Wikijunior:Europe/France
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France is the third largest country in Europe (after Russia and Ukraine). France is located in Western Europe and shares borders with Andorra, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. It is connected to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel. The capital city is Paris. Other large cities are Lyon and Nice. France uses the Euro as its currency along with 14 other countries in Europe.
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[edit] France's History
During Roman times, France was known as Gallia, with the Gauls living there. The Gauls were the largest Celtic tribe in Gallia.
The Romans under the leadership by Julius Caesar managed to conquer all the regions of France. It became part of the Roman Empire until the Frankish Kingdom, a German tribal kingdom from the east, took over.
Later, France gained its independence.
Until 1789, France was ruled by kings, but the French people had become unhappy with this, and overthrew Louis the Sixteenth in what become the French Revolution. Although started for the most honest of reasons, the revolution descended into a 'nightmare' under Roberspire. From the anarchy Napoleon emerged eventually not only ruling France, but persuing an extensive military campaign in Europe.
Napolean was eventually defeated in 1815 at Waterloo(Austerlitz) and exiled.
France subsequently became a republic, with many advances made towards democratic and diplomatic values.
France was a major combatant for the allies in both World Wars.
Occupied by Germany during World War 2, the response of the French people was determined resistance despite the controversial actions of their Government.
Post WWII, France maintained it's independent approach to diplomacy, even though a European outlook was becoming more noted.
[edit] France's Geography
While metropolitan France (the main part of the country) is located in western Europe, France also has a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica. These territories have varying forms of government ranging from overseas department to overseas collectivity.
Metropolitan France covers 547,030 square kilometers (211,209 sq mi), having the largest area among European Union members and slightly larger than Spain. France has 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 4,807 metres (15,770 ft) above sea-level, the highest point in western Europe, Mont Blanc, is in the Alps on the border between France and Italy. Metropolitan France also has extensive river systems such as the Loire, the Garonne, the Seine and the Rhône, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean sea at the Camargue, the lowest point in France (2 m / 6.5 ft below sea level).
In the west, the climate is mainly 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.
[edit] France's People
With about 64.5 million people, France is the 19th most populous country in the world. France's largest cities are Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Nice, and Nantes. Most of the people are between 15 and 64 years old. Most people live to be 80 years old and almost everyone older than 15 can read. Most families have 2 children and are Roman Catholic. The majority of people speak French.
The French education system is highly developed. Most of the primary and secondary schools are public although there are some private ones. School in France is required at the age of 6 but a lot of children start school at an early age. 3 year old's go to nursery classes and children under the age of three go to what is called pré-maternelle classes which is like daycare.
[edit] France's Sights
With 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007, France is the most popular tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain and the United States. France features cities of high cultural interest like Paris, beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquility. Aside of casual tourism France attracts a lot of religious pilgrims to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées département, that hosts a few million tourists a year. Popular tourist sites include: : the Eiffel Tower , the Louvre Museum, the Palace of Versailles, the Musée d'Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe, Sainte-Chapelle, the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, Puy de Dôme, and the Musée Picasso.
