FRANCE

officially French Republic, French France, or Rpublique Franaise country in western Europe, with an area of 210,026 square miles (543,965 square km). The capital is Paris. France is bordered on the northeast by Luxembourg and Belgium, on the northwest by the English Channel, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay, on the south by Spain, Andorra, and the Mediterranean Sea, and on the east by Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. The island of Corsica in the Mediterranean is an integral part of France. The population of France in 1991 was estimated at 56,942,000. The chteau of Villandry, built in 1532, and its formal gardens in the Loire Valley just east officially French Republic, French France, or Rpublique Franaise, country in western Europe. It is one of the oldest and historically and culturally most important nations of Europe and, indeed, of the whole Western world. It lies near the western end of the great Eurasian landmass, largely between latitudes 42 and 51 N, and covers a total area of 210,026 square miles (543,965 square kilometres). The capital is Paris. Roughly hexagonal in outline, its continental territory is bordered on the northeast by Belgium and Luxembourg, on the east by Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and Andorra, on the west by the Bay of Biscay, and on the northwest by the English Channel (French: La Manche); on the north, France faces southeastern England across the narrow Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais). Monaco is an independent enclave on the south coast, while the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean is treated as an integral part of the country. France's two mountain chains, the Alps in the east and the Pyrenees in the southwest, form natural frontiers and thus leave only the northeastern land boundaryacross which most of the great invasions of the nation have been launchedopen to any great extent. This geopolitical situation may explain why the Rhine River has sometimes been claimed as the natural boundary of the hexagon's sixth side, and it helps to account for the relatively early achievement of national unity by the French peoplea process initiated from Paris and its surrounding region, aptly named the le de France. The climate is generally moderate, combining Atlantic, Mediterranean, and continental influences. Largely because of the two world wars, the French birth rate fell alarmingly during the first half of the 20th century, but by the 1950s a relatively high rate of natural increase could be observed. This was assisted by government policy encouraging people to have large families, by the repatriation of French citizens from former colonies in North Africa, and by the influx of foreign labour (much of it illegal). Paris is the hub of France, by far the largest urban agglomeration and the cultural centre, and the focus of a constantly accelerating process of centralization, despite government efforts to decentralize. The city and its immediate environs house roughly one-fifth of the total population. The rest is distributed unevenly across more than 36,000 communes, France's smallest administrative unit. The next largest urban centres are Lyon and Marseille. Communication and commerce between the regions is hindered by the importance accorded to Paris through centralization. Major railroads and highways, by and large, converge on Paris. Commerce is deterred by an insufficient number of navigable waterways and by the plateau of the Massif Central, which forms a huge natural obstacle to easy communications between important towns such as Nantes or Bordeaux to the west, the Mediterranean port of Marseille to the south, and Lyon in the Rhne valley. By the mid-20th century most major industries in France were concentrated east of a line running from Le Havre, in the north, to Marseille. Since that time, industrial development has burgeoned in the Loire valley and the southern regions. The western regions, which have tended to remain more agricultural, are generally less developed. A number of small rural communities in remote areas, such as parts of the Massif Central or northern Provence, have been regenerated by an influx of young people who chose to leave cities, especially Paris. The First Republic of France was proclaimed in 1792, three years after the Revolution. Of the constitutions since then, the longest enduring, that of the Third Republic (18701940), was in many ways the simplest of all. The period of the Fourth Republic (194759) was the most unsettled. The constitution of the Fifth Republic was adopted on Sept. 28, 1958, by referendum. Charles de Gaulle, the World War II general and symbol of French resistance, became president the following December under new terms of government in which the powers of the head of state were strengthened. De Gaulle envisaged an increase both in his own powers, including the right to dissolve parliament, and in the delegation of greater nonpolitical responsibility to local and regional authorities for the purpose of decentralization. When, in a referendum held in April 1969, the French people rejected his plans, de Gaulle resigned. On the international scene, France signed the Treaty of Paris in 1951, creating the European Coal and Steel Communitythe embryo of the present-day European Unionon the initiative of the statesman Jean Monnet and of the then prime minister, Robert Schuman. France became a leading member of the European Economic Community (EEC), or Common Market, formed in 1957 and called since 1993 the European Community (EC). From 1966 to 1995 France did not participate in the integrated military structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), retaining full control over its own air, ground, and naval forces during this period. As one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Counciltogether with the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and ChinaFrance has the right to veto decisions presented before the council. Culturally France has enjoyed a significant and prestigious role in the world from the early Middle Ages. In architecture the nation, emerging from a cluster of dukedoms and provinces, gradually witnessed a shift from the simple beauty of early Romanesque forms through the more flamboyant Gothic style to the extravagance of the Baroque. A rich intellectual progression from Renaissance humanism in the 16th century to the Enlightenment in the 18th influenced the cultural progress of all western Europe. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, developments in painting, highlighted to a large degree by the Impressionists, were unequaled since the Italian Renaissance. The French literary tradition, among the world's richest, has been solidified through the works of a body of world-renowned poets, novelists, essayists, and playwrights. The nation has also made a major contribution in science and engineering, especially during the late 20th century. Hubert Beuve-Mry John E. Flower This article treats the physical and human geography of France. For discussion of the major cities of France, see Paris and Marseille. Ethnic composition Shopping for produce at an outdoor market, Paris, France. The French are, paradoxically, strongly conscious of belonging to a single nation, but they hardly constitute a unified racial group by any scientific gauge. Before the official discovery of the Americas at the end of the 15th century, France, located on the western extremity of the Old World, was regarded for centuries by Europeans as being near the edge of the known world. Generations of different migrants traveling by way of the Mediterranean from the Middle East and Africa and through Europe from Central Asia and the Nordic lands settled permanently in France, forming a variegated grouping, almost like a series of geologic strata, since they were unable to migrate any farther. Perhaps the oldest reflection of these migrations is furnished by the Basque people, who live in an isolated area west of the Pyrenees, in both Spain and France, and whose origin remains unclear. The Celtic tribes, known to the Romans as Gauls, spread from central Europe in the period 500 BCAD 500 to provide France with a major component of its population, especially in the centre and west, where the people are generally regarded to have Alpine physical characteristicsthat is, broad heads, medium height, and dark features. At the fall of the Roman Empire there was a powerful penetration of Germanic (Teutonic) peoples, especially in northern and eastern France, supposedly still represented by a population that is tall, blond, blue-eyed, and long-headed. The incursion of the Northmen (Vikings) into northwestern France reinforced these characteristics. In addition to these many migrations, France was, over the centuries, the field of numerous battles and of prolonged occupations before becoming, in the 19th and especially in the 20th century, the prime recipient of foreign immigration into Europe, adding still other mixtures to the racial melting pot. Linguistic composition French is the national language, spoken and taught everywhere. Brogues and dialects are widespread in rural areas, however, and many people tend to conserve their regional linguistic customs either through tradition or through a voluntary and deliberate return to a specific regional dialect. This tendency is strongest in the frontier areas of France. In the eastern and northern part of the country, Alsatian and Flemish (Dutch) are related to the Germanic languages; in the south, Occitan (Provenal), Corsican, and Catalan show the influence of Latin. Both Breton, a Celtic language similar to languages spoken in some western parts of the British Isles (notably Wales), and Basque are distinctly original languages. Following the introduction of universal primary education during the Third Republic in 1872, the use of regional languages was rigorously repressed in the interest of national unity, and pupils using them were punished. More recently, in reaction to the rise in regional sentiment, these languages have been introduced in a number of schools and universities, primarily because some of them, such as Occitan (langue d'oc), Basque, and Breton, have maintained a literary tradition. Recent immigration has introduced various non-European languages, notably Arabic. Additional reading General works Comprehensive surveys of the country, using both descriptive and analytical approaches, include Philippe Pinchemel et al., France: A Geographical, Social, and Economic Survey (1987; originally published in French, 1980); Christopher Flockton and Eleonore Kofman, France (1989); and Fernand Braudel, The Identity of France: History and Environment (1988; originally published in French, 1986), all with important bibliographies. See also Paul Hamlyn, Michelin Motoring Atlas, France, 3rd ed. (1989), a useful reference source with much more detailed information than its title suggests. The land Characteristics of major physical regions of France are provided in Clifford Embleton (ed.), Geomorphology of Europe (1984); Jacqueline Beaujeu-Garnier, Le Relief de la France (1972), which deals with the structural geology of the area; and Guide de la nature en France (1979), which explores the natural history of the country. Comit National Franais de Gographie, Atlas de la France rurale: les campagnes franaises (1984), contains maps and photographs illustrating aspects of rural France, both by type of agriculture and by region; and Andr Brun et al., Le Grand Atlas de la France rurale (1989), provides documentation on all aspects of life from the point of view of agricultural geography. Ian Scargill, Urban France (1983), includes case studies of new towns; and Jacqueline Beaujeu-Garnier (ed.), La France des villes, 6 vol. (197880), offers a massive survey of urbanization. Human geography General overviews of regional planning, demography, social structure, economic conditions, culture, and politics are found in J.W. House, France: An Applied Geography (1978); John Ardagh, France Today, new rev. ed. (1987); J.E. Flower (ed.), France Today: Introductory Studies, 6th ed. (1987); and Emmanuel Todd, La Nouvelle France (1988). John Ardagh et al., Rural France: The People, Places, and Character of the Frenchman's France (1983), presents illuminating impressions of the main rural regions and covers special topics such as rural life, nature, and tourism. Theodore Zeldin, The French (1982), explores national characteristics. Demographic analyses are provided in Daniel Noin and Yvan Chauvir, La Population de la France (1987); and Allan Findlay and Paul White (eds.), West European Population Change (1986). Statistical information is available in A. Journaux and Jacqueline Beaujeu-Garnier, Population of France: Statistical Cartography (1980), a bilingual atlas; and Daniel Noin et al., Atlas des Parisiens (1984). Economy Comprehensive surveys of modern economic conditions include John Tuppen, The Economic Geography of France (1983); Richard F. Kuisel, Capitalism and the State in Modern France: Renovation and Economic Management in the Twentieth Century (1981); Jean-Franois Eck, Histoire de l'conomie franaise depuis 1945 (1988); Marcel Baleste, L'conomie franaise, 10th rev. ed. (1989); J. Brmond and G. Brmond, L'conomie franaise face aux dfis mondiaux: faits, chiffres, analyses, 3rd ed. (1988); and John Tuppen, France Under Recession, 19811986 (1988). Current developments are brought together in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Economic Surveys: France (annual). Studies of special features of the French economy include Franoise Milewski, Le Commerce extrieur de la France (1989), on foreign trade; Georges Cazes, Le Tourisme en France, 2nd ed. (1986); and Claude Servolin, L'Agriculture moderne (1989). Administration and social conditions Studies of political administration include Henry F. Ehrmann, Politics in France, 4th ed. (1983); Phillip G. Cerny and Martin A. Schain, French Politics and Public Policy (1980); Philip M. Williams, Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic, 3rd ed. (1964, reissued 1972); Jacques Chapsal, La Vie politique sous la Ve rpublique, 3rd ed., 2 vol. (1987); J.R. Frears, Political Parties and Elections in the French Fifth Republic (1977), and France in the Giscard Presidency (1981); Howard Machin and Vincent Wright (eds.), Economic Policy and Policy-Making Under the Mitterrand Presidency, 19811984 (1985), focusing on executive power; and Pierre Pactet, Les Institutions franaises, 4th ed. (1986). Law and military subjects are treated in Raymond Charles, La Justice en France, 6th ed. (1978), an examination of the court system; Paul Marie de La Gorce, The French Army: A Military-Political History (1963; originally published in French, 1963); and Lothar Ruehl, La Politique militaire de la Cinquime Rpublique (1976), which discusses the military in the Fifth Republic. On local government, see Brian Chapman, Introduction to French Local Government (1953, reprinted 1979); and Pierre Grmion, Le Pouvoir priphrique: bureaucrates et notable dans le systme politique franais (1976). Executives, officials, and employees and their role in the administrative power structure are discussed in Ezra N. Suleiman, Politics, Power, and Bureaucracy in France: The Administrative Elite (1974), and Elites in French Society: The Politics of Survival (1978); Michel Crozier, The Bureaucratic Phenomenon (1964; originally published in French, 1964); and F. Ridley and J. Blondel, Public Administration in France, 2nd ed. (1969). Social conditions and organizations in the social sphere are the focus of Michel Crozier, The Stalled Society (1973; originally published in French, 1970); and Pierre Laroque (ed.), Les Institutions sociales de la France (1980). For information on education, see Antoine Prost, Histoire de l'enseignement en France, 18001967, 2nd ed. (1970); and Grald Antoine and Jean-Claude Passeron, La Rforme de l'universit (1966). Culture The philosophical perspectives of French cultural life are examined in Alain Finkielkraut, The Undoing of Thought (1988; originally published in French, 1987). Cultural policies and the interaction of politics and culture are the subject of Pascal Ory, L'Entre-deux-mai: histoire culturelle de la France, mai 1968mai 1981 (1983). Bernard-Henri Lvy, Eloge des intellectuels (1987), is an introduction to intellectual life; and Bernard Voyenne, L'Information aujourd'hui (1979), focuses on mass media. For literature, see Denis Hollier et al., A New History of French Literature (1989). Thomas Henry Elkins John N. Tuppen Jean F.P. Blondel John E. Flower Administration and social conditions Government The constitutional framework The genesis of the 1958 constitution After the insurrection of May 13, 1958, in Algeria, then still a French colony, General Charles de Gaulle formed a government and, through the constitutional law of June 3, 1958, was granted responsibility for the drafting of a new constitution. The drafting and promulgation of the new constitution differed in three main ways from the former constitutions of 1875 and 1946: first, parliament did not participate in its drafting, which was done by a government working party aided by a constitutional advisory committee and the Council of State; second, French overseas territories participated in the referendum that ratified it on Sept. 28, 1958; and, third, initial acceptance was widespread. In metropolitan France 85 percent of the electorate voted, 79 percent in favour and 20 percent against, and among the overseas territories only Guinea rejected the new constitution and consequently withdrew from the French Community. Electoral basis The constitution of the Fifth Republic of France came into effect on Oct. 4, 1958, and is based on the principles of Western democracy, the will of the people being registered at elections and referenda. Universal suffrage at the age of 21 has existed since 1848 for men and since 1944 for women; the age of eligibility was lowered to 18 in 1974. The bicameral legislature is composed of the National Assembly and the Senate. The president appoints the Council of Ministers, which is commonly referred to as the government.