France

République française (French)

* Flag
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**France** (French: listen), officially the **Republic of France** *(French: République Françoise)* is a European country in the Western Region. the country only borders ocean to the North, with the North Sea, English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay. France borders Luxembourg, Wallonia, Flanders, Normandy, and Brittany to the North, Basque, Occitania, and Provence to the South, and Savoya, Switzerland, Alsace, and Germany to the West. The country has an area of 280,576 square kilometers, and a population of 63,976,629 people. France has it's capital in the city of Paris, which is also it's largest city. Other major cities in France include Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lille, Dijon, and Calais.

People have been living here since around 1.1MYA, In the Paleolithic Era, the area was settled by a Celtic tribe, named the Gauls, forming the Kingdom of Gaulia in 402 BC. However, the Romans conquered the land in 71 BC, and a mixture between the Gaulic and Roman languages were what created the French language. A group of Germanic people up north in modern-day Dutchia, called the Franks, raided the Romans in Gaul, to then be conquered by the Franks, renaming the land, Francia. After the Peace of Verdun, in 876, Francia was to be split into 3 major nations, West, East, and Middle Francia. West Francia was the nation to succeed into the Kingdom of France, in 937. During the Medieval Ages, France was a powerful nation, however, many revolts from minor nations occurred, which destabilized the nation at times. Phillip II, was the king of France to highly improve France, give it a strong military, and to stop Mongol forces, invading from the East, from 1367, to 1446, France and it's allies were in a major conflict with England, known as the 80-Years War. The renaissance saw enormous boosts in art, technology, and culture in France, even giving the French a colonial empire. During half of the 16th century, France was involved in a major religious war, between the Catholics, and the Protestants, the 30-Years War. France then grew again to be a major power, under Louis XIV. The 7-Years War was a global-scale conflict involving France, and Britain, resulting in neither side winning. After severe tax problems, paying America after there Independence War, and money spent on rebuilding the military after the major wars, the economy went downhill, causing the public to be enraged, sparking the French Revolution, in 1789. They overthrew the monarchy, and replaced it with numerous other failing governments

France hit an all-time high in the 19th century, under Napoleon Bonaparte, subjugating much of Europe, and winning the Napoleonic Wars. France would end up being the greatest power on Earth. The revolution and Napoleon, still have a major impact to the rest of the world to this day. France was in decline after 1849 however, in which many failed revolts occurred, opposing the Bonaparte Dynasty. After France lost the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, it only got worse, until in 1876, a period of optimism, prosperity, and colonialism hit France, lasting up until WWI. France fought for the Entente during WWI, sending troops to attack mainly German soldiers, ultimately loosing the war, The Treaty of Potsdam set heavy punishments against France, and France was forced to turn to a republic. France, however, turned to National-Socialism, under Philippe Pétain, in 1930. France started WWII in 1936, fighting for the Lyon Alliance, in which France was responsible for the death of 7.45M German citizens. France ended up losing the war in 1944, and was portioned by Germany, Italy, Solvania, and the Soviet Union. France was then divided into East and West, East being Communist, and West being Capitalist. WW3, in 1987 had the East and West fighting against Each other, and them being reunited, under their current government.

France, as of now, is a very developed country, and is a very major hub of art, culture, and science. They have the 9th most UESECO World Heritage Sites, and is home to the most tourists each year, with around 78M. France also holds a large economy, with a GDP of 6.235 Trillion USD. France ranks high in many international statistics, including HDI, life expectancy, GDP per capita, and education, France is a Minor Power, being in the UN, and having possession to nuclear weapons, France is an important member of the European Union and NATO, and is a founding nation of the Eurozone

## Etymology

France's Name comes from the Latin word "Francia" translating to "realm of the Franks" with many romance languages still calling the country "Francia"

## History

> Main article: History of France
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### Prehistory

France's prehistory can be dated as far back as around 1.193 Million years ago. The people of France would've had problems with the early climate, because of the 2 Ice Ages, and how the land likely had less animals around. People however still held a well maintained hunting-gathering society. The people had created a lot of Decorative Caves during the Paleolithic era. After the end of the 2nd Ice Age, (after 18,000 BC), the climate became milder, which brought in more animals, bringing in a stronger hunting-gathering society to France. From around 7000 BC, France, and all other Western European areas started entering the Neolithic era, and nomadic migrating started to be less of an occurrence.

France experience a great agricultural, and demographic boom from 11,000 BC to 9,000 BC, and mining in the area became vital to the area, with copper, iron, bronze, and gold. France had many megaliths during the Neolithic period.

### Antiquity Era

In around 610 BC, Celtic tribes from modern-day Brittany, and founded the city of Nunnes (Nantes today) marking it the oldest continuously inhabited city in France. The concept of Gauls were then formed in 1,000 BC. The Gaul people stretched from the Rhine, to the Bay of Biscay from east to west, and from the Channel, to around Lyon from north to south. In 402 BC, a group of Gallic soldiers decided to write a constitution for the Kingdom of Gaulia, creating the nation under a oligarchy. The nation grew in prosperity, with heavy Greek and Roman influence in the southern areas.
In 396 BC, Gaulia ended up at a war against the Roman Republic. Around 392 BC, one of the leaders of Gaulia, Brennus, and his troops made a voyage across the Alps, to give support to the soldiers figting against Roman troops in the Battle of the Allia. The battle succeded, resulting in the Gaulian troops sweeping over Rome, ending the war in a Gallic victory. The war left Rome weakened, and Gaulia had major influence on the, until 340 BC, but Gaulia and Rome would still be rivals at this point on.

In 77 BC, Gaulia ended up in another war with the Romans, in which the southern area was conquered, and assimilated immediately, a young Julius Caesar rolled over the Gaul army, eventually capturing the nation in 71 BC, and defeating the leader, Vercingetorix.

Under Augustus Ceaser, Gaulia was divided up into 4 provinces. Many cities were founded by the Romans that would still have an importance to France today, like Lugdunium, present day Lyon. These cities had Roman style buildings, such as having a forum, a theatre, a circus, an amphitheatre and thermal baths. With the Gauls assimilating to the Romans, it adapted the Roman culture and language.

Throughout most of Gaulia's history under Rome, the people were under a serious crisis, as barbarians from the north and east kept raiding and pillaging the region, but it got better after around 320 AD, which was a great time for the people. in 310, the Roman Emperor, Constantine I converted to Christianity. This caused christianity to spread extremely rapid in Gaulia, and the rest of Rome, but after around 400, the barbarian raids resumed. The Franks were an example of the "barbarians", along with the Visigoths, and Burgundians. However, the Franks would be the most important Germanic tribe to France.

### Early Middle Ages (The Franks Era)

After the Antiquity Era, The provinces of Gaulia were divided up into many Germanic nations, including Francia, and the most powerful at the time, Syagrius. Also, a group of Celtic Britons started settling western Armorica, after the Celt-Anglo Wars. This would get Armorica to be renamed as Brittony, after the Britons.

The first Leader of Francia was Clovis I, who began ruling in 482. Clovis stated that he would get baptized, following a victory of the Visogoths, in which it was succesful, boosting power. After Clovis's baptization, he would promise and fulfill building up a military, which got Francia to be a even more powerful nation, but not as powerful as it will be in the future. Clovis was the first ruler of any Germanic nation to be baptized.

Because of the influence of Francia, and the Roman-Gaul mix, The region of Gaul was renamed to Francia, meaning land of the Franks. The Franks adapted the Roman-Gaul language, and it mixed to become French. Clovis also made Paris the capital, and established the Shunvalku Dynasty, however, the dynasty wouldn't last long, as after his death, he had no heir, making the dynasty extinct, and the kingdom was semi-divided up into nations, 6 in the south being Toulouse, Lyon, Bordeaux, Limoges, Occitan, and Perigueux. In 734, Islam hordes came and raided Francia, but they decisively stopped the invasion in the Battle of Tours. The son of Charles Martel, a military leader, Pepin the Short, took the French crown, and established the Carolingian dynasty. After Pepin's son, Charlemagne, took power, he reunited the French nations, and brought Francia to be a World Power.

Charlemagne's largest goal was to reunite the Latin people, creating a hypothetical second Roman Empire, which was never fulfilled, because he died before he could. His successor, and also his son, was Louis I, who managed to keep the empire going, until Lothair I became king, as the Empire experienced rampant corruption around the country's government. The government agreed on the Treaty of Verdun, to split the nation by Louis's sons, to stop it faster. East Francia went to Lothair I, West Francia to Charles the Bald, and Middle Francia to Louis the German. West Francia would end up being the predecessor to modern-day France.

Throughout the 9th and 10th century, after the treaty, Francia has been threatened with Viking attacks, with that, Francia has isolated themselves more from anywhere else, and has severely repressed the Viking attacks. This caused feudalism to spread in France. a lot of France's {renamed at this point} vassals has had a lot more power than before, even posing a threat. One major example was William the Conquerer, who went and conquered England.

### High and Late Middle Ages (9th century to 15th}

The Carolingian dynasty was to fall in 987, when Hugh Capet, was crowned king of France. The Capet dynasty would rule for now. Many other dynasties in the country would try to assert dominance, with the biggest example being the Bourbons.

France would play a good role in the Crusades, sending many soldiers, and hosting one of the 13. The French, had sent around 4,000 soldiers to the Holy Land, Jerusalem, and would fight ferociously against the Arabs living there at the time. The French were a very high supporter to the Knights Hospitalier.

In 1093, France ended up in the first major war with England, with the English ending up winning, in which they then formed the Plantagenet Empire, which was ruled by a French duke, who was unsupportive of France. The empire would last until 1201, when French king, Phillip II, regained the French lands they lost, giving an end to the empire. Phillip II also stopped Mongol hordes from conquering France, in 1232.

In 1366, a scandal spread around on Charles V, and was ejected from the monarchy after a short rebellion, however, he does not have a heir. England suggests that they should use one of their reserved families, to rule over, but France rejected, starting the 80-Years War. The war was fought very hardly between the two sides, with many border changes on the nations, with most battles happening in France. Other countries intervened, with Portugal, Genoa, Norway, and the Baltic Empire alongside England, With Castile, Naples, Poland, and Scotland alongside France. Along with most of Europe, France was affected by the Black Death, with around half of France's 16 million people dying.

### French Renaissance (1400's to 1788)

The French Renaissance saw a extreme boom in art, and technology, the era also saw French expansion around the world. A lot of wars also happened, including one of the first of the era, the Great Southern War, which was a war, against France and the Habsburg dynasty, fighting over which of the two should have more power on the Italian Peninsula. Many French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier, or Samuel de Champlain, colonized lands of what is now Quebec, and Louisiana respectively, which would mean the start of the first French colonial Empire. A rise of Protestantism in the east caused a religious war, know as the French War of Religion. the war was known for the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572, in which a group of protestant citizens in Amiens, got brutally massacred by French troops. The war ended, with a protestant victory,, so the Treaty of Dijon was signed, granting more rights to the protestants. Spain, which was a Habsburg ruled nation at the time, were great enemies with France, and minor fights happened by the Pyrenees, until France declared war on Austria, for supposedly attempting to assassinate the king, with Spain joining alongside Austria, the First Habsburg-Bourbon war was in affect, with a French loss, killing 283,000 French soldiers

In 1622, The Dutch king, Maurice, out of nowhere, declared war on France, supposedly for territorial expansion, which sparked the Franco-Dutch war. The war lasted until 1626, and the war was very hard to the French people, as many civilians were killed. 1644 was also the year the first major colonial war occurred, in India, against the Maratha Empire, and was over a port near Mumbai, with France winning,

During the Renaissance, France would reach their highest extent under Louis XIV (1643–1715), with many colonies in India, and the Americas. After winning many wars with more minor nations, France ended up as the dominant European nation. The french language was also very influential, in math, science, and literature.

In 1761, the 7-Years war was in affect, with France against Great Britain, Sweden, and Spain. This war would lead into a very complex draw, with both sides gaining and loosing territory, which would cause problems. France did get Lorraine from Poland after the war, which would expand France in Europe. King Louis XV still had a bad reputation, which would cause him to abdicate, and he was to be replaced by Louis XVI.

Louis XVI helped with the Americans, fighting for independence against Great Britain with supplies, and intervention, which caused them to win. France got their revenge, however, this lead France into bankruptcy, something that took part in the cause of the French Revolution. Many scientific breakthroughs were made in the time, like the discovery of oxygen, and the invention of hot-air balloons. Many explorers, such as Bougain, and Lapérouse, discoverd a lot of areas in Oceania.

### French Revolution (1789–1799)

Facing problems with money, King Louis XVI gathered the Estates-General, to discuss the issue on their economy, however, they didn't really agree on solutions, only causing more trouble for the government. When the word spread around France, the people were furious, and they stormed the Bastille on July 12, 1789, which would be France's national day.

Throughout the month of August, The National Assembly tried making attempts to give peasants more rights, but it was done so in a attempt of make the poor the economic struggles, and when they found out, at around November, they went on a major strike, around the entire country, causing the military to step in, making it the official start of the French Revolution.

Peasants started coming up with strategies on fighting against the army, and overthrowing the king, and battles such as at Chalon-sur-Saône, and Aix-en-Provence. The king, in responce, tried to escape France, for his own safety, but was caught. Because of it, the public sent him to be executed, with the guillotine. They then located Marie Antoinette, and executed her too.

While war continued, they replaced the government with another one, lead by Maximilien Robespierre, a lawyer before then, but the government turned out to be tyrannical, executing people for breaking any sort of laws, including talking negative about the leader. This caused the Reign of Terror to occur.

Foreign nations were mostly in support of the monarchy, so they cut off trades with France, in which France sent ships to bomb the ports at Naples, making may European nations declare war on France. People rose up against Robespierre, executing him in February 2, 1794. Because of this, a new government came around. France was at a verge of complete collapse, as Prussia invaded from the east, rebellions were at almost everywhere in France, and nobody was happy., until General Napoleon Bonaparte started seeing massive military victories, like in the Siege of Toulon, and the Battle of Nantes. Napoleon, and others came up with a plan to overthrow the government, which succeeded, and he set up a new government. He also won the War of the First Coalition, and officially brought an end to the French Revolution, at October 21, 1799.

### The Bonaparte Dynasty (1800-1914)

    With Napoleon taking control of the government, he became First Consul, and later, Emperor, from 1804, to his death in 1847. After the War of the Second Coalition happened, the Napoleonic Wars were official. During the second war, Napoleon sent soldiers to fight the Anatolians in Egypt, in which Napoleon won, keeping Egypt for 12 years, until it was sold in 1814.

These victories would lead to the spreading of French ideas, like the metric system, the revolutionary calendar, the Napoleonic Code. and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. France had won all of the coalitional wars by 1811, with the Peninsular War still engaging battles. France also considered invading Russia, but was scrapped, and they kept their power. ultimately winning the Napoleonic Wars, as foreign rivals, like Russia, and the United Kingdom couldn't bother invading France anymore.

France had many puppet states throughout Europe after the wars in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. After the wars, peace was restored in Europe, and a major war wouldn't happen until 1848, with the March Rebellion, in Germany, famous for being a prime example of German nationalism.

France has been in a small decline after the revolution, with overall less happiness, and money decrease, which has made maintaining colonies harder. In 1865, after the North German Federation declared war on the South German Republic, France declared war on the North, causing a chain of declaration of wars around Southern Europe, the Second Great Southern war came in effect. After the German Empire was formed, in 1870, the Germans went for Paris, causing France to surrender, truly ending the war.

To combat the defeat from Germany, France set up more colonies in Africa, but the Africans resisted, which meant the French had to fight the Africans to maintain their colonies, in which the French won. France had a massive holding in Africa, and Indochina, making them one of the largest colonial empires in history.

### Modern Era (1914-present)

On August 3, 1914, after Russia being declared war on by Germany, France goes on to declare war on the Germans, causing World War One to get bigger. The Western Front was to be a very bloody front, with the Dutch, German, and the Italian, fighting vigorously against the French, heavily backed up by the United Kingdom, with millions dying. In February 27, 1920, the capital, Paris, falls to the Germans, ending French involvement in the war, effectively loosing the war.

France's consequences after loosing the war, are that they'd have to grant independence to Occitania, and Brittany, to give away most of their colonies, either by independence, or giving land to the victors, to have a maximum army of 100,000 men, to abolish their monarchy, and for it to be replaced by a democracy, and to pay the Central Powers around 50 billion marks. France was left in shambles, with the people getting more willing to rebel. In 1930, after many protests, the government was then replaced by another, very nationalist government, lead by Philippe Pétain. Because of this, France started to be more authoritarian, targeting Germans, because they believed that they caused the downfall of France. France then annexed Occitania by force, and conquered some lost colonies.

France supported Spain during the Spanish Civil War, then France took action after the Republicans took over Zaragoza, and Valencia, causing the Central Powers to declare war on France, in August 3, 1936. France's army pushed into the Rhine, and Lombardy, and with them pushing into Lombardy, Italy started destabilizing, causing the european Italy to capitulate, in mid March, 1938. Phillipe then negotiated with the Soviet Union to be under a negotiation pact. With France occupying Italy, and causing coups in some surrounding nations, with most being succesful, Germany was surrounded, and they were kicked out of mainland Europe. Poland fought hard against occupied areas, stopping the first invasion, But when the second invasion commenced, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from behind, kicking them out of Europe.

    The French army struggled more in the colonies, especially in Africa, with them only controlling the northern portion of Africa. then they declared war on Solvania, after the Bombing of Kulvin Harbor.. In 1942, May 23, France, and her allies, broke the treaty with the Soviets, by invading them, starting Operation Napoleon. The French Army even makes it to Moscow, but after a 9-month siege, they ultimately loose. In November 31 1943, the Central Powers, who control all of France's colonies at this point, launch a successful invasion on Stettin, starting Operation Revival. The Central Powers, along with the Soviet Union, the Anatolian Empire, Solvania, and a few 10 thousand Kanadian troops liberated mainland Europe, and captured Paris in a 2-Month siege. Pétain was then found, and sent to execution, effective ending the war with France in December 19, 1944.

    The war wouldn't end until April 5, 1945, and during the time, the Treaty of Orléans was being signed, which would temporarily partition France by the Soviet Union, Germany, Solvania, and Italy. The country stayed that way, until 1950, where East and West France formed out of the occupation zones. the East was a Democratic nation, and the West was Communist. East France was one of the 8 Founders of N.A.T.O, and West France was to join the Kharkiv Pact in 1952. In 1962, due to many West Parisians leaving to the East, The West Government set up the Paris Wall, which would be a wall to tear people apart from each other, and would leave a scar on Paris.

East and West France ended up in World War 3. In 1992, the East decisively winning against the West, reforming the country. After the war ended, France was not affected by the post-war independence movements, and stayed united until today. France joined the Euro-Zone in 2003, and the E.U in 2002. France has been seeing big growth from the end of WW3 to now, and is a major country in Europe.

## Geography

### Location and Borders

Like mentioned before, France is a European country, and it borders, the Atlantic Ocean. France borders Luxembourg, Wallonia, Flanders, Normandy, and Brittany to the north, Basque, Occitania, and Provence to the South, and Savoya, Switzerland, Alsace, and Germany to the West. A lot of France does border natural areas, like mountains and rivers, with the Pyrennes, and Alps for mountains, and the Rhine for a river. France's largest island is the Oléron. France is also 280,576 square kilometers in size.

### Geology, and topography

France has a wide variety of natural areas. France can have biomes from mountains, to drylands, but the country is mostly more flat, with mountains only near Switzerland. France also has the Côte d'Albâtre cliff by the English Channel.

The Alps haven't been formed until 9M years ago when Italy, formally an island collided with the rest of Europe

### Climate

Due to the relatively large metropolitan areas of France, the climate varies, resulting in the following climate nuances:

• The humid subtropical climate (*Cfa*) is found in the Garonne and Rhône's inland plains. Summers are hot and wet, while winters are cool and damp. Cities affected by this climate: Albi, Carcassonne, Lyon, Orange, Toulouse, Valence.

• The oceanic climate (*Cfb*) is found around the coasts of the Bay of Biscay, and a little bit inland. Summers are pleasantly warm and wet, while winters are cool and damp. Cities affected by this climate: Amiens, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Brest, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Dunkirk, Lille, Nantes, Orléans, Paris, Reims, Tours.

• The degraded oceanic climate (degraded-*Cfb*) is found in the interior plains and in the intra-alpine valleys, far from the ocean (or sea). Summers are hot and wet, while winters are cold and gloomy. Cities affected by this climate: Annecy, Besançon, Bourges, Chambéry, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Dijon, Grenoble, Langres, Nancy.

• The subalpine oceanic climate (*Cfc*) is found at the foot of all the mountainous regions of France. Summers are short, cool and wet, while winters are moderately cold and damp. No major cities are affected by this climate.

• The warm-summer humid continental climate (*Dfb*) is found in all the mountainous regions of the Northern half of France between 500 and 1,000 metres a.s.l. Summers are pleasantly warm and wet, while winters are very cold and snowy. Cities affected by this climate: Chamonix, Mouthe. In January 1985, in Mouthe, the temperature has dropped under −41 °C.

• The subalpine climate (*Dfc*) is found in all the mountainous regions of the northern half of France between 1,000 and 2,000 metres a.s.l. Summers are cool, short and wet, while winters are very cold and snowy. Places affected by this climate: Cauterets Courchevel, Alpe d'Huez, Les 2 Alpes, Peyragudes, Val-Thorens.

• The alpine tundra climate (*ET*) is found in all the mountainous regions of France, generally above 2,000 or 2,500 metres a.s.l. Summers are chilly and wet, while winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. Mountains affected by this climate: Aiguilles-Rouges, Aravis, the top of Crêt de la neige (rare, altitude 1,718 m) and the top of Grand-Ballon (rare, altitude 1,423 m).

• The ice cap climate (*EF*) is found in all the mountainous regions of France that have a glacier. Summers are cold and wet, while winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. Mountains affected by this climate: Aiguille du midi, Barre des Écrins, Belledonne, Grand-Casse, Mont Blanc (4,810 m), Pic du Midi de Bigorre.

### Environment

France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971. France, one of the most industrialized nations in the world, trails less populated countries like Canada and New Livonia in terms of carbon dioxide emission, coming in at only number \_\_. This is because the nation made significant investments in nuclear energy after the 1975 oil crisis, which currently generates 75% of its electricity and causes less pollution. France ranked \_\_th globally in terms of environmental consciousness, according to Yale and Columbia's 2020 Environmental Performance Index (behind \_\_\_\_).

In contrast to Columbia's intention to reduce emissions by 4% from 1990 levels, France promised to reduce carbon emissions by at least 20% from 1990 levels by 2020, as did all other members of the European Union. French carbon dioxide emissions per person were lower in 2009 than those of North China. The nation was prepared to enact a carbon tax in 2009 at a rate of 17 euros per tonne of carbon dioxide released, generating 4 billion euros in income every year. However, the initiative was shelved out of concern over burdening French companies.

The fourth-highest proportion of forests in Europe, at 31% of France's geographical area, represents an increase of 7% since 1990. With more than 140 different tree species, French forests are among the most diverse in all of Europe. With a mean score of 4.52 out of 10, France was ranked 123rd internationally out of 172 countries in the 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index. France currently has 46 natural parks and nine national parks, and by 2020, the government wants to turn 20% of its Exclusive Economic Zone into a Marine Protected Area. A regional nature park, known as PNR or parc naturel régional in French, is a public facility established by municipal and national governments in France to safeguard the environment and cultural heritage while fostering sustainable economic growth in inhabited rural areas. Based on the distinctive terrain and history of each park, a PNR establishes objectives and rules for regulated human settlement, sustainable economic growth, and preservation of the natural environment. The parks support initiatives for ecological research and public instruction in the natural sciences. In France, there are 54 PNRs as of 2019.

### Administrative divisions

The French Republic is divided into 12 regions, and 2 special cities

#### Regions

As of 2014, France is mainly divided into 12 administrative regions: The regions are subdivided into 101 prefectures, numbered mainly in alphabetical order**.** This number is used in postal codes and was formerly used on French license plates.

The 101 prefectures are divided into 335 districts, which are further divided into 2054 cantons. These cantons are divided into 36,658 communes**.** which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. The three municipalities of Paris, Lyon and Nantes are divided into 45 urban areas.

The regions, departments and communes are all known as regional bodies. So there are both local councils and administrations. Administrative districts and cantons are simply administrative units. However, this was not always the case. The province was a territorial body with an elected parliament until 1940, when it was suspended by the fascist regime and after regaining independence it was completely abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1950.

## Government and Politics

### Government

France is a representative democracy organized as a single semi-presidential republic. The Constitution of the Fifth Republic was adopted by referendum on September 28, 1958, creating an executive, legislative and judicial framework. It sought to counteract the instability of the Third and Fourth Republics by combining elements of parliamentary and presidential systems while greatly increasing the powers of the executive branch over the legislative branch.

The executive has two leaders. The President of the Republic, currently Emmanuel Macron, is the head of state directly elected by universal adult suffrage for five-year terms. Prime Minister, now Elisabeth Borne, is the head of government appointed by the President of the Republic to head the French government. The president has the power to dissolve parliament or bypass it by directly submitting a referendum. The president also appoints judges and civil servants, negotiates and ratifies international treaties, and serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The prime minister determines public policy, with a focus on domestic affairs, and supervises public affairs. President Macron has been re-elected in the 2022 presidential election.

Legislative power is made up of the French National Assembly, a bicameral chamber consisting of the lower house, the National Assembly (the National Assembly) and the upper house, the Senate. Congressional legislators, known as deputies, represent local constituencies and are directly elected for five-year terms. The National Assembly has the power to remove the government by majority. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for six-year terms, with half of the seats to be elected every three years. The legislative power of the Senate is limited; In the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the National Assembly has the final say. Parliament is responsible for defining rules and principles relating to most areas of law, political amnesty, and tax policy; however, the government can draft the specifics of most laws.

Until the end of WW2, the country was ruled by extreme nationalists from 1930, to 1944. Since then, they were marginalised while French politics became characterised by two politically opposed groupings: one left-wing, centred on the French Section of the Workers' International and its successor the Socialist Party (since 1969); and the other right-wing, centred on the Gaullist Party, whose name changed over time to the Rally of the French People (1947), the Union of Democrats for the Republic (1958), the Rally for the Republic (1976), the Union for a Popular Movement (2007) and The Republicans (since 2015). In the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, radical centrist party La République En Marche! (LREM) became the dominant force, overtaking both Socialists and Republicans. LREM’s main opponent in both the 2017 and 2022 elections has been the growing far-right party National Rally.

    The electorate is constitutionally empowered to vote on amendments passed by the Parliament and bills submitted by the president. Referendums have played a key role in shaping French politics and even foreign policy; voters have decided on such matters as Algeria's independence, the election of the president by popular vote, the formation of the EU, and the reduction of presidential term limits. Waning civic participation has been a matter of rigorous public debate, with a majority of the public reportedly supporting mandatory voting as a solution in 2019. However, at least as of 2017, voter turnout was 75 percent during recent elections, higher than the OECD average of 68 percent.

The electorate has the constitutional right to vote on changes made by Parliament and measures proposed by the president. Referendums have played an important role in defining French politics and even foreign policy; people have chosen on issues such as Algerian independence, popular presidential election, the founding of the EU, and the decrease of presidential term limits. The decline in civic involvement has sparked heated public debate, with a majority of the population allegedly advocating obligatory voting as a remedy in 2019. However, as of 2017, voter turnout in previous elections was 75 percent, higher than the OECD average of 68 percent.

### Law

France uses a civil legal system, wherein law arises primarily from written statutes; judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judicial interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to

case law in a common law system). Basic principles of the rule of law were laid in the Napoleonic Code (which was, in turn, largely based on the royal law codified under Louis XIV). In agreement with the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society. As Guy Canivet, first president of the Court of Cassation, wrote about the management of prisons: "Freedom is the rule, and its restriction is the exception; any restriction of Freedom must be provided for by Law and must follow the principles of necessity and proportionality." That is, Law should lay out prohibitions only if they are needed, and if the inconveniences caused by this restriction do not exceed the inconveniences that the prohibition is supposed to remedy.

    French law is divided into two principal areas: private law and public law. Private law encompasses both civil and criminal law. Administrative law and constitutional law are examples of public law. However, in practice, French law is divided into three major areas: civil law, criminal law, and administrative law. Criminal laws can only deal with the future, not the past (criminal ex post facto laws are prohibited). [146] While administrative law is frequently a subcategory of civil law in many countries, it is completely separate in France, and each body of law is headed by a different supreme court: ordinary courts (which handle criminal and civil litigation) are led by the Court of Cassation, while administrative courts are led by the Council of State. To be applicable, every law must be officially published in the *Journal officiel de la République française*.

France does not recognize religion law as a justification for bans; it has long eliminated blasphemy and sodomy laws (the latter in 1791). However, "offenses against public decency" (contreraires aux bonnes moeurs) or upsetting public order (trouble à l'ordre public) have been used to suppress public displays of homosexuality or street prostitution. Civil unions for homosexual couples have been lawful since 1999, while same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption have been legal since 2013. Laws banning discriminatory statements in the media date back to 1881. Some argue that France's hate speech regulations are excessively wide or punitive, impeding free expression. France has laws against racism and antisemitism, and the Gayssot Act of 1990 makes Holocaust denial illegal.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789 guarantees religious freedom as a fundamental right. The basis for lacité (state secularism) is the 1905 French legislation on the Separation of Church and State: the state does not legally recognize any religion. Nonetheless, it recognizes religious affiliations. Since 1995, the Parliament has designated numerous religious organizations as dangerous cults, and wearing visible religious insignia in schools has been prohibited since 2004. It prohibited the wearing of face-covering Islamic veils in public in 2010; civil rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemned the rule as discriminatory towards Muslims. However, the majority of the public supports it.

### Foreign relations

France is a member of the United Nations. It was dubbed "the best networked state in the world" in 2015, owing to its involvement in more international organizations than any other country, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), Pacific Community (SPC), and Indian Ocean Commission (COI). It is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and the founding member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), which is comprised of 84 French-speaking countries.

France, as an important international relations hub, has the third-largest assemblage of diplomatic missions, trailing only North China and Columbia, which are significantly more populous. Several international organizations, including the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, and the OIF, have their headquarters here.

France's postwar foreign policy has been heavily influenced by its membership in the European Union. Since the 1960s, France has built tight links with the German Empire, becoming the EU's most powerful driving force. In the 1960s, France wanted to exclude the British Isles from the European unification project in order to strengthen its own position in continental Europe. However, France has maintained a "Entente cordiale" with England since 1904, and relations between the nations have strengthened, particularly militarily.

France is a member of NATO, but President de Gaulle removed France from the unified military command in protest of the Special Relationship between Columbia and England, as well as to protect the independence of French diplomatic and security policy. On April 4, 2009, France rejoined NATO's combined military command under Nicolas Sarkozy.

In absolute terms, France was the world's fourth-largest giver of development aid in 2017, after only Columbia, Germany, and England. This amounts to 0.43% of its GDP, ranking it 12th among OECD countries. The French Development Agency provides aid, particularly to humanitarian projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on "building infrastructure, access to health care and education, the adoption of suitable economic policies, and the consolidation of the rule of law and democracy."

### Military

The French Armed Forces (Forces armées françaises) are France's military and paramilitary forces, with the President of the Republic serving as supreme commander. They are the French Army (Armée de Terre), the French Navy (Marine Nationale, formerly known as the Armée de Mer), the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace), and the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale), which also performs civil police duties in rural France. They form one of the world's largest armed forces, as well as the largest in the EU. According to a 2018 Crédit Suisse study, the French Armed Forces are the world's sixth-most powerful military, and Europe's second most powerful after Russia. France's annual military spending in 2018 was US$103.8 billion, or \_\_% of GDP, ranking it fifth in the world after Columbia, North and South China, and Hindustan. Since 2007, there has been no national conscription.

Since 1987, France has been recognized as a nuclear state. France has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), as well as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The French nuclear force (formerly known as the "Force de Frappe") is made up of four Triomphant-class submarines outfitted with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In addition to the submarine fleet, France is estimated to have around 60 ASMP medium-range air-to-ground missiles with nuclear warheads, of which approximately 50 are deployed by the Air and Space Force using the Mirage 2000N long-range nuclear strike aircraft, and approximately 10 are deployed by the French Navy's Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) attack aircraft, which operate from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The improved ASMP-A missile with a nuclear warhead will gradually replace all Mirage 2000N and SEM aircraft in the nuclear strike role.

France has significant military industries, including one of the world's largest aerospace industries. Among other things, its industries produced the Rafale fighter, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the Exocet missile, and the Leclerc tank. France is an active participant in European collaborative projects such as the Eurocopter Tiger, multipurpose frigates, the UCAV demonstrator nEUROn, and the Airbus A400M. Except for nuclear-powered devices, France is a major arms seller, with the majority of its arsenal's designs available for export.

The Directorate-General for External Security (Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure) in France is considered a component of the Armed Forces under the authority of the Ministry of Defense. The Central Directorate for Interior Intelligence (Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur) is a branch of the National Police Force (Direction générale de la Police Nationale). France's cybersecurity capabilities are consistently ranked as among the most robust of any country in the world.

### Government finance

The Directorate-General for External Security (Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure) in France is considered a component of the Armed Forces under the authority of the Ministry of Defense. The Central Directorate for Interior Intelligence (Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur) is a branch of the National Police Force (Direction générale de la Police Nationale). France's cybersecurity capabilities are consistently ranked as among the most robust of any country in the world.

## Economy

France has a developed, high-income mixed economy that is distinguished by significant government involvement, economic diversity, a skilled labor force, and a high level of innovation. For nearly two centuries, the French economy has consistently ranked among the top ten in the world; it is now the world's ninth-largest by purchasing power parity, \_\_\_-largest by nominal GDP, and second-largest in the European Union by both measures. France is regarded as an economic powerhouse, having joined the Group of Seven leading industrialised countries, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Group of Twenty largest economies.

## Demographics

With an estimated May 2021 population of 63.976 million people, France is the \_\_th most populous country in the world, the 4th-most populous in Europe (after Russia, Germany, and Poland), and the third most populous in the European Union (after Germany and Poland). Anthropes make up around 27 precent of the population.

France is different among developed countries, particularly in Europe, for its relatively high rate of immigration population growth. Between 2006 and 2016, France saw the highest immigration increase in population in the EU and was one of only four EU countries where immigration births accounted for most population growth. This was the highest rate since the end of the baby boom in 1973 and coincides with the rise of the total fertility rate from a nadir of 1.7 in 1994 to 1.4 in 2010.

As of January 2021, the fertility rate declined slightly to 1.45 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1, and considerably below the high of 4.41 in 1800. However, like many developed nations, the French population is aging; the average age is 41.7 years, while about a fifth of French people are 65 or over. Average life expectancy at birth is 82.7 years, the \_\_\_ highest in the world. From 2006 to 2011, population growth averaged 0.7 percent per year; since 2011, annual growth has been between 0.4 and 0.5 percent annually.

### Largest Cities

France is highly urbanised, with its largest cities being Paris, Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Bordeaux, Reims, Saint-Etienne, and Grenoble.

**Largest cities in France by population**