France is called the French Republic. France is located in western Europe, bordering Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Andorra, and Monaco, facing the United Kingdom across the La Manche Strait to the northwest, and bordering the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Corsica is the largest island in France. The terrain is high in the southeast and low in the northwest, with plains accounting for two-thirds of the total area. The main mountain ranges are the Alps and the Pyrenees. Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is 4810 meters above sea level, the highest peak in Europe. The main rivers are the Loire (1010 km), the Rhone (812 km), and the Seine (776 km). The western part of France has a maritime temperate broad-leaved forest climate, the south has a subtropical Mediterranean climate, and the central and eastern parts have a continental climate.

France has an area of ​​551,600 square kilometers, and the country is divided into regions, provinces, and municipalities. The province has special districts and counties, but not administrative regions. The county is the judicial and electoral unit. France has 22 regions, 96 provinces, 4 overseas provinces, 4 overseas territories, and 1 local administrative region with special status. There are 36,679 municipalities in the country.

The 22 regions of France are: Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Bourgogne, Brittany, Central Region, Champagne-Ardenne, Corsica, Fran Shi-Conte, Paris Region, Lancédoc-Roussion, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Nord-Calais, Lower Normandy, Upper Normandy, Loire, Picardy, Boitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Rhone-Alpes.

The Gauls settled here in BC. In the 1st century BC, the Gallic governor of Rome, Caesar, occupied the entire territory of Gallic, and was ruled by Rome for 500 years. In the 5th century AD, the Franks conquered Gaul and established the Frankish kingdom. After the 10th century, feudal society developed rapidly. In 1337, the British king coveted the French throne and the "Hundred Years War" broke out. In the early days, large tracts of land in France were invaded by the British and the King of France was captured. Later, the French people waged a war against aggression and ended the Hundred Years' War in 1453. From the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th century, a centralized state was formed.

In the mid-17th century, the French monarchy reached its peak. With the development of the power of the bourgeoisie, the French Revolution broke out in 1789, abolished the monarchy, and established the First Republic on September 22, 1792. On November 9, 1799 (Fog Moon 18), Napoleon Bonaparte seized power and proclaimed himself emperor in 1804, establishing the First Empire. The revolution broke out in February 1848 and the Second Republic was established. In 1851, President Louis Bonaparte launched a coup and established the Second Empire in December the following year. After being defeated in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the Third Republic was established in September 1871 until the French Petain government surrendered to Germany in June 1940, and the Third Republic fell. France was invaded by Germany during the First and Second World Wars. An interim government was announced in June 1944, and the Constitution was passed in 1946, establishing the Fourth Republic. In September 1958, the new constitution was passed and the Fifth Republic was established. Charles de Gaulle, Pompidou, Destin, Mitterrand, Chirac, and Sarkozy served as presidents.

National flag: The French flag is rectangular with a ratio of length to width of 3:2. The flag surface is composed of three parallel and equal vertical rectangles, which are blue, white and red from left to right. There are many sources of the French flag, the most representative of which is: during the French bourgeois revolution in 1789, the Paris National Guard used the blue, white, and red flag as its team flag. White in the center represents the king and symbolizes the sacred status of the king; red and blue are on both sides, representing the citizens of Paris; at the same time, these three colors symbolize the French royal family and the alliance of the Paris bourgeoisie. It is also said that the tricolor flag was a symbol of the French Revolution, representing freedom, equality, and fraternity.

The population of France is 63,392,100 (as of January 1, 2007), including 4 million foreign nationals, of which 2 million are from EU countries, and the immigrant population reaches 4.9 million, accounting for 8.1% of the total population of the country . General French. 62% of the residents believe in Catholicism, 6% believe in Muslims, and a small number of Protestants, Judaism, Buddhism, and Orthodox Christians, and 26% claim to have no religious beliefs.

France has a developed economy. In 2006, its gross national product was US$2,153.746 billion, ranking sixth in the world, with a per capita value of US$35,377. The main industrial sectors include mining, metallurgy, steel, automobile manufacturing, and shipbuilding. New industrial sectors such as nuclear energy, petrochemicals, marine development, aviation and aerospace have developed rapidly in recent years, and their share of industrial output value has continued to increase. However, the traditional industrial sector still dominates the industry, with steel, automobiles, and construction as the three pillars. The share of the tertiary industry in the French economy is increasing year by year. Among them, the business volume of the telecommunications, information, tourism services and transportation sectors increased significantly, and the service industry employees accounted for about 70% of the total labor force.

French business is relatively developed, and the most revenue-generating product is food sales. France is the largest agricultural producer in the European Union and a major exporter of agricultural and sideline products in the world. Food production accounts for one-third of the total food production in Europe, and agricultural exports are second only to the United States in the world. France is a world-famous tourist country, receiving an average of more than 70 million foreign tourists each year, surpassing its own population. The capital, Paris, scenic spots along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and the Alps are all tourist attractions. Some well-known museums in France contain valuable heritage of world culture. France is also a major trading country in the world. Among them, wine is world-renowned, and wine exports account for half of the world's exports. In addition, French fashion, French cuisine, and French perfume are all well-known in the world.

France is a culturally developed and romantic country. After the Renaissance, a large number of famous writers, composers, painters, such as Molière, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, etc. emerged. Has a major impact on the world.

Fun facts

French people love cheese, so various legends about cheese are also heard orally, and they have been preserved for many years.

Normandy, in northwestern France, is home to the most fertile land in France, where the livestock are home to the most fertile land. The green grass is green and the fruits are plentiful. Even in winter, there are still green eyes and countless cattle and sheep. What is produced here is undoubtedly the representative product of French cheese, and its reputation in the food field is no less than that of the fashionable Louis Vuitton leather bags and Chanel fashion.

Camembert cheese has a long history in this area, it has been more than two centuries, and it has always maintained the traditional craftsmanship. According to legend, a peasant woman received a recipe for Brie cheese shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1791 and received an escaped priest in her farm. This peasant woman combined the local climate and terroir of Normandy on the basis of the recipe, and finally produced CAMEMBERT cheese, which became the most popular cheese in France. She passed the secret of the recipe to her daughter. Later, a person named Ridel advocated packaging Camembert cheese in wooden boxes for easy carrying, so it was exported all over the world.

Paris: Paris, the French capital, is the largest city on the European continent and one of the most prosperous cities in the world. Paris is located in the north of France. The Seine River winds through the city and has a population of 2.15 million (as of January 1, 2007), including 11.49 million in the city and suburbs. The city itself occupies the center of the Paris Basin and has a mild maritime climate, with no severe heat in summer and severe cold in winter.

Paris is the largest industrial and commercial city in France. The northern suburbs are mainly manufacturing areas. The most developed manufacturing projects include automobiles, electrical appliances, chemicals, medicine, and food. The production of luxury goods ranks second, and is mainly concentrated in the downtown areas; the products include precious metal appliances, leather products, porcelain, clothing, etc. The outer city area is specialized in the production of furniture, shoes, precision tools, optical instruments, etc. Film production in the Greater Paris (Metropolitan) area accounts for three-quarters of the total film production in France.

Paris is the center of French culture and education, as well as a famous cultural city in the world. The famous French Academy of France, the University of Paris, and the National Scientific Research Center are all located in Paris. The University of Paris is one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in 1253. There are also many academic research institutions, libraries, museums, theaters, etc. in Paris. There are 75 libraries in Paris, and its Chinese library is the largest. The museum was founded in 1364-1380 and has a collection of 10 million books.

Paris is a world-famous historical city with many places of interest, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Elysee Palace, the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame de Paris, George Pompidou’s national culture and art The center, etc., is a place where domestic and foreign tourists linger. On both sides of the beautiful Seine River, parks and green spaces are dotted, and 32 bridges span the river, making the scenery on the river even more charming and colorful. The city island in the center of the river is the cradle and birthplace of Paris.

Marseille: Marseille is France's second largest city and largest seaport, with an urban population of 1.23 million. The city is surrounded by limestone hills on three sides, with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate. Marseille is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea in the southeast, with deep water and wide harbors, no rapids and rapids, and 10,000-ton ships can pass unimpeded. The Rhone River and flat valleys in the west are connected with Northern Europe. The geographical position is unique and it is the largest gateway for French foreign trade. Marseille is an important industrial center in France, where 40% of the oil processing industry in France is concentrated. There are 4 large oil refineries in the Foss-Talbor area, which can process 45 million tons of oil each year. The ship repair industry in Marseille is also quite developed. Its ship repair volume accounts for 70% of this industry in the country, and it can repair the world's largest ship-an 800,000-ton tanker.

Marseille is almost the oldest city in France. It was built in the 6th century BC and merged into the Roman territory in the 1st century BC. After its decline, it almost disappeared, and it rose again in the 10th century. In 1832, the port throughput was second only to London and Liverpool in England, becoming the third largest port in the world at that time. During the French Revolution in 1792, the Maasai marched into Paris singing "Battle of the Rhine", and their passionate singing inspired people to fight for freedom. This song later became the French national anthem and was called "Marseille". During the Second World War, the French warships gathered in the harbor refused to surrender to Nazi Germany and all sank majestic. Marseille shook the world once again.

Bordeaux: Bordeaux is the seat of the Aquitaine region and the capital of the Gironde province in southwestern France. It is a strategic location on the Atlantic coast of Europe. The Port of Bordeaux is France's closest port connecting West Africa and the American continent and a railway hub in Southwest Europe. The natural conditions of the Aquitaine region are superior, which is conducive to the growth of crops. Agricultural production ranks third in the country, corn production ranks first in the EU, and foie gras production and processing ranks first in the world.

Bordeaux's wine varieties and production are among the best in the world, and the export history has several centuries. There are 13,957 grape-growing and wine-producing enterprises in the region, with a turnover of 13.5 billion francs, of which exports accounted for 4.1 billion francs. The Aquitaine region is one of the major aerospace industrial bases in Europe, with 20,000 employees directly engaged in aerospace industry production, 8,000 employees engaged in processing and production, 18 large enterprises, 30 production and pilot plants. This region occupies the third place in the export of French aviation products. In addition, the electronics, chemical, textile and clothing industries in Aquitaine are also very developed; there are abundant timber reserves and strong technical processing capabilities.