France
From E20
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| Motto: "Libertie, Egalitarie, Fraternitie" | |||||
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| Anthem: "La Marseillesaise" | |||||
| Capital | Paris | ||||
| Political system | Unitary Republic | ||||
| Spoken languages - Official - Unofficial | French Catalan, Provencal, Basque, Corse, German (in Alsace-Lorraine) | ||||
| Government | Parliamentary Republic | ||||
| - Head of State | President Georges Clemenceau | ||||
| - Head of Government | Prime Minister Aristide Briand | ||||
| Independence | 486 A.D. (Unified by Clovis) | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | 547030km² Negligible | ||||
| Population - Total | 42,800,000 (1919 est.) | ||||
| Currency | Franc | ||||
Contents |
History of France
Anciens Regime
Revolutionary France
The First Republic
Napoleon and the Empire
The Bourbon Restoration
The Second Republic, Napoleon III, and the Second Empire
The Franco-Prussian War
The Third Republic and Recent History
Politics of France
Political Parties
{see French Political Parties article)
Women's Suffrage
Demographics of France
Religion
80% of France's population was reported as belonging to the Roman Catholic Church as of the last census. The remainder consists of Protestants, Jews, and a few Muslims from French North African holdings. Although the government of the Third Republic has officially separated Church and State, Catholicism is still an important factor in many people's lives, and the Catholic Church has a good deal of support among the Right.
Language
French is the official language of France. Other regional languages include Basque, Catalan, Corse, Italian (in Savoy and Nice), and German (in Alsace-Lorraine), Provencal, Breton, and Flemish.
France Outre-mer
Overseas Departments
Colonial Holdings
Protectorates
Economy of France
Military of France
The French maintain one of the best militaries in the world, which, although it is a conscript force, relies on élan (fighting spirit) and finesse just as much as it does blunt force. As of the end of the Great War, the French Army was commonly held to be arguably the best in the world, with only the Imperial German Army able to offer a serious counter.
The French Navy is under limitations placed on it by the Washington Naval Treaty, and operates 10 battleships, 15 cruisers, 40 submarines, and 2 fleet carriers. The Infanterie Marine (two brigades) is officially a part of the Navy.
The Third Republic maintains four armies: the Metropolitan Army, the African Army, the Colonial Army, and the Foreign Legion. The active strength of these force sums to seventeen corps-sized units, in addition to various and sundry divisions and brigades. As per constitutional law, the Metropolitan Army can only be stationed in France during peacetime, and the Legion and colonial forces cannot be stationed in Europe except in wartime.
(more to come)
