France is a country located in Western Europe known for its rich cultural heritage. Some key facts: - Capital and largest city is Paris, home to famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame cathedral. - Has a long history and was once led by absolute monarchs, now has a semi-presidential democratic republic system of government. - Economy relies on industries like tourism, fashion, wine, food and is a global leader in sectors like cinema and rail transport. - Culturally significant for its contributions to art, architecture, literature and sciences over the centuries.

1. France
Music: Yann Tiersen,
Amelie (film)

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Often referred to as L’Hexagone due to it’s shape
Capital-Paris. Major cities-Marseille, Lyon,
Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nice, Rennes, Lille, Bordeaux.
District of Paris region is often referred to Île-deFrance and was renamed as the isle of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions, 22
are in metropolitan France and 5 overseas which are:
French Guiana in S.America
Guadeloupe in N.America (the Caribbean)
Martinique in N.America (Caribbean)
Réunion in Africa (the Indian Ocean)
Mayotte in Africa (the Indian Ocean)
The French Republic is a unitary semipresidential republic with strong democratic
traditions

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Francois Hollande – President
Jean Marc Ayrualt – Prime Minister
Per capita GDP : $34,077
Eiffel Tower, Paris- Most romantic in the world
Louvre, Paris- Most visited museum in the world.
French Riviera or Côte d'Azur (South western
France)– leading destination in France after Parisian
region, with well defined coastline and beaches, golf
courses, restaurants, yachts fleet.
TGV Train à Grande Vitesse –fastest train with a
record of 574.8km/hr

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French government has followed the principle
of laïcité
La Francophonie- govt organisation to
promote French and connect Francophones
(french speakers)
France is famous for its artists

7. PARIS !
“Capital of the arts,” “the city of lights,” “one of the most
beautiful cities in the world,” to name but a few! Paris is worldwide famous
for its enormous cultural wealth that it owes not only to its fascinating
history but also to its age-long heritage. When considering the city’s
monuments, museums, buildings, libraries, or famous residents, visitors are
transported through time and space…

8. Architecture
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Gothic or French style
spread over all of Europe to
build cathedrals. Most
popular. Notre Dame
Gustave Eiffel-designer
Tallest in Paris
Public considered it an
eyesore while it was being
built
City planned to tear it down
after Eiffel’s permit ended
in 1909 but stayed as it
helped in communication

10. When looking at it from the top of the Arc de
Triomphe, you will understand why the spot
is called
“étoile” or “star spot”. Indeed twelve
avenues all converge towards the arc. The
Monument in
memory of the Great Army was ordered by
Napoleon. Many soldiers have been
honoured and the
body of an anonymous soldier who served
during WWI is actually buried there. A
flame is
constantly lit in memory of all those who
died at war.

11. Mona Lisa
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Painted by Leonardo da
Vinci, Italian
Also known as La
Jaconde
Property of the Louvre
Museum, Paris.

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Some interesting facts about
France
Wine is free with most meals (including lunch) but you
have to pay for milk for your coffee.
Public toilets usually have no toilet seat, and you have
to pay to get in!
More tourists visit France each year than any other
country in the world, with 67 million annual tourist
arrivals (more than the country's population).
There are almost as many motorcycles,
scooters, and mopeds as cars.
France produces over 500 types of cheese!
Beer is considered a luxury drink and saved only for
special occasions. Wine is essentially everywhere,
often free.
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13. The most popular destination in the
world
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Tourism: 6% of the country's income
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4% from French tourists
2% from foreign tourists
Rank
Country
International tourist arrivals
1
France
79.22 millions
2
United States
57.94 millions
3
Spain
57.19 millions
4
China
53.05 millions
5
Italy
42.73 millions

16. Cinema
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Auguste and Louis Lumière (known as
the Lumiere Brothers) created one of the
earliest films.
Cannes Festival -the most important and
famous film festivals in the world
American Hollywood however is now
dominant in the film industry even in France

17. Fashion
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Modern haute couture
originated in France
Chanel, Dior,
and Givenchy – great
couture houses
Yves Saint Laurent
famous for prêt-à-porter
(ready to wear)
Christian Lacroix other
famous french names

18. Gastronomy
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Finest in the world
Cassoulet (stew or casserole) in the
Southwest, Choucroute (cabbage with
meat) in Alsace, Quiche(pastry cut pie
with cheese, meat and veg) in the Lorraine
region, Beef bourguignon in
the Bourgogne- regional
France's most renowned products
are wines, including
Champagne, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, and
Beaujolais as well as a large variety of
different cheeses, such as Camembert
(cows milk), Roquefort (blue cheese,
sheeps milk) and Brie(cows milk very
soft). There are more than 400 different
varieties
Foie gras- delicacy- gastronomical
heritage- duck’s or goose liver

19. Sports
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Popular- Football, judo
and tennis
Football and rugby team
nicknamed as Les Bleux
(colour of jersey)
Tour de France- most
famous bicylce race in
the world

20. The Palace of Versailles
 In French it is the Château de Versailles.
 When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today,
however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris. The court of Versailles was the
center of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved
from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in
October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is
therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system
of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime.

21. Palace of Fontainebleau
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The Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 km from the centre
of Paris, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The palace as it
is today is the work of many French monarchs. Fonatinebleau forest
is now home to many endangered species of Europe.
The château is now home to the Écoles d'Art Américaines, a school of
art, architecture, and music for students from the United States. The
school was founded by General Pershing when his men were
stationed there during the First World War.

22. Disneyland Paris
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Disneyland
Paris,
originally Euro
Disney
Resort,
is
an
entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town located 32 km (20 mi)
east of the centre of Paris and is the most visited attraction in all of France
and Europe.
It is owned and operated by Euro Disney S.C.A
The resort covers 4,800 acres (19 km2) and encompasses two theme parks,
several resort hotels, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, and a
golf course, in addition to several additional recreational and entertainment
venues.
Disneyland Park is the original theme park of the complex, opening with the
resort on 12 April 1992. A second theme park, Walt Disney Studio
Park opened in 2002.
The resort is the second Disney park to open outside the United States,

23. The Louvre
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The Louvre is one of the world's largest museums and a
historic monument.
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du
Louvre), originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century
under Philip II.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of
537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and
confiscated church property. Because of structural problems
with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801.
The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum
renamed the Musée Napoléon.
After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized
by his armies were returned to their original owners.
Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts
since the Third Republic. As of 2008, the collection is divided
among
eight
curatorial
departments: Egyptian
Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan,
and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative
Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

24. Musée d'Orsay
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The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, on the left bank of the Seine.
It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay , a Beaux-Arts railway station built
between 1898 and 1900.
The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including
paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography.
It
houses
the
largest
collection
of impressionist and postimpressionist masterpieces
in
the
world,
by
painters
including Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at
the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum's opening in 1986.

25. Notre Dame de Paris
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Notre-Dame de Paris also known as Notre-Dame
Cathedral.
The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest
examples of French Gothic architecture and among the
largest and most well-known church buildings in the world.
The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in
contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture.
Notre-Dame is the parish that contains the cathedra, or
official chair, of the archbishop of Paris,
currently Cardinal André Vingt-Trois.
The cathedral treasury is notable for its relics Crown of
Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy
Nails.
In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered damage during the
radical phase of the French Revolution. An
extensive restoration was later taken place.

26. Champs-Élysées
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The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a street in Paris.
With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the
Champs-Élysées is arguably one of the world's most famous streets, and is one of
the most expensive strips of real estate in the world.
Several French monuments are also on the street, including the Arc de
Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde.
The name is French for Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek
mythology.

27. Centre Georges Pompidou
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Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex of Paris.
It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture.
It houses the Bibliothèque publique d'information, a vast public library, the Musée
National d'Art Moderne which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe,
and IRCAM, a centre for music and acoustic research.
It is named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1969 to 1974
who commissioned the building. The Centre Pompidou has had over 150 million
visitors since 1977.
The sculpture, Horizontal by Alexander Calder, a free-standing mobile that is
twenty-five feet high, was placed permanently in front of the Centre Pompidou by
the architect of the building, Renzo Piano.

28. La grand arche de la Defense
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La Grande Arche de la Défense a monument and
building in the business district of La Défense in
Paris.
The two sides of the Arche house government offices.
The roof section was an exhibition centre, housing
the Musée de l'Informatique (Computing Museum).
The vertical structure visible in the photograph is the
lift scaffolding. Views of Paris are to be had from the
lifts taking visitors to the roof.
After a non-injury accident in the elevators in April
2010, the Department of Ecology, owner of the roof
of the Grande Arche, decided to permanently close
the computer museum, restaurant, and viewing deck.
Access to the roof is still possible via the elevators in
the north and south walls, but they are closed to the
public

29. The Obelisk at the Place de la
Concorde
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The Luxor Obelisk is a 23 metre (75 ft) high
Egyptian obelisk standing at the center of the Place de la
Concorde. It was originally located at the entrance
to Luxor Temple, in Egypt.
Two 3,300-year-old twin obelisks once marked the
entrance to the Luxor Temple. Muhammad Ali Pasha,
Kingof Egypt, offered the two obelisks to France as a gift
in 1829.
The first obelisk arrived in Paris on December 21, 1833.
Three years later, on October 25, 1836, King LouisPhilippe of France had it placed in the center of Place de
la Concorde.

30. Channel Tunnel
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The Channel Tunnel is a 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi) the United
Kingdom with France runs beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover.
At its lowest point, it is 75 m (250 ft) deep. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), the tunnel
has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world
The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, Eurotunnel Shuttle rollon/roll-off vehicle transport—the largest in the world—and international rail freight
trains.
Ideas for a cross-Channel fixed link appeared as early as 1802,but British political
and press pressure over compromised national security stalled attempts to construct
a tunnel. The eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began
construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. At £4.650 billion, the project came in
80% over its predicted budget. Since its construction, the tunnel has faced several
problems. Fires have disrupted operation of the tunnel.

31. Mont St. Michel
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Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one
kilometre (0.6 miles) off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of
the Couesnon River near. 247 acres (100 ha) in size, the island has a population of
44 (2009).[1]
The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the eighth
century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name.
The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that
constructed it. On top God, the abbey and monastery, below this the Great halls,
then stores and housing, and at the bottom, outside the walls, fishermen and
farmers' housing.
One of France's most recognisable landmarks, Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are
part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and more than 3 million people
visit it each year.