JCALBernicotal2013_a.. - France

Geography and Climate

France is in Western Europe. France shares its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. France has two mountain ranges near its borders: the Alps in the east and the Pyrenees in the south. The climate of southern France is similar to Greece which both have Mediterranean climate. There are many river

History

Name The name "France" comes from the Latin word Francia ', which means "land of the Franks". Roman Gaul The borders of modern France are about the same as those of ancient Gaul. Celtic Gauls inhabited Ancient Gaul. Julius Caesar conquered Gaul for Rome in the 1st century BC. Eventually, the Gauls adopted Roman speech (Latin, from which the French language evolved) and Roman culture. Christianityfirst appeared in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It became firmly established by the fourth and fifth centuries. Franks In the 4th century AD, the Germanic tribes, principally the Franks invaded the Gauls. This is how the name Francie appeared. The modern name "France" comes from the name of the Capetian Kings of France around Paris. The Franks were the first tribe of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Christianity rather than Arianism. The French called themselves "the most Christian Kingdom of France". The Treaty of Verdun (843), divided Charlemagne's Empire into three parts.The biggest

Divisions

The 13 regions and 96 departments of metropolitan France include Corsica. France is divided into (administrative) regions: 1. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté 3. Brittany (Bretagne) 4. Centre-Val de Loire 5. Corsica (Corse) 6. Grand Est 7. Hauts-de-France 8. Île-de-France 9. Normandy (Normandie) 10. Nouvelle-Aquitaine 11. Occitanie 1

Government

The government of France is a semi-presidential system determined by the constitution of the French Fifth Republic. It provides for a separation of powers. The main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The constitution declares the nation to be "an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic". W

Military

The French armed forces has four branches: 1. The Armée de Terre(Army) 2. The Marine Nationale(Navy) 3. The Armée de l'Air(Air Force) 4. The Gendarmerie Nationale(a military force which acts as a National Rural Police) France has about 359,000 military personnel. France spends 2.6% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. This is the highest

Foreign Relations

France is a member of the United Nations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and has veto rights. It is also a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It hosts the headquarters of the OECD, UNESCO and Interpol. In 1953, the United Nations asked France to choose a coat of armsto represent them internationally. The

Economy

France is a member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries. France has the eighth-largest economy in the world by Gross domestic product (GDP) (which takes into account how much it costs to live in different countries and inflation rates). France and 11 other European Union members jointly launched the euroon 1 January 1999 and started

Demographics

On 1 January 2008, it was estimated that 63.8 million people live in France, including in the Overseas Regions of France.61,875,000 of these live in metropolitan France, the part of the country that is within Europe. simple.wikipedia.org

Culture

Language French is the official language of France. It belongs to the Romance language group, which includes Italian and Spanish. Many regional dialects are also used in France. Alsatian, a German dialect, is spoken in Alsace and in parts of Lorrainein eastern France. French was the language of diplomacy and culture in Europe between the 17th and 19th century and is still widely used. Some people in France also speak Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, German, Flemish, and Occitan. There is around 200,

France at the OlympicsFrance national football teamList of rivers of France simple.wikipedia.org