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
There are currently three Overseas Departments, all located in North Africa: Algiers, Oran, and Constantine. Each department is named for the principal city located within the department. Legally, these departments are a part of France, and as such send representatives to the Senate and National Assemby. Approximately one-third of the population is French, with the remaining two-thirds either Berber or Arab. Technically any resident of the Overseas Departments may apply for French citizenship (the requirement to convert to Catholicism was revoked as part of the separation of Church and State), though the vast majority of Muslims in Algeria choose not to apply, as that is seen as surrender to the conquering French government.
Social services are of comparable quality to Metropolitan France, and economic and land reform has stopped many of the more prejudiced acts of the local French population and put more power in the hands of the natives.
The Armée d'Afrique serves as the military force for the Overseas Departments, in conjunction with the Légion Étrangére. Unlike the Metropolitan Army, the Armée d'Afrique is an all-volunteer force, much like the Legion and the colonial armies.
In 1914-1915 there was a short-lived uprising by the Berbers in Algeria, coinciding with similar insurrections in Morocco and Libya. All were crushed by the French and Italian militaries.
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)
