Chateau Chieve, a city in the southwest of Bordeaux, has a long history of winemaking, and its wines are world-famous. The special "Bordeaux Red Wine" is listed as the "Queen" of world wines, and a bottle of century-old wine can be sold for more than 30,000 dollars in the international market. Cannes, located on the Mediterranean coast, is a small town with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate. The Cannes Film Festival held here every year is very lively, and its Palme d 'Or award is recognized as one of the highest honors in the film industry. French fashion enjoys a high reputation in the world, with rich and excellent materials, bold design and exquisite craftsmanship, which has always led the world fashion trend. There are 2000 fashion shops in Paris, and their boss's slogan is: "Fashion doesn't sell the second one". In the street, it is almost impossible to see two women wearing the same clothes. The French are simple and like nature. More than half of French families keep all kinds of small animals, totaling more than 30 million.
France is a civilized and polite country, and politeness to women is a tradition that the French have always been proud of.
Country name: France * * * Republic of China (French, la republice Fran? French, RF, English, French Republic)
Interpretation of the country name: "France" evolved from the name of the Frankish tribe, meaning "courage" and "freedom".
Ethnic composition: mainly French, but also bretons, Basque, Corsican, Flemish, Catalan, Germanic, Slavic, North African, Indian zhina and other ethnic minorities.
Language: French (local dialects include Provence dialect, Brittany dialect, Corsican dialect and Germanic dialect)
Religion: France is mainly Catholic, followed by Protestantism, Orthodox Church, Islam and Judaism.
Capital: Paris.
Population: 6339.2 1 10,000 (2007)
Currency: Euro, Franc
It is now the Fifth Republic of France.
Current President: Nicolas Sarkozy
Current Prime Minister: francois fillon
National Day: 14 July (1880 Parliament legislated to confirm Bastille Day as the National Day to commemorate the French bourgeois revolution).
Heritage Day: The third Saturday and Sunday in September (1984) will officially start, and the preliminary contest will be held on the third Sunday in September. Under the impetus of Jacques Lang, then Minister of Culture, many historical and cultural heritages of the Deep Palace were opened to the public, with the aim of letting more people know about their love and thus protecting the historical and cultural heritage of mankind. Formerly known as "National Cultural Relics Open Day", the number is 1999. )
National Flag: The French national flag is one of the most important national flags in the world, which has an important influence on the development of national flags in post-world countries.
Shapes and patterns:
The French flag is rectangular with a length-width ratio of 3: 2. The flag surface consists of three parallel and equal vertical rectangles, blue, white and red from left to right. The earliest tricolor flag arrangement was different from today, with red on the left. Blue is the color of Saint Martin's robe, which symbolizes freedom. White commemorates Joan of Arc, a national hero, symbolizing equality. Red is the color of the flag of Saint-Denis, symbolizing fraternity.
Source and history:
France's national flag is famous for its tricolor flag, which first appeared in 1789 during the French bourgeois revolution (French Revolution). Paris National Self-Defense Force takes tricolor flag as its team flag. White is in the middle, representing the king and symbolizing the sacred position of the king; Red and blue are on both sides, representing the citizens of Paris; At the same time, these three colors symbolize the French royal family and the Paris bourgeois alliance, and the tricolor flag was once a symbol of the French Revolution. February 1794, 15, the flag was finally determined to be the French flag.
When the Bourbon Dynasty was restored, the tricolor flag was abolished and replaced by the Royal Iris. However, after the July Revolution of 1830, the tricolor flag became the national flag of France again and continues to this day.
The French flag is called by the French:
Tricolor flag
Blue-white-red
French Drape.
Sometimes it's called le tricolore, and verbally it's called les couleurs.
The French flag is also called French tricolor (American English) or French tricolor (British English) by people who use English.
National emblem: France does not have an official national emblem, but traditionally it uses the coat of arms of the Great Revolution as a national symbol. The coat of arms is oval, and it is painted with one of the symbols popular during the Great Revolution-the bundle of sticks, which is an authoritative symbol used by senior law enforcement officers in ancient Rome. Both sides of the bundle are decorated with olive branches and oak branches, and the ribbon wrapped between them reads "freedom, equality and fraternity" in French. The whole design is decorated with ribbons with Roman legion medals.
National anthem: La Marseillaise.
National flowers: iris, rose
National bird: rooster
National Stone: Pearl
head of the state
President Nicolas Sarkozy was elected in May 2007; In June 2007, he was elected as Speaker of the National Assembly Bernard Accoyer; Prime Minister francois fillon took office in May 2007; Jean-Louis Debre, President of the French Constitutional Council, took office in February 2007.
physical geography
It covers an area of 556,5438+0,600 square kilometers (including Corsica). France is surrounded by the sea on three sides and is the largest country in Western Europe.
Location: It is located in the west of Europe, bordering Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Andorra and Monaco, facing Britain across the Lamanche Strait in the northwest, and bordering the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea is the largest island in France.
Terrain: high in the southeast and low in the northwest, facing the Atlantic Ocean. The eastern part is the Alps and the Jura Mountains; The south-central part is the central plateau; There are Pyrenees mountains on the southwest border; The southwest area between the Central Plateau and the Pyrenees is the aquitaine Basin. The northern part is the Paris basin; To the northwest is Mount Amauri. The plain accounts for two thirds of the total area.
Mountains: Alps, Pyrenees, Jura Mountain, etc. Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is 48 10 meters above sea level, which is the highest peak in Europe.
Rivers: Loire River (10 10 km), Rhone River (8 12 km) and Seine River (776 km). Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea is the largest island in France. The total length of the border line is 5695 kilometers, including 2700 kilometers of coastline, 2800 kilometers of land line and 0/95 kilometers of inland river line.
Climate: the climate in the west is maritime temperate broad-leaved forest, the climate in the south is subtropical Mediterranean, and the climate in the middle and east is continental. The average precipitation increased from 600 mm in northwest to southeast to more than 1 1,000 mm, and reached more than 1 1,500 mm in mountainous areas. Monthly average temperature: 4-7℃ in the west and south, 1 month1-3℃ in the east and north; In July, it was 16- 18℃ in the north and west, and 2 1-24℃ in the south and east.
Minerals: Iron, coal and bauxite are abundant, as well as lead, zinc, uranium and potassium salt. The forest land coverage rate is 26.4%.
Population: 60.628 million (2000), including 3.5 million foreigners, of which 6.5438+0.4 million are from EU countries, with borders such as Alsace, Bretton Woods, Corsica, Basque and Flanders. General French. Among the residents, 8 1.4% believe in Catholicism, 6.89% believe in Islam, and others believe in Protestantism, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions.
administrative division
By region, province and town. The province consists of prefectures and counties, but it is not an administrative region. The county is the judicial and electoral unit. The French mainland is divided into 22 regions, 96 provinces, 4 overseas provinces, 4 overseas territories and 2 local administrative regions with special status. There are 36,565 towns in China, including 34,000 with less than 3,500 people, 23/kloc-0 with more than 30,000 people and 37 with more than 654.38+10,000 people.
These 22 regions are: Alsace, aquitaine, Auvigne, Burgundy, Brittany, Central China, Champagne-Ardennes, Corsica, Franche-Gonde, Paris Region, languedoc-Ruqiong, Limzan, Lorraine, Southern Pyrenees, Northern Calais Strait, basse-normandie, Upper Normandy, Loire River, picardie and Paris.
The four overseas provinces are: Guadelo, Martinique, French Guiana and Reunion.
These four overseas territories are: French Polynesia, New Caledonia, wallis islands and Futuna Islands, French Southern Hemisphere and Antarctic Territory (the chief executive of this territory is located in reunion island, a French overseas province). )
The two local administrative regions are Mayotte Island, Saint Pierre Island and Miquelon Island.
history
Gauls settled here in 200 BC. In 1 century BC, Caesar, the governor of Rome, occupied the whole Gaul and was ruled by Rome for 500 years. In the 5th century, the Franks conquered Gaul and established the Frankish Kingdom. /kloc-after the 0/0 century, feudal society developed rapidly. 1337, the British king coveted the French throne, and the "Hundred Years War" broke out. In early France, a large area was occupied by Britain, and the French king was captured. After that, the French people waged an anti-aggression war, ending the Hundred Years' War in 1453.
A centralized country was formed from the end of 15 to the beginning of 16. /kloc-in the middle of the 0/7th century, absolute monarchy reached its peak. With the development of bourgeois forces,1July 4, 789, Paris citizens were attacking the Bastille with weapons in their hands. At that time, only seven people were held in the prison, but the citizens fought fiercely for it for a day and sacrificed 98 people. 1789 On August 26th, the program of the French Revolution, the Declaration of Human Rights and Civil Rights, was formally adopted.
1789, 1 1 After Voltaire and Rousseau died, the French Revolution broke out. 1789 The French Revolution broke out and the monarchy was abolished. 1792 established the first republic on September 22nd. 1799165438+1October 9 (foggy month 18), Napoléon Bonaparte seized power, 1804 proclaimed himself emperor and established the first empire. 1804 12, Notre Dame held a grand coronation ceremony, and Napoléon Bonaparte became the first emperor of France. 1871March18, the people of Paris held an armed uprising and established the Paris commune. At the end of May of the same year, it was brutally suppressed by the French army. 1848 February Revolution broke out and the Second Republic was established. 185 1 year, President louis bonaparte launched a coup, and the second empire was established in 12 year the following year.
1After the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War in 870, 187 1 established the third republic in September, until 1940, when the French Petain government surrendered to Germany and the third republic was destroyed. France was invaded by Germany during World War I and World War II. 1944, the French Arc de Triomphe symbolizing victory finally ushered in a real triumph.
Under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle, the French people who fought for freedom not only made due contributions to the victory over fascism, but also paved the way for the revival of France after the war.
1June, 944, an interim government was announced, headed by Charles de Gaulle. 1946 In June, the Constitution was adopted and the Fourth Republic was established. 1958 In September, the new Constitution was adopted and the Fifth Republic was established. 1958 February, Charles de Gaulle was elected president. 1959, France announced that it accepted the national self-determination of colonial Algeria, thus starting to bid farewell to colonialism.
1963, France and the Federal Republic of Germany signed the Franco-German Friendship Treaty, and since then, they have reconciled with their old enemy Germany.
1964 65438+1On October 27th, France established diplomatic relations with New China, becoming the first western power to recognize New China.
1966, France announced its withdrawal from NATO and ordered the United States to withdraw its troops and bases on French territory within one year.
France adheres to an independent foreign policy and has become a balanced force in the world structure. It is in this pursuit of ideals that France embarked on its own path with its outstanding temperament.
politics
The president is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with a term of five years (changed to five years in June 2000, and a referendum is scheduled to be held on September 24, compared with seven years before), and is directly elected by voters. The President has the power to appoint and remove the Prime Minister and ministers who approve the nomination of the Prime Minister; Preside over cabinet meetings, the Supreme National Defense Conference and the National Defense Commission; Have the right to dissolve parliament; Some important bills can be directly submitted to a referendum without going through parliament; In case of emergency, the President has full authority to "take necessary measures according to the situation". When the President is unable to perform his duties or becomes vacant, the Speaker of the Senate will act as the President during his resignation. Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the Senate. It has the right to make laws, supervise the government, pass budgets and approve the declaration of war.
The National Assembly * * * has a total of 577 seats, with a term of five years. It is directly elected by voters by two rounds of direct majority voting. Senate has * * * 32 1 seat. Senators serve a nine-year term and are re-elected every three years. Taking the province as a unit, they are indirectly elected by an electoral college composed of members of national assemblies and local councils at all levels.
1995 On July 3 1, the French Parliament passed the constitutional amendment. The bill authorizes the president to make greater use of referendums to solve economic and social problems. At the suggestion of the government, the Senate and the National Assembly, the French President can put all reform plans involving public power organizations and French economic or social policies to a referendum.
Presidential Palace-Elysee Palace, Prime Minister's Office-Matignon Palace, National Assembly-Bourbon Palace.
Diplomacy: France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a founding member and an important member of the European Union, and a member of NATO (but does not participate in NATO military integration institutions). Since the founding of the Fifth Republic of France, successive governments have basically followed the independent foreign policy formulated by Charles de Gaulle to safeguard national independence. The EU is the foundation of French diplomacy. France is committed to promoting the construction of Europe, building the EU into a truly independent pole, and giving full play to France's central role in it; Promote multipolarization, develop and strengthen cooperation between Europe and Asia; Strive for a favorable position among major powers; Maintain and develop traditional relations with African countries and promote developed countries to increase aid to Africa; Actively participate in the Middle East peace process and related hot issues; Strengthen political and economic relations with Asia and Latin America.
economy
France is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world after the United States. The main industrial sectors are mining, metallurgy, automobile manufacturing, shipbuilding, machinery manufacturing, textile, chemistry, electrical appliances, electricity, consumer goods, food processing and construction. Nuclear energy, petrochemical industry, marine development, aerospace and other emerging industrial sectors have developed rapidly in recent years, and their proportion in industrial output value has been increasing. The capacity of nuclear power equipment, petroleum and petroleum processing technology ranks second in the world, second only to the United States; The aerospace industry ranks third in the world after the United States and CIS. Iron and steel industry and textile industry rank sixth in the world. However, traditional industrial sectors still dominate the industry, among which steel, automobiles and construction are the three pillars. The proportion of industry in the national economy is gradually declining. The proportion of tertiary industry in French economy is increasing year by year. Among them, the business volume of telecommunications, information, tourism services and transportation departments has increased substantially, and the service industry employees account for about 70% of the total labor force.
French business is relatively developed, and food sales are the most profitable. Among all kinds of stores, supermarkets and chain stores are the most dynamic, accounting for almost half of all commercial activities. French iron ore reserves are about 7 billion tons, but the grade is low and the mining cost is high. Most of the iron ore needed depends on imports. The coal reserves are about 2 10/000 million tons (including lignite1000 million tons), and the mining value is about10.47 billion tons. Bauxite reserves are about 90 million tons. Non-ferrous metal reserves are very small, and almost all of them depend on imports. Oil reserves are only over 30 million tons. Natural gas reserves are 250 billion cubic meters, and 99% of the required oil and 75% of natural gas are imported. Hydraulic resources are about 6.5438+million kilowatts, and nuclear energy, hydraulic resources and geothermal energy are fully developed and utilized. The forest area is about150,000 hectares, accounting for 25% of the total forest area in the EU, with a per capita green area of 0.28 hectares and a forest coverage rate of 26.7%. Agriculture is very developed, combining farming with animal husbandry and comprehensive development. It mainly produces wheat, barley, corn, beets, potatoes, tobacco, grapes, apples, vegetables and flowers. Wine production ranks first in the world. There are dairy industry, meat animal husbandry and egg industry. France is the largest agricultural producer in the European Union and a major exporter of agricultural and sideline products in the world.
With the urbanization of French population, the rural population is decreasing. The land area of France is 55 million hectares, of which 6 1% is agricultural land, 27% is forestry land, and 12% is non-agricultural land. 96% of agricultural land is owned by families. The traditional regional structure of agriculture is that the central and northern regions are the main producing areas of cereals, oilseeds, vegetables and beets, the western and mountainous regions are the main producing areas of feed crops, and the Mediterranean coast and southwest regions are the main producing areas of perennial crops (grapes and fruits). Mechanization is the main means to improve agricultural productivity, and the law has basically realized agricultural mechanization. Agricultural products processing industry is one of the pillar industries of French foreign trade export surplus. Twenty-four of Europe's largest 100 agro-food industrial groups are in France, and seven of the world's largest 100 agro-food industrial groups are in France. France's agricultural and sideline products export ranks first in the world, accounting for 1 1% of the world market.
France is a world-famous tourist country. Paris, the capital, scenic spots along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and the Alps are all tourist attractions. In addition, there are some famous historical cities, castles along the Loire River, fishing villages in Brittany and Normandy, Corsica and so on. Some famous museums in France collect the precious heritage of world culture.
France is also a big trading country in the world, and its foreign trade has two characteristics: First, imports exceed exports, resulting in a trade deficit. Imports mainly include energy and industrial raw materials, while exports mainly include machinery, automobiles, chemical products, steel, agricultural products, food, clothing, cosmetics and arms. On the other hand, non-product technology exports are growing rapidly, and pure technology exports are playing an increasingly important role in the whole export trade.
The main source of French government revenue is tax, which is higher than that of the United States, Japan and other countries, mainly from value-added tax, as well as income tax, corporate tax, social welfare tax and so on. Member States of the European Economic Community. Important seaports include Marseille, le havre, Dunkirk, Nantes, Saint Nazaire and Rouen.
culture
Since the17th century, French classical literature has ushered in its own glorious period, with the emergence of literary giants such as Moliere, Stendhal, Balzac, Dumas, victor hugo, Flaubert, Dumas, Zola, guy de maupassant and romain rolland. Many of their works have become treasures of world literature. Notre Dame de Paris, Red and Black, Old Man, The Count of Monte Cristo, Les Miserables and John Christophe have all been translated into world literature and widely circulated in the world. Detective novels include Maurice Lebron's Grand Theft Auto and George Simono's Detective Megray. In modern times, French art is quite innovative on the basis of inheriting tradition. There have not only been sculptors like Rodin, but also impressionist and fauvism representatives like Monet and Matisse. Since17th century, France's leading position in the field of industrial design and art design has long been obvious to all. Schools focusing on practical arts, architecture, fashion design and industrial design have long been famous overseas for their commercial achievements of "Made in France".
The French love sports. Popular sports include football, tennis, rugby, bocce, sailing, swimming, skiing and cycling. Well-known universities include the University of Paris and the University of Lyon.
Cannes International Film Festival is one of the five largest film festivals in the world. It is held every May in Cannes, a seaside town in southeastern France. It is one of the earliest and largest international film festivals in the world, lasting about two weeks. 1956 The highest award was the Golden Duck Award, which was changed from 1957 to the Palme d 'Or Award.
News and publication
The main newspapers are: le figaro, Le Monde, French Evening News, Liberation and Paris Journal. The local newspapers mainly include: The French West, which has the largest circulation in France; Voice of the North. The main weekly magazines are Express, Viewpoint, New Observer, paris match Pictorial and le figaro. There are about 6000 publishing houses in France.