- published: 25 May 2012
- views: 2458130
France (French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. France spans 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and has a total population of 66.6 million. It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. The Constitution of France establishes the state as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people.
During the Iron Age, what is now Metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The Gauls were conquered in 51 BC by the Roman Empire, which held Gaul until 486. The Gallo-Romans faced raids and migration from the Germanic Franks, who dominated the region for hundreds of years, eventually creating the medieval Kingdom of France. France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453) strengthening French state-building and paving the way for a future centralized absolute monarchy. During the Renaissance, France experienced a vast cultural development and established the beginning of a global colonial empire. The 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots).
Taking on water
sailing a restless sea from a memory
a fantasy.
The wind carries into white water
Far from the islands
don't you know you're
Never going to get to France. Mary Queen of chance will they find you.
Never going to get to France
could a new romance ever bind you.
Walking on foreign grounds like a shadow
Roaming in far off territory over your shoulder stories unfold
Your searching for sanctuary
you know you're
Never going to get to France. Mary Oueen of chance will they find you. . . .
I see a picture by the lamps flicker
Isn't it strange how dreams fade and shimmer.
Never going to get to France. Mary Queen of chance will they find you. . . .
I see a picture by the lamps flicker
. . .
Never going to get to France. Mary Queen of chance will they find you. . . .
Never going to get to France. Mary Queen of chance will they find you. . . .