bases-de-donnees/irweb/sd2008/dd/excel/sd2008_t44_fe.xls. Retrieved
20 January 2011.
200. ^ Inflow of third-country nationals by country of nationality 2004
201. ^ Swalec, Andrea (6 July 2010). "Turks and Moroccans top list of new EU citizens". Reuters.
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-49921620100706.
202. ^ Oppenheimer, David B. (2008). "Why France needs to collect data on racial identity...in a
French way". Hastings International and Comparative Law Review 31 (2): 735–752.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1236362.
203. ^ "France's crisis of national identity". The Independent (London). 25 November 2009.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/frances-crisis-of-national-identity-1826942.html.
204. ^ « Les personnes d'origine maghrébine y sont également au nombre de 5 à 6 millions ; 3,5
millions ont la nationalité française (dont 500 000 harkis)», Évelyne Perrin, Identité Nationale, Amer
Ministère, Éditions L'Harmattan, 2010, Template:P.112
205. ^ Richburg, Keith B. (24 April 2005). "Europe's Minority Politicians in Short Supply". The
Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12396-2005Apr23.html.
206. ^ Sachs, Susan (12 January 2007). "In officially colorblind France, blacks have a dream – and
now a lobby". The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA).
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0112/p01s04-woeu.html.
207. ^ "Paris Riots in Perspective". ABC News (New York). 4 November 2005.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=1280843.
208. ^ "Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. III. French Government and the
Refugees". American Philosophical Society, James E. Hassell (1991). p.22. ISBN 087169817X
209. ^ Markham, James M. (6 April 1988). "For Pieds-Noirs, the Anger Endures". The New York
Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?
res=940DEFDE1539F935A35757C0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all.
210. ^ Raimondo Cagiano De Azevedo (1994). "Migration and development co-operation.". p.25.
211. ^ (French) INSEE (25 January 2005). "Enquêtes annuelles de recensement 2004 et 2005".
Archived from the original on 12 December 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061212212050/http
%3A//www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/ipweb/ip1098/ip1098.html#encadre1. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
212. ^ "UNHCR Global Report 2005: Western Europe" (PDF). UNHCR. 2006.
http://www.unhcr.org/publ/PUBL/4492677f0.pdf. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
213. ^ (French) La Constitution- La Constitution du 4 Octobre 1958 - Légifrance
214. ^ a b ls the French obsession with "cultural exception" declining?[dead link] France in London
215. ^ "Language and Diplomacy - Translation and Interpretation". Diplomacy.edu.
http://www.diplomacy.edu/language/Translation/default.htm. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
216. ^ "Why Is French Considered the Language of Diplomacy?". Legallanguage.com.
http://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/language-of-diplomacy/. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
217. ^ "The International Education Site". Intstudy.com.
http://www.intstudy.com/articles/practicalfrench.htm. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
218. ^ a b (French) La France reste catholique mais moins pratiquante - La Croix
219. ^ The last sacre was that of Charles X, 29 May 1825.
220. ^ Catholic World News (2003). "France is no longer Catholic, survey shows".
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=48547. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
221. ^ (Romanian) Franţa nu mai e o ţară catolică, Cotidianul 11 January 2007
222. ^ La Vie, issue 3209, 1 March 2007 (French)
223. ^ "« Sur la religion, les Français restent dubitatifs » - A la Une". la-Croix.com. 14 August 2009.
http://www.la-croix.com/article/index.jsp?docId=2389007&rubId=786. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
224. ^ http://pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Issues/Government/restrictions-fullreport.pdf
225. ^ "Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005 – page 11" (PDF). European
Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf. Retrieved 5 May
2007.
226. ^ Religious Views and Beliefs Vary Greatly by Country, Financial Times/Harris Poll, December
2006
227. ^ France to train imams in 'French Islam', The Guardian
228. ^ "France – International Religious Freedom Report 2005". State.gov.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51552.htm. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
229. ^ "Commission d’enquête sur les sectes". Assemblee-nationale.fr. http://www.assemblee-
nationale.fr/rap-enq/r2468.asp. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
230. ^ "Society2 ; religion in France ; beliefs ; secularism (laicité)". Understandfrance.org.
http://www.understandfrance.org/France/Society2.html. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
231. ^ http://www.paris-region.com/ard_uk/upload/document/D176.pdf
232. ^ The ranking, see spreadsheet details for a whole analysis photius.com
233. ^ Measuring overall health system performance for 191 countries - WHO
234. ^ (French) Espérance de vie, taux de mortalité et taux de mortalité infantile dans le monde -
INSEE
235. ^ (French) Nombre de médecins pour 1000 habitants - Statistiques mondiales
236. ^ (French) Dépenses de santé par habitants - Statistiques mondiales
237. ^ a b Even the French are fighting obesity - The NY Times
238. ^ a b c France's obesity crisis: All those croissants really do add up, after all - Daily Finance
239. ^ Lambert, Victoria (8 March 2008). "The French children learning to fight obesity". London:
Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/3353715/The-French-children-learning-
to-fight-obesity.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
240. ^ a b Why So Few French Are Fat - Bloomberg Businessweek
241. ^ Let them eat cake - The Guardian
242. ^ "The French diet : Eat, Drink, and be Thin". Streetdirectory.com.
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/24041/e_diet/the_french_diet___eat_drink_and_be_thin.html.
Retrieved 9 August 2010.
243. ^ a b France heading for US obesity levels says study - Food Navigator
244. ^ "New French food guidelines aimes at tabkling obesity". Nutraingredients.com.
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Regulation/New-French-food-guidelines-aimed-at-tackling-obesity.
Retrieved 9 August 2010.
245. ^ Petah Marian (23 May 2008). "France urged to get tough on child obesity". Just-food.com.
http://www.just-food.com/analysis/france-urged-to-get-tough-on-child-obesity_id102509.aspx. Retrieved 9
August 2010.
246. ^ "EEA.Europa.eu". Epaedia.eea.europa.eu. http://epaedia.eea.europa.eu/page.php?pid=502.
Retrieved 22 October 2008.
247. ^ "France searches its soul after euthanasia plea woman dies". CNN.com.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/21/euthanasia.debate.ap/index.html.[dead link]
248. ^ Lycée - Encyclopeadia Britannica
249. ^ (French) 1881-1882 : Lois Ferry Ecole publique gratuite, laïque et obligatoire - Assemblé
Nationale
250. ^ (French) II. L'évolution du contenu de l'obligation scolaire - Sénat.fr
251. ^ Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale - OECD
252. ^ Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, "Cultura statistics", Key figures
253. ^ The National Gallery of London official website, Guide to Impressionism
254. ^ (French) RFI, Le néo-impressionnisme de Seurat à Paul Klee 15/03/2005
255. ^ National Gallery of Art (United States), The Fauves (dossier)
256. ^ (French) RFI, Vlaminck, version fauve, 25/02/2008
257. ^ Musée d'Orsay (official website), History of the museum - From station to museum
258. ^ Musée d'Orsay official website, History of the painting collection
259. ^ a b (French) Ministry of Tourism, Sites touristiques en France page 2 "Palmarès des 30 premiers
sites culturels (entrées comptabilisées)" [Ranking of 30 most visited cultural sites in France]
260. ^ Opus Francigenum - Answers.com
261. ^ The Gothic period - France Travel
262. ^ (French) Histoire et Architecture - Site officiel de la Cathedrale de Notre-Dame de Reims
263. ^ Toulouse’s Saint Sernin, Largest Romanesque Church in Europe - EuropeUpClose
264. ^ (French) 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!”
265. ^ "Fortifications of Vauban". Whc.unesco.org. 8 July 2008. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1283.
Retrieved 9 August 2010.
266. ^ "Official site of the UNESCO". Unesco.org. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/. Retrieved 9
August 2010.
267. ^ Paris: City Guide. Lonely Planet. 2008. p. 48. ISBN 1740598504. http://books.google.com/?
id=OtabdzMdbboC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=arc+de+triomphe+neoclassicism+sainte+marie+madeleine
&q.
268. ^ Des gratte-ciel à Paris : qu'en pensez-vous ? - LCI
269. ^ In the heart of the main European Business area - NCI Business Center
270. ^ (French) Auteurs et répertoires - Official site of the Comédie Française
271. ^ (French) « Victor Hugo est le plus grand écrivain français » PDF (19.0 KB)
272. ^ (French) Le symbolisme français
273. ^ (French) La première Académie Goncourt - Site officiel de l'Académie Goncourt
274. ^ The Little Prince - Completely Novel
275. ^ National Literature Nobel Prize shares 1901-2009 by citizenship at the time of the award and by
country of birth. From J. Schmidhuber (2010), Evolution of National Nobel Prize Shares in the 20th
Century at arXiv:1009.2634v1
276. ^ NPR (website), Debussy's 'La Mer' Marks 100th Birthday, 14 October 2005
277. ^ NPR (website), Debussy's Musical Game of Deception, 12 July 2008
278. ^ Classic fM website, Biography of Claude Debussy
279. ^ Classic fM website, Biography of Maurice Ravel
280. ^ NPR (website), Composer-Conductor Pierre Boulez At 85, 24 May 2010
281. ^ RFI Musique, Biography of Noir Désir, March 2009 : “Rock music doesn't come naturally to the
French. A Latin country, with more affinity to poetry and melody, France has very rarely produced talented
rock musicians. Rock music has other, more Anglo-Saxon ingredients”
282. ^ a b c France Diplomatie, French music has the whole planet singing, June 2009
283. ^ The Telegraph, Daft Punk: Behind the robot masks, 17 November 2007 : "Daft Punk were in
many ways responsible for turning the spotlight on a new, cool underground of French music in the late
1990s, including bestselling acts such as Air, and have been a huge influence on the current generation of
international star DJs"
284. ^ BBC News, The return of French pop music, 20 December 2001
285. ^ Ministry of Culture of France, About « Fête de la Musique »
286. ^ France Diplomatie, Fête de la Musique, 21 June 2007
287. ^ (French) Les frères Lumière
288. ^ Cinema: production of feature films - UNESCO
289. ^ Cannes - a festival virgin's guide - CannesGuide
290. ^ Cannes Film Festival - www.whatsonwhen.com
291. ^ a b (French) [3] « Cinéma et diversité culturelle : le cinéma indépendant face à la mondialisation
des industries culturelles » - Erudit.org
292. ^ The End of Cultural Exception ?[dead link] - CNRS
293. ^ The cultural exception is not negotiable by Catherine Trautmann - Ministry of Culture
294. ^ (French) La Convention UNESCO pour la diversité culturelle : vers un droit international
culturel contraignant ? - www.fnsac-cgt.com
295. ^ Kelly, 181. DeJean, chapters 2-4.
296. ^ (French) OJD, "Observatoire de la Presse", Presse Quotidienne Nationale
297. ^ (French) OJD, Presse Gratuite d'Information
298. ^ (French) Observatoire de la Presse, Presse Quotidienne Régionale et Départementale
299. ^ (French) OJD, "Bureau Presse Payante Grand Public", Presse Quotidienne Régionale et
Départementale
300. ^ (French) Observatoire de la Presse, Presse Magazine - Synthèse
301. ^ (French) Observatoire de la Presse, Presse News
302. ^ The Telegraph, Nicolas Sarkozy: French media faces 'death' without reform 2 October 2008
303. ^ French government portal, Lancement des états généraux de la presse 2 October 2008
[Launching of General State of written media]
304. ^ Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, Sarkozy pledges €600m to newspapers, 23 January 2009.
305. ^ Radio France, "L'entreprise", Repères [Landmarks of Radio France company]
306. ^ a b (French) Vie Publique, Chronologie de la politique de l’audiovisuel 20/08/2004 [Chronology
of policy for audiovisual]
307. ^ World warming to US under Obama, BBC poll suggests - BBC
308. ^ BBC World Service poll - BBC
309. ^ "Germany on Top, U.S. Seventh in Nation Brands IndexSM". Gfk.com.
http://www.gfk.com/group/press_information/press_releases/003055/index.en.html. Retrieved 9 August
2010.
310. ^ Britain falls to 25th best place to live in the world... behind Lithuania, the Czech Republic and
Hungary - Mail Online
311. ^ a b Why France is best place to live in world - CNN
312. ^ a b France’s human rights policy - France Diplomatie
313. ^ France, the country of Human Rights - 1906 : Dreyfus rehabilitated
314. ^ Conseil Constitutionnel, Constitution of 4 October 1958 (page 4) "Title I - Of Sovereignty"
315. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", The 14th of July : The
Bastille day
316. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", The French Flag
317. ^ Assemblée Nationale, "History and heritage : La Marseillaise, Rouget de Lisle (1760-1836) and
La Marseillaise
318. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", The national anthem :
The Marseillaise
319. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, "The symbols of the Republic", Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity
320. ^ The Symbols of the Republic : Marianne on the Official Site of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of
France
321. ^ (French) French Presidency, "Les symboles de la République française", Le coq
322. ^ (French) Cuisine : sommes-nous les meilleurs du monde ? - La Dépêche
 323. ^ French Cuisine - Discover France
324. ^ Top 10 Most Tasty Cuisines in the World - Hotel Club Travel Blog
325. ^ (French) Ateliers de cuisine française - Art de vivre à Paris
326. ^ France Culture on Travour.com
327. ^ (French) La Gastronomie Française - Chinese Lovers of France
328. ^ About our vacations in France -Cooking Vacations to France
329. ^ (French) "Recettes françaises". http://www.delices-du-monde.fr/recettes-francaise.html. -
Delices du Monde
330. ^ (French) La France du beurre et celle de l'huile d'olive maintiennent leurs positions - Agence
France Presse
331. ^ "Wines of France". Userweb.cs.utexas.edu.
http://userweb.cs.utexas.edu/users/walter/wine/france.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
332. ^ French Cheese - GoodCooking
333. ^ French Cheese on Traditional French Food
334. ^ "Michelin 3 Star Restaurants around the world". 3starrestaurants.com. 14 December 2006.
http://www.3starrestaurants.com/michelin-restaurants-star-guide.asp. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
335. ^ Japan overtakes France with more Michelin-starred restaurants, Gilles Campion | Agence
France-Presse | Thu Nov 25 2010
336. ^ (French) Les licences sportives en France - Insee
337. ^ History of the World Cup Final Draw - FIFA
338. ^ France wins right to host the 2007 rugby world cup - Rugby.com
339. ^ The Tour De France: The Most Famous Bicycle Race In The World -
Weightlossdietinformation.com
340. ^ "Cycling: Tour de France". Faqs.org. http://www.faqs.org/sports-science/Ce-Do/Cycling-Tour-
de-France.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
341. ^ (French) Une course légendaire - Site officiel du 24 heures du Mans
342. ^ Hill, Christopher R. (1996). Olympic Politics. Manchester University Press ND. p. 5.
ISBN 0719044510. http://books.google.com/?id=0o-9AAAAIAAJ&dq=pierre+de+coubertin.
343. ^ a b c Olympic History - World Atlas of Travel
344. ^ Paris 1900 Summer Olympics on the Official Site of the Olympic Movement
345. ^ Lausanne, olympic capital - Tourism in Lausanne
346. ^ Vive la France - CNN
347. ^ Italy 1-1 France - BBC
348. ^ 1984: Platini shines for flamboyant France on the UEFA Official Site
349. ^ 2000: Trezeguet strikes gold for France on the UEFA Official Site
350. ^ Rugby - 123 Voyage

External links
Find more about France on Wikipedia's sister projects:
Definitions from Wiktionary
Images and media from Commons
Learning resources from Wikiversity
News stories from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
 Source texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks

 France, from the BBC

 France entry at The World Factbook
 France at UCB Libraries GovPubs
 France at the Open Directory Project
 Wikimedia Atlas of France

Economy

 National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies

 OECD France statistics

Government

 (French) Élysée.fr - Official site of the French Presidency

 (French) Official Site of the Government
 Official site of the French public service – Links to various administrations and
institutions
 Chief of State and Cabinet Members on The World Factbook
 Official site of the National Assembly
 Official site of the Senate

Culture

 Cocorico! French culture

 Contemporary French Civilization, journal, University of Illinois.
 Frenchculturenow.com: French society, culture, politics news

Tourism

 FranceGuide - Official website of the French Government Tourist Office

 France travel guide from Wikitravel

Coordinates:

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France"

Categories: France | Alpine countries | Countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean | Countries of the
Indian Ocean | Countries of the Mediterranean Sea | European countries | African countries |
Oceanian countries | Caribbean countries | South American countries | French-speaking countries
| G8 nations | G20 nations | Liberal democracies | Member states of La Francophonie | Member
states of the Union for the Mediterranean | Member states of the European Union | Member states
of the Council of Europe | Member states of NATO | Republics | Western Europe
Hidden categories: Articles containing non-English language text | Articles containing Basque
language text | Articles containing Breton language text | Articles containing Catalan language
text | Articles containing Corsican language text | Articles containing Dutch language text |
Articles containing German language text | Articles containing Occitan language text | All
articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links from October 2010 | Articles
with dead external links from September 2010 | PDFlink without a parameter | Articles with dead
external links from January 2011 | Articles with dead external links from August 2010 |
Wikipedia semi-protected pages | Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages | Articles
containing French language text | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with
unsourced statements from April 2011 | Articles with unsourced statements from November
2010 | All pages needing cleanup | Wikipedia articles needing clarification from January 2011 |
Articles with unsourced statements from July 2010 | Wikipedia articles needing clarification
from July 2010 | Use dmy dates from January 2011

Personal tools

 Log in / create account

Namespaces

 Article
 Discussion

Variants

Views

 Read
 View source
 View history

Actions

Search

Special:Search

Navigation

 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
Interaction

 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact Wikipedia

Toolbox

 What links here

 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Cite this page

Print/export

 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version

Languages

 Acèh
 Afrikaans
 Alemannisch
 አማርኛ
 Ænglisc
 ‫العربية‬
 Aragonés
 ‫ܐܪܡܝܐ‬
 Armãneashce
 Arpetan
 Asturianu
 Avañe'ẽ
 Aymar aru
 Azərbaycanca
 Bamanankan
 বাংলা
 Bahasa Banjar
 Bân-lâm-gú
 Башҡортса
 Беларуская
 Беларуская (тарашкевіца)
 Bikol Central
 Bislama
 Boarisch
 བོད་ཡིག
 Bosanski
 Brezhoneg
 Български
 Català
 Чӑвашла
 Cebuano
 Česky
 Corsu
 Cymraeg
 Dansk
 Deitsch
 Deutsch
 ‫ސ‬ް ‫ބ‬ ަ ‫ިދ ެވ ިހ‬
 Diné bizaad
 Dolnoserbski
 ཇོང་ཁ
 Eesti
 Ελληνικά
 Emiliàn e rumagnòl
 Эрзянь
 Español
 Esperanto
 Estremeñu
 Euskara
 Eʋegbe
 ‫فارسی‬
 Fiji Hindi
 Føroyskt
 Français
 Frysk
 Fulfulde
 Furlan
 Gaeilge
 Gaelg
 Gagauz
 Gàidhlig
 Galego
 贛語
 ગુજરાતી
 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺
 Hak-kâ-fa
 Хальмг
 한국어
 ‫س‬
َ ‫هَ ُو‬
 Hawai`i
 Հայերեն
 हिन्दी
 Hornjoserbsce
 Hrvatski
 Ido
 Ilokano
 ইমার ঠার/বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া মণিপুরী
 Bahasa Indonesia
 Interlingua
 Interlingue
 Иронау
 isiZulu
 Íslenska
 Italiano
 ‫עברית‬
 Basa Jawa
 Kalaallisut
 ಕನ್ನಡ
 Kapampangan
 Къэбэрдеибзэ / Qabardjajəbza
 Къарачай-Малкъар
 ქართული
 कश्मीरी - (‫)كشميري‬
 Kaszëbsczi
 Қазақша
 Kernowek
 Kinyarwanda
 Кыргызча
 Kiswahili
 Коми
 Kongo
 Kreyòl ayisyen
 Kurdî
 Ladino
 ລາວ
 Latina
 Latgaļu
 Latviešu
 Lëtzebuergesch
 Lietuvių
 Líguru
 Limburgs
 Lingála
 Lojban
 Lumbaart
 Magyar
 Македонски
 Malagasy
 മലയാളം
 Malti
 Māori
 मराठी
 ‫مصرى‬
 ‫مازرونی‬
ِ
 Bahasa Melayu
 Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄
 Mirandés
 Мокшень
 Монгол
 မြန်မာဘာသာ
 Nāhuatl
 Dorerin Naoero
 Nederlands
 Nedersaksisch
 नेपाली
 日本語
 Nnapulitano
 Нохчийн
 Nordfriisk
 Norfuk / Pitkern
 Norsk (bokmål)
 Norsk (nynorsk)
 Nouormand
 Novial
 Occitan
 Олык Марий
 O'zbek
 Pälzisch
 ‫پنجابی‬
 Papiamentu
 Перем Коми
 ភាសាខ្មែរ
 Picard
 Piemontèis
 Tok Pisin
 Plattdüütsch
 Polski
 Ποντιακά
 Português
 Qaraqalpaqsha
 Qırımtatarca
 Reo Mā`ohi
 Română
 Romani
 Rumantsch
 Runa Simi
 Русиньскый
 Русский
 Саха тыла
 Sámegiella
 Gagana Samoa
 संस्कृत
 Sardu
 Scots
 Seeltersk
 Sesotho
 Shqip
 Sicilianu
 Simple English
 SiSwati
 Slovenčina
 Словѣ́ньскъ / ⰔⰎⰑⰂⰡⰐⰠⰔⰍⰟ
 Slovenščina
 Ślůnski
 Soomaaliga
 ‫کوردی‬
 Sranantongo
 Српски / Srpski
 Srpskohrvatski / Српскохрватски
 Basa Sunda
 Suomi
 Svenska
 Tagalog
 தமிழ்
 Taqbaylit
 Татарча/Tatarça
 తెలుగు
 Tetun
 ไทย
 Тоҷикӣ
 Türkçe
 Türkmençe
 Удмурт
 ᨅᨔ ᨕᨘᨁᨗ
 Українська
 ‫اردو‬
 ‫ ئۇيغۇرچە‬/ Uyghurche
 Vahcuengh
 Vèneto
 Tiếng Việt
 Volapük
 Võro
 Walon
 文言
 West-Vlams
 Winaray
 Wolof
 吴语
 ‫יי ִדיש‬
 Yorùbá
 粵語
 Zazaki
 Zeêuws
 Žemaitėška
 中文

 This page was last modified on 5 May 2011 at 06:56.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.
 Contact us
 Privacy policy
 About Wikipedia
 Disclaimers