France Information
The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and that also comprises a collection of overseas islands and territories located in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. After Ukraine, France is the largest country in Europe (643,427 km² with its overseas départements). With a population of over 66 million inhabitants, France is the second most populous country in Western Europe (after Germany) and the 20th largest in the world. Paris is the most populous city in France with over 12 million people in its aire urbaine, Marseille is the second largest city with 1.7 million people, and the third is Lyon with just 1.6 million people, associated with Villeurbanne.
The French Republic is a democracy which is organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. It has the fifth-largest economy in the world in nominal terms. Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the G8, NATO, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also one of eight acknowledged nuclear powers. With almost 82 million foreign tourists each year, France is the most popular international tourist destination in the world.
French is the official language of France, but each region has its own unique accent; in addition to French, there are several other languages of France traditionally spoken, although use of these languages has greatly decreased over the past two hundred years. French is also an official language in 41 countries, most of which form what is called in French la Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations.
More about... France, its history and inhabitantsArticle of the Month (Archive)
Foie gras (French for "fat liver") is "the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened by gavage" (as defined by French law). Foie gras is one of the greatest delicacies in French cuisine and its flavour is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of a regular duck or goose liver. Foie gras can be sold whole, or prepared into pâté, mousse, or parfait, and is typically served as an accompaniment to another comestible, such as toast points or steak.The technique of gavage dates as far back as 2500 BC, when the ancient Egyptians began keeping birds for food and deliberately fattened the birds through force-feeding. Today, France is by far the largest producer and consumer of foie gras, though it is produced and consumed worldwide, particularly in other European nations and the United States.
In modern foie gras production, force feeding takes place from 12−18 days before slaughter. The duck or goose is typically fed a controlled amount of corn mash through a tube placed in the animal's esophagus. Due to this force feeding procedure, and the possible health consequences of an enlarged liver, animal rights and welfare organizations and activists regard foie gras production methods as cruel to animals. Foie gras producers maintain that force feeding ducks and geese is not uncomfortable for the animals nor is it hazardous to their health. Scientific evidence regarding the animal welfare aspects of foie gras production is limited and inconclusive. Foie gras production is illegal in a number of countries and other jurisdictions.
Person of the Month (Archive)
Portrait Alice Guy-Blaché (1 July 1873 – 24 March 1968) was a pioneer filmmaker who was the first female director in the motion picture industry and is considered to be one of the first directors of a fiction film. In 1894 Alice Guy was hired by Léon Gaumont to work for a still-photography company as a secretary. The company soon went out of business but Gaumont bought the defunct operations inventory and began his own company that soon became a major force in the fledgling motion picture industry in France. Alice Guy decided to join the new Gaumont Film Company, a decision that led to a pioneering career in filmmaking spanning more than twenty-five years and involving her directing, producing, writing and/or overseeing more than 700 films.From 1897 to 1906, Alice Guy was Gaumont's head of production and is generally considered to be the first filmmaker to systematically develop narrative filmmaking. Many film historians have accepted that her film La Fée aux Choux was made in April 1896, just a month or two before Georges Méliès made his first fiction film (the Lumière brothers' L'Arroseur arrosé, generally considered the earliest fiction film, was screened in December 1895). In the sixty second film, Guy Blaché appears dressed as a man.
In 1906, she made her first full length feature film, titled The Life of Christ, a big budget production for the time, which included 300 extras. That same year she also made the film La Fée Printemps (The Spring Fairy), one of the first movies ever to be shot in color. As well, she pioneered the use of recordings in conjunction with the images on screen in Gaumont's "Chronophone" system, which used a vertical-cut disc synchronized to the film. An innovator, she employed special effects, using double exposure masking techniques and even running a film backwards. Read more...
Picture of the Month (Archive)
Napoléon at Battle of Austerlitz , by François Gérard (Versailles).
Did you know ... (Archive)
- ...that in 1789 the Women's March on Versailles forced the King of France to accept the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
- ...that the Forest of Compiègne was the site of armistice agreements in both the First and the Second World Wars?
- ...that Réseau de Transport d'Électricité, Europe's largest transmission system operator, manages a 100,000-kilometre (62,000 mi) network of high-voltage power lines?
- ...that Haulotte Group are the third-biggest manufacturer of aerial work platforms in the world?
- ...that the Bordeaux wine estate Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot was demoted in the Saint-Émilion classification amidst controversy, only to be later re-instated?
- ...that many of the viaducts on the Chemin de Fer de Côtes du Nord were two-tiered structures, and that the Viaduc de Souzain had a railway junction on the viaduct itself?
- ...that the final section of the Chemins de Fer du Calvados was closed by damage from the 1944 D-Day invasion?
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