Portal:France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the southeast, Andorra and Spain to the south, and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and have a total population of 68.4 million as of January 2024[update]. France is a semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.
Metropolitan France was settled during the Iron Age by Celtic tribes known as Gauls before Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture. In the Early Middle Ages, the Franks formed the Kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France. In the High Middle Ages, France was a powerful but decentralized feudal kingdom, but from the mid-14th to the mid-15th centuries, France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with England known as the Hundred Years' War. In the 16th century, the French Renaissance saw culture flourish and a French colonial empire rise. Internally, France was dominated by the conflict with the House of Habsburg and the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots. France was successful in the Thirty Years' War and further increased its influence during the reign of Louis XIV.
The French Revolution of 1789 overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte, subjugating part of continental Europe and establishing the First French Empire. The collapse of the empire initiated a period of relative decline, in which France endured the Bourbon Restoration until the founding of the French Second Republic which was succeeded by the Second French Empire upon Napoleon III's takeover. His empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. This led to the establishment of the Third French Republic, and subsequent decades saw a period of economic prosperity and cultural and scientific flourishing known as the Belle Époque. France was one of the major participants of World War I, from which it emerged victorious at great human and economic cost. It was among the Allies of World War II, but it surrendered and was occupied in 1940. Following its liberation in 1944, the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the defeat in the Algerian War. The current Fifth Republic was formed in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle. Algeria and most French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with the majority retaining close economic and military ties with France.
France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art, science, and philosophy. It hosts the fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the world's leading tourist destination, receiving 100 million foreign visitors in 2023. A developed country, France has a high nominal per capita income globally, and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world. It is a great power, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state. France is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as a member of the Group of Seven, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Francophonie. (Full article...)
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fought for its entire duration, were France, the Papal States, and the Republic of Venice; they were joined at various times by nearly every significant power in Western Europe, including Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, England, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, the Duchy of Ferrara, and the Swiss.
The war started with the Italienzug of Maximilian I, King of the Romans, crossing into Venetian territory in February 1508 with his army on the way to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in Rome. Meanwhile, Pope Julius II, intending to curb Venetian influence in northern Italy, brought together the League of Cambrai—an anti-Venetian alliance consisting of him, Maximilian I, Louis XII of France, and Ferdinand II of Aragon—which was formally concluded in December 1508. Although the League was initially successful, friction between Julius and Louis caused it to collapse by 1510; Julius then allied himself with Venice against France. (Full article...)
Due to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multifaceted characters, who are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. His writing influenced many subsequent novelists such as Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gustave Flaubert, Benito Pérez Galdós, Marie Corelli, Henry James, William Faulkner, Jack Kerouac, and Italo Calvino, and philosophers such as Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx. Many of Balzac's works have been made into or have inspired films, and they are a continuing source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers and critics.
An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac had trouble adapting to the teaching style of his grammar school. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. When he finished school, Balzac was an apprentice in a law office, but he turned his back on the study of law after wearying of its inhumanity and banal routine. Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician; he failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.
Selected fare or cuisine –
Beef bourguignon (US: /ˌbʊərɡiːnˈjɒ̃/) or bœuf bourguignon (UK: /ˌbɜːf ˈbɔːrɡɪn.jɒ̃/; French: [bœf buʁɡiɲɔ̃]), also called beef Burgundy, and bœuf à la Bourguignonne, is a French beef stew braised in red wine, often red Burgundy, and beef stock, typically flavored with carrots, onions, garlic, and a bouquet garni, and garnished with pearl onions, mushrooms, and bacon. A similar dish using a piece of braised beef with the same garnish is pièce de bœuf à la bourguignonne.
"Bourguignon" is, since the mid-nineteenth century, a culinary term applied to various dishes prepared with wine or with a mushroom and onion garnish. It is probably not a regional recipe from Burgundy. (Full article...)
Arnaud Tsedri (born 11 March 1975), better known by the stage name Arnaud Tsamere (French: [aʁno tsamɛʁ]), is a French comedian, actor, television presenter and sports journalist. Born in Bordeaux and raised in the Yvelines, he joined the Déclic Théâtre group after quitting his sales job. There, he acted in plays and participated in improvisation events. He wrote his first one-man show, Réflexions profondes sur pas mal de trucs, in 2002 with Arnaud Joyet, and his second, Chose Promise, in 2007 with Joyet and François Rollin. His third, Confidences sur pas mal de trucs plus ou moins confidentiels, has been performed since 2014. He has attended numerous comedy festivals and is currently a member of the Ligue Majeure d'Improvisation.
Tsamere's television career began when he presented the weather forecast on Canal+. From 2010, he became well known for appearing on France 2's sketch comedy show On n'demande qu'à en rire—and its short-lived spin-off the ONDAR Show—after he was discovered by Laurent Ruquier; he often performed sketches with Jérémy Ferrari. He also plays Captain Sport Extrême in the comedy science fiction programme Hero Corp. In 2014, he hosted TMC's Canapé Quiz; he has also appeared on various French talk, sports and game shows. Tsamere has acted in several films, including the short Being Homer Simpson with Philippe Peythieu and Véronique Augereau, and Fonzy, a 2013 adaptation of Starbuck. (Full article...)
Featured pictures
In the news
- 5 November 2024 – English Channel migrant crossings
- A court in Lille, France, convicts 18 people, including nine in absentia, for participating in an international human smuggling network that transported migrants across the English Channel. The sentences range from two to fifteen years in prison. (Al Jazeera)
- 5 November 2024 –
- French and Dutch police raid Netflix offices in Paris and Amsterdam as part of an investigation into tax fraud and unreported employment practices. (BBC News) (Deadline)
- 4 November 2024 –
- Four teenagers are injured, two critically, in a fight involving an axe on a RER train at the Ozoir-la-Ferrière station in Seine-et-Marne, France. The main suspect is later arrested at his home. (The Guardian)
- 30 October 2024 – English Channel migrant crossings
- One person is killed while attempting to cross the English Channel in a dinghy. Three other bodies are found on beaches near Neufchâtel-Hardelot and Équihen-Plage, France. (Reuters)
Did you know –
- ...that a giant elephant (engraving pictured) in Paris was protected by a man living in one of its legs?
- ...that the French footballer Lucien Laurent scored the first ever World Cup goal, against Mexico in 1930?
- ...that the Bordeaux wine estate Château Beau-Séjour Bécot was demoted in the Saint-Émilion classification amidst controversy, only to be later re-instated?
Topics
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Main Category - France, List of basic France topics
- Historic Periods - Prehistoric France - Celtic Gaul - Roman Gaul - Frankish Empire - Medieval France - Early Modern France - Nineteenth century France - Twentieth century France
- Major Events - Hundred Years' War - French Renaissance - Wars of Religion - French Revolution - Franco-Prussian War - Dreyfus Affair - World War I - World War II - Vichy France - Algerian War - Military history
- Dynasties and Regimes - Merovingians - Carolingians - Capetian Dynasty - Valois Dynasty - Bourbon Dynasty - Ancien Régime in France - First Empire - Second Empire - Third Republic - Fourth Republic - Fifth Republic
- Monarchs of France - List of French monarchs - Charlemagne - Louis I the Pious - Charles II the Bald - Louis II the Stammerer - Louis III - Carloman - Charles III the Fat - Eudes (Odo) - Charles III the Simple - Robert I - Raoul (Rudolph) of Burgundy - Louis IV d'outremer - Lothair - Louis V the Indolent - Hugh Capet - Robert II the Pious - Henri I - Philippe I - Louis VI the Fat - Louis VII the Young - Philippe II Augustus - Louis VIII the Lion - Louis IX Saint Louis - Philippe III the Bold - Philippe IV the Fair - Louis X the Quarreller - Jean I the Posthumous - Philippe V the Tall - Charles IV the Fair - Philip VI of Valois - Jean II the Good - Charles V - Charles VI - Charles VII - Louis XI - Charles VIII - Louis XII - François I - Henri II - François II - Charles IX - Henri III - Henri IV - Louis XIII - Louis XIV - Louis XV - Louis XVI - Napoleon I - Napoleon II - Louis XVIII - Charles X - Louis-Philippe - Napoleon III
- Other Major Historical Figures - Catherine de Medicis - Cardinal Richelieu - Mazarin - Jean-Baptiste Colbert - Jacques Necker - Jean Jaurès
- Heads of State of France since 1871 - President of the French Republic
- Third Republic: Adolphe Thiers • Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta • Jules Grévy • Marie François Sadi Carnot • Jean Casimir-Perier • Félix Faure • Émile Loubet • Armand Fallières • Raymond Poincaré • Paul Deschanel • Alexandre Millerand • Gaston Doumergue • Paul Doumer • Albert Lebrun
- Vichy France: Philippe Pétain
- Free France: Charles de Gaulle
- Provisional Government: Charles de Gaulle • Félix Gouin • Georges Bidault • Léon Blum
- Fourth Republic: Vincent Auriol • René Coty
- Fifth Republic: Charles de Gaulle • Georges Pompidou • Valéry Giscard d'Estaing • François Mitterrand • Jacques Chirac • Nicolas Sarkozy • François Hollande • Emmanuel Macron
- Heads of Government of France since 1871 - Prime Minister of France
- Third Republic: Dufaure • de Broglie • de Cissey • Buffet • Dufaure • Simon • de Broglie • de Rochebouët • Dufaure • Waddington • de Freycinet • Ferry • Gambetta • de Freycinet • Duclerc • Fallières • Ferry • Brisson • de Freycinet • Goblet • Rouvier • Tirard • Floquet • Tirard • de Freycinet • Loubet • Ribot • Dupuy • Casimir-Perier • Dupuy • Ribot • Bourgeois • Méline • Brisson • Dupuy • Waldeck-Rousseau • Combes • Rouvier • Sarrien • Clemenceau • Briand • Monis • Caillaux • Poincaré • Briand • Barthou • Doumergue • Ribot • Viviani • Briand • Ribot • Painlevé • Clemenceau • Millerand • Leygues • Briand • Poincaré • François-Marsal • Herriot • Painlevé • Briand • Herriot • Poincaré • Briand • Tardieu • Chautemps • Tardieu • Steeg • Laval • Tardieu • Herriot • Paul-Boncour • Daladier • Sarraut • Chautemps • Daladier • Doumergue • Flandin • Bouisson • Laval • Sarraut • Blum • Chautemps • Blum • Daladier • Reynaud • Pétain
- Vichy France: Pétain • Laval
- Provisional Government: de Gaulle • Gouin • Bidault • Blum
- Fourth Republic: Ramadier • Schuman • Marie • Schuman • Queuille • Bidault • Queuille • Pleven • Queuille • Pleven • Faure • Pinay • Mayer • Laniel • Mendès-France • Faure • Mollet • Bourgès-Maunoury • Gaillard • Pflimlin • de Gaulle
- Fifth Republic: Debré • Pompidou • Couve de Murville • Chaban-Delmas • Messmer • Chirac • Barre • Mauroy • Fabius • Chirac • Rocard • Cresson • Bérégovoy • Balladur • Juppé • Jospin • Raffarin • de Villepin • Fillon • Ayrault • Valls • Cazeneuve • Philippe • Castex
- Third Republic: Dufaure • de Broglie • de Cissey • Buffet • Dufaure • Simon • de Broglie • de Rochebouët • Dufaure • Waddington • de Freycinet • Ferry • Gambetta • de Freycinet • Duclerc • Fallières • Ferry • Brisson • de Freycinet • Goblet • Rouvier • Tirard • Floquet • Tirard • de Freycinet • Loubet • Ribot • Dupuy • Casimir-Perier • Dupuy • Ribot • Bourgeois • Méline • Brisson • Dupuy • Waldeck-Rousseau • Combes • Rouvier • Sarrien • Clemenceau • Briand • Monis • Caillaux • Poincaré • Briand • Barthou • Doumergue • Ribot • Viviani • Briand • Ribot • Painlevé • Clemenceau • Millerand • Leygues • Briand • Poincaré • François-Marsal • Herriot • Painlevé • Briand • Herriot • Poincaré • Briand • Tardieu • Chautemps • Tardieu • Steeg • Laval • Tardieu • Herriot • Paul-Boncour • Daladier • Sarraut • Chautemps • Daladier • Doumergue • Flandin • Bouisson • Laval • Sarraut • Blum • Chautemps • Blum • Daladier • Reynaud • Pétain
- Historic periods: French Renaissance - French Baroque and Classicism - French Rococo and Neoclassicism - French art of the 19th century - French art of the 20th century
- Artistic Schools: Impressionism - Cubism - Surrealism
- Art museums and galleries: Louvre - Palace of Versailles - Musée d'Orsay - Centre Georges Pompidou - Musée Picasso - Musée Rodin
- Historic periods: Medieval French literature - French Renaissance literature - French literature of the 17th century - French literature of the 18th century - French literature of the 19th century - French literature of the 20th century
- Football (Soccer): French football clubs - French footballers - Football in France
- Rugby (union): Clubs in France - French rugbymen - Rugby union in France
- Tennis: French Open
- Cycling: Tour de France
- Motorsport: 24 Hours of Le Mans - French Grand Prix
- Ski resorts: Chamonix - Tignes - Val Thorens - Les Trois Vallées - La Plagne - Les Arcs - Courchevel - Méribel - Val d'Isère - Les Deux Alpes - Megève
History of France - History of France
Culture and People - Culture of France - Culture of France - Museums in France - French people - Health in France - Education in France - Education in France - Religion in France - Languages of France - Languages of France - French language - French cuisine - French cuisine - French wine - Archaeology of France - Basque culture - Culture of Brittany
Politics and Government - Government of France - Government of France - French National Assembly - French Senate - Law of France - French politics - Politics of France - Military of France - Foreign relations of France - Flags of France
Economy, Industry and Media - Economy of France - Economy of France - Economic history of France - French businesspeople - Companies of France - French trade unions - Communications in France - Mass media in France - French space program - French airlines
Visual and Plastic Arts - French art - French artists - French architecture - French art
Literature - French literature - French writers - French literature - French poetry
Music - French music - French composers - French musicians - Music of France - French folk music - French rock - French hip hop and rap
Cinema - Cinema of France - Cinema of France - French actors - French film directors - French film producers - César Award winners - Cannes Film Festival
Theater - French theatre - French dramatists and playwrights - Theatres in France - Avignon Festival - Comédie française
Sports- Sport in France - French sportspeople - France at the Olympics -
Geographic topics
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Main Category - France
- Coastlines: Atlantic Ocean - Bay of Biscay ("Golfe de Gascogne") – Mediterranean Sea (Golfe du Lion) - Côte d'Azur ("French Riviera") – English Channel
- Islands: Belle Île – Corsica – Île d'Oléron – Ouessant – Île de Ré – Île d'Yeu - Réunion - Martinique - Guadeloupe - Saint Barthélemy - Saint Martin - Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Rivers and streams:
- Major rivers: Loire – Rhine – Rhône – Seine – Garonne - Gironde estuary - Dordogne – Meuse – Escaut – Saône – Marne – Moselle
- Other rivers: Adour – Charente - Aulne – Blavet – Erdre – Hérault – Odet – Orb – Orne – Rance – Sèvre Nantaise – Sèvre Niortaise – Var - Aisne – Allier – Ariège – Aube – Cher – Doubs – Durance – Indre – Ill – Isère – Lot – Maine – Mayenne – Meurthe – Oise - Somme - Tarn – Verdon – Vienne – Vire – Yonne
- Canals: Canal du Midi – Canal de Nantes à Brest – Canal Saint-Martin – Briare Canal – Canal of Burgundy – Grand Canal d'Alsace – Sambre–Oise Canal
- Lakes: Lake Annecy – Lac du Bourget – Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) – Étang de Thau – Étang de Berre
- Mountains:
- Major Mountain ranges: Alps – French Prealps – Pyrénées – Massif Central – Jura – Vosges
- Other Mountain ranges: Aravis Range – Bauges – Belledonne – Chartreuse Mountains – Massif des Écrins – Vercors
- Mountain peaks: Mont Blanc – Aiguille du Midi – Barre des Écrins – Ballon d'Alsace – Crêt de la Neige – Grandes Jorasses – Meije – Mont Aigoual – Mont Ventoux – Pic du Midi - Mont Pelvoux – Puy de Dôme – Puy de Sancy
- Forests: Forest of Fontainebleau – Forest of Compiègne – Paimpont forest – Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
- National parks and natural regions: Cévennes National Park – Écrins National Park – Mercantour National Park – Port-Cros National Park – Pyrénées National Park – Vanoise National Park – Boulonnais – Bresse – Beaujolais – Camargue – Pays de Bray – Sundgau – Vexin
- Major cities: Paris (Paris) – Marseille – Lyon – Lille – Toulouse – Nice – Nantes – Strasbourg – Montpellier – Bordeaux – Rennes – Douai – Le Havre – Reims – Lens – Saint-Étienne – Toulon – Grenoble – Angers – Brest – Le Mans – Dijon – Clermont-Ferrand – Aix-en-Provence – Amiens – Nîmes – Tours – Limoges – Metz – Besançon – Caen – Orléans - Mulhouse – Perpignan - Boulogne-Billancourt – Rouen – Dunkirk – Nancy – Villeneuve-d'Ascq – Saint-Denis, Réunion
- Other: Gardens in France - Cemeteries in France - Transport in France - Tourism in France - Nature conservation in France
- Ski resorts: Chamonix - Tignes - Val Thorens - Les Trois Vallées - La Plagne - Les Arcs - Courchevel - Méribel - Val-d'Isère - Les Deux Alpes - Megève
Geography - Geography of France - Geography of France - Regions of France - Provinces of France - Subdivisions of France - Subdivisions of France - Overseas France
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