France

French Republic
Anthem: "La Marseillaise"
Capital and largest city		Paris 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E
Official languages		French
Demonym		French
Government		Unitary semi-presidential republic
-	President (2024)	Emmanuel Macron
-	Prime Minister (2024)	Gabriel Attal
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Formation
-	Francia	486 (Unification by Clovis)
-	West Francia	843 (Treaty of Verdun)
-	Current constitution	5 October 1958 (5th Republic)
Area
-	Total	674,843 km2 (41st) 260,558 sq mi
-	Metropolitan France
	- IGN	551,695 km2 (47th) 213,010 sq mi
	- Cadastre	543,965 km2 (47th) 210,026 sq mi
Population
	(Jan 2024 UN estimate)
-	Total	64,821,527 (22nd)
-	Metropolitan France	53,217,966 (2020) (22nd)
-	Density	116/km2 (89th) 301/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$2.145 trillion
-	Per capita	$34,077
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$2.582 trillion
-	Per capita	$41,018
Currency		Euro, CFP franc   (EUR,    XPF)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right
Calling code		331
Internet TLD		.fr

France (officially the French Republic) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various overseas islands and territories located in other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. French people often refer to Metropolitan France as L'Hexagone (The "Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory.

France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. Due to its overseas departments, France also shares land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin). France is also linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel.

The French Republic is a democracy that is organized as a unitary semi-presidential republic. Its main ideals are expressed in the French Revolutionary Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It is a developed country with the sixth-largest economy in the world. France is the most visited country in the world, receiving over 79 million foreign tourists annually (including business visitors, but excluding people staying less than 24 hours in France). In the past three decades metropolitan France's population has dramatically increased due to immigration and births to aliens and now stands at 64,821,527.

France is one of the founding members of the European Union, a proposition first blue-printed by their Foreign Minister, Aristide Briand in 1929. It has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; it is also an acknowledged nuclear power.

The name France originates from the Franks (Francs), a Germanic tribe that occupied the Rhineland regions of Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. More precisely, Alsace, Lorraine (Lotharingia) and the region around Paris, called the Île-de-France, this being the original French royal demesne. The first King of the Franks, Clovis, is regarded as the forefather of the Kings of France.

In 2023 over a dozen French military generals predicted that France was heading for a civil war due to the overwhelming problems with alien immigration.

Origin and History of the Name

The Franks were a Germanic tribe that occupied the Rhineland regions of Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the sixth century. More precisely, Alsace, Lorraine (Lotharingia) and the region around Paris, called the Île-de-France, the latter province being the later French royal demesne. The first King of the Franks, Clovis, is regarded as the forefather of the Kings of France.

The modern name France comes from the Latin Francia, which literally means "land of the Franks" or "Frankland". There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks. One is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca.

Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Frank means free as opposed to slave. This word still exists in French as franc, it is also used as the translation of "Frank" and to name the local money, until the use of the Euro in the 2000s.

It is probable that the word France is derived from the ethnic name of the Franks, the connection being that only the Franks, as the conquering class, had the status of freemen. The Merovingian kings claimed descent of their dynasty from the Sicambri, a Scythian or Cimmerian tribe, asserting that this tribe had changed their name to "Franks" in 11 BC, following their defeat and relocation by Drusus, under the leadership of a certain chieftain called Franko, although they had actually come from present day Netherlands, Lower Saxony, and possibly, ultimately Scandinavia. In German, France is still called Frankreich, which literally means "Realm of the Franks". In order to distinguish from the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne, Modern France is called Frankreich, while the Frankish Realm is called Frankenreich.

The word "Frank" had been used from the fall of Rome to the Middle Ages, yet from Hugh Capet's coronation as "King of the Franks" ("Rex Francorum") it became used to strictly refer to the Kingdom of Francia, which would become France. The Capetian kings were descended from the Robertines, who had produced two Frankish kings, and previously held the title of "Duke of the Franks" ("dux francorum"). This Frankish duchy encompassed most of modern northern France but because the royal power was sapped by regional princes the term was then applied to the royal demesne as shorthand. It was finally the name adopted for the entire Kingdom as central power was affirmed over the entire Kingdom.

Geography

While Metropolitan France 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 551,695 square kilometres (213,010 sq mi) and 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 4,807 metres (15,770 ft) above sea-level, the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, is situated 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). Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.

France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is 674,843 square kilometres (260,558 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. However, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 square kilometres (4,260,000 sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi) and ahead of Australia (8,232,000 km² / 3,178,000 sq mi).[17]

Metropolitan France is situated between 41° and 50° North, on the western edge of Europe and thus lies within the northern temperate zone. The north and northwest have a temperate climate, however, a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France.[ 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 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 are mainly alpine in nature with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.

History of France

Prehistory

The Neanderthals, a member of the homo genus, began to occupy Europe from about 200,000 BCE, but seem to have died out by about 30,000 years ago, presumably out-competed by the modern humans during a period of cold weather. The earliest modern humans — Homo sapiens sapiens — entered Europe (including France) around 50,000 years ago (the Upper Palaeolithic).

From the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, Indo-European and Proto-Celtic peoples spread across Western Europe. During the final stages of the Iron Age the La Tène culture gradually transformed into the explicitly Celtic culture of early historical times.

Gaul

Covering large parts of modern day France, Belgium, and northwest Germany, Gaul was inhabited by many Celtic tribes whom the Romans referred to as Gauls and who spoke the Gaulish language. On the lower Garonne the people spoke an archaic language related to Basque, the Aquitanian language. The Celts founded cities such as Lutetia Parisiorum (Paris) and Burdigala (Bordeaux) while the Aquitanians founded Tolosa (Toulouse).

Long before any Roman settlements, Greek navigators settled in what would become Provence. The Phoceans founded important cities such as Massalia (Marseilles) and Nicaea (Nice), bringing them in to conflict with the neighboring Celts and Ligurians. The Celts themselves often fought with Aquitanians and Germans, and a Gaulish war band led by Brennus invaded Rome circa 390 or 387 BC following the Battle of the Allia. However Gaulish tactics would not evolve and the Romans would learn to counter them, the Gauls would from then be defeated in battles such as Sentinum and Telamon.

When he fought the Romans, Hannibal Barca recruited several Gaulish mercenaries which fought on his side at Cannae. It was this Gaulish participation that caused Provence to be annexed in 121 BC by the Roman Republic. Later, the Consul of Gaul - Julius Caesar - conquered all of Gaul. Despite Gaulish opposition led by Vercingetorix, the Overking of the Warriors, Gauls succumbed to the Roman onslaught; the Gauls had some success at first at Gergovia, but were ultimately defeated at Alesia. The Romans founded cities such as Lugdunum (Lyon) and Narbonensis (Narbonne).

Roman Gaul

Pont du Gard, an aqueduct bridge built by the Romans.

Gaul was divided into several different provinces. The Romans displaced populations in order to prevent local identities to become a threat to the Roman control. Thus, many Celts were displaced in Aquitania or were enslaved and moved out of Gaul. There was a strong cultural evolution in Gaul under the Roman Empire, the most obvious one being the replacement of the Gaulish language by Vulgar Latin. It has been argued the similarities between the Gaulish and Latin languages favoured the transition. Gaul remained under Roman control for centuries and the Celtic culture was then replaced by the Gallo-Roman culture.

Gauls became better integrated with the Empire with the passage of time. In the decade following Valerian’s capture by the Persians in 260 Postumus established a short-lived Gallic Empire, which included the Iberian Peninsula and Britannia in addition to Gaul itself. Germanic tribes, the Franks and the Alamanni, entered Gaul at this time. The Gallic Empire ended with Emperor Aurelian's victory at Chalons in 274.

A migration of Celts appeared in the 4th century in Armorica. They were led by the legendary King Conan Meriadoc and came from England. They spoke the now extinct British language which evolved into the Breton, Cornish, and Welsh languages.

In 418 the Aquitanian province was given to the Goths in exchange for their support against the Vandals. Those Goths had previously sacked Rome in 410 and established a capital in Toulouse. The Roman Empire had difficulty responding to all the barbarian raids, and Flavius Aëtius had to use these tribes against each other in order to maintain some Roman control. He first used Huns against Burgundians and these mercenaries destroyed Worms, killed King Gunther, and pushed the Burgundians westward. The Burgundians were resettled by Aëtius near Lugdunum in 443. The Huns, united by Attila became a greater threat, and Aëtius used the Visigoths against the Huns. The conflict climaxed in 451 at the Battle of Chalons, in which the Romans and Goths defeated Attila.

The Roman Empire was on the verge of collapsing. Aquitania was definitely abandoned to the Visigoths, who would soon conquer a significant part of southern Gaul as well as most of the Iberian Peninsula. The Burgundians claimed their own Kingdom, and northern Gaul was practically abandoned to the Franks. Aside of the Germanic peoples the Vascones entered Wasconia from the Pyrenees and the Bretons formed three kingdoms in Armorica: Domnonia, Cornouaille and Broërec.

Frankish Kingdoms (486-987)

In 486,Clovis I, leader of the Salian Franks, defeated Syagrius at Soissons and subsequently united most of northern and central Gaul under his rule. Clovis then recorded a succession of victories against other Germanic tribes such as the Alamanni at Tolbiac. In 496, he adopted the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. This gave him greater legitimacy and power over his Christian subjects and granted him clerical support against the Visigoths. He defeated Alaric II at Vouillé in 507 and annexed Aquitaine, and thus Toulouse, into his Frankish Kingdom. The Goths retired to Toledo in what would become Spain.

Clovis made Paris his capital but his Kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among heirs, so four kingdoms emerged: Paris, Orleans, Soissons, and Rheims. The Merovingian dynasty eventually lost effective power to their successive mayors of the palace, the founders of what was to become the Carolingian dynasty. Muslims invaders had conquered Hispania and were threatening the Frankish kingdoms. Duke Odo the Great defeated a major invading force at Toulouse in 721 but failed to repel a raiding party in 732. The mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated that raiding party at the Battle of Tours (actually the Battle of Poitiers) and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdom. The assumption of the crown in 751 by Pippin the Short (son of Charles Martel) established the Carolingian dynasty.

The new rulers' power reached its fullest extent under Pippin's son Charlemagne, who in 771 reunited the Frankish domains after a further period of division, subsequently conquering the Lombards under Desiderius in what is now northern Italy (774), incorporating Bavaria (788) into his realm, defeating the Avars of the Danubian plain (796), advancing the frontier with Islamic Spain as far south as Barcelona (801), and subjugating Lower Saxony (804) after prolonged campaigning.

In recognition of his successes and his political support for the Papacy, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans, or Roman Emperor in the West, by Pope Leo III in 800. On the death of Charlemagne's son Louis I (emperor 814-840), Charles the Bald, and Louis the German swore allegiance to each other against their brother in the Oath of Strasbourg, and the empire was divided among Louis's three sons (Treaty of Verdun, 843). After a last brief reunification (884-887), the imperial title ceased to be held in the western realm which was to form the basis of the future French Kingdom. The eastern realm, which would become Germany, elected the Saxon dynasty of Henry the Fowler.

Under the Carolingians, the Kingdom was ravaged by Viking raiders. In this struggle some important figures such as Count Odo of Paris and his brother King Robert rose to fame and became kings. This emerging dynasty, called the Robertines, was the predecessor of the Capetian Dynasty, who were descended from the Robertines. Led by Rollo, the Vikings had settled in Normandy and were granted the land first as counts and then as dukes by King Charles the Simple. The people that emerged from the interactions between Vikings and the mix of Franks and Gallo-Romans became known as the Normans.

West Francia / France in the Middle-Ages (987-1453)

Hugh Capet was elected by an assembly summoned in Reims on 1 June 987. Capet was previously "Duke of the Franks" and then became "King of the Franks" (Rex Francorum). He was recorded to be recognised king by the Gauls, Bretons, Danes, Aquitanians, Goths, Spanish and Gascons.[1] The Danes here are certainly the Normans (of Normandy), and the Spanish entry probably refers to the Carolingian Spanish marches. Hugh Capet's reign was marked by the loss of the Spanish marches as they grew more and more independent, Count Borell of Barcelona called for Hugh's help against islamic raids. If Hugh intended to help Borell he was occupied fighting Charles of Lorraine. Spanish principalities then followed their way. His son -Robert the Pious- met the Emperor in 1023 on the borderline. They agreed to end all claims over each other's realm, setting a new stage of Capetian and Ottonian relationships.

The French Kingdom was a very decentralized Kingdom. If the king ventured outside of his own small personal possessions, he risked being captured by his own vassals. This is especially true for the early Capetians, but from Louis VI onward, royal authority became more accepted. Even more powerful vassals such as Henry Plantagenet paid homage to the French kings. Louis VII was well served by a competent advisor, Abbot Suger, who helped him gain the respect of the nobles. Suger's vision of construction became known as the Gothic Architecture during the later renaissance.

This style became standard for most French cathedrals built in the late middle-age. Some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they would be among the strongest rulers of western Europe. The Normans, the Plantagenets, the Lusignans, the Hautevilles, the Ramnulfids, and the House of Toulouse successfully carved lands outside of France for themselves. The most important of these conquests for the French history was the Norman Conquest of England following the Battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror because it linked England to France through Normandy. Although the Normans were now both vassals of the French kings and their equals as King of England their zone of political activity remained centred in France. These Norman nobles then commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry. An important part of the French aristocracy involved itself in the crusades, some legacy left in mideast from these nobles is the Krak des Chevaliers' enlargement by the Counts of Tripoli and Toulouse.

Most remarkable was the Angevin Empire which was probably the greatest threat to the King of the Franks, resulting from both the Norman Conquest of England and The Anarchy. The Battle of Bouvines was probably the most important event in the collapse of this so-called empire. In addition to defeating John of England, Philip Augustus founded the Sorbonne and made Paris a city of scholars. Prince Louis (the future Louis VIII) was involved in the subsequent English Civil War as French and English (or rather Anglo-Norman) aristocracy were once one and were now split between allegiances. Saint Louis (Louis IX) inflicted further defeats on the Angevins during the Saintonge War and also supported new forms of art such as Gothic architecture; his Sainte-Chapelle became a very famous gothic building, and he is also credited for the Morgan Bible. While the French kings were struggling against the Plantagenets the Church called for the Albigensian Crusade. Southern France was then largely absorbed in the royal domains.

It can be said that France became a truly centralized kingdom under Saint Louis, who initiated several administrative reforms. More administrative reforms were made by Philip the Fair. This King was responsible for the end of the Templars, signed the Auld Alliance, and established the Parlement of Paris. Philip IV was so powerful that he could name popes and emperors, unlike the early Capetians. The papacy was moved to Avignon and all the contemporary popes were French such as Philip IV's puppet: Bertrand de Goth.

The tensions between the Houses of Anjou and Capet climaxed during the so-called Hundred Years War (actually several distinct wars) when the English descendants of the former claimed the throne of France from the Valois. This was also the time of the Black Death as well as several civil wars. The French population suffered very much from these wars. It has been argued that the difficult conditions the French population suffered during the Hundred Years' War awakened French nationalism, a nationalism represented by Joan of Arc. Although this is debatable, the Hundred Years War is remembered more as a Franco-English war than as a succession of feudal struggles. During this war, France evolved politically and militarily. Although a Franco-Scottish army was successful at Baugé, the humiliating defeats of Poitiers and Agincourt forced the French nobility to realize they could not stand just as armoured knights without an organised army. Charles VII established the first French standing army, the Compagnies d'ordonnance, and defeated the English once at Patay and again, using canons, at Formigny. The Battle of Châtillon was regarded as the last engagement of this "war", yet Calais and the Channel Islands remained under ruled by the English crown.

King of the Franks and later of France

In 1190, Phillip first used the title Rex Franciae (King of France) on his royal seal, in contrast to the tradition style Rex Francorum (King of the Franks). Rex Franciae is used more and more in documents for the next decade and a half until, in 1204, the year that he conquered Normandy, the most important Plantagenet possession in France, Philip changes his official style, with which he opens all of his acts, to Philippus Rex Franciae. The term Regnum Franciae (Kingdom of France) appears first in 1205, once again in contrast to the older Regnum Francorum (Kingdom of the Franks). This is when historians have traditionally located the change from West Francia to France. The impetus for the change appears to be the growing rivalry between Philip and King Richard I Lionheart of England, who used the style Rex Angliae (King of England) – once again to be contrasted with the older Rex Angolorum (King of the English). It would, although, take generations for the Western Franks to consider themselves as French.

Early Modern France to revolution (1453-1789)

France evolved from a feudal country to an increasingly centralized state (albeit with many regional differences) organized around a powerful absolute monarchy that relied on the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings and the explicit support of the established Church. France engaged in the long Italian Wars (1494-1559), which marked the beginning of early modern France. Francis I faced powerful foes, and he was captured at Pavia. The French monarchy then sought for allies and found one in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa captured Nice on 5 August 1543 and handed it down to Francis I. These times also gave birth to the Protestant Reformation, and John Calvin and his reformed doctrine challenged the power of the Catholic Church in France. During the 16th century, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs were the dominant power in Europe. In addition to Spain and Austria, they controlled a number of kingdoms and duchies across Europe. Charles Quint, as Count of Burgundy, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Aragon, Castile and Germany (among many other titles) encircled France. The Spanish Tercio was used with great success against French knights and remained undefeated for a long time. Finally on January 7, 1558 the Duke of Guise seized Calais from the English.

Because of its international status, there was a desire to regulate the French language. Several reforms of the French language worked to uniformize it. The Renaissance writer François Rabelais (probably born in 1494) helped to shape the French language as a literary language, Rabelais' French is characterised by the re-introduction of Latin and Greek words. Jacques Peletier du Mans (born 1517) was one of the scholars that reformed the French language. He improved Nicolas Chuquet's long scale system by adding names for intermediate numbers (milliards instead of thousand million, etc...). During the 16th century the French kingdom also established colonies began to claim North American territories. Jacques Cartier was one of the great explorers who ventured deep into American territories during the 16th century. The largest group of French colonies became known as New France, and several cities such as Quebec City, Montreal, Detroit and New Orleans were founded by the French.

The most significant King of France was Louis XIV, 'The Sun King', whose armies marched across Europe causing mass destruction and death. He is also renowned for the construction of the palace of Versailles just outside Paris.

The ancient regime in France came to an end with the infamous French Revolution and the murder of hundreds of thousands of people, including the King & Queen, Louis XVI (great-grandson of the abovementioned Louix XIV) and the Dauphin.

Modern Government

Summary

During the years between the two world wars France had constantly changing governments (or, more correctly, Cabinets), thirty-five in all, even several in a single year, during the French Third Republic. This led to great political instability. The longest administration was the 1940-1944 French State government. That was followed by an Allied-installed and protected unelected 'provisional government' following their invasion of France. The French Fourth Republic was the government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, under the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the discredited Third Republic, which existed from 1871 (the end of the Franco-Prussian War) to 10 July 1940 and it suffered many of the same problems.

French Fifth Republic

The current French Fifth Republic is a unitary semi-presidential democratic republic. Its constitution was approved by a referendum on 28 September 1958. It strengthened the authority of the Cabinet in relation to parliament. The Cabinet has two leaders: the President of the Republic, who is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year term (formerly 7 years) and is the Head of State, and the Government, led by the President-appointed Prime Minister.

The French parliament remains as previously: with a bicameral legislature comprising a National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), composed of a Chamber of elected Deputies and a Senate with elected Senators. The Chamber deputies represent local constituencies and are directly elected for 5-year terms. The Chamber has the power to dismiss the cabinet - usually by a no-confidence vote (as in the Third Republic), and thus the majority in the Chamber determines the choice of government. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 6-year terms (originally 9-year terms), and today one half of the seats are submitted to election every 3 years starting in September 2008. The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the Chamber has the final say, except for constitutional laws and lois organiques (laws that are directly provided for by the constitution) in some cases. The Cabinet has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament.

French politics are characterized by two politically opposed groupings: one left-wing, centred around the French Socialist Party, and the other centre parties, centred previously around the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) and now its successor, the Union for a Popular Movement. As in Britain and Germany the parliaments are overwhelmingly in the hands of the Liberal-Left.

Immigration

France is today in turmoil due to unlimited alien immigration. This has been a continuing theme since decolonization, in particular the granting of independence to Algeria, Morocco and Tunis and other African colonies. Despite many books on the subject and the rise of nationalist political parties complaining that the immigration of aliens is unacceptable, it has continued with illegal immigration reaching record heights in recent years. The French military had a letter published in the Paris newspapers in May 2021 claiming 130,000 lay signatures with it, warning that a civil war is coming.

In an attempt to appease this, instead of dealing with it, numerous government ministers have praised multiculturalism and multi-racialism:

France must remain a land of immigration and a land of asylum!

—French Interior Minster, and former socialist Prime Minister (2016 - 2017). Bernard Cazeneuve

The goal is to meet the challenge of racial interbreeding. The challenge of racial interbreeding that faces us in the 21st Century. It’s not a choice, it’s an obligation. It’s imperative. We cannot do otherwise. We risk finding ourselves confronted with major problems. We MUST change; therefore we WILL change. We are going to change ALL at the same time. In business, in administration, in education, in the political parties. And we will obligate ourselves as to results. If this volunteerism does not work for the Republic, then the State will move to still more coercive measures. The challenge of racial interbreeding that France has always known. And in meeting the challenge of racial interbreeding, France is faithful to its history.

—The Gaullist UPM Former French President (2007-2012) Nicholas Sarkozy (who is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and partially French origins.)

Anti-semitism

In the 21st century France suffers from massive non-European immigration (mainly from Middle East and Africa), slowly replacing the original White population by non-Caucasians. As is the case in other European countries, this catastrophic situation is arguably the result of Jewish manipulation. Jewish influence in French politics became rampant with the so-called "emancipation of the Jews" in 1791. Several Premiers have been Jewish.

The student protests of 1968 instigated by the media and Jews such as Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Alaine Krivine, Serge July, Bernhard Kouchner, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Benjamin Stora were a success from the Jewish point of view: destruction of traditional values, the start of mass immigration, and the promotion of cultural Marxism.

By 2013, over 30% of children age 20 years and below were from recent immigrant descent from Middle East and Africa. The ratio in Paris and Marseilles of these immigrants to everyone else is around half. The massive increase of the number of non-Europeans has resulted in increasing crimes such as rapes, murders and robberies.

In France, being "antisemitic" can get you imprisoned. In 2013, after a legal battle, which Twitter fought against, now whenever anyone makes an alleged antisemitic post, Twitter is required by law to provide the personal details and IP address of anyone in France who makes a post the Jews consider even remotely antisemitic. This information goes to the French police for a pending raid, permanent seizing of anything remotely electronic, and imprisonment. Before these recent laws, they had to get individual requests from a court. The UK has a similar policy.

People who protest against Israel or Zionism can face criminal charges. In 2019 president Emmanuel Macron said anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism. For calls to boycott products from Israel you may be fined.

After France received millions of people from Muslim countries, the Muslims held a protest in support of Palestine in July 2014 during a time when Israel was engaging in the massive genocide of innocent Palestinians. France then banned pro-Palestine protests.

Many Jews have begun leaving France for Israel since 2014. Essentially they are fleeing from the alien Muslims they encouraged as immigrants under their internationalist agendas. The main reason why many Muslim immigrants are coming to France and Europe is because of the wars created by Israel and the United States in Middle East.

Law

France uses a civil legal system; that is, law arises primarily from written statutes; judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judge interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to case law). Basic principles of the rule of law were laid in the Napoleonic Code. In agreement with the French Revolutionary principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society.

French law is divided into two principal areas: private law and public law. Private law includes, in particular, civil law and criminal law. Public law includes, in particular, administrative law and constitutional law. However, in practical terms, French law comprises three principal areas of law: civil law; criminal law and administrative law.

France no longer recognizes religious law, nor does it recognize religious beliefs or morality as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions. As a consequence, France has long had neither blasphemy laws nor sodomy laws (the latter being abolished in 1791 during the Revolution). However "offences against public decency" (contraires aux bonnes mœurs) or breach of the peace (trouble à l'ordre public) have been used to repress public expressions of homosexuality or street prostitution.

Laws can only address the future and not the past (ex post facto laws are prohibited); and to be applicable, laws must be officially published in the Journal Officiel de la République Française.

France bans many books it deems politically incorrect.

In July 2014, Anne-Sophie Leclere, was sentenced to nine months in prison for posting a photo that compared a politician to a monkey. Since the French politician was a negro, black privilege meant he could not be insulted by a white person. Leclere said she had black friends and the image was not meant as racist, but still she received prison term.

Economy

France's economy combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered) with substantial (though declining) government intervention (see dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunication firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries.

A member of the G8 group of leading industrialized countries, it is ranked as the sixth largest economy in the world in 2005, behind the United States, Japan, Germany, The People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom. France joined 11 other EU members to launch the Euro on January 1, 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc in early 2002. According to the OECD, in 2004 France was the world's fifth-largest exporter and the fourth-largest importer of manufactured goods. In 2003, France was the 2nd-largest recipient of foreign direct investment among OECD countries at $47 billion, ranking behind Luxembourg (where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers to banks located in that country) but above the United States ($39.9 billion), the United Kingdom ($14.6 billion), Germany ($12.9 billion), or Japan ($6.3 billion). In the same year, French companies invested $57.3 billion outside of France, ranking France as the second most important outward direct investor in the OECD, behind the United States ($173.8 billion), and ahead of the United Kingdom ($55.3 billion), Japan ($28.8 billion) and Germany ($2.6 billion).

Despite figures showing a higher productivity per hour worked than in the US, France's GDP per capita is significantly lower than the US GDP per capita, being in fact comparable to the GDP per capita of the other European countries, which is on average 30% below the US level. The reason for this is that a much smaller percentage of the French population is working compared to the US, which lowers the GDP per capita of France, despite its higher productivity. In fact, France has one of the lowest percentages of its population aged 15-64 years at work among the OECD countries. In 2004, 68.8% of the French population aged 15-64 years was in employment, compared to 80.0% in Japan, 78.9% in the UK, 77.2% in the US, and 71.0% in Germany.

This phenomenon is the result of almost thirty years of massive unemployment in France, which has led to three consequences reducing the size of the working population: about 9% of the active population is without a job; students delay as long as possible their entry into labour market; and finally, the French government gives various incentives to workers to retire in their early 50s, though these are now receding.

As many economists have stressed repeatedly over the years, the main issue with the French economy is not an issue of productivity. In their opinion, it is an issue of structural reforms, in order to increase the size of the working population in the overall population. Liberal and Keynesian economists have different answers to that issue. Lower working hours and the reluctance to reform the labour market are mentioned as weak spots of the French economy in the view of the right and lack of government policies fostering social justice by the left. Recent government attempts at adjusting the youth labour market, to combat unemployment, have met with fierce resistance.

With 79.1 million foreign tourists in 2006, France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (55.6 million in 2005) and the United States (49.4 million in 2005). This 79.1 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Spain or Italy during the Summer. France features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost), 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 the Hautes-Pyrénées département, that hosts a few million tourists a year.

France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium Airbus, and is the only European power (excluding Russia) to have its own national spaceport (Centre Spatial Guyanais). France is also the most energy independent Western country due to heavy investment in nuclear power, which also makes France the smallest producer of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialised countries in the world. As a result of large investments in nuclear technology, most of the electricity produced in the country is generated by nuclear power plants (78.1% in 2006,[26] up from only 8% in 1973, 24% in 1980, and 75% in 1990).

Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EU subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer and exporter in Europe. Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as an internationally recognised foodstuff and wine industry are primary French agricultural exports. EU agriculture subsidies to France total almost $14 billion.

Since the end of the Second World War the government made efforts to integrate more and more with Germany, both economically and politically. Today the two countries form what is often referred to as the "core" countries in favour of greater integration of the European Union.

Literature and Poetry

French literature tracks its origins back to the Middle Ages. French was not yet a uniform language but was divided into several dialects (mainly: northern oïl, southern oc dialects). Each writer used his own spelling and grammar. Several French mediæval texts are not signed- such is the case with Tristan and Iseult, or with Lancelot and the Holy Grail, among many others. A significant part of mediaeval French poetry and literature was inspired by the Matter of France, such as the The Song of Roland and the various Chansons de geste. The "Roman de Renart" was written in 1175 by Perrout de Saint Cloude, and told the story of the medieval character Reynard ('the Fox'); it is also a popular example of early French story-telling.

In spite of the anonymous character of many French writings of the Middle Ages, some medieval writers became quite famous: Chrétien de Troyes, for instance. 'Oc' culture was also quite influent in the Middle Ages. An early example of vernacular poet writing in Occitan was Duke William IX of Aquitaine.

About the history of the French language, one of the most important writer is unquestionably François Rabelais. Modern French took a great deal from his style. His most famous work is quite probably Gargantua and Pantagruel. Later on, Jean de La Fontaine wrote his famous "Fables", a collection of short stories, written in verse, and usually ending with a "moral teaching".

But it is most certainly in the 18th and 19th centuries which French literature and poetry reach its highest point. The 18th century saw the writings of such huge writers, essayists and moralists as Voltaire, Denis Diderot and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. As concerns French children's literature in those times, Charles Perrault was probably the most prolific writer, with stories such as: "Puss in Boots", "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty" and "Bluebeard".

The 19th century saw the birth of many French novels of world renown; Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne are probably among the most famous among these writers, both in and outside of France, with such highly popular novels such as The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte-Cristo, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, or The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Symbolist poetry of the turn of the 19th century also proved to be a strong movement in French poetry, with artists such as Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé.

Now become famous outside of France, as well (whereas they used to be mostly known inside of France) are Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Albert Camus. One of the most well-known 20th century writers is Antoine de St.-Exupéry, whose "Little Prince" has been translated and become a bestseller in a great many countries, remaining popular both with children and adults.

Nowadays, the Prix Goncourt (first given in 1903) rewards "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". It has quite probably become France's best-known contemporary literary award.

Marianne

Marianna is a symbol of the French Republic. She is an allegorical figure of liberty and the Republic and first appeared at the time of the French Revolution. The earliest representations of Marianne are of a woman wearing a Phrygian cap. The origins of the name Marianne are unknown, but Marie-Anne was a very common first name in the 18th century. Anti-revolutionaries of the time derisively called her La Gueuse (the Commoner). It is believed that revolutionaries from the South of France adopted the Phrygian cap as it symbolised liberty, having been worn by freed slaves in both Greece and Rome. Mediterranean seamen and convicts manning the galleys also wore a similar type of cap.

Under the Third Republic, statues, and especially busts, of Marianne began to proliferate, particularly in town halls. She was represented in several different manners, depending on whether the aim was to emphasise her revolutionary nature or her "wisdom". Over time, the Phrygian cap was felt to be too seditious, and was replaced by a diadem or a crown. In recent times, famous French women have been used as the model for those busts. Recent ones include Sophie Marceau, and Laetitia Casta. She also features on everyday articles such as postage stamps and coins.

Random topics

• Description of the flag: three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red became the flag during the French Revolution and made popular by Marquis de Lafayette; known as the drapeau tricolore (Tricolour Flag). It is traditional to refer to the three colours in the order: blue, white, red. (bleu, blanc, rouge); blue and red are the colours of Paris, while white was the colour of the Bourbon monarchy. The white inserted between the blue and the red expresses the idea that the king was under control of the people.

• The foundation of France as a Kingdom is dated to 496 (the year of the baptism of Clovis I) since this event puts together three essential features of the country: the definition of a territorial limit (however much smaller than the current one), the definition of a power rule (succession from a king to his first son) and the definition of a social system (3 categories of people: warriors, priest and workers). The Treaty of Verdun in 843, which divided the Frankish Empire and created the kingdom of Francia Occidentalis (“Western Frankland”), from which France is descended, represents only the legal founding of the state. The French state has been in continuous existence since 843, among the oldest states in existence in the world, although its form of government has changed from one of a Kingdom to one of a republic.

• Although commonly associated with the French Revolution and suggested by Robespierre in December, 1790, France's motto, "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" was not adopted until the Revolutions of 1848 in France.[38]

• The National holiday of France since 1880 is the Fête Nationale (National Holiday), colloquially known as le 14 juillet, officially celebrating the Fête de la Fédération (14 July 1790) and not the storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789) as is often believed, even by a majority of French people, and is the reason why the holiday is referred to as Bastille Day in English. On the occasion of the Fête de la Fédération, celebrated exactly one year after the storming of the Bastille, all the representatives of the provinces of France gathered on the Champ de Mars in Paris in presence of the King Louis XVI and proclaimed the national unity of France. They vowed to remain faithful to "the Nation, the Law, the King".

This day is considered by French Republicans as the real birth of France: France is no more a country made up of provinces conquered by kings, but a country of provinces and men who freely agree to form a common Nation. This concept of a Nation agreed upon is opposed to the German concept of a Nation based on ethnicity and race, and it was responsible for much of the conflicts between France and Germany in the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Alsace was a German land that had been annexed by the conquest of the French Kings, while France considered that although Alsace had indeed been a conquered province in the first place, it had legitimately and freely become a part of France by the oath of 14 July 1790. It is thus no surprise that the 14th of July was proclaimed the National Holiday of France in 1880, 9 years after Germany had reunited with Alsace-Lorraine.

Despite being associated with the Fête de la Fédération, 14 July irked many French monarchists, to whom it recalled the bloody memory of the storming of the Bastille. French monarchists formerly wore a black armband each 14 July in defiance of the national holiday.

• The French city of Avignon replaced Rome as home to the Papacy between 1309-1377. The town remained under papal control until 1791, when it was incorporated into France.

• Popular tourist sites include: (according to a 2003 ranking [6] visitors per year) : Eiffel Tower (6.2 million), Louvre Museum (5.7 million), Palace of Versailles (2.8 million), Orsay Museum (2.1 million), Arc de Triomphe (1.2 million), Centre Pompidou (1.2 million), Mont-Saint-Michel (1 million), Château de Chambord (711,000),Sainte-Chapelle (683,000), Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg (549,000), Puy de Dôme (500,000), Musée Picasso (441,000), Carcassonne (362,000). Other very popular and well-known tourist sites include: Palace of the Popes, Avignon, Disneyland Resort Paris, the châteaux of the Loire Valley, the ski resorts of the French Alps or Pyrenees, Tahiti and the lagoons of French Polynesia, etc.

• France is home to the international cycling competition Le Tour de France.

See also

• White demographics: France
• Jewish influence: France

Sources

• Werth, Alexander, France 1940-1955, Robert Hale, London, 1957.
• Ritchie, Professor R. L. Graeme, France - A Companion to French Studies, Methuen & Co., London, Second edition, 1940.
• Zeldin, Theodore, France 1848-1945, vol.1, Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, published 1973/reprinted 1988. ISBN: 0-19-822104-5.
• Zeldin, Theodore, France 1848-1945, vol.2, Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, published 1977/reprinted 1988. ISBN: 0-19-822125-8.
• Gildea, Robert, France since 1945, Oxford University Press, U.K., 1996, ISBN: 0-19-219256-9.

External links

• France's Fear of a Black Planet
• Encyclopedia.com: France
• The Huguenots, the Jews, and Me by Armand Laferrere
• The Challenge of French Diversity by Patrick Simon