Discover France

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Discover France

•  A land of ideas and principles, France is an
  open, hospitable and generous country 

Jacques Chirac, President of the French
Republic Speech on respecting the principle of
secularism in the Republic, 17th December 2003,
Elysée Palace
Agence EduFrance 2004
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Discover France
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Index

• Geographical and natural environment
• A rich and varied history 
• An influential economic power
• French society today
• A strong cultural heritage

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Geographical and natural environmentA country at
the heart of Europe

• 550,000 km2 the largest country in Western
  Europe
• At the heart of the European Union
• Located at the crossroads of Europe, France
  borders with Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany,
  Switzerland and Luxembourg, boasting an excellent
  communications network
• A temperate climate
• Oceanic, in the West
• Mediterranean, in the South
• Continental, in the Centre and the East

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Geographical and natural environmentA country of
great natural wealth

• Exceptional diversity of landscape
• 5,500 km of coastal shores the North Sea and the
  Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean
• Extensive mountain ranges the Alps, Pyrenees,
  Jura, Massif Central, Vosges
• large plains Beauce, Picardy, Berry, and vast
  areas of forest
• A country that protects its natural heritage
• 7 national parks
• 136 natural reserves
• 37 regional nature parks

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Geographical and natural environmentA population
density of varying contrasts

• 61.4 million inhabitants an average density of
  111 inhab./km2
• 10 of French territory is inhabited by half the
  French population 
• 73 urban areas of over 100,000 inhabitants
• Paris 11.2 million Lyon 1.7 million
• Marseilles - Aix-en-Provence 1.5 million
• Lille 1.2 million - Toulouse 1 million
• The French Republic comprises
• the metropolis 22 regions, 96 departments
• 4 overseas departments (DOM) Guadeloupe,
  Martinique, Guiana, the Reunion
• 4 countries or overseas territories French
  Polynesia,
• New-Caledonia,
• Wallis and Futuna,
• Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

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A rich and varied history A gradual step towards
democracy

• Roman Gaul
• 50 B.C. 476 A.D. 500 years of Roman rule
• The Middle Ages and the Renaissance
• 496 the coronation of Clovis and beginning of
  a monarchy regime 
• 1589 succession of Henry IV, Bourbon accession
  to the French throne, consolidation of
  long-sought national unification
• From 17th Century to the Age of Enlightenment
• XVIIth century the peak of absolute
  monarchy,construction of Versailles under Louis
  XIV (1643-1715)
• XVIIIth century the Age of Enlightenment,
  great
• cultural influence

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A rich and varied history The foundations of
contemporary France

• The French Revolution
• Motto Liberty, Equality, Fraternity 
• 14 July 1789 storming of the Bastille
• 4 August 1789 abolition of privileges
• 26 August 1789 declaration of human and civil
  rights
• Napoleon and the Empire
• Aggressive military policy
• Administrative, legal and educational
  restructuring, still partly in force today
• The Restoration and the Second Empire
• In-depth transformation of the economy and of
  society
• Industrial Revolution growth in
  industry,creation of banks, expansion of
  department stores
• Republican France
  
  from 1870 onwards

Print The National Library of France
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A rich and varied history France today

• France in the XXth century
• Two great world wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945
• First stages of building Europe France and
  Germany 1951 the European coal
  and steel community
• 1957 Rome Treaty, European Economic Community
• From the beginnings of the Vth Republic to date
• 1958-1969 decolonization, the building of Europe
  and reassertion by
  General de Gaulle, president
  of the Republic, of Frances
  international role
• 1981-1995 François Mitterrand elected
  as president of
  the Republic, government
  changeovers (left and
  right)
• 1995 Jacques Chirac, elected
  as
  president of the Republic

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A rich and varied history France and its
institutions

• Constitution of the Vth Republic on 4th
  October1958
• strong executive power
• 
  
• President of the Republic
• elected for a 5 year term by universal suffrage,
• appoints the Prime Minister,
• presides over the Council of Ministers
• Two assemblies
• National Assembly 577 members (deputies)
  elected for 5 years
• Senate 321 senators elected for 9 years

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A rich and varied historyFrance and Europe

• Frances place within the European institutions
• founder role in the European Union, which now has
  25 members
• upstream role in the decisions made by the
  European Council
• 87 French members sit on the European Parliament
  in
  Strasbourg
• Single currency
• January 2002 circulation of coins and notes in
  euros
• European harmonization of diplomas (LMD)
• 1990 a common basis of calculation is introduced
  (ECTS)
• 2010 throughout Europe,
  
  universal levels for higher education
  
  Licence, Master and Doctorate

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An influential economic powerFrance, the worlds
4th largest economy

• The European Unions leading agricultural
  producer, the worlds 2nd
  after the United States
• The worlds 5th industrial power
• The worlds leading industry for luxury goods
• Leading country for tourism in the world
•  
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product - 2003) 1 557.2
  billion euros

Breakdown by segment Agriculture 2.9
Industry 25.6 Services 71.6
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An influential economic powerA dynamic
industrial power

• Modern industry
• A key player in various sectors
• agro-foodstuffs (Danone), wines and spirits
  (Pernod-Ricard)
• fashion and luxury goods (Louis Vuitton, Yves
  Saint-Laurent, Chanel, Dior)
• chemical and pharmaceutical (Sanofi-Synthelabo),
  cosmetics (lOréal)
• automotive (Peugeot-Citroën, Renault), tyres
  (Michelin)
• construction (Bouygues, Vinci), building
  materials (Lafarge)
• telecommunications (Alcatel)
• aeronautics and aerospace (EADS, Dassault)
• materials (Saint-Gobain), iron and steel
  (Arcelor)
• electronics and technology (Thales, Thomson)
• Craft Industry
• Frances n 1 employer
• Sources of energy
• Over 50 of energy needs covered by
  
  electric, hydro and nuclear power
• At the leading edge of new
  energies,
  wind and geothermal

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An influential economic powerA major
agricultural power

• 885 000 farmers, 2 of GNP
• large farms, specialized farming,
• highly mechanized with high output
• traditional small and medium-scale farmers, local
  products (South West and Mediterranean coast)
• Europes leading agricultural producer and
  exporter
• agricultural and livestock production regions
  82
  of national territory
• 36 million tons of wheat, 34 million tons of
  sugar beet, 56
  million hectolitres of wine,
  21 million bovine animals
• forests 30 of national territory
  
• maritime sector ranking 3rd worldwide
  600,000 tons of fish

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An influential economic powerA flourishing
tertiary sector

• Transport and communications
• the densest road and highway network in the world
  
• the high-speed train (TGV)
• a national airline, Air France, worlds top
  airline company since joining forces with KLM
  (May 2004)
• telecommunications France Télécom, leading
  French operator
• Distribution
• development of superstores (Carrefour, Auchan,
  Leclerc)
• specialized distribution (Galeries Lafayette)
• local stores maintained in towns
• Publications-media
• Lagardère Media, TF1, Vivendi Universal/Canal
• Banks and insurances 4 of GNP
• BNP Paribas, Société Générale,
  
  
  Crédit Agricole/Crédit
  Lyonnais, AXA, AGF

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An influential economic powerThe tourist
industry a national wealth

• The Tourist Industry
• The most visited country in the world
  70 million foreign visitors
• Rich and varied sites
• Paris
• the Mediterranean coast
• the castles of the Loire
• Normandy
• the Alps
• Large hotel chains
  
  
• Accor
• Sodexho Alliance

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An influential economic powerResearch, science
and technology

• Tradition that dates back to the XIIIth century
  1257, the Sorbonne is established
• Ranks 3rd for investment in Research and
  Development amongst the OECD countries 28.66
  billion euros
• Prestigious research centres (CNRS, INRA)
• Medical science of world renown
• 1968 successful heart transplant by Pr. Barnard
  in Marseilles
• 1983 the AIDS virus is discovered by Pr.
  Rosenbaum and
  Montagnier
• A long scientific tradition
• Descartes, Pascal, Buffon, Lavoisier, Pasteur
• Internationally renowned contemporary
  researchers
• Jean-Marie Lehn, Nobel prize winner for chemistry
  in 1987
• Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Georges Charpak, Claude
  Cohen-Tannoudji, Nobel prize winners for physics
  in 1991, 1992 and 1997
• Claude Allègre, Alain Connes, Crafoord prize
  winners in 1986 and 2001
• Jean-Christophe Yoccoz, Pierre-Louis Lions,
  Laurent Lafforgue, Fields medals in 1994 and
  2002

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French society todayPopulation
marriages 280 000 in 2002 divorces 114 000 in
2002 unmarried couples 1 in 6

• Working population (2004) 27.1 millionRate of
  unemployment 9.9Legal paid leave 5 weeks per
  yearLegal working hours 35 hours per weekRate
  of holiday departures 70
• Average net salary 20440 euros per yearSavings
  ratio 16.1 of disposable income
• Birth rate 12/Mortality rate 9.1/
• A land of welcome a geographical crossroads in
  which various cultures inter-mingle
• Structure of households according to family
  typeCouples with at least one child
  32Couples without children 27.6Singles
  31.4Single-parent families 7.1Other
  non-family households 1.9

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French society todayA market economy and strong
public services

• The education system
• National education n 1 priority for the State
  budget
• 12 million pupils, compulsory schooling until the
  age of 16
• 2.2 million students in higher education
• 150,000 foreign students
• Public services
• in all areas electricity (EDF), transport
  (SNCF), telecommunications (France Télécom),
  media (France Télévision, Arte, Radio France,
  RFI, RFO)
• gradual opening up to competition
• Social protection and health
• one of the best social protection systems
  Social Security
  created in 1945
• a major concern of the French
  148
  billion medical care and goods (2001),
  75  covered by the Social
  Security
• Easy access to culture and leisure
• Totally free access to libraries, partial to
  museums,
  preferential rates for sports
  facilities

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French society todayEveryday life

• Gastronomy a distinctive trait of French culture
• traditional (poule au pot, blanquette, pot au
  feu) and innovative
  cuisine by great chefs (Bocuse, Robuchon,
  Ducasse)
• renowned wines (Claret, Burgundy, Champagne)
• 400 types of cheese (Camembert, Roquefort, Brie)
• 1 in 2 homes owns a pet
• Spending (break-down of household budget)
• Accommodation 23.1
• Household goods and maintenance 6.2
• Food, drink and tobacco 18.2
• Transport and communications 17.6
• Housing 6 in 10 own their homes
• Leisure
• cultural events, gardening, DIY, trekking,
  
  computer games, sports (football, rugby, cycling,
  tennis)

Leisure and culture 9.2 Clothing 4.8 Health
3.7 Miscellaneous (restaurants, travel) 15.8
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A strong cultural heritageThe influence of the
French language

• Literature
• The French language literary genres, streams of
  thought and famous authors
• XVIth Montaigne, La Boétie
• XVIIth Molière, Racine, Corneille, La Fontaine,
  Pascal
• XVIIIth Rousseau, Voltaire, Beaumarchais,
  Marivaux
• XIXth Balzac, Flaubert, Stendhal, Hugo,
  Mallarmé, Zola, Musset, Nerval, Verlaine,
  Rimbaud, Baudelaire
• XXth Proust, Prévert, Breton, Sartre, Camus,
  Saint Exupéry, Marguerite
  Duras, Marguerite Yourcenar
• today Modiano, Le Clézio, Pennac
• Francophony
• 170 million people speak French throughout
  the world (of which 80
  million, mother tongue)
  
• 250 million capable of using French
  
  occasionally
• 11th worldwide ranking
• 82.5 million pupils and students

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A strong cultural heritageAn exceptional wealth

• Art and architecture
• Historical splendours
• Roman art the abbeys of Vézelay, Cluny and
  Cîteaux
• Gothic art Notre Dame of Paris, the cathedrals
  of Reims,
• Amiens, Chartres
• Renaissance art castles of the Loire
• Baroque art the Louvre
• Classic the palace of Versailles
• French influence across the globe
• Le Corbusier, Portzamparc, Nouvel
• Sculpture
• examples of the well-established Houdon,
  David, Daumier, Carpeaux, Rodin,
  Bourdelle,
  Maillol
• modern innovation
  Giacometti, Marcel Duchamp,
  
  Niki de Saint Phalle

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A strong cultural heritageA source of inspiration

• Painting
• Centuries of tradition Georges de La Tour,
  Poussin, Watteau, Toulouse-Lautrec
• Modern art impressionism (Monet, Manet, Van
  Gogh), cubism (Picasso, Cézanne), fauvism
  (Matisse), abstract art (Vasarely, Kandinsky)
• Great museums for great painters
• in Paris Grand Louvre, Orsay museum, Centre
  Pompidou
• in provincial France the Matisse and Chagall
  museums (Nice), regional museums (Bordeaux,
  Troyes)
• Music
• Baroque and classical tradition Lully, Rameau,
  Berlioz, Bizet
• Contemporary (Debussy, Ravel) and experimental
  music (Boulez, Xenakis)
• Inventiveness of todays musical creations (Daft
  Punk, Air, Laurent Garnier, IAM)

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A strong cultural heritageAt the forefront of
all types of art

• The film industry
• 1895 invention of cinematography by the Lumière
  brothers
• 1930-1940 poetic realism, Renoir, Carné, Pagnol
• the sixties the new wave, Truffaut, Godard,
  Rohmer
• contemporary cinema Pialat, Téchiné, Besson,
  Annaud, Jeunet
  (Amélie Poulain)
• World renowned actors Brigitte Bardot, Alain
  Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, Yves
  Montand, Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau,
  Juliette Binoche
• Leading European producers
• High ratio of cinema attendance
• Photography Cartier-Bresson, Lartigue
• Design Philippe Starck
• Living arts
• Theatre Ariane Mnouchkine, Patrice Chéreau
• Dance ballets by the Paris Opera,
  
  Béjart, Decoufflé, Roland Petit

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A strong cultural heritageMajor festive events

• 1989 Bicentenary of the French Revolution
• Annual major events
• 21st June Music Festival throughout France
• June/July Roland Garros tennis tournament, Tour
  de France cycling
• Midem international music market in Cannes
• July/August operation Paris-Beach
• Festival triumphs
• cinema Cannes, Deauville
• theatre Avignon festival
• Music and opera Aix-en-Provence,
  Chaise-Dieu,
  Francofolies in la Rochelle,
  Printemps de Bourges
• photography Arles, Perpignan
• Sport events
• 1998 World cup football
• 2003 World athletics championship
• 2007 World cup rugby
• 2012 Paris candidate for Olympic Games

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Information sources and links

• Office of the President of the Republic
  (www.elysee.fr)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.diplomatie-france
  .fr)
• French agency for international investment
  (www.afii.fr)
• European Union (www.europa.eu.int)
• Ministry of Culture and Communications
  (www.culture.gouv.fr)
• Unesco (www.unesco.org)
• OECD (www.oecd.org)
• French Academy (www.academie-francaise.fr)
• Academy of science (www.academie-sciences.fr)
• Insee (www.insee.fr)
• Photographic Library
• EduFrance
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Library of France (www.bnf.fr)