in all major events of the 20th century : a hero of WWI, leader of the Free French duringWWII, he then became

President, where he facilitated the decolonization, maintained France as a major power and overcame the May 1968 revolt. Limestone cliffs of Normandy neartretat. Mediterranean vegetation (lavender) in Provence. Alpine climate in Savoie (note theAlpine Ibex on the left). Vineyards of Alsace nearChten ois. Bora-Bora in French Polynesia.

Charles de Gaulle took an active part

Corsica), and four are overseas regions.

Government
The French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential repu blic with strong democratictraditions. The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958.

Nicolas Sarkozy has

been thePresident of the French Republicsince 2007

Logo of the French Republic

French politics are characterised by two politically opposed groupings: one leftwing, centred around the French Socialist Party, and the other right-wing, centred previously around the Rassemblement pour la Rpublique (RPR) and now its successor the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

France was one of the first countries to create a Ministry of the Environment, in 1971. [54] 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.

Administrative Divisions
France is divided into 26 administrative regions.[10] 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are on the continental part of metropolitan France; one is the territorial collectivity of

Law Foreign Relations Military

POLITICS

ECONOMY
Agriculture Labour market Tourism

Transport Religion Health

President Barack Obama, before NATO summit, in Strasbourg, on 3 April 2009.

Art
Painting Architecture Literature Music Cinema Fashion

French Chasseurs alpins patrolling the

valleys of Kapisa province in Afghanistan.

Rafale fighter aircraft Leclerc in Paris for the 14

A pair of juillet Bastille Day Military Parade. Nuclear aircraft carrier

Culture
Society Sports
The basic principles that the French Republic must respect are found in the

Charles de Gaulle

The first completed

A380 at the A380

Airbus

Reveal event in Toulouse on 18 January 2005. Airbus is a symbol of the globalisation of the French and European economy. France derives 79% of its

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

1789

electricity from nuclear power, the highest

percentage in the world.

Signing of the Rome Treaty. France is a

founding member of the EEC in 1957 and theEuropean Union in 1993. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and United States

Vineyards near Carcasso

nne.

La Dfense, just outside

Paris, is the largest business district in Europe.

The

Palace of Versailles is one of

the most popular tourist destinations in France.

The

Mont SaintMichel is one of the

most visited sites of France

The

Chteau de Chambord is one of

the many French royal residences of the Loire Valley.

TGV Sud-Est,

which can reach a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186.41 mph)

Notre-Dame de Reims is theRoman

Catholic cathedral where the kings of France were crowned until 1825.

Louis-Pasteur Hospital in Cherbourg