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France(france)The French Republic or France ( French : République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe , and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands andterritories located in North America , the Caribbean , South America , the western and southern Indian Ocean , the northern and southern Pacific Ocean , and Antarctica (sovereignty claims in Antarctica are not recognized by most countries, see Antarctic Treaty ). Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea , and from the Rhine River to the Atlantic Ocean ; it is bordered by the United Kingdom , Belgium , Luxembourg , Germany , Switzerland , Italy , Monaco , Andorra , and Spain . The French Republic alsoshares land borders overseas with Brazil , Suriname , and The Netherlands .
France is a democracy organized as a unitary semi-presidential republic . It is a developed nation whose economy is the fifth-largest in the world in 2003 . France is a founding member of the European Union , and its largestmember state with respect to land area. France is also a founding member of NATO and the UN , and a permanent member of the UN Security Council . It is one of only seven alleged nuclear powers on the planet. The French Republic is furthermore a member of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and of the Indian OceanCommission (InOC), and an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). France is also a leading member or the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF) which gathers 51 fully or partlyFrench-speaking countries. France hosts the headquarters of the OECD and UNESCO , as well as those of the International Bureau for Weights and Measures in charge of the international metric system .
HistoryMain article: History of France The borders of modern France closely match those of the ancient territory of Gaul ,inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people. Gaulwas conquered by the Romans in the first century BC, and the Gauls eventually adopted Romance speech and culture. Christianity also took root in the second and third centuries AD. Gaul'seastern frontiers along the Rhine were overrun by Germanic tribes in the fourth century AD, principally the Franks ,from which the ancient name of "Francie" derived, modern name "France" derives from the name of the feudal domain of the Capetian Kings of France around Paris (see now Île-de-France ). Although the French monarchy is often dated to the 5th century , France'scontinuous existence as a separate entity begins with the 9th-century division of Charlemagne 's Frankish empire into an eastern and a western part. Theeastern part can be regarded the beginnings of what is now Germany , the western partthat of France. Charlemagne's descendants ruled France until 987 , when Hugh Capet , Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France. His descendants, starting with the Capetian dynasty, ruled France until 1792 ,when the French Revolution established a Republic , in a period of increasingly radical change that began in 1789 . Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the republic in 1799 , making himself First Consul. His armies engaged in several wars across Europe,conquered many countries and established new kingdoms with Napoleon's family members at the helm. Following his defeat in 1815 , monarchial rule was restored to France, which was then legislatively abolished andfollowed by a Second Republic . The second republic ended when thelate Emperor's nephew, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was elected President and proclaimed a Second Empire . Lessambitious than his uncle, the second Napoleon was also ultimately unseated, and republican rule returned for a third time. Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II , France suffered extensive losses in its empire wealth, manpower, and rank as adominant nation-state. Since 1958 , it has constructed a presidential democracy (known asthe Fifth Republic ) that has not succumbed to the instabilitiesexperienced in earlier more parliamentary regimes. In recent decades, France's reconciliation and cooperation with Germany haveproved central to the economic integration of Europe , including the introduction of the Euro in January 1999 . Today, France is at the forefront of European states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to advance the creationof a more unified and capable European political, defense and security apparatus. It is also one of the five permanent members of the UNSecurity Council and holds nuclear weapons . PoliticsMain articles: Government of France (aboutgovernment structures) and Politics of France (about politicalgroups and tendencies). The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by publicreferendum on September 28 , 1958 . Itgreatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to Parliament. Under the constitution, the president is electeddirectly for a 5-year (originally 7-year) term. Presidential arbitration assures regular functioning of the public powers and thecontinuity of the state. The president names the prime minister, presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, andconcludes treaties. The National Assembly (AssembléeNationale) is the principal legislative body. Its deputies are directly elected to 5-year terms, and all seats are voted onin each election. The Assembly has the power to dismiss the cabinet, and thus the majority in the Assembly determines the choiceof government. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 6-year terms, and one half of the Senate is renewed every 3 years( starting 2007 ). The Senate 's legislative powers are limited; the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreementbetween the two houses, except for constitutional laws (amendements to the constitution & "lois organiques"). The governmenthas a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. French politics, for the past 30 years, have been characterized by the opposition of two political groups: one left-wing , centered around the French Socialist Party , and one right-wing ,centered around the RPR , then its successor the UMP . The Front National far-right party, advocating tougher law-and-order and immigration policies, hasmade inroads since the early 1980s and seems to remain stable at around 16% of thevotes. See also:
Administrative divisionsMain articles: Administrative divisions of France , List of regions in France France has 26 regions ( French : région), which are further subdivided into 100 départements . The departments are numbered (mainly alphabetically) and this number is used in e.g. postalcodes and vehicle number plates. The departments are further subdivided into 342 arrondissements . The overseas departments are former colonies outside France that now enjoy a status similar to European ormetropolitan France. They are considered to be a part of France (and the EU ) ratherthan dependent territories, and each of them is a region at the same time. The overseas territories and countries form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the Republic's Europeanterritory or the EU fiscal area. They continue to use the French Pacific Franc as their currency, which was unaffected by the French franc's replacementby the Euro in 2002 . The territorial collectivities have an intermediate status between overseas department and overseas territory. France also maintains control over a number of other small islands in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific , including Bassas da India , Clipperton Island , Europa Island , Glorioso Islands , Juan de Nova Island , Tromelin Island . See Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacificoceans . GeographyMain article: Geography of France France possesses a large variety of landscapes, ranging from coastal plains in the north and west, where France borders the North Sea and the AtlanticOcean , to the mountain ranges in the south (the Pyrenees ) and the southeast(the Alps ), of which the latter contains the highest point of Europe, the Mont Blanc at 4810 m. In between are found other elevated regions such as the MassifCentral or the Vosges mountains and extensive river basins suchas those of the Loire River , the Rhone River , the Garonne and Seine .
Maritime territory (EEZ)Due to its numerous overseas departments and territories scattered on all oceans of the planet, France possesses thesecond-largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 sq. miles), just behind the EEZ of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq. miles), but ahead of the EEZ of Australia (8,232,000 km² / 3,178,000 sq. miles). According to a different calculation cited by the PewResearch Center, the EEZ of France would be 10,084,201 km² (3,893,532 sq. miles),behind the United States (12,174,629 km² / 4,700,651 sq. miles), butahead of Australia (8,980,568 km² / 3,467,416 sq. miles) and Russia (7,566,673 km² / 2,921,508 sq. miles). The EEZ of France covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, whereas the land area of theFrench Republic is only 0.45% of the total land area of the Earth. EconomyMain article: Economy of France The economy of France, a highly diversified market economy with now only a handful of state-owned companies, is among the mostdeveloped ones, with large input of high technologies. It ranked as the fifth-largest in the world in 2003, behind the United States , Japan , Germany , and the UnitedKingdom . According to the WTO , in 2003 France was the fifth-largest exporter in merchandise tradein the world (behind the United States , Germany , Japan , and China , butahead of the United Kingdom ), and the fourth-largest importer (behindthe United States , Germany ,and China , but ahead of the UnitedKingdom and of Japan ). According to the OECD in 2003 France hosts the largest percentage of foreignerinternational investments ahead United States and Belgium and is also so far the more energetically independent country in the world thanks to its nuclearenergy production apparatus that makes France also the minor producer of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialized countries in the world. Accordingly, the standards ofliving in France are very high. France's economy combines extensive private enterprise with substantial, but declining, government intervention (see dirigisme ). Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, andsubsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe and, even after the loss of Algeria in the 1960s , the French economy remains oneof the most important and influential economies in the world. France also has a leading aerospace industry and is the onlyEuropean power to have its own national space center. With over 77 million tourists a year, far ahead Spain (51,7M) and United States (41,9M) France is ranked as the major tourist destination in the world, featuring cities of high cultural interest(Paris being the foremost), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts and rural regions thatmany enjoy for their calm. The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway,electricity, aircraft, and telecommunication firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s . The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Telecom , Air France , as well as theinsurance, banking, and defense industries. France joined 10 other EU members to launch the euro on January 1 , 1999 , with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc in early 2002 . Since the end of WWII the government made efforts to integrate more and more with Germany , both economically and politically, to form what is (as of 2004 )called Franco German locomotive that pushes theentire European Union to be the most industrialized and rich economicpower of all times. This alliance is the basis of what is called the "core" countries in favour of greater integration of theEuropean Union. See also: List of French companies DemographicsMain article: Demographics of France The official language is French, with several regionallanguages (including Basque , Breton , Catalan , Corsican , Dutch ( Flemish ), Alsatian , Occitan and Oïllanguages ), but the French government and school system discouraged the use of any of them until recently. The regionallanguages are now taught at some schools, though French remains the only official language in use by the government, local ornational. Historical population of metropolitan FrancePlease note:
Year Population Year Population Year Population 50 BC 6,700,000 1811 30,271,000 1896 40,158,000 0 8,000,000 1816 30,573,000 1901 40,681,000 400 12,200,000 1821 31,578,000 1906 41,067,000 850 7,000,000 1826 32,665,000 1911 41,415,000 1226 16,000,000 1831 33,595,000 1921 39,108,000 1345 20,200,000 1836 34,293,000 1926 40,581,000 1400 16,600,000 1841 34,911,000 1931 41,524,000 1457 19,700,000 1846 36,097,000 1936 41,502,000 1580 20,000,000 1851 36,472,000 1946 40,503,000 1594 18,500,000 1856 36,714,000 1954 42,777,000 1600 20,000,000 1861 37,386,000 1962 46,243,000 1670 18,000,000 1866 38,067,000 1968 49,778,000 1700 21,000,000 1872 37,653,000 1975 52,656,000 1715 19,200,000 1876 38,438,000 1982 54,335,000 1740 24,600,000 1881 39,239,000 1990 56,615,000 1801 29,361,000 1886 39,783,000 1999 58,519,000 1806 29,648,000 1891 39,947,000 2004 59,900,300 Starting around 1800 , the historical evolution of the population in France has beenextremely atypical in the Western World . Unlike the rest of Europe , France did not experience a strong population growth in the 19th century and first halfof the 20th century. The birth rate in France diminished much earlier than inthe rest of Europe. Consequently, population growth was quite slow in the 19th century, and the nadir was reached in the firsthalf of the 20th century when France, surrounded by the rapidly growing populations of Germany and the United Kingdom , experienced virtuallyzero growth. This, and the bloody losses in France's population due to the First World War , may explain the sudden collapse of France in 1940 during the Second World War . France was often perceived as acountry irremediably on the decline. At the time, theories based on races were quitepopular, and the dramatic demographic decline of France was often attributed (particularly in Nazi Germany, and also in some conservative circles in England and elsewhere) to the genetic characteristics of theFrench "race", a race destined to fail in the face of the Germanic and Anglo-Saxon races. These racial theories were ironicaly proven wrong right when theywere offered, as the population of French descent living in French Canada was in those days experiencing the fastest population growth that was ever achieved by any Caucasian people around the world (not even Russia in its wildestpopulation growth of the 19th century). To better understand the demographic decline of France, it should be noted that France was historically the largest nation ofEurope. During the 17th century one fifth of Europe’s population was French. Between 1815 and 2000 , if the population of France had grown at the same rate as thepopulation of Germany during the same time period, France's population would be 110million today. If it had grown at the same rate as England and Wales , France's population would be 150 million today. And if we start the comparison at the time of King Louis XIV (the Sun King), then France would have the same population as the United States ! This helps understand why France was so overwhelming inEurope at the time of Louis XIV or Napoleon , and it shows how much of a demographic decline the country experienced after 1800 . After 1945 however, France suddenly underwent a demographic recovery that no one couldhave foreseen. It is a fact that in the 1930s the French government, alarmed by the decline of France's population, had passedlaws to boost the birth rate, giving state benefits to families with children. Nonetheless, no one can quite satisfactorilyexplain this sudden and unexpected recovery in the demography of France, which was often portrayed as a "miracle" inside France.This demographic recovery was again atypical in the Western World , in thesense that although the rest of the Western World experienced a baby-boom immediately after the war, the baby boom in France wasmuch stronger, and above all it lasted longer than in the other countries of the Western World. In the 1950s and 1960s Franceenjoyed a population growth of 1% a year, which is the highest growth in the history of France, not even matched in the bestperiods of the 18th or 19th centuries! After 1975 , France's population growth has significantly diminished, being more in tunewith the rest of Europe , but it still remains slightly faster than in the rest ofEurope, and much faster than in the end of the 19th century or the first half of the 20th century. At the turn of the millennium,population growth in France is the fastest of Europe, matched only by Ireland and the Netherlands . However, it is significantly slower than in North America , where population trends have diverged from Europe after the1970s.
The ranking below will help understand the past, present, and future weight of France's population in Europe and in theworld:
ReligionFollowing from the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , France guarantees freedom of religion as a constitutional right. A 1905 lawinstituted the separation of Church andState and prohibited the government from recognizing, salarying or subsidizing any religion . In the preceding situation, established 1801 - 1808 of the Concordat , the State used to supportthe Roman Catholic Church , the Lutheran Church , the Calvinist Church and the Jewish religion and provided for publicreligious educations in those religions (for historical reasons, this situation is still current in Alsace-Moselle ). The French government does not keep statistics as to religion. The 2003 CIA World Factbook lists the religion of France as: Roman Catholic 83-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African workers) 5-10%, unaffiliated 4%. It is unclear where these numbers come from. However, in a 2003 poll 41%said that the existence of God was "excluded" or "unlikely". 33% declared that "atheist"described them rather or very well, and 51% for "Christian". When questioned about their religion, 62% answered Roman Catholic , 6% Muslim , 2% Protestant , 1% Jewish , 2% "otherreligions" (except for Orthodox or Buddhist , which were negligible), 26% "no religion" and 1% declined to answer. The discrepancy between thenumber of "atheists" (41%) and the number of with "no religion" (26%) may be attributed to people who feel culturally close to areligion, follow its moral values and traditions, but hardly believe in God . The French maintain a strong gap between civilian life and religion. Religion is considered as private as possible, communautarism is not sociallyaccepted. French people in general are opposed to clerical power and its influence in policy. Islamic fundamentalism is considered as a real threat for thecohesion of the French society. This echoes earlier quarrels with respect to the influence of the Catholic church in Frenchsociety ( clericalism vs laïcité ) and the influence of the Pope in French public affairs( gallicanism vs ultramontanism ). See also: Islam in France , laïcité CultureMain article: Culture of France
Miscellaneous topicsDescription of the flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the drapeau tricolore (Tricolor Flag); the design and colors are similar to a number ofother flags, including those of Belgium , Chad , Ireland , Côte d'Ivoire ,and Luxembourg ; the official flag for all French dependent areas The foundation of France may be dated to 486 (unified by Clovis I ). France's motto "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité" was first used as the rebels' motto during the French Revolution. The national holiday is the Fête Nationale (National Day), celebrating the Fête de la Fédération, July 14 , 1790 and not the taking of the Bastille ( July 14 , 1789 ) as is often mistakenly believed, even by a majority of the French, and is the reason why the holiday isreferred to as Bastille Day in English. The capital and most populous city, Paris , is home to the Eiffel Tower , a tower of girdered puddled iron constructed in 1889 . The Palace of Versailles is the number one touristdestination in France followed by the great châteaux of the Loire Valley . Principal cities include:
See also List of towns in France and List of fifteen largest French metropolitan areas by population See also
International rankings
External links
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