France is an
independent nation in Western Europe and the center of a large
overseas administration. It is the third-largest European nation
(after Russia and Ukraine).
In ancient times
France was part of the Celtic territory known as Gaul or Gallia. Its
present name is derived from the Latin Francia, meaning "country of
the Franks," a Germanic people who conquered the area during the 5th
century, at the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It
became a separate country in the 9th century.
Since the 17th
century, France has played a major role in European and world events.
In the 20th century, it has experienced numerous crises, including
the devastation of two world wars, political and social upheavals,
and the loss of a large empire in Indochina, Algeria, and West and
Equatorial Africa. It has, however, survived and emerged from the
ruins of World War II to become an important world supplier of
agricultural and industrial products and a major partner in the
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (EC, or Common Market).
Today, the term
metropolitan France refers to the mainland departments and CORSICA, a
large island located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Italy
that has been a part of France since 1768. France has six overseas
departments: FRENCH GUIANA in South America; GUADELOUPE and
MARTINIQUE in the West Indies; MAYOTTE, an island formerly part of
the Comoros, located in the Indian Ocean; REUNION, an island in the
Indian Ocean; and SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON, islands off the east
coast of Canada. In addition, France has numerous small possessions
called overseas territories. These include a group of widely
scattered islands in the South Pacific, which are administered from
Tahiti and are known collectively as FRENCH POLYNESIA; FRENCH
SOUTHERN AND ANTARCTIC TERRITORIES; NEW CALEDONIA and WALLIS AND
FUTUNA ISLANDS; and many small islands in the southern oceans,
including the Kerguelen and Crozet archipelagos and the islands of
St. Paul and Amsterdam (Indian Ocean). The overseas departments and
territories are represented in the French National Assembly.
Daniel Noin; Reviewed by Anne Depigny and Agnes Jolivet.
Source: The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Release #6, ©1993
Bibliography:
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GENERAL WORKS: Ardagh, John, France in the 1980s (1983) and A Cultural Atlas of
France (1991); Bernstein, Richard, Fragile Glory: A Portrait of France and the
French (1990); Braudel, Fernand, The Identity of France, vol. 1, trans. by
S. Reynolds (1989); Mazey, Sonia, and Newman, Michel, eds., Mitterrand's France
(1987); Zeldin, Theodore, The French (1983).
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GEOGRAPHY: Clout, Hugh D., The Geography of Post-War France (1972); Pinchemel,
Philippe, France: A Geographical, Social, and Economic Survey, trans. by Dorothy
and T. H. Elkins (1987); Economic Geography (1971); Tuppin, J., The Economic
Geography of France (1983).
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ECONOMICS: Hough, Jean, The French Economy (1982); Keating, Michael, and Hainsworth,
Paul, Decentralization and Change in Contemporary France (1986); Price, Roger, An
Economic History of Modern France (1981).
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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT: Harrison, Martin, et al., De Gaulle to Mitterrand:
Presidential Power in France (1993); McCarthy, Patrick, ed., The French Socialists
in Power (1987); Safran, William, French Polity, 3d ed. (1991); Tiersky, Ronald,
France in the New Europe (1994); Wright, Vincent, The Government and Politics of
France, 3d ed. (1989).
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Historical Links:
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Architectural Database (searchable, in French only)
The "Mérimée" database contains more than 120,000
entries on historical monuments and notable architecture, ranging
from the 4th century to 1950, and covering such diverse categories
as religious, scholastic, military, industrial, and agricultural
sites.
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Grand Archaeological Sites
The Ministry of Culture explores great archaeological finds dating
back to the Paleolithic period (32,000 to 30,000 years ago), at such
sites as the Arago Cave (Tautavel Man), the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave,
and the Cave of Lascaux, as well as underwater discoveries.
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L'Histoire de la République Française (in French only)
The Prime Minister's office provides this guide to former heads
of state, les Grands Discours, European institutions,
symbols of the Republic, and constitutional texts.
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The Napoleon Foundation
Historians and academic researchers will delight in this massive
resource, offering historical documents, photos, and a search
engine.
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In association with
Amazon.com Books
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French Ways and Their Meaning
by Edith Wharton
Usually ships within 24 hours.
Paperback, 160 pages
Reprint edition (July 1997)
List Price: $10.95
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ISBN: 0936399872
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Edith Wharton was devoted to the French people and their
culture. During the First World War, while living in France
and devoting herself to numerous war and relief efforts,
she wrote several essays about the French and the unique
attributes of their civilization, having in mind particularly
the need for both Americans and the English to understand the
ways of a people whose nation they were defending in the Great
War. These pieces were first published in book form in 1919.
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A Traveller's History of France (4th Ed.)
by Robert Cole
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Paperback, 240 pages
4th edition (March 1997)
List Price: $12.95
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$10.36
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$2.59 (20%)
ISBN: 1566562228
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This is an excellent book for pre-trip reading or to
include on your trip if you have space as you'll refer
to it frequently. France for the general reader, not
the French History expert.
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In association with
Amazon.com Books
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