The Louvre Pyramid is an example of modern architecture added to an older building. [129] The Constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958. National Policy & Plans. [447], The French Open, also called Roland-Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which included a strengthened Presidency. Due to its shape, France is often referred to as l'Hexagone ("The Hexagon"). With an estimated 2020 population of 67.08 million people,[240] France is the 20th most populous country in the world, the third-most populous in Europe (after Russia and Germany), and the second most populous in the European Union (after Germany). Thus, nearly a fifth of the country's population were either first or second-generation immigrants, of which more than 5 million were of European origin and 4 million of Maghrebi ancestry. Although the French film market is dominated by Hollywood, France is the only nation in the world where American films make up the smallest share of total film revenues, at 50%, compared with 77% in Germany and 69% in Japan. [421] Moreover, each region of France has iconic traditional specialities: Cassoulet in the Southwest, Choucroute in Alsace, Quiche in the Lorraine region, Beef bourguignon in the Bourgogne, provençal Tapenade, etc. Other authors are known, for example Chrétien de Troyes and Duke William IX of Aquitaine, who wrote in Occitan. ", "French: one of the world's main languages", "GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences", "France – International Religious Freedom Report 2005", "Society2; religion in France; beliefs; secularism (laicité)". Cities affected by this climate: Chamonix, Mouthe. The 43,180 buildings protected as historical monuments include mainly residences (many castles) and religious buildings (cathedrals, basilicas, churches), but also statues, memorials and gardens. "[A workman is known by his chips].[343]. In the context of the Cold War, de Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence" towards the Western and Eastern blocs. Metropolitan France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north, an Italian occupation zone in the south-east and Vichy France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, in the south, while Free France, the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle, was set up in London. While the Louvre Palace has been for a long time a museum, the Musée d'Orsay was inaugurated in 1986 in the old railway station Gare d'Orsay, in a major reorganisation of national art collections, to gather French paintings from the second part of the 19th century (mainly Impressionism and Fauvism movements).[326][327]. [111] However, the plan was abandoned due to fears of burdening French businesses. & dark grey)– in the European Union (green (Note the overseas department of French Guiana highlighted on the extreme lefthand side of the globe image.)). [82][83][84] A vestige of the colonial empire are the French overseas departments and territories. [48] 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 of France (Philippe Auguste). Hand transplantation was developed on 23 September 1998 in Lyon by a team assembled from different countries around the world including Jean-Michel Dubernard who, shortly thereafter, performed the first successful double hand transplant. [37] Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC. [381], Until recently, France had for centuries been the cultural center of the world,[280] although its dominant position has been surpassed by the United States. [333] Such residential castles were the Château de Chambord, the Château de Chenonceau, or the Château d'Amboise. The Bastille Day military parade held in Paris each 14 July for France's national day, called Bastille Day in English-speaking countries (referred to in France as Fête nationale), is the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe. This fueled much discontent in parts of France, which would contribute to the civil war breaking out some years later. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars. Other smaller parades are organised across the country. [269] In 2010, France received about 48,100 asylum applications—placing it among the top five asylum recipients in the world[270] and in subsequent years it saw the number of applications increase, ultimately doubling to 100,412 in 2017. Since the Middle Ages, France has been a major contributor to scientific and technological achievement. Although English-speaking creations achieved popularity in the country, French pop music, known as chanson française, has also remained very popular. The country also hosted the 1960 European Nations' Cup, UEFA Euro 1984, UEFA Euro 2016 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. [414] France legalized same-sex marriage and adoption in 2013. Coordinates: 47°N 2°E / 47°N 2°E / 47; 2, – in Europe (green (Note the overseas department of French Guiana highlighted on the extreme lefthand side of the globe image.) The French Republic is divided into 18 regions (located in Europe and overseas), five overseas collectivities, one overseas territory, one special collectivity – New Caledonia and one uninhabited island directly under the authority of the Minister of Overseas France – Clipperton. The vast majority of France's territory and population is situated in Western Europe and is called Metropolitan France, to distinguish it from the country's various overseas polities. In contrast, the five overseas regions used the French franc and now use the euro.[128]. 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. [39] These cities were built in traditional Roman style, with a forum, a theatre, a circus, an amphitheatre and thermal baths. Early hominids led a nomadic hunter-gatherer life. [87] During the 1970s France faced economic crisis and allowed new immigrants (mostly from the Maghreb)[87] to permanently settle in France with their families and to acquire French citizenship. de Buchenwald après la libération. Summers are pleasantly warm and wet, while winters are cool and damp. Later kings would expand their directly possessed domaine royal to cover over half of modern continental France by the 15th century, including most of the north, centre and west of France. By 1875, the French conquest of Algeria was complete and approximately 825,000 Algerians were killed as a result.[70]. France is a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN, and a recognised nuclear state since 1960. Fashion has been an important industry and cultural export of France since the 17th century, and modern "haute couture" originated in Paris in the 1860s. [437], Similar to the Olympics, France introduced Olympics for the deaf people (Deaflympics) in 1924 with the idea of a French deaf car mechanic, Eugène Rubens-Alcais who paved the way to organise the inaugural edition of the Summer Deaflympics in Paris. [184] As of 2016[update], the World Factbook ranked France seventh largest exporter. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Evans, D. Rueschemeyer, & T. Skocpol. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast. At this time there was a strong Gothic resurgence across Europe and in France; the associated architect was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Cities affected by this climate: Albi, Carcassonne, Lyon, Orange, Toulouse, Valence. [272][273][274] In 2008, France granted citizenship to 137,000 persons, mostly from Morocco, Algeria and Turkey. [266][267] They were joined by numerous former colonial subjects from North and West Africa, as well as numerous European immigrants from Spain and Portugal. The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged from Clovis's: Paris, Orléans, Soissons, and Rheims. In that year, French troops conquered Algeria, establishing the first colonial presence in Africa since Napoleon's abortive invasion of Egypt in 1798. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 6-year terms (originally 9-year terms); one half of the seats are submitted to election every 3 years.[134]. [51] Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death,[52] and England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War. Students intellectually master public and private strategies on environmental and sustainable development issues in the global arena and acquire analytical skills with a capacity to serve as a mediator between scientists and private operators, managers or public officials. [15] An inadequate financial model and inequitable taxation system as well as endless and costly wars to maintain its predominant position, the Seven Years' War and American War of Independence among them, left the heavily indebted kingdom in a precarious situation by the end of the 18th century. [163] Recently, after the unilateral declaration of independence of Northern Mali by the Tuareg MNLA and the subsequent regional Northern Mali conflict with several Islamist groups including Ansar Dine and MOJWA, France and other African states intervened to help the Malian Army to retake control. Tensions between the kingdom of France and the Plantagenet empire would last a hundred years, until Philip II of France conquered, between 1202 and 1214 most of the continental possessions of the empire, leaving England and Aquitaine to the Plantagenets. France's most renowned products are wines,[422] including Champagne, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, and Beaujolais as well as a large variety of different cheeses, such as Camembert, Roquefort and Brie. Some of his verses have entered the popular language to become proverbs, such as "À l'œuvre, on connaît l'artisan. French music then followed the rapid emergence of pop and rock music at the middle of the 20th century. Of the total of 229,000 foreigners who were in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, 5% British, 5% Spanish, 4% Italians, 4% Germans, 3% Romanians, and 3% Belgians.[276]. [349] His novel Les Misérables is widely seen as one of the greatest novel ever written[350] and The Hunchback of Notre Dame has remained immensely popular. [71] Between 27 and 30% of soldiers conscripted from 1912 to 1915 were killed. "Frankish language") of the Crusader states. And it is still unmatched in the Home appliance industry today. The three main French brewing regions are Alsace (60% of national production), Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Lorraine. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. L'entrée en master est sélective. At this time France had become a centre of artistic creation, the first half of the 19th century being dominated by two successive movements, at first Romanticism with Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix, and Realism with Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet, a style that eventually evolved into Naturalism. Certains masters se préparent en apprentissage. Primary education comprises two phases, nursery school (école maternelle) and elementary school (école élémentaire). [400][401] The Nation Brand Index of 2008 suggested that France has the second best international reputation, only behind Germany. [21] France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. The French perfume industry is world leader in its sector and is centered on the town of Grasse.[386]. It called for the destruction of aristocratic privileges and proclaimed freedom and equal rights for all men, as well as access to public office based on talent rather than birth. [353] Jean-Paul Sartre was also the first nominee in the committee's history to refuse the prize in 1964.[353]. To this end, he withdrew from NATO's military integrated command (while remaining in the NATO alliance itself), launched a nuclear development programme, and made France the fourth nuclear power. [121] A PNR sets goals and guidelines for managed human habitation, sustainable economic development and protection of the natural environment based on each park's unique landscape and heritage. It is estimated that between 300 million[285] and 500 million[286] people worldwide can speak French, either as a mother tongue or a second language. Its continental part covers about 1000 km from north to south and from east to west. expelled back to Bulgaria and Romania frequently. After alternating between royal and secular republican governments during the 19th century, in 1905 France passed the 1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State, which established the principle of laïcité. French companies have maintained key positions in the insurance and banking industries: AXA is the world's largest insurance company. Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote Little Prince, which has remained popular for decades with children and adults around the world. Jean Racine, whose incredible mastery of the alexandrine and of the French language has been praised for centuries, created plays such as Phèdre or Britannicus. [440], Both the national football team and the national rugby union team are nicknamed "Les Bleus" in reference to the team's shirt colour as well as the national French tricolour flag. Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, "Cultura statistics", Musée d'Orsay (official website), History of the museum –. The Algerian independence came at a high price; the large toll on the Algerian population. It also made several important reforms (suffrage extended to women, creation of a social security system). More recently, the middle of the 20th century, Maurice Ohana, Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Boulez contributed to the evolutions of contemporary classical music.[361]. With a greater focus on marketing and manufacturing, new trends were established by Sonia Rykiel, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix in the 1970s and 1980s. [122] As of 2019[update] there are 54 PNRs in France.[123]. French roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighboring Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Andorra and Monaco. France has laws against racism and antisemitism,[140] while the 1990 Gayssot Act prohibits Holocaust denial. [137] While administrative law is often a subcategory of civil law in many countries, it is completely separated in France and each body of law is headed by a specific supreme court: ordinary courts (which handle criminal and civil litigation) are headed by the Court of Cassation and administrative courts are headed by the Council of State. Molière, who is deemed to be one of the greatest masters of comedy of the Western literature,[345] wrote dozens of plays, including Le Misanthrope, L'Avare, Le Malade imaginaire, as well as Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Other eminent French scientists of the 19th century have their names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower. Official Site of the Olympic Movement", "Licenses of the French Football Federation", "World Cup 2018: France beat Croatia 4-2 in World Cup final", 1984: Platini shines for flamboyant France, "Thierry Henry calls end to France career", "Change Seems Essential to Escape Extinction: Wimbledon: World's Most Loved Dinosaur", Official site of the French public service, Sovereign states and dependencies of Europe, autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark, Countries and dependencies of South America, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=France&oldid=992660130#Climate, French-speaking countries and territories, Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean, States and territories established in 1792, Articles with dead external links from March 2020, Articles with Dutch-language sources (nl), Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Articles containing potentially dated statements from June 2020, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Articles containing Italian-language text, Articles containing Swedish-language text, Articles containing Proto-Germanic-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019, Articles containing undetermined-language text, Articles needing additional references from October 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2009, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2019, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2016, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2018, Articles with failed verification from February 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2008, Articles containing potentially dated statements from January 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2007, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014, Articles with incomplete citations from January 2018, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2011, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2017, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CINII identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, State private property under the direct authority of the. Overseas collectivities and territories form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the European Union or its fiscal area (with the exception of St. Bartelemy, which seceded from Guadeloupe in 2007). L'objectif premier du Master ICE « Interaction climat-environnement et télédétection » est la formation de futurs chercheurs et ingénieurs capables de faire une carrière dans les domaines de l’étude et de la gestion du changement climatique et de ses impacts, de la télédétection (notamment la télédétection spatiale) et de la planétologie, et de faire face aux grands défis posés par les changements … [97][failed verification] It has been relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The architecture associated to this era is named Second Empire in English, the term being taken from the Second French Empire. [85] France has also gradually but fully reintegrated into NATO and has since participated in most NATO sponsored wars. Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian dynasty, but his kingdom would not survive his death. The French Parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) and a Senate. It hosts the world's fifth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the leading tourist destination, receiving over 89 million foreign visitors in 2018. France became the most populous country in Europe and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. "Les personnes d'origine maghrébine y sont également au nombre de 5 à 6 millions; 3,5 millions ont la nationalité française (don't 500 000 harkis)", Évelyne Perrin. Noir sur Blanc: Les premières photos du camp de concentration In the second part of the 19th century, France's influence over painting became even more important, with the development of new styles of painting such as Impressionism and Symbolism. In addition, Bastille Day, the national holiday, commemorates the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. France had colonial possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century, but in the 19th and 20th centuries, its global overseas colonial empire extended greatly and became the second largest in the world behind the British Empire. Spanish troops, the terror of Western Europe,[57] assisted the Catholic side during the Wars of Religion in 1589–1594, and invaded northern France in 1597; after some skirmishing in the 1620s and 1630s, Spain and France returned to all-out war between 1635 and 1659. Only months later, France faced another anti-colonialist conflict in Algeria. France does not recognise religious law as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions; it has long abolished blasphemy laws and sodomy laws (the latter in 1791). Including metropolitan France, the total area of land under French sovereignty almost reached 13 million square kilometers in the 1920s and 1930s, 8.6% of the world's land. It experienced a golden age in the 17th century thanks to Louis XIV, who employed a number of talented musicians and composers in the royal court. For most of the time in which French served as an international lingua franca, it was not the native language of most Frenchmen: a report in 1794 conducted by Henri Grégoire found that of the country's 25 million people, only three million spoke French natively; the rest spoke one of the country's many regional languages, such as Alsatian, Breton or Occitan. [293] Certain groups, such as Scientology, Children of God, the Unification Church, and the Order of the Solar Temple are considered cults ("sectes" in French), and therefore do not have the same status as recognized religions in France. The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the National Assembly has the final say. As a result of France's extensive colonial ambitions between the 17th and 20th centuries, French was introduced to the Americas, Africa, Polynesia, South-East Asia, as well as the Caribbean. The Renaissance painting School of Fontainebleau was directly inspired by Italian painters such as Primaticcio and Rosso Fiorentino, who both worked in France. Facing financial troubles, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General (gathering the three Estates of the realm) in May 1789 to propose solutions to his government. Certains masters se préparent en apprentissage. [212] It is operated by the SNCF, and high-speed trains include the Thalys, the Eurostar and TGV, which travels at 320 km/h (199 mph) in commercial use. The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1.8 million years ago. [445], The top national football club competition is Ligue 1. [413], France is one of the most liberal countries in the world when it comes to LGBT rights: a 2013 Pew Research Center poll found that 77% of the French think that same-sex relationships should be accepted by society, one of the highest acceptance rates in the world (comparable to that of other Western European nations).