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Geography
The French Republic has land borders with Belgium, Luxembourg,
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco and Spain. Its coastal borders are
with the Meditteranean Sea, the Atlantic and the English Channel. Corsica
is a French island in the Mediterranean.
Paris is the capital city.
Much of France's terrain is flat; there are some gently rolling hills and mountainous regions include the Pyrenees in the south and the Alps in the east. The Loire is France's longest river. Other major rivers are the Dordogne, the Garonne, the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Seine.
France's climate is varied. Its winters are quite cool with mild summers. Winter and summer are much warmer along the Mediterranean.
Environment
France has a varied landscape with forests and woodland areas
covering twenty-seven per cent of the country.
A Federation of Parks oversee France's nature reserves which are home to many endangered plants and birds. Animals include small creatures such as foxes and deer; the chamois lives in alpine areas and some wild boar can still be found in the more remote forested areas.
Like all developed countries the French environment suffers from air and water pollution.
Architecture
France has a diverse architectural heritage which includes timbered
and stone farm buildings, Troglodyte mountain dwellings (Loire valley)
and examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque
architectural styles.
France is particularly well-known for its Gothic churches built from the twelfth and fifteenth centuries: Notre Dame in Paris, Chartres Cathedral, Amiens Cathedral and the Benedictine Abbey, Mont-Saint Michel.
Carcassonne is an excellent example of a Medieval walled city. Fougeres and Vitre are also noteable historic cities.
During the Renaissance the palace at Fontainebleau was renovated and enlarged and many of the famous chateaux of the Loire valley were constructed.
In the seventeenth century Louis XIV took a personal interest in building the palace at Versailles. Today Versailles is a museum visited by many tourists. Other buildings of interest are the Musee d'Orsay, the Pomipdou Centre and, of course, the Eiffel Tower.
Population
The population of France is just under sixty million. Ethnic
minorities include North African and Indochinese from the French colonial
empire.
Languages
The language is French with some regional dialects and languages
such as Breton and Corsican.
Religion
Ninety per cent of the French population are Roman Catholic
with only two per cent Protestant. There are Jewish and Muslim minorities.
Food
France is famous for its food: baguettes, croissants and Croque-Monsieur
(toasted cheese and ham sandwich); regional cheeses and Dijon mustard;
onion soup, cassoulet (stew), bouillabaisse (fish stew) and escargots
aux grenouilles (snails with frogs' legs).
North African food is also available, introduced to France by its migrant workers from the old colonies.
Wines are named after their areas of production: Burgandy, Bordeaux and Champagne. Kirch, (cherry liqueur) cassis, (blackcurrant liqueur) calvados (apple brandy) and cognac.
