Homo sapiens began to inhabit Europe around 200 thousand years BC, but he died 30 thousand years ago, presumably during a period of cold weather. Around 2500 BC. The Celts came from Central Europe and settled in Gaul (French Gaul). The Celts were "iron" workers and dominated Gaul until 125 BC, while the Roman Empire began to dominate the south of France. The Greeks and Phoenicians established settlements along the Mediterranean Sea, especially at the site of modern Marseille (Marseille). Julius Caesar conquered part of Gaul in 57-52 BC, and it remained until the Roman Franks invaded in the 5th century AD.

Gaul was divided into seven provinces. The Romans feared for the population and began to force them out to avoid a threat to Roman integrity. This is why many Celts were transferred and driven out of Gaul. Many changes occurred during the course of cultural evolution in the Roman Empire, one of which was the change from Gaulish to Vernacular Latin, the similarities between one language and the other influencing the transition. Gaul has been under Roman control for centuries.

In 486, Clovis I, leader of the Franks, defeated Syagrius at Soissons, and thereafter united northern and central Gaul under his rule. Christianity in France began to develop when Clovis I adopted the Roman Catholic form of Christianity in 496. On the one hand, the reign of Clovis I brought stability and unity to France, but on the other hand it led to disunity, as Clovis I divided the territory as gifts and rewards.

Charles Martel was the first leader of the Carolingian dynasty and was responsible for expanding the Frankish kingdom and stopping the Muslim invasion. Charles was not only a military leader, but he was also a great supporter of education and the arts. During the reign of Charlemagne there was a period of Carolingian revival, but soon after his death the kingdom was divided.

Hugh Capet was elected to the throne of France, thus ending the Carolingian dynasty and beginning the Capetian dynasty. In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy invaded England and was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066. With the marriage of Eleanor, who was married to King Louis VII of France (French Louis VII) and married King Henry II of England (French Henry II), the western part of France came under British rule.

After the death of the last king of the Capetian dynasty, Charles IV (French: Charles IV), King Edward III of England ascended the throne and started the Hundred Years' War in 1337. With the help of the French peasant girl Joan of Arc, Charles VIII was victorious and drove the English back to Calais.

France became a centralized state, where an absolute monarchy was created with the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings and the unequivocal support of the established church. The long Italian War (1494-1559) marked the beginning of early modern France. When Francis I was captured in Pavia, the French monarchy was forced to look for allies, and found them in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa captured Nice on August 5, 1543 and handed it over to Francis I. In the 16th century, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs were the dominant power in Europe, controlling several duchies and kingdoms throughout Europe. Despite this, French became the preferred language of the European aristocracy.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Francis I strengthened the French crown. He also invited many Italian artists to France, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who was an Italian polymath: scientist, architect, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, engineer, painter, sculptor, musician and writer . Their influence guaranteed success in the Renaissance style.

From 1562 to 1598 there was an increase in the number of Protestants, which led to a war of religions between Catholics and Protestants. Catherine de Medici (French: Catherine de Medici), Queen of France, wife of King Henry II of France, ordered on St. Day. Bartholomew's massacre of hundreds of Protestants. Henry IV, of the Bourbon dynasty, issued the Edict of Nantes (1598), granting religious toleration to the Huguenots (French Protestants).

History of France from the 17th to the 19th centuries

The 17th century was a period of extravagance and power for the French monarchy. King Louis XIII (French: Louis XIII) and Cardinal Richelieu (French: Cardinal Richelieu) transformed the French feudal monarchy into an absolute monarchy. The French king most associated with this period is Louis XIV.

Also known as the Sun King, Louis XIV consolidated his power over all the local princes and lords, where he administered the complex judgment of life in his palace at Versailles. The purpose of this court of life is to maintain power over the local princes and lords and not undermine Louis's power. This period is also famous for the brilliant writers, architects and musicians who were promoted by the royal court. Louis XIV's extravagances, costly foreign wars that weakened the government, plunged France into economic and financial crisis. Louis XIV died in 1715 and Louis XV ascended the throne. The bourgeoisie began to demand more political rights, and this became a big problem for Louis' successors.

France was the scene of much of the fighting during the French Revolution in early 1789, and also created the first Republic and the period of authoritarianism of Napoleon Bonaparte (French: Napoleon Bonaparte), who successfully defended the nascent republic from the enemy, and later became first consul in 1799 and emperor in 1804. The Congress of Vienna (1815) tried to restore the pre-Napoleonic order in the person of King Louis XVIII, but industrialization and the middle class, dominated by Napoleon, demanded change, and finally Louis Philippe, the last of the Bourbons, was overthrown in 1848.

In 1852, Prince Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon I, declared the Second Empire and took the throne as Napoleon III. However, Louis Napoleon was against the growing power of Prussia, and that the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) broke out, and when the war ended with his defeat, he abdicated the throne.

Thus, the monarchy in France came to an end by 1871 and the Third Republic was created. In 1889, what are now some of the most impressive and visited monuments in the entire world were built. The Eiffel Tower was built to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution. Great and important contributions in the nineteenth century were made by impressionist paintings, art nouveau, the satirist Emile Zola and the novelist Gustave Flaubert.

History of France in the 21st century

During the First World War, French troops and the army suffered heavy losses, the north-east of France was turned into ruins, but despite this France gained European power. Beginning in 1919, France's goal was to keep Germany as far away from its territory as possible, and a system of border defenses and alliances was developed. But, unfortunately, this was not enough, and on May 10, 1940, at the beginning of World War II, the Nazis attacked and occupied Paris, the Italians entered with German troops. On July 10, 1940, the Vichy Government was created. In August 1944, France was finally liberated by Allied forces, and the provisional government of Charles de Gaulle was created. The Fourth Republic was formed on December 24, 1946. France joined NATO.

But in May 1968, many violent student protests and factory strikes undermined the government of Charles de Gaulle. The following year, de Gaulle's policy was changed by his successor Georges Pompidou to a policy of non-intervention in relation to domestic economic issues. The conservative, pro-business climate contributed to the election of Valery Giscard d'Estaing as president in 1974.

Socialist François Mitterrand won the 1981 presidential election. In the first two years of the government, there was 12% inflation and a devaluation of the franc. In 1995, a new president, Jacques Chirac, was elected. French leaders are increasingly linking France's future to the further development of the European Union. France is one of the founding partners of the European Union, as well as the largest site of all partners. During his tenure as president, Mitterrand emphasized the importance of European integration and advocated ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, a European economic and political union narrowly approved by French voters in September 1992. In 2002, he was re-elected for a second term.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the 23rd president of France, was elected president on May 6, 2007, replacing Jacques Chirac as head of state. In the Presidential elections on May 6, 2012, he lost to the socialist candidate Francois Hollande. Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing to nominate his candidacy in the upcoming 2017 presidential elections in France. Francois Hollande defeated Sarkozy in the second round. On May 15, 2012, he took the oath of office at the Elysee Palace, thus becoming the 24th President of France and automatically the 7th President of the Fifth French Republic.

France is a developed country with the sixth largest economy in the world. Its fundamental ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is also a founding member of the United Nations and a member of the Latin Union, the French language countries and the G8. France is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, possessing the right of veto, and is also a recognized nuclear power. It is considered one of the great powers after World War II. France is the most popular international tourist destination in the world, visited annually by over 75 million foreign tourists.

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France (French France), officially the French Republic (French Republique française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]) is a state in Western Europe. The capital is the city of Paris. The name of the country comes from the ethnonym of the Germanic tribe of the Franks, despite the fact that the majority of the population of France is of mixed Gallo-Roman origin and speaks a Romance language.

Population: 64.7 million people (January 2010), including about 90 percent French citizens. Believers are predominantly Catholics (over 76 percent). The legislative body is a bicameral parliament (Senate and National Assembly). Administrative division: 27 regions (22 metropolitan and 5 overseas regions), including 101 departments (96 metropolitan and 5 overseas departments).

	The flag of France (French drapeau tricolore or drapeau bleu-blanc-rouge, drapeau français, less commonly le tricolore, in military jargon - les couleurs) is the national emblem of France in accordance with Article 2 of the French Constitution of 1958. It consists of three vertical stripes of equal size: blue - at the pole edge, white - in the middle, and red - at the free edge of the panel. The ratio of the width of the flag to its length is 2:3. Introduced into use on May 20, 1794.
Origin of flowers. The blue banner has been in use since the time of Clovis I, the first Frankish king, and was associated with the color of the vestments of Saint Martin of Tours, the patron saint of France. According to legend, the saint shared his cloak (blue) with a beggar near Amiens, and Clovis, after accepting Christianity around 498, changed the white banner to a blue one in his honor. White color from 1638 to 1790 was the color of the royal flag and some naval banners. From 1814 to 1830, it was also the color of the royal army banners. The color white symbolizes France and everything that is associated with the divine order, with God (hence the choice of this color as the main emblem of the kingdom - according to the official doctrine, the king’s power was of divine origin). During the reign of Hugh Capet and his descendants, the kings of France had a red oriflamme in honor of St. Dionysius, since he was the legendary founder of the abbey, which since the time of Dagobert I was especially revered.
	The current emblem became a symbol of France after 1953, although it has no legal status as an official symbol. The emblem consists of: a pelta ending with a lion's head on one side and an eagle on the other, with the monogram "RF" meaning "République Française" (French Republic); an olive branch symbolizing peace; an oak branch symbolizing wisdom; fasces, which are a symbol of justice. Since 2003, all public administrations have used the Marianne logo against the background of the French flag. Many other official documents (such as the cover of a passport) display the unofficial coat of arms of France.
Emblem of France

Political system

France is a sovereign unitary democratic republic. The current Constitution, adopted on October 4, 1958, regulates the functioning of the authorities of the Fifth Republic: it establishes a republican presidential-parliamentary form of government (Constitution of the French Republic, section 2). The head of state is the president, elected for 5 years. The head of government is the prime minister. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister. Legislative power belongs to a bicameral parliament elected by universal suffrage. The Constitution of the French Republic has been revised several times under the following articles:
Presidential elections based on universal direct suffrage (1962),
introduction of a new section of the Constitution on criminal liability of government members (1993),
introduction of a single session of parliament and expansion of the powers of the referendum (1995),
adoption of provisional measures regarding the status of New Caledonia (1998),
creation of the Economic and Monetary Union, equal access of men and women to elected mandates and elective functions, recognition of the legal law of the International Criminal Court (1999),
reduction of the presidential mandate (2000),
reform on the criminal liability of the head of state, enshrining the abolition of the death penalty in the Constitution, reform on the autonomy of New Caledonia (2007),
reform to update the state structure and establish a balance in the distribution of powers (2008).

There is also a Constitutional Council in France, which consists of 9 members and exercises control over the correctness of elections and the constitutionality of laws amending the Constitution, as well as laws submitted to it for consideration.

Legislature

Legislative power in France belongs to Parliament, which includes two chambers - the Senate and the National Assembly. The Senate of the Republic, whose members are elected by indirect universal suffrage, consists of 321 senators (348 since 2011), 305 of whom represent the metropolis, 9 overseas territories, 5 French Community territories and 12 French citizens living abroad. Senators are elected to six-year terms (from 2003, and until 2003 - 9 years) by an electoral college consisting of members of the National Assembly, general councilors and delegates from municipal councils, with the Senate being renewed by half every three years. The last Senate elections took place in September 2008. Following the elections held in September 2008, the 343 members of the Senate are distributed as follows:
Faction "Union for the Popular Movement" (UMP):151
Socialist faction: 116
Faction "Centrist Union": 29
Communist, Republican and Civil faction: 23
Faction "European Democratic and Social Union": 17

According to the results of the elections on June 10 and 17, 2007, the National Assembly has 577 deputies, distributed as follows:
Faction "Union for the People's Movement" (UMP): 314 (plus 6 joiners)
Socialist Radical and Civil Faction: 186 (plus 18 affiliated)
Left Democratic and Republican faction: 24
New Centrist faction: 20 (plus 2 joiners)
Not a member of any faction: 7

The National Assembly, whose deputies are elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of 5 years, consists of 577 deputies, 555 of whom represent the mother country, and 22 represent the overseas territories. Members of the National Assembly are elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. The last elections of deputies to the National Assembly took place in June 2007. In addition to their function of monitoring the activities of the government, both chambers develop and pass laws. In case of disagreement, the final decision rests with the National Assembly.

Executive branch

In the Fifth Republic, the Prime Minister is responsible for current domestic and economic policies, and also has the right to issue general decrees. He is considered responsible for government policy (Article 20). The Prime Minister directs the government and enforces laws (Article 21). The Prime Minister has his own website: www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic. The approval of his candidacy by the National Assembly is not required, since the National Assembly has the right to declare a vote of no confidence in the government at any time. Typically, the prime minister represents the party that has the majority of seats in the National Assembly. The Prime Minister draws up a list of his cabinet ministers and submits it to the President for approval.

The Prime Minister initiates the adoption of laws in the National Assembly and ensures their implementation, and he is also responsible for national defense. The Prime Minister countersigns acts of the President and replaces him as chairman in the councils and committees specified in Article 15 of the Constitution. Since May 17, 2007, the government has been headed by François Fillon (member of the Union for a Popular Movement party).

Judicial branch

The French judicial system is regulated in Section VIII of the Constitution “On the Judicial Power”. The president of the country is the guarantor of the independence of the judiciary, the status of judges is established by organic law, and the judges themselves are irremovable.

French justice is based on the principles of collegiality, professionalism, and independence, which are ensured by a number of guarantees. The 1977 law established that the costs of administering justice in civil and administrative cases are borne by the state. This rule does not apply to criminal justice. Also important principles are equality before justice and the neutrality of judges, public consideration of the case and the possibility of double consideration of the case. The law also provides for the possibility of cassation appeal.

The French judicial system is multi-tiered and can be divided into two branches - the judicial system itself and the administrative court system. The lowest level in the system of courts of general jurisdiction is occupied by petty tribunals. Cases in such a tribunal are heard personally by a judge. However, each of them has several magistrates. The Tribunal of Small Instance considers cases with insignificant amounts, and the decisions of such courts are not subject to appeal.

In criminal cases, this court is called the police tribunal. These tribunals are divided into divisions: civil and correctional courts. The Court of Appeal always makes decisions collectively. The civil law part of the court of appeal consists of two chambers: civil and social cases. There is also a Chamber of Commerce. One of the functions of the indictment chamber is the function of a disciplinary court in relation to judicial police officers (officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, military gendarmerie, etc.). There is also a gendarmerie department for minors. Each department has a jury trial. In addition, France has special judicial bodies: commercial courts and military courts. At the top of the system is the Court of Cassation. In France, there is a separate branch of administrative justice. The prosecutor's office is represented by prosecutors at courts of various levels. The Prosecutor General and his deputies are located at the Court of Appeal. The Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Cassation includes the Prosecutor General, his first deputy and deputies, who are subordinate to the Minister of Justice.

Local government

The system of local governments in France is built in accordance with the administrative-territorial division. It is represented by communes, departments and regions where elected bodies exist.

The commune has about 36 thousand people and is governed by a municipal council and a mayor, who is the executive authority. The council manages the affairs of the commune, makes decisions on issues affecting the interests of its citizens on all social issues: manages property, creates the necessary social services.

The department is the main unit of the administrative-territorial division of France. The departments are divided into domestic (96) and overseas departments. The responsibility of the Departmental Council includes the adoption of the local budget and control over its implementation, the organization of departmental services, and property management. The executive body of the department is the chairman of the general council.

The largest unit in the administrative division of the country is the region. Economic and social committees and a regional borrowing committee have been established in each region. The region has its own accounting chamber. The regional council elects its chairman, who is the executive branch of the region.

Armed forces and police

In general, France is one of the few countries whose armed forces have almost the full range of modern weapons and military equipment of their own production - from small arms to nuclear attack aircraft carriers.

France is a nuclear weapons country. The official position of the French government has always been the creation of a "limited nuclear arsenal at the minimum necessary level." Today this level is four nuclear submarines and about a hundred aircraft with nuclear missiles.

The republic has a contract system of service and there is no military obligation. The military personnel, including all units, is about 270 thousand people. At the same time, according to the reform launched by the President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, 24% of employees, mostly in administrative positions, should be dismissed from the army.

Foreign policy and international relations

Currently, France is one of the most important actors in world politics; it can undoubtedly be called a “great power” of the modern world, and this assumption is based on the following principles:
France independently determines its foreign policy. Political independence is based on military force (primarily nuclear weapons);
France influences international political decision-making through international organizations (due to its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, leading role in the EU, etc.);
France is trying to play the role of a world ideological leader (declaring itself the “standard bearer” of the principles of the French Revolution in world politics and a defender of human rights throughout the world);
The special role of France in certain regions of the world (primarily in Africa);
France remains a center of cultural attraction for a significant part of the world community.

France is one of the founding countries of the European Union (since 1957) and now plays an active role in determining its policies.

The headquarters of organizations such as UNESCO (Paris), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Paris), Interpol (Lyon), and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) (Sèvres) are located in France.

France is a member of many world and regional international organizations:
United Nations since 1945;
permanent member of the UN Security Council (that is, has the right of veto);
member of the WTO (since 1995, before that member of the GATT);
member of the Group of Ten since 1964;
the initiating country in the Secretariat of the Pacific Community;
Member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
member of the Indian Ocean Commission;
Associate Member of the Association of Caribbean States;
Founder and leading member of La Francophonie since 1986;
in the Council of Europe since 1949;
OSCE member;
member of the Big Eight.

Among the main directions of French foreign policy are the following:
activities within the European Union;
politics in the Mediterranean region (North Africa and the Middle East);
establishing bilateral relations with individual countries;
implementation of policies within the organization of Francophonie;
activities in NATO.

Activities in NATO

France was a member of NATO (since 1949), but under President de Gaulle in 1966 it withdrew from the military part of the alliance in order to be able to pursue its own independent security policy. During the tenure of President Chirac, France's actual participation in NATO defense structures increased. After N. Sarkozy became president on May 16, 2007, France returned to the military structure of the Alliance on April 4, 2009. France's full return to the military structure is due to NATO's support for European defense initiatives - the EU's European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), as part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The return of France to NATO is not a whim of N. Sarkozy, but a response to the changed world situation. France's policy towards NATO, starting with F. Mitterrand, has been consistent.

France took an active part in resolving the Georgian-Ossetian conflict that escalated in August 2008. At the meeting of the presidents of Russia and France - Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy - during negotiations in Moscow on August 12, 2008, a plan for resolving the military conflict, called the Medvedev-Sarkozy Plan, was signed.

Administrative division

France is divided into 27 regions (régions), of which 22 are on the European continent, one (Corsica) is on the island of Corsica, and another five are overseas. Regions do not have legal autonomy, but can set their own taxes and approve the budget. The 27 regions are divided into 101 departments (départements), which consist of 342 districts (arrondissements) and 4,039 cantons (cantons). The basis of France are 36,682 communes. The division into departments and communes is comparable to the division of Russia into regions and districts. The department of Paris consists of a single commune. Each of the five overseas regions (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion, Mayotte) consists of a single department. The region of Corsica (including 2 departments) has a special status as an administrative-territorial entity, different from other regions of the metropolis (continental France). It has independent governing bodies that are not subordinate to the center. In 2003, a referendum on the unification of the two departments of Corsica failed. All these regions are part of the European Union.

It can also be said that the French Republic includes: 1. Metropolis (divided into 22 regions and 96 departments). 2. 5 overseas departments (DOM): Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guiana, Reunion, Mayotte. 3. 5 overseas territories (TOM): French Polynesia, the islands of Valis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin. 4. 3 territories with a special status: New Caledonia, Clipperton, French Southern and Antarctic Lands.

Story

Ancient World and Middle Ages

France in the prehistoric period was the site of the oldest sites of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. During the Neolithic era, several prehistoric cultures rich in monuments existed in France. Prehistoric Brittany was culturally connected with neighboring Britain, and a large number of megaliths were discovered on its territory. During the late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, the territory of France was inhabited by the Celtic tribes of the Gauls, and the southwest of modern France by the Iberians, tribes of unknown origin. As a result of a gradual conquest, which was completed in the 1st century. BC e. As a result of the Gallic War of Julius Caesar, the modern territory of France became part of the Roman Empire as the province of Gaul. The population was Romanized and by the 5th century spoke vernacular Latin, which became the basis of modern French.

In 486, Gaul was conquered by the Franks under the leadership of Clovis. Thus, the Frankish state was established, and Clovis became the first king of the Merovingian dynasty. In the 7th century, the king's power weakened significantly, and the real power in the state was wielded by the majordomos, one of whom, Charles Martel, managed to defeat the Arab army in the Battle of Poitiers in 732 and prevent the Arab conquest of Western Europe. Charles Martell's son, Pepin the Short, became the first king of the Carolingian dynasty, and under Pepin's son, Charlemagne, the Frankish state reached its greatest prosperity in history and occupied most of the territory of what is now Western and Southern Europe. After the death of Charlemagne's son, Louis the Pious, his empire was divided into three parts. In 843, according to the Treaty of Verdun, the West Frankish Kingdom was formed, led by Charles the Bald. It occupied approximately the territory of modern France; in the 10th century the country began to be called France.

Subsequently, the central government weakened significantly. In the 9th century, France was regularly subjected to Viking raids; in 886, the latter besieged Paris. In 911, the Vikings founded the Duchy of Normandy in northern France. By the end of the 10th century, the country was almost completely fragmented, and the kings had no real power outside their feudal domains (Paris and Orleans). The Carolingian dynasty was replaced in 987 by the Capetian dynasty, named after its first king, Hugo Capet. The Capetian reign is notable for the Crusades, religious wars in France itself (first in 1170 by the Waldensian movement, and in 1209-1229 - the Albigensian Wars), the convening of parliament - the States General - for the first time in 1302, as well as the Avignon capture of the popes, when the Pope was arrested in 1303 by King Philip IV the Fair, and the popes were forced to remain in Avignon until 1378. In 1328, the Capetians were replaced by a side branch of the dynasty known as the Valois dynasty. In 1337, the Hundred Years' War with England began, in which at first the British were successful, managing to capture a significant part of the territory of France, but in the end, especially after the appearance of Joan of Arc, a turning point came in the war, and in 1453 the British capitulated.

The period of the reign of Louis XI (1461-1483) saw the actual end of the feudal fragmentation of France and the transformation of the country into an absolute monarchy. Subsequently, France constantly sought to play a prominent role in Europe. Thus, from 1494 to 1559, she fought the Italian Wars with Spain for control of Italy. At the end of the 16th century, Calvinist Protestantism became widespread in predominantly Catholic France (Protestants in France were called Huguenots). This caused religious wars between Catholics and Protestants, which peaked in 1572 with the Massacre of Protestants in Paris in 1572. In 1589, the Valois dynasty came to an end, and Henry IV became the founder of the new Bourbon dynasty.

Modern times and revolution

In 1598, Henry IV signed the Edict of Nantes, ending the war with the Protestants and giving them broad powers so that they formed a “state within a state” with their own fortresses, troops and local government structures. From 1618 to 1648, France participated in the Thirty Years' War (formally it fought only from 1635 - this is the so-called Swedish-French period of the war). From 1624 until his death in 1642, the country was effectively ruled by King Louis XIII's minister, Cardinal Richelieu. He resumed wars with the Protestants and managed to inflict military defeat on them and destroy their government structures. In 1643, Louis XIII died, and his five-year-old son Louis XIV became king, who ruled until 1715 and managed to outlive his son and grandson. In 1648-1653 there was an uprising of the urban strata and the noble opposition, dissatisfied with the rule of the Queen Mother Anne of Austria and the minister Cardinal Mazarin, who continued the policies of Richelieu and the Fronde. After the suppression of the uprising, the absolute monarchy was restored in France. During the reign of Louis XIV - the “Sun King” - France participated in several wars in Europe: 1635-1659. - war with Spain, 1672-1678. — Dutch War, 1688-1697. - War of the Palatinate Succession (War of the League of Augsburg) and 1701-1713. - War of the Spanish Succession.
In 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes, which led to the flight of Protestants to neighboring countries and the deterioration of the economic situation of France.
In 1715, after the death of Louis XIV, his great-grandson Louis XV ascended to the French throne, ruling until 1774.
1789 - The Great French Revolution.
1792 - First Republic.
1793-1794 - Jacobin terror.
1795 - capture of the Netherlands.
1797 - capture of Venice.
1798-1801 - Egyptian expedition.
1799-1814 - reign of Napoleon (proclaimed emperor in 1804; First Empire). In 1800-1812, Napoleon, through his campaigns of conquest, created a pan-European empire, and Italy, Spain and other countries were ruled by his relatives or proteges. After the defeat in Russia (see Patriotic War of 1812) and the next unification of the anti-Napoleonic coalition, Napoleon's power collapsed.
1815 - Battle of Waterloo.
1814-1830 - the period of the Restoration, based on the dualistic monarchy of Louis XVIII (1814/1815-1824) and Charles X (1824-1830).
1830 - July Monarchy. The revolution overthrows Charles X, power passes to Prince Louis-Philippe of Orleans, and the financial aristocracy comes to power.
1848-1852 - Second Republic.
1852-1870 - reign of Napoleon III - Second Empire.
1870-1940 - The Third Republic, proclaimed after the capture of Napoleon III near Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. In 1879 - 80 the Workers' Party was created. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Socialist Party of France (under the leadership of J. Guesde, P. Lafargue and others) and the French Socialist Party (under the leadership of J. Jaurès) were formed, which united in 1905 (the French section of the workers' international, SFIO). By the end of the 19th century, the formation of the French colonial empire, which included vast possessions in Africa and Asia, was largely completed.
1870—1871 — Franco-Prussian War
1871 - Paris Commune (March - May 1871).
1914-1918 - France participated in the First World War as part of the Entente.
1939-1945 - World War II
1940 - Compiegne Armistice 1940 with Germany (surrender of France)
1940-1944 - German occupation of northern France, Vichy regime in southern France.
1944 - liberation of France by troops of the anti-Hitler coalition and the Resistance movement.
1946-1958 - Fourth Republic.

Fifth Republic

In 1958, the Constitution of the Fifth Republic was adopted, expanding the rights of the executive branch. Charles de Gaulle, General of the Liberation, hero of the First and Second World Wars, was elected President of the Republic. By 1960, amid the collapse of the colonial system, most of the French colonies in Africa gained independence. In 1962, after a bloody war, Algeria gained independence. Pro-French Algerians moved to France, where they formed a rapidly growing Muslim minority.

Mass unrest of youth and students (the May events in France 1968), caused by the aggravation of economic and social contradictions, as well as a general strike, led to an acute political crisis; President Charles de Gaulle, founder of the Fifth Republic, resigned (1969) and died on November 9, 1970, a year later.

In general, the post-war development of France was characterized by the accelerated development of industry and agriculture, the encouragement of national capital, economic and socio-cultural expansion into former African and Asian colonies, active integration within the European Union, the development of science and culture, strengthening social support measures, and opposition to “Americanization.” » culture.

Foreign policy under President De Gaulle was characterized by a desire for independence and the “restoration of the greatness of France.” In 1960, after successful tests of its own nuclear weapons, the country joined the “nuclear club”; in 1966, France left the NATO military structure (it returned only during the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy); Charles De Gaulle did not support the European integration processes.

Gaullist Georges Pompidou was elected as the second president of the Fifth Republic in 1969, and from 1962 to 1968. served as prime minister.

In 1974, after the death of Pompidou, he was replaced by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a politician of liberal and pro-European views, founder of the centrist party Union for French Democracy.

From 1981 to 1995, the presidency was held by the socialist Francois Mitterrand.

From May 17, 1995 to May 16, 2007, Jacques Chirac was president, re-elected in 2002. He is a neo-Gaullist politician. Under him, in 2000, a referendum was held on the issue of reducing the presidential term in the country from 7 to 5 years. Despite the very low turnout (about 30% of the population), the majority ultimately voted in favor of reducing the sentence (73%).

Due to the growing number of people from African countries in France, the problem of migrants, many of whom are Muslims, has worsened: 10% of the French population are non-indigenous Muslims (mostly from Algeria). On the one hand, this causes an increase in the popularity of far-right (xenophobic) organizations among native French people, on the other hand, France is becoming an arena of riots and terrorist attacks. North African immigration dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The slowdown in the rate of natural population growth and the shortage of labor in France against the backdrop of economic growth made it necessary to attract foreign labor. The main areas of employment of immigrant labor are construction (20%), industries using flow-conveyor production (29%) and the service and trade sectors (48.8%). Due to low professional training, people from North Africa often become unemployed. In 1996, the average unemployment rate among foreigners from the Maghreb countries reached 32%. Currently, immigrants from the Maghreb countries make up more than 2% of the French population and are located mainly in three regions of the country, centered in Paris, Lyon and Marseille.

On May 16, 2007, the candidate from the Union for a Popular Movement party, Nicolas Sarkozy, who came from a Jewish family that emigrated to France from Hungary, became the President of France.

On July 21, 2008, the French Parliament narrowly supported the draft constitutional reform proposed by President Sarkozy. The current constitutional reform has become the most significant since the existence of the Fifth Republic, amending 47 of the 89 articles of the 1958 document. The bill included three parts: strengthening the role of parliament, updating the institution of executive power and providing citizens with new rights.

The most important changes:

- the president can serve no more than two consecutive terms;
— parliament acquires the right to veto some decisions of the president;
— government control over the activities of parliamentary committees is limited;
- in this case, the president receives the right to speak annually before parliament (this has been prohibited since 1875 in order to maintain the separation between the two powers);
— a referendum is envisaged on the issue of new members joining the EU.

The adoption of the new law caused active controversy. Critics of the project point out that the president will still receive the main benefits. Sarkozy is already being called the “hyper-president” and even the new “monarch” of France.

In March 2010, regional elections were held in France. Following two rounds of voting, 1,880 regional council councilors were elected. Elections took place in all 26 regions of the country, including 4 overseas. The current regional elections have already been dubbed a test of strength before the 2012 presidential elections.

The opposition coalition “Left Union” (UG) led by the “Socialist Party” (PS) won the elections. The coalition also includes the parties “Europe-Ecology” and “Left Front”. In the first round they scored 29%, 12% and 6% respectively, while the presidential party Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) received only 26%. According to the results of the second round, the “Left Union” received 54% of the votes, thus, out of 22 European regions of France, preference was given to it in 21. Sarkozy's party retained only the Alsace region.

The success of the far-right National Front, which received a total of about 2 million votes in the second round, that is, 9.17%, was also very unexpected. The party made it to the second round of voting in 12 regions of the country, respectively, in each of them it received an average of 18% of the votes. Jean-Marie Le Pen himself, who headed the party list in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, achieved the best result in the history of his party here, gaining 22.87% of the votes and securing 21 of 123 deputy seats in the local council for his supporters. In the north of France, in the North-Pas-de-Calais region, 22.20% of voters cast their votes for the National Front, whose local list was headed by the daughter of party leader Marine Le Pen, which guaranteed the FN 18 of 113 seats in the regional council

Population

The population of France numbered 63.8 million inhabitants in 2008, and in January 2010 - 65.4 million people. 62.8 million people live on the continental territory. In terms of population, the state ranks 20th among 193 UN member countries. The population density in France is 116 people/km². According to this indicator, the country ranks 14th among EU countries. The total fertility rate in France is one of the highest in Europe - 2.01 children per woman of reproductive age. There are 57 urban settlements in France with a population of more than 100,000 people. The largest of them (as of 2005): Paris - 9.6 million people; Lille - 1.7 million people; Marseille - 1.3 million people; Toulouse - 1 million people.

As of 2006, 10.1% of the population are of foreign origin (that is, they were not French citizens at the time of birth), of which 4.3% received French citizenship.

National composition

The French political lexicon does not use the concept of “national minority” or even “nationality” in the sense in which this word was understood in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. In the French lexicon, the word “nationality”, “nationalité” means exclusively “citizenship”, and the adjective “national, national”, “national, nationale” means belonging to the state - the French Republic, since the Republic comes from the nation, that is, the people to which it belongs state, national sovereignty, which is enshrined in Article 3 of the Constitution of the French Republic. Similarly, in the United States of America, for example, there are citizens of only one nationality - Americans, if you do not take into account foreigners living in the country legally or illegally for one reason or another. Thus, all French citizens are included in one category of official statistics: “French”.

Soviet encyclopedias provide data for 1975 on the ethnic composition of the country, without, however, providing a description of assessment methods: about 90% of the population were ethnic French. National minorities include Alsatians and Lorraineers (about 1.4 million people), Bretons (1.25 million people), Jews (about 500 thousand people), Flemings (300 thousand people), Catalans (250 thousand . people), Basques (140 thousand people) and Corsicans (280 thousand people).
The Alsatians speak the Alemannic dialect of German, the Lorraineers speak its Frankish dialects. The literary language for most Alsatians is German. Most Alsatians are Catholics; among the rural residents there are Protestants (Lutherans and Calvinists).
The Bretons speak Breton, a language of the Celtic group of the Indo-European family, which has four dialects: Treguieres, Cornish, Vannes and Leonard. It formed the basis of the literary language. Breton is spoken by about 200 thousand people in western Brittany. In eastern Brittany, the most common dialect of French is Gallo. But the main idea is not language, but general history, origin, special geographical origin, and therefore special economic activities. Brittany is the center of development of Celtic culture.
The Flemings live in the north of the country, in the so-called French Flanders. They speak southern Dutch. By religious affiliation they are mainly Catholics. Corsicans (self-name “Corsi”) inhabit the island of Corsica. They speak French. In everyday life, two Italian dialects are used: Chismontan and Oltremontan. They profess Catholicism.
Basques (self-name Euskaldunak - “Basque-speaking”) in France inhabit the regions of Labourg, Soule and Lower Navarre; in Spain - the provinces of Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, Alava, Navarre. Basque is isolated, and it is also divided into dialects. The official languages ​​spoken are French and Spanish. The Basques profess Catholicism.

Welfare

The French minimum hourly wage (SMIC) is set and revised by the government. For 2010, it is 8.86 €/hour, which corresponds to 1343.77 €/month (the conversion of hourly wages into monthly wages is carried out by INSEE based on a 35-hour working week).

Approximately 10% of wages in France are at the SMIC level (for temporary jobs this share is 23%). At the same time, the total annual income of approximately half of working French people is at the SMIC level.

The distribution of wages across the country is uneven: in terms of average wages, the Paris region is in the lead by a strong margin - 27 thousand euros per year, average wages in other regions are 18-20 thousand euros per year.

Family income is assessed per unit of consumption (UC) - the first adult in the family is considered one, the rest of the family members under 14 years old are considered 0.3, 14 years and above - 0.5. Only 10% of French families have an income level of over 35,700 €/MU, 1% - over 84,500 €/MU, 0.1% - over 225,800 €/MU, 0.01% - 687,900 €/MU.

Religion

France is a secular country, freedom of conscience is provided for by constitutional law. Here the doctrine of secularism (laїcité) was born and developed; in accordance with the law of 1905, the state was strictly separated from all religious organizations. The secular character of the republic is perceived as an identity. When the French nation ceases to be so united, then issues of a religious nature are perceived quite painfully.

According to surveys conducted in 2005, 34% of French citizens said they “believe in the existence of God,” 27% responded that they “believed in the existence of supernatural forces,” and 33% said they were atheists and did not believe in the existence of such forces.

According to a survey conducted in January 2007, 51% of French people consider themselves Catholics, 31% identify themselves as agnostics and/or atheists, 10% said they belong to other religious movements or have no opinion on this matter, 6-8% - Muslims, 3% - Protestants, 1% - Jews. According to Le Monde, 5 million people in France sympathize with Buddhism, but the religion is practiced by about 600,000 people. Of these, 65% practice Zen Buddhism.

Languages

The official language of the state is French, which is spoken by most of the population. Belongs to the Indo-European family of languages ​​(Romance group, Gallo-Romance subgroup). It developed from folk Latin and went further from it than any other Romance language. Writing based on the Latin alphabet. Modern French comes from the so-called Langue d'Oil, a dialect of northern France, as opposed to Langue d'Oc, which was spoken in the south in the province of the same name. The separation between these two varieties of French was due to the way the word "yes" was pronounced. Currently, Langue d'Oil has almost replaced Langue d'Oc. Although to this day various dialects of the French language are used in France. In 1994, a language law (Tubon Law) was passed. It not only consolidated the French language as the language of the republic, but also protected the language from being displaced by foreign words and borrowings.

Physiographic characteristics

Geographical position

Most of France is located in Western Europe, its mainland borders on Belgium in the north, Luxembourg and in the northeast, Switzerland in the east, Monaco and Italy in the southeast, Spain in the southwest and Andorra. France is washed by four bodies of water (the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea). In the west and north, the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay and the English Channel), in the south by the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lyon and the Ligurian Sea). The length of the sea borders is 5,500 kilometers. France is the largest country in Western Europe by territory: it occupies almost one-fifth of the territory of the European Union and has vast maritime spaces (the exclusive economic zone extends over an area of ​​11 million sq. km).

The state also includes the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea and more than twenty overseas departments and dependent territories. The total area of ​​the country is 550 thousand km² (643.4 thousand km² including overseas territories and departments).

Relief and geological structure

In the north and west of the country there are flat areas and low mountains. Plains make up 2/3 of the total territory. The main mountain ranges are: the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Jura, the Ardennes, the Massif Central and the Vosges. The Paris Basin is surrounded by the Armorican Massif, the Massif Central, the Vosges and the Ardennes. Around Paris there is a system of concentric ledges of ridges, separated by narrow strips of plains. The Garonne Lowland, located in southwestern France at the foot of the Pyrenees, is a flat region with fertile soils. The Landes, a triangular wedge-shaped area southwest of the lower Garonne, has less fertile soils and is covered with coniferous forests. The Rhône-Saône graben in southeastern France forms a narrow passage between the Alps to the east and the French Massif Central to the west. It consists of a series of small depressions separated by highly dissected uplifted areas.

In the central regions and in the east there are medium-high mountains (Massif Central, Vosges, Jura). The Central Massif, located between the basins of the Loire, Garonne and Rhone rivers, is the largest massif resulting from the destruction of the ancient Hercynian mountains. Like other ancient mountain regions of France, it rose during the Alpine era, with the softer rocks in the Alps folded into folds and the dense rocks of the massif broken by cracks and faults. Deep molten rocks rose through such disturbed zones, which was accompanied by volcanic eruptions. In the modern era, these volcanoes have lost their activity. However, many extinct volcanoes and other volcanic landforms remain on the surface of the massif. The Vosges, which separates the fertile Rhine Valley in Alsace from the rest of France, is only 40 km wide. The smoothed and forested surfaces of these mountains rise above the deep valleys. A similar landscape prevails in the north of the country in the Ardennes. The Jura Mountains, along which the border with Switzerland runs, are located between Geneva and Basel. They have a folded structure, composed of limestone, lower and less dissected compared to the Alps, but they were formed in the same era and have a close geological connection with the Alps.

In the southwest, along the border with Spain, lies the Pyrenees mountain range. During the Ice Age, the Pyrenees were not subject to powerful glaciation. There are no large glaciers and lakes, picturesque valleys and jagged ridges characteristic of the Alps. Due to the considerable altitude and inaccessibility of the passes, communications between Spain and France are very limited.

In the southeast, the Alps partially form the border of France with Switzerland (up to Lake Geneva) and extend slightly into southeastern France up to the Rhone. In the high mountains, rivers carved out deep valleys, and the glaciers that occupied these valleys during the Ice Age widened and deepened them. Here is also the highest point in France - the highest mountain in Western Europe - Mount Mont Blanc, 4807 m.

Climate

The climate on the European territory of France is temperate maritime, turning into temperate continental in the east, and subtropical on the southern coast. In total, three types of climate can be distinguished: oceanic (in the west), Mediterranean (in the south), continental (in the center and in the east). Summer is quite hot and dry - the average temperature in July reaches + 23-25 ​​degrees, while the winter months are characterized by rain at an air temperature of + 7-8 ° C.

The main share of precipitation occurs in the period from January to April, and its total amount fluctuates between 600-1000 mm. On the western slopes of the mountains this figure can reach more than 2000 mm.

Water resources

All rivers of France, with the exception of some overseas territories, belong to the Atlantic Ocean basin, and most of them originate in the Massif Central, the Alps and the Pyrenees. The country's largest waterways:
The Seine (775 km) is a flat river that forms a widely branched system with large right tributaries the Marne and Oise, and a left tributary Ion. The Seine drains the Paris Basin and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Le Havre. It is characterized by an even distribution of flow throughout the year, which is favorable for navigation, and is connected by canals with other rivers.
The Garonne (650 km) originates in the Spanish Pyrenees, flows through Toulouse and Bordeaux, and when it flows into the ocean it forms a vast estuary - the Gironde. Main tributaries: Tarn, Lot and Dordogne.
The Rhone (812 km) is the deepest river in France, begins in the Swiss Alps from the Rhone glacier, flows through Lake Geneva. Near Lyon, the Saône River flows into it. Other major tributaries are the Durance and Isère. The Rhône is characterized by fast turbulent flow and has great hydroelectric potential. A number of hydroelectric power stations have been built on this river.
The Loire (1020 km) is the longest river in France, beginning in the Massif Central. It receives many tributaries, the main of which are the Allier, Cher, Indre and Vienne. The Loire rises in the French Massif Central, crosses the southern part of the Paris Basin and flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Nantes. The water level in this river fluctuates greatly, so there are frequent floods.

A system of canals connects the country's main rivers, including the Rhine, which partly runs along the country's eastern border and is one of the most important inland routes in Europe. Rivers and canals are of great importance to the French economy.

Flora and fauna

Forests occupy 27% of the country's territory. Walnut, birch, oak, spruce and cork trees grow in the northern and western regions of the country. On the Mediterranean coast there are palm trees and citrus fruits. Among the representatives of the fauna, deer and fox stand out. Roe deer live in alpine regions, and wild boar survive in remote forests. It is also home to a large number of different species of birds, including migratory ones. Reptiles are rare, and among snakes there is only one poisonous one - the common viper. The coastal sea waters are home to many species of fish: herring, cod, tuna, sardine, mackerel, flounder and silver hake.

Protected areas

The French national park system consists of nine parks located both in European France and in its overseas territories. The parks are managed by the government agency French National Parks Authority. They occupy 2% of the territory of European France, and are visited by 7 million people a year.

In France, there is also a structure of regional natural parks, introduced by law on March 1, 1967. Regional nature parks are created by agreement between local authorities and the central government, and their territory is reviewed every 10 years. As of 2009, there are 49 regional natural parks in France.

Economy

France is a highly developed industrial-agrarian country and occupies one of the leading places in the world in terms of industrial production. Gross domestic product stands at 1.9 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion) in 2009. GDP per capita in the same year was 30,691 euros ($42,747). The IMF predicts that France's GDP will increase by 21% by 2015. France is the 6th economic power in the world after the USA, and. With a metropolitan area of ​​551,602 km² and a population of 64 million inhabitants, including overseas territories, France is considered a "large" country. And its economic weight allows it to play one of the key roles in the international arena. France enjoys its natural advantages, ranging from its central geographical location in Europe to its access to the main trade routes of Western Europe: the Mediterranean Sea, the English Channel, and the Atlantic.

In this regard, the European Common Market, established in 1957, has been a beneficial factor for the development of French enterprises, although former colonies and overseas territories continue to be significant commercial partners.

Industry

Iron and uranium ores and bauxite are being mined. The leading branches of the manufacturing industry are mechanical engineering, including automotive, electrical and electronic (TVs, washing machines, etc.), aviation, shipbuilding (tankers, sea ferries) and machine tool building. France is one of the world's largest producers of chemical and petrochemical products (including caustic soda, synthetic rubber, plastics, mineral fertilizers, pharmaceutical products and others), ferrous and non-ferrous (aluminium, lead and zinc) metals. French clothing, shoes, jewelry, perfumes and cosmetics, cognacs, and cheeses (about 400 varieties are produced) are very famous on the world market.

Agriculture

France is one of Europe's largest producers of agricultural products and occupies one of the leading places in the world in the number of cattle, pigs, poultry and the production of milk, eggs, and meat. Agriculture accounts for approximately 4% of GDP and 6% of the country's working population. France's agricultural products account for 25% of EU production. Agricultural land covers an area of ​​48 million hectares, representing 82% of the metropolitan area. A characteristic feature of the socio-economic structure is the fairly small size of farms. The average land area is 28 hectares, which exceeds the corresponding indicators of many EU countries. There is great fragmentation in land ownership. More than half of the farms exist on the land of the owners. Large farms are the leading force in production. 52% of agricultural land falls on farms larger than 50 hectares, which account for 16.8% of the total. They provide over 2/3 of production, occupying a dominant position in the production of almost all branches of agriculture. The main branch of agriculture is animal husbandry for meat and dairy production. Grain farming predominates in crop production; The main crops are wheat, barley, corn. Winemaking (leading place in the world in wine production), vegetable growing and horticulture are developed; floriculture; fishing and oyster farming. Agricultural products: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish. Agriculture is highly industrialized. In terms of technology and the use of chemical fertilizers, it is second only to the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. Technical equipment and improved agricultural cultivation of farms led to an increase in the country's level of self-sufficiency in agricultural products. For grains and sugar it exceeds 200%, for butter, eggs, and meat - over 100%.

Winemaking

Only Italy competes with France in wine production. Each province grows its own grape varieties and produces its own wines. Dry wines predominate. Such wines are usually named by grape variety - Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. Blended wines, that is, made from a mixture of grape varieties, are named by location. In France, champagne, Anjou, Bordeaux and Burgundy wines are especially famous.

Another famous drink is cognac. This is a type of brandy or grape vodka. There are other varieties, such as Armagnac. In France, it is customary to call cognac only the drink that is produced in the vicinity of the city of Cognac. Cognac is usually not eaten with anything; occasionally gourmets will add black radish to the aftertaste.

Another strong drink popular in Normandy is Calvados.

Energy and mining

Every year France consumes about 220 million tons of various types of fuel, with nuclear power plants playing a significant role in energy production, generating three quarters of the electricity produced (58 power units with a total capacity of 63.13 GW as of June 1, 2011). The largest electricity producer in France is the historical monopoly Électricité de France (EDF).

France's hydroelectric network is the largest in Europe. There are about 500 hydroelectric power stations on its territory. France's hydroelectric stations generate 20,000 MW of power.

Forests make up more than 30% of the territory, placing France in third place after Sweden and Finland in terms of area among the countries of the European Union. Since 1945, the forest area in France has increased by 46% and has doubled in the last 200 years. In France there are 136 species of trees, which is very rare for a European country. The number of large animals is also increasing here: over the past 20 years, the number of deer has doubled, and the number of roe deer has tripled.

France has significant reserves of iron ore, uranium ores, bauxite, potassium and rock salts, coal, zinc, copper, lead, nickel, oil, and wood. The main coal mining regions are Lorraine (9 million tons) and the coalfields of the Massif Central. Since 1979, coal imports have exceeded its production. Currently, the largest suppliers of this type of fuel are the USA, Australia and South Africa. The main consumers of oil and petroleum products are transport and thermal power plants, while France imports oil from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Great Britain, Norway, Russia, Algeria and a number of other countries. Gas production does not exceed 3 billion cubic meters. m. One of the largest gas fields in France - Lac in the Pyrenees - has been mostly depleted. The main gas suppliers are Norway, Algeria, Russia, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Nigeria and Belgium. Gaz de France is one of the largest gas companies in Europe. The company's main activities are exploration, production, marketing and distribution of natural gas. To preserve and increase the natural wealth of France, the state created:

— 7 national parks (for example, Parc national de la Vanoise, Parc national de la Guadeloupe, Parc National des Pyrénées, etc.),

— 156 nature reserves,

— 516 biotope protection zones,

- 429 sites under Coast Guard protection,

— 43 natural regional parks, covering more than 12% of the entire territory of France.

France allocated 47.7 billion euros for environmental protection in 2006, which amounts to 755 euros per inhabitant. Recycling of wastewater and waste accounts for 3/4 of this waste. France participates in many international agreements and conventions, including those developed by the United Nations on climate, biodiversity and desertification.

Transport

Railway connection
Rail transport in France is very developed. Local and overnight trains, including TGV (Trains à Grande Vitesse - high-speed trains) connect the capital with all major cities of the country, as well as with neighboring European countries. The speed of these trains is 320 km/h. France's railway network is 29,370 kilometers long, making it the longest railway network in Western Europe. There are rail connections with all neighboring countries except Andorra.

Metro in France is available in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Toulouse, Rennes. In Rouen there is a partially underground high-speed tram. In addition to the metro system, Paris has a network of RER (Reseau Express Regional), connected to both the metro system and the commuter train network.
Road transport
The road network covers the entire territory of the country quite densely. The total length of roads is 951,500 km.

The main roads in France are divided into the following groups:
Highways - the name of the road is made up of the letter A followed by the road number. The permissible speed is 130 km/h, the mandatory presence of gas stations every 50 km, a concrete dividing strip, no traffic lights or pedestrian crossings.
National roads - prefix N. Permissible speed - 90 km/h (if there is a concrete median - 110 km/h).
Departmental roads - prefix D. Permissible speed - 90 km/h.

In cities, the permissible speed is 50 km/h. The use of seat belts is mandatory. Children under 10 years old must be transported in special seats.

Aviation transport
There are about 475 airports in France. 295 of them have paved or concrete runways, and the remaining 180 are unpaved (2008 data). The largest French airport is Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, located in the suburbs of Paris. The national French air carrier Air France operates flights to almost every country in the world.

Trade and services

Exports: engineering products, including transport equipment (about 14% of the value), cars (7%), agricultural and food products (17%; one of the leading European exporters), chemicals and semi-finished products, etc.

Tourism

However, income from international tourism is much higher in the United States ($81.7 billion) than in France ($42.3 billion), which is explained by the shorter stay of tourists in France: those who come to Europe tend to visit neighboring, no less attractive countries. In addition, the French tourist is more family than business, which also explains the lower spending of tourists in France.

In 2010, about 76.8 million people visited France—an absolute record. The external balance of French tourism is positive: in 2000, tourism income amounted to 32.78 billion euros, while French tourists traveling abroad spent only 17.53 billion euros.

What undoubtedly attracts visitors to France is the wide variety of landscapes, long lines of ocean and sea coasts, a temperate climate, many different monuments, as well as the prestige of French culture, cuisine and lifestyle.

Culture and art

France has a huge cultural heritage. It is rich, diverse, reflecting wide regional differences, as well as the influence of waves of immigration from different eras. France gave civilization great mathematicians, numerous philosophers, writers, artists, the Age of Enlightenment, the language of diplomacy, a certain universal concept of man and much more. French has been one of the major international languages ​​for many centuries, and largely retains this role to this day. For long periods of its history, France was the main cultural center, spreading its achievements throughout the world. In many areas, such as fashion or cinema, it still maintains a leading position in the world. The headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is located in Paris.

Architecture

On the territory of France, significant monuments of both ancient architecture, primarily in Nîmes, and the Romanesque style, which became most widespread in the 11th century, have been preserved. Characteristic representatives of the latter are, for example, the cathedrals of the Basilica of Saint Saturnin in Toulouse, the largest Romanesque church in Europe, and the Church of Notre-Dame-la-Grand in Poitiers. However, medieval French architecture is primarily known for its Gothic structures. The Gothic style arose in France in the middle of the 12th century; the first Gothic cathedral was the Basilica of Saint-Denis (1137-1144). The most significant works of the Gothic style in France are considered to be the cathedrals of Chartres, Amiens and Reims, but in general there are a huge number of monuments of the Gothic style left in France, from chapels to huge cathedrals. In the 15th century, the period of the so-called “flaming Gothic” began, from which only isolated examples have reached us, such as the Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris or one of the portals of Rouen Cathedral. In the 16th century, starting with the reign of Francis I, the Renaissance began in French architecture, well represented by the castles in the Loire Valley - Chambord, Chenonceau, Cheverny, Blois, Azay-le-Rideau and others - as well as the Fontainebleau Palace.

The 17th century is the heyday of Baroque architecture, characterized by the creation of large palace and park ensembles, such as Versailles and the Luxembourg Gardens, and huge domed buildings, such as the Val de Grace or the Invalides. Baroque was replaced by classicism in the 18th century. The first examples of urban planning, with straight streets and perspectives, and the organization of urban space, such as the Champs Elysees in Paris, date back to this era. Examples of classicist architecture proper include many Parisian monuments, for example, the Pantheon (former church of Saint-Geneviève) or the Church of the Madeleine. Classicism gradually turns into Empire style, the style of the first third of the 19th century, the standard of which in France is the arch on Place Carrousel. In the 1850-1860s, a complete redevelopment of Paris was carried out, as a result of which it took on a modern look, with boulevards, squares and straight streets. In 1887-1889, the Eiffel Tower was erected, which, although it met with significant rejection from its contemporaries, is currently considered one of the symbols of Paris. In the 20th century, modernism spread throughout the world, in the architecture of which France no longer played a leading role, but in France, nevertheless, excellent examples of the style were created, such as the church in Ronchamp, built by Le Corbusier, or built according to a specially designed plan of the business district of Paris La Défense with the Grand Arch.

art

Although France produced wonderful examples of medieval art (sculpture of Gothic cathedrals, paintings by Jean Fouquet, book miniatures, the pinnacle of which is considered to be the Magnificent Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry by the Limburg brothers) and Renaissance art (Limoges enamels, paintings by François Clouet, the Fontainebleau school) and the 17th century (Georges de La Tour ), French art was always in the shadow of other countries, primarily Italy and the Netherlands. In the 17th century, the greatest French masters (painters Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, sculptor Pierre Puget) spent a significant part of their lives in Italy, which was considered at that time the center of world art. The first style of painting to emerge in France was the Rococo style in the 18th century, the largest representatives of which were Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher. In the second half of the 18th century, French painting, having passed through Chardin's still lifes and Greuze's portraits of women, came to classicism, which dominated French academic art until the 1860s. The main representatives of this trend were Jacques Louis David and Dominique Ingres.

At the same time, pan-European artistic movements developed in France that significantly diverged from the official academic direction: romanticism (Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix), orientalism (Jean-Leon Gerome), the realistic landscape of the “Barbizon School”, the most prominent representatives of which were Jean-François Millet and Camille Corot, realism (Gustave Courbet, partly Honoré Daumier), symbolism (Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Gustave Moreau). However, only in the 1860s did French art make a qualitative breakthrough, which brought France into undisputed leadership in world art and allowed it to maintain this leadership until the Second World War. This breakthrough is associated primarily with the work of Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas, and then with the Impressionists, the most notable of whom were Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley, as well as Gustave Caillebotte.

At the same time, other outstanding figures were the sculptor Auguste Rodin and Odilon Redon, who did not belong to any movements. Paul Cézanne, who initially joined the Impressionists, soon moved away from them and began working in a style later called post-impressionism. Post-impressionism also includes the work of such major artists as Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as new artistic movements that constantly emerged in France at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, which then spread throughout Europe, influencing other art schools. These are pointillism (Georges Seurat and Paul Signac), the Nabi group (Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Edouard Vuillard), Fauvism (Henri Matisse, Andre Derain, Raoul Dufy), cubism (early works of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque). French art also responded to the main trends of the avant-garde, such as expressionism (Georges Rouault, Chaim Soutine), the stand-out painting of Marc Chagall or the surreal works of Yves Tanguy. After the German occupation in World War II, France lost its leadership in world art.

Literature

The earliest surviving works of literature in Old French date back to the end of the 9th century, but the flowering of French medieval literature began in the 12th century. Epic (The Song of Roland), allegorical (The Romance of the Rose) and satirical (The Romance of the Fox) poems, chivalric literature, primarily Tristan and Isolde and the works of Chrétien de Troyes, and the poetry of the Trouvères were created. At the same time, in Southern France in the 12th century, the poetry of the troubadours, who wrote in the Old Provençal language, reached its peak. The most outstanding poet of medieval France was Francois Villon.

Rabelais' proto-novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel" marked the divide in French literature between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The greatest master of Renaissance prose not only in France, but also on a pan-European scale, was Michel Montaigne in his Essays. Pierre Ronsard and the Pleiades poets tried to “ennoble” the French language on the model of Latin. The development of the literary heritage of antiquity reached a new level in the 17th century, with the advent of the era of classicism. French philosophers (Descartes, Pascal, La Rochefoucauld) and grand siècle playwrights (Cornel, Racine and Molière), and, to a lesser extent, prose writers (Charles Perrault) and poets (Jean de La Fontaine) gained pan-European fame.

During the Age of Enlightenment, French educational literature continued to dictate the literary tastes of Europe, although its popularity was not durable. Among the most significant monuments of French literature of the 18th century are three novels: “Manon Lescaut”, “Dangerous Liaisons”, “Candide”. The rational-impersonal poetry of that time is now practically never republished.

After the Great French Revolution comes the era of romanticism, beginning in France with the work of Chateaubriand, the Marquis de Sade and Madame de Staël. The traditions of classicism turned out to be very tenacious, and French romanticism reached its peak relatively late - in the middle of the century in the work of Victor Hugo and several less significant figures - Lamartine, de Vigny and Musset. The ideologist of French romanticism was the critic Sainte-Beuve, and his most popular works remain the historical adventure novels of Alexandre Dumas.

Since the 1830s, the realistic trend has become increasingly noticeable in French literature, towards which the “poet of feelings” Stendhal and the concisely laconic Mérimée evolved. The largest figures of French realism are considered Honore de Balzac (The Human Comedy) and Gustave Flaubert (Madame Bovary), although the latter defined himself as a neo-romantic (Salammbô). Under the influence of Madame Bovary, the “Flaubert school” was formed, generally defined as naturalism and represented by the names of Zola, Maupassant, the Goncourt brothers and the satirist Daudet.

In parallel with naturalism, a completely different literary direction is developing. The literary group of Parnassians, represented in particular by Théophile Gautier, set as its task the creation of “art for art’s sake.” Adjacent to the Parnassians is the first of the “damned poets,” Charles Baudelaire, the author of the epoch-making collection “Flowers of Evil,” which built a bridge from the era of “frantic” romanticism (Nerval) to the pre-decadent symbolism of Verlaine, Rimbaud and Mallarmé.

During the 20th century, fourteen French writers were awarded the Nobel Prize. The most striking monument of French modernism is Marcel Proust’s “flow novel” In Search of Lost Time, which grew out of the teachings of Henri Bergson. The influential publisher of the Nouvelle Revue Française magazine, Andre Gide, also took the position of modernism. The work of Anatole France and Romain Rolland evolved towards socio-satirical issues, while Francois Mauriac and Paul Claudel tried to comprehend the place of religion in the modern world.

In the poetry of the early 20th century, Apollinaire’s experimentation was accompanied by a revival of interest in “Racine” verse (Paul Valéry). In the pre-war years, surrealism became the dominant direction of the avant-garde (Cocteau, Breton, Aragon, Eluard). In the post-war period, surrealism was replaced by existentialism (the stories of Camus), with which the dramaturgy of the “theater of the absurd” (Ionesco and Beckett) is associated. The largest phenomena of the postmodern era were the “new novel” (ideologist Robbe-Grillet) and the group of language experimenters ULIPO (Raymond Queneau, Georges Perec).

In addition to authors who wrote in French, major representatives of other literatures, such as the Argentinean Cortazar, worked in France, especially in the 20th century. After the October Revolution, Paris became one of the centers of Russian emigration. Such significant Russian writers and poets as, for example, Ivan Bunin, Alexander Kuprin, Marina Tsvetaeva or Konstantin Balmont worked here at different times. Many, like Gaito Gazdanov, became established writers in France. Many foreigners, like Beckett and Ionesco, began to write in French.

Music

French music has been known since the time of Charlemagne, but world-class composers: Jean Baptiste Lully, Louis Couperin, Jean Philippe Rameau - appeared only in the Baroque era. The heyday of French classical music came in the 19th century. The era of Romanticism is represented in France by the works of Hector Berlioz, primarily his symphonic music. In the middle of the century, such famous composers as Camille Saint-Saens, Gabriel Fauré and Cesar Frank wrote their works, and at the end of the 19th century a new direction of classical music developed in France - impressionism, associated with the names of Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. In the 20th century, classical music in France developed in the general mainstream of world music. Famous composers, including Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc, are formally grouped together as the Six, although their work has little in common. The work of Olivier Messiaen cannot be attributed to any direction of music at all. In the 1970s, the technique of “spectral music”, which later spread throughout the world, was born in France, in which music is written taking into account its sound spectrum.

In the 1920s, jazz spread in France, the largest representative of which was Stéphane Grappelli. French pop music developed along a different path than English-language pop music. Thus, the rhythm of the song often follows the rhythm of the French language (this genre is designated as chanson). In chanson, the emphasis can be placed on both the words of the song and the music. In this genre of extraordinary popularity in the middle of the 20th century. reached Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour. Many chansonniers themselves wrote poems for songs, such as Georges Brassens. In many regions of France, folk music is being revived. As a rule, folk groups perform compositions from the early 20th century, using piano and accordion.

In the second half of the 20th century. In France, ordinary pop music also became widespread, the performers of which were, for example, Mireille Mathieu, Dalida, Joe Dassin, Patricia Kaas, Mylene Farmer, Lara Fabian, Lemarchal Gregory.

The French have made a particularly significant contribution to electronic music. Jean-Michel Jarre's Space and Rockets projects were among the pioneers of this genre. In early French electronica, the synthesizer played a central role, as did science fiction and space aesthetics. In the 1990s, other electronic genres developed in France, such as trip-hop (Air, Télépopmusik), new age (Era), house (Daft Punk), etc.

Rock music in France is not as popular as in northern Europe, but the genre is well represented on the French scene. Among the patriarchs of French rock of the 1960s and 70s, it is worth noting the progressive Art Zoyd, Gong, Magma. The key bands of the 80s are post-punks Noir Désir, metallers Shakin' Street and Mystery Blue. The most successful groups of the last decade are metallers Anorexia Nervosa and rapcore performers Pleymo. The latter are also associated with the hip-hop scene of France. This “street” style is very popular among the non-indigenous population, Arab and African immigrants. Some performers from immigrant families have achieved mass fame, for example K.Maro, Diam's, MC Solaar, Stromae. On June 21, Music Day is widely celebrated in France.

Theater

The tradition of theatrical performances in France dates back to the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, theatrical performances in cities were tightly controlled by guilds; Thus, the guild "Les Confrères de la Passion" had a monopoly on mystery plays in Paris, and at the end of the 16th century - on all theatrical performances in general. The Guild rented premises for the theater. In addition to public theaters, performances were given in private homes. Women could participate in performances, but all actors were excommunicated. In the 17th century, theatrical performances were finally divided into comedies and tragedies; Italian commedia dell'arte was also popular. Permanent theaters appeared; in 1689, two of them were united by decree of Louis XIV, forming the Comédie Française. It is currently the only French repertory theater funded by the government. Traveling troupes of actors spread across the provinces. At the end of the 17th century, French theater was completely dominated by classicism, with the concept of the unity of place, time and action. This concept ceased to be dominant only in the 19th century, with the emergence of romanticism, and then realism and decadent movements. Sarah Bernhardt is considered the most famous French dramatic actress of the 19th century. In the 20th century, French theater was exposed to avant-garde movements, and later was strongly influenced by Brecht. In 1964, Ariane Mnouchkine and Philippe Léotard created the Théâtre du Soleil to bridge the gap between actors, playwrights and audiences.

There is a strong circus school in France; in particular, in the 1970s, the so-called “new circus” arose here (at the same time as the UK, Australia and the USA), a type of theatrical performance in which a plot or theme is conveyed to the audience using circus techniques.

Cinema

Despite the fact that France was the place where cinema was invented at the end of the 19th century, the modern appearance of French cinema was formed after the Second World War, after understanding the legacy of the war and the German occupation. After a series of anti-fascist films, an important turn of French cinema to humanism took place. After the war, the best film adaptations of French classics gained worldwide fame: “The Abode of Parma” (1948), “The Red and the Black” (1954), “Therese Raquin” (1953). Back in the late 1950s, A. Rene’s innovative film “Hiroshima, my love” (1959) played a very important role in the development of French cinema. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, brilliant actors gained fame: Gerard Philip, Bourville, Jean Marais, Marie Cazares, Louis de Funes, Serge Reggiani and others.

At the peak of the “new wave” of French cinema, more than 150 new directors appeared in a short period of time, among whom the leading places were taken by Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Claude Lelouch, Claude Chabrol, Louis Malle. Then came the still famous musical films directed by Jacques Demy - “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964) and “The Girls from Rochefort” (1967). As a result, France has become one of the centers of world cinema, attracting the best filmmakers from all over the world. Directors such as Bertolucci, Angelopoulos or Ioseliani made films wholly or partly produced in France, and many foreign actors starred in French films.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a whole galaxy of actors appeared in French cinema, among whom the most famous were Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Gerard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon, Annie Girardot. French comedians Pierre Richard and Coluche became popular.

Modern French cinema is a rather sophisticated film in which the psychology and drama of the plot are combined with some piquancy and artistic beauty of filming. The style is determined by fashion directors Luc Besson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Francois Ozon, Philippe Garrel. Popular actors are Jean Reno, Audrey Tautou, Sophie Marceau, Christian Clavier, Matthew Kassovitz, Louis Garrel. The French government actively promotes the development and export of national cinema.

Since 1946, International Film Festivals have been held in Cannes. In 1976, the annual national film award “Cesar” was established.

Freemasonry

In continental Europe, Freemasonry is most numerous in France, both in the number of members of Masonic lodges and in the number of Grand Lodges in one country. It is represented by all directions of all obediences existing in the world. The number of Freemasons in France is more than 200,000 people. Traditionally, the most represented in France are the liberal lodges, such as the Grand Orient of France, the Order of the Right of Man, the Grand Female Lodge of France, the Grand Mixed Lodge of France, the Grand Female Lodge of the Rite of Memphis-Misraim, the Grand Symbolic Lodge of France of the Rite of Memphis-Misraim. The direction of regular Freemasonry in France is represented by the following Grand Lodges: Grand Lodge of France, Grand National Lodge of France, Grand Traditional Symbolic Lodge of the Opera. Many prominent figures in France were Freemasons, leaving their mark on the history of the country and influencing its development. Members of the Masonic lodges were: Voltaire, Hugo, Jaurès, Blanqui, Rouget de Lisle, Briand, Andre Citroen and many, many more...

Mariana. One of the emblems of French Freemasonry. (1879)

Education and science

Education in France is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age. The basic principles of French education: freedom of teaching (public and private institutions), free education, neutrality of education, laïcité of education.

Higher education

Higher education is only available with a bachelor's degree. The higher education system in France is distinguished by a wide variety of universities and disciplines offered. Most higher education institutions are public and report to the French Ministry of Education. Historically, two types of higher education institutions have developed in France:
universities
"Great Schools"

Universities train teachers, doctors, lawyers, and scientists.

"Higher Schools"

They train highly professional specialists in the fields of engineering, management, economics, military affairs, education and culture. You can enter higher school after two or three years of study in preparatory classes in your chosen field. Students who have completed the first two years of higher education at the university with honors can also enter “higher schools” without competition, but the number of places for them is quite limited (no more than 10%). After preparatory classes, students undergo one or more competitions for admission to “higher schools.” Usually one competition brings together several schools.

For “higher schools” teaching engineering sciences, there are six competitions for admission:
Ecole Polytechnique;
ENS;
Mines-Ponts;
Centrale-Supelec;
CCP;
e3a.

“Higher schools” are actually opposed to the state system of higher university education in France and are very difficult to comparatively classify at the international level. Studying at the “Superior Schools” is considered much more prestigious in France than at universities (which bear some of the imprint of a second-class system, since they do not involve any selection for admission and function on the principle of free enrollment and free education). Unlike universities, higher schools must pass difficult entrance exams with great competition for applicants. It is much more difficult to enter “Higher Schools,” but the professional prospects upon completion are incomparably better: graduates are not only guaranteed full employment, but most often the most prestigious and lucrative jobs in the public and private sectors.

Students of some Schools, such as ENAC (National School of Civil Aviation), receive scholarships as future civil servants. Created on the initiative of government authorities and private entrepreneurs to train specialists in specific areas of economic activity or employees of government bodies. Thus, higher pedagogical schools train teachers, the Polytechnic School and the Saint-Cyr School train military specialists, and the National Historical and Archival School trains archivists and custodians of national property. Five Catholic institutes are also classified as higher schools. The Higher Schools program usually has two cycles. The first two-year preparatory cycle can be completed both on the basis of the Big School itself and on the basis of some elite lyceums. At the end of the second cycle, the student receives a Big School diploma. Upon completion of their studies, graduates are required to work in the public service for 6-10 years, thus reimbursing the state expenses spent on their education. In addition, there are many special schools under departmental subordination.

A special place among all educational and training institutions, and even among Les Grandes Ecoles, is occupied by the National School of Administration under the Prime Minister of France - ENA. ENA ranks first not so much in terms of the level of education (it is clearly surpassed in international recognition by the Polytechnic School), but in terms of the prospects for career growth and life success it offers. Students and graduates of the school are called “enarques” (French énarque). The vast majority of French ENA graduates (about six thousand since 1945) have become leading government politicians, heads of French institutions, parliamentarians, senior officials, diplomats and members of international organizations, judges of the highest courts, lawyers of the Council of State, administrative and financial controllers of the highest rank, managers and top management of the largest state and international firms and banks, media and communications. The ENA gave France two presidents, seven prime ministers, a large number of ministers, prefects, senators and deputies of the National Assembly. The Soviet equivalents of the ENA could be considered the Academy of Social Sciences under the CPSU Central Committee, the Diplomatic Academy of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Academy of National Economy under the Council of Ministers of the USSR combined. The modern Russian equivalent of ENA is the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation and the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry combined.

The science

In France, there is a large center for scientific research - CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique - national center for scientific research).
In the field of nuclear energy, the scientific center CEA (Comissariat à l'énergie atomique) stands out.
In the field of space exploration and space instrument design, CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales) is the largest scientific center in France. CNES engineers also developed several projects together with Soviet engineers.

France is actively involved in European scientific projects, for example, in the Galileo satellite navigation system project or in the Envisat project, a satellite that studies the Earth's climate.

mass media

Television and radio broadcasting

In 1995, 95% of French households had a television in their home.

Several public (France-2, France-3, France-5, Arté - the latter jointly with Germany) and private (TF1, Canal+ (pay channel), M6) television companies operate in the UHF range.

With the advent of digital terrestrial television in 2005, the range of available free channels has expanded. Since 2009, a gradual abandonment of analogue television has begun, the complete shutdown of which in France is planned for 2013.

Many thematic state radio stations broadcast on FM: France Inter, France Info (news), France Bleu (local news), France Culture (culture), France Musique (classical music, jazz), FIP (music), Le Mouv" ( youth rock radio station) and others.

France has a radio station, Radio France internationale (RFI), with an audience of 44 million people and broadcasting in 13 languages.

In 2009, it is planned to determine the conditions for the transition of radio stations to digital broadcasting with the goal of completely abandoning analogue technologies by 2011. Songs on French radio should occupy at least 40% of the time.

Magazines and newspapers

Popular magazines include Paris Match (illustrated weekly news magazine), Femme actuelle, Elle and Marie-France (magazines for women), L'Express, Le Point and Le Nouvel Observateur ( newsweeklies), “Télé7 jours” (television programs and news).

Among daily newspapers of national importance, the largest circulations are Le Figaro, Le Parisien, Le Monde, France Soir and La Libération. The most popular specialized magazines are L’Equipe (sports) and Les Echos (business news).

Since the early 2000s, free daily press, financed by advertising, has become widespread: 20 minutes (the leader in the French press in terms of readership), Direct Matin, the international newspaper Metro, as well as many local publications.

There are also many regional daily newspapers, the most famous of which is Ouest-France, which has a circulation of 797 thousand copies, almost twice the circulation of any national daily newspaper.

Sport

Olympic Games

French athletes have been participating in the Olympic Games since 1896. In addition, the Summer Olympic Games were held twice in Paris - in 1900 and 1924, the Winter Olympic Games were held three times in three different cities - Chamonix (1920), Grenoble (1968) and Albertville (1992).

Football

The French national football team won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 1984 and 2000.

Cycling race Tour de France

Since 1903, France has hosted the most prestigious cycling race in the world, the Tour de France. The race, starting in June, consists of 21 stages, each lasting one day.

Holidays

The main holidays are Christmas (December 25), New Year, Easter, Bastille Day (July 14).

Briefly about France

The history of France began in western Europe. Briefly speaking about its formation, it is worth adding that long before the appearance of the Frankish tribes, various tribes lived in these territories. The first records of people living here appeared at the time when the ancient Greeks founded the city of Massalia on the site of modern Marseille. Before here lived by the Celts. The Celtic tribes who lived on the territory of modern France were called Gauls in the Roman Empire. In 220 BC. era, the Romans conquered these lands, and the Celtic tribes were assimilated.
On the eve of the collapse of the Roman Empire, tribes of Franks, Saxons, Burgundians and Germans came to this land. Together they repelled the invasion of the Huns, and then the Frankish state was born here, formed in 481. Until the year 8, it grew, and under the rule of Charlemagne it completely occupied the entire territory of modern Italy and Germany. However, after the death of the king, the kingdom fell apart.
By the end of the 11th century, Viking-ruled Normandy was effectively part of France, but with the Norman Conquest, the territory of Britain and Normandy broke away from the French crown. In subsequent years, several dynasties of kings changed in France, and conflicts constantly arose between Great Britain and France, one of the most prolonged was the Hundred Years' War.
In 1792, the royal power was overthrown and France became a republic. However, soon after this, France became an aggressor country for some time; the military campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte, who seized power, shook all of Europe.
However, this did not last long; the monarchy was finally destroyed in 1870. France was also actively involved in colonization, but after the First and Second World Wars, all colonies went out of control, and France itself was captured by the Germans in 1940.
If we talk briefly about France today, this country is one of the founders of the European Union. Its territory occupies 674.685 thousand square meters. km, and the population is 66 million people. Throughout the history of France, the capital remained the city of Paris, and only sometimes, at moments of transition, power in the country was concentrated in other cities. Almost every child associates France with the Eiffel Tower, but a huge number of castles have been built in the country over the centuries, and the most ancient cities seem to bear the imprint of history.

From the Caroline Empire, the “Kingdom of France” stands out in the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages bring decentralization to the country. The power of the princes reached its apogee in the 11th century. In 987, Hugo Capet founded the Capetian dynasty. Capetian rule opens the gates to religious wars. The king's vassals seize territories beyond the French border. The most significant was the Norman conquest of England by William I the Conqueror. The Battle of Hastings was immortalized in the Bayeux Tapestry.

Philip II Augustus (1180-1223) does a lot for his country. Thanks to Philip II, the University of Paris was founded, and the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral continued. He begins construction of the Louvre. During Philip's time it was a castle-fortress.

At the end of the 12th century, the French economy slowly began to rise, industry developed, and power was centralized, which allowed the country to defeat England and complete the unification of its lands. In the 12th and 13th centuries, a number of architectural structures were built that became national monuments of France. One of them is Reims Cathedral - a striking example of Gothic architecture. In 1239, Saint Louis brought the Crown of Thorns from Venice. To store this relic, the Saint-Chapelle chapel is being built.

With the death of the last descendant of the Capetians, a conflict ensued between the houses of Valois and Plantagenet for succession to the throne.

The Valois family on the throne of the French Empire (1328-1589)

During this period, the country's military activities took center stage. The Hundred Years' War begins. After the death of Charles IV, King Edward III of England decides to seize the French throne by force. France is a loser: the battle of Poitiers deprives the country of the color of knighthood, King John the Good is captured.

France has reached a dead end: no army, no king, no money. The entire burden of the current situation falls on the shoulders of ordinary French people. The people have risen: Paris and the Jacquerie are rebelling. The outrage was suppressed. The British decide to take Orleans to open the route to the south of France.

The Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc, leads the French army and defeats the English near Orleans in 1429. She convinced the Dauphin to undergo the coronation ceremony in the cathedral in the Rhine under the name of Charles VII. After 2 years in Rouen, Jeanne dies in agony at the stake. The French people dedicated There is more than one architectural structure for this courageous girl. For example, a statue of Joan is also located in the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, which is located on the hill of Montmartre.

Only in 1453 did the confrontation between the dynasties end with the victory of the Valois, which strengthened the French monarchy. The struggle between the two powers for territory and the throne lasted for a long and painful 116 years. France becomes a colonial empire, powerful and strong. In the second half of the 18th century, the country would lose its position on all counts.

From Louis to Louis

In the meantime, in the 15th - 17th centuries, kings succeeded each other, ruling the country according to their capabilities and abilities. Under Louis XI (1461-1483), the country expanded its territory, science and art flourished, medicine developed, and postal service began to function again. It is he who makes the famous and formidable dungeon out of the fortress - the Bastille.

He is replaced by Louis XII (1498-1515), then the reins of government of the country are held by Francis I (1515-1547). Under him, a beautiful palace in the Renaissance style was built in the vicinity of Fontainebleau. Soon the palace was surrounded by buildings, and a whole city was formed. The palace is decorated with three gardens: the Grand Parterre, the English Garden and Diana's Garden.

The next ruler of the country was Henry II (1547-1559), who became famous for increasing taxes. His life was cut short at the Place des Vosges during a tournament in 1559.

Under his son, Francis II, the Huguenots protested against taxation. The reign of Charles IX (1560-1574) plunges the country into religious wars. In fact, power was in the hands of Catherine de Medici (it was she who became one of the mistresses of the “Ladies' Castle” - Chenonceau Castle on the Cher River), under whom Catholics and Protestants were already openly expressing their irreconcilability towards each other.

Ten wars have passed in three decades. The most terrible page in them was the Night of Bartholomew from August 23 to 24, 1572, the mass extermination of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Day. One of the best historical television series is “Queen Margot,” which shows these events colorfully and authentically.

The territory of France has been inhabited by people since ancient times. The first known people to settle on it were the Celts (from the 6th-5th centuries BC). Their Roman name - Gauls - gave the name to the country (the ancient name of France is Gaul). All R. 1st century BC. Gaul, conquered by Rome, became its province. For 500 years, the development of Gaul went under the sign of Roman culture - general, political, legal, economic. In the 2nd-4th centuries. AD Christianity spread in Gaul.

In con. 5th century Gaul, conquered by the Germanic Frankish tribes, became known as the Frankish Kingdom. The leader of the Franks was a talented military leader, an intelligent and prudent politician, Clovis from the Merovingian dynasty. He largely preserved Roman laws and established social relations, and was the first of the German leaders in the former Roman Empire to form an alliance with the Roman Catholic Church. The mixing of the Franks with the Gallo-Roman population and the merging of their cultures created a kind of synthesis - the basis for the formation of the future French nation.

Since the death of Clovis in the beginning. 6th century The Frankish kingdom was subject to continuous divisions and reunifications, and was the scene of countless wars of various branches of the Merovingians. K ser. 8th century they have lost power. Charlemagne, who gave the name to the new Carolingian dynasty, founded a huge empire consisting of almost all of modern France, part of Germany and, as tributaries, Northern and Central Italy and the Western Slavs. After his death and the division of the empire (843), the West Frankish kingdom emerged as an independent state. This year is considered the starting point of French history.

K con. 10th century the Carolingian dynasty was interrupted; Hugo Capet was elected king of the Franks. The Capetians (their various branches) that originated from him reigned until the Great French Revolution (1789). In the 10th century their kingdom became known as France.

France of the era of the first Capetians, formally united, was actually divided into a number of independent feudal estates. The kings' desire for centralization ensured the gradual overcoming of feudal fragmentation and the formation of a single nation. The hereditary possession of the kings (domain) expanded through dynastic marriages and conquests. Endless wars and the needs of the growing state apparatus required more and more financial resources. K con. 13th century taxation of the clergy caused a sharp protest from Pope Boniface. Trying to enlist the support of the population in the fight against the pope, King Philip IV the Fair (1285-1303) convened the Estates General in 1302 - representation of all 3 estates. So France became a class monarchy.

To the beginning 14th century France was the most powerful state in Western Europe. But its further development was slowed down due to the Hundred Years' War with England (1337-1453), which took place entirely on French territory. By 1415 the British had captured almost everything and threatened its existence as a sovereign state. However, under the leadership of Joan of Arc, French troops achieved a turning point in military operations, which ultimately led to the victory of the French and the expulsion of the British.

K con. 15th century the completion of centralization determined the autonomy of the royal financial apparatus from class representation and the actual cessation of the activities of the Estates General. The transformation of class into absolute began.

In con. 15 - mid. 16th century France, trying to achieve hegemony in Europe and annex the North, fought the Italian Wars (1494-1559) with the Holy Roman Empire. Without bringing any political results, they completely depleted France's financial resources, which led to a sharp deterioration in the country's economic situation. The growth of social protest was closely intertwined with the spread of reform ideas. The split of the population into Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) resulted in the long Wars of Religion (1562-91), which culminated in the massacre of Huguenots in Paris (St. Bartholomew's Night, 1572). In 1591, a representative of the younger branch of the Capetians, Henry Bourbon, a Huguenot leader who converted to Catholicism, was proclaimed king of France under the name of Henry IV. The Edict of Nantes (1598), which he issued, equalized the rights of Catholics and Huguenots, putting an end to confrontation on religious grounds.

17th century was a time of strengthening of French absolutism. In the 1st third of it, Cardinal Richelieu, who actually ruled the country under Louis XIII, basically eradicated the noble opposition; its last manifestation was the Fronde - a mass movement led by the princes of the blood (1648-53), after the defeat of which the great nobility lost political significance. Absolutism reached its peak during the independent reign of Louis XIV (1661-1715). Under him, the nobility was not allowed to govern the country; it was carried out by the “Sun King” himself, who relied on secretaries of state and the Comptroller General of Finance (this post was held for 20 years by J.B. Colbert, an outstanding financier and mercantilist who did a lot for the development of French industry and trade).

In the 17th century France waged wars in Europe aimed either at eliminating the dominance of other states (the Thirty Years' War) or at ensuring its own hegemony (with Spain in 1659, the Dutch Wars in 1672-78 and 1688-97). All territorial gains gained during the Dutch Wars were lost as a result of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14).

From the 2nd half. 18th century Absolutism, which had become obsolete, was experiencing an acute spiritual and economic crisis. In the spiritual sphere, its expression was the appearance of a galaxy of philosophers and writers who rethought the acute problems of social life (the Age of Enlightenment). In the economy, persistent budget deficits, prolonged increases in taxes and prices, coupled with prolonged crop failures, caused mass impoverishment and starvation.

In 1789, in an atmosphere of sharp aggravation of the socio-economic situation, the Estates General was convened under the Third Estate (merchants and artisans) after a many-year break. Deputies from the Third Estate declared themselves a National Assembly (June 17, 1789), and then a Constituent Assembly, which adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. The rebellious people took and destroyed the symbol of the “old regime”, the royal prison Bastille (July 14, 1789). In August 1792, the monarchy was overthrown (King Louis XVI was executed); in September, the Republic was proclaimed. The uprising of the extreme left of its supporters led to the establishment of the bloody Jacobin dictatorship (June 1793 - July 1794). After the coup of July 27-28, 1794, power passed to the more moderate Thermidorians, and in 1795 to the Directory. A new coup, which led to the fall of the Directory (November 1799), turned France into a Consulate: the government was concentrated in the hands of 3 consuls; Napoleon Bonaparte assumed the functions of First Consul. In 1804 Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor, France turned into an empire.

During the period of the Consulate and the Empire, continuous Napoleonic wars were fought. Constant conscription into the army, rising taxes, and the unsuccessful Continental Blockade depleted France's strength; The defeat of Napoleonic troops (Great Army) in Russia and Europe (1813-14) accelerated the collapse of the empire. In 1814 Napoleon abdicated the throne; The Bourbons returned to power. France became a (constitutional) monarchy again. Napoleon's attempt to regain his throne (1815) was unsuccessful. According to the decisions of the Congress of Vienna (1815), France was returned to the borders of 1790. But the main achievements of the revolution - the abolition of class privileges and feudal duties, the transfer of land to peasants, legal reforms (Civil and other Napoleonic codes) - were not canceled.

In the 1st half. 19th century France was rocked by revolutions. The July Revolution (1830) was caused by attempts by Bourbon supporters (royalists) to restore the “old regime” in its entirety. It cost the power of the main branch of the Bourbons, who were finally overthrown by the revolution of 1848. Napoleon's nephew, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, became the president of the newly proclaimed Second Republic. After the coup d'état of 1851 and the subsequent year of military dictatorship, Louis Napoleon was crowned emperor under the name Napoleon III. France became an empire again.

The Second Empire (1852-70) was a period of rapid development of capitalism (mainly financial speculative), the growth of the labor movement and wars of conquest (Austro-Italian-French, Anglo-French-Chinese, Mexican War). Defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and disadvantage (1871) were accompanied by a failed attempt to overthrow the government (Paris Commune).

In 1875 the Constitution of the Third Republic was adopted. In the last quarter of the 19th century. power in France has stabilized. This was the era of widespread external expansion in and southeast Asia and the formation of the French colonial empire. The question of the optimal form of government, not fully resolved by the nation, resulted in a fierce struggle between clerical monarchists and anti-clerical republicans. The Dreyfus Affair, which sharply aggravated this conflict, brought France to the brink of civil war.

In the 20th century France entered as a colonial empire, at the same time having an agrarian-industrial economy that lagged behind the leading industrial powers in industrial development. The rapid growth of the labor movement was expressed in the formation in 1905 of the Socialist Party (SFIO, the French section of the Socialist International). That same year, anti-clericals won a long-term dispute: a law on the separation of church and state was passed. In foreign policy, rapprochement with Russia marked the beginning of the Entente (1907).

On August 3, 1914, France entered World War I, which it ended 4 years later, in November 1918, as a victorious power (along with Great Britain and). The 1918 treaty returned Alsace and Lorraine to France (which had gone to Prussia in the Frankfurt Peace). She also received part of the German colonies in Africa and large reparations.

In 1925, France signed the Locarno Treaties, which guaranteed Germany's western borders. At the same time, colonial wars were fought: in (1925-26) and in Syria (1925-27).

The war, having significantly boosted the development of the previously lagging French industry, ensured the acceleration of economic development. Positive structural changes in the economy - the transformation of France into an industrial-agrarian power - were accompanied by the growth of the labor movement. In 1920 the French Communist Party (PCF) was founded. The Great Depression began in France later than in other countries and was less acute, but longer lasting. About 1/2 of wage earners were underemployed, and almost 400 thousand were unemployed. Under these conditions, the labor movement intensified. Under the leadership of the PCF, the Popular Front association was created, which won the parliamentary elections of 1936 by a large margin. On June 7, 1936, trade unions and employers signed the Matignon Agreements, which provided for a wage increase of 12%, 2-week paid holidays, the conclusion of collective agreements, the introduction of 40 -hour work week. The Popular Front was in power until February 1937.

In 1938, French Prime Minister Daladier, together with N. Chamberlain, signed agreements aimed at postponing the war in Europe. But on September 3, 1939, France, fulfilling its allied obligations towards Germany, declared war on Germany. The “strange war” (an inactive stay in the trenches on the fortified Franco-German border - the Maginot Line) lasted several months. In May 1940, German troops bypassed the Maginot Line from the north and entered Paris on June 14, 1940. On June 16, 1940, Prime Minister P. Reynaud transferred power to Marshal A. Petain. According to the truce concluded by Petain, it occupied about 2/3 of French territory. Having moved to the city of Vichy, located in the unoccupied zone, the government pursued a policy of cooperation with the fascist powers. On November 11, 1942, German and Italian troops occupied the non-occupied part of France.

From the beginning of the occupation, the Resistance movement operated in France, the largest organization of which was the National Front created by the PCF. General Charles de Gaulle, who served as Deputy Minister of Defense before the war, spoke on the radio from London on June 18, 1940, calling on all French people to resist the Nazis. De Gaulle, through great efforts, managed to create the Free France movement in London (from July 1942 - Fighting France) and ensure the accession of military units and the administration of a number of French colonies in Africa to it. On June 3, 1943, while in Algeria, de Gaulle formed the French Committee for National Liberation (FCNL). On June 2, 1944, the FKNO, recognized by the USSR, Great Britain and the USA, was transformed into the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

With the landing of Allied troops in Normandy (June 6, 1944), Resistance units went on the offensive throughout the country. During the Paris Uprising (August 1944), the capital was liberated and, in September, all of France.

After liberation, the extremely difficult economic situation, combined with the high prestige of the communists and socialists, who did a lot for victory, guaranteed them massive voter support. The left was in power from 1945-47. In 1946, the Constitution of the IV Republic was adopted, which provided for the responsibility of the government to parliament (parliamentary republic). The Constitution proclaimed, along with civil liberties, socio-economic rights: to work, rest, health care, etc. Widespread nationalization was carried out. In May 1947, when the communists left the government and were replaced by representatives of the Rally of the French People party created by de Gaulle, the government course moved to the right. In 1948, an agreement on Franco-American cooperation (Marshall Plan) was signed.

In 1946-54, France fought a colonial war in Indochina, which ended with the recognition of the independence of the former colonies. From the beginning 1950s The national liberation movement intensified. Morocco was granted independence (1956). Since 1954, fighting has been going on in Algeria, where France could not achieve success. The war in Algeria again split the country, parties and parliament, causing continuous governmental leapfrog. The attempt of the government of F. Gaillard to grant independence caused a revolt of the Algerian French - supporters of its preservation as part of France, supported by the command of the French troops in Algeria. They demanded the creation of a government of national salvation headed by de Gaulle. On June 1, 1958, the National Assembly granted de Gaulle the appropriate powers. By September 1958, his team had prepared a draft of a new Constitution, which provided for a radical change in the balance of power between the branches of government in favor of the executive branch. The project was put to a referendum on September 28, 1958; it was approved by 79.25% of the French who took part in the vote. Thus began a new period in the history of France - the V Republic. Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), one of the outstanding political figures of the 20th century, was elected president of the country. The party he created, the RPR, which in 1958 was transformed into the Union for a New Republic (UNR), became the ruling party.

In 1959, France announced recognition of the right of the Algerian people to self-determination. In 1962, the Evian Agreements on the cessation of hostilities were signed. This meant the final collapse of the French colonial empire, from which all the colonies in Africa had left even earlier (in 1960).

Under de Gaulle's leadership, France pursued an independent foreign policy. She left the NATO military organization (1966), condemned the US intervention in Indochina (1966), and took a pro-Arab position during the Arab-Israeli conflict (1967). After de Gaulle's visit to the USSR (1966), a Franco-Soviet political rapprochement emerged.

In the economic sphere, the course was taken on the so-called. dirigisme is large-scale government intervention in reproduction. The state often tried to replace business and viewed it as a junior partner in economic activities. This policy, which ensured industrialization from the end. 1950s, towards the end. The 1960s turned out to be ineffective - France began to lag behind both in economic development and social transformations. In May 1968, the country was rocked by an acute socio-political crisis: violent student unrest and a general strike. The President dissolved the National Assembly and called early elections. They showed the strengthening of the position of the UNR (since 1968 - the Union of Democrats for the Republic, YDR), which won St. 70% of mandates. But de Gaulle's personal authority was shaken. In an effort to strengthen it, the president decided to hold a referendum on administrative-territorial reform and Senate reform (April 1969). However, the majority of French people (53.17%) opposed the proposed reforms. On April 28, 1969, de Gaulle resigned.

In 1969, JDR candidate J. Pompidou was elected president of France, and in 1974, after his death, the leader of the center-right party National Federation of Independent Republicans V. Giscard d'Estaing was elected. During their reign, the government was headed by the Gaullists (including J. Chirac in 1974-76). From the end 1960s a gradual shift away from dirigisme began, a number of social reforms were carried out aimed at satisfying the demands put forward during the crisis of 1968. In the field of foreign policy, France continued to pursue an independent line, which, however, was distinguished by less rigidity and greater realism. Relations with the United States normalized. With the lifting of the veto on Britain's accession to the EU (1971), France's efforts to expand European integration intensified. Soviet-French relations continued to develop; France maintained its focus on détente and strengthening security in Europe.

The first “oil shock” of 1973-74 reversed the trend of accelerated economic development in France; the second (1981) - the “trend of power”: it passed from the right, in whose hands it had been since 1958, to the socialists. In the modern history of France, a modern period has arrived - a period of “coexistence”, political and economic instability, strengthening the position of business, and gradual modernization of society.