France

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French ( French: Ã, [f ??? s] ), officially French Republic (French: RÃÆ' Â © publique franÃÆ'§aise [? epyblik f ??? s? z] ), is a sovereign state whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe, as well as several regions and regions abroad. The French metropolitan area extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. Overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. 18 integral areas of the country (five of which are located abroad) cover a combined area of ​​643,801 square kilometers (248,573 sq. Million) and a total population of 67.15 million (as per October 2017). France is a semi-presidential republic along with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and major cultural and commercial center. Other major city centers include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

During the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France is inhabited by Gaul, the Celtic people. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, holding it until the arrival of the German Franks in 476, who formed the French Empire. France emerged as the main force of Europe in the late Middle Ages after its victory in the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a global colonial empire was established, which in the 20th century would become the second largest in the world. The 16th century was dominated by a civil war between Catholicism and Protestantism (Huguenots). France became the dominant cultural, political and military force of Europe under Louis XIV. At the end of the 18th century, the French Revolution overthrown an absolute monarchy, founded one of the most modern republics in history, and looked at the draft Declaration of Human Rights and Citizens, who expressed the nation's ideals to this day.

In the nineteenth century Napoleon took power and founded the First French Empire. The ensuing Napoleonic battle forms a continental European road. After the collapse of the Empire, France experienced a succession of successive governments that culminated with the founding of the Third Republic of France in 1870. France was a major participant in World War I, from which it emerged victorious, and was one of the Allied forces in World War II, but was under occupation by axis powers in 1940. After liberation in 1944, the Fourth Republic was established and subsequently dissolved in the Algerian War. The Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains today. Algeria and almost all other colonies became independent in the 1960s and typically maintained close economic and military ties with France.

France has long been a center of art, science, and global philosophy. It hosts the third largest UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world and leads the world in tourism, receiving approximately 83 million foreign visitors annually. France is a developed country with the seventh largest economy in the world with nominal GDP, and the ninth largest with parity purchasing power. In terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in the international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, and human development. France is globally regarded as a major force in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and be an official nuclear weapons state. It is a member country of the European Union and Eurozone. It is also a member of Group 7, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and La Francophonie.

Video France

Etymology

Originally applied to the entire Frankish Empire, the name "French" is derived from the Latin " Francia ", or "country of the clan Frank ". Modern French is still called today "Francia" in Italian and Spanish, "Frankreich" ("Frankish Empire") in German and "Frankrijk" in Dutch, all of which have a more or less the same historical meaning.

There are various theories about the origin of Frank's name. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, Frank's name has been associated with the word frank ( free ) in English. It has been suggested that the meaning of "free" is adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Frank is tax exempt. Another theory is that it comes from the Proto-Germanic word frankon, translated as lattice or lance as Frank's throwing ax is known as francisca. However, it has been determined that these weapons are named for their use by the Franks, not the other way around.

Maps France

History

Prehistory_.28before_the_6th_century_BC.29 "> Prehistory (before the 6th century BC)

The oldest traces of human life in what is now French date from about 1.8 million years ago. Humans are then confronted by a harsh and varied climate, characterized by several glacial eras.

Early hominids led the life of nomadic hunter-gatherers. France has a large number of caves decorated from the upper Palaeolithic era, including one of Lascaux's most famous and most well-preserved (about 18,000 BC).

At the end of the last glacial period (10,000 BC), the climate becomes lighter; from about 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered the Neolithic era and its inhabitants became inactive.

After strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millenniums, metallurgy emerged at the end of the 3rd millennium, which initially worked with gold, copper and bronze, and then iron. France has many megalithic sites from the Neolithic period, including the heavily populated Carnac stone site (about 3,300 BC).

Antiquity (6th century BC-5th))

In 600 BC, the Ionian Greeks, originating from Phocaea, established the Massalia colony (now Marseille), on the Mediterranean coast. This makes it the oldest city in France. At the same time, several Celtic Gallic tribes penetrated parts of France today, and this occupation spread throughout France between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC.

The concept of Gaul appeared at the time; it corresponds to the Celtic settlement region that ranges from Rhine, Atlantic Ocean, Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. The modern French border is roughly the same as the ancient Gaul, which is inhabited by Celtic Gaul . Gaul is a prosperous country, where the southernmost part is strongly influenced by the cultural and economic influence of Greece and Rome.

Around 390 BC the head of the Gallic tribe, Brennus and his troops marched to Italy past the Alps, defeated the Romans in the Battle of Allia, and besieged and redeemed Rome. The Gallic invasion left Rome weakened, and Gallic continued to harass the region until 345 BC when they entered into a formal peace treaty with Rome. But Rome and Galia will remain enemies for the next several centuries, and Gaul will continue to be a threat in Italy.

Around 125 BC, southern Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), which over time evolved into the name of Provence in French. Julius Caesar conquered the remnants of Gaul and overcame an uprising perpetrated by the head of the Galic tribe Vercingetorix in 52 BC. Gaul was shared by Augustus into the Roman provinces. Many cities were established during the Gallo-Roman period, including Lugdunum (now Lyon), which is considered the capital of Gaul. These cities are built in traditional Roman style, with forums, theaters, circuses, amphitheater, and hot springs. Gallic mingled with Roman settlers and eventually adopted Roman culture and Roman speech (Latin, from which French evolved). Roman polytheism joined the paganism of Galia into the same syncretism.

From the 250s to the 280s, Roman Gaul suffered a serious crisis with his fortified border being attacked several times by barbarians. However, the situation improved in the first half of the 4th century, which is the period of resurrection and prosperity for Roman Gaul. In 312, Emperor Constantin I converted to Christianity. Subsequently, Christians, who had been persecuted up to that point, rose rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. But, from the beginning of the 5th century, the Barbarian Invasions returned, and German tribes, such as Vandals, Suebis and Alans crossed the Rhine and settled in Gaul, Spain and other parts of the collapsing Roman Empire.

At the end of the Antiquity period, the ancient Gaul was divided into several German kingdoms and the remaining Gallo-Roman territory, known as the Shiagrius Kingdom. Simultaneously, the Celtic Britons, fleeing from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of England, settled in the western part of Armorica. As a result, the Armorika peninsula was renamed to Brittany, the Celtic culture revived and an independent small empire emerged in the region.

The pagan Frank, from whom the ancient name "Francie" originated, originally settled in the northern part of Gaul, but under Clovis I conquered most of the other kingdoms in the north and central Gaul. In 498, Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Catholicism, rather than Arianism; so that France was given the title of "First Daughters of the Church" ( French: La fille aÃÆ'®nÃÆ' Â © e de l'ÃÆ'â € glise ) by papacy , and the kings of France will be called "The Greatest Christian Kings in France" ( Rex Christianissimus ).

The Franks embraced the Gallo-Roman culture of Christianity and the ancient Gaul finally changed its name to Francia ("The Land of the Franks"). Germanic Franks adopted the Roman language, except in northern Gaul where the Roman settlement was less dense and where the German language appeared. Clovis made Paris his capital and founded the Merovingian dynasty, but his kingdom would not have survived his death. The Frank family treats pure land as private property and divides it among their heirs, so the four kingdoms emerge from Clovis: Paris, Orlà © ans, Soissons, and Rheims. The last Merovingian kings lost power to the mayor of the palace (head of the household). One of the court mayors, Charles Martel, defeated the Islamic invasion of Gaul at the Battle of Tours (732) and gained the respect and power in the Frankish kingdoms. His son Pepin the Short seized the Francia crown from the weak Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. The son of Pepin, Charlemagne, reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built a vast empire throughout Western and Central Europe.

Proclaiming the Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thereby establishing the historical relations of the old French government with the Catholic Church, Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and cultural grandeur. The son of Charlemagne, Louis I (emperor 814-840), made the empire united; However, this Carolingian Empire will not survive his death. In 843, under the Verdun Treaty, the empire was divided between the three sons of Louis, with East Francia going to Louis Germany, Central Francia to Lothair I, and Western Francia to Charles the Bald. Western Francia predicted the occupied area, and was a precursor, to modern France.

During the 9th and 10th centuries, constantly threatened by the Viking invasion, France became a highly decentralized state: titles and noble lands became hereditary, and the king's authority became more religious than secular and thus less effective and constantly challenged by powerful nobles. Thus founded feudalism in France. Over time, some followers of the king will become so strong that it often becomes a threat to the king. For example, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror added "King of England" to his title, became a subordinate (as Duke of Normandy) and equivalent to (as king of England) the French king, creating recurring tension.

End of the Middle Ages (15th-15th century)

The Carolingian Dynasty governed France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Prince of Paris, were crowned as Frankish Kings. His descendants - Capetians, House of Valois, and House of Bourbon - progressively united the country through war and dynastic legacy into the French Empire, fully declared in 1190 by Philip II Augustus. The French nobles played an important role in most of the Crusades to restore Christian access to the Holy Land. French knights became the largest part of the flow of reinforcements throughout the two hundred-year Crusade range, in such a way that the Arabs uniformly referred to the crusaders as Franj somewhat concerned about whether they were actually from France. The French Crusaders also imported French into the Levant, making France the basis of the lingua franca (litt. "Frank language") of the Crusader states. French knights also became the majority in both Hospital and Temple orders. The latter, in particular, held many properties throughout France and in the 13th century was the principal banker for the French crown, until Philip IV annihilated orders in 1307. The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eradicate the heretical frogs in the southwest. from modern France. Eventually, the Cathars were annihilated and the autonomous region of Toulouse annexed to the French crownlands. Later the king expanded their domain to cover more than half of modern French continents, including mostly to the north, central and western France. Meanwhile, the authority of the kingdom becomes more and more assertive, centered on a society that hierarchically distinguishes nobles, priests, and commoners.

Charles IV the Fair died without an heir in 1328. Under the rule of Salic law, the French crown could not pass to women or the line of kings could cross the women's line. Thus, the crown was handed over to Philip of Valois, Charles's cousin, rather than through the female line to Charles's nephew, Edward, who would soon become Edward III of England. During the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power. Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of Black Death, Britain and France went to war in what is known as the Hundred Years War. The precise boundaries changed considerably over time, but the French landholdings of the British Kings remained broad for decades. With charismatic leaders, like Joan of Arc and La Hire, the strong French counter-attack won back the continent of England. Like other parts of Europe, the French were attacked by the Black Death; half of the 17 million French citizens die.

Early modern period (15th-17th century)

Main articles: French Renaissance (c 1400-c. 1650), Early modern French (1500-1789), French Religious War (1562-1598) and Ancien RÃÆ'Â © gime (c. 1400-1792)

The French Renaissance sees the spectacular cultural developments and the first standardization of the French language, which will become the official language of French and European aristocratic languages. He also saw a series of long wars, known as the Italian War, between France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Refusing to accept the claim of Spanish-Portuguese supremacy in the New World, King Francis I ordered his passengers to sail against his rival King Charles V, who ruled as Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to 1556. The emperor's territory was extended from Spain to part of what is now Italy , Austria, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed land in America for France, paved the way for the expansion of the First French colonial kingdom. The advent of Protestantism in Europe led to France becoming a civil war known as the French War of Religion, where, in the most famous incident, thousands of Huguenots were killed in the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day in 1572. The War of Religion ended with the Edict of Nantes Henry IV, religion to the Huguenots.

Under Louis XIII, the energetic Cardinal Richelieu promoted the centralization of the state and strengthened royal power by paralyzing the holders of domestic power in the 1620s. He systematically destroyed the palaces of the nobles who opposed and denounced the use of personal violence (dueling, carrying weapons, and retaining private armies). In the late 1620s, Richelieu established a "monopoly of royal power" as a doctrine. During Louis XIV's minority and Queen Anne district and Cardinal Mazarin, the period of trouble known as Fronde took place in France, which at that time was at war with Spain. The revolt was driven by feudal rulers and sovereign courts in reaction to the emergence of the absolute power of the kingdom in France.

The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By transforming the feudal lords into a palace at the Palace of Versailles, the personal power of Louis XIV becomes unmatched. Recalled by his many wars, he made France a leading European force. France became the most populous country in Europe and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy and culture. French became the language most often used in diplomacy, science, literature and international relations, and remained so until the twentieth century. France gained many treasures abroad in America, Africa and Asia. Louis XIV also revoked the Tale of Nantes, forcing thousands of Huguenots into exile.

Under Louis XV, the great-grandson of Louis XIV, France lost New France and most of its wealth in India after its defeat in the Seven Years War, which ended in 1763. However, the European region continued to grow, with famous acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica ( 1770). An unpopular king, a weak Louis XV government, his improper financial, political and military decisions - and palace feasts - discredited the monarchy, which assuredly paved the way for the French Revolution 15 years after his death.

Louis XVI, the grandson of Louis XV, actively supported the Americans, who sought their independence from the United Kingdom (realized in the Treaty of Paris (1783)). The financial crisis that followed French involvement in the American Revolutionary War was one of the many factors that contributed to the French Revolution. Much of the Enlightenment took place among French intellectuals, and major scientific and inventive breakthroughs, such as the invention of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were attained by French scientists. French explorers, like Bougainville and LapÃÆ' Â © rouse, took part in a scientific exploration journey through maritime expeditions around the world. The Philosophy of Enlightenment, in which reason is advocated as a primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermines the strength and support for the monarchy and helps pave the way for the French Revolution.

Revolutionary France (1789-1799)

Faced with financial problems, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General (collecting three natural territories) in May 1789 to propose a solution to his rule. When deadlocked, representatives of the Third Estate were formed into the National Assembly, signaling the outbreak of the French Revolution. Fearing that the king would press for the newly formed National Assembly, the rebels invaded the Bastille on July 14, 1789, the date that would be France's National Day.

In early August 1789, the National Constituent Assembly abolished the privileges of the nobility such as private slavery and exclusive hunting rights. Through the Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights (August 27, 1789), France established basic rights for men. The Declaration affirms "natural and impenetrable human rights" to "freedom, property, security, and resistance to oppression". Freedom of speech and press were announced, and arbitrary arrests were forbidden. It calls for the destruction of aristocratic privileges and proclaims the freedom and equality of rights for all, as well as access to public office on talent rather than birth.

In November 1789, the Assembly decided to nationalize and sell all the property of the Roman Catholic Church who had become the largest landowner in the country. In July 1790, the Cister Constitution reorganized the French Catholic Church, canceled the Church's authority to levy taxes, and so on. This sparked much dissatisfaction in some parts of France, which would contribute to the outbreak of civil war a few years later. While King Louis XVI still enjoys popularity among the inhabitants, his catastrophic flight to Varennes (June 1791) seems to justify the rumor that he has attributed his hopes for political salvation to the prospect of a foreign invasion. His credibility was so destructed that the abolition of the monarchy and the formation of the republic became an increasing possibility.

In August 1791, the Austrian Emperor and the Prussian King in the Pillnitz Declaration threatened revolutionary France to intervene with the armed forces to restore France's absolute monarchy. In September 1791, the National Constituent Assembly forced King Louis XVI to accept the French Constitution of 1791, thus transforming France's absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. In the newly formed Legislative Assembly (October 1791), hostilities developed and deepened among the group, later called 'Girondin', who liked the war with Austria and Prussia, and the group later called 'Montagnard' or 'Jacobin', who opposed the war. But the majority in the Assembly in 1792 saw the war with Austria and Prussia as an opportunity to increase the popularity of the revolutionary government, and thought that France would win the war against the gathered monarchy. On April 20, 1792, therefore, they declared war on Austria.

On August 10, 1792, an angry mob threatened the palace of King Louis XVI, who took refuge in the Legislative Assembly. A Prussian army invaded France in August 1792. In early September, the Parisians, angered by Prussian soldiers who arrested Verdun and a counter-revolutionary rebellion in western France, killed between 1,000 and 1,500 prisoners by robbing the Paris prison. The assembly and the council of Paris seem unable to stop the bloodshed. The National Convention, elected in the first election under universal male suffrage, on 20 September 1792 replaced the Legislative Assembly and on 21 September abolished the monarchy by proclaiming the First Republic of France. Former Louis XVI king was convicted of treason and guillotined in January 1793. France had declared war on Britain and the Dutch Republic in November 1792 and did the same in Spain in March 1793; in the spring of 1793, Austria, Great Britain and the Dutch Republic invaded France; in March, France created a "republican sister" in the "Republic of Mainz".

Also in March 1793, the civil war of Vendà © against Paris began, aroused by the Cister Constitution of the Priest in 1790 and the national army conscription in early 1793; elsewhere in France, rebellion also took place. A factional feud within the National Convention, smoldering since October 1791, climaxed with the 'Girondin' group on 2 June 1793 forced to resign and leave the Convention. Counter-revolution, beginning in March 1793 at Venden, in July has spread to Brittany, Normandy, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Toulon, Lyon. The government of the Paris Convention between October and December 1793 with brutal action succeeded in subjugating most of the internal insurgency, at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. Some historians consider the civil war to have existed until 1796 with a possible 450,000 casualties. France in February 1794 abolished slavery in his colonies in America, but would reintroduce it later.

Political disagreements and hostilities in the National Convention between October 1793 and July 1794 reached an unprecedented level, causing dozens of members of the Convention to be sentenced to death and beheaded. Meanwhile, the outer war of France in 1794 would be prosperous, for example in Belgium. In 1795, the government appeared to be returning to ignorance of the desires and needs of the lower classes on religious freedom (Catholicism) and the distribution of fair food. Until 1799, politicians, in addition to creating a new parliamentary system ('Directory'), busied themselves by persuading people from Catholicism and from royalism. Napoleon and the 19th century (1799-1914)

Napoleon Bonaparte controlled the Republic in 1799 as the First Consul and then the Emperor of the French Empire (1804-1814/1815). As a continuation of the war sparked by the European monarchy against the French Republic, changing sets of the European Coalition declared war on the Napoleonic Empire. His troops conquered most of the European continent with quick wins such as the Jena-Auerstadt or Austerlitz battles. The members of the Bonaparte family were appointed king in several newly established kingdoms. These victories led to the expansion of French revolutionary ideas and reforms, such as the Metric system, the Napoleonic Code, and the Declaration of Human Rights. After the devastating Russian campaign, and the subsequent uprising of the European monarchy against his rule, Napoleon was defeated and the Bourbon monarchy restored. About one million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars. After a brief return from exile, Napoleon was eventually defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, a re-established monarchy (1815-1830), with new constitutional constraints.

The discredited Bourbon Dynasty was overthrown by the July Revolution of 1830, which constituted a constitutional monarchy in July. That year, French troops conquered Algeria, building the first colonial presence in Africa since Napoleon's failed invasion of Egypt in 1798. According to the historian Ben Kiernan, the conquest and mastery of France from Algeria from 1830 to the beginning of the 20th century massacred 825,000 Algerians. France's loss from 1831-51 was 3,336 killed in action and 92,329 were killed in hospital.

In 1848 the general unrest led to the February Revolution and the end of the July Monarchy. The abolition of slavery and universal male suffrage, both briefly endorsed during the French Revolution re-enacted in 1848. In 1852, the president of the French Republic, Louis-Napolà © to Bonaparte, Napoleon I's nephew, was proclaimed the second emperor of the Empire, as Napoleon III. He redoubled French intervention abroad, especially in the Crimea, in Mexico and Italy which resulted in the annexation of the Savoy and Nice districts, which later became part of the Sardinian Kingdom. Napoleon III suffered defeat after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and its regime was replaced by the Third Republic.

France has colonial treasures, in various forms, since the early seventeenth century, but in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, its global overseas colonial empire expanded and became the second largest in the world behind the British Empire. Including metropolitan France, total land area under French sovereignty nearly reached 13 million square kilometers in the 1920s and 1930s, 8.6% of the world's landmass. Known as Belle ÃÆ'â € poque , the turn of the century is a period characterized by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity and technological, scientific and cultural innovation. In 1905, state secularism was formally established.

The French conquest of Morocco is one of the longest and heaviest in the history of European colonialism. The French historian Daniel Rivet places the level of casualties among Moroccans who reject the French occupation of 100,000.

Contemporary period (1914-present)

France was a member of the Triple Entente when World War I broke out. A small part of Northern France was occupied, but France and its allies emerged victorious against the Central Bloc at a tremendous human and material cost. World War I killed 1.4 million French soldiers, 4% of the population. Between 27 and 30% of soldiers prosecuted from 1912-1915 were killed. The interbellum years were marked by intense international tension and various social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government (annual leave, eight hours of work, women in government, etc...).

In 1940, France was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. The French Metropolitan is divided into the German occupation zone in the north and Vichy France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, to the south, while Free France, a government in exile headed by Charles de Gaulle, was established in London. From 1942 to 1944, about 160,000 French citizens, including some 75,000 Jews, were deported to death camps and concentration camps in Germany and occupied Poland. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded Normandy and in August they attacked Provence. During the following year, the Allies and the French Resistance emerged as the winners of the Axis powers and French sovereignty was restored by the establishment of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF). This provisional government, formed by de Gaulle, aims to continue waging war against Germany and clearing collaborators from the office. It also made some important reforms (extended voting rights for women, the creation of social security systems). GPRF laid the groundwork for a new constitutional order that produced the Fourth Republic, which saw spectacular economic growth ( les Trente Glorieuses ). France is one of the founding members of NATO (1949).

On May 8, 1945, when the Liberation was celebrated in France, a peaceful demonstration in SÃÆ'  © tif, in eastern Algeria, was severely suppressed. More than 40,000 Algerians are victims of shootings and strikes, from planes, and armed cars. At the end of the same month, France bombarded Damascus, killing hundreds of people. The bombing of Haiphong on November 23, 1946 killed about 6,000. Between March 1947 and September 1948, the electoral victories of independence supporters in Madagascar were followed by brutal suppression by the French army (18,000, mostly Senegalese, troops), resulting in some 90,000 deaths. About 200 civilians who demonstrated for independence were assassinated by French (mostly Senegalese) troops in Casablanca, Morocco, on 7-8 April 1947. In Cameroon, a radical nationalist movement for independence, Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), was forced underground and engaged in guerrilla warfare against the French administration. The subsequent oppression of the French army and paramilitary forces took shape, during 1958-1960, the scorched earth policy, in which all of South-central and western Cameroon villages in Bassa and Bamilà ©  © burned flat with land, yielding between 60,000 and 100,000 deaths.

The French sought to regain control over the French Indochina but were defeated by the Viet Minh in 1954 at the Climactic Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Just a few months later, France faced another anti-colonialist conflict in Algeria. Torture and illegal execution were carried out by both parties and the debate over whether or not to remain in control of Algeria, then home to over a million European settlers, destroying the country and virtually causing coups and civil wars. In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which included a strengthened Presidency. In the last role, Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the Algerian war. Despite his military victory, France gave independence to Algeria. The war demanded heavy human casualties among Algerians. This resulted in about 500,000 deaths and 2,137,000 Algerian refugees. A remnant of the colonial empire was the French department and territory abroad.

In the context of the Cold War, de Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence" against the Western and Eastern blocs. To this end, he resigned from the NATO military integrated command, he launched a nuclear development program and made France the fourth nuclear power. He restored Franco-German friendly relations in order to create a European counterweight between the influence of America and the Soviet Union. However, he opposes every supranational European development, which supports Europe from sovereign nations. After a series of worldwide protests in 1968, the May 1968 uprising had a huge social impact. In France, this is considered a defining moment when the conservative moral ideals (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shift toward more liberal moral ideals (secularism, individualism, sexual revolution). Although the rebellion was a political failure (since the Gaullist party emerged even stronger than before) it declared a split between the French and de Gaulle who resigned shortly afterwards.

In the post-Gaucis era, France remained one of the most developed countries in the World, but faced several economic crises that resulted in high unemployment and rising public debt. At the end of the 20th and early 21st centuries France has been at the forefront of supranational EU development, especially by signing the Maastricht Treaty (which created the European Union) in 1992, establishing the Euro Zone in 1999, and signing the Lisbon Treaty. in 2007. France is also gradually but fully reintegrated into NATO and has since participated in most of the NATO-sponsored wars.

Since the 19th century France has received many immigrants. These are mostly male foreign workers from European Catholic countries who generally return home when not working. During the 1970s, France faced an economic crisis and allowed new immigrants (mostly from the Maghreb) to settle permanently in France with their families and to earn French citizenship. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of Muslims (especially in big cities) living in subsidized public housing and suffering from very high unemployment rates. At the same time the French abandoned the assimilation of immigrants, where they were expected to adhere to traditional French values ​​and cultural norms. They are encouraged to maintain their distinctive culture and traditions and only need to be integrated.

Since 1995 Paris MÃÆ'Â © tro and the RER bombings, France has been sporadically targeted by Islamist organizations, particularly the attack of Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 which provoked the largest public rally in French history, collecting 4.4 million people, November 2015 attack on Paris which resulted in 130 deaths, the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II, and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid railway bombings in 2004 and the Nice 2016 attacks that left 87 people dead during Bastille Day celebrations.

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Geography

Location and limit

Most of France's territory and population is located in Western Europe and is called the Metropolitan of France, to distinguish it from various countries abroad. It borders the North Sea to the north, the English Channel to the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the southeast. The land boundaries consist of Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the southeast, and Andorra and Spain to the south and southwest. With the exception of the northeast, most of France's land borders are roughly portrayed by natural boundaries and geographic features: to the south and southeast, the Pyrenees and the Alps and Jurassic, respectively, and to the east, the Rhine. Because of its form, France is often referred to as l'hexagone ("The Hexagon"). Metropolitan France covers various coastal islands, the largest being Corsica. Metropolitan France lies mostly between latitude 41 Â ° and 51 Â ° N, and longitude 6 Â ° W and 10 Â ° E, on the western edge of Europe, and thus located in the northern temperate zone. Its land portion covers about 1000 km from north to south and from east to west.

France has several overseas territories around the world, held together differently:

• In South America: French Guiana.
• In the Atlantic Ocean: Saint Pierre and Miquelon and, in Antilles: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, and Saint BarthÃÆ' © lemy.
• In the Pacific Ocean: French Polynesia, special collectivities of New Caledonia, Wallis, and Futuna Island and Clipperton.
• In the Indian Ocean: RÃÆ'Â Â union Island, Mayotte, Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Islands, St. Paul and the islands of Amsterdam, and the Spread Isles of the Indian Ocean
• In Antarctica: AdÃÆ' Â © lie Land.

France has a land border with Brazil and Suriname through French Guiana and with the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the French part of Saint Martin.

Metropolitan France covers 551,500 square kilometers (212,935 sq. Million), the largest among EU members. The total area of ​​France, with its departments and overseas territories (excluding Landon Land), is 643,801 km ² (248,573 sq. Million), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. France has a variety of landscapes, from the coastal plains in the north and west to the Alps in the southeast, the Massif Central in the south and the Pyrenees in the southwest.

Due to the large number of overseas departments and regions scattered throughout the planet, France has the second largest Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEE) in the world, covering 11,035,000 km ² (4.260.000 mi ^{2 ), just behind ZEE USA (11,351,000 km 2 /4.383.000 <2>} ), but ahead of ZEE Australia (8,148,250 km) ² /4,111,312Ã, noodles ² ). The ZEE covers about 8% of the total surface of all the world's ZEE.

Geology, topography, and hydrography

Metropolitan France has a variety of topography and landscapes. Much of France is currently raised for several tectonic episodes such as Hercynian's appointment in the Paleozoic Era, where Armorican Massif, Massif Central, massif Morvan, Vosges and Ardennes, and the island of Corsica were formed. This massif describes some sedimentary basins such as Aquitaine basin in the southwest and the Paris basin to the north, the latter including some very fertile soil areas such as Beauce and Brie mud beds. Various natural travel routes, such as the RhÃÆ'Â'ne valley, allow for easy communication. The Alps, Pyrenean and Jura are much younger and have less eroded shapes. At 4,810.45 meters (15,782 feet) above sea level, Mont Blanc, located in the Alps on the border of France and Italy, is the highest point in Western Europe. Although 60% of municipalities are classified as having seismic risk, this risk remains moderate. The coastline offers a contrasting view: mountains along the French Riviera, beach cliffs such as CÃÆ'Â'te d'AlbÃÆ' ¢ tre, and vast sandy terrain in the Languedoc. Corsica is located off the Mediterranean coast. France has a vast river system consisting of four major rivers Seine, Loire, Garonne, RhÃÆ'Â'ne and their tributaries, whose combined catch accounts for more than 62% of the metropolitan area. RhÃÆ'Â'ne divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. Other streams flow into the Meuse and Rhine along the northeastern border. France has 11 million square kilometers (4.2 ÃÆ'â € 10 ^ ⁶ sq mi) of ocean waters in three oceans under its jurisdiction, of which 97% are abroad.

Climate

Most of the French metropolitan lowland areas are located in the ocean climate zone, Cfb and Cfc in the KÃÆ'¶ppen classification. Corsica and a small part of the territory adjacent to the Mediterranean basin are located in the Csa and Csb zones. Since the French metropolitan area is relatively large, the climate is not uniform, giving rise to the following climate nuances:

• The western part of France has a strictly oceanic climate (Cfb) Ã, - it extends from Flanders to the Basque Country on the coastal route several tens of kilometers wide, narrow to north and south but wider in Brittany, which is almost entirely in this climate zone.
  • The Southwest climate is also oceanic but warmer.
  • The climate in the Northwest is ocean but cooler and breezy.
  • Away from shore, the climate is oceans throughout but its characteristics are somewhat altered. The Paris sediment basin and, moreover, the mountain-protected hollows show stronger seasonal temperature variability and less rain during autumn and winter. Therefore, most areas have a semi-oceanic climate and form a transition zone between a strict ocean climate near the coast and other climatic zones.
• The semi-continental climate (Dfa) in the north and middle-east (Alsace, SaÃÆ'Â'ne plain, the central part of RhÃÆ'Â'ne, DauphinÃÆ'Â ©, Auvergne and Savoy).
• The Mediterranean Sea and the lower RhÃÆ'Â'ne valley experience a Mediterranean climate (Csa and Csb) due to the influence of mountain chains that isolate them from other parts of the country and the resulting Mistral and Tramontane winds.
• Mountain (or alpine) climates (Dfc and ET) are confined to the Alps, Pyrenees and the summit of the Massif Central, Jurassic and Vosges.
• In foreign countries, there are three broad types of climate:
  • Tropical climate (Am) in most overseas territories including eastern French Guyana: constant high temperatures throughout the year with wet and dry seasons.
  • Equatorial Climate (Af) in western French Guyana: high constant temperature with uniform rainfall throughout the year.
  • Subpolar climate (Et) in Saint Pierre and Miquelon and in much of the Southern and Antarctic Territories of France: short summers and very cold winters.

Environment

France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971. Although it is one of the most developed countries in the world, France is ranked 17th with carbon dioxide emissions, behind less populous countries such as Canada or Australia. This is because France decided to invest in nuclear power after the 1973 oil crisis, which now accounts for 75% of its electricity production and produces less pollution.

Like all EU members, France agreed to reduce carbon emissions by at least 20% from 1990 levels by 2020, compared with a US plan to reduce emissions by 4% from 1990 levels. In 2009, France's carbon dioxide emissions per capita were lower than China's. The country is set to impose a 2009 carbon tax of 17 euros per ton of emitted carbon, which will raise revenues of 4 billion euros annually. However, the plan was abandoned because of concerns weighing on French business.

The forest covers 28% of the land area of ​​France, and is some of the most diverse in Europe, comprising over 140 species of trees. There are nine national parks and 46 natural parks in France, with the government planning to turn its 20% Exclusive Economic Zone into a Marine Protected Area by 2020. A regional natural park (France: paris naturel rà sp or a PNR) is a public company in France between the local government and the French national government that includes rural areas inhabited with extraordinary beauty, to protect the landscape and heritage as well as the regulation of sustainable economic development in the region the. PNR establishes the goals and guidelines for human residence being managed, sustainable economic development, and protection of the natural environment based on the landscape and unique heritage of each park. The gardens encourage ecological research and public education programs in the natural sciences. In 2014 there are 49 PNRs in France.

According to the Environment Performance Index 2016 conducted by Yale and Columbia, France is the most environmentally conscious country in the world.

Administrative division

The French Republic is divided into 18 regions (located in Europe and abroad), five overseas collectivities, one overseas territory, one special collectivity - New Caledonia and one uninhabited island directly under the authority of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs - Clipperton.

Territory

Since 2016 France is mainly divided into 18 administrative regions: 13 areas of metropolitan France (including Corsica's territorial collectivity), and five located overseas. The area is further divided into 101 departments, which are numbered primarily alphabetically. This number is used in zip code and previously used on vehicle license plate. Among the 101 French departments, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and RÃ © Å ©) are in foreign territory (ROM) as well as foreign departments (DOM), enjoying exactly the same status as metropolitan departments and sections integrals of the EU.

101 departments are divided into 335 arrondissements, which, in turn, are subdivided into 2,054 cantons. The canton is then divided into 36,658 communes, which are municipalities with elected city councils. The three communes - Paris, Lyon, and Marseille - are divided into 45 city arrondissements.

Areas, departments and communes are known as territorial collectivities, which means they have local assemblies as well as executives. The arrondissement and the canton are merely administrative divisions. However, this is not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissement was a territorial collectivity with the elected assembly, but this was suspended by the Vichy regime and certainly abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946.

Territory and collectivization abroad

In addition to 18 regions and 101 departments, the French Republic has five overseas collectivities (French Polynesia, Saint BarthÃÆ' Â © lemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna), one sui generis collectivity New Caledonia), an overseas territory (the land of South France and Antarctica), and an ownership of the island in the Pacific Ocean (Clipperton Island).

Collectivities and overseas territories are part of the French Republic, but not part of the European Union or its fiscal territory (with the exception of St. Bartelemy, who broke away from Guadeloupe in 2007). The Pacific Collectivities (COMs) of French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia continue to use CFP francs whose value is strongly associated with the euro. In contrast, five overseas territories use the French franc and now use the euro.

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Politics

Government

The Republic of France is a democratic republic of semi-presidential representation that integrates with a strong democratic tradition. The Fifth Republican Constitution was approved by a referendum on 28 September 1958. This greatly strengthens the executive authority in relation to parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: President of the Republic, currently Emmanuel Macron, who is head of state and elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5 year term (previously 7 years), and the Government, headed by the Prime Minister designated by president.

The French Parliament is a bicameral legislature composed of the National Assembly ( Assemblà © à © e Nationale ) and the Senate. The Assembly of the National Assembly represents a local constituency and is elected directly for a term of 5 years. The assembly has the power to dismiss the government, and thus the majority in the Assembly determines the government's choice. The senators are elected by the election body for a term of 6 years (a period of 9 years), and half of the seats are submitted to elections every 3 years starting in September 2008.

The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the case of a dispute between two rooms, the National Assembly has the final decision. The government has a strong influence in shaping the Parliament agenda.

Until World War II, the radicals were a powerful political force in France, embodied by Republicans, Radicals and Radicals-Socialists who were the most important party of the Third Republic. Since World War II, they have been marginalized while French politics is characterized by two politically opposed groups: one left wing, centered on the French Section of International Workers and the successor of the Socialist Party (since 1969); and other right wing, centered on the Gaullist Party, whose name changed over time: Rally of the French People (1947), Union of Democrats for the Republic (1958), Rally for the Republic (1976), Union for a Popular Movement ) and The Republicans (since 2015). In the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, radical centric party En Marche! became the dominant force, overtaking both the Socialists and the Republic.

Legal

France uses a civil law system; that is, the law arises mainly from written laws; the judge does not make laws, but only to interpret them (although the number of judicial interpretations in certain fields makes it equivalent to the law of the case). The basic principles of the rule of law are laid down in the Napoleonic Code (which, in turn, is largely based on codified royal laws under Louis XIV). In accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Human Rights and Citizens, the law should only prohibit actions that harm the public. As Guy Canivet, the first president of the Court of Cassation, wrote about prison management: Freedom is the rule, and the restriction is exceptions; Restrictions on Freedom shall be governed by the Law and shall follow the principles of necessity and proportionality. That is, the Law should set a prohibition only if necessary, and if the inconvenience caused by this restriction does not exceed the inconvenience that should be prohibited by the ban.

French law is divided into two main areas: private law and public law. Private law includes, in particular, civil and criminal law. Public law includes, in particular, administrative law and constitutional law. However, in practical terms, French law consists of three main areas of law: civil law, criminal law, and administrative law. Criminal law can only overcome the future and not the law of the past (criminal ex post facto is prohibited). While administrative law is often a subcategory of civil law in many countries, it is completely separate in France and every legal entity is led by a certain supreme court: the ordinary courts (which deal with criminal and civil litigation) are headed by the Court of Cassation and administrative courts headed by the State Council.

In order to apply, any law must be formally published in the Officiel de la RÃÆ' Â © publique franÃÆ'§aise .

France does not recognize religious law as a motivation for the imposition of a ban. France has long had no religious defamation laws or sodomy laws (the latter was removed in 1791). However, the "violation of public courtesy" ( cons of aux bonnes moeurs) or disturbing public order (ego issues public) has been used to suppress the expression of public homosexuality or street prostitution. Since 1999, civil unions for homosexual couples have been allowed, and since May 2013, same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption is legal in France. The law prohibiting discriminatory speech in the press is as old as 1881. However some people consider that the hate speech law in France is too broad or heavy and undermines freedom of speech. France has laws against racism and antisemitism. Since 1990, the Gayssot Act has banned Holocaust denial.

Religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed by the Declaration of Human Rights and Population 1789. The 1905 French Law on Separation of Churches and the State is the foundation for the state of secularism: state not officially recognize any religion, except in Alsace-Moselle. Nonetheless, he acknowledges religious association. Parliament has been registering many religious movements as a dangerous cult since 1995, and has banned the use of striking religious symbols in schools since 2004. In 2010, Parliament banned the wearing of a face-covering face in public; Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch described the law as discriminating against Muslims. However, this is supported by the majority of the population.

Foreign relations

France is a founding member of the United Nations and serves as one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council with a veto. By 2015, France is described as "the best network country in the world", because it "is a member of multilateral organizations more than any other country".

France is a member of the G8, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Pacific Community Secretariat (SPC) and the Indian Ocean Commission (COI). It is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and a leading member of the International Francophone Organization (OIF) of 84 fully or partly French-speaking countries.

As an important hub for international relations, France hosts the world's second largest diplomatic missions meeting and the headquarters of international organizations including the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, International Weighing and Measurement Bureau, and I Francisconie.

French postwar foreign policy has been established by membership of the European Union, which is a founding member. Since the 1960s, France has developed a close relationship with Germany that is reunited to become the most influential driving force in the EU. In the 1960s, France sought to exclude Britain from the European unification process, seeking to build itself on the continent of Europe. However, since 1904, France has maintained an "Entente cordiale" with Britain, and there has been a strengthening of relations between countries, especially militarily.

France is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but under President de Gaulle, it excludes itself from joint military command to protest the special relationship between the United States and Britain and to maintain the independence of France's foreign and security policy. However, as a result of pro-American politics Nicolas Sarkozy (much criticized in France by the left and by the right), France rejoined the NATO military command on April 4, 2009.

In the early 1990s, the country attracted much criticism from other countries for underground nuclear testing in French Polynesia.

France vigorously opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which strained bilateral ties with the United States and Britain.

France maintains strong political and economic influence in its former colony in Africa (Franç§afrique) and has supplied economic aid and troops to peacekeeping missions in Cote d'Ivoire and Chad. Recently, after the unilateral declaration of independence of northern Mali by Tuareg MNLA and subsequent North Mali regional conflicts with several Islamic groups including Ansar Dine and MOJWA, France and other African countries intervened to help the Mali Army to reclaim control.

In 2013, France is the fourth largest (in absolute) development aid donor in the world, behind the US, UK and Germany. It represents 0.36% of its GDP, in this case assessing France as the twelfth largest donor in the list. The organization that manages French aid is the French Development Agency, which primarily finances humanitarian projects in sub-Saharan Africa. The main objective of this support is "developing infrastructure, access to health care and education, applying sound economic policies and consolidating the rule of law and democracy".

Military

The French Armed Forces ( arm armor Ã… © franÃÆ'§aises ) are the French military and paramilitary forces, under the president as commander-in-chief. They consist of the French Army ( Armà © de Terre ), the French Navy ( Marine Nationale , formerly called Armà © de Mer ), Air Force France ( Armà © de l'Air ), French Strategic Nuclear Force ( Nuclà ©  © aire Stratà © à © gique , dubbed Force de Frappe > or "Strike Force") and Military Police are called the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale), which also fulfills the duties of the civilian police in rural France. Together they are among the largest armed forces in the world and the largest in the EU.

While the Gendarmerie is an integral part of the French armed forces (armed police are career warriors), and therefore under the scope of the Ministry of Defense, it is operationally attached to the Interior Ministry insofar as it concerns the duties of its civilian police force.

When acting as a general purpose police unit, the Gendarmerie includes counter-terrorist units from the Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie (Escalon Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale), the National Group of Gendarmerie Intervention (Groupe Gendarmerie d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale), the Search Section of the National Gendarmerie (Section de Recherche de la Gendarmerie Nationale), is responsible for criminal investigations, and the Mobile Brigade of the National Gendarmerie ( Brigade mobiles de la Gendarmerie Nationale , or simply Gendarmerie mobile ) that has the duty to maintain public order.

The following special units are also part of the Gendarmerie: The Republican Guard ( Garde rÃÆ' Â © publicaine ) that protects public buildings hosting the major French institutions, Maritime Gendarmerie ( maritime Gendarmerie ) serves as the Coast Guard, Provost Service ( PrÃÆ' Â © vÃÆ'Â'tÃÆ' Â © ), acting as a Military Police branch of the Gendarmerie.

As far as the French intelligence unit is concerned, the Directorate General for External Security ( Direction of gà © à © rà © rieure ) is considered a component of Armed Troops under the authority of the Ministry of Defense. The other, the Directorate of the Center for Intelligence of the Interior ( The direction of centrale du renseignement intà © rieur ) is the division of the National Police ( Direction gÃÆ'  © nale de la Police Nationale ), and because it reports directly to the Ministry of Home Affairs. There has been no conscription since 1997.

France has a special military corps, the French Foreign Legion, founded in 1830, consisting of foreign nationals from more than 140 countries that are willing to serve in the French Armed Forces and become French citizens after the end of their service. The only other country that has similar units is Spain (the Spanish Foreign Legion, called Tercio , was founded in 1920) and Luxembourg (foreigners can serve in the Army as long as they speak Luxembourg).

France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a recognized nuclear country since 1960. France has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. France's annual military spending in 2011 was US $ 62.5 billion, or 2.3%, of its GDP making it the fifth largest military wager in the world after the United States, China, Russia and Britain.

French nuclear deterrent, (formerly known as "Force de Frappe "), depends on full independence. France's current nuclear power consists of four Triomphant grade submarines equipped with ballistic missiles launched by submarines. In addition to the submarine fleet, it is estimated that France has about 60 ASMP medium-to-air missiles with nuclear warheads, of which about 50 are deployed by the Air Force using Mirage 2000N nuclear strike aircraft, while about 10 are deployed by the Super Modern (Modern) Naval attack aircraft, operating from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle . The new Rafale F3 aircraft will gradually replace all Mirage 2000N and SEM in the role of nuclear attack with ASMP-A missiles enhanced with nuclear warheads.

France has a large military industry with one of the largest aerospace industries in the world. Its industry has produced equipment such as Rafale fighter, Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, Exocet missile,

Source of the article : Wikipedia