France

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French Republic Rpublique franaise

Flag

National emblem

Motto: "Libert, galit, fraternit"

"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

Anthem: "La Marseillaise"

MENU 0:00 The logo of the French government

Location of Metropolitan France (dark green) in Europe (green & dark grey) in the European Union (green) [Legend]

Territory of the French Republic.a

Capital and largest city Official languages Demonym Government

Paris
4851.4N 221.05E

French[note 1] French Unitary semi-presidentialconstitutional republic

- President - Prime Minister Legislature - Upper house - Lower house

Franois Hollande Jean-Marc Ayrault Parliament Senate National Assembly Formation

- Frankish Kingdom
(unified by Clovis)

486

- Kingdom of France
(Treaty of Verdun)

843

- French Republic
(National Convention)

1792

- Current constitution
(Fifth Republic)

4 October 1958

Area - Total
[note 2]

674,843 km2 (41st)

260,558 sq mi - Metropolitan France - IGN[note 3] 551,695 km2 (47th) 213,010 sq mi - Cadastre

[note 4]

543,965 km2 (47th) 210,026 sq mi Population

(2012) - Total[note 2] - Metropolitan France - Density[note 5] 116/km2 (89th) 301/sq mi GDP (PPP) - Total - Per capita GDP (nominal) - Total - Per capita Gini (2008) 2012 estimate $2.254 trillion[3] (9th) $35,548[3] (24th) 2012 estimate $2.609 trillion[3] (5th) $41,141[3] (23rd) 32.7[4] medium HDI (2013) 0.893[5] very high 20th 65,350,000[2] (19th) 63,460,000[1] (22nd)

Currency

Euro[note 6] CFP franc[note 7] (EUR, XPF)

Time zone - Summer (DST) Drives on the Calling code ISO 3166 code Internet TLD
a.

CET[note 8] (UTC+1) CEST[note 9] (UTC+2) right 33[note 10] FR .fr[note 11]

Excluding Adlie Land in Antarctica, where sovereignty is suspended.

France (English

/frns/ FRANSS or /frns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fs] (

listen)),

officially the French

Republic (French: Rpublique franaiseFrench pronunciation: [epyblik fsz]), is a unitary semipresidential republic in Western Europe,[note 12] with several overseas regions and territories. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three countries (Morocco, Spain) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean

coastlines. From its shape, it is often referred to in French as lHexagone ("The Hexagon"). It is a member of the European Union. France is the largest country in Western Europe and the third-largest in Europe as a whole. It possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military, and political influence in Europe and around the world.[6] France has its main ideals expressed in the 18th-century Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second-largest colonial empire of the time, ruling large portions of first North America and India and then Northwest andCentral Africa; Madagascar; Indochina and southeast China; and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands. France is a developed country,[7] possessing the world's fifth-largest and Europe's second-largest economy by nominal GDP. It is also the world'sninth-largest by GDP at purchasing power parity.[8] France is the wealthiest nation in Europe and the fourth-wealthiest in the world in aggregate household wealth.[9] French citizens enjoy a high standard of living, high public education level, and one of the world's longest life expectancies.[10] France has been listed as the world's "best overall health care" provider by the World Health Organization.[11] It is the most-visited country in the world, receiving 79.5 million foreign tourists annually.[12] France has the world's fifth-largest nominal military budget,[13] as well as (in terms of personnel) the largest military in the EU,[citation needed] the third-largest deployable force in NATO, and the 26th-largest military in the world. France also possesses the third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world[14] with around 300 active warheads as of 25 May 2010 and the world's second-largest diplomatic corps (behind theUnited States).[15] France is a founding member of the United Nations, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is also a founding and leading member state of the European Union and the largest EU state by area.[16] In 2013, France was listed 20th on the Human Development Index and, in 2010, 24th on theCorruption Perceptions Index.
Contents
[hide]

1 Etymology 2 History

o o o o o

2.1 Prehistory 2.2 Gaul 2.3 Kingdom of Francia (3rd century843) 2.4 Kingdom of France (8431791) 2.5 Republics and Empires (1792-)

3 Geography

3.1 Environment

4 Administrative divisions

4.1 Metropolitan regions

o o

4.2 Overseas regions 4.3 Overseas territories and collectivities

5 Governance

o o o o o

5.1 Government 5.2 Law 5.3 Foreign relations 5.4 Military 5.5 Government finance

6 Economy

5.5.1 French government debt

o o o o

6.1 Agriculture 6.2 Labour market 6.3 Tourism 6.4 Transport

7 Demographics

o o o o

7.1 Language 7.2 Religion 7.3 Health 7.4 Education

8 Culture

o o o o o o o o o o o o

8.1 Art 8.2 Architecture 8.3 Literature 8.4 Philosophy 8.5 Sciences 8.6 Music 8.7 Cinema 8.8 Fashion 8.9 Media 8.10 Society 8.11 Gastronomy 8.12 Sports

9 Footnotes 10 References 11 External links

Etymology
Main article: Name of France

The name "France" comes from the Latin Francia, which means "country of the Franks".[17] There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks. One is that it is derived from the ProtoGermanic word frankon which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca.[18] Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Frank means free as opposed toslave.

History
Main article: History of France

Prehistory
Main article: Prehistory of France

One of the paintings of Lascaux which represents a horse (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC).

The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1,800,000 years ago.[19] Men were then confronted by a hard and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras which modified their framework of life and led them to a nomadic life of hunters-gatherers.[19] France counts a large number of decorated caves from the upper Paleolithic era, including one of the most famous and best preserved: Lascaux[19] (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC). At the end of the Last glacial period (10,000 BC), the climate softened[19] and from approximately 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered theNeolithic era and its inhabitants became sedentary. After a strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium, initially with the work of gold, copper and bronze, and later with iron. [20] France counts numerousmegalithic sites from the Neolithic period, including the exceptionally dense Carnac stones site (Morbihan, approximately 3,300 BC).

Gaul
Main articles: Gaul, Celts, and Roman Gaul

Gaul, 1st century BC. Gallic territory inhabited by Celts extends to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland, the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine, and parts of Northern Italy.

The Maison Carre was a temple of theGallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-dayNmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the Roman Empire.

In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks, originating from Phocaea, founded the colony of Massalia (present-dayMarseille), on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, making it the oldest city of France.[21][22] At the same time, some Gallic Celtic tribes penetrated some parts of the current territory of France, but this occupation spread in the rest of France only between the 5th and 3rd century BC.[23] The concept of Gaul emerged at that time; it corresponds to the territories of Celtic settlement ranging between the Rhine, the Atlantic Ocean, thePyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea. The borders of modern France are approximately the same as those of ancient Gaul, which was inhabited byCeltic Gauls. Gaul was then a prosperous country, of which the southernmost part was heavily subject to Greek and Roman influences. However, around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain Brennus and his troops made their way to Italy through the Alps, defeated the Romans in the Battle of the Allia, and besieged and ransomed Rome. The Gallic invasion left Rome weakened and encouraged several subdued Italian tribes to rebel. One by one, over the course of the next 50 years, these tribes were defeated and brought back under Roman dominion. The Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC, when they entered into a formal peace treaty with Rome. But the Romans and the Gauls would maintain an adversarial relationship for the next several centuries and the Gauls would remain a threat in Italia. Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Romana ("Roman Province"), which over time evolved into the name Provence in French.[24] Brennus' siege of

Rome was still remembered by Romans, when Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC.[25] Gaul was divided by Augustus into Roman provinces, the principal ones being Gallia Narbonensis in the south, Gallia Aquitania in the south-west,Gallia Lugdunensis in the center and Gallia Belgica in the north.[26] Many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period, including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon), which is considered to be the capital of the Gauls.[26] These cities were built in the traditional Roman style, with a forum, a theatre, a circus, an amphitheatre and thermal baths. The Gauls mixed with Roman settlers and eventually adopted Roman speech (Latin, from which the French language evolved) and Roman culture. The Roman polytheism merged with the Gallic paganism into the same syncretism. From the 250s to the 280s of 3rd century AD, Roman Gaul suffered a serious crisis with its "limes" or fortified borders protecting the Empire being attacked on several occasions by Barbarians.[27] The weakness of the central imperial power, at this time, led Gallo-Roman leaders to proclaim the independence of the shortlived Gallic Empire,[27] which ended with the Battle of Chlons in 274, which saw Gaul reincorporated in the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, the situation improved in the first half of the 4th century, which was a period of revival and prosperity for Roman Gaul.[28] In 312, the emperor Constantin I converted to Christianity. Christians, persecuted until then, increased rapidly across the entire Roman Empire.[29] But, from the beginning of the 5th century, the Barbarian Invasions resumed,[30] and Germanic tribes, such as the Vandals, Suebi and Alans crossed the Rhine and settled in Gaul, Spain and other parts of the collapsing Roman Empire.[31] The Visigoths were settled in SW Gaul in 417.

Kingdom of Francia (3rd century843)

Main articles: Kingdom of the Franks, Merovingian dynasty, and Carolingian dynasty See also: List of French monarchs and France in the Middle Ages

Frankish expansion from the early Clovis I' kingdom (481) to the divisions ofCharlemagne's Empire (843/870).

At the end of the Antiquity period, ancient Gaul was divided into several Germanic kingdoms (Early Francia (North), Alamannia (North-East), Burgundia(East), Septimania (South), Visigothic Aquitania (South East)) and a remaining Gallo-Roman territory, known as the Kingdom of Syagrius (West). Simultaneously, Celtic Britons, fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britannia, settled the western part of Armorica (far West of Gaul). As a result, the Armorican peninsula was renamed Brittany, Celtic culture was revived and independent petty kingdoms arose in this region.

The pagan Franks, from whom the ancient name of "Francie" was derived, originally settled the northern part of Gaul, but under Clovis I conquered most of the other kingdoms in northern and central Gaul. In 498, Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity, rather than Arianism; thus France was given the title "Eldest daughter of the Church" (French: La fille ane de lglise) by the papacy,[32] and the French kings would be called "the Most Christian Kings of France" (Rex Christianissimus).

With Clovis' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the Frankish monarchy, elective and secularuntil then, became hereditary and of divine right.

The Franks embraced the Christian Gallo-Roman heritage and ancient Gaul was eventually renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic Franks adopted Romanic languages, except in northern Gaul where Roman settlements were less dense and where Germanic languages emerged. Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian dynasty, but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged from Clovis's: Paris, Orlans, Soissons, and Rheims. The last Merovingian kings, sometimes referred as Rois fainants ("lazy kings"), effectively lost power to their mayors of the palace. One mayor of the palace,Charles Martel, defeated a Muslim invasion force from Hispania at the Battle of Tours (732) and earned respect and power within the Frankish kingdoms. His son, Pepin the Short, eventually seized the crown of Francia from the weakened Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Pepin's son, Charlemagne, reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built a vast empire across Western and Central Europe. Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thus establishing in earnest the French government's longtime historical association with the Roman Catholic Church,[33] Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur, from his Palace of Aachen. The efficient administration of this immense empire was ensured by high-level civil servants, carrying the, then non-hereditary, titles of counts (in charge of a County), marquis (in charge of aMarch), dukes (military commanders), etc.

French territorial evolution from 985 to 1947.

Charlemagne's son, Louis I (emperor 814840), kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive his death. In 843, under the Treaty of Verdun, the empire was divided between Louis' three sons, with East Francia going to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I, and West Francia to Charles the Bald. Western Francia approximated the area occupied by, and was the precursor, to modern France. [34] During the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, continually threatened by Viking invasions, France became a very decentralised state: the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, and the authority of the king became more religious than secular and thus was less effective and constantly challenged by powerful noblemen. Thus was established feudalism in France. Over time, some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they often posed a threat to the king. For example, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Duke of Normandy added "King of England" to his titles, becoming both the vassal to (as Duke of Normandy) and the equal of (as king of England) the king of France.

Kingdom of France (8431791)

Main articles: Kingdom of France, Capetian dynasty, Valois dynasty, and Bourbon dynasty See also: List of French monarchs, France in the Middle Ages, Early modern France, and Ancien Rgime The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of the Franks.[35] His descendants the Capetians, the House of Valois, and the House of Bourbon progressively unified the country through wars and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France, which was fully declared in 1190 by Philip II Augustus. French knights took an active part in many of the Crusades that were fought between 1095 and 1291 to restore Christian control over the Holy Land. Crusaders were so predominately French that the word "crusader" in the Arabic language is simply known as Al-Franj or "The Franks"[36] and Old French became the lingua franca of theKingdom of Jerusalem.[37]

Joan of Arc led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' Warwhich paved the way for the final victory.

The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed into the kingdom of France.[38] Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred around a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners. Charles IV (The Fair) died without an heir in 1328.[39] Under the rules of the Salic law adopted in 1316, the crown of France could not pass to a woman nor could the line of kinship pass through the female line.[39] Accordingly, the crown passed to Philip of Valois, a cousin of Charles, rather than through the female line to Charles' 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.[39] However, Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death,[40] England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.[41] The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for decades. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back all English continental territories, except Calais, which wascaptured in 1558 by the French. Like the rest of Europe, France was struck by the Black Death. Around 1340, France had a population of approximately 17 million, [42] which by the end of the pandemic had declined by about one-half.[43]

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre(1572) was the climax of the French Wars of Religion, which were brought to an end by the Edict of Nantes (1598).

The French Renaissance saw a long set of wars, known as the Great Italian Wars, between the Kingdom of France and the powerful Holy Roman Empire. It also saw the first standardization of the French language, which would become the official language of France and the language of Europe's aristocracy. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed lands in the Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of theFirst French colonial empire. The rise of Protestantism in Europe led France to a civil war known as the French Wars of Religion, where, in the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.[44] The Wars of Religion were ended by Henry IV's Edict of Nantes, which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Henry IV was later murdered by a Catholic fanatic and Huguenot rebellions persisted until the 18th century. Under Louis XIII, the energetic actions of Cardinal Richelieu reinforced the centralization of the state, the royal power and French dominance in Europe, foreshadowing the reign of Louis XIV. During Louis XIV's minority and the regency of Queen Anne and Cardinal Mazarin, a period of trouble known as the Fronde occurred in France, which was at that time at war with Spain. This rebellion was driven by the great feudal lords and sovereign courts as a reaction to the rise of royal power in France.

Louis XIV, the "sun king" was the absolute monarch of Franceand made France the leading European power.

The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers at the Palace of Versailles, Louis XIV's personal power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power of the time. At this time, France possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France) and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became the most-used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs, and remained so until the 20th century. [45] In addition, France

obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Louis XIV also revoked the Edict of Nantes, forcing thousands of Huguenots to exile. Under Louis XV, France lost New France and most of its Indian possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763. Its continental territory kept growing, however, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770). An unpopular king, Louis XV's weak rule, his ill-advised financial, political and military decisions, and his debauchery discredited the monarchy and arguably led to the French Revolution 15 years after his death.[46][47] Louis XVI, Louis XV's grandson, actively supported the Americans, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain (realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris). The example of the American Revolution and the financial crisis which followed France's involvement in the war were two of the many contributing factors to the French Revolution. Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the discovery of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists in the 18th century. Famous French explorers, such as Bougainvilleand Laprouse, took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reasonis advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and helped pave the way for the French Revolution.

Republics and Empires (1792-)

Main articles: French Revolution, First French Empire, Second French Empire, and French colonial empires See also: France in the 19th century and France in the 20th century

The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 was the starting event of the French Revolution.

After the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the absolute monarchy was abolished and France became a constitutional monarchy. Through theDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, France established fundamental rights for French citizens and all men without exception. The Declaration affirms "the natural and imprescriptible rights of man" to "liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression". It called for the destruction of aristocratic privileges (such as exemptions from taxation) and proclaimed freedom and equal rights for all men, as well as access to public office based on talent rather than birth.

The monarchy was restricted, and all citizens were to have the right to take part in the legislative process. Freedom of speech and press were declared, and arbitrary arrests outlawed. The Declaration also asserted the principles of popular sovereignty, in contrast to the divine right of kings that characterized the French monarchy, and social equality among citizens, eliminating the privileges of the nobility and clergy.

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and his Grande Armebuilt a vast Empire across Europe. He helped to spread the French revolutionary ideals and his legal reforms had a major influence worldwide.

While Louis XVI, as a constitutional king, enjoyed broad popularity among the population, his disastrous flight to Varennes seemed to justify the rumors that the king tied his hopes of political salvation to the dubious prospects of foreign invasion. The credibility of the king was deeply undermined and the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an ever increasing possibility. As European monarchies gathered against the new rgime, to restore the French absolute monarchy, the Duke of Brunswick, commanding general of the AustroPrussian Army, issued a Manifesto, in which he threatened the destruction of Paris if any harm should come to the king or his family. The foreign threat exacerbated France's political turmoil and deepened the passion and sense of urgency among the various factions andwar was declared against Austria the 20 April 1792. Mob violences occurred during the insurrection of the 10 August 1792[48] and the following month.[49] As a result of the spike in public violence and the political instability of the constitutional monarchy, the Republic was proclaimed on 22 September 1792. Louis XVI (and later his wife Marie Antoinette) was convicted of treason and guillotined in 1793. Facing increasing pressures from European monarchies, internal guerrilla wars and counterrevolutions (like the War in the Vende or the Chouannerie), the young Republic fell into the Reign of Terror. Between 1793 and 1794, 16,000 to 40,000 people were executed. In Western France, the civil war between the Bleus (the "Blues", supporters of the Revolution) and theBlancs (the "Whites", supporters of the Monarchy) lasted from 1793 to 1796 and cost between 200,000 and 450,000 lives (80,000 to 200,000 Patriotes and 120,000 to 250,000 Vendens).[50][51] Both foreign armies and French counterrevolutionnaries were crushed and the French Republic survived. Furthermore, the French Republic extended greatly its boundaries and established "Sister Republics" in the surrounding countries. As the threat of a foreign invasion receded and France became mostly pacified, theThermidorian Reaction put an end to Robespierre's rule and, eventually, to the Terror. The abolition of

slavery and the male universal suffrage, enacted during this radical phase of the revolution, were cancelled by subsequent governments.

Animated map of the growth and decline of theFrench colonial empire.

After a short-lived governmental scheme, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799 and was appointed by plebiscite[52] First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire (18041814/1815). As a continuation of the warssparked by the European monarchies against the French Republic, changing sets of European Coalitions declared wars on Napoleon's French Empire. His armies conquered most of continental Europe, while members of the Bonaparte family were appointed as monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms.[53] These victories led to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the Metric system, the Napoleonic Codeor the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. After the catastrophic Russian campaign, Napoleon was finally defeated and the Bourbon monarchy restored. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars.[53]

Douaumont ossuary. With 4.3 million wounded from a population of only 39.6 million at the time, the Third French Republic sustained the highest number of total casualties among the Allies during the First World War.

After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the monarchy was re-established (18151830), with new constitutional limitations. The discredited Bourbon dynasty was overthrown by the civil uprising of 1830, which established the constitutional July Monarchy, which lasted until 1848, when the French Second Republic was proclaimed, in the wake of the 1848 European revolutions. The abolition of slavery and the male universal suffrage, both briefly enacted during the French Revolution were finally re-enacted in 1848. In 1852, the president of the French Republic Louis-Napolon Bonaparte, Napoleon Is nephew, was proclaimed emperor of the second Empire, as Napoleon III. He multiplied French interventions abroad, especially in Crimea, in Mexico and Italy, which resulted in the annexation of Savoy and Nice. Napoleon III was

eventually unseated following defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and his regime was replaced by the Third Republic. France had colonial possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century to the 18th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, itsglobal overseas colonial empire extended greatly and culminated as the second largest in the world behind the British Empire. At its peak, between 1919 and 1939, the second French colonial empire extended over 12,347,000 square kilometres (4,767,000 sq mi) of land. Including metropolitan France, the total area of land under French sovereignty reached 12,898,000 square kilometres (4,980,000 sq mi) in the 1920s and 1930s, which is 8.6% of the world's land area.

Charles de Gaulle took an active part in all major events of the 20th century : a hero of World War I, leader of the Free Frenchduring World War II, he then became President, where he facilitated the decolonization, maintained France as a major power and overcame the May 1968 revolt.

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 eventually emerged victorious against the Central Powers, at a tremendous human and material cost: the First World War left 1.4 million French soldiers dead, 4.29% of its population,[54] between 27 and 30% of the conscript classes of 1912-1915.[55] The interbellum years were marked by intense international tensions an a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government (Annual leave,working time reduction, women in Government among others). France was occupied following the German Blitzkrieg campaign in World War II, with metropolitan France divided into a German occupation zone in the north and Vichy France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, in the south.[56] The Allies and the French Resistance eventually emerged victorious from the Axis powers and French sovereignty was restored. The Fourth Republic was established after World War II and saw spectacular economic growth (les Trente Glorieuses). Suffrage was extended to women in 1944. France was one of the founding members of the NATO (1949), which was the Western counterpart of the Warsaw Pact system of collective defence. France attempted to regain control of French Indochina but was defeated by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Only months later, France faced a new conflict in Algeria. The debate over whether or not to keep

control of Algeria, then home to over one million European settlers,[57] wracked the country and nearly led to civil war. In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which contained a strengthened Presidency.[58] In the latter role, Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The Algerian War was concluded with peace negotiations in 1962 that led to Algerian independence. France granted independence progressively to its colonies, the last one being Vanuatu in 1980. A vestige of the colonial empire are theFrench overseas departments and territories. In the wake of a worldwide series of protests, the May 1968 revolt, although a political failure for the protesters, had an enormous social impact. In France, it is considered to be the watershed moment when a conservative moral ideal (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shifted towards a more liberal moral ideal. France has been at the forefront of the European Union member states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to create a more unified and capable European Union political, defence, and security apparatus.[59]

Geography
Main article: Geography of France

A relief map of Metropolitan France, showing cities with over 100,000 inhabitants.

Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41 and 51 N (Dunkirk is just north of 51), and longitudes 6 W and10 E, on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the northern temperate zone. From southwest to northeast, France shares borders with Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. France also borders Suriname to its west and Brazil to its east and south, by way of the overseas region of French Guiana,

which is considered an integral part of the republic[60] (like Alaska and Hawaii are to the United States, or Kaliningrad is to Russia). Corsica and the French mainland form Metropolitan France; Guadeloupe, Martinique, Runion, and Mayotte form, with French Guiana, the overseas regions. These two integral groupings, along with several overseas collectivities and one territory, comprise the French Republic. The collectivity of Saint Martin borders Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; however, since, Saint Martin is significantly autonomous of the French government, this is not considered an international border. The European territory of France covers 547,030 square kilometres (211,209 sq mi),[61] having the largest area among European Union members.[16] France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west. At 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft)[62] above sea level, the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, is situated in the Alps on the border between France and Italy. France also has extensive river systems such as the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.

The Exclusive Economic Zone of France extends over 11,000,000 km 2 (4,200,000 sq mi) of ocean across the world.[63]

France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adlie Land), is 674,843 km2 (260,558 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. However, France possesses the secondlargest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world,[64] covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,637 sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the United States (11,351,000 km2 or 4,382,646 sq mi) and ahead of Australia (8,232,000 km2 or 3,178,393 sq mi). According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would be 10,084,201 km2 (3,893,532 sq mi), still behind the United States (12,174,629 km2 or 4,700,651 sq mi), and still ahead of Australia (8,980,568 km2 or 3,467,417 sq mi) and Russia (7,566,673 km2 or 2,921,509 sq mi). The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France.[65] In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool to warm summers. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.