This document provides information about France, including: - Key facts about France such as its capital (Paris), population, total area, unemployment rate, and literacy rate. - Details about the French flag and its origins. - An overview of French geography, neighboring countries, seas, and overseas regions. - Lists some of France's top tourist attractions, including the Eiffel Tower, Palace of Versailles, Mont Saint-Michel, and French cuisine. - Provides brief descriptions of traditional French holidays, national clothing, and famous French wines.

1. FRANCE
(LA FRANCE)
Necla Begüm AKKAYA
20150603011
COMM 101.1: Introduction to Communication
Bahtiyar Ahu ALPASLAN
2015 - 2016

2. 1. General Information
 Capital City: Paris
 Population: 67,087,000
 Total Area (including overseas departments):
640,679 km²
 Region: 27 (22 Metropolitan France, 5 Overseas)
 Unemployment rates: 10.5%
 Literacy: 99% (age 15 and above who can
understand, read, and write a short statement about
their daily lives)

3.  Flag (Drapeau tricolore)
 Red and blue were originally the colours of the city of Paris
 During the storming of Bastille, the soldiers wore cockades
of red and blue, which would become a part of the National
Guard uniforms
 White was the 'ancient French colour' (the colour of the
king's flag) and was added to the cockades to 'nationalise'
them
 These colours became the flag of France in 1794

4. 2.
Geography
 Neighbors
 North: United
Kingdom, Belgium,
Luxembourg,
Germany
 South: Spain
 East: Switzerland,
Italy
 Seas
 North: English
Channel
 South:
Mediterranean Sea
 West: Atlantic
Ocean

5. 2. 1.
Regions
 Overseas regions:
 In the Indian Ocean
 Mayotte
 Réunion
 In the New World
 French Guiana
 Guadeloupe
 Martinique

7. 3. Religion

8. 4. Top 10 Tourist
Attractions

9. 4.1. Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel)
 Location: 7th arrondissement, Paris
 Is 324 metres tall, including 24m antenna
 Built by Gustave Eiffel for Exposition universelle de 1889, a
world's fair meant to celebrate the 100th year of the French
Revolution (La Révolution française)
 Construction began at January 28, 1887 and finished at March
31, 1889
 Initially meant to be built in Barcelona, Spain
 Was supposed to be torn down after 20 years if not for its
benefits in war as a communication tower
 Was not liked by the French but their opinion softened when the
tower was used to capture German agent, Mata Hari

11. 4.2. Saint-Tropez
 Location: Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (French
Riviera)
 Named after a semi-legendary figure named Saint
Tropes who was said to be beheaded by Nero and his
body washed up to present-day Saint-Tropez
 A former military stronghold and a simple fishing
village
 Became popular during 1960s among European and
American jet set for its beaches and nightclubs

13. 4.3. Chamonix
 Location: Haute-Savoie, Rhône-Alpes
 One of the oldest ski resorts in France
 North of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain
of the Alps
 Popular among winter sports athletes and
mountain climbers

15. 4.4. Palace of Versailles (Palais de
Versailles)
 Location: Versailles, Île de France
 Construction began in 1624 in the orders of Louis XIII and
finished in 1708
 Originally a hunting lodge, the royal family officially moved
in from Paris to control the nobility better and distance
itself from the Parisian population
 After the French Revolution, the castle fell into despair until
Louis-Phillipe I restored it and turned it into a museum
 Now a symbol of absolute monarchy of Ancient Régime

17. 4.5. Mont Saint-Michel
 Location: Manche, Basse-Normandie
 Total area: 0.97 km²
 A rocky tidal island that
 has held strategic fortifications since ancient times
 since 8th century AD, the seat of a monastery
 was used as a prison by Louis XI
 Has the population of 44 (2009)

19. 4.6. Les Gorges de Verdon
 Location: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
 A river canyon that is 25 km long and up to 700m deep
 Considered to be one of the Europe's most beautiful
river canyons
 Named after Rivière Verdon, which is known for its
turquoise-green water
 Very popular among tourists for driving around,
kayaking and hiking due to being close to the French
Riviera

21. 4.7. Château de Chambord
 Location: Chambord, Loir-et-Cher
 one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its
very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends
traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance
structures
 was never completed
 was constructed by King Francis I of France to serve as a hunting
lodge
 during French Revolution, many objects were torn or sold
 During the Second World War, art works from the collections of
the Louvre and the Château de Compiègne were moved to the
Château de Chambord
 no one knows who originally designed the castle: some say
Domenico da Cortona, an Italian architect in the French Court, but
there are also claims of Leonardo da Vinci being involved

23. 4.8. Palais de Papes
 Location: Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
 one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in
Europe
 was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century
 six papal conclaves were held in the Palais
 since 1995, classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site
 Festival d'Avignon is an annual arts festival held in the French city
of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Popes'
Palace as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by
Jean Vilar, an actor and director, it is the oldest extant festival in
France and one of the world's greatest.

25. 4.9. Dune de Pilat
 Location: La Teste-de Buch, Aquitaine
 the tallest sand dune in Europe
 has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³
 is around 500 m wide from east to west
 2.7 km in length from north to south
 height is currently 110 meters above sea level
 a famous tourist destination with more than one million
visitors per year

27. 4.10. Cathédrale Notre Dame de
Chartres
 Location: Chartres
 A medieval Catholic cathedral and one of the finest examples of
French Gothic architecture
 a UNESCO World Heritage Site
 in Middle Age, was the heart of the town's economy: a place for
numerous commercial activities
 due to war and fire, the cathedral was rebuilt many times, finally
completed in 1220
 the cathedral also managed to survive many attempts of its
destruction: during French Revolution, an architect pointed out
exploding the cathedral would cause rubble to clog the streets,
which could take years to clean up, and during WW2, the
American Allies almost destroyed the cathedral in fear of it being
occupied by the Germans

29. 5. Cuisine
 French cuisine was codified in the 20th century
by chef Auguste Escoffier, who made it turn into
the haute cuisine it's known as today.
 In the Middle Ages, the foods were very spicy
and marine food was more common as game
was very rare.
 During 18th century, the flavours became lighter
and the dishes became varied.

30. 5.1. Internationally Known French
Food
1. Baguette
2. Croissant
3. Foie gras
4. Cuisses de
grenouille

31. 5. Soufflé
6. Crème brûlée
7. Éclair

32. 7. Wine
 Wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60
million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the
largest wine producers in the world.
 High quality French wines must pay attention to two things:
 Where the grapes are grown and the wine is made
 The system of Appellation d'origine contrôlée: it defines which grape
varieties and winemaking practices are approved for classification in
each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations,
which can cover entire regions, individual villages or even specific
vineyards.
 France is the source of many grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon,
Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah) that are now planted
throughout the world, as well as wine-making practices and styles of wine
that have been adopted in other producing countries.

33. 1. Merlot grapes (red)
2. Grenache grapes (red)
3. Trebbiano grapes (white)
4. Chardonnay grapes (white)

34. 6. Tradition and Culture
6.1. Traditional holidays
 Due to France being predominantly a Christian country,
most of the traditional holidays are religious.
 Le Noël (Christmas)
 many people attend the traditional late evening Christmas Mass.
 Le Réveillon (referring to the birth of Christ) is the dinner that follows
and will usually include turkey, capon, goose, chicken, and boudin
blanc (white pudding).
 Père Noël (Santa Clause) fills shoes left in front of the fireplace
instead of stockings with presents, while Père Fouettard
accompanies him to spank any naughty children.

37.  Les Pâques (Easter)
 always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April
inclusive, within about seven days after the astronomical
full moon
 church bells don't ring between Good Friday and Easter
Sunday, to commemorate the death of Christ and his
resurrection
 When the bells resume, people hug and kiss each other.
 Instead of the Easter Bunny, French children believe that
the silent church bells become Flying Bells that depart
before Good Friday, taking with them all the grief and
misery of mourners of Christ's crucifixion
 After they visit the Pope in Rome, they return on Easter
Sunday, having hidden chocolate Easter eggs for children
to find.

39.  Le poisson d'avril (April Fools Day)
 on April 1st
 children make fish out of paper and pin them to the
backs of as many adults as possible, running away
while yelling poisson d'avril!

40.  La Fête nationale (Bastille Day)
 celebrated on July 14
 commemorates the day in 1789 when the prison
at the Bastille was stormed and pillaged by angry
French citizens, the beginning of the French
Revolution
 the day is marked with fireworks, parades and
similar celebrations
 The French national anthem is often heard on
this memorable holiday

42. 6.2. National clothing
 As a result of being composed of many
regions that were until recent history
separated from each other, France has no
common national clothing.
 However, it's certain that nearly all of them
included these clothing items to their clothes.

43. For men, there are:
• Chemise (a knee length
cotton or linen shirt,
considered to be an
undergarment)
• Culottes or Breech cloth
(a pair of knee length
pants, usually wool or
linen, which button around
the knees, or a cloth worn
over the loins)
• Hose (a pair of cotton or
wool socks, knee high)
• Mitasses (a pair of
protective garters worn
over the lower legs, made
of leather or wool, which
button to the breeches or
tie to a belt)
• Guillette: Small short vest
usually without sleeves,
worn over the Chemise.
• Capote or Justacorp:
Heavy coat with large
cuffs worn over all else,
kind of like a suit coat.

44.  For women, there are:
 Caps
 Skirts scarcely down the
middle of legs
 Shoes often like those of the
Finnish women, but are
sometimes provided with heels
 A silver cross hanging down
the breast.
 Jupon (a garment very similar
to a skirt, only shorter, can be
used to show off wealth)
 Chemise (an underskirt or shift
worn under all of the outer
petticoats and the jupon)
 Mantelet (a short women's
waistcoat, worn with the jupon
and chemise)
 Fichu (a square or oblong
piece of cloth used by women
as a modesty scarf worn about
the neck and shoulders)

45. 7. Media
7.1. Newspaper
 The French are not known to read newspapers: only 164 out of
every 1000 adults say they read them.
 The reasons of decline are:
 popularity of broadcast media
 broadcast getting more monetary support than
newspapers
 While national newspapers has seen a decline in circulation
since World War II, during which period it was at its highest
point, regional newspapers have a more loyal reading group.

46.  Top 3 National Newspapers and their Circulations
 Le Nouvel Observateur (weekly/centre-left) 511, 900
 L'Express (weekly/centre-right) 437, 800
 Le Canard enchaîné (weekly/satirical) 420, 300

48.  Top 3 Regional Newspapers and their
Circulations
 Ouest-France (daily/centre-right) 2, 441, 000
 La Voix du Nord (daily/centre-right) 1, 141, 000
 Sud Ouest (daily/left) 1, 083, 000

50. 7.2. Television
 France was one of the first countries in the world to
broadcast television programs with its introduction in
1931.
 The French television in current day is mostly formed of
talk shows, reality shows, competition and soap operas.

51.  Most viewed channels
 TF1 (private) %22.9
 France 2 (public) %14.1
 M6 (private) %10.1

53. 7.3. Internet
• France is one of the countries where the usage of internet is
above average compared to the other EU countries in every
possible aspect:
– regular usage (at least once a week) (78% vs 70%)
– daily usage (65% vs 59%)
– number of non-internet users (15% vs 22%)
• The French typically go online to look up information (69%
vs 62%), manage their money (54% vs 40%) and make use
of travel and accommodation services (38% vs 36%).
• However, the French use the internet for reading
newspapers/news less compared to the other EU countries
(31% vs 45%).