France

  Economy Between 1960 and 1973 alone, the increase in  gross domestic product  (GDP) averaged nearly 6 percent each year. In the aftermath of the oil crises of the 1970s, growth rates were moderated considerably and unemployment rose substantially. By the end of the 1980s, however, strong expansion was again evident. This trend continued, although at a more modest rate, into the 21st century. During the same postwar period, the structure of the economy was altered  significantly. While in the 1950s agriculture and industry were the dominant sectors,   tertiary   (largely service and administrative) activities have since become the principal employer and generator of national wealth.  Despite the dominance of the private sector, the tradition of a  mixed economy  in France is well established. Successive governments have intervened to protect or promote different types of economic activity, as has been clearly reflected in the  country’s  national plans and nationalized industries.  Th

  Forms of governments  France's government type is a  democratic semi-presidential republic . In political science, a republican form of government simply means that a country does not have  a monarch (king, queen, prince, etc.) as a head of state. Throughout the French history, France's form of government has been contested and large sections of the society preferred a return to the monarchy.  One can identify three basic ways to organize power in a democracy: presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential systems. In a parliamentary system, executive and legislative powers are merged through the legislature's election of the head of government, the prime minister. In a presidential system, these powers are separate because voters elect separately the president, the head of the executive branch, and the legislature.  The French system is characterized by the strong role of the president of the  republic . The office of the president is unique in that it has the  autho

  Art and literature (Literature) Since the Middle Ages, France has enjoyed an exceptional position in European  intellectual  life. Though its literary  culture  has no single figure whose influence can be compared to that of Italy’s Dante or England’s Shakespeare, successive periods have seen its writers and their language exercise an influence far beyond its borders.  The evolution of the nation-states and the rise in  prestige  of  vernacular  languages gradually eroded the unifying force of these relationships. From the early modern period onward, France developed its own distinctive and many-stranded cultural tradition, which, while never losing sight of the riches of the medieval base and the Judeo-Christian biblical tradition, has come chiefly to be thought of as Mediterranean in its  allegiance , rooted in the imitation of Classical models as these were mediated through the great writers and thinkers of Renaissance Italy. “ Le Comte de Monte-Cristo ” A classic adventure novel

  Religion Catholicism is the predominant religion of France. In a survey by the  French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP), 64% of the population (about 41.6 million people) identified themselves as Roman Catholic. The other religions in France include Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. The close connection between the French monarchy and the Catholic Church began during the reign of Charlemagne (d. 814), who was the first to receive a papal coronation in the year 800. Through the coming centuries, the Church became the largest landowner in France and oversaw hospitals, primary, and secondary education. The upper echelons of the Church were populated by noblemen who cemented close political and power relations, and the Church itself was immensely wealthy.  During the Revolution, the Church was stripped of its land and other properties, clerical privileges were eliminated, the Church was reorganized, the process of selecting upper clergy through election was instituted and the clergy became

  Language French is the official language and the first language of 88% of the population, according to the BBC. It is the dominant language of France, but there are a number of variants based on region.  French is the second most widely learned foreign language in the world, with almost 2 million students learning it as a second language across 50 countries, according to the   French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development ! About 3% of the population speaks German dialects, and there is a small group of Flemish speakers in the northeast, according to the BBC. Arabic is the third-largest minority language.   As you will have understood, French is  a multi-faceted language: a world language!  French is used in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Maghreb and the Middle East. It brings diverse identities together in dialogue and reflects a wide variety of imaginations. (opens in new 

  Traditions and Values  French culture is most commonly associated with Paris, which is a center of fashion, cuisine, art and architecture, but life outside of the City of Lights is very different and varies by region. Historically, French culture was influenced by Celtic and Gallo-Roman cultures as well as the Franks, a Germanic tribe. France was initially defined as the western area of Germany known as Rhineland but it later came to refer to a territory that was known as Gaul during the Iron Age and   Ancient Roman  era.  The French believe in  égalité , which means equality, and is part of the country's motto: "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité." Many say they place a higher importance on equality than liberty and fraternity, the other two words in the motto. In addition to traditional marriage, French couples also have the choice of getting a  pacte civil de solidarité  (PACS). This is a union that has many of the same benefits of marriage, like tax breaks, but can be dis

Social organization F rance works with the United Nations (UN) Security Council, UN Peacekeeping Operations, the UN Environmental Organization (UNEO), European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), NATO, the WTO, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Socialist François Mitterrand was elected president in 1981, beginning a record 14-year tenure in that office. He saw seven prime ministers and two periods of “cohabitation” (1986–88 and 1993– 95) in which the prime minister was from the center-right opposition. France still retained a rigid social structure in the early 20th century, with little mobility among social groups. The social strata included peasants, craft and factory workers, shopkeepers, merchants, civil servants, intellectuals, landowners, and petty nobility.  The old social order changed considerably after World War II, as the postwar economic expansion brought growing affluence to an ever larger share o

History Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the  Atlantic Ocean  and the  Mediterranean Sea , the  Alps and the  Pyrenees , France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and s outhern Europe. Pre-modern hominid populations  migrated to France during Paleolithic times, and between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago, modern humans left evidence of their presence in cave art. After 600 B.C. Greek and Phoenician traders operated along the French Mediterranean coast, while Celts migrated westward from the Rhine valley, settling the territory later called Gaul by the Romans.