A country of Western Europe, France holds a prominent place in the continent's history, economy, and culture. France also is known for its scenic beauty: it has some of Europe's tallest mountains, most fertile river valleys, and most inviting beaches. The capital of France is Paris. GeographyFrance covers an area of 210,026 square miles (543,965 square kilometers). It is bordered on the northeast by Belgium and Luxembourg and on the east by Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. To south lie the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and Andorra. The Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay lie to the west, and the English Channel is to the northwest. The island of Corsica in the Mediterranean is a part of France. - A château, or mansion, built in 1532 stands in the Loire River valley in west-central France.
France's landscape varies from flat plains to high mountains. In the north and west lie the broad plains of the Seine and Loire river basins. In the far south and southeast are some of Europe's most impressive mountains. The French Alps begin at the Mediterranean Sea and extend northward before turning east and entering Switzerland and northern Italy. Their highest point is Mont Blanc, which rises 15,771 feet (4,807 meters). The Pyrenees Mountains lie between France and Spain. These mountains are not as high as the Alps. Most of France is drained by five major rivers and their tributaries. These rivers are the Seine, Loire, Rhine, Rhône, and Garonne. The climate of France differs across the country. The north has cool to cold winters, warm summers, and moderate rainfall. On the Mediterranean coast winters are sunny and it rarely rains in summer. The high peaks of the Alps are covered with snow year-round. Plants and animalsAbout one fourth of the land in France is covered with forests. The trees include pine, fir, ash, oak, beech, maple, chestnut, and olive. The country's wild animals and birds include foxes, beavers, wildcats, deer, wild pigs, hawks, flamingos, and storks. PeopleMost of the people are French, but the population also includes small numbers of people from other European countries and North Africa. The Basque people are a notable minority who live at the western end of the Pyrenees in France and Spain. They have their own ancient culture. About three fourths of the French people belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Other religious groups include Muslims, Protestants, and Jews. French is the country's official language and also one of the world's most widely spoken languages. People of different regions speak their own variations of French. Basque and Breton, a language spoken in the northwestern region called Brittany, are unique languages. CultureFrench literature, architecture, music, painting and sculpture, and food are famous throughout the world. Pierre Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, and Paul Gauguin are well-known names in the field of painting. Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were important philosophers, and Molière, Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, and Marcel Proust are famous names in literature. Music, ballet, photography, film, and other arts have also flourished in France. - The gardens of the palace in Versailles, France
- The Mediterranean Sea washes onto a pebble beach at Nice, a resort town in southeastern France.
A favorite destination for tourists, France offers many historical and cultural sites, artistic and architectural treasures, and recreational facilities. The capital city, Paris, has such world-famous structures as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and the Georges Pompidou Center. Cities such as Reims, Amiens, and Chartres have centuries-old cathedrals that draw many visitors. In addition, the palaces in Versailles, Vincennes, and Fontainebleau rank among the world's leading architectural masterpieces. The Mediterranean coast and the mountain regions have popular summer and winter resorts. EconomyFrance is one of the major economic powers of the world. The French economy is based largely on manufacturing and services. The major manufactured products include machinery, electronics, chemicals, automobiles, aircraft, iron and steel, textiles, and processed foods. Tourism and finance are important service industries. Agriculture employs less than 5 percent of the French workforce. Nevertheless, France is the leading agricultural country in Western Europe. France is a major producer of wheat, and its wines are among the finest in the world. France also exports many dairy products. Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry are raised. HistoryThe area that is now France has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archaeologists have found remains showing that people lived in the region more than 100,000 years ago. Historians believe that the Gauls, a Celtic people, migrated into the area in about 1200 BC. The region came to be known as Gaul. Greeks began settling in what is now southern France in about 600 BC. By about 50 BC the Romans had conquered Gaul and made it part of the Roman Empire. The Roman way of life spread among the Gauls. By the 4th century most of the Gauls had adopted Christianity. Frankish ruleAs the Roman Empire weakened, German tribes invaded Gaul and other parts of the Roman world. The strongest of these tribes was the Franks, who gave France its name. During the 6th century AD they took control of most of Gaul. The greatest Frankish ruler was Charlemagne, who came to power in 768. By the early 9th century Charlemagne's empire covered most of Western Europe. Charlemagne's death, however, led to the division of his empire into three parts. After 843 the western section became known as the kingdom of France. Conflict with EnglandFrench kings were weak until the reign of Philip II, which lasted from 1179 to 1223. He gradually reconquered French territories that had been held by the kings of England. The kings who followed Philip II added to France's territory. A long struggle between France and England known as the Hundred Years' War began in 1337. This war was brought about when the English king pressed his rights to the French crown. France was close to defeat before a peasant girl named Joan of Arc led the French army to victory. By the end of the war in 1453, the English had lost nearly all of their land in France. At the end of the 15th century France's boundaries were close to their modern locations. Religious warsDuring the 16th century Protestantism spread across France. This led to wars between Protestants (known as Huguenots) and Roman Catholics. Peace came when King Henry IV signed the Edict of Nantes in 1598, granting Protestants some rights. The French RevolutionDuring the 17th century France became the greatest power in Europe. Louis XIV, who reigned from 1643 to 1715, raised the power of the king to new heights. In the 18th century, however, France was defeated in a series of costly foreign wars. At home, political disorder and public anger resulted in the French Revolution in 1789. This uprising by the French people led to the downfall of the ancient French monarchy. After the revolution France became a republic. NapoleonAfter a period of weak government France fell into the hands of General Napoleon Bonaparte. He ruled from 1799 to 1814, naming himself emperor of France in 1804. Napoleon set out to make France the supreme nation in Europe through military conquests. He was finally defeated in 1815. Afterward the monarchy was restored, but the king had less power than he did earlier. In 1870–71 France was defeated in a war against Germany, leading to the fall of the monarchy once again. World warsFrance was invaded by Germany immediately after World War I broke out in 1914. It became the main battlefield of the war. Germany, led by the Nazis, invaded France again in 1940, during World War II. While occupied by Germany, France was led by a French government that worked with the Germans. Part of the French army escaped to England, however. They banded together under the title of the Free French with Gen. Charles de Gaulle as their leader. Allied and Free French forces drove the Germans out of France in 1944. Postwar FranceDemocracy was restored in France after the war. In the 1950s the government faced increasing opposition to French rule in its overseas colonies. French forces fought costly wars in Vietnam and Algeria. De Gaulle, who had briefly served as president of France after World War II, became president again in 1958. During his term most of France's colonies became independent. France emerged as a significant political and economic power in the years that followed. During the 1990s and into the 21st century, the French government moved toward unity with the rest of Europe. Population (2001 estimate), 59,090,000. |