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France

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**1. Geography and Demographics:**
– France shares borders with multiple countries in Europe.
– Overseas territories include regions in South America, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean.
– The total area of France is 551,500 km (212,900 sq mi) for metropolitan France.
– The total population of France is 68.4 million as of January 2024.
– France has one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world.

**2. Government and History:**
– France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with Paris as its capital.
– The country has a rich history dating back to Celtic tribes in the Iron Age, through Roman annexation, and the formation of the Kingdom of Francia by the Franks.
– France saw significant developments during the High Middle Ages and conflicts with England during the Hundred Years War.

**3. Cultural Influence and Economic Status:**
– France is a global center of art, science, and philosophy.
– The country hosts numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is a top tourist destination.
– The French Revolution of 1789 marked a significant turning point in history.
– France is a developed country with a high nominal per capita income and ranks among the largest economies globally.

**4. International Relations and Alliances:**
– France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state.
– It is a founding member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as a key member of the Group of Seven, NATO, OECD, and Francophonie.
– France maintains close economic and military ties with its former colonies.

**5. Historical Evolution and Monarchy:**
– The evolution of France from pre-6th century BC to modern times, including significant events like the Gallic tribes, Roman conquest, and the reign of various dynasties.
– Details on the inheritance of the French Monarchy and its role in conflicts like the Hundred Years War.
– Key periods like the French Revolution, Napoleon’s rule, and the shifts in government structures during the 19th century.

France (Wikipedia)

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the southeast, Andorra and Spain to the south, and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and have a total population of 68.4 million as of January 2024. France is a semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.

French Republic
République française (French)
Motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité"
("Liberty, Equality, Fraternity")
Anthem: "La Marseillaise"
Diplomatic emblem
Location of France (blue or dark green)

– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)

Capital
and largest city
Paris
48°51′N 2°21′E / 48.850°N 2.350°E / 48.850; 2.350
Official language
and national language
French
Nationality (2021)
Religion
(2023)
Demonym(s)French
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic
• President
Emmanuel Macron
Gabriel Attal
Gérard Larcher
Yaël Braun-Pivet
LegislatureParliament
Senate
National Assembly
Establishment
10 August 843
22 September 1792
4 October 1958
Area
• Total
643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) (43rd)
• Water (%)
0.86
551,695 km2 (213,011 sq mi) (50th)
• Metropolitan France (Cadastre)
543,940.9 km2 (210,016.8 sq mi) (50th)
Population
• January 2024 estimate
Neutral increase 68,373,433 (20th)
• Density
106.20274/km2 (106th)
• Metropolitan France, estimate as of January 2024
Neutral increase 66,142,961 (23rd)
• Density
122/km2 (316.0/sq mi) (89th)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $3.988 trillion (10th)
• Per capita
Increase $60,339 (26th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $3.130 trillion (7th)
• Per capita
Increase $47,359 (23rd)
Gini (2022)Negative increase 29.8
low inequality
HDI (2022)Steady 0.910
very high (28th)
Currency
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Calling code+33
ISO 3166 codeFR
Internet TLD.fr
Source gives area of metropolitan France as 551,500 km2 (212,900 sq mi) and lists overseas regions separately, whose areas sum to 89,179 km2 (34,432 sq mi). Adding these give the total shown here for the entire French Republic. The World Factbook reports the total as 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi).

Metropolitan France was settled during the Iron Age by Celtic tribes known as Gauls before Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture. In the Early Middle Ages, the Franks formed the Kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France. In the High Middle Ages, France was a powerful but decentralized feudal kingdom, but from the mid-14th to the mid-15th centuries, France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with England known as the Hundred Years' War. In the 16th century, the French Renaissance saw culture flourish and a French colonial empire rise. Internally, France was dominated by the conflict with the House of Habsburg and the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots. France was successful in the Thirty Years' War and further increased its influence during the reign of Louis XIV.

The French Revolution of 1789 overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte, subjugating part of continental Europe and establishing the First French Empire. The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars significantly shaped the course of European history. The collapse of the empire initiated a period of relative decline, in which France endured the Bourbon Restoration until the founding of the French Second Republic which was succeeded by the Second French Empire upon Napoleon III's takeover. His empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. This led to the establishment of the Third French Republic, and subsequent decades saw a period of economic prosperity and cultural and scientific flourishing known as the Belle Époque. France was one of the major participants of World War I, from which it emerged victorious at great human and economic cost. It was among the Allies of World War II, but it surrendered and was occupied by the Axis in 1940. Following its liberation in 1944, the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the defeat in the Algerian War. The current Fifth Republic was formed in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle. Algeria and most French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with the majority retaining close economic and military ties with France.

France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art, science, and philosophy. It hosts the fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the world's leading tourist destination, receiving 100 million foreign visitors in 2023. France is a developed country with a high nominal per capita income globally, and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world. It is a great power, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state. France is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as a member of the Group of Seven, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Francophonie.



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