France

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Overview[]

France (French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz]), is a is a unitary sovereign state comprising bth of territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The country's home territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and also several overseas regions and territories like the Kerguelen Islands , with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans.

Motto: "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" (English: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity).
Anthem: "La Marseillaise".

The place[]

France, officially the French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic located mostly in Western Europe, with several overseas regions and territories. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. From its shape, it is often referred to in French as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon").

France is the largest country in Western Europe and the third-largest in Europe as a whole. It possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11.035 million sq km (4.26 million sq mi), just behind that of the United States. Its capital is Paris.. France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military, and political influence in Europe and around the world. France has its main ideals expressed in the 18th-century Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. From the 17th to the early 20th century, France built the second-largest colonial empire of the time, ruling large portions of first North America and India and then Northwest and Central Africa; Madagascar; Indochina and southeast China; and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions (five of which are situated overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million (as of October 2018).

France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice. The head of states in 2019 was President Emmanuel Macron.

History[]

History of US Relations with France[]

French and Indian War[]

Allies of the Revolution[]

Louisiana Purchase[]

Allies in the 1st and 2nd World Wars[]

During World War II, France was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940. By 1944, France was liberated. France once owned a large colonial empire which was mostly lost before the close of the 20th century.

Cold War[]

It was among the six founding members of the European Union.

Post cold War[]

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Economy[]

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Defence[]

The France is part of NATO.

Health care[]

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Transport[]

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The major cities in 2013[]

Paris (12,405,426 inh.),
Lyon (2,237,676),
Marseille (1,734,277),
Toulouse (1,291,517),
Bordeaux (1,178,335),
Lille (1,175,828),
Nice (1,004,826),
Nantes (908,815),
Strasbourg (773,447) and
Rennes (700,675).

French territorial Regions[]

File:Regions of France (2016),with departements.png

The 18 regions and 101 departments of France. Paris area is expanded (inset at upper left); overseas regions (lower left) not shown to scale.

France is mainly divided into 18 administrative regions: 13 regions in metropolitan France (including the territorial collectivity of Corsica). They are further subdivided into 101 departments of which five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs), enjoy exactly the same status as metropolitan departments and are an integral part of the European Union.

The 101 departments are subdivided into 335 arrondissements, which are, in turn, subdivided into 2,054 cantons that are then divided into 36,658 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. 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 boddy or person. The Arrondissements and cantons are merely unrepresented administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissements were territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these were suspended by the Vichy regime and definitely abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946.

The 18 regions of France (from January 2016):

French Spelling	English Spelling
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bretagne	Brittany
Bourgogne Franche-Comté
Centre Val de Loire
Corse	Corsica
Grand Est (temporarily Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine)	Grand East
Guyane	French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Île-de-France
Martinique
Mayotte
Normandie	Normandy
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Picardie
Nouvelle-Aquitaine (temporarily Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes)	New Aquitaine
Occitanie (temporarily Languedoc-Roussillon Midi-Pyrénées)	Occitania
Pays de la Loire
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Réunion

French overseas territories and collectivities[]

File:France-Constituent-Lands.png

The lands making up the French Republic, shown at the same geographic scale.

In addition to the 18 regions and 101 departments, the French Republic 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).

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 whose value is strictly linked to that of the euro. In contrast, the five overseas regions used the French franc and now use the euro.

Name	Constitutional status	Capital
Clipperton Island	State private property under the direct authority of the French government	Uninhabited
French Polynesia	Designated as an overseas land (pays d'outre-mer or POM), the status is the same as an overseas collectivity.	Papeete
French Southern and Antarctic Lands	Overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer or TOM)	Port-aux-Français
New Caledonia	Sui generis collectivity	Nouméa
Saint Barthélemy	Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM)	Gustavia
Saint Martin	Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM)	Marigot
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as a collectivité territoriale.	Saint-Pierre
Wallis and Futuna	Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as a territoire.	Mata-Utu

Disney theme parks[]

Disneyland Resort Paris.

Also see[]

Amoco Cadiz oil spill
Francois Fillon reportedly accepted ~€12,000 worth of suits from his supporters
Holographic Mélenchon
Perfidious Albion
The President of France
Vote blanc (France)
Haides missile
Pluton missile
European Union
Corsica
Euronews
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Martinique
Mayotte
Réunion
French Guiana