France, officially known as the French Republic (French: République française), and its predecessors. For those living under a rock, France is a Romance country in Western Europe, with non-Romance linguistic minorities living on the borders: Celtic Brittany, Alemmanic Alsace and Lorraine (and a few other pockets), and some Basques in the extreme southwest (Iparralde). The name "France" comes from the Germanic Franks, who ruled the region formerly known to the Romans as Gallia ("Gaul" was, despite popular belief, not what Romans called the region), but the people living there were not, for the most part, ever Germans. Religiously speaking, a little over half the population regards itself as Catholics of some stripe, with the non-religious being the next largest group, and Muslims, Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, and all the others making up the rest. Keep in mind though, that since French law forbids ethnic or religious censuses, any figures bandied about are based on opinion studies and their results can vary wildly depending on the criteria − some studies put non-religious people as the majority, notably.
France is the fourth-most populated country and second-largest economy in Europe, second only to Germany itself, although the position of number two is sometimes contested between France and the UK. It is sometimes called "The Hexagon", because it is roughly hexagonal. France also has several oversea departments and territories all around the world, with the former (Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Mayotte and Réunion Island) being considered an integral part of the country. La France Métropolitaine is the term most commonly used to refer to the parts of France within Europe.
From the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 through the end of The Napoleonic Wars in 1815, France was the strongest land power in Europe and maintained a large overseas empire that made it very rich; together, these made France incredibly culturally influential. Even after the loss of dominance after the fall of Napoleon, French culture continued to be influential; if anything, French culture it was even more influential in the 19th century, and came to dominate much of the world, being seen as more refined, elegant, and cosmopolitan than any other. This has lingering effects to the modern day in fields as varied as philosophy, literature, visual arts, fashion, and cuisine.
French Culture, Media & Beyond
French Sports
French Geography
- Paris (capital city)
- Le Métropolitain (Paris's transit system)
- Departemental Issues (Administrative divisions of France)
- Les Cops Sportif (French police)
- French Courts
- Old French Money
- Charlemagne
- The House of Normandy
- The Cathars
- The Hundred Years War
- Duchy of Burgundy
- L'État, c'est moi
- French Wars of Religion
- The French Revolution
- The Napoleonic Wars
- The French Colonial Empire
- French Political System
- Gauls with Grenades
- The Ultimate Resistance (French nuclear weapons)
- World War I
- Maginot Line
- World War II
The French flag
National emblem of France
The French national anthem
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It was written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle as a military song during the 1792 war against European royalists. The "impure blood" is a topic of controversy: one interpretation is that it designates the blood of the patriots who sacrifice themselves for freedom, opposed to the self-proclaimed "pure blood" of the nobles. Another, opposite one, is that it is the blood of the enemies and traitors who wanted to crush the revolution, "impure" meaning "treacherous" and "full of vice" in context. Historians rather favor the latter interpretation nowadays.
This is the first verse of seven (in the final version). Rest assured: they are all equally violent.
Miscellaneous
- Capital and largest city: Paris
- Population: 67,406,000
- Area: 640,679 sq km (247,368 sq mi) (42nd)
- Government: Unitary semi-presidential republic
- Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)note
- ISO-3166-1 Code: FR
- Country calling code: 33
- Highest point: Mont Blanc (4810 m/15,781 ft) note
- Lowest point: Étang de Lavalduc (−10 m/−33 ft)
