France History, Geography, Economy and Important Events

In the 19th century, Napoleon seized power there and established the first French Empire, followed by the Napoleonic Wars that shaped the continent of present-day Europe. After the fall of the empire, the Third French Republic was established in France in 1870, although all subsequent governments remained in a lean state. France was a major participant in the First World War, where it emerged victorious, and one of the Allies in World War II, but came under occupation of the Axis powers in 1940. After its liberation in 1944, the Fourth French Republic was established which was later disbanded during the Algeria War. The fifth French Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was created in 1958 and continues to function today. Algeria and almost all other colonies became independent in the 1960s, but its close economic and military relations with France continue to this day.

Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe. It borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra and Spain. There are two mountain ranges bordering France, the Alps in the east and Preniss in the south. Of the many rivers flowing through France, two rivers, the Sen and the Lavar, are prominent. There are lower hills and river valleys in the north and west of France. The climate here is maritime, the effect of which decreases when going away from the ocean. From the European point of view the climate is characterized by low temperature, adequate rainfall, cold summers and cold winters in the western coastal part. The continental climate is found in the eastern and central part.

France has a mixed economy. Where there is extensive private enterprise as well as several government enterprises with government intervention. The administration maintains control over several infrastructure sectors with majority ownership of railways, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications. Here financial services, banking and insurance sectors are an important part of the economy. The Paris Stock Exchange (French: La Bourse de Paris) is an old institution, built in 1724 by Louis XV. In 2000, the stock exchanges of Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels merged to be named Euronext. BNP Paribas and Credit Agriole are major French banks.

According to Article 2 of the Constitution, the official language of France is French, a Romance language derived from Latin. Since 1635, Académie française has been France's official authority on the French language, although its recommendations bear no legal weight. There are also regional languages ​​spoken in France, such as Silver, Breton, Catalan, Flemish (Dutch dialect), Alsatian (German dialect), Basque and Corsican. Italian was the official language of Corsica until 9 May 1859.

Andorra [L] , Antigua and Barbuda [M] , Australia [LM] , Barbados [M] , Belgium [LM] , Brazil [LM] , Comoros [M] , Dominica [M] , France [M] , Germany [L] , Italy [LM] , Luxembourg [L] , Madagascar [M] , Mauritius [M] , Monaco [LM] , Saint Lucia [M] , Spain [LM] , Suriname [LM] , Switzerland [L] , United Kingdom [M] , Venezuela [M] ,
Definition of international border: L = Land Border | M = Maritime Border