FranceThe French Republic or France (French République Française or France), is a country located in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain.\nIt is a founding member of the European Union, a member of NATO, a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It holds nuclear weapons. \n
The departments are further subdivided into 342 arrondissements.
The overseas departments are former colonies outside France that now enjoy a status similar to European or metropolitan France. They are considered to be a part of France (and the EU) rather than 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 European territory or the EU fiscal area. They continue to use the French Pacific Franc as their currency, which was unaffected by the French franc's replacement by 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\nBassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, Tromelin Island. See Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Geography\nMain 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 Atlantic Ocean, 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 Massif Central or the Vosges mountains and extensive river basins such as those of the Loire River, the Rhone River, the Garonne and Seine.Economy\nMain article: Economy of France France's economy combines extensive private enterprise with substantial, but declining, government intervention. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe and, even after the loss of Algeria in the sixties, the French economy remains one of the most important and influential economies in the world. France also has a leading aerospace industry and is the only European power, after Russia, to have its own national space center. 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 the insurance, 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 is making efforts to integrate more and more with Germany, both economically and politically, to form what is today called Franco German locomotive that pushes the entire European Union to be the most industrialized and rich economic power of all times. This alliance is the basis of what is called the "core" countries in favour of greater integration of the European Union. See also: List of French companiesDemographics\nMain article: Demographics of France The official language is French, with several regional languages (including Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Dutch (Flemish), German (Alsatian), Occitan and Oïl languages), but the French government and school system discouraged the use of any of them until recently. The regional languages are now taught at some schools, though French remains the only official language in use by the government, local or national.Religion\nFollowing from the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, France guarantees freedom of religion as a constitutional right. A 1905 law instituted the separation of Church and State 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 support the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Calvinist Church and the Jewish religion and provided for public religious 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:\nRoman 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% "other religions" (except for Orthodox or Buddhist, which were negligible), 26% "no religion" and 1% declined to answer. The discrepancy between the number of "atheists" (41%) and the number of with "no religion" (26%) may be attributed to people who feel culturally close to a religion, follow its moral values and traditions, but hardly believe in God. In France, there is a strong gap between civilian life and religion. Religion is considered as private as possible. French people in general are opposed to clerical power and its influence in policy. Islamic fundamentalism is considered as a real threat for the cohesion of the French society where communitarism is not accepted. This had already occurred in the past with Catholics before the French Revolution in 1789. See also: Islam in France, laïcitéCulture\nMain article: Culture of FranceMiscellaneous topics\nDescription 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 of other 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\n486 (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\n(National Day), celebrating the Taking of the Bastille, July 14 (1789), often referred 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 tourist destination in France followed by the great châteaux of the Loire Valley. Principal cities include:
See also\n*Communications in France\n*Transportation in France\n*Fifteen largest French metropolitan areas by population\n*Military of France\n*Education in France\n*List of universities in France\n*Foreign relations of France\n*Tourism in France\n*French colonial empire\n*Marianne\n*List of French birdsInternational rankings
External links\n*Official site of the Office of the French President - The Elysée Palace\n*Official site of the Office of the French Prime Minister - Main governmental site\n*Assemblée Nationale - The French National Assembly\n*Sénat - The French Senate\n*Official site of the French public service - Contains many links to various administrations and institutions \n\n Category: EU countries \n\n\n\n\n\nals:Frankriich\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nnds:Frankriek\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nzh-cn:法国\nzh-tw:法國\nsimple:France\nCategory:Republics |
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"The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense." - Edsgar Dijkstra |
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