France

France

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RÐ"©publique franÐ"§aise

French Republic

Flag of France

Flag Emblem of France

Emblem

Motto: LibertÐ"©, Ð"‰galitÐ"©, FraternitÐ"©

(French: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity")

Anthem(s): La Marseillaise

Location of France

Capital Paris

48Ð'o52′N 2Ð'o19.59′E

Largest city Paris

Official language(s) French

Government Unitary republic

- President Jacques Chirac

- Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin

Formation

- French State 843 (Treaty of Verdun)

- Current constitution 1958 (5th Republic)

Accession to EU March 25, 1957

Area

- Total 1 674,843 kmÐ'І (40th)

260,558 sq mi

- Metropolitan France 551,695 kmÐ'І 3 (47th)

213,010 sq mi

- Land area 2 543,965 kmÐ'І 4 (47th)

210,026 sq mi

Population

- 1 January 2006 est. 5

- Total1 63,587,700 (20th)

- Metropolitan France 61,044,684 (20th)

- Density 112/kmÐ'І (89th)

291/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate

- Total $1.830 trillion (7th)

- Per capita $29,316 (20th)

HDI (2003) 0.938 (16th) Ð'- high

Currency Euro (Ð'Ђ) 6, CFP Franc 7 (EUR, XPF)

Time zone CET 2 (UTC+1)

- Summer (DST) CEST 2 (UTC+2)

Internet TLD .fr 8

Calling code +33

1 Whole territory of the French Republic, including all the overseas departments and territories, but excluding the French territory of Terre AdÐ"©lie in Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.

2 Metropolitan (i.e. European) France only.

3 French National Geographic Institute data.

4 French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 kmÐ'І (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers.

5 Official INSEE source

6 Whole of the French Republic except the overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean.

7 French overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean only.

8 In addition to .fr, several other Internet TLDs are used in French overseas dÐ"©partements and territories: .re, .mq, .gp, .tf, .nc, .pf, .wf, .pm, .gf and .yt. France also uses .eu, shared with other members of the European Union.

Portal:France

France Portal

France (IPA: [fʁɑ̃s] in French), officially the French Republic (French: RÐ"©publique franÐ"§aise, IPA: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and which also comprises various overseas islands and territories located in other regions.[1] Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. French people often refer to Metropolitan France as L'Hexagone (The "Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory.

France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. In some of its overseas departments, France also shares land borders with Brazil, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. France is also linked to the United Kingdom via the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel (La Manche in French).

The French Republic is a democracy which is organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. It is a developed country with the sixth-largest economy in the world.[2] Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of La Francophonie, the G8, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also one of eight acknowledged nuclear powers. France is the most popular international tourist destination in the world, receiving over 75 million foreign tourists annually, followed by Spain (53 million), the U.S.A. (46 million) and China (41 million).[3] The name France originates from the Franks, a Germanic tribe that occupied the region after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. More precisely, the region around Paris, called Ð"Ћle-de-France, was the original French royal demesne.

Contents

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* 1 Geography

* 2 Contrast and diversity

* 3 History

o 3.1 Rome to Revolution

o 3.2 Monarchy to Modern France

* 4 Government and politics

* 5 Administrative divisions

* 6 Transportation