FRANCE Etymology Originally applied to the whole Frankish

FRANCE

Etymology • Originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name "France" comes from the Latin Francis, or "country of the “Franks”. Modern France is still named today Francia in Italian and Spanish, Frankreich in German and Frankrijk in Dutch, all of which have the same historical meaning.

Prehistory of France The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1. 8 million years ago. Humans were then confronted by a harsh and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras. Early homonids led a nomadic huntergatherer life. France has a large number of decorated caves from the upper Palaeolithic era, including one of the most famous and best preserved

Geography • The vast majority of France's territory and population is situated in Western europe and is called Metropolitan France, to distinguish it from the country's various overseas polities. It is bordered by the North Sea in the north, the English Channel in the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Mediterranean sea in the southeast. It land borders consist of Belgiumand Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland in the east, Italy and Monaco in the southeast, and Andorra and Spai in the south and southwest. With the exception of the northeast, most of France's land borders are roughly delineated by natural boundaries and geographic features: to the south and southeast, the Pyrenees and the Alps and the Jura, respectively, and to the east, the Rhine river. Due to its shape, France is often referred to as Hexagone.

Politics • The French Republic is a unitary semipresidentialrepresentative democratic republic with strong democratic traditions. The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the President of the Republic, currently Emmanuel Macron, who is head of state and is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5 -year term (formerly 7 years) and the Government, led by the president-appointed Prime Minister

Economy of France • France has a mixed economythat combines extensive private enterpriise with substantial state enterprise and government intervention. The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications. It has been relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990 s. The government is slowly corporatising the state sector and selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as in the insurance, banking, and defence industries. France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium Airbus, and has its own national spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais.

Culture France has been a centre of Western cultural development for centuries. Many French artists have been among the most renowned of their time, and France is still recognised in the world for its rich cultural tradition. For instance, take a look at the pictures below:

French cuisine As we know France is well known for her delicious French Fries that we all love eating at home and takeaways, and of course the tasty croissants Top 5 french dishes are: 1: Crepes 2: Chocolate souffle 3: Nicoise salad 4: Ratatouille 5: Tate tatin

Education in France The French educational system is highly centralized and organized, with many subdivisions. It is divided into the three stages of enseignement primaire (primary education), enseignement secondaire (secondary education), and enseignement supérieur (higher education).

Thank you for your attention! Made by: George Tsavdaridis