French Flying Aces Dieudonne Costes President Original Photo Vintage 1928

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176299960774 FRENCH FLYING ACES DIEUDONNE COSTES PRESIDENT ORIGINAL PHOTO VINTAGE 1928. AN ORIGINAL 8X10 INCH PHOTO FROM 1928 OF FRENCH FLYING ACES RETURN TO PARIS. AFTER TRAVELING COMPLETELY AROUND THE WORLD, ALL OF WHICH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A BOAT RIDE FROM AMERICA TO JAPAN, WAS COVERED IN AN OPEN TWO-SETARE BIPLANE DIEUDONNE COSTES (LEFT) AND JOSEPH LEBRIX (RIGHT) WERE GREETED BY PRESIDENT DOUMERGUE AT THE PRESIDENTIAL HOME AT RAMBONILLET
Dieudonné Costes (14 November 1892 – 18 May 1973) was a French aviator who set flight distance records. He was also a fighter ace during World War I. Contents 1 Life 2 Long-distance flights 3 Awards 4 References Life Costes was born in Septfonds, Tarn-et-Garonne. He received a pilot diploma (brevet) on 26 September 1912. During World War I, he served in the French Air Service, in MF55 and MF85 Farman squadrons, then in N506, N507 and N531 fighter Nieuport squadrons, on the Balkan front. He scored 9 victories (6 confirmed) there, the first in April 1917, the rest in January–September 1918. He ended the war as a 2nd Lieutenant. After the war, he flew in civil aviation, starting with Latecoere in 1920, on the Toulouse-Casablanca mail route, then flying on the Bordeaux-Paris route in 1921 and on the Paris-London route in Air Union airlines in 1923. From 1925, he became a test pilot in Breguet works. He then started to perform long-distance and record breaking flights with Breguet 19 aircraft. Long-distance flights On 26 September 1926, he flew 4,100 km (2,546 miles) from Paris to Assuan, with René de Vitrolles, attempting to break a world distance record. He broke the world distance record on 28 October 1926, flying 5,396 km (3,351 miles) from Paris to Jask, Persia, with J. Rignot, as part of a 19,625-km (12,187-mile) Paris-India-Paris flight. Between 10 October 1927 and 14 April 1928, Costes and Joseph Le Brix flew 57,410 km (35,652 miles) around the world, in a Breguet 19GR named Nungesser-Coli, from Paris through Argentina, Brazil, the United States, Japan, India, and Greece, although they travelled across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco, California, to Tokyo, Japan, by ship.[1] During the trip, they made the first non-stop aerial crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean on 14–15 October 1927, flying between Saint-Louis, Senegal, and Natal, Brazil. While in South America, they routed themselves through every country in the continent.[2] On 15–17 December 1928, Costes, with Paul Codos, set a world distance record in a closed circuit of 8,029 km (4,986 miles). On 13 July 1929, Costes and Maurice Bellonte made an attempt at crossing the North Atlantic Ocean westbound, from Villacoublay near Paris to New York, New York, flying the Breguet 19 Super Bidon "?" ("Point d'Interrogation" or "Question Mark"). They returned after 17 hours, however, due to bad weather. On 27–29 September 1929, they set the world distance record, flying 7,905 km (4,909 miles) from Paris to Qiqihar, China. On 1–2 September 1930, Costes with Maurice Bellonte, flew the "Point d'Interrogation" from Paris to New York, as the first heavier-than-air aircraft to reach New York in the more difficult westbound direction between the North American and European mainlands. They covered either 5,850 km (3,633 miles) or 6,200 km (3,850 miles), according to different sources, in 37 hours 18 minutes. While flying over Portsmouth, New Hampshire, they lost their navigational map out of an open window of the plane. Two children saw the map falling from the sky while they were watching for the flight to cross over their farm. The children, Louise Stef and her brother John, returned the map to Costes, who had asked for its return through the media.[3] Photo of Louise Stef holding the map that fell from the Point d'Interrogation taken on September 30th, 1930 in Portsmouth, NH on her family's farm. During World War II, Costes was an instructor in a pilot's school in Versailles, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He died on 18 May 1973 in Paris and is buried in Passy Cemetery. Awards Costes received the Legion of Honour, the Croix de guerre with seven palms and a gold star, and the Médaille militaire, among other decorations. He also received the 1929 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Gold Medal and the 1929 Harmon Trophy. On 2 May 1928, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by special act of the Congress of the United States in recognition of his historic around the world flight.[4] 14–15 October 1927: Dieudonné Costes and Joseph Le Brix flew a Breguet XIX GR, serial number 1685, across the South Atlantic Ocean from Saint-Louis, Senegal, to Port Natal, Brazil. This was the first non-stop South Atlantic crossing by an airplane. The 2,100-mile (3,380 kilometer) flight took just over 18 hours. The two aviators were on an around-the-world flight that began 10 October 1927 at Paris, France, and would be completed 14 April 1928, after traveling 34,418 miles (57,000 kilometers). Costes had been a test pilot for Breguet since 1925. He served as a fighter pilot during World War I and was credited with six aerial victories. He had been appointed Commandeur Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur and awarded the Croix de Guerre with seven palms, and the Médaille militaire. Following the around-the-world flight, the Congress of the United States, by special act, awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1929, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale awarded him its Gold Air Medal, and the International League of Aviators awarded him the Harmon Trophy “for the most outstanding international achievement in the arts and/or science of aeronautics for the preceding year, with the art of flying receiving first consideration.” Joseph Le Brix (1899–1931) Joseph Le Brix Capitain de Corvette Joseph Le Brix was a French naval officer. He had trained as a navigator, aerial observer and pilot. For his service in the Second Moroccan War, he was appointed to the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur and awarded the Croix de Guerre. Like Costes, Le Brix was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the U.S. Congress. The Breguet XIX GR (“GR” stands for Grand Raid) had been named Nungesser-Coli in honor of the two pilots who disappeared while attempting a crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the White Bird, 8 May 1927. It was developed from the Type XIX light bomber and reconnaissance airplane, which entered production in 1924. A single-engine, two-place biplane with tandem controls, it was primarily constructed of aluminum tubing, covered with sheet aluminum and fabric. The biplane was a “sesquiplane,” meaning that the lower of the two wings was significantly smaller than the upper. Approximately 2,400 Breguet XIXs were built. Dieudonné Costes and Joseph Le Brix in their Breguet XIX, photographed in Panama, 1 january 1928, by Lt. C. Tuma, U.S. Army Air Corps. (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution) Dieudonné Costes and Joseph Le Brix in their Breguet XIX, photographed in Panama, 1 January 1928, by Lt. C. Tuma, U.S. Army Air Corps. (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution) No. 1685 was a special long-distance variant, with a 2,900–3,000 liter fuel capacity (766–792 gallons). It was further modified to add 1 meter to the standard 14.83 meter (48 feet, 7.9 inches) wingspan, and the maximum fuel load was increased to 3,500 liters (925 gallons). The original 590 horsepower Hispano-Suiza 12Hb engine was replaced with a more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Lb. This was a water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 31.403-liter (1,916.33-cubic-inch-displacement) overhead valve 60° V-12 engine, with 2 valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 6.2:1. The 12Lb produced 630 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m., burning 85 octane gasoline. The engine was 1.850 meters (6 feet, 0.8 inches) long, 0.750 meters (2 feet, 5.5 inches) wide and 1.020 meters (3 feet, 4.2 inches) high. It weighed 440 kilograms (970 pounds). The Breguet XIX had a speed of 214 kilometers per hour (133 miles per hour). Its service ceiling was 7,200 meters (23,620 feet). Joseph Le Brix (22 February 1899 - 12 September 1931) was a French aviator and a capitaine de corvette (lieutenant commander) in the French Navy. He is best known for an around-the-world flight he made as copilot and navigator in 1927-1928 which included history's first flight across the South Atlantic Ocean, and for record-setting nonstop long-distance flights he made or attempted between 1929 and 1931. Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Early career 1.3 Flight around the world 1.4 France-Saigon flight attempts 1.5 Closed-circuit records 1.6 Paris-Tokyo flight attempts and death 2 Commemoration 3 Notes 4 References Biography Early life Le Brix was born on 22 February 1899 in Baden, Morbihan, in the Brittany region of northwestern France.[1] Early career Le Brix enrolled in the French naval academy, the École Navale, in Brest on 2 April 1918 and completed his basic seamanship training aboard the academy's training ship, the French Navy armored cruiser Jeanne d'Arc. After graduating from the academy, he served aboard the armored cruiser Jules Michelet. He then began training as a naval aviator in 1924, and qualified as an aerial observer and navigator in September 1924. Promoted to lieutenant de vaisseau ("ship-of-the-line lieutenant"), he received his pilot's license in March 1925.[1] By August 1925, Le Brix was serving in French Naval Aviation's Escadrille (Squadron) 5.B.2 and taking part in the Rif War, flying missions over Spanish Morocco in a Farman F.60 Goliath. He flew geographic survey missions over the Sahara Desert in southern French Morocco until 1927, pioneering the use of maritime navigation techniques not yet in wide use aboard aircraft. For his service, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor.[1] Flight around the world By October 1927, Le Brix was a capitain de corvette ("corvette captain," the equivalent of a lieutenant commander). On 10 October, he and the French aviator Dieudonné Costes left Paris in the Breguet 19 G.R. Nungesser-Coli to attempt a trip around the world, with Costes as pilot and Le Brix as copilot and navigator. Their first leg was a flight to Saint Louis, Senegal, where they landed on 11 October. The second leg was the world's first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean, flying from Saint-Louis to Port Natal, Brazil, on 14–15 October. The two men then visited every country in South America before flying north across Panama and Mexico to the United States, reaching Washington, D.C., on 6 February 1928. By this time, their friendship had broken down, to the point that they almost had a fistfight during a reception hosted by the French ambassador in Washington.[1] Despite their growing dislike for one another, the two men pushed on, flying across the United States to San Francisco, California. There they boarded a ship to cross the Pacific Ocean by sea. Arriving in Tokyo, Japan, they resumed their flight, stopping in French Indochina, India, French Syria, and Greece before completing their trip with an arrival before an enthusiastic crowd at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in Paris on 14 April 1928. The trip had covered 57,410 kilometers (35,652 miles) by air in 338 flight hours over 187 days with 43 stops. Le Brix's relationship with Costes was ruined, however; upon arrival at Paris–Le Bourget, Le Brix supposedly said sharply, "Finally I am no longer the servant of Costes."[1][2] The round-the-world flight made Le Brix one of France's most famous aviators. Le Brix and Costes were both awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by a special act of the Congress of the United States on 2 May 1928 in recognition of their achievement.[3] After completing the around-the-world trip, Le Brix became an instructor at the flight school of the École Navale in Brest, training pilots for both French Naval Aviation and the French Army's air service, the Aéronautique Militaire.[1] France-Saigon flight attempts Now rivals, Le Brix and Costes planned to set out in early 1929 in separate attempts to become the first pilot to fly from Paris to Saigon in French Indochina in fewer than five stages. Le Brix secretly set out first, taking off in February in the Bernard 197GR from Istres, France, with his copilot Antoine Paillard and mechanic Camille Jousse. They had already reached Tunis in French Tunisia when Costes learned of their departure and angrily decided to take off in his own aircraft even though its engine was not yet ready for the flight; the engine failed soon after Costes took off and he crashed into a forest near Paris, although he survived. Meanwhile, Le Brix, Paillard, and Jousse flew 11,220 kilometers (6,968 miles) to Burma before having to crash-land in tidal waters 30 miles south of Moulmein on 26 February 1929, wrecking the Bernard 197GR and Jousse breaking a leg.[4]:115[1] Le Brix made a second attempt to fly from France to Saigon in December 1929. Taking off in a Potez 34 on 16 December with Maurice Rossi as copilot, he again got as far as Burma, flying 10,500 kilometers (6,521 miles) in 72 hours of flight time before the two men had to bail out over the rain forest on 22 December 1929 after encountering severe weather.[1] Closed-circuit records In June 1931, Le Brix, Dewoitine chief pilot Marcel Doret, and mechanic René Mesmin broke the record for the longest flight over a closed circuit, flying the Dewoitine D.33 Trait d'Union, funded by the French billionaire François Coty. In a 70-hour nonstop flight from Istres that lasted from 7 to 10 June, they flew 10,372 kilometers (6,441 miles). They also set eight other closed-circuit records, including for flight duration and speed.[1] Paris-Tokyo flight attempts and death Le Brix, Doret, and Mesmin decided to follow up their success by using Trait d'Union to attempt the first non-stop flight between Paris and Tokyo. Taking off from Paris–Le Bourget Airport on 12 July 1931, they had made it to the vicinity of Lake Baikal in Siberia when the aircraft's engine iced up. Le Brix and Mesmin parachuted to safety, and Doret crash-landed the plane into the treetops of a Siberian forest. All three men survived unharmed.[1] Undaunted, the men decided to make a second attempt, departing Paris–Le Bourget Airport on 11 September 1931 in a second Dewoitine D.33 named Trait d'Union II, hoping to beat their competitors, Paul Codos and Henri Robida, who took off the same day in the Breguet 19 TF Super Bidon Point d'Interrogation also intending to fly nonstop to Tokyo; Codos and Robida, however, were forced to land at Düsseldorf, Germany, after only a few hours. Flying on, Le Brix, Doret, and Mesmin were over Ufa in the Soviet Union on 12 September when the aircraft's engine failed and they decided to bail out. Doret jumped first, parachuting to safety. Mesmin apparently had trouble with his parachute and could not follow, so Le Brix stayed with the airplane rather than leave Mesmin alone on board. The D.33 crashed and caught fire, killing both Le Brix and Mesmin.[1] France honored Le Brix with a state funeral at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on 25 September 1931. He was buried in his native Baden. The crash of Trait d'Union II and death of Le Brix prompted the French government to refuse clearance to any French aviator who wished to attempt to set a nonstop long-distance record with a flight that took him or her beyond the borders of Metropolitan France. Until it lifted the ban in 1933, French aviators were forced to attempt to set such records only on closed-circuit courses within Metropolitan France. Commemoration In January 1932, the French aviators Lucien Bossoutrot and Maurice Rossi named the Blériot 110 they used to set several nonstop flight distance records Joseph Le Brix in Le Brix's honor.[1] Rennes–Saint-Jacques Airport also was named for him, as was a school in Baden,[1] and a bridge in the town of Bono is named Pont Joseph Le Brix. Streets in Baden, Nantes, Lorient, Bourges, Toulouse, Tours, Marseille, Vannes, Pontivy, and Saint-Avé, among others, bear his name, as does a plaza in Langueux. The Passions and Wings museum in Baden is dedicated to Le Brix and his biography, and a memorial plaque in his honor is mounted on the façade of Collège Jules Simon in Vannes, where he was a student.[1] The French Navy frigate Le Brix (F715), which served as a weather ship while in commission from 1948 to 1958, was named in Le Brix's honor. Joseph Le Brix Joseph Marie Le Brix ( born February 22, 1899 in Baden, Morbihan (France ); † September 12, 1931 in Ufa ( Russia) ) was a French military pilot and aviation pioneer. Early Career Le Brix occurred on April 2, 1918 in the École Navale, the naval officer school in Brest, a. He completed his basic training in seamanship armored cruiser training ship Jeanne d' Arc and served after completion of the Naval Academy on the armored cruiser Jules Michelet. Then he moved to the naval aviation, was in September 1924 observer and navigator, and acquired in March 1925, the pilot license. As of August 1925, he served with the Naval Air Squadron 5.B.2 in Rifkrieg in Morocco, in the Rif in 1923 proclaimed Republic of Riffs was destroyed by a massive French military intervention. With a Farman F.60 "Goliath" he flew mainly reconnaissance flights in southern Morocco. He took advantage of maritime navigation techniques that were not yet widely used in aviation. Flight around the world On October 10 1927 for a flight around the world, the two graduating successfully with their arrival in Paris on April 14, 1928 started Corvette Captain ( Capitaine de corvette ) Le Brix, as a navigator and co-pilot of Dieudonné Costes. Only the Pacific Ocean while crossing from San Francisco to Tokyo by boat. With its double-decker Breguet 19gr " Nungesser - Coli " they flew first on 10-11. October to Saint -Louis in Senegal. On 14-15. October them then scored the first non-stop flight across the South Atlantic, from Saint -Louis to Natal. In South America, the two visited each country before they then flew over Panama and Mexico to the United States. On February 6, 1928, she reached Washington. There they were awarded on 28 February 1928, the Distinguished Flying Cross. After they were flown by the United States, they traveled to San Francisco by ship to Tokyo. My flight was then further on Japan, Indochina, India, Syria and Greece. On April 14, 1928 after a total of 187 days, 57,410 kilometers flown, 43 stops and 338 flight hours, they again reached Le Bourget, near Paris, where they were greeted enthusiastically. An undesirable side effect of their trip was the breakdown of their friendship. In Washington, it came at the reception of the French ambassador even nearly come to blows between them. Upon their arrival at Le Bourget Le Brix supposed to have said in sharp tone: "Finally I am no longer the servant of Costes. " Le Brix became a teacher at the flight school of the Naval Academy in Brest, where he trained future pilots of naval aviation and the Air Force. Long-haul flight attempt France - Saigon The enmity between Le Brix and Costes was very clear in February 1929, when each of them wanted to deal with the flight from Paris to Saigon in French Indochina first in less than five stages. Le Brix and his partner Antoine Paillard started in late February at Istres Marseille and approached already Tunis before Costes has been notified in Le Bourget it. Although the engine of his machine had not yet been set, consisted of angry Costes on an immediate start. He could bring the machine with some trouble in the air, but the engine failed after a short time. Costes survived the crash into the trees of a forest near Paris. Le Brix, Paillard and her mechanic Camille Jousse flew with their Bernard GR 197 about 11,220 km to Burma, then had to make an emergency landing in a rice field and cancel the company, however. A second, begun on December 16, 1929 attempt on the Potez 34, with Maurice Rossi as co-pilot suggested, also fail; after 72 hours and 10,500 km, it had to give up at night because of severe weather over the rain forest of Burma and escape by parachute their machine on 22 December 1929. Motor World Flight Records From 7 to 10 June 1931, Le Brix with the Dewoitine - Marcel Doret chief pilot and the mechanic René Mesmin on the newly developed Dewoitine D.33 " trait d'Union " a new distance world record on a circuit on, as they back deposited at Istres in 70 hours 10,372 km non-stop. They found eight other circuit racing records, including the for flight duration and average speed. Long haul flight test Paris - Tokyo Then tried the three having the " Trait d'Union " the first non-stop flight from Paris to Tokyo. They launched on July 12, 1931 in Le Bourget, and came to the vicinity of Lake Baikal in Siberia. There you engine froze. Le Brix and Mesmin jumped off with their parachutes, and Doret put the machine in a forest in the treetops. The " trait d'Union " was a total loss, but the three airmen were left intact. Death On 11 September 1931, she started with the " trait d'Union II ", the second Dewoitine 33, to try again. On the morning of September 12, when flying over Ural near Ufa, turn engine failed her, and she had to give up the machine. This time Doret jumped first. It is believed that Mesmin had trouble with his parachute and Le Brix his friend did not want to leave you alone. The two came in the crash and subsequent fire of the aircraft died. Le Brix was honored with a state funeral at the Notre - Dame de Paris and then buried in his birthplace Baden (Morbihan ). Honors In January 1932 Lucien Bossoutrot and Maurice Rossi called their world record test aircraft Blériot 110 in the name of " Joseph Le Brix ". The Rennes airport is named after him. In his native Baden is a museum dedicated to him and the china and mechanical toys enthusiastic couple Farkas. In Baden a school is named after him. On the facade of the Collège Jules Simon in Vannes, where he was a student, there is a memorial plaque for him. Pierre-Paul-Henri-Gaston Doumergue (French pronunciation: ​[ɡastɔ̃ dumɛʁɡ]; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard – 18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician of the Third Republic. Doumergue came from a Protestant family and was a freemason.[2][3][4] Beginning as a Radical, he turned more towards the political right in his old age. He served as President of the Council (prime minister) from 9 December 1913 to 2 June 1914. He held the portfolio for the colonies through the ministries of Viviani and Briand until the Ribot ministry of March, 1917, when he was sent to Russia to persuade the Kerensky government not to make a separate peace with Germany and Austria. He was elected the thirteenth President of France on 13 June 1924, the only Protestant to hold that office. He served until 13 June 1931, and again was Prime Minister in a conservative national unity government, following the riots of 6 February 1934. This government lasted from 6 February to 8 November 1934. He was widely regarded as one of the most popular French Presidents, particularly after highly controversial Alexandre Millerand, who was his predecessor. Doumergue was single when elected, and became the first President of France to marry in office.[5] According to "Rail Tales of the Unexpected" (Kenneth Westcott Jones, David St John Thomas, Nairn, 1992), Doumerge was involved in an unusual railway incident in the autumn of 1926. Travelling to Germany on the Orient Express around 1 am he accidentally opened an external door and fell from the train. His disappearance was not noticed until the train was approaching Augsburg. Eventually his whereabouts was ascertained and he was brought by car to rejoin his party. After falling out he first made contact with a signalman along the track. The signalman was reportedly unimpressed by the dishevelled elderly gentleman in night attire claiming to be the President of France. The signalman is reported to have responded with "And I'm the Emperor Napoleon!". Doumerge suffered only minor cuts and bruises. Contents 1 Doumergue's First Ministry, 9 December 1913 – 9 June 1914 2 Doumergue's Second Ministry, 9 February – 8 November 1934 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Doumergue's First Ministry, 9 December 1913 – 9 June 1914 Gaston Doumergue – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Noulens – Minister of War René Renoult – Minister of the Interior Joseph Caillaux – Minister of Finance Albert Métin – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin – Minister of Justice Ernest Monis – Minister of the Marine René Viviani – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Maurice Raynaud – Minister of Agriculture Albert Lebrun – Minister of Colonies Fernand David – Minister of Public Works Louis Malvy – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs Changes 17 March 1914 – René Renoult succeeds Caillaux as Finance Minister. Louis Malvy succeeds Renoult as Minister of the Interior. Raoul Péret succeeds Malvy as Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs. 20 March 1914 – Armand Gauthier de l'Aude succeeds Monis as Minister of Marine. Doumergue's Second Ministry, 9 February – 8 November 1934 Gaston Doumergue – President of the Council Louis Barthou – Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe Pétain – Minister of War Albert Sarraut – Minister of the Interior Louis Germain-Martin – Minister of Finance Adrien Marquet – Minister of Labour Henri Chéron – Minister of Justice François Piétri – Minister of Military Marine William Bertrand – Minister of Merchant Marine Victor Denain – Minister of Air Aimé Berthod – Minister of National Education Georges Rivollet – Minister of Pensions Henri Queuille – Minister of Agriculture Pierre Laval – Minister of Colonies Pierre Étienne Flandin – Minister of Public Works Louis Marin – Minister of Public Health and Physical Education André Mallarmé – Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones Lucien Lamoureux – Minister of Commerce and Industry Édouard Herriot – Minister of State André Tardieu – Minister of State Changes 13 October 1934 – Pierre Laval succeeds Barthou (assassinated 9 October) as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Paul Marchandeau succeeds Sarraut as Minister of the Interior. Louis Rollin succeeds Laval as Minister of Colonies. 15 October 1934 – Henri Lémery succeeds Chéron as Minister of Justice.
On 6 February 1928, Lieutenant Dieudonné Costes and Lieutenant Commander Joseph Lebrix landed at Boiling Field, Washington, D.C., in the plane which had carried them from Paris across the South Atlantic and over South America to Mexico and the United States. In 1930 Costes and Maurice Bellonte made the first Paris to New York flight. The following year Costes was named the world's No. 1 airman by the International League of Aviation. In 1949 a French military court acquitted Costes on charges of spying for the Nazis during World War II. Needing six votes for a conviction under French military law, four judges voted to convict while five judges voted to free Costes. Costes To Fly Western Route Over Atlantic The Lima News - Sunday, June 1, 1930 French Flier Denies Treason Lincoln Journal - Tuesday, March 15, 1949   Légion d'Honneur "Detached to the aviation of the Allied armies in The East, serving with Greek Escadrille 531. An officer of great spirit and faultless bravery. On 8 September 1918, he successfully attacked an enemy balloon on the ground which has been unable to rise since this date. On 10 September 1918, during the course of combat with five scouts, he disengaged one of his comrades whose plane was seriously damaged, and downed one of the enemy planes. Six planes downed. Médaille Militaire. Six citations of which five were by the army." Légion d'Honneur citation   Victories Date Time Unit Aircraft Opponent Location 1 29 Apr 1917 EA   2 26 Jan 1918 Roland Mrzenci-Negorci 3 30 Apr 1918 0930 Scout NW of Negorci 4 01 May 1918 Two-seater NW of Mrzenci 5 08 Jun 1918 1630 Scout Borlovc 6 13 Jun 1918 0645 N531 Two-seater 1 S of Hudovo-Kovanec 7 24 Jun 1918 LVG C Staravinc 8 10 Sep 1918 Scout NE of Guevgueli A brief history of Dieudonne Costes and Joseph le Brix Dieudonné Costes (14 November 1892 - 18 May 1973) was a French aviator who obtained his licence on 26 September 1912 and who set flight distance records. During World War I, he served in the French Air Service, in MF55 and MF85 Farman squadrons, then in N506, N507 and N531 fighter Nieuport squadrons, on the Balkan front. He scored 8 victories (6 confirmed), the first in April 1917, the rest in January-September 1918. He ended the war as a 2nd Lieutenant. Photo en.wikipedia.org After the war, he flew in civil aviation, starting with Latecoere in 1920, on the Toulouse-Casablanca mail route, then flying on the Bordeaux-Paris route in 1921 and on the Paris-London route in Air Union airlines in 1923. From 1925, he became a test pilot in Breguet works. He then started to perform long-distance and record breaking flights with Breguet 19 aircraft. Between 10 October 1927 and 14 April 1928, Costes and Joseph Le Brix flew 57,410 km (35,652 miles) around the world, in a Breguet 19GR named Nungesser-Coli, from Paris through Argentina, Brazil, the United States, Japan, India and Greece, although they travelled across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco, California, to Tokyo, Japan, by ship. During the trip, they made the first non-stop aerial crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean on 14-15 October 1927, flying between Saint-Louis, Senegal, and Natal, Brazil. While in South America, they routed themselves through every country in the continent. On 15-17 December 1928, Costes, with Paul Codos, set a world distance record in a closed circuit of 8,029 km (4,986 miles). Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (French pronunciation: ​[ɡastɔ̃ dumɛʁɡ]; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard – 18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He served as President of France from 13 June 1924 to 13 June 1931. Contents 1 Life 2 Doumergue's First Ministry, 9 December 1913 – 9 June 1914 3 Doumergue's Second Ministry, 9 February – 8 November 1934 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Life Doumergue, c. 1910–1915 Doumergue came from a Protestant family and was a Freemason.[1][2][3] Beginning as a Radical, he turned more towards the political right in his old age. He served as prime minister from 9 December 1913 to 2 June 1914. He held the portfolio for the colonies through the ministries of René Viviani and Aristide Briand from 26 August 1914 to 19 March 1917. In February 1917 he was sent on a mission to Russia and negotiated with Tsar Nicholas II a secret agreement which defined the demands that France and Russia would make in future peace negotiations with Germany and Austria-Hungary. He was elected as the 13th French President on 13 June 1924, the only Protestant to hold that office. He served until 13 June 1931 and again was Prime Minister in a conservative national unity government, after the riots of 6 February 1934. That government lasted from 6 February to 8 November 1934. He was widely regarded as one of the most popular French presidents, particularly after the controversial Alexandre Millerand, who had been his predecessor. Doumergue was single when he was elected and became the first President of France to marry in office.[4] Doumergue's First Ministry, 9 December 1913 – 9 June 1914 Gaston Doumergue – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Noulens – Minister of War René Renoult – Minister of the Interior Joseph Caillaux – Minister of Finance Albert Métin – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin – Minister of Justice Ernest Monis – Minister of the Marine René Viviani – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Maurice Raynaud – Minister of Agriculture Albert Lebrun – Minister of Colonies Fernand David – Minister of Public Works Louis Malvy – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs Changes 17 March 1914 – René Renoult succeeds Caillaux as Finance Minister. Louis Malvy succeeds Renoult as Minister of the Interior. Raoul Péret succeeds Malvy as Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs. 20 March 1914 – Armand Gauthier de l'Aude succeeds Monis as Minister of Marine. Doumergue's Second Ministry, 9 February – 8 November 1934 Time cover, 21 July 1924 Gaston Doumergue – President of the Council Louis Barthou – Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe Pétain – Minister of War Albert Sarraut – Minister of the Interior Louis Germain-Martin – Minister of Finance Adrien Marquet – Minister of Labour Henri Chéron – Minister of Justice François Piétri – Minister of Military Marine William Bertrand – Minister of Merchant Marine Victor Denain – Minister of Air Aimé Berthod – Minister of National Education Georges Rivollet – Minister of Pensions Henri Queuille – Minister of Agriculture Pierre Laval – Minister of Colonies Pierre Étienne Flandin – Minister of Public Works Louis Marin – Minister of Public Health and Physical Education André Mallarmé – Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones Lucien Lamoureux – Minister of Commerce and Industry Édouard Herriot – Minister of State André Tardieu – Minister of State Changes 13 October 1934 – Pierre Laval succeeds Barthou (assassinated 9 October) as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Paul Marchandeau succeeds Sarraut as Minister of the Interior. Louis Rollin succeeds Laval as Minister of Colonies. 15 October 1934 – Henri Lémery succeeds Chéron as Minister of Justice. See also Interwar France 6 February 1934 crisis List of covers of Time magazine (1920s) – 21 July 1924 and 2 August 1926 References  Dictionnaire universelle de la Franc-Maçonnerie (Marc de Jode, Monique Cara and Jean-Marc Cara, ed. Larousse , 2011)  Dictionnaire de la Franc-Maçonnerie (Daniel Ligou, Presses Universitaires de France, 2006)  Ce que la France doit aux francs-maçons (Laurent Kupferman, Emmanuel Pierra, ed. Grund, 2012)  Sciolino, Elaine (3 February 2008). "French Leader and Ex-Model Wed in Quiet Ceremony". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2008. External links  Media related to Gaston Doumergue at Wikimedia Commons 1927 clip of Gaston Doumergue receiving his honorary degree from Oxford Newspaper clippings about Gaston Doumergue in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Political offices Preceded by Albert Decrais Minister of Colonies 1902–1905 Succeeded by Étienne Clémentel New office Minister of Labour 1906 Succeeded by René Viviani Preceded by Georges Trouillot Minister of Commerce and Industry 1906–1908 Succeeded by Jean Cruppi Preceded by Aristide Briand Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts 1908–1910 Succeeded by Maurice Faure Preceded by Louis Barthou Prime Minister of France 1913–1914 Succeeded by Alexandre Ribot Preceded by Stéphen Pichon Minister of Foreign Affairs 1913–1914 Succeeded by Léon Bourgeois Preceded by René Viviani Minister of Foreign Affairs 1914 Succeeded by Théophile Delcassé Preceded by Maurice Raynaud Minister of Colonies 1914–1917 Succeeded by André Maginot Preceded by Léon Bourgeois President of the Senate 1923–1924 Succeeded by Justin de Selves Preceded by Alexandre Millerand President of France 1924–1931 Succeeded by Paul Doumer Preceded by Édouard Daladier Prime Minister of France 1934 Succeeded by Pierre Étienne Flandin Regnal titles Preceded by Alexandre Millerand Co-Prince of Andorra 1924–1931 Served alongside: Justí Guitart i Vilardebó Succeeded by Paul Doumer Awards and achievements Preceded by Alexey Rykov Cover of Time magazine 21 July 1924 Succeeded by William Sproule 1 August 1863 Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue was born in Aigues-Vives (Department of Gard), into a Protestant family. After earning a degree and a doctorate in Law in Paris, he joined the Nîmes Bar in 1885. 1890 Substitute (magistrate who assists the Prosecutor General and the French Public Prosecutor) in Hanoi, in Indochina. 1893 He was named justice of the peace in Algiers. 17 December 1893 Elected Radical Deputy for Nîmes, he was re-elected on 8 May 1898 and 27 April 1902. 7 June 1902-23 January 1905 He served as Minister of the Colonies in the Combes Government, under the Presidency of Émile Loubet. 17 January 1906 Armand Fallières was elected President of the Republic. 14 March-24 October 1906 He served as Minister of Trade, Industry and Labour. 25 October 1906-4 January 1908 He served as Minister of Trade and Industry. 4 January 1908-2 November 1910 He served as Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. 6 March 1910 He was elected Senator for Gard and re-elected in 1912 and 1921. 9 December 1913-8 June 1914 He was Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs at the request of President Poincaré. 3-26 August 1914 He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs 26 August 1914-19 March 1917 He served as Minister of Colonies. February 1923 He was President of the Senate. June 1924 After the resignation of Alexandre Millerand, Gaston Doumergue was elected President of the Republic. He stated he was in favour of a policy of firmness vis-à-vis Germany in the face of a re-emerging nationalism. His seven-year-term was marked by strong ministerial instability. 1 July 1926 Gaston Doumergue appointed Raymond Poincaré as Prime Minister. 16-19 May 1927 The President visited London and was received by George V. 10-12 October 1929 He visited Brussels. 14 May 1930 He visited Algeria for the centenary celebrations of the conquest. 12-24 October 1930 He visited Morocco. 8-18 April 1931 He visited Tunisia for the 50th anniversary of the protectorate. 1931 Gaston Doumergue’s seven-year term ended. France (French: [fʁɑ̃s] Listen), officially the French Republic (French: République française),[13] is a transcontinental country predominantly located in Western Europe and spanning overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.[XII] Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; 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. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and close to 68 million people (as of July 2022).[4][7] 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, and Nice. Inhabited since the Palaeolithic era, the territory of Metropolitan France was settled by Celtic tribes known as Gauls during the Iron Age. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture that laid the foundation of the French language. 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 becoming the Kingdom of France in 987. In the High Middle Ages, France was a powerful but highly decentralised feudal kingdom. Philip II successfully strengthened royal power and defeated his rivals to double the size of the crown lands; by the end of his reign, France had emerged as the most powerful state in Europe. From the mid-14th to the mid-15th century, France was plunged into a series of dynastic conflicts involving England, collectively known as the Hundred Years' War, and a distinct French identity emerged as a result. The French Renaissance saw art and culture flourish, conflict with the House of Habsburg, and the establishment of a global colonial empire, which by the 20th century would become the second-largest in the world.[14] The second half of the 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Huguenots that severely weakened the country. France again emerged as Europe's dominant power in the 17th century under Louis XIV following the Thirty Years' War.[15] Inadequate economic policies, inequitable taxes and frequent wars (notably a defeat in the Seven Years' War and costly involvement in the American War of Independence), left the kingdom in a precarious economic situation by the end of the 18th century. This precipitated the French Revolution of 1789, which 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 much of continental Europe and establishing the First French Empire. The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of European and world 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 optimism, cultural and scientific flourishing, as well as economic prosperity 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 was soon occupied by the Axis in 1940. Following liberation in 1944, the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of 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 fifth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the world's leading tourist destination, receiving over 89 million foreign visitors in 2018.[16] France is a developed country with the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and tenth-largest by PPP; in terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world.[17] France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy and human development.[18][19] It remains a great power in global affairs,[20] 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,[21] 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 La Francophonie. Contents 1 Etymology and pronunciation 2 History 2.1 Prehistory (before the 6th century BC) 2.2 Antiquity (6th century BC–5th century AD) 2.3 Early Middle Ages (5th–10th century) 2.4 High and Late Middle Ages (10th–15th century) 2.5 Early modern period (15th century–1789) 2.6 Revolutionary France (1789–1799) 2.7 Napoleon and 19th century (1799–1914) 2.8 Early to mid-20th century (1914–1946) 2.9 Contemporary period (1946–present) 3 Geography 3.1 Location and borders 3.2 Geology, topography and hydrography 3.3 Climate 3.4 Environment 3.5 Administrative divisions 3.5.1 Regions 3.5.2 Overseas territories and collectivities 4 Government and politics 4.1 Government 4.2 Law 4.3 Foreign relations 4.4 Military 4.5 Government finance 5 Economy 5.1 Agriculture 5.2 Tourism 5.2.1 Paris region 5.2.2 French Riviera 5.2.3 Châteaux 5.2.4 Other protected areas 5.3 Energy 5.4 Transport 6 Science and technology 7 Demographics 7.1 Ethnic groups 7.2 Immigration 7.3 Major cities 7.4 Language 7.5 Religion 7.6 Health 7.7 Education 8 Culture 8.1 Art 8.2 Architecture 8.3 Literature 8.4 Philosophy 8.5 Music 8.6 Cinema 8.7 Fashion 8.8 Media 8.9 Society 8.10 Cuisine 8.11 Sports 9 See also 10 Footnotes 11 References 12 Further reading 12.1 Topics 13 External links 13.1 Economy 13.2 Government 13.3 Culture Etymology and pronunciation Main article: Name of France Originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or "realm of the Franks".[22] Modern France is still named today Francia in Italian and Spanish, while Frankreich in German, Frankrijk in Dutch and Frankrike in Swedish all mean "Land/realm of the Franks". The name of the Franks is related to the English word frank ("free"): the latter stems from the Old French franc ("free, noble, sincere"), ultimately from Medieval Latin francus ("free, exempt from service; freeman, Frank"), a generalisation of the tribal name that emerged as a Late Latin borrowing of the reconstructed Frankish endonym *Frank.[23][24] It has been suggested that the meaning "free" was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation,[25] or more generally because they had the status of freemen in contrast to servants or slaves.[24] The etymology of *Frank is uncertain. It is traditionally derived from the Proto-Germanic word *frankōn, which translates as "javelin" or "lance" (the throwing axe of the Franks was known as the francisca),[26] although these weapons may have been named because of their use by the Franks, not the other way around.[24] In English, 'France' is pronounced /fræns/ FRANSS in American English and /frɑːns/ FRAHNSS or /fræns/ FRANSS in British English. The pronunciation with /ɑː/ is mostly confined to accents with the trap-bath split such as Received Pronunciation, though it can be also heard in some other dialects such as Cardiff English, in which /frɑːns/ is in free variation with /fræns/.[27][28] History Main article: History of France For a chronological guide, see Timeline of French history. Prehistory (before the 6th century BC) Main article: Prehistory of France Lascaux cave paintings: a horse from Dordogne facing right brown on white background One of the Lascaux paintings: a horse – approximately 17,000 BC. Lascaux is famous for its "exceptionally detailed depictions of humans and animals".[29] The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1.8 million years ago.[30] Over the ensuing millennia, humans were confronted by a harsh and variable climate, marked by several glacial periods. Early hominids led a nomadic hunter-gatherer life.[30] France has a large number of decorated caves from the upper Palaeolithic era, including one of the most famous and best-preserved, Lascaux[30] (approximately 18,000 BC). At the end of the last glacial period (10,000 BC), the climate became milder;[30] from approximately 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered the Neolithic era and its inhabitants became sedentary. After strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium, initially working gold, copper and bronze, as well as later iron.[31] France has numerous megalithic sites from the Neolithic period, including the exceptionally dense Carnac stones site (approximately 3,300 BC). Antiquity (6th century BC–5th century AD) Main articles: Gaul, Celts, and Roman Gaul Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar during the Battle of Alesia. The Gallic defeat in the Gallic Wars secured the Roman conquest of the country. In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille), on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. This makes it France's oldest city.[32][33] At the same time, some Gallic Celtic tribes penetrated parts of Eastern and Northern France, gradually spreading through the rest of the country between the 5th and 3rd century BC.[34] The concept of Gaul emerged during this period, corresponding to the territories of Celtic settlement ranging between the Rhine, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. The borders of modern France roughly correspond to ancient Gaul, which was inhabited by Celtic Gauls. Gaul was then a prosperous country, of which the southernmost part was heavily subject to Greek and Roman cultural and economic influences. Maison Carrée temple in Nemausus Corinthian columns and portico The Maison Carrée was a temple of the Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day Nîmes) and is one of the best-preserved vestiges of the Roman Empire. Around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain Brennus and his troops made their way to Italy through the Alps, defeated the Romans in the Battle of the Allia, and besieged and ransomed Rome.[35] The Gallic invasion left Rome weakened, and the Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC when they entered into a formal peace treaty with Rome.[36] But the Romans and the Gauls would remain adversaries for the next centuries, and the Gauls would continue to be a threat in Italy.[37] Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), which over time evolved into the name Provence in French.[38] Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC.[39] Gaul was divided by Augustus into Roman provinces.[40] Many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period, including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon), which is considered the capital of the Gauls.[40] These cities were built in traditional Roman style, with a forum, a theatre, a circus, an amphitheatre and thermal baths. The Gauls mixed with Roman settlers and eventually adopted Roman culture and Roman speech (Latin, from which the French language evolved). The Roman polytheism merged with the Gallic paganism into the same syncretism. From the 250s to the 280s AD, Roman Gaul suffered a serious crisis with its fortified borders being attacked on several occasions by barbarians.[41] Nevertheless, the situation improved in the first half of the 4th century, which was a period of revival and prosperity for Roman Gaul.[42] In 312, Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity. Subsequently, Christians, who had been persecuted until then, increased rapidly across the entire Roman Empire.[43] But, from the beginning of the 5th century, the Barbarian Invasions resumed.[44] Teutonic tribes invaded the region from present-day Germany, the Visigoths settling in the southwest, the Burgundians along the Rhine River Valley, and the Franks (from whom the French take their name) in the north.[45] Early Middle Ages (5th–10th century) Main articles: Francia, Merovingian dynasty, and Carolingian dynasty See also: List of French monarchs and France in the Middle Ages animated gif showing expansion of Franks across Europe Frankish expansion from 481 to 870 At the end of the Antiquity period, ancient Gaul was divided into several Germanic kingdoms and a remaining Gallo-Roman territory, known as the Kingdom of Syagrius. Simultaneously, Celtic Britons, fleeing the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, settled the western part of Armorica. As a result, the Armorican peninsula was renamed Brittany, Celtic culture was revived and independent petty kingdoms arose in this region. The first leader to make himself king of all the Franks was Clovis I, who began his reign in 481, routing the last forces of the Roman governors of the province in 486. Clovis claimed that he would be baptised a Christian in the event of his victory against the Visigoths, which was said to have guaranteed the battle. Clovis regained the southwest from the Visigoths, was baptised in 508, and made himself master of what is now western Germany. Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity, rather than Arianism; thus France was given the title "Eldest daughter of the Church" (French: La fille aînée de l'Église) by the papacy,[46] and French kings would be called "the Most Christian Kings of France" (Rex Christianissimus). painting of Clovis I conversion to Catholicism in 498, a king being baptised in a tub in a cathedral surrounded by bishop and monks With Clovis's conversion to Catholicism in 498, the Frankish monarchy, elective and secular until then, became hereditary and of divine right. The Franks embraced the Christian Gallo-Roman culture and ancient Gaul was eventually renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic Franks adopted Romanic languages, except in northern Gaul where Roman settlements were less dense and where Germanic languages emerged. Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian dynasty, but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged from Clovis's: Paris, Orléans, Soissons, and Rheims. The last Merovingian kings lost power to their mayors of the palace (head of household). One mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated an Umayyad invasion of Gaul at the Battle of Tours (732) and earned respect and power within the Frankish kingdoms. His son, Pepin the Short, seized the crown of Francia from the weakened Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Pepin's son, Charlemagne, reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built a vast empire across Western and Central Europe. Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thus establishing in earnest the French Government's longtime historical association with the Catholic Church,[47] Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur. Charlemagne's son, Louis I (Emperor 814–840), kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive his death. In 843, under the Treaty of Verdun, the empire was divided between Louis' three sons, with East Francia going to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I, and West Francia to Charles the Bald. West Francia approximated the area occupied by–and was the precursor to–modern France.[48] During the 9th and 10th centuries, continually threatened by Viking invasions, France became a very decentralised state: the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, and the authority of the king became more religious than secular and thus was less effective and constantly challenged by powerful noblemen. Thus was established feudalism in France. Over time, some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they often posed a threat to the king. For example, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror added "King of England" to his titles, becoming both the vassal to (as Duke of Normandy) and the equal of (as king of England) the king of France, creating recurring tensions. High and Late Middle Ages (10th–15th century) Main articles: Kingdom of France, Capetian dynasty, Valois dynasty, and Bourbon dynasty See also: List of French monarchs and France in the Middle Ages Joan of Arc led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), which paved the way for the final victory. animated gif showing changes in French borders Metropolitan France territorial evolution from 985 to 1947 The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of the Franks.[49] His descendants—the Capetians, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon—progressively unified the country through wars and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France, which was fully declared in 1190 by Philip II of France (Philippe Auguste). Later kings would expand their directly possessed domaine royal to cover over half of modern continental France by the 15th century, including most of the north, centre and west of France. During this process, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred on a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners. The French nobility played a prominent role in most Crusades to restore Christian access to the Holy Land. French knights made up the bulk of the steady flow of reinforcements throughout the two-hundred-year span of the Crusades, in such a fashion that the Arabs uniformly referred to the crusaders as Franj caring little whether they really came from France.[50] The French Crusaders also imported the French language into the Levant, making French the base of the lingua franca (lit. "Frankish language") of the Crusader states.[50] French knights also made up the majority in both the Hospital and the Temple orders. The latter, in particular, held numerous properties throughout France and by the 13th century were the principal bankers for the French crown, until Philip IV annihilated the order in 1307. The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the southwestern area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed into the crown lands of France.[51] From the 11th century, the House of Plantagenet, the rulers of the County of Anjou, succeeded in establishing its dominion over the surrounding provinces of Maine and Touraine, then progressively built an "empire" that spanned from England to the Pyrenees and covering half of modern France. Tensions between the kingdom of France and the Plantagenet empire would last a hundred years, until Philip II of France conquered, between 1202 and 1214, most of the continental possessions of the empire, leaving England and Aquitaine to the Plantagenets. Charles IV the Fair died without an heir in 1328.[52] Under the rules of the Salic law the crown of France could not pass to a woman nor could the line of kingship pass through the female line.[52] Accordingly, the crown passed to Philip of Valois, rather than through the female line to Edward of Plantagenet, who would soon become Edward III of England. During the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power.[52] However Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England in 1337, and England and France entered the off-and-on Hundred Years' War.[53] The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but landholdings inside France by the English Kings remained extensive for decades. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back most English continental territories. Like the rest of Europe, France was struck by the Black Death due to which half of the 17 million population of France died.[54][55] Early modern period (15th century–1789) Main articles: French Renaissance, Early modern France, and Ancien Régime The Château de Chenonceau, nowadays part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in the early 16th century. The French Renaissance saw a spectacular cultural development and the first standardisation of the French language, which would become the official language of France and the language of Europe's aristocracy. It also saw a long set of wars, known as the Italian Wars, between France and the House of Habsburg. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed lands in the Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of the First French colonial empire. The rise of Protestantism in Europe led France to a civil war known as the French Wars of Religion, where, in the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.[56] The Wars of Religion were ended by Henry IV's Edict of Nantes, which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Spanish troops, the terror of Western Europe,[57] assisted the Catholic side during the Wars of Religion in 1589–1594, and invaded northern France in 1597; after some skirmishing in the 1620s and 1630s, Spain and France returned to all-out war between 1635 and 1659. The war cost France 300,000 casualties.[58] Under Louis XIII, the energetic Cardinal Richelieu promoted the centralisation of the state and reinforced the royal power by disarming domestic power holders in the 1620s. He systematically destroyed castles of defiant lords and denounced the use of private violence (duelling, carrying weapons and maintaining private armies). By the end of the 1620s, Richelieu established "the royal monopoly of force" as the doctrine.[59] During Louis XIV's minority and the regency of Queen Anne and Cardinal Mazarin, a period of trouble known as the Fronde occurred in France. This rebellion was driven by the great feudal lords and sovereign courts as a reaction to the rise of royal absolute power in France. Louis XIV of France standing in plate armour and blue sash facing left holding baton Louis XIV, the "Sun King", was the absolute monarch of France and made France the leading European power. The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV (1643–1715). By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers at the Palace of Versailles, Louis XIV's personal power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power. France became the most populous country in Europe and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became the most-used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs, and remained so until the 20th century.[60] France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Louis XIV also revoked the Edict of Nantes, forcing thousands of Huguenots into exile. Under the wars of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774), France lost New France and most of its Indian possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). Its European territory kept growing, however, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770). An unpopular king, Louis XV's weak rule, his ill-advised financial, political and military decisions – as well as the debauchery of his court– discredited the monarchy, which arguably paved the way for the French Revolution 15 years after his death.[61][62] Louis XVI (r. 1774–1793), actively supported the Americans with money, fleets and armies, helping them win independence from Great Britain. France gained revenge but spent so heavily that the government verged on bankruptcy—a factor that contributed to the French Revolution. Some of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the discovery of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists. French explorers, such as Bougainville and Lapérouse, took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as the primary source for legitimacy, undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and also was a factor in the French Revolution. Revolutionary France (1789–1799) Main articles: History of France § Revolutionary France (1789–1799), and French Revolution Ouverture des États généraux à Versailles, 5 mai 1789 by Auguste Couder drawing of the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, smoke of gunfire enveloping stone castle The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 was the most emblematic event of the French Revolution. Facing financial troubles, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General (gathering the three Estates of the realm) in May 1789 to propose solutions to his government. As it came to an impasse, the representatives of the Third Estate formed into a National Assembly, signalling the outbreak of the French Revolution. Fearing that the king would suppress the newly created National Assembly, insurgents stormed the Bastille on 14 July 1789, a date which would become France's National Day. In early August 1789, the National Constituent Assembly abolished the privileges of the nobility such as personal serfdom and exclusive hunting rights. Through the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (27 August 1789) France established fundamental rights for men. The Declaration affirms "the natural and imprescriptible rights of man" to "liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression". Freedom of speech and press were declared, and arbitrary arrests were outlawed. It called for the destruction of aristocratic privileges and proclaimed freedom and equal rights for all men, as well as access to public office based on talent rather than birth. In November 1789, the Assembly decided to nationalise and sell all property of the Catholic Church which had been the largest landowner in the country. In July 1790, a Civil Constitution of the Clergy reorganised the French Catholic Church, cancelling the authority of the Church to levy taxes, et cetera. This fueled much discontent in parts of France, which would contribute to the civil war breaking out some years later. While King Louis XVI still enjoyed popularity among the population, his disastrous flight to Varennes (June 1791) seemed to justify rumours he had tied his hopes of political salvation to the prospects of foreign invasion. His credibility was so deeply undermined that the abolition of the monarchy and establishment of a republic became an increasing possibility. In August 1791, the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia in the Declaration of Pillnitz threatened revolutionary France to intervene by force of arms to restore the French absolute monarchy. In September 1791, the National Constituent Assembly forced King Louis XVI to accept the French Constitution of 1791, thus turning the French absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. In the newly established Legislative Assembly (October 1791), enmity developed and deepened between a group, later called the 'Girondins', who favoured war with Austria and Prussia, and a group later called 'Montagnards' or 'Jacobins', who opposed such a war. A majority in the Assembly in 1792 however saw a war with Austria and Prussia as a chance to boost the popularity of the revolutionary government and thought that France would win a war against those gathered monarchies. On 20 April 1792, therefore, they declared war on Austria. Le Serment du Jeu de paume by Jacques-Louis David, 1791 On 10 August 1792, an angry crowd threatened the palace of King Louis XVI, who took refuge in the Legislative Assembly.[63][64] A Prussian Army invaded France later in August 1792. In early September, Parisians, infuriated by the Prussian Army capturing Verdun and counter-revolutionary uprisings in the west of France, murdered between 1,000 and 1,500 prisoners by raiding the Parisian prisons. The Assembly and the Paris City Council seemed unable to stop that bloodshed.[63][65] The National Convention, chosen in the first elections under male universal suffrage,[63] on 20 September 1792 succeeded the Legislative Assembly and on 21 September abolished the monarchy by proclaiming the French First Republic. Ex-King Louis XVI was convicted of treason and guillotined in January 1793. France had declared war on Great Britain and the Dutch Republic in November 1792 and did the same on Spain in March 1793; in the spring of 1793, Austria and Prussia invaded France; in March, France created a "sister republic" in the "Republic of Mainz", and kept it under control. Also in March 1793, the civil war of the Vendée against Paris started, evoked by both the Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 1790 and the nationwide army conscription early 1793; elsewhere in France rebellion was brewing too. A factionalist feud in the National Convention, smouldering ever since October 1791, came to a climax with the group of the 'Girondins' on 2 June 1793 being forced to resign and leave the convention. The counter-revolution, begun in March 1793 in the Vendée, by July had spread to Brittany, Normandy, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Toulon, and Lyon. Paris' Convention government between October and December 1793 with brutal measures managed to subdue most internal uprisings, at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. Some historians consider the civil war to have lasted until 1796 with a toll of possibly 450,000 lives.[66][67] By the end of 1793 the allies had been driven from France. France in February 1794 abolished slavery in its American colonies, but would reintroduce it later. Political disagreements and enmity in the National Convention between October 1793 and July 1794 reached unprecedented levels, leading to dozens of Convention members being sentenced to death and guillotined. Meanwhile, France's external wars in 1794 were going prosperous, for example in Belgium. In 1795, the government seemed to return to indifference towards the desires and needs of the lower classes concerning freedom of (Catholic) religion and fair distribution of food. Until 1799, politicians, apart from inventing a new parliamentary system (the 'Directory'), busied themselves with dissuading the people from Catholicism and from royalism. Napoleon and 19th century (1799–1914) Main articles: History of France § Napoleonic France (1799–1815); History of France § Long 19th century, 1815–1914; First French Empire; Second French Empire; and French colonial empire See also: France in the 19th century and France in the 20th century painting of Napoleon in 1806 standing with hand in vest attended by staff and Imperial guard regiment Napoleon, Emperor of the French, built a vast empire across Europe. His conquests spread the ideals of the French Revolution across much of the continent, such as popular sovereignty, equality before the law, republicanism and administrative reorganisation while his legal reforms had a major impact worldwide. Nationalism, especially in Germany, emerged in reaction against him.[68] Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799 becoming First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1814; 1815). As a continuation of the wars sparked by the European monarchies against the French Republic, changing sets of European Coalitions declared wars on Napoleon's Empire. His armies conquered most of continental Europe with swift victories such as the battles of Jena-Auerstadt or Austerlitz. Members of the Bonaparte family were appointed as monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms.[69] These victories led to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the metric system, the Napoleonic Code and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. In June 1812, Napoleon attacked Russia, reaching Moscow. Thereafter his army disintegrated through supply problems, disease, Russian attacks, and finally winter. After the catastrophic Russian campaign, and the ensuing uprising of European monarchies against his rule, Napoleon was defeated and the Bourbon monarchy restored. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars.[69] After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the monarchy was re-established (1815–1830), with new constitutional limitations. The discredited Bourbon dynasty was overthrown by the July Revolution of 1830, which established the constitutional July Monarchy. In that year, French troops began the conquest of Algeria, establishing the first colonial presence in Africa since Napoleon's abortive invasion of Egypt in 1798. In 1848, general unrest led to the February Revolution and the end of the July Monarchy. The abolition of slavery and introduction of male universal suffrage, which were briefly enacted during the French Revolution, were re-enacted in 1848. In 1852, the president of the French Republic, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoleon I's nephew, was proclaimed emperor of the Second Empire, as Napoleon III. He multiplied French interventions abroad, especially in Crimea, in Mexico and Italy which resulted in the annexation of the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Napoleon III was unseated following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and his regime was replaced by the Third Republic. By 1875, the French conquest of Algeria was complete, and approximately 825,000 Algerians had been killed from famine, disease, and violence.[70] animated gif of French colonial territory on world map Animated map of the growth and decline of the French colonial empire France had colonial possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century, but in the 19th and 20th centuries, its global overseas colonial empire extended greatly and became the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire.[14] Including metropolitan France, the total area of land under French sovereignty almost reached 13 million square kilometres in the 1920s and 1930s, 8.6% of the world's land. Known as the Belle Époque, the turn of the century was a period characterised by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity and technological, scientific and cultural innovations. In 1905, state secularism was officially established. Early to mid-20th century (1914–1946) Main article: History of France (1900 to present) French Poilus posing with their war-torn flag in 1917, during World War I France was invaded by Germany and defended by Great Britain to start World War I in August 1914. A rich industrial area in the northeast was occupied. France and the Allies emerged victorious against the Central Powers at a tremendous human and material cost. World War I left 1.4 million French soldiers dead, 4% of its population.[71] Between 27 and 30% of soldiers conscripted from 1912 to 1915 were killed.[72] The interbellum years were marked by intense international tensions and a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government (annual leave, eight-hour workdays, women in government). In 1940, France was invaded and quickly defeated by Nazi Germany. France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north, an Italian occupation zone in the southeast and an unoccupied territory, the rest of France, which consisted of the southern French metropolitan territory (two-fifths of pre-war metropolitan France) and the French empire, which included the two protectorates of French Tunisia and French Morocco, and French Algeria; the Vichy government, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, ruled the unoccupied territory. Free France, the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle, was set up in London.[full citation needed] From 1942 to 1944, about 160,000 French citizens, including around 75,000 Jews,[73][74][75] were deported to death camps and concentration camps in Germany and occupied Poland.[76] In September 1943, Corsica was the first French metropolitan territory to liberate itself from the Axis. On 6 June 1944, the Allies invaded Normandy and in August they invaded Provence. Over the following year the Allies and the French Resistance emerged victorious over the Axis powers and French sovereignty was restored with the establishment of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF). This interim government, established by de Gaulle, aimed to continue to wage war against Germany and to purge collaborators from office. It also made several important reforms (suffrage extended to women, creation of a social security system). Contemporary period (1946–present) Charles de Gaulle seated in uniform looking left with folded arms Charles de Gaulle took an active part in many major events of the 20th century: a hero of World War I, leader of the Free French during World War II, he then became President, where he facilitated decolonisation, maintained France as a major power and overcame the revolt of May 1968. The GPRF laid the groundwork for a new constitutional order that resulted in the Fourth Republic (1946–1958), which saw spectacular economic growth (les Trente Glorieuses). France was one of the founding members of NATO (1949). France attempted to regain control of French Indochina but was defeated by the Viet Minh in 1954 at the climactic Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Only months later, France faced another anti-colonialist conflict in Algeria, then treated as an integral part of France and home to over one million European settlers. During the conflict, the French systematically used torture and repression, including extrajudicial killings in an effort to keep control of Algeria.[77][78] This conflict wracked the country and nearly led to a coup and civil war in France.[79] During the May 1958 crisis, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which included a strengthened Presidency.[80] In the latter role, Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the Algerian War. The war was concluded with the Évian Accords in 1962 that led to Algerian independence. Algerian independence came at a high price: it resulted in between half a million and one million deaths and over 2 million internally displaced Algerians.[81][82][83] Around one million Pied-Noirs and Harkis fled from Algeria to France upon independence.[84] A vestige of the colonial empire are the French overseas departments and territories. The May 68 protests, a massive social movement, would ultimately led to many social changes, such as the right to abortion, women empowerment as well as the decriminalisation of homosexuality.[85][86] In the context of the Cold War, De Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence" towards the Western and Eastern blocs. To this end, he withdrew from NATO's military integrated command (while remaining in the NATO alliance itself), launched a nuclear development programme and made France the fourth nuclear power. He restored cordial Franco-German relations to create a European counterweight between the American and Soviet spheres of influence. However, he opposed any development of a supranational Europe, favouring a Europe of sovereign nations. In the wake of the series of worldwide protests of 1968, the revolt of May 1968 had an enormous social impact. In France, it was the watershed moment when a conservative moral ideal (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shifted towards a more liberal moral ideal (secularism, individualism, sexual revolution). Although the revolt was a political failure (as the Gaullist party emerged even stronger than before) it announced a split between the French people and de Gaulle who resigned shortly after.[87] In the post-Gaullist era, France remained one of the most developed economies in the world, but faced several economic crises that resulted in high unemployment rates and increasing public debt. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries France has been at the forefront of the development of a supranational European Union, notably by signing the Maastricht Treaty (which created the European Union) in 1992, establishing the Eurozone in 1999 and signing the Lisbon Treaty in 2007.[88] France has also gradually but fully reintegrated into NATO and has since participated in most NATO sponsored wars.[89] Place de la République statue column with large French flag Republican marches were organised across France after the January 2015 attacks perpetrated by Islamist terrorists; they became the largest public rallies in French history. Since the 19th century, France has received many immigrants. These have been mostly male foreign workers from European Catholic countries who generally returned home when not employed.[90] During the 1970s France faced economic crisis and allowed new immigrants (mostly from the Maghreb)[90] to permanently settle in France with their families and to acquire French citizenship. It resulted in hundreds of thousands of Muslims (especially in the larger cities) living in subsidised public housing and suffering from very high unemployment rates.[91] Simultaneously France renounced the assimilation of immigrants, where they were expected to adhere to French traditional values and cultural norms. They were encouraged to retain their distinctive cultures and traditions and required merely to integrate.[92] Since the 1995 Paris Métro and RER bombings, France has been sporadically targeted by Islamist organisations, notably the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015 which provoked the largest public rallies in French history, gathering 4.4 million people,[93][94] the November 2015 Paris attacks which resulted in 130 deaths, the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II[95][96] and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid train bombings in 2004,[97] as well as the 2016 Nice truck attack, which caused 87 deaths during Bastille Day celebrations. Opération Chammal, France's military efforts to contain ISIS, killed over 1,000 ISIS troops between 2014 and 2015.[98][99] Geography Main article: Geography of France Location and borders see description A relief map of Metropolitan France, showing cities with over 100,000 inhabitants Panorama of Mont Blanc mountain range above grey clouds under a blue sky Mont Blanc, the highest summit in Western Europe, marks the border with Italy. The vast majority of France's territory and population is situated in Western Europe and is called Metropolitan France, to distinguish it from the country's various overseas polities. It is bordered by the North Sea in the north, the English Channel in the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Mediterranean sea in the southeast. Its land borders consist of Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland in the east, Italy and Monaco in the southeast, and Andorra and Spain in the south and southwest. Except for the northeast, most of France's land borders are roughly delineated by natural boundaries and geographic features: to the south and southeast, the Pyrenees and the Alps and the Jura, respectively, and to the east, the Rhine river. Due to its shape, France is often referred to as l'Hexagone ("The Hexagon"). Metropolitan France includes various coastal islands, of which the largest is Corsica. Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41° and 51° N, and longitudes 6° W and 10° E, on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the northern temperate zone. Its continental part covers about 1000 km from north to south and from east to west. France has several overseas regions across the world, which are organised as follows: five have exactly the same status as mainland France's regions and departments: French Guiana in South America; Guadeloupe in the Caribbean; Martinique in the Caribbean; Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa; Réunion in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa. nine have special legal status distinct from mainland France's regions and departments: In the Atlantic Ocean: Saint Pierre and Miquelon and, in the Antilles: Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy. In the Pacific Ocean: French Polynesia, the special collectivity of New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna and Clipperton Island. In the Indian Ocean: Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Islands, St. Paul and Amsterdam islands, and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean In the Antarctic: Adélie Land. France has land borders with Brazil and Suriname via French Guiana and with the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the French portion of Saint Martin. Metropolitan France covers 551,500 square kilometres (212,935 sq mi),[100] the largest among European Union members.[21] France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the southeast, the Massif Central in the south central and Pyrenees in the southwest. Due to its numerous overseas departments and territories scattered across the planet, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,261,000 sq mi), just behind the EEZ of the United States, which covers 11,351,000 km2 (4,383,000 sq mi), but ahead of the EEZ of Australia, which covers 8,148,250 km2 (3,146,000 sq mi). Its EEZ covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world. Geology, topography and hydrography Geological formations near Roussillon, Vaucluse Metropolitan France has a wide variety of topographical sets and natural landscapes. Large parts of the current territory of France were raised during several tectonic episodes like the Hercynian uplift in the Paleozoic Era, during which the Armorican Massif, the Massif Central, the Morvan, the Vosges and Ardennes ranges and the island of Corsica were formed. These massifs delineate several sedimentary basins such as the Aquitaine basin in the southwest and the Paris basin in the north, the latter including several areas of particularly fertile ground such as the silt beds of Beauce and Brie. Various routes of natural passage, such as the Rhône Valley, allow easy communication. The Alpine, Pyrenean and Jura mountains are much younger and have less eroded forms. At 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft)[101] above sea level, Mont Blanc, located in the Alps on the French and Italian border, is the highest point in Western Europe. Although 60% of municipalities are classified as having seismic risks, these risks remain moderate. Reed bed on the Gironde estuary, the largest estuary in Western Europe The coastlines offer contrasting landscapes: mountain ranges along the French Riviera, coastal cliffs such as the Côte d'Albâtre, and wide sandy plains in the Languedoc. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast. France has an extensive river system consisting of the four major rivers Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, the Rhône and their tributaries, whose combined catchment includes over 62% of the metropolitan territory. The Rhône divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. The Garonne meets the Dordogne just after Bordeaux, forming the Gironde estuary, the largest estuary in Western Europe which after approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) empties into the Atlantic Ocean.[102] Other water courses drain towards the Meuse and Rhine along the north-eastern borders. France has 11 million square kilometres (4.2×106 sq mi) of marine waters within three oceans under its jurisdiction, of which 97% are overseas. Climate Köppen climate classification map of Metropolitan France The French metropolitan territory is relatively large, so the climate is not uniform, giving rise to the following climate nuances: • The hot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa) is found along the Gulf of Lion. Summers are hot and dry, while winters are mild and wet. Cities affected by this climate: Arles, Avignon, Fréjus, Hyères, Marseille, Menton, Montpellier, Nice, Perpignan, Toulon. • The warm-summer mediterranean climate (Csb) is found in the northern part of Brittany. Summers are warm and dry, while winters are cool and wet. Cities affected by this climate: Belle Île, Saint-Brieuc. • The humid subtropical climate (Cfa) is found in the Garonne and Rhône's inland plains. Summers are hot and wet, while winters are cool and damp. Cities affected by this climate: Albi, Carcassonne, Lyon, Orange, Toulouse, Valence. • The oceanic climate (Cfb) is found around the coasts of the Bay of Biscay, and a little bit inland. Summers are pleasantly warm and wet, while winters are cool and damp. Cities affected by this climate: Amiens, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Brest, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Dunkirk, Lille, Nantes, Orléans, Paris, Reims, Tours. • The degraded oceanic climate (degraded-Cfb) is found in the interior plains and in the intra-alpine valleys, far from the ocean (or sea). Summers are hot and wet, while winters are cold and gloomy. Cities affected by this climate: Annecy, Besançon, Bourges, Chambéry, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Dijon, Grenoble, Langres, Metz, Mulhouse, Nancy, Strasbourg. • The subalpine oceanic climate (Cfc) is found at the foot of all the mountainous regions of France. Summers are short, cool and wet, while winters are moderately cold and damp. No major cities are affected by this climate. • The warm-summer mediterranean continental climate (Dsb) is found in all the mountainous regions of Southern France between 700 and 1,400 metres a.s.l. Summers are pleasantly warm and dry, while winters are very cold and snowy. City affected by this climate: Barcelonnette. • The cool-summer mediterranean continental climate (Dsc) is found in all the mountainous regions of Southern France between 1,400 and 2,100 metres a.s.l. Summers are cool, short and dry, while winters are very cold and snowy. Place affected by this climate: Isola 2000. • The warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) is found in all the mountainous regions of the Northern half of France between 500 and 1,000 metres a.s.l. Summers are pleasantly warm and wet, while winters are very cold and snowy. Cities affected by this climate: Chamonix, Mouthe. In January 1985, in Mouthe, the temperature has dropped under −41 °C. • The subalpine climate (Dfc) is found in all the mountainous regions of the northern half of France between 1,000 and 2,000 metres a.s.l. Summers are cool, short and wet, while winters are very cold and snowy. Places affected by this climate: Cauterets Courchevel, Alpe d'Huez, Les 2 Alpes, Peyragudes, Val-Thorens. • The alpine tundra climate (ET) is found in all the mountainous regions of France, generally above 2,000 or 2,500 metres a.s.l. Summers are chilly and wet, while winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. Mountains affected by this climate: Aiguilles-Rouges, Aravis, the top of Crêt de la neige (rare, altitude 1,718 m) and the top of Grand-Ballon (rare, altitude 1,423 m). • The ice cap climate (EF) is found in all the mountainous regions of France that have a glacier. Summers are cold and wet, while winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. Mountains affected by this climate: Aiguille du midi, Barre des Écrins, Belledonne, Grand-Casse, Mont Blanc (4,810 m), Pic du Midi de Bigorre. • In the overseas regions, there are three broad types of climate: A tropical climate (Am) in most overseas regions including eastern French Guiana: high constant temperature throughout the year with a dry and a wet season. An equatorial climate (Af) in western French Guiana: high constant temperature with even precipitation throughout the year. A subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), characterised by mild, wet summers and cool, but generally not cold, damp winters. Cities or places affected by this climate: Port-aux-Français, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. An ice cap climate (EF): extremely cold year-round in Adélie Land. Climate change in France includes above average heating.[103] Environment See also: List of national parks of France and Regional natural parks of France color map showing Regional natural parks of France Marine (blue), regional (green) and national (red) parks in France (2019) France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971.[104] Although it is one of the most industrialised countries in the world, France is ranked only 19th by carbon dioxide emissions, behind less populous nations such as Canada or Australia. This is due to the country's heavy investment in nuclear power following the 1973 oil crisis,[105] which now accounts for 75 percent of its electricity production[106] and results in less pollution.[107][108] According to the 2020 Environmental Performance Index conducted by Yale and Columbia, France was the fifth-most environmentally-conscious country in the world (behind United Kingdom).[109][110] Like all European Union state members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by 2020,[111] compared to the United States plan to reduce emissions by 4% of 1990 levels.[112] As of 2009, French carbon dioxide emissions per capita were lower than that of China's.[113] The country was set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 euros per tonne of carbon emitted,[114] which would have raised 4 billion euros of revenue annually.[115] However, the plan was abandoned due to fears of burdening French businesses.[116] Forests account for 31 percent of France's land area—the fourth-highest proportion in Europe—representing an increase of 7 percent since 1990.[117][118][119] French forests are some of the most diverse in Europe, comprising more than 140 species of trees.[120] France had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.52/10, ranking it 123rd globally out of 172 countries.[121] There are nine national parks[122] and 46 natural parks in France,[123] with the government planning to convert 20% of its Exclusive economic zone into a Marine protected area by 2020.[124] A regional nature park[125] (French: parc naturel régional or PNR) is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the national government covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty, to protect the scenery and heritage as well as setting up sustainable economic development in the area.[126] A PNR sets goals and guidelines for managed human habitation, sustainable economic development and protection of the natural environment based on each park's unique landscape and heritage. The parks foster ecological research programmes and public education in the natural sciences.[127] As of 2019 there are 54 PNRs in France.[128] Administrative divisions Main article: Administrative divisions of France The French Republic is divided into 18 regions (located in Europe and overseas), five overseas collectivities, one overseas territory, one special collectivity – New Caledonia and one uninhabited island directly under the authority of the Minister of Overseas France – Clipperton. Regions Hauts-de- FranceNormandyÎle-de- FranceGrand EstBourgogne- Franche- ComtéCentre- Val de LoirePays de la LoireBrittanyNouvelle- AquitaineAuvergne- Rhône-AlpesOccitaniaProvence- Alpes- Côte d'AzurCorsicaFrench GuianaGuadeloupeMartiniqueMayotteRéunionBelgiumLuxembourgGermanySwitzerlandItalyUnited KingdomAndorraBrazilSurinameSpainChannelBay of BiscayLigurian SeaMediterranean Sea Since 2016, France is mainly divided into 18 administrative regions: 13 regions in metropolitan France (including the territorial collectivity of Corsica),[129] and five located overseas.[100] The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments,[130] which are numbered mainly alphabetically. This number is used in postal codes and was formerly used on French vehicle number plates. Among the 101 departments of France, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs), enjoy exactly the same status as metropolitan departments and are an integral part of the European Union. The 101 departments are subdivided into 335 arrondissements, which are, in turn, subdivided into 2,054 cantons.[131] These cantons are then divided into 36,658 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council.[131] Three communes—Paris, Lyon and Marseille—are subdivided into 45 municipal arrondissements. The regions, departments and communes are all known as territorial collectivities, meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissements were territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these were suspended by the Vichy regime and definitely abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946. Overseas territories and collectivities In addition to the 18 regions and 101 departments, the French Republic has five overseas collectivities (French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna), one sui generis collectivity (New Caledonia), one overseas territory (French Southern and Antarctic Lands), and one island possession in the Pacific Ocean (Clipperton Island). Overseas collectivities and territories form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the European Union or its fiscal area (with the exception of St. Bartelemy, which seceded from Guadeloupe in 2007). The Pacific Collectivities (COMs) of French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia continue to use the CFP franc[132] whose value is strictly linked to that of the euro. In contrast, the five overseas regions used the French franc and now use the euro.[133] diagram of the overseas territories of France showing map shapes The lands making up the French Republic, shown at the same geographic scale Name Constitutional status Capital  Clipperton Island State private property under the direct authority of the French government Uninhabited  French Polynesia Designated as an overseas land (pays d'outre-mer or POM), the status is the same as an overseas collectivity. Papeete  French Southern and Antarctic Lands Overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer or TOM) Port-aux-Français  New Caledonia Sui generis collectivity Nouméa  Saint Barthélemy Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM) Gustavia  Saint Martin Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM) Marigot  Saint Pierre and Miquelon Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as a collectivité territoriale. Saint-Pierre  Wallis and Futuna Overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer or COM). Still referred to as a territoire. Mata-Utu Government and politics Main article: Politics of France Government Emmanuel Macron (2019-10-09) 03 (cropped).jpg Informal_meeting_of_energy_and_transport_ministers_(TTE)._Arrivals,_transport_ministers_Elisabeth_Borne_(37190062412)_(cropped) Emmanuel Macron President Élisabeth Borne Prime Minister France is a representative democracy organised as a unitary, semi-presidential republic.[134] As one of the earliest republics of the modern world, democratic traditions and values are deeply rooted in French culture, identity and politics.[135] The Constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958, establishing a framework consisting of executive, legislative and judicial branches.[136] It sought to address the instability of the Third and Fourth Republics by combining elements of both parliamentary and presidential systems, whilst greatly strengthening the authority of the executive relative to the legislature.[135] Official logo of the French Republic The executive branch has two leaders. The President of the Republic, currently Emmanuel Macron, is the head of state, elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a five-year term.[137] The Prime Minister, currently Élisabeth Borne, is the head of government, appointed by the President of the Republic to lead the Government of France. The President has the power to dissolve Parliament or circumvent it by submitting referendums directly to the people; the President also appoints judges and civil servants, negotiates and ratifies international agreements, as well as serves as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Prime Minister determines public policy and oversees the civil service, with an emphasis on domestic matters.[138] In the 2022 presidential election president Macron was re—elected.[139] The National Assembly is the lower house of the French Parliament. The legislature consists of the French Parliament, a bicameral body comprising a lower house, the National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) and an upper house, the Senate.[140] Legislators in the National Assembly, known as députés, represent local constituencies and are directly elected for five-year terms.[141] The Assembly has the power to dismiss the government by majority vote. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for six-year terms, with half the seats submitted to election every three years.[142] The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the National Assembly has the final say.[143] The parliament is responsible for determining the rules and principles concerning most areas of law, political amnesty, and fiscal policy; however, the government may draft the specific details concerning most laws. Until World War II, Radicals were a strong political force in France, embodied by the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party which was the most important party of the Third Republic. Since World War II, they were marginalised while French politics became characterised by two politically opposed groupings: one left-wing, centred on the French Section of the Workers' International and its successor the Socialist Party (since 1969); and the other right-wing, centred on the Gaullist Party, whose name changed over time to the Rally of the French People (1947), the Union of Democrats for the Republic (1958), the Rally for the Republic (1976), the Union for a Popular Movement (2007) and The Republicans (since 2015). In the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, radical centrist party La République En Marche! (LREM) became the dominant force, overtaking both Socialists and Republicans. LREM’s main opponent in both the 2017 and 2022 elections has been the growing far-right party National Rally. The electorate is constitutionally empowered to vote on amendments passed by the Parliament and bills submitted by the president. Referendums have played a key role in shaping French politics and even foreign policy; voters have decided on such matters as Algeria's independence, the election of the president by popular vote, the formation of the EU, and the reduction of presidential term limits.[144] Waning civic participation has been a matter of rigorous public debate, with a majority of the public reportedly supporting mandatory voting as a solution in 2019. However, at least as of 2017, voter turnout was 75 percent during recent elections, higher than the OECD average of 68 percent.[145] Law Main article: Law of France France uses a civil legal system, wherein law arises primarily from written statutes;[100] judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judicial interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to case law in a common law system). Basic principles of the rule of law were laid in the Napoleonic Code (which was, in turn, largely based on the royal law codified under Louis XIV). In agreement with the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society. As Guy Canivet, first president of the Court of Cassation, wrote about the management of prisons: "Freedom is the rule, and its restriction is the exception; any restriction of Freedom must be provided for by Law and must follow the principles of necessity and proportionality." That is, Law should lay out prohibitions only if they are needed, and if the inconveniences caused by this restriction do not exceed the inconveniences that the prohibition is supposed to remedy. color drawing of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from 1789 The basic principles that the French Republic must respect are found in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. French law is divided into two principal areas: private law and public law. Private law includes, in particular, civil law and criminal law. Public law includes, in particular, administrative law and constitutional law. However, in practical terms, French law comprises three principal areas of law: civil law, criminal law, and administrative law. Criminal laws can only address the future and not the past (criminal ex post facto laws are prohibited).[146] While administrative law is often a subcategory of civil law in many countries, it is completely separated in France and each body of law is headed by a specific supreme court: ordinary courts (which handle criminal and civil litigation) are headed by the Court of Cassation and administrative courts are headed by the Council of State. To be applicable, every law must be officially published in the Journal officiel de la République française. France does not recognise religious law as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions; it has long abolished blasphemy laws and sodomy laws (the latter in 1791). However, "offences against public decency" (contraires aux bonnes mœurs) or disturbing public order (trouble à l'ordre public) have been used to repress public expressions of homosexuality or street prostitution. Since 1999, civil unions for homosexual couples are permitted, and since 2013, same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption are legal.[147] Laws prohibiting discriminatory speech in the press are as old as 1881. Some consider hate speech laws in France to be too broad or severe, undermining freedom of speech.[148] France has laws against racism and antisemitism,[149] while the 1990 Gayssot Act prohibits Holocaust denial. Freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed by the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State is the basis for laïcité (state secularism): the state does not formally recognise any religion, except in Alsace-Moselle. Nonetheless, it does recognise religious associations. The Parliament has listed many religious movements as dangerous cults since 1995, and has banned wearing conspicuous religious symbols in schools since 2004. In 2010, it banned the wearing of face-covering Islamic veils in public; human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch described the law as discriminatory towards Muslims.[150][151] However, it is supported by most of the population.[152] Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of France La Francophonie map (dozens of countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America are members of this international organisation. 88 states and governments are part of La Francophonie,[153] which promotes values of democracy, multilingualism and cultural diversity.[154] France has been a key member of this global organisation since its inception in 1970. France is a founding member of the United Nations and serves as one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto rights.[155] In 2015, it was described as "the best networked state in the world" due to its membership in more international institutions than any other country;[156] these include the G7, World Trade Organization (WTO),[157] the Pacific Community (SPC)[158] and the Indian Ocean Commission (COI).[159] It is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)[160] and a leading member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) of 84 French-speaking countries.[161] As a significant hub for international relations, France has the third-largest assembly of diplomatic missions, second only to China and the United States, which are far more populous. It also hosts the headquarters of several international organisations, including the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, and the OIF.[162] Postwar French foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership of the European Union, of which it was a founding member. Since the 1960s, France has developed close ties with reunified Germany to become the most influential driving force of the EU.[163] In the 1960s, France sought to exclude the British from the European unification process,[164] seeking to build its own standing in continental Europe. However, since 1904, France has maintained an "Entente cordiale" with the United Kingdom, and there has been a strengthening of links between the countries, especially militarily. European Parliament opening in Strasbourg with crowd and many countries' flags on flagpoles The European Parliament in Strasbourg, near the border with (Germany). France is a founding member of all EU institutions. France is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), but under President de Gaulle excluded itself from the joint military command, in protest of the Special Relationship between the United States and Britain, and to preserve the independence of French foreign and security policies. Under Nicolas Sarkozy, France re-joined the NATO joint military command on 4 April 2009.[165][166][167] In the early 1990s, the country drew considerable criticism from other nations for its underground nuclear tests in French Polynesia.[168] France vigorously opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq,[169][170] straining bilateral relations with the United States[171][172] and the United Kingdom. France retains strong political and economic influence in its former African colonies (Françafrique)[173] and has supplied economic aid and troops for peacekeeping missions in Ivory Coast and Chad.[174] Recently, after the unilateral declaration of independence of Northern Mali by the Tuareg MNLA and the subsequent regional Northern Mali conflict with several Islamist groups including Ansar Dine and MOJWA, France and other African states intervened to help the Malian Army to retake control. In 2017, France was the world's fourth-largest donor of development aid in absolute terms, behind the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.[175] This represents 0.43% of its GNP, the 12th highest among the OECD.[176] Aid is provided by the governmental French Development Agency, which finances primarily humanitarian projects in sub-Saharan Africa,[177] with an emphasis on "developing infrastructure, access to health care and education, the implementation of appropriate economic policies and the consolidation of the rule of law and democracy".[177] Military Main article: French Armed Forces see description Examples of France's military. Clockwise from top left: nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle; a Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft; French Chasseurs Alpins patrolling the valleys of Kapisa province in Afghanistan; a Leclerc tank The French Armed Forces (Forces armées françaises) are the military and paramilitary forces of France, under the President of the Republic as supreme commander. They consist of the French Army (Armée de Terre), French Navy (Marine Nationale, formerly called Armée de Mer), the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l’Espace), and the Military Police called National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale), which also fulfils civil police duties in the rural areas of France. Together they are among the largest armed forces in the world and the largest in the EU. According to a 2018 study by Crédit Suisse, the French Armed Forces are ranked as the world's sixth-most powerful military, and the most powerful in Europe, only behind Russia.[178] While the Gendarmerie is an integral part of the French armed forces (gendarmes are career soldiers), and therefore under the purview of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, it is operationally attached to the Ministry of the Interior as far as its civil police duties are concerned. When acting as general purpose police force, the Gendarmerie encompasses the counter terrorist units of the Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie (Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale), the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale), the Search Sections of the National Gendarmerie (Sections de Recherche de la Gendarmerie Nationale), responsible for criminal enquiries, and the Mobile Brigades of the National Gendarmerie (Brigades mobiles de la Gendarmerie Nationale, or in short Gendarmerie mobile) which have the task to maintain public order. The following special units are also part of the Gendarmerie: the Republican Guard (Garde républicaine) which protects public buildings hosting major French institutions, the Maritime Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie maritime) serving as Coast Guard, the Provost Service (Prévôté), acting as the Military Police branch of the Gendarmerie. Bastille Day in Paris National Gendarmerie Combined Arms School National Active Non-Commissioned Officers School As far as the French intelligence units are concerned, the Directorate-General for External Security (Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure) is considered to be a component of the Armed Forces under the authority of the Ministry of Defense. The other, the Central Directorate for Interior Intelligence (Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur) is a division of the National Police Force (Direction générale de la Police Nationale), and therefore reports directly to the Ministry of the Interior. There has been no national conscription since 1997.[179] France is a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN, and a recognised nuclear state since 1960. France has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)[180] and acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. France's annual military expenditure in 2018 was US$63.8 billion, or 2.3% of its GDP, making it the fifth biggest military spender in the world after the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, and India.[181] French nuclear deterrence, (formerly known as "Force de Frappe"), relies on complete independence. The current French nuclear force consists of four Triomphant class submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In addition to the submarine fleet, it is estimated that France has about 60 ASMP medium-range air-to-ground missiles with nuclear warheads,[182] of which around 50 are deployed by the Air and Space Force using the Mirage 2000N long-range nuclear strike aircraft, while around 10 are deployed by the French Navy's Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) attack aircraft, which operate from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The new Rafale F3 aircraft will gradually replace all Mirage 2000N and SEM in the nuclear strike role with the improved ASMP-A missile with a nuclear warhead. France has major military industries with one of the largest aerospace industries in the world.[183][184] Its industries have produced such equipment as the Rafale fighter, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the Exocet missile and the Leclerc tank among others. Despite withdrawing from the Eurofighter project, France is actively investing in European joint projects such as the Eurocopter Tiger, multipurpose frigates, the UCAV demonstrator nEUROn and the Airbus A400M. France is a major arms seller,[185][186] with most of its arsenal's designs available for the export market with the notable exception of nuclear-powered devices. France has consistently developed its cybersecurity capabilities, which are regularly ranked as some of the most robust of any nation of the world.[187][188] The Bastille Day military parade held in Paris each 14 July for France's national day, called Bastille Day in English-speaking countries (referred to in France as Fête nationale), is the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe. Other smaller parades are organised across the country. Government finance See also: Taxation in France The Government of France has run a budget deficit each year since the early 1970s. As of 2016, French government debt levels reached 2.2 trillion euros, the equivalent of 96.4% of French GDP.[189] In late 2012, credit rating agencies warned that growing French Government debt levels risked France's AAA credit rating, raising the possibility of a future downgrade and subsequent higher borrowing costs for the French authorities.[190] However, in July 2020, during the -19 pandemic, the French government issued 10-years bonds which had negative interest rates, for the first time in its history.[191] France also possesses in 2020 the fourth-largest gold reserves in the world.[192] Economy Main article: Economy of France La Défense, seen from the Eiffel Tower La Défense (as seen from the Eiffel Tower) was in 2017 ranked by Ernst & Young as the leading Central business district in continental Europe, and the fourth in the world.[193] France has a developed, high-income mixed economy, characterised by sizeable government involvement, economic diversity, a skilled labour force, and high innovation. For roughly two centuries, the French economy has consistently ranked among the ten largest globally; it is currently the world's ninth-largest by purchasing power parity, the seventh-largest by nominal GDP, and the second-largest in the European Union by both metrics.[194] France is considered an economic power, with membership in the Group of Seven leading industrialised countries, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Group of Twenty largest economies. France's economy is highly diversified; services represent two-thirds of both the workforce and GDP,[195] while the industrial sector accounts for a fifth of GDP and a similar proportion of employment. France is the third-biggest manufacturing country in Europe, behind Germany and Italy, and ranks eighth in the world by share of global manufacturing output, at 1.9 percent.[196] Less than 2 percent of GDP is generated by the primary sector, namely agriculture;[197] however, France's agricultural sector is among the largest in value and leads the EU in terms of overall production.[198] In 2018, France was the fifth-largest trading nation in the world and the second-largest in Europe, with the value of exports representing over a fifth of GDP.[199] Its membership in the Eurozone and the broader European Single Market facilitate access to capital, goods, services, and skilled labour.[200] Despite protectionist policies over certain industries, particularly in agriculture, France has generally played a leading role in fostering free trade and commercial integration in Europe in order to enhance its economy.[201][202] In 2019, it ranked first in Europe and 13th in the world in foreign direct investment, with European countries and the United States being leading sources.[203] According to the Bank of France, the leading recipients of FDI were manufacturing, real estate, finance and insurance.[204] The Paris region has the highest concentration of multinational firms in Europe.[204] Under the doctrine of Dirigisme, the government historically played a major role in the economy; policies such as indicative planning and nationalisation are credited for contributing to three decades of unprecedented postwar economic growth known as Trente Glorieuses. At its peak in 1982, the public sector accounted for one-fifth of industrial employment and over four-fifths of the credit market. Beginning in the late 20th century, France loosened regulations and state involvement in the economy, with most leading companies now being privately owned; state ownership now dominates only transportation, defence and broadcasting.[205] Policies aimed at promoting economic dynamism and privatisation have improved France's economic standing globally: it is among the world's 10 most innovative countries in the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index,[206] and the 15th most competitive, according to the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report (up two places from 2018).[207] According to the IMF, France ranked 30th in GDP per capita, with roughly $45,000 per inhabitant. It placed 23rd in the Human Development Index, indicating very high human development. Public corruption is among the lowest in the world, with France consistently ranking among the 30 least corrupt countries since the Corruption Perceptions Index began in 2012; it placed 22nd in 2021, up one place from the previous year.[208][209] France is Europe's second-largest spender in research and development, at over 2 percent of GDP; globally, it ranks 12th.[210] Composition of the French economy (GDP) in 2016 by expenditure type Financial services, banking, and insurance are important part of the economy. AXA is the world's second-largest insurance company by total nonbanking assets in 2020.[211][212] As of 2011, the three largest financial institutions cooperatively owned by their customers were French: Crédit Agricole, Groupe Caisse D'Epargne, and Groupe Caisse D'Epargne.[213] According to a 2020 report by S&P Global Market Intelligenc, France's leading banks, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole, are among the top world's 10 largest bank by assets, with Société Générale and Groupe BPCE ranking 17th and 19th globally, respectively.[214] The Paris stock exchange (French: La Bourse de Paris) is one of the oldest in the world, created by Louis XV in 1724.[215] In 2000, it merged with counterparts in Amsterdam and Brussels to form Euronext,[216] which in 2007 merged with the New York stock exchange to form NYSE Euronext, the world's largest stock exchange.[216] Euronext Paris, the French branch of NYSE Euronext, is Europe's second-largest stock exchange market, behind the London Stock Exchange. Agriculture Champagne wine in a flute Champagne is from the Champagne region in Northeast France. France has historically been one of the world's major agricultural centres and remains a "global agricultural powerhouse".[217][218] Nicknamed "the granary of the old continent",[219] over half its total land area is farmland, of which 45 percent is devoted to permanent field crops such as cereals. The country's diverse climate, extensive arable land, modern farming technology, and EU subsidies has made it Europe's leading agricultural producer and exporter;[220] it accounts for one-fifth of the EU's agricultural production, including and over one-third of its oilseeds, cereals, and wine.[221] As of 2017, France ranked first in Europe in beef and cereals; second in dairy and aquaculture; and third in poultry, fruits, vegetables, and manufactured chocolate products.[222] France has the EU's largest cattle herd, at 18-19 million.[223] France is the world's sixth-biggest exporter of agricultural products, generating a trade surplus of over €7.4 billion.[222] Its primary agricultural exports are wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, pork, and internationally recognised brands, particularly beverages.[223][224] France is the fifth largest grower of wheat, after China, India, Russia, and the United States, all of which are significantly larger.[223] It is the world's top exporter of natural spring water, flax, malt, and potatoes.[222] In 2020, France exported over €61 billion in agricultural products, compared to €37 billion in 2000.[225][226] France was an early centre of viviculture, dating back to at least the sixth century BCE. It is the world's second largest producer of wine, with many varieties enjoying global renown, such as Champagne and Bordeaux;[222] domestic consumption is also high, particularly of Rosé. France produces rum primarily from overseas territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe and La Réunion. Relative to other developed countries, agriculture is an important sector of France's economy: 3.8% of the active population is employed in agriculture, whereas the total agri-food industry made up 4.2% of French GDP in 2005.[221] France remains the largest recipient of EU agricultural subsidies, receiving an annual average of €8 billion from 2007 to 2019.[227][228] Tourism Main article: Tourism in France Tour Eiffel at sunrise from the trocadero The Eiffel Tower is the world's most-visited paid monument, an icon of both Paris and France. The Château de Marqueyssac, featuring a French formal garden, is one of the Remarkable Gardens of France. With 89 million international tourist arrivals in 2018,[229] France is the world's top tourist destination, ahead of Spain (83 million) and the United States (80 million). However, it ranks third in tourism-derived income due to shorter duration of visits.[230] The most popular tourist sites include (annual visitors): Eiffel Tower (6.2 million), Château de Versailles (2.8 million), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (2 million), Pont du Gard (1.5 million), Arc de Triomphe (1.2 million), Mont Saint-Michel (1 million), Sainte-Chapelle (683,000), Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg (549,000), Puy de Dôme (500,000), Musée Picasso (441,000), and Carcassonne (362,000).[231] Paris region France, especially Paris, has some of the world's largest and most renowned museums, including the Louvre, which is the most visited art museum in the world (5.7 million), the Musée d'Orsay (2.1 million), mostly devoted to Impressionism, the Musée de l'Orangerie (1.02 million), which is home to eight large Water Lily murals by Claude Monet, as well as the Centre Georges Pompidou (1.2 million), dedicated to contemporary art. Disneyland Paris is Europe's most popular theme park, with 15 million combined visitors to the resort's Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park in 2009.[232] French Riviera With more than 10 millions tourists a year, the French Riviera (French: Côte d'Azur), in Southeast France, is the second leading tourist destination in the country, after the Paris region.[233] It benefits from 300 days of sunshine per year, 115 kilometres (71 mi) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants.[234]: 31  Each year the Côte d'Azur hosts 50% of the world's superyacht fleet.[234]: 66  Châteaux With 6 millions tourists a year, the castles of the Loire Valley (French: châteaux) and the Loire Valley itself are the third leading tourist destination in France;[235][236] this World Heritage site is noteworthy for its architectural heritage, in its historic towns but in particular its castles, such as the Châteaux d'Amboise, de Chambord, d'Ussé, de Villandry, Chenonceau and Montsoreau. The Château de Chantilly, Versailles and Vaux-le-Vicomte, all three located near Paris, are also visitor attractions. Other protected areas France has 37 sites inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List and features cities of high cultural interest, beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, as well as rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Small and picturesque French villages are promoted through the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (literally "The Most Beautiful Villages of France"). The "Remarkable Gardens" label is a list of the over 200 gardens classified by the Ministry of Culture. This label is intended to protect and promote remarkable gardens and parks. France attracts many religious pilgrims on their way to St. James, or to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées that hosts several million visitors a year. Energy Further information: Energy in France Nuclear power plant in Cattenom, France four large cooling towers expelling white water vapour against a blue sky Belleville Nuclear Power Plant. France derives most of its electricity from nuclear power, the highest percentage in the world. France is the world's tenth-largest producer of electricity.[237] Électricité de France (EDF), which is majority-owned by the French government, is the country's main producer and distributor of electricity, and one of the world's largest electric utility companies, ranking third in revenue globally.[238] In 2018, EDF produced around one-fifth of the European Union's electricity, primarily from nuclear power.[239] As of 2021, France was the biggest energy exporter in Europe, mostly to the U.K. and Italy,[240] and the largest net exporter of electricity in the world.[240] Since the 1973 oil crisis, France has pursued a strong policy of energy security,[240] namely through heavy investment in nuclear energy. It is one of 32 countries with nuclear power plants, ranking second in the world by the number of operational nuclear reactors, at 56.[241] Consequently, 70% of France's electricity is generated by nuclear power, the highest proportion in the world by a wide margin;[242] only Slovakia and Ukraine derive a majority of electricity from nuclear power, at roughly 53% and 51%, respectively.[243] France is considered a world leader in nuclear technology, with reactors and fuel products being major exports.[240] Due to its overwhelming reliance on nuclear power, renewable energies have seen relatively little growth compared to other Western countries. Nevertheless, between 2008 and 2019, France's production capacity from renewable energies rose consistently and nearly doubled.[244] Hydropower is by far the leading source, accounting for over half the country's renewable energy sources[245] and contributing 13% of its electricity,[244] the highest proportion in Europe after Norway and Turkey.[245] As with nuclear power, most hydroelectric plants, such as Eguzon, Étang de Soulcem, and Lac de Vouglans, are managed by EDF.[245] France aims to further expand hydropower into 2040.[244] France made minimal but measurable investments in other renewable energy sources. Due to its geography and extensive agricultural land, it has the second-largest wind energy potential in Europe, and by 2017 had ranked eighth globally in installed wind capacity.[246] In terms of solar power, France ranked seventh in the world in 2015 for solar photovoltaic installation capacity.[247] As of 2019, solar power sources generated over 10,570 megawatts of electricity, compared to a little over 1,000 megawatts in 2010.[248] Because France derives the vast majority of its power from nuclear and renewable sources, close to half its primary energy (48.5%) is derived from low-carbon sources, compared to 26.4% in Europe and 15.7% in the world as a whole.[249] France is also the smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the G7.[250] Transport Main article: Transport in France A TGV Duplex crossing the Cize–Bolozon viaduct. The train can reach a maximum speed of 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). France's railway network, which stretches 29,473 kilometres (18,314 mi) as of 2008,[251] is the second most extensive in Western Europe after Germany.[252] It is operated by the SNCF, and high-speed trains include the Thalys, the Eurostar and TGV, which travels at 320 km/h (199 mph).[253] The Eurostar, along with the Eurotunnel Shuttle, connects with the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries in Europe except Andorra. Intra-urban connections are also well developed, with most major cities having underground or tramway services complementing bus services. There are approximately 1,027,183 kilometres (638,262 mi) of serviceable roadway in France, ranking it the most extensive network of the European continent.[254] The Paris region is enveloped with the densest network of roads and highways, which connect it with virtually all parts of the country. French roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighbouring Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Andorra and Monaco. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; however, usage of the mostly privately owned motorways is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The new car market is dominated by domestic brands such as Renault, Peugeot and Citroën.[255] France possesses the Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge,[256] and has built many important bridges such as the Pont de Normandie. Diesel and gasoline fuelled cars and lorries cause a large part of the country's air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.[257][258] Air France is one of the biggest airlines in the world. There are 464 airports in France.[100] Charles de Gaulle Airport, located in the vicinity of Paris, is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic and connecting Paris with virtually all major cities across the world. Air France is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are ten major ports in France, the largest of which is in Marseille,[259] which also is the largest bordering the Mediterranean Sea.[260][261] 12,261 kilometres (7,619 mi) of waterways traverse France including the Canal du Midi, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean through the Garonne river.[100] Science and technology Main articles: Science and technology in France and List of French inventions and discoveries Ariane 5 rocket France is in 2020 the biggest national financial contributor to the European Space Agency,[262] which conceived the Ariane rocket family, launched from French Guiana (Ariane 5 pictured). Since the Middle Ages, France has been a major contributor to scientific and technological achievement. In the early 11th century, the French-born Pope Sylvester II reintroduced the abacus and armillary sphere, and introduced Arabic numerals and clocks to much of Europe.[263] The University of Paris, founded in the mid-12th century, is still one of the most important academic institutions in the Western world.[264] In the 17th century, mathematician René Descartes pioneered rationalism as a method for acquiring scientific knowledge, while Blaise Pascal became famous for his work on probability and fluid mechanics; both were key figures of the Scientific Revolution, which blossomed in Europe during this period. The French Academy of Sciences, founded in the mid-17th century by Louis XIV to encourage and protect French scientific research, was one of the earliest national scientific institutions in history; it was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe for the next two centuries. The Age of Enlightenment was marked by the work of biologist Buffon, one of the first naturalists to recognise ecological succession, and chemist Lavoisier, who discovered the role of oxygen in combustion. Diderot and D'Alembert published the Encyclopédie, which aimed to give the public access to "useful knowledge" that could be applied to everyday life.[265] The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century saw spectacular scientific developments in France, with Augustin Fresnel founding modern optics, Sadi Carnot laying the foundations of thermodynamics, and Louis Pasteur pioneering of microbiology. Other eminent French scientists of the period have their names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower. Famous French scientists of the 20th century include the mathematician and physicist Henri Poincaré; physicists Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie, who remain famous for their work on radioactivity; physicist Paul Langevin; and virologist Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of HIV AIDS. Hand transplantation was developed in Lyon in 1998 by an international team that included Jean-Michel Dubernard, who afterward performed the first successful double hand transplant.[266] Telesurgery was first performed by French surgeons led by Jacques Marescaux on 7 September 2001 across the Atlantic Ocean.[267] A face transplant was first done on 27 November 2005 by Dr. Bernard Devauchelle.[268][269] France was the fourth country to achieve nuclear capability[270] and has the third largest nuclear weapons arsenal in the world;[271] it is also a leader in civilian nuclear technology.[272][273][274] France was the third nation, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to launch its own space satellite, and the first to establish a commercial launch service provider, Arianespace. The French national space programme, CNES, is the third oldest in the world, and the oldest, largest, and most active in Europe. France is a founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA), contributing over a quarter of its budget, the most of any member state.[275] ESA is headquartered in Paris, has its principal spaceport in French Guiana, and utilises the French-made Ariane 5 as its primary launch vehicle.[276][277][278] Airbus, a leading aerospace company and the world's largest airline manufacturer, was formed partly from the French company, Aérospatiale; its main commercial airline business is conducted through its French division, Airbus S.A.S. Top view of the ring of European Synchrotron Radiation Facility The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble France also hosts major international research facilities, including the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the Institut Laue–Langevin, and Minatec, Europe's leading nanotechnology research centre. It is also a major member of CERN, which operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and is its third largest contributor. France pioneered and hosts ITER, an international effort to develop nuclear fusion energy, which is the world's biggest megaproject. The TGV, developed by France's national railway company, the SNCF, is a high-speed train that holds a series of world speed records; in 2007, it became the fastest commercial wheeled train, achieving a speed of 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph).[279] As of 2021, it is the third-fastest train in the world, surpassed only by maglev models that utilise magnetic levitation.[280] Western Europe is now serviced by a network of TGV lines. The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the state research agency, is the largest research institute in Europe and among the most prominent internationally; according to the 2020 Nature Index, it ranks fourth in the share of articles published in scientific journals worldwide,[281] with France as a whole having the sixth-highest share.[282] As of 2022, France ranks fourth in the number of Nobel laureates, with 70 French people having been awarded a Nobel Prize.[283] Twelve French mathematicians have received a Fields Medal, considered the most prestigious award in the field, making up one-fifth of total recipients,[284] and second only the United States. France ranked 11th in the 2021 Global Innovation Index, compared to 12th in 2020 and 16th in 2019.[285][286][287][288] Demographics Main articles: Demographics of France and French people Population density in France by arrondissement. The main urban areas are visible, notably the Paris (centre-north), Lille (north), Marseille (southeast) and Lyon (centre-southeast) urban areas. With an estimated July 2022 population of 67,897,000 people,[7] France is the 20th most populous country in the world, the third-most populous in Europe (after Russia and Germany), and the second most populous in the European Union (after Germany). France is an outlier among developed countries, particularly in Europe, for its relatively high rate of natural population growth: By birth rates alone, it was responsible for almost all natural population growth in the European Union in 2006.[289] Between 2006 and 2016, France saw the second-highest overall increase in population in the EU and was one of only four EU countries where natural births accounted for most population growth.[290] This was the highest rate since the end of the baby boom in 1973 and coincides with the rise of the total fertility rate from a nadir of 1.7 in 1994 to 2.0 in 2010. As of January 2021, the fertility rate declined slightly to 1.84 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1, and considerably below the high of 4.41 in 1800.[291][292][293][294] France's fertility rate and crude birth rate nonetheless remain among the highest in the EU. However, like many developed nations, the French population is aging; the average age is 41.7 years, while about a fifth of French people are 65 or over.[295] Average life expectancy at birth is 82.7 years, the 12th highest in the world. From 2006 to 2011, population growth averaged 0.6 percent per year;[296] since 2011, annual growth has been between 0.4 and 0.5 percent annually.[297] Immigrants are major contributors to this trend; in 2010, 27 percent of newborns in metropolitan France had at least one foreign-born parent and another 24 percent had at least one parent born outside Europe (excluding French overseas territories).[298] Ethnic groups Most French people are of Celtic-Gallic origin, with a significant admixture of Italic (Romans) and Germanic (Franks) groups reflecting centuries of respective migration and settlement.[299] Through the course of the Middle Ages, France incorporated various neighbouring ethnic and linguistic groups, as evidenced by Breton elements in the west, Aquitanian in the southwest, Scandinavian in the northwest, Alemannic in the northeast, and Ligurian in the southeast. Large-scale immigration over the last century and a half has led to a more multicultural society; beginning with the French Revolution, and further codified in the French Constitution of 1958, the government is prohibited from collecting data on ethnicity and ancestry; most demographic information is drawn from private sector organisations or academic institutions. In 2004, the Institut Montaigne estimated that within Metropolitan France, 51 million people were White (85% of the population), 6 million were Northwest African (10%), 2 million were Black (3.3%), and 1 million were Asian (1.7%).[300][301] A 2008 poll conducted jointly by INED and the French National Institute of Statistics[302][303] estimated that the largest ancestry groups were Italian (5 million), followed by Northwest African (3-6 million),[304][305][306] Sub-Saharan African (2.5 million), Armenian (500,000), and Turkish (200,000).[307] There are also sizeable minorities of other European ethnic groups, namely Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Greek.[304][308][309] France has a significant Gitan (Romani) population, numbering between 20,000 and 400,000;[310] many foreign Roma are expelled back to Bulgaria and Romania frequently.[311] Immigration Number of immigrants[XIII] living in France by region of birth UN SDG region 2019 census 2009 census Growth Northern Africa and Western Asia 2,425,200 1,983,600 +22.3% Europe 2,297,400 2,076,200 +10.7% Sub-Saharan Africa 1,123,800 667,500 +68.4% Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 311,400 293,100 +6.2% Latin America and the Caribbean 307,650 233,900 +31.5% Central and Southern Asia 205,600 120,100 +71.2% Northern America 54,600 51,600 +5.8% Australia, NZ, and Oceania 7,950 6,700 +18.7% TOTAL 6,733,600 5,432,700 +23.9% Sources: INSEE census figures,[312] UN SDG regions.[313] Note: Figures for 2019 refer to Metropolitan France and the 5 overseas regions (Mayotte included). Figures for 2009 do not include Mayotte. The overseas collectivities in the Pacific Ocean are included neither in 2009 nor in 2019. It is currently estimated that 40% of the French population is descended at least partially from the different waves of immigration since the early 20th century;[314] between 1921 and 1935 alone, about 1.1 million net immigrants came to France.[315] The next largest wave came in the 1960s, when around 1.6 million pieds noirs returned to France following the independence of its Northwest African possessions, Algeria and Morocco.[316][317] They were joined by numerous former colonial subjects from North and West Africa, as well as numerous European immigrants from Spain and Portugal. France remains a major destination for immigrants, accepting about 200,000 legal immigrants annually.[318] In 2005, it was Western Europe's leading recipient of asylum seekers, with an estimated 50,000 applications (albeit 15% decrease from 2004).[319] In 2010, France received about 48,100 asylum applications—placing it among the top five asylum recipients in the world[320] and in subsequent years it saw the number of applications increase, ultimately doubling to 100,412 in 2017.[321] The European Union allows free movement between the member states, although France established controls to curb Eastern European migration,[citation needed] and immigration remains a contentious political issue. In 2008, the INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) estimated that the total number of foreign-born immigrants was around 5 million (8% of the population), while their French-born descendants numbered 6.5 million, or 11% of the population. Thus, nearly a fifth of the country's population were either first or second-generation immigrants, of which more than 5 million were of European origin and 4 million of Maghrebi ancestry.[322][323][324] In 2008, France granted citizenship to 137,000 persons, mostly from Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.[325] In 2014, the INSEE reported a significant increase in the number of immigrants coming from Spain, Portugal and Italy between 2009 and 2012. According to the French Institute, this increase resulted from the financial crisis that hit several European countries in that period.[326] Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107 percent between 2009 and 2012, with the population growing from 5,300 to 11,000.[326] Of the total of 229,000 foreigners who were in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, 5% British, 5% Spanish, 4% Italian, 4% German, 3% Romanian, and 3% Belgian.[326] Major cities See also: Functional area (France) and Urban unit France is a highly urbanised country, with its largest cities (in terms of metropolitan area population in 2019[327]) being Paris (13,114,718 inh.), Lyon (2,280,845), Marseille (1,873,270), Lille (1,510,079), Toulouse (1,454,158), Bordeaux (1,363,711), Nantes (1,011,020), Strasbourg (853,110), Montpellier (801,595), and Rennes (755,668). (Note: since its 2020 revision of metropolitan area borders, INSEE considers that Nice is a metropolitan area separate from the Cannes-Antibes metropolitan area; these two combined would have a population of 1,008,296, as of 2019 census). Rural flight was a perennial political issue throughout most of the 20th century.    Largest metropolitan areas in France 2019 census Rank Name Region Pop. Rank Name Region Pop. Paris Paris Lyon Lyon 1 Paris Île-de-France 13,114,718 11 Grenoble Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 717,469 Marseille Marseille Lille Lille 2 Lyon Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2,280,845 12 Rouen Normandy 705,627 3 Marseille Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 1,873,270 13 Nice Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 615,126 4 Lille Hauts-de-France 1,510,079 14 Toulon Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 573,230 5 Toulouse Occitania (administrative region) 1,454,158 15 Tours Centre-Val de Loire 519,778 6 Bordeaux Nouvelle-Aquitaine 1,363,711 16 Nancy Grand Est 510,306 7 Nantes Pays de la Loire 1,011,020 17 Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 507,479 8 Strasbourg Grand Est 853,110 18 Saint-Étienne Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 498,849 9 Montpellier Occitania (administrative region) 801,595 19 Caen Normandy 472,161 10 Rennes Brittany 755,668 20 Orléans Centre-Val de Loire 451,373 Language Main articles: French language, Languages of France, and Organisation internationale de la Francophonie world map of French speaking countries Map of the Francophone world:   Native language   Administrative language   Secondary or non-official language   Francophone minorities According to Article 2 of the Constitution, the official language of France is French,[328] a Romance language derived from Latin. Since 1635, the Académie française has been France's official authority on the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal weight. There are also regional languages spoken in France, such as Occitan, Breton, Catalan, Flemish (Dutch dialect), Alsatian (German dialect), Basque, and Corsican (Italian dialect). Italian was the official language of Corsica until 9 May 1859.[329] The Government of France does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals, but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications. In addition to mandating the use of French in the territory of the Republic, the French government tries to promote French in the European Union and globally through institutions such as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. The perceived threat from anglicisation has prompted efforts to safeguard the position of the French language in France. Besides French, there exist 77 vernacular minority languages of France, eight spoken in French metropolitan territory and 69 in the French overseas territories. From the 17th to the mid-20th century, French served as the pre-eminent international language of diplomacy and international affairs as well as a lingua franca among the educated classes of Europe.[330] The dominant position of French language in international affairs was overtaken by English, since the emergence of the United States as a major power.[60][331][332] For most of the time in which French served as an international lingua franca, it was not the native language of most Frenchmen: a report in 1794 conducted by Henri Grégoire found that of the country's 25 million people, only three million spoke French natively; the rest spoke one of the country's many regional languages, such as Alsatian, Breton or Occitan.[333] Through the expansion of public education, in which French was the sole language of instruction, as well as other factors such as increased urbanisation and the rise of mass communication, French gradually came to be adopted by virtually the entire population, a process not completed until the 20th century. As a result of France's extensive colonial ambitions between the 17th and 20th centuries, French was introduced to the Americas, Africa, Polynesia, South-East Asia, as well as the Caribbean. French is the second most studied foreign language in the world after English,[334] and is a lingua franca in some regions, notably in Africa. The legacy of French as a living language outside Europe is mixed: it is nearly extinct in some former French colonies (The Levant, South and Southeast Asia), while creoles and pidgins based on French have emerged in the French departments in the West Indies and the South Pacific (French Polynesia). On the other hand, many former French colonies have adopted French as an official language, and the total number of French speakers is increasing, especially in Africa. It is estimated that between 300 million[335] and 500 million[336] people worldwide can speak French, either as a mother tongue or a second language. According to the 2007 Adult Education survey, part of a project by the European Union and carried in France by the INSEE and based on a sample of 15,350 persons, French was the native language of 87.2% of the total population, or roughly 55.81 million people, followed by Arabic (3.6%, 2.3 million), Portuguese (1.5%, 960,000), Spanish (1.2%, 770,000) and Italian (1.0%, 640,000). Native speakers of other languages made up the remaining 5.2% of the population.[337] Religion Main article: Religion in France Notre-Dame de Reims façade, gothic stone cathedral against blue sky Notre-Dame de Reims is the Roman Catholic cathedral where the Kings of France were crowned until 1825.[XIV] France is a secular country in which freedom of religion is a constitutional right. French religious policy is based on the concept of laïcité, a strict separation of church and state under which public life is kept completely secular. The exception to this is the region of Alsace and Moselle where Lutheranism, Catholicism and Judaism enjoy official status and state funding. According to a survey held in 2016 by Institut Montaigne and Institut français d'opinion publique (IFOP), 51.1% of the total population of France was Christian, 39.6% had no religion (atheism or agnosticism), 5.6% were Muslims, 2.5% were followers of other faiths, and the remaining 0.4% were undecided about their faith.[338] Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely. In 2003, the French Ministry of the Interior estimated the total number of people of Muslim background to be between 5 and 6 million (8–10%).[339][340] The current Jewish community in France is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world after Israel and the United States, ranging between 480,000 and 600,000, about 0.8% of the population as of 2016.[338] Catholicism has been the predominant religion in France for more than a millennium, though it is not as actively practised today as it was. Among the 47,000 religious buildings in France, 94% are Roman Catholic.[341] During the French Revolution, activists conducted a brutal campaign of de-Christianisation, ending the Catholic Church as the state religion. In some cases, clergy and churches were attacked, with iconoclasm stripping the churches of statues and ornaments. After alternating between royal and secular republican governments during the 19th century, in 1905 France passed the 1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State, which established the principle of laïcité.[342] To this day, the government is prohibited from recognising any specific right to a religious community (except for legacy statutes like those of military chaplains and the local law in Alsace-Moselle). It recognises religious organisations according to formal legal criteria that do not address religious doctrine. Conversely, religious organisations are expected to refrain from intervening in policymaking.[343] Certain groups, such as Scientology, Children of God, the Unification Church, or the Order of the Solar Temple are considered cults ("sectes" in French); therefore they do not have the same status as recognised religions in France.[344] Secte is considered a pejorative term in France.[345] Health Main article: Health in France Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, stone building with slate dome The Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, a teaching hospital in Paris, is one of Europe's largest hospitals.[346] The French health care system is one of universal health care largely financed by government national health insurance. In its 2000 assessment of world health care systems, the World Health Organization found that France provided the "close to best overall health care" in the world.[347] The French healthcare system was ranked first worldwide by the World Health Organization in 1997.[348][349] In 2011, France spent 11.6% of GDP on health care, or US$4,086 per capita,[350] a figure much higher than the average spent by countries in Europe but less than in the United States. Approximately 77% of health expenditures are covered by government funded agencies.[351] Care is generally free for people affected by chronic diseases (affections de longues durées) such as cancer, AIDS or cystic fibrosis. Average life expectancy at birth is 78 years for men and 85 years for women, one of the highest of the European Union and the World.[352][353] There are 3.22 physicians for every 1000 inhabitants in France,[354] and average health care spending per capita was US$4,719 in 2008.[355] As of 2007, approximately 140,000 inhabitants (0.4%) of France are living with HIV/AIDS.[100] Even if the French have the reputation of being one of the thinnest people in developed countries,[356][357][358][359][360][excessive citations] France—like other rich countries—faces an increasing and recent epidemic of obesity, due mostly to the replacement in French eating habits of traditional healthy French cuisine by junk food.[361][356][357][362][excessive citations] The French obesity rate is still far below that of the United States—currently equal to American rate in the 1970s—and is still the lowest of Europe.[357][359][362] Authorities now regard obesity as one of the main public health issues and fight it fiercely.[363] Rates of childhood obesity are slowing in France, while continuing to grow in other countries.[364] Education Main article: Education in France The École normale supérieure (ENS) in Paris, established in the end of the 18th century, produces more Nobel Prize laureates per capita than any other institution in the world.[365] In 1802, Napoleon created the lycée, the second and final stage of secondary education that prepares students for higher education studies or a profession.[366] Nevertheless, Jules Ferry is considered the father of the French modern school, leading reforms in the late 19th century that established free, secular and compulsory education (currently mandatory until the age of 16).[367][368] French education is centralised and divided into three stages: Primary, secondary, and higher education. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, ranked France's education as near OECD average in 2018.[369][370] France was one of the PISA-participating countries where school children perceived some of the lowest levels of support and feedback from their teachers.[370] School children in France reported greater concern about the disciplinary climate and behaviour in classrooms compared to other OECD countries.[370] Primary and secondary education are predominantly public, run by the Ministry of National Education. While training and remuneration of teachers and the curriculum are the responsibility of the state centrally, the management of primary and secondary schools is overseen by local authorities. Primary education comprises two phases, nursery school (école maternelle) and elementary school (école élémentaire). Nursery school aims to stimulate the minds of very young children and promote their socialisation and development of a basic grasp of language and numbers. Around the age of six, children transfer to elementary school, whose primary objectives are learning about writing, arithmetic and citizenship. Secondary education also consists of two phases. The first is delivered through colleges (collège) and leads to the national certificate (Diplôme national du brevet). The second is offered in high schools (lycée) and finishes in national exams leading to a baccalaureate (baccalauréat, available in professional, technical or general flavours) or certificate of professional competence (certificat d'aptitude professionelle). Higher education is divided between public universities and the prestigious and selective Grandes écoles, such as Sciences Po Paris for Political studies, HEC Paris for Economics, Polytechnique, the École des hautes études en sciences sociales for Social studies and the École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris that produce high-profile engineers, or the École nationale d'administration for careers in the Grands Corps of the state. The Grandes écoles have been criticised for alleged elitism, producing many if not most of France's high-ranking civil servants, CEOs and politicians.[371] Culture Main article: Culture of France Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People (1830) portrays the July Revolution using the stylistic views of Romanticism. Since Liberty is part of the motto "Liberté, égalité, fraternité", as the French put it, this painting has become the primary symbol of the French Republic. France has been a centre of Western cultural development for centuries. Many French artists have been among the most renowned of their time; France is still recognised in the world for its rich cultural tradition.[372] The successive political regimes have always promoted artistic creation. The creation of the Ministry of Culture in 1959 helped preserve the cultural heritage of the country and make it available to the public. The Ministry of Culture has been very active since its creation, granting subsidies to artists, promoting French culture in the world, supporting festivals and cultural events, protecting historical monuments. The French government also succeeded in maintaining a cultural exception to defend audiovisual products made in the country.[373] France receives the highest number of tourists per year, largely thanks to the numerous cultural establishments and historical buildings implanted all over the territory. It counts 1,200 museums welcoming more than 50 million people annually.[374] The most important cultural sites are run by the government, for instance through the public agency Centre des monuments nationaux, which is responsible for approximately 85 national historical monuments. The 43,180 buildings protected as historical monuments include mainly residences (many castles) and religious buildings (cathedrals, basilicas, churches), but also statues, memorials and gardens. The UNESCO inscribed 45 sites in France on the World Heritage List.[375] Art Main article: French art The Louvre Museum, widely recognised as one of the finest art museums in the world, was in 2019 both the largest and the most-visited museum.[376] The origins of French art were very much influenced by Flemish art and by Italian art at the time of the Renaissance. Jean Fouquet, the most famous medieval French painter, is said to have been the first to travel to Italy and experience the Early Renaissance firsthand. The Renaissance painting School of Fontainebleau was directly inspired by Italian painters such as Primaticcio and Rosso Fiorentino, who both worked in France. Two of the most famous French artists of the time of Baroque era, Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, lived in Italy. Claude Monet, founder of the Impressionist movement The 17th century was the period when French painting became prominent and individualised itself through classicism. Prime Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded in 1648 the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture under Louis XIV to protect these artists; in 1666 he also created the still-active French Academy in Rome to have direct relations with Italian artists. French artists developed the rococo style in the 18th century, as a more intimate imitation of old baroque style, the works of the court-endorsed artists Antoine Watteau, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard being the most representative in the country. The French Revolution brought great changes, as Napoleon favoured artists of neoclassic style such as Jacques-Louis David and the highly influential Académie des Beaux-Arts defined the style known as Academism. At this time France had become a centre of artistic creation, the first half of the 19th century being dominated by two successive movements, at first Romanticism with Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix, then Realism with Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet, a style that eventually evolved into Naturalism. In the second part of the 19th century, France's influence over painting became even more important, with the development of new styles of painting such as Impressionism and Symbolism. The most famous impressionist painters of the period were Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir.[377] The second generation of impressionist-style painters, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Georges Seurat, were also at the avant-garde of artistic evolutions,[378] as well as the fauvist artists Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck.[379][380] At the beginning of the 20th century, Cubism was developed by Georges Braque and the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, living in Paris. Other foreign artists also settled and worked in or near Paris, such as Vincent van Gogh, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani and Wassily Kandinsky. The Thinker bronze statue from 1902 from the Musée Rodin, Paris Le Penseur by Auguste Rodin (1902), Musée Rodin, Paris Many museums in France are entirely or partly devoted to sculptures and painting works. A huge collection of old masterpieces created before or during the 18th century are displayed in the state-owned Musée du Louvre, such as the Mona Lisa, also known as "La Joconde". While the Louvre Palace has been for a long time a museum, the Musée d'Orsay was inaugurated in 1986 in the old railway station Gare d'Orsay, in a major reorganisation of national art collections, to gather French paintings from the second part of the 19th century (mainly Impressionism and Fauvism movements).[381][382] The Musée d'Orsay was voted in 2018 the best museum in the world.[383] Modern works are presented in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, which moved in 1976 to the Centre Georges Pompidou. These three state-owned museums welcome close to 17 million people a year.[384] Other national museums hosting paintings include the Grand Palais (1.3 million visitors in 2008), but there are also many museums owned by cities, the most visited being the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (0.8 million entries in 2008), which hosts contemporary works.[384] Outside Paris, all the large cities have a Museum of Fine Arts with a section dedicated to European and French painting. Some of the finest collections are in Lyon, Lille, Rouen, Dijon, Rennes and Grenoble. Architecture Main article: French architecture Sainte Chapelle interior showing painted stonework vaulting and stained glass Saint Louis's Sainte-Chapelle represents the French impact on religious architecture. During the Middle Ages, many fortified castles were built by feudal nobles to mark their powers. Some French castles that survived are Chinon, Château d'Angers, the massive Château de Vincennes and the so-called Cathar castles. During this era, France had been using Romanesque architecture like most of Western Europe. Some of the greatest examples of Romanesque churches in France are the Saint Sernin Basilica in Toulouse, the largest Romanesque church in Europe,[385] and the remains of the Cluny Abbey. The Gothic architecture, originally named Opus Francigenum meaning "French work",[386] was born in Île-de-France and was the first French style of architecture to be copied in all Europe.[387] Northern France is the home of some of the most important Gothic cathedrals and basilicas, the first of these being the Saint Denis Basilica (used as the royal necropolis); other important French Gothic cathedrals are Notre-Dame de Chartres and Notre-Dame d'Amiens. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church: Notre-Dame de Reims.[388] Aside from churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one being the Palais des Papes in Avignon. The final victory in the Hundred Years' War marked an important stage in the evolution of French architecture. It was the time of the French Renaissance and several artists from Italy were invited to the French court; many residential palaces were built in the Loire Valley, from 1450 with as a first reference the Château de Montsoreau.[389] Such residential castles were the Château de Chambord, the Château de Chenonceau, or the Château d'Amboise. Following the renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages, Baroque architecture replaced the traditional Gothic style. However, in France, baroque architecture found a greater success in the secular domain than in a religious one.[390] In the secular domain, the Palace of Versailles has many baroque features. Jules Hardouin Mansart, who designed the extensions to Versailles, was one of the most influential French architects of the baroque era; he is famous for his dome at Les Invalides.[391] Some of the most impressive provincial baroque architecture is found in places that were not yet French such as Place Stanislas in Nancy. On the military architectural side, Vauban designed some of the most efficient fortresses in Europe and became an influential military architect; as a result, imitations of his works can be found all over Europe, the Americas, Russia and Turkey.[392][393] Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, an example of French baroque architecture After the Revolution, the Republicans favoured Neoclassicism although it was introduced in France prior to the revolution with such buildings as the Parisian Pantheon or the Capitole de Toulouse. Built during the first French Empire, the Arc de Triomphe and Sainte Marie-Madeleine represent the best example of Empire style architecture.[394] Under Napoleon III, a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth; extravagant buildings such as the neo-baroque Palais Garnier were built. The urban planning of the time was very organised and rigorous; most notably, Haussmann's renovation of Paris. The architecture associated with this era is named Second Empire in English, the term being taken from the Second French Empire. At this time there was a strong Gothic resurgence across Europe and in France; the associated architect was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In the late 19th century, Gustave Eiffel designed many bridges, such as Garabit viaduct, and remains one of the most influential bridge designers of his time, although he is best remembered for the iconic Eiffel Tower. The City hall of Toulouse The Capitole de Toulouse hosts Toulouse City Hall. In the 20th century, French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier designed several buildings in France. More recently, French architects have combined both modern and old architectural styles. The Louvre Pyramid is an example of modern architecture added to an older building. The most difficult buildings to integrate within French cities are skyscrapers, as they are visible from afar. For instance, in Paris, since 1977, new buildings had to be under 37 metres (121 ft).[395] France's largest financial district is La Défense, where a significant number of skyscrapers are located.[396] Other massive buildings that are a challenge to integrate into their environment are large bridges; an example of the way this has been done is the Millau Viaduct. Some famous modern French architects include Jean Nouvel, Dominique Perrault, Christian de Portzamparc or Paul Andreu. Literature Main article: French literature The earliest French literature dates from the Middle Ages, when what is now known as modern France did not have a single, uniform language. There were several languages and dialects, and writers used their own spelling and grammar. Some authors of French medieval texts are unknown, such as Tristan and Iseult and Lancelot-Grail. Other authors are known, for example Chrétien de Troyes and Duke William IX of Aquitaine, who wrote in Occitan. Much medieval French poetry and literature were inspired by the legends of the Matter of France, such as The Song of Roland and the various chansons de geste. The Roman de Renart, written in 1175 by Perrout de Saint Cloude, tells the story of the medieval character Reynard ('the Fox') and is another example of early French writing. An important 16th-century writer was François Rabelais, whose novel Gargantua and Pantagruel has remained famous and appreciated until now. Michel de Montaigne was another major figure of French literature during that century. His most famous work, Essais, created the literary genre of the essay.[397] French poetry during that century was embodied by Pierre de Ronsard and Joachim du Bellay. Both writers founded the La Pléiade literary movement. In 1678, Madame de La Fayette published anonymously La Princesse de Clèves, a novel that is considered to be one of the first psychological novels of all time.[398] Jean de La Fontaine is one of the most famous fabulists of that time, as he wrote hundreds of fables, some being far more famous than others, such as The Ant and the Grasshopper. Generations of French pupils had to learn his fables, which were seen as helping teach wisdom and common sense to the young people. Some of his verses have entered the popular language to become proverbs, such as "À l'œuvre, on connaît l'artisan."[A workman is known by his chips].[399] see description French literary figures. Clockwise from top left: Molière is the most played author in the Comédie-Française;[400] Victor Hugo is one of the most important French novelist and poet; 19th-century poet, writer and translator Charles Baudelaire; 20th-century philosopher and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre Jean Racine, whose incredible mastery of the alexandrine and of the French language has been praised for centuries, created plays such as Phèdre or Britannicus. He is, along with Pierre Corneille (Le Cid) and Molière, considered one of the three great dramatists of France's golden age. Molière, who is deemed to be one of the greatest masters of comedy of the Western literature,[401] wrote dozens of plays, including Le Misanthrope, L'Avare, Le Malade imaginaire, as well as Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. His plays have been so popular around the world that the French language is sometimes dubbed as "the language of Molière" (la langue de Molière),[402] just like English is considered "the language of Shakespeare". French literature and poetry flourished even more in the 18th and 19th centuries. Denis Diderot's best-known works are Jacques the Fatalist and Rameau's Nephew. He is however best known for being the main redactor of the Encyclopédie, whose aim was to sum up all the knowledge of his century (in fields such as arts, sciences, languages, and philosophy) and to present them to the people, to fight ignorance and obscurantism. During that same century, Charles Perrault was a prolific writer of famous children's fairy tales including Puss in Boots, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Bluebeard. At the start of the 19th century, symbolist poetry was an important movement in French literature, with poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé.[403] The 19th century saw the writings of many renowned French authors. Victor Hugo is sometimes seen as "the greatest French writer of all time"[404] for excelling in all literary genres. The preface of his play Cromwell is considered to be the manifesto of the Romantic movement. Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles are considered "poetic masterpieces",[405] Hugo's verse having been compared to that of Shakespeare, Dante and Homer.[405] His novel Les Misérables is widely seen as one of the greatest novel ever written[406] and The Hunchback of Notre Dame has remained immensely popular. Other major authors of that century include Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte-Cristo), Jules Verne (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), Émile Zola (Les Rougon-Macquart), Honoré de Balzac (La Comédie humaine), Guy de Maupassant, Théophile Gautier and Stendhal (The Red and the Black, The Charterhouse of Parma), whose works are among the most well known in France and the world. The Prix Goncourt is a French literary prize first awarded in 1903.[407] Important writers of the 20th century include Marcel Proust, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote Little Prince, which has remained popular for decades with children and adults around the world.[408] As of 2014, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation.[409] The first Nobel Prize in Literature was a French author, while France's latest Nobel prize in literature is Patrick Modiano, who was awarded the prize in 2014.[409] Jean-Paul Sartre was also the first nominee in the committee's history to refuse the prize in 1964.[409] Philosophy Main article: French philosophy Medieval philosophy was dominated by Scholasticism until the emergence of Humanism in the Renaissance. Modern philosophy began in France in the 17th century with the philosophy of René Descartes, Blaise Pascal and Nicolas Malebranche. Descartes was the first Western philosopher since ancient times to attempt to build a philosophical system from the ground up rather than building on the work of predecessors.[410][411] His Meditations on First Philosophy changed the primary object of philosophical thought and raised some of the most fundamental problems for foreigners such as Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume, Berkeley, and Kant. Frans Hals painting of René Descartes facing right in black coat and white collar René Descartes, founder of modern Western philosophy[412] French philosophers produced some of the most important political works of the Age of Enlightenment. In The Spirit of the Laws, Baron de Montesquieu theorised the principle of separation of powers, which has been implemented in all liberal democracies since it was first applied in the United States. Voltaire came to embody the Enlightenment with his defence of civil liberties, such as the right to a free trial and freedom of religion. 19th-century French thought was targeted at responding to the social malaise following the French Revolution. Rationalist philosophers such as Victor Cousin and Auguste Comte, who called for a new social doctrine, were opposed by reactionary thinkers such as Joseph de Maistre, Louis de Bonald and Félicité Robert de Lamennais, who blamed the rationalist rejection of traditional order. De Maistre, together with the Englishman Edmund Burke, was one of the founders of European conservatism. Comte was the founder of positivism, which Émile Durkheim reformulated as a basis for social research. In the 20th century, partly as a reaction to the perceived excesses of positivism, French spiritualism thrived with thinkers such as Henri Bergson and it influenced American pragmatism and Whitehead's version of process philosophy. Meanwhile, French epistemology became a prominent school of thought with Jules Henri Poincaré, Gaston Bachelard, Jean Cavaillès and Jules Vuillemin. Influenced by German phenomenology and existentialism, the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre gained a strong influence after World War II, and late-20th-century-France became the cradle of postmodern philosophy with Jean-François Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. Music Main article: Music of France

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