WELCOME TO
FRANCE!
France is a beautiful and captivating country known for its deep history, rich culture, and mouth watering cuisines. It is a popular tourist destination as people from all over the world travel to see the famous Eiffel Tower. France is one of Europe’s largest countries located in the western edge of Europe. It borders Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Monaco, and Andorra (C.I.A., 2023). The bodies of water around France include the English Channel, North Sea, Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic Ocean), and the Mediterranean Sea. In total France is around 501,500 sq km of land and water (C.I.A., 2023). The country is made up of 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions; its capitol is Paris.
History
The country of France emerged from the fragmentation of the larger Carolingian empire, when Hugh Capet became King of West Francia in 987. This kingdom consolidated power and expanded territorially, becoming known as “France.” Early wars were fought over land with English monarchs, including the Hundred Years War, then against the Habsburgs, especially after the latter inherited Spain and appeared to surround France. At one point France was closely associated with the Avignon Papacy, and experienced wars of religion after the Reformation between a twisting combination of Catholic and Protestant. French royal power reached its peak with the reign of Louis XIV (1642–1715), known as the Sun King, and French culture dominated Europe (Wilde, 2019).
Royal power collapsed fairly quickly after the financial excesses of Louis XIV and within a century France experienced the French Revolution, which began in 1789, overthrew the still-lavish spending Louis XVI (1754–1793) and established a republic. France now found itself fighting wars and exporting its world-changing events across Europe (Wilde, 2019).
The French Revolution was soon eclipsed by the imperial ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), and the ensuing Napoleonic Wars saw France first militarily dominate Europe, then be defeated. The monarchy was restored, but instability followed and a second republic, second empire and third republic followed in the nineteenth century. The early twentieth century was marked by two German invasions, in 1914 and 1940, and a return to a democratic republic after liberation. France is currently in its Fifth Republic, established in 1959 during upheavals in society (Wilde, 2019).
Climate
Natural Resources
The climate of France is generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral (C.I.A., 2023).
Natural resources include coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, arable land, fish; French Guiana: gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay (C.I.A., 2023).
Geography
France is located in Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain (C.I.A., 2023).
Government
French Republic
Semi-presidential republic
Population Demographics
Tourism
Population: 68,305,148 (2022 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian), Indochinese, Basque minorities
Languages: French (official) 100%, declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish, Occitan, Picard); overseas regions: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect)
Religion: Roman Catholic 47%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 2%, Buddhist 2%, Orthodox 1%, Jewish 1%, other 1%, none 33%, unspecified 9%
(C.I.A., 2023)
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Eiffel Tower
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Musée du Louvre
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Château de Versailles
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Provence
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Alsace Villages
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Prehistoric Cave Paintings in Lascaux
(Alexander, 2021)
References
Alexander, L. (2021). 15 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in France. Retrieved from https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/france-f.htm
Central Intelligence Agency. (2023). The World Factbook: France. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/france/#geography
Wilde, R. (2019). A Quick-Read Historical Profile of France. ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/france-a-historical-profile-1221301