Nord-Pas
de Calais

Picardy

Upper
Normandy

Ile-de-
France

Champagne-
Ardenne

Lorraine

Alsace

Franche-
Comté

Burgundy

Centre

Pays-de-la-
Loire

Brittany

Lower
Normandy

Poitou-
Charentes

Limousin

Auvergne

Rhône-
Alpes

Aquitaine

Midi-Pyrénées

Languedoc-
Roussillon

PACA

Corsica

French Guiana

Guadeloupe

Martinique

Mayotte

Réunion

Belgium

Luxembourg

Germany

Switzerland

Italy

United Kingdom

Andorra

Brazil

Suriname

Spain

Channel

Bay of
Biscay

Ligurian
Sea

Mediterranean
Sea

This article is part of the series on Administrative divisions of France

Main article

Regions (incl. overseas regions)

Departments (incl. overseas departments)

Arrondissements

Cantons

Intercommunality Urban communities Agglomeration communities Commune communities Syndicates of New Agglomeration

Communes Associated communes Municipal arrondissements

Others in Overseas France Overseas collectivities Sui generis collectivity Overseas country Overseas territory Clipperton Island

France is divided into 27 administrative regions (French: régions, pronounced: [ʁe.ʒjɔ̃]), 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity (French collectivité territoriale), but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website.^[1] Each mainland region and Corsica are further subdivided into departments, ranging in number from 2 to 8 per region for the metropolitan ones whereas the overseas regions technically consist of only one department. The term region was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation (2 March 1982), which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for regional representatives took place on 16 March 1986.^[2]

General characteristics[link]

In mainland France (excluding Corsica), the median land area of a region is 25,809 km² (9,965 sq mi), which is slightly larger than the U.S. state of Vermont, and 4% the median land area of a Canadian province, but 15% larger than the median land area of a German region ("Bundesländer").

In 2004, the median population of a region in continental France was 2,329,000 inhabitants, three quarters of the median population of a German Land (state), but more than twice the median population of a Canadian province.

Role[link]

Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a regional council (conseil régional) made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections.

A region's primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools. In March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the resulting costs, and that such measures would increase regional inequalities.

In addition, regions have considerable discretionary power over infrastructural spending, e.g., education, public transit, universities and research, and assistance to business owners. This has meant that the heads of wealthy regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions.

Proposals to give regions limited legislative autonomy have met with considerable resistance; others propose transferring certain powers from the departments to their respective regions, leaving the former with limited authority.

Regional Control[link]

Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986.

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Regions and their capitals[link]

Metropolitan regions

Flag[3]	Region	French name	Native name/s	Capital	INSEE No.[1]	Derivation or status	President
	Alsace	Alsace	Alsatian: Elsàss German: Elsass	Strasbourg	42	Former German territory of Elsaß	P. Richert (UMP)
	Aquitaine	Aquitaine	Occitan: Aquitània Basque: Akitania	Bordeaux	72	Former Roman province of Aquitaine plus Guyenne and Gascony	A. Rousset (PS)
	Auvergne	Auvergne	Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha	Clermont-Ferrand	83	Former province of Auvergne	R. Souchon (PS)
	Brittany	Bretagne	Breton: Breizh Gallo: Bertaèyn	Rennes	53	Duchy of Brittany	J-Y. Le Drian (PS)
	Burgundy	Bourgogne	Burgundian: Bregogne / Borgoégne Arpitan: Borgogne	Dijon	26	Duchy of Burgundy	F. Patriat (PS)
	Centre	Centre		Orléans	24	Central position	F. Bonneau (PS)
	Champagne-Ardenne	Champagne-Ardenne		Châlons-en- Champagne	21	Former province of Champagne	J-P. Bachy (PS)
	Franche-Comté	Franche-Comté	Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté Arpitan: Franche-Comtât	Besançon	43	Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté)	M-M. Dufay (PS)
	Île-de-France	Île-de-France		Paris	11	Province of Ile-de-France and parts of the former province of Champagne	J-P. Huchon (PS)
	Languedoc-Roussillon	Languedoc-Roussillon	Occitan: Lengadòc-Rosselhon Catalan: Llenguadoc-Rosselló	Montpellier	91	Former provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon	C. Bourquin (DVG)
	Limousin	Limousin	Occitan: Lemosin	Limoges	74	Former province of Limousin and parts of Marche, Berry, Auvergne, Poitou and Angoumois	J-P. Denanot (PS)
	Lorraine	Lorraine	German: Lothringen	Metz	41	Former province of Lorraine plus Barrois and the Three Bishoprics	J-P. Masseret (PS)
	Lower Normandy	Basse-Normandie	Norman: Basse-Normaundie	Caen	25		L. Beauvais (PS)
	Midi-Pyrénées	Midi-Pyrénées	Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus Occitan: Mieidia-Pirenèus	Toulouse	73	None; created for Toulouse	M. Malvy (PS)
	Nord-Pas-de-Calais	Nord-Pas-de-Calais	Dutch: Noord-Nauw van Kales	Lille	31	Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments	D. Percheron (PS)
	Pays de la Loire	Pays de la Loire	Breton: Broioù al Liger	Nantes	52	None; created for Nantes	J. Auxiette (PS)
	Picardy	Picardie		Amiens	22		C. Gewerc (PS)
	Poitou-Charentes	Poitou-Charentes		Poitiers	54	Former province of Poitou	S. Royal (PS)
	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	Occitan:    Provença-Aups-Còsta d'Azur    Prouvènço-Aup-Costo d'Azur Italian:    Provenza-Alpi-Costa Azzurra	Marseille	93	Provence plus the former county of Nice, principality of Orange and Avignon	M. Vauzelle (PS)
	Rhône-Alpes	Rhône-Alpes	Arpitan: Rôno-Arpes Occitan: Ròse Aups	Lyon	82	Created for Lyon from Dauphiné and Lyonais provinces	J-J. Queyranne (PS)
	Upper Normandy	Haute-Normandie	Norman: Ĥâote-Normaundie	Rouen	23		A. Le Vern (PS)
The following region has the special status of territorial collectivity.
	Corsica	Corse	Corsican: Corsica Italian: Corsica	Ajaccio	94	Territorial collectivity	P. Giacobbi (PRG)
The following five regions have the special status of overseas region.
	French Guiana	Guyane		Cayenne	03	Overseas region	R. Alexandre (PSG)
	Guadeloupe	Guadeloupe	Antillean Creole: Gwadloup	Basse-Terre	01	Overseas region	V. Lurel (PS)
	Martinique	Martinique	Antillean Creole: Matinik	Fort-de-France	02	Overseas region	S. Letchimy (PPM)
	Mayotte	Mayotte	Shimaore: Maore Malagasy: Mahori	Mamoudzou	05	Overseas region	D. Zaïdani (DVG)
Flag of Réunion based on the logo of the région.	Reunion	La Réunion	Reunion Creole: La Rényon	Saint-Denis	04	Overseas region	D. Robert (UMP)

Arms of the regions of France[link]

File:Arms of the regions of France.jpg

See also[link]

• Décentralisation
• Budget of France
• Regional councils of France
• Administrative divisions of France
• Réunion
• Ranked list of French regions
• French regional elections, 2004
• Flags of the regions of France
• ISO 3166-2:FR

References[link]

External links[link]

• (English) Regions of France at the Open Directory Project
• Guide to the regions of France
• Local websites by region
• Useful information on France
• Will 2010 regional elections lead to political shake-up? Radio France Internationale in English

French Republic République française
Flag National Emblem (unofficial)
Motto:  Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity)
Anthem: "La Marseillaise"
Location of  Metropolitan France  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Territory of the French Republic in the world1
Capital (and largest city)		Paris 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E / 48.8567°N 2.35083°E / 48.8567; 2.35083
Official language(s)		French[a]
Demonym		French
Government		Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
-	President	François Hollande
-	Prime Minister	Jean-Marc Ayrault
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	National Assembly
Formation
-	Francia	486 (Unification by Clovis)
-	West Francia	843 (Treaty of Verdun)
-	Current constitution	4 October 1958 (5th Republic)
Area
-	Total[b]	674,843 km2 (41st) 260,558 sq mi
-	Metropolitan France
	- IGN[c]	551,695 km2 (47th) 213,010 sq mi
	- Cadastre[d]	543,965 km2 (47th) 210,026  sq mi
Population
	(2012 estimate)
-	Total[b]	65,350,000[2] (20th)
-	Metropolitan France	63,460,000[1] (22nd)
-	Density[e]	116/km2 (89th) 301/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$2.218 trillion[3] (9th)
-	Per capita	$35,156[3] (24th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$2.776 trillion[3] (5th)
-	Per capita	$44,008[3] (20th)
Gini (2008)		28.9[4]
HDI (2011)		0.884[5] (very high) (20th)
Currency		Euro,[f] CFP franc[g]   (EUR,    XPF)
Time zone		CET[h] (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST[i] (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		FR
Internet TLD		.fr[j]
Calling code		33[k]
1	Excluding Adélie Land in Antarctica, where sovereignty is suspended.

France (English ⁱ/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi).

Over the past 500 years,^[6] France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

France has its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The French Republic is defined as indivisible, secular, democratic and social by its constitution.^[7] France is one of the world's most developed countries,^[8] it possesses the world's fifth largest economy measured by GDP, the ninth-largest economy measured by purchasing power parity and is Europe's second largest economy by nominal GDP.^[9] France is the wealthiest nation in Europe – and the fourth wealthiest in the world – in aggregate household wealth.^[10] France enjoys a high standard of living as well as a high public education level, and has also one of the world's longest life expectancies.^[11] France has been listed as the world's "best overall health care" provider by the World Health Organization.^[12] It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually.^[13]

France has the world's fourth largest nominal military budget,^[14] the third largest military in NATO and EU's largest army. France also possesses the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the world^[15] – with around 300 active warheads as of 25 May 2010 (2010 -05-25)^[update] – and the world's second largest diplomatic corps (second only to that of the United States).^[16]

France is a founding member of the United Nations, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is also a founding and leading member state of the European Union and the largest EU state by area.^[17] In 2011, France was listed 20th on the Human Development Index and 24th on the Corruption Perceptions Index (2010).

Etymology[link]

The name "France" comes from the Latin Francia, which means "country of the Franks".^[18] There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks. One is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca.^[19] Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Frank means free as opposed to slave.

History[link]

Prehistory and antiquity[link]

One of the paintings of Lascaux which represents a horse (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC).

The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1,800,000 years ago.^[20] Men were then confronted by a hard and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras which modified their framework of life and led them to a nomadic life of hunters-gatherers.^[20] France counts a large number of decorated caves from the upper Paleolithic era, including one of the most famous and best preserved: Lascaux^[20] (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC).

At the end of the Last glacial period (10,000 BC), the climate softened^[20] and from approximately 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered the Neolithic era and its inhabitants became sedentary. After a strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium, initially with the work of gold, copper and bronze, and later with iron.^[21] France counts numerous megalithic sites from the Neolithic period, including the exceptionally dense Carnac stones site (Morbihan, approximately 3,300 BC).

In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks, originating from Phocaea, founded the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille), on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, making it the oldest city of France.^[22][23] At the same time, some Gallic Celtic tribes penetrated some parts of the current territory of France, but this occupation spread in the rest of France only between the 5th and 3rd century BC.^[24]

Gallic tribes before the Roman conquest (58 BC to 51 BC). Note that Southern Gaul was already under Roman control (yellow) in 59 BC.

The concept of Gaul emerged at that time; it corresponds to the territories of Celtic settlement ranging between the Rhine, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea. The borders of modern France are approximately the same as those of ancient Gaul, which was inhabited by Celtic Gauls. Gaul was then a prosperous country, of which the southernmost part was heavily subject to Greek and Roman influences. However, around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain Brennus and his troops made their way to Italy through the Alps, defeated the Romans in the Battle of the Allia, and besieged and ransomed Rome.

The Gallic invasion left Rome weakened and encouraged several subdued Italian tribes to rebel. One by one, over the course of the next 50 years, these tribes were defeated and brought back under Roman dominion. The Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC, when they entered into a formal peace treaty with Rome. But the Romans and the Gauls would maintain an adversarial relationship for the next several centuries and the Gauls would remain a threat in Italia.

Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Romana ("Roman Province"), which over time evolved into the name Provence in French.^[25] Brennus' siege of Rome was still remembered by Romans, when Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC.^[26]

Gaul was divided by Augustus into Roman provinces, the principal ones being Gallia Narbonensis in the south, Gallia Aquitania in the south-west, Gallia Lugdunensis in the center and Gallia Belgica in the north.^[27] Many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period, including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon), which is considered to be the capital of the Gauls.^[27] These cities were built in the traditional Roman style, with a forum, a theatre, a circus, an amphitheatre and thermal baths. The Gauls mixed with Roman settlers and eventually adopted Roman speech (Latin, from which the French language evolved) and Roman culture. The Roman polytheism merged with the Gallic paganism into the same syncretism.

The Maison Carrée was a temple of the Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the Roman Empire.

Around the 3rd century AD, Roman Gaul underwent a serious crisis with its "limes" (fortified borders protecting the Empire) crossed on several occasions by Barbarians.^[28] The weakness of the central imperial power, at this time, led Gallo-Roman leaders to proclaim the independence of the short-lived Gallic Empire,^[28] which ended with the Battle of Châlons in 274, which saw Gaul reincorporated in the Roman Empire.

Nevertheless, the situation improved in the first half of the 4th century, which was a period of revival and prosperity for Roman Gaul.^[29] In 312, the emperor Constantin I converted to Christianity. Christians, persecuted until then, multiplied across the entire Roman Empire.^[30] But, from the second half of the 4th century, the Barbarian Invasions started again,^[31] and Germanic tribes, such as the Vandals, Suebi and Alans crossed the Rhine and settled in Gaul, Spain and other parts of the collapsing Roman Empire.^[32]

At the end of the Antiquity period, ancient Gaul was divided into several Germanic kingdoms (Early Francia (North), Alamannia (North-East), Burgundia (East), Septimania (South), Visigothic Aquitania (South East)) and a remaining Gallo-Roman territory, known as the Kingdom of Syagrius (West). Simultaneously, Celtic Britons, fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britannia, settled the western part of Armorica (far West of Gaul). As a result, the Armorican peninsula was renamed Brittany, Celtic culture was revived and independent petty kingdoms arose in this region.

Middle Ages to revolution[link]

Frankish expansion from the early Clovis I' kingdom (481) to the divisions of Charlemagne's Empire (843/870).

The pagan Franks, from whom the ancient name of “Francie” was derived, originally settled the northern part of Gaul, but under Clovis I conquered most of the other kingdoms in northern and central Gaul. In 498, Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity, rather than Arianism; thus France was given the title “Eldest daughter of the Church” (French: La fille aînée de l’Église) by the papacy,^[33] and the French kings would be called “the Most Christian Kings of France” (Rex Christianissimus).

With Clovis' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the Frankish monarchy, elective and secular until then, became hereditary and of divine right.

The Franks embraced the Christian Gallo-Roman heritage and ancient Gaul was eventually renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic Franks adopted Romanic languages, except in northern Gaul where Roman settlements were less dense and where Germanic languages emerged. Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian dynasty, but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged from Clovis's: Paris, Orléans, Soissons, and Rheims. The last Merovingian kings, sometimes referred as Rois fainéants ("lazy kings"), effectively lost power to their mayors of the palace. One mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated a Muslim invasion force from Hispania at the Battle of Tours (732) and earned respect and power within the Frankish kingdoms. His son, Pepin the Short, eventually seized the crown of Francia from the weakened Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Pippin's son, Charlemagne, reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built a vast empire across Western and Central Europe.

Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thus establishing in earnest the French government's longtime historical association with the Roman Catholic Church,^[34] Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur, from his Palace of Aachen. The efficient administration of this immense empire was ensured by high-level civil servants, carrying the, then non-hereditary, titles of counts (in charge of a County), marquis (in charge of a March), dukes (military commanders), etc.

French territorial evolution from 985 to 1947.

Charlemagne's son, Louis I (emperor 814–840), kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive his death. In 843, under the Treaty of Verdun, the empire was divided between Louis' three sons, with East Francia going to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I, and West Francia to Charles the Bald. Western Francia approximated the area occupied by, and was the precursor, to modern France.^[35]

During the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, continually threatened by Viking invasions, France became a very decentralised state: the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, and the authority of the king became more religious than secular and thus was less effective and constantly challenged by powerful noblemen. Thus was established feudalism in France. Over time, some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they often posed a threat to the king. For example, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Duke of Normandy added "King of England" to his titles, becoming both the vassal to (as Duke of Normandy) and the equal of (as king of England) to the king of France.

Joan of Arc led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War which paved the way for the final victory.

The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France.^[36] His descendants, the Direct Capetians, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon, progressively unified the country through a series of wars, such as the Saintonge War, and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France. French knights took an active part in many of the Crusades that were fought between 1095 and 1291 to restore Christian control over the Holy Land. Crusaders were so predominately French that the word "crusader" in the Arabic language is simply known as Al-Franj or "The Franks"^[37] and Old French became the lingua franca of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.^[38]

The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed into the kingdom of France.^[39] Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred around a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners.

Charles IV (The Fair) died without an heir in 1328.^[40] Under the rules of the Salic law adopted in 1316, the crown of France could not pass to a woman nor could the line of kinship pass through the female line.^[40] Accordingly, the crown passed to Philip of Valois, a cousin of Charles, rather than through the female line to Charles' nephew, Edward, who would soon become Edward III of England. During the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power.^[40]

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572) was the climax of the French Wars of Religion, which were brought to an end by the Edict of Nantes (1598).

However, Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death,^[41] England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.^[42] The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for decades.

With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back all English continental territories, except Calais, which was captured in 1558 by the French. Like the rest of Europe, France was struck by the Black Death. Around 1340, France had a population of approximately 17 million,^[43] which by the end of the pandemic had declined by about one-half.^[44]

The French Renaissance saw a long set of wars, known as the Great Italian Wars, between the Kingdom of France and the powerful Holy Roman Empire. It also saw the first standardization of the French language, which would become the official language of France and the language of Europe's aristocracy. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed lands in the Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of the First French colonial empire.

Louis XIV, the "sun king" was the absolute monarch of France and made France the leading European power.

The rise of Protestantism in Europe led France to a civil war known as the French Wars of Religion, where, in the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.^[45] The Wars of Religion were ended by Henry IV's Edict of Nantes, which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Henry IV was later murdered by a Catholic fanatic and Huguenot rebellions persisted until the 18th century.

Under Louis XIII, the energetic actions of Cardinal Richelieu reinforced the centralization of the state, the royal power and French dominance in Europe, foreshadowing the reign of Louis XIV. During Louis XIV's minority and the regency of Queen Anne and Cardinal Mazarin, a period of trouble known as the Fronde occurred in France, which was at that time at war with Spain. This rebellion was driven by the great feudal lords and sovereign courts as a reaction to the rise of royal power in France.

The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers at the Palace of Versailles, Louis XIV's personal power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power of the time. At this time, France possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France) and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became the most-used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs, and remained so until the 20th century.^[46] In addition, France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Louis XIV also revoked the Edict of Nantes, forcing thousands of Huguenots to exile.

Under Louis XV, France lost New France and most of its Indian possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763. Its continental territory kept growing, however, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770). An unpopular king, Louis XV's weak rule, his ill-advised financial, political and military decisions, and his debauchery discredited the monarchy and arguably led to the French Revolution 15 years after his death.^[47][48]

Louis XVI, Louis XV's grandson, actively supported the Americans, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain (realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris). The example of the American Revolution and the financial crisis which followed France's involvement in the war were two of the many contributing factors to the French Revolution.

Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the discovery of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists in the 18th century. Famous French explorers, such as Bougainville and Lapérouse, took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and helped pave the way for the French Revolution.

Monarchy to republic[link]

The Storming of the Bastille, on 14 July 1789, was the starting event of the French Revolution.

After the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the absolute monarchy was abolished and France became a constitutional monarchy. Through the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, France established fundamental rights for French citizens and all men without exception. The Declaration affirms "the natural and imprescriptible rights of man" to "liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression". It called for the destruction of aristocratic privileges by proclaiming an end to exemptions from taxation, freedom and equal rights for all men, and access to public office based on talent rather than birth. The monarchy was restricted, and all citizens were to have the right to take part in the legislative process. Freedom of speech and press were declared, and arbitrary arrests outlawed. The Declaration also asserted the principles of popular sovereignty, in contrast to the divine right of kings that characterized the French monarchy, and social equality among citizens, eliminating the privileges of the nobility and clergy.

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, built a Great Empire across Europe. He helped to spread the French revolutionary ideals and his legal reforms had a major influence worldwide.

While Louis XVI, as a constitutional king, enjoyed broad popularity among the population, his disastrous flight to Varennes seemed to justify the rumors that the king tied his hopes of political salvation to the dubious prospects of foreign invasion. The credibility of the king was deeply undermined and the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an ever increasing possibility.

As European monarchies gathered against the new régime, to restore the French absolute monarchy, the Duke of Brunswick, commanding general of the Austro–Prussian Army, issued a Manifesto, in which he threatened the destruction of Paris if any harm should come to the king or his family. The foreign threat exacerbated France's political turmoil and deepened the passion and sense of urgency among the various factions and war was declared against Austria the 20 April 1792. Mob violences occurred during the insurrection of the 10 August 1792^[49] and the following month.^[50] As a result of the spike in public violence and the political instability of the constitutional monarchy, the Republic was proclaimed on 22 September 1792.

Louis XVI (and later his wife Marie Antoinette) was convicted of treason and guillotined in 1793. Facing increasing pressures from European monarchies, internal guerrilla wars and counterrevolutions (like the War in the Vendée or the Chouannerie), the young Republic fell into the Reign of Terror. Between 1793 and 1794, 16,000 to 40,000 persons were executed. In Western France, the civil war between the Bleus (the "Blues", supporters of the Revolution) and the Blancs (the "Whites", supporters of the Monarchy) last from 1793 to 1796 and cost around 450,000 lives (200,000 Patriotes and 250,000 Vendéens).^[51] Both foreign armies and French counterrevolutionnaries were crushed and the French Republic survived. Furthermore, the French Republic extended greatly its boundaries and established "Sister Republics" in the surrounding countries. As the threat of a foreign invasion receded and that France became mostly pacified, the Thermidorian Reaction put an end to the Terror and to Robespierre's dictature. The abolition of slavery and the male universal suffrage, enacted during this radical phase of the revolution, were cancelled by subsequent governments.

Animated map of the growth and decline of the French colonial empire.

After a short-lived governmental scheme, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799 and was appointed First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1814/1815). As a continuation of the wars sparked by the European monarchies against the French Republic, changing sets of European Coalitions declared wars to Napoleon's French Empire. His armies conquered most of continental Europe, while members of the Bonaparte family were appointed as monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms. These victories led to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the Metric system, the Napoleonic Code or the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. After the catastrophic Russian campaign, Napoleon was finally defeated and the Bourbon monarchy restored. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars.^[52]

Douaumont ossuary. With 1,397,800 military death, France sustained the highest number of casualties among Western countries in the First World War.

After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the monarchy was re-established (1815–1830), with new constitutional limitations. The discredited Bourbon dynasty was overthrown by the civil uprising of 1830, which established the constitutional July Monarchy, which lasted until 1848, when the French Second Republic was proclaimed, in the wake of the 1848 European revolutions. The abolition of slavery and the male universal suffrage, both briefly enacted during the French Revolution were finally re-enacted in 1848. In 1852, the president of the French Republic Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoleon I’s nephew, was proclaimed emperor of the second Empire, as Napoleon III. He multiplied French interventions abroad, especially in Crimea, in Mexico and Italy, which resulted in the annexation of Savoy and Nice. Napoleon III was eventually unseated following defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and his regime was replaced by the Third Republic.

Charles de Gaulle took an active part in all major events of the 20th century : a hero of World War I, leader of the Free French during World War II, he then became President, where he facilitated the decolonization, maintained France as a major power and overcame the May 1968 revolt.

France had colonial possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century to the 18th century. But in the 19th and 20th centuries, its global overseas colonial empire extended greatly and culminated as the second largest in the world behind the British Empire. At its peak, between 1919 and 1939, the second French colonial empire extended over 12,347,000 square kilometres (4,767,000 sq mi) of land. Including metropolitan France, the total area of land under French sovereignty reached 12,898,000 square kilometres (4,980,000 sq mi) in the 1920s and 1930s, which is 8.6% of the world's land area.

France was a member of the Triple Entente when World War I broke out. A small part of Northern France was occupied, but France and its allies eventually emerged victorious against the Central Powers, at a tremendous human and material cost: the First World War left 1.4 million French soldiers dead, 4.29% of its population^[53] The interbellum phase was marked by intense international tensions an a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government (Annual leave, working time reduction, women in Government...). Following the German Blitzkrieg campaign in World War II, metropolitan France was divided in an occupation zone in the north and Vichy France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, in the south.^[54] The Allies and the French Resistance eventually emerged victorious from the Axis powers and French sovereignty was restored.

The Fourth Republic was established after World War II and saw spectacular economic growth (les Trente Glorieuses). The universal suffrage was extended to women in 1944. France was one of the founding members of the NATO (1949), which was the Western counterpart of the Warsaw Pact system of collective defence. France attempted to regain control of French Indochina but was defeated by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Only months later, France faced a new conflict in Algeria. The debate over whether or not to keep control of Algeria, then home to over one million European settlers,^[55] wracked the country and nearly led to civil war. In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which contained a strengthened Presidency.^[56] In the latter role, Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The Algerian War was concluded with peace negotiations in 1962 that led to Algerian independence. France granted independence progressively to its colonies, the last one being Vanuatu in 1980. A vestige of the colonial empire are the French overseas departments and territories.

In the wake of a worldwide series of protests, the May 1968 revolt, although a political failure for the protesters, had an enormous social impact. In France, it is considered to be the watershed moment when a conservative moral ideal (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shifted towards a more liberal moral ideal.

France has been at the forefront of the European Union member states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to create a more unified and capable European Union political, defence, and security apparatus.^[57]

Geography[link]

A relief map of Metropolitan France, showing cities with over 100,000 inhabitants.

Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41° and 51° N (Dunkirk is just north of 51°), and longitudes 6° W and 10° E, on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the northern temperate zone

While Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe, the French Republic also has a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica.^[58] These territories have varying forms of government ranging from overseas department to overseas collectivity. France's overseas departments and collectivities share land borders with Brazil, and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and Sint Maarten (bordering Saint-Martin).

The European territory of France covers 547,030 square kilometres (211,209 sq mi),^[59] having the largest area among European Union members.^[17] France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west.

At 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft)^[60] above sea level, the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, is situated in the Alps on the border between France and Italy. France also has extensive river systems such as the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.

The Exclusive Economic Zone of France extends over 11,000,000 km² (4,200,000 sq mi) of ocean across the world.^[61]

France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is 674,843 km² (260,558 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. However, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world,^[62] covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,637 sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the United States (11,351,000 km²/4,382,646 sq mi) and ahead of Australia (8,232,000 km²/3,178,393 sq mi).{{According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would be 10,084,201 km² (3,893,532 sq mi), still behind the United States (12,174,629 km²/4,700,651 sq mi), and still ahead of Australia (8,980,568 km²/3,467,417 sq mi) and Russia (7,566,673 km²/2,921,509 sq mi). The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France.^[63]

In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool to warm summers. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.

Landscapes and climates of France

Limestone cliffs of Normandy near Étretat.   Mediterranean vegetation (lavender) in Provence.   Alpine climate in Savoie (note the Alpine Ibex on the left).   Verdon Gorge.   Vineyards in Côte de Nuits, Burgundy.   Mercantour National Park   Tropical climate in Bora Bora (French Polynesia).

Environment[link]

Regional (green) and National (pink) natural parks in France. Indicated in green and purple colour respectively.

France was one of the first countries to create a Ministry of the Environment, in 1971.^[64] Although France is one of the most industrialised and developed countries, it is ranked only seventeenth by carbon dioxide emissions, behind such less populous nations as Canada, Saudi Arabia or Australia. This situation results from the French government's decision to invest in nuclear power in 1974 (after the 1973 oil crisis^[65]), which now accounts for 78% of France's electricity production^[66] and explains why France pollutes less than comparable countries.^[67][68]

Like all European Union members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020,^[69] in comparison the USA agreed to a cut of 4% of its emissions^[70] whereas China stated it wanted to "reduce its carbon intensity by 40–45% by the year 2020" (compared with 2005 levels),^[71] which means with a GDP growth of 8% yearly an augmentation of 80%^[70] to 250%^[72] of the Chinese carbon emissions by 2020.

In 2009, the French carbon dioxide emissions per capita level is lower than the Chinese one.^[73]

France was even set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted.^[74] The carbon tax would have brought in 4.3 billion Euros of revenue per year.^[75] However, 6 months later, the plan for a carbon tax was abandoned for various reasons, one being that French companies would have a more difficult time competing with companies in neighboring countries who would not have to pay such steep taxes on carbon dioxide emissions. Instituting a carbon tax was also an unpopular political move for President Sarkozy.^[76]

In 2010, a study at Yale and Columbia universities ranked France the most environmentally conscious nation of the G20.^[77][78]

Forests account for 28,27% of the land area of France.^[79][80] France is the second most wooded country of the EU.^[81] French forests are also some of the most diversified of Europe, with more than 140 differents varieties of trees.^[82] There are 9 national parks^[83] and 46 natural parks in France.^[84] France wants to convert 20% of its Exclusive Economic Zone in a Marine Protected Area by 2020.^[85]

Administrative divisions[link]

France is divided into 27 administrative regions.^[59] 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are on the continental part of metropolitan France; one is the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and five are overseas regions. The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments^[86] which are numbered (mainly alphabetically). This number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates amongst others.

The 101 departments are subdivided into 341 arrondissements which are, in turn, subdivided into 4,051 cantons. These cantons are then divided into 36,697 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. There also exist 2,588 intercommunal entities grouping 33,414 of the 36,697 communes (i.e. 91.1% of all the communes). Three communes, Paris, Lyon and Marseille are also subdivided into 45 municipal arrondissements.

The regions, departments and communes are all known as territorial collectivities, meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissements were also territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these were suspended by the Vichy regime and definitely abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946. Historically,^[when?] the cantons were also territorial collectivities with their elected assemblies.

The 22 regions and 96 departments of metropolitan France includes Corsica (Corse, lower right). Paris area is expanded (inset at left)

Region	Departments	Capital
Alsace	Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin	Strasbourg
Aquitaine	Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques	Bordeaux
Auvergne	Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme	Clermont-Ferrand
Basse-Normandie	Calvados, Manche, Orne	Caen
Bourgogne	Côte-d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne	Dijon
Brittany	Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan	Rennes
Centre	Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher	Orléans
Champagne-Ardenne	Ardennes, Aube, Haute-Marne, Marne	Châlons-en-Champagne
Corsica (Corse)	Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse	Ajaccio
Franche-Comté	Doubs, Haute-Saône, Jura, Territoire de Belfort	Besançon
Haute-Normandie	Eure, Seine-Maritime	Rouen
Île-de-France	Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Val-d'Oise, Yvelines	Paris
Languedoc-Roussillon	Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales	Montpellier
Limousin	Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne	Limoges
Lorraine	Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges	Metz
Midi-Pyrénées	Ariège, Aveyron, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Lot, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne	Toulouse
Nord-Pas-de-Calais	Nord, Pas-de-Calais	Lille
Pays de la Loire	Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Vendée	Nantes
Picardie	Aisne, Oise, Somme	Amiens
Poitou-Charentes	Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne	Poitiers
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes, Var, Vaucluse	Marseille
Rhône-Alpes	Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie	Lyon

Overseas regions and territories[link]

Among the 101 departments of France, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs) and are an integral part of France (and the European Union) and thus enjoy a status similar to metropolitan departments.

In addition to the 27 regions and 101 departments, the French Republic also has five overseas collectivities (French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna), one sui generis collectivity (New Caledonia), one overseas territory (French Southern and Antarctic Lands), and one island possession in the Pacific Ocean (Clipperton Island).

The lands making up the French Republic, shown at the same geographic scale.