Portal:France

Summary

Portal topics
Activities
Culture
Geography
Health
History
Mathematics
Nature
People
Philosophy
Religion
Society
Technology
Random portal
Main Page   Gazetteer  

Welcome to the France Portal!
Bienvenue sur le Portail France !

Flag France
Map of France in the world and position of its largest single land territory in continental Europe

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the north east, Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the south east, Andorra and Spain to the south, and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the north west. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and have a total population of 68.4 million . France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Nantes and Nice.

Metropolitan France was settled during the Iron Age by Celtic tribes known as Gauls before Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture. In the Early Middle Ages, the Germanic Franks formed the Kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France. In the High Middle Ages, France was a powerful but decentralized feudal kingdom, but from the mid-14th to the mid-15th centuries, France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with England known as the Hundred Years' War. In the 16th century, the French Renaissance saw culture flourish and a French colonial empire rise. Internally, France was dominated by the conflict with the House of Habsburg and the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots. France was successful in the Thirty Years' War and further increased its influence during the reign of Louis XIV.

The French Revolution of 1789 overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte, subjugating part of continental Europe and establishing the First French Empire. The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars significantly shaped the course of European history. The collapse of the empire initiated a period of relative decline, in which France endured a tumultuous succession of governments until the founding of the French Third Republic during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Subsequent decades saw a period of economic prosperity and cultural and scientific flourishing known as the Belle Époque. France was one of the major participants of World War I, from which it emerged victorious at great human and economic cost. It was among the Allied powers of World War II, but it surrendered and was occupied by the Axis in 1940. Following its liberation in 1944, the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the defeat in the Algerian War. The current Fifth Republic was formed in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle. Algeria and most French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with the majority retaining close economic and military ties with France.

France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art, science, and philosophy. It hosts the third-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the world's leading tourist destination, receiving over 89 million foreign visitors in 2018. France is a developed country with a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world. It is a great power in global affairs, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state. France is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as a key member of the Group of Seven, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Francophonie. (Full article...)

Read more about France, its history and people
Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Featured article – show another

This is a Featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia..

The Battle of Vimy Ridge by Richard Jack

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle occurred from 9 to 12 April 1917, marking the commencement of the Battle of Arras and serving as the inaugural assault of the Nivelle Offensive. The objective was to draw German reserves away from the French forces, preparing for a crucial offensive along the Aisne and the Chemin des Dames ridge several days later.

The Canadian Corps were to capture the German-held high ground of Vimy Ridge, an escarpment on the northern flank of the Arras front. This would protect the First Army and the Third Army farther south from German enfilade fire. Supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured most of the ridge during the first day. The village of Thélus fell during the second day, as did the crest of the ridge, once the Canadian Corps overran a salient against considerable German resistance. The final objective, a fortified knoll outside the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, fell to the Canadians on 12 April. The German 6th Army then retreated to the OppyMéricourt line. (Full article...)

Featured biography – show another

Prost in 2012
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio (five championships), and Michael Schumacher (seven championships). From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix victories. Schumacher surpassed Prost's total of 51 victories at the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix. In 1999, Prost received the World Sports Awards of the Century in the motor sport category.

Prost discovered karting at the age of 14 during a family holiday. He progressed through motor sport's junior ranks before joining the McLaren Formula One team in 1980 at the age of 25. He finished in the points on his Formula One début in Argentina and took his first race victory at his home Grand Prix in France a year later, while he was driving for the factory Renault team.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Prost formed a fierce rivalry with mainly Ayrton Senna, but also Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. In 1986, at the last race of the season, he managed to pip Mansell and Piquet of Williams to the title. Senna joined Prost at McLaren in 1988 and the two had a series of controversial clashes, including a collision at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix that gave Prost his third Drivers' Championship. Before the end of a winless 1991 season Prost was fired by Ferrari for his public criticism of the team. After a sabbatical in 1992, Prost joined the Williams team. With a competitive car, Prost won the 1993 championship and retired from driving at the end of the year.

More selected biographies

Selected fare or cuisine – show another

Pastries on display at a bakery (boulangerie) in Lille, France

A pâtisserie (French: [pɑtisʁi]), patisserie in English or pastry shop in American English, is a type of bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets. In French, the word pâtisserie also denotes a pastry as well as pastry-making.

While the making and selling of pastries may often be only one part of the activity of a bakery, in some countries pâtisserie or its equivalents are legally controlled titles which may only be used by bakeries that employ a licensed "master pastry chef" (French: maître pâtissier; Dutch: meester banketbakker; German: Konditormeister). For example, in France and Belgium, the maître pâtissier is a pastry chef who has completed a lengthy training process, typically an apprenticeship, and passed a written examination. (Full article...)

Good article – show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

La Pausa is a large detached villa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, in the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. It was designed and built by the French fashion designer Coco Chanel in the early 1930s, and owned by Chanel until 1953. La Pausa was sold by Chanel to the Hungarian publisher Emery Reves. The former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spent roughly a third of each year at La Pausa from 1956 to 1958 with Reves and his wife, Wendy, and wrote and edited part of his History of the English Speaking Peoples there. La Pausa was occupied by Wendy Reves until 2007. The principal rooms of La Pausa and its significant art collection were recreated at the Dallas Museum of Art during her lifetime and under her direction. The Reves wing was opened in 1985.

Situated above the village of Roquebrune, the house enjoys views toward Menton and the French border with Italy on one side, and Monaco on the other. Its name refers to the legend that Mary Magdalene "paused" near here on her journey from Jerusalem following the crucifixion of Jesus. (Full article...)
List of Good articles

Featured pictures

In the news

Read and edit Wikinews
Read and edit Wikinews
17 April 2024 – War in Sudan
Taqaddum leader and former Prime Minister of Sudan Abdalla Hamdok meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France. (Dabanga Sudan)
12 April 2024 – Iran–Israel proxy conflict
France advises its citizens against traveling to Iran, Lebanon, Israel Palestine due to the risk of military escalation. (CNN)
31 March 2024 – 2024 France floods
The town of Montmorillon in Nouvelle-Aquitaine is hit by severe flooding following heavy rains. (Sky News)
France category at Wikinews

Did you know – show different entries

Cover of Der yidisher arbeyter.

More Did you know

Topics

Major articles. Linked categories are listed in bold typeface.

Geographic topics

Major articles. Linked categories are listed in bold typeface.

Categories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories
France
France-related lists
Buildings and structures in France
Culture of France
Economy of France
Education in France
Environment of France
ESIEE Paris alumni
Geography of France
Government of France
Health in France
History of France
Organizations based in France
French people
Politics of France
Society of France
Images of France
France stubs

Related portals

Things you can do

Wikipedia:France-related tasks
view • edit • discuss • history • watch

French Wikipedia

There is a French version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wikiproject

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

  • Commons
    Free media repository
  • Wikibooks
    Free textbooks and manuals
  • Wikidata
    Free knowledge base
  • Wikinews
    Free-content news
  • Wikiquote
    Collection of quotations
  • Wikisource
    Free-content library
  • Wikiversity
    Free learning tools
  • Wikivoyage
    Free travel guide
  • Wiktionary
    Dictionary and thesaurus

More portals

Discover Wikipedia using portals
  • icon
    List of all portals
  • icon
    The arts portal
  • icon
    Biography portal
  • icon
    Current events portal
  • globe
    Geography portal
  • icon
    History portal
  • square root of x
    Mathematics portal
  • icon
    Science portal
  • icon
    Society portal
  • icon
    Technology portal
  • icon
    Random portal
  • icon
    WikiProject Portals

Parent portals: Europe | European Union

Purge cache