France
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| République française | |||||
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| National information | |||||
| National motto: | National motto: Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood (French: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité) |
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| National anthem: | La Marseillaise | ||||
| About the people | |||||
| Official languages: | French | ||||
| Population: (# of people) |
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| Geography / Places | |||||
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| Capital city: | Paris | ||||
| Largest city: | Paris | ||||
| Area | |||||
| Politics / Government | |||||
| Established: | |||||
| Leaders: | President:
Prime Minister: |
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| Economy / Money | |||||
| Currency: (Name of money) |
Euro (€)[3], CFP Franc[4] | ||||
| International information | |||||
| Time zone: | in summer | ||||
| Telephone dialing code: | 33 | ||||
| Internet domain: | .fr | ||||
France is a country in Europe. Its capital city is Paris. France is a member of the European Union and the largest country of this union. France is known for its many monuments, structures, and places such as the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Giverny, Versailles, and Notre Dame. France is a country divided in 'régions' and 'départements'.
There are many important cities in France. Some of them are Avignon, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, and Tours.
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[edit] Sports
The Tour de France cycling race in July is one of the best-known sporting events. It is a 3 weeks (3,630 km) race that covers most of France and ends in the center of Paris. Football is another popular sport in France. They won the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and the UEFA European Football Championship in 2000.
[edit] Religion
The main religion of France is Roman Catholic, but France is officially secular. The population is about 83-85% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestants, 5-10% Muslims, 1% Jewish and 4% unaffiliated.
[edit] Landscape and Climate
France is in Western Europe. France has borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. France has two mountain ranges near its borders: the Alps and the Pyrenees. Inside of France, there are a lot of rivers. One of these rivers is the Loire. Low hills and river valleys cover much of north and west France. France climate is varied. The Atlantic has a large affect in the north and west. The east has cold clear winters and hot, often stormy summers.
[edit] Attractions
One of the famous attractions in France is the Eiffel Tower. It is found in Paris, France beside Seine River. Another one is Le Mont St Michael.
[edit] Language
French is the official language of France. It belongs to the Romance language group, which includes Italian and Spanish. Many regional dialects are used in France. Alsatian, a German dialect is spoken in Alsace and in parts of Lorraine in eastern France. French used to be the language of diplomacy and culture in Europe around 17th - 19th century.
Some people in France also speak Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, German, Flemish, and Occitan.
[edit] Health Care
The French enjoy high quality health care. The French government covers about 75% of the country’s total health care cost. About half the money goes to hospitals and a quarter to out-patient care. Private insurance companies pay only 3% of health care costs.
[edit] Regions
France is split into (administrative) regions. 22 of them are in Metropolitan France (the part of the country that is in Europe):
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1. Alsace |
12. Île-de-France |
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- Corsica has a different status than the other 21 metropolian regions. It is called collectivité territoriale.
France had 4 overseas regions:
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Whole territory of the French Republic, including all the overseas departments and territories, but excluding the French territory of Terre Adélie in Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Metropolitan (i.e. European) France only
- ↑ Whole of the French Republic except the overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean
- ↑ French overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean only
[edit] External links
- France Maps & Photographs
- France Travel Guide
- Guide To Paris The Capital Of France With Pictures & Paris City Map
- France Pictures
- France Map
| Countries and territories of Europe |
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| Unrecognised countries: Abkhazia | Nagorno-Karabakh2 | South Ossetia | Transnistria | Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus2 |
| 1. Country partly in Asia. 2. Geographically in Asia, but often counted as part of Europe for cultural and historical reasons. |
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| Members of the European Union | |
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| Austria - Belgium - Bulgaria - Cyprus - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Ireland - Italy - Latvia - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Malta - Netherlands - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - United Kingdom | |
