FRANCE

By Sian Louise Duckworth

C ON T E N T S
1. France

2. Eiffel tower

3. National dress

4. Paris’ national dress

5. French flag

6. Famous people

7. Weather in France

8. Mont Blanc

9. Cheese

10. Wars
France
France`s capital city Paris.

Its neighbours are us

Belgium, Luxembourg,
Germany, Switzerland,
Italy, Spain and Andorra.

Its flag is blue white and

red.
 Eiffel tower
The Eiffel Tower (French : Tour Eiffel) is a 19th century iron lattice tower
located on the Champ de Mars in Paris that has become both a global icon of
France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel
Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris, is the single most visited paid
monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named after
its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance
arch for the 1889 World's Fair.

The tower stands 324 m (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-
story building. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world from its
completion until 1930, when it was eclipsed by the Chrysler Building in New
York City. Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure
in France, behind the Millau Viaduct, completed in 2004.

The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend
either on stair or lift to the first and second levels. The walk to the first
level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The
third and highest level is accessible only by lift. Both the first and second
levels feature restaurants.

The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France,
often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.
History

Eiffel Tower under construction in July 1888

Stages of construction of the Eiffel Tower

The structure was built between 1887 and 1889

as the entrance arch for the Exposition
Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French
Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build the tower in Barcelona, for the
Universal Exposition of 1888, but those responsible at the Barcelona city hall
thought it was a strange and expensive construction, which did not fit into the
design of the city. After the refusal of the Consistory of Barcelona, Eiffel
submitted his draft to those responsible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris,
where he would build his tower a year later, in 1889.

Material

The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tones while the entire
structure, including non-metal components, is approximately 10,000 tones. As
demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7,300 tones of the metal
structure were melted down it would fill the 125 meter square base to a depth
of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming a density of the metal to be 7.8 tones per
cubic metre. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may
shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7.1 in) because of thermal expansion
of the metal on the side facing the sun.
National dress
France has many regions, each with their own traditional dress. There is no
one national dress. Regional costumes are based on late 19th century rural
clothing for that region, as the 20th century brought on a lot of change, and
very quickly the traditional dress fell out of use, only to be worn for special
occasions (this is practically not done anymore, aside from a handful of
exceptions, the costumes are now only worn for performances, be it historical
recreations or traditional music/dance shows).

They can be very different from one region to another, especially in the
women's hats, which go from small straw hats to huge starched lace
contraptions. The only thing they all have in common is that men wear

Pants, women wear skirts, and both wear some kind of headdress.

Here are some examples:

 Paris’

National dress
No, Parisian men do not all wear berets, and the women aren’t all wearing

fishnet stockings and stiletto heels. In fact, the only people wearing berets

are the tourists. There really isn’t a national dress in France, especially not in

cosmopolitan Paris. While clichéd visions of stripe-shirted mimes stick in the

heads of many people who have never visited Paris, new arrivals may be

disappointed to discover that Parisians dress more or less like people in London

or New York. In the summertime men prefer three-quarter Capri pants to

shorts. Suits are de rigueur for men in a business setting, though an

increasing number of men currently choose to go tie-less. A la mode for

businesswomen are jacket-skirt combinations. In general, Parisians prefer

sober, dignified shades to garish colours.

 France flag
The national flag of France (known in French as drapeau tricolore, drapeau
français, and in military parlance, les couleurs) is a tricolour featuring three
vertical bands coloured royal blue (hoist side), white, and red. It is known to
English speakers as the French tricolour or simply the tricolour.

The royal government used many flags, the best known being a blue shield and
yellow fleur-de-lis on a white background, or state flag. Early in the French
Revolution, the Paris militia, which played a prominent role in the storming of
the Bastille, wore a cockade of blue and red, the city's traditional colors.
According to Lafayette, white, the "ancient French colour", was added to
militia cockade to create a tricolor, or national, cockade. This cockade became
part of the uniform of the National Guard,
which succeeded the militia and was
commanded by Lafayette. The colors and
design of the cockade are the basis of the
Tricolor flag, adopted in 1790. A modified
design by Jacques-Louis David was adopted
in 1794. A solid white flag was used during
the Bourbon restoration in 1815-1830, but
the tricolor has been used since Blue and red
are the traditional colors of Paris, used on
the city's coat of arms. Blue is identified
with Saint Martin, red with Saint Denis. At
the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the
Paris militia wore blue and red cockades on
their hats. White had long featured
prominently on French flags and is described as the "ancient French colour" by
Lafayette White was added to the "revolutionary" colors of the militia cockade
to "nationalize" the design, thus creating the tricolor cockade. Although
Lafayette identified the white stripe with the nation, other accounts identify
it with the monarchy.

Famous French
People
Andre Marie Ampere (1775-1836),
Scientist: A French mathematician, studied electricity and magnetism. Units of
electric currents "amps" are named after him.

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

Artist: The leading member of the Impressionist painters. His most
famous painting is the "Water-lilies" which he painted in the elaborate
garden he had made for himself.

Claude-Achille Debussy (1862-1918)

Musician: A French composer whose work is often linked with the
Impressionist painters. He is famous for piano pieces such as "Children's
Corner" and his orchestral work "The Afternoon of a Faun" ("L'apès-midi d'une
faune")
Camille (Charles) Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Musician: A French composer who is well known for "The Carnival of the Animals"
a composition for orchestra, piano, xylophone and harmonica.

Alexandre Dumas (1799-1850)

Author: He wrote the two well known adventure classics "The Three
Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo".

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Author: He wrote the well known novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and
in 1862 the epic novel "Les Miserables" .

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944)

Author: The author of "The little Prince" (Le Petit Prince)

Jeanne d'Arc Joan of Arc (1412-1431 approx.)

Warrior: The patron saint of France and a national heroine who led the
resistance to the English invasion of France in the Hundred Years War.
 Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
aftermath of the French Revolution.

Louis Blériot (1872-1936)

Pilot: The first person to fly the English Channel. On 25 July 1909 he
flew from Calais to Dover in 37 minutes.

Joseph (1745-99) and Jacques (1745-99) Montgolfier

Inventor: They invented the hot air balloon.

Louis Braille (1809-1852)

Inventor: He invented the system of raised dots (Braille) which form letters
for the visually impaired to read.

Louis Pasteur (1822-95)

Scientist: He was the first person to understand the connection between
microbes and disease. He researched the importance of microbes carrying
infection. He gave his name to the pasteurisation of milk and beer.

Marie (1867-1934) and Pierre (1859-1906) Curie

Scientist: They were scientists who did pioneering work on radioactivity. Marie
was th e first female winner of a Nobel Prize. Born in Poland, she studied at the
Sorbonne where she met her husband, Pierre, with whom she researched
radioactivity.

Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923)

Engineer : He designed and built the Tower in Paris in 1889.

Weather in
France
Being the largest country in Western Europe France has varied weather making
it hard to generalise. In the northern half of the country rain is common, with
the south generally receiving more sun. On balance, the French climate is one
of the most temperate in Europe.

The north-west, within a few hours drive of the channel ports, has similar
weather to southern England. Moving further south, as you go inland the
hotter it will be in summer and the colder in winter. The north west and mid
west has mild winters and cool summers, and frequent rain all year round. Due
north can be very rainy, particularly Brittany.

The north east tends to be cold, with a lot of rain in autumn and winter.
Summer tends to be sunny, some years very hot and humid.
In the west, near the coast, winters are mild (45 degrees F in January) and
summers cool (61 degrees F in July). Rain is frequent during 180 days of the
year.

The interior of the country has hotter summers, with an average July
temperature of 64 degrees F. However, winters are also colder averaging 36
degrees F in Paris in January, although rain falls on fewer days of the year.
Paris can feel extremely hot in summer, as there’s often little wind to cool
things down.

Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco (French and Italian,
respectively, meaning "White Mountain") is the highest
mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European
Union.[1] It rises 4,810 m (15,781 ft) above sea level and
is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence. It
is also sometimes known as "La Dame Blanche" (French for
"The White Lady").
 !Cheese!
The origin of cheese is lost in the mist of time. Thousand of cows and sheeps
and goats have been milked since someone first decided to curdle milk. The
French have always regarded cheese as essential, whether they buy it on site
(in farms), or in supermarkets. But which sort of cheese shall you choose ?
According to the legislation, cheese means " fermented or not fermented,
matured or not matured food, made from dairy produce (milk, can be more or
less skimmed, or cream or dasher). It can be used as such or coagulated,
before it se drained, partly or not. It keeps at least 23% of dry matter".
The kind of milk used has to be notified, it not cow milk.

The 400 sorts of French cheese recorded can be made with milk or with
pasteurised milk. The "milk" label means that the milk was not heated over
37°C. "This way, it keeps all its properties, although il lose certain pathogenic
baceria which can prove dangerous for human beings", Mr Garsault, Head-
manager of the International cheese Institute explains. Farm cheese bears
such as label. "They back up the French cheese tradition", G. Ripaud, who is
in charge of technical cheese related problems near the Food Office asserts.

From a legal pont of view, farm cheese "is a hand made in farms, with the
milk of a single drove, each day". Small scale production is back again as
proved by the high price of products !
 Wars!

The French Wars of Religion (1562–98) is the name given to a period of civil
infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics
and Protestants (Huguenots). The conflict involved the factional disputes
between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and
House of Guise (Lorraine), and both sides received assistance from foreign
sources.

The exact number of wars and their respective dates are the subject of
continued debate by historians; some assert that the Edict of Nantes in 1598
concludes the wars, while a resurgence of rebellious activity following this
leads some to believe the Peace of Alais in 1629 is the actual conclusion,
However, the Massacre of Vassy in 1562 is agreed to begin the Wars of
Religion and the Edict of Nantes at least ended this series of conflicts. During
this time, complex diplomatic negotiations and agreements of peace were
followed by renewed conflict and power struggles.