France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 5/2014
France, officially the French Republic, is a sovereign country in Western Europe that includes several overseas regions and territories.
Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean.
It is one of only three countries (with Morocco and Spain) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Due to its shape, it is often referred to in French as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon").
By area, France is the largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the third-largest in Europe as a whole. With a population approaching 67 million, it is the second-most populated country in the EU.
France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the nation's largest city and the main cultural and commercial center.
The current Constitution of France, adopted by referendum on 4 October 1958, establishes the country as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people.
The nation's ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, one of the world's earliest documents on human rights, which was formulated during the seminal French Revolution of the late 18th century.
France has been a major power in Europe since the Late Middle Ages, reaching the height of global prominence during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it possessed the second-largest colonial empire in the world.
Throughout its long history, France has produced many influential artists, thinkers, and scientists, and remains a prominent global center of culture.
It hosts the world's fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually - the most of any country in the world.
France remains a great power with significant cultural, economic, military, and political influence in Europe and around the world.
It has the world's fifth-largest military budget, third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and second-largest diplomatic corps.
Due to its overseas regions and territories throughout the world, France has the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world.
France is a developed country and has the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by purchasing power parity.
In terms of total household wealth, France is the wealthiest nation in Europe and fourth in the world.
French citizens enjoy a high standard of living, and performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, civil liberties, and human development.
France is a founding member of the United Nations, where it serves as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. It is a member of numerous international institutions, including Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. France is a founding and leading member state of the European Union.
French Republic
République française
Motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (French)
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
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
constitutional republic
• President
• Prime Minister
Legislature: Parliament
Upper house: Senate
Lower house: National Assembly
Formation
Kingdom of France (Treaty of Verdun):
August 843
French Republic (National Convention):
22 September 1792
Current constitution: (Fifth Republic)
4 October 1958
Area:
• Total: 640,679 km2 (43rd) 246,201 sq mi
Population: (2014)
Total: 66,616,416 (19th)
Density: 116/km2 (89th) 301/sq mi
GDP (PPP): 2014 estimate
• Total: $2.333 trillion (9th)
• Per capita: $36,453 (24th)
Currency:
Euro (EUR)
CFP franc (XPF)
Time zone:
•CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST)
•CEST (UTC+2)
Date format: dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the right
Calling code: +33
ISO 3166 code: FR
Internet TLD: .fr