Facts About France

Bienvenue! Welcome to France, the land of romance, aesthetic beauty, rich art, and culture. Also known as l’Hexagon because of its hexagonal shape, France has a bouquet of magnificent art and culture along with profound historical events. Many great dynasties like, Merovingian dynasty, Carolingian dynasty, Bonaparte dynasty, Capetian dynasty, etc. ruled France for thousands of years. The popular French Revolution brought a major change in social, economic, and political conditions of France. The French architecture experienced various transformations starting from the 15^th century, under the reign of Fraçoise-I. Italy’s well-established renaissance style of art was introduced inFrance, replacing the gothic style and soon it started to flourish. Renaissance took hold throughout France and fine renaissance buildings were built across the land. Fontainebleau, Chambord, and Azey-le-Rideau are the famous examples of this art form. Introduction of new art forms didn’t stop, and post renaissance, the Baroque style was introduced, which was replaced by modern French architecture during 1900s. Eiffel tower, one of the popular symbols of France, is an example of modern French architecture. Along with history and architecture, the French treasure bag also contains the famous French cuisine, French celebrations, and sports. Explore the amazing treasure bag of France in the following section.

 Fast Facts

Capital: Paris
Official Language: French
Regional Language(s): Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Bushi, Catalan, Corsican, Creoles, Dutch, Franc-Comtois, Franco-Provençal, Lorrain, New Caledonian languages, Occitan, Oïl, Shimaore dialect (Mayotte), and Tahitian
Largest City: Paris
Demonym: French
Religion: Christianity
Legislature: Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
Area: 674,843 sq. km
Population: 65,350,000 (2012 estimates)
Currency: Euro, Franc

Interesting And Fun Facts About France 

• France, the largest western European country, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. This expanse of France is known as metropolitan France.
• The official name of France is the French Republic.
• France is named after the Germanic tribes of Northern Europe known as Franks.
• ‘Liberty, equality, and fraternity’ is the logo of French Republic.
• France has the third largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world with almost 300 active warheads.
• France is the third largest European country in terms of area after Russia and Ukraine.
• The seven mountain ranges of France include: the Vosges, Jura, Le Massif Central, Northern Alps, Southern Alps, The Pyrenees, and Corsica.
• France is the founding member of United Nations and is one of the five nations, who have veto rights in the UN Security Council.
• Paris, the capital of France, is known as the world’s fashion capital.
• The popular Statue of Liberty was designed by Frédéric Bartholdi in France and gifted to United States of America on October 28, 1886.
• The Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vici was invited by Fraçoise-I to develop the renaissance style of art in France.
• The Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre in France has the largest collection of Leonardo da Vici’s paintings.
• The famous portrait painted by Leonardo da Vici, Mona Lisa or la Gioconda, is stored in the Louvre.
• France is one of the largest wine producing countries in the world with second largest vineyard area after Spain. The best wineries are found inBordeaux, Alsace, Champagne, Loire, and Burgundy.
• The French wineries produce 8 billion bottles of French wine daily.
• Franceis the only home to Disneyland in Europe, which is located in the eastern suburbs of Paris.
• The high speed trains in France are known as TGV. TGV stands for Train a Grande Vitesse—in French, which means high speed train—in English.
• On 3^rd April, 2007, the TGV test train reached the record speed of 574.8 km/hr and set the record of being the fastest wheeled train in the world.
• In the conventional train service category, the scheduled TGV trains run at the highest speeds.
• England and France are joined by an underground rail tunnel, known as Channel Tunnel.
• Concorde, the famous turbojet powered supersonic passenger airliner, took its first flight from Toulouse, the city of France in 1969. The plane started its services in 1979 and continued the commercial services till 2003.
• The famous bicycle race Tour de France is held in France and its adjoining cities. The race covers more than 3,600 kilometers and lasts for three weeks. The race ends in Paris near the Champs-Élysées.
• The avenue of Champs-Élysées in France is known as the most beautiful avenue in the world.
• The Eiffel tower of Paris received the title of tallest man-made structure in the world and it remained on the first position for 41 years, until the Chrysler building in New York was built in 1930.
• France is one of the most preferred tourist destinations in the world. It attracts 6 million visitors annually and in 2007, the number of tourists that visited France was around 81.9 million, which is greater than the population of France.
• It is believed that April fool’s day originated from France when they started following Gregorian calendar in 1564.
• The French law follows civil legal system; the French laws are not created by the judges, but they arise from written statutes. The duty of judges is to only interpret the law.
• France stands second in the list of donors of development aid after the US.
• France has the 13^th largest armed force in the world that include French army, French navy, the French air force, the auxiliary paramilitary force, and the national gendarmerie.
• France has the sixth largest navy in the world, comprising 42,550 professional sailors and 15,000 part-time reservists.
• The French army stands fourth in NATO, comprising 123,100 regular and 118,350 part-time reservists.
• France is the member of G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union.
• France is the leading exporter of agricultural products in Europe and the third largest in the world. The primary agricultural products exported by France are wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork.
• Under the category of OECD countries,France has one of the lowest employment rates in the 15-64 years age group.
• 37 sites of France have been inscribed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
• France was ranked 24^th on the Corruption Perceptions Index (2010) and 20^th on the Human Development Index (2011).
• The second largest gorge in the world lies near Castellane and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. It is almost 700 meters deep and 25 kilometers long.
• With 63 locks, 55 aqueducts, 6 barrages, 7 canal-bridges, 126 bridges, I tunnel, and a length of 240 km, Canal du Midi, in southern France, is the oldest functional canal in Europe.
• After Luxembourg, people of France are the biggest consumers of medicines in Europe.
• Millau Viaduct, situated in southern France, is the tallest cable-stayed road bridge in the world.
• France is placed at the second position for producing electricity using nuclear energy after USA, while in Europe it stands at the first position. The amount of nuclear electricity produced by France exceeds that of Germany, the UK, Spain, and Russia together.
• France is the home to the world’s first mass manufacturer of ball-point pens, the Société Bic.