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France - GENERAL INFORMATION |
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Population
| Main Cities |
Population |
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Paris
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9,600,000
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Marseille
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1,200,000
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Lyons
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1,000,000
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Lille
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930
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Toulouse
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400
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Nice
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330
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Nantes
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280
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Total population (millions): |
60
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| Source: World Bank 2004 |
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| Urban population: |
76%
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| Source: World Bank 2004 |
| Average annual population growth: |
0.4%
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| Source: World Bank 2004 |
| Surface area (km²) : |
551,5
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Local time
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GMT+1 in winter, GMT+2 in summer
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Languages
Official language: French
French is the main business language, English is a little bit spoken depending on the business sectors.
Free translation tools
in France
:
Eurodicautom
The European Union Dictionary (12 languages avalaible)
Babel Fish
Free French-English-French translation of texts and web pages
Grand dictionnaire terminologique
Free French-Engish-French dictionary with 3 billion terms
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Religion
Religious practises :
Catholics 89.8%
Protestants 1.9%
Jews 1.1%
Muslims 0.9%
No religion 6.9%
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Political system
France is a Republic which Constitution dates from 1958. The President of the Republic is the Head of State, chief of the Armies and has an executive power. He is elected for a seven-year term (five year term from 2002 on) by direct universal suffrage. He is entitled to dissolve the Assembly and call for early elections. He appoints the Prime Minister, who represents the parliamentary majority. As for the legislative power, the Parliament is composed of the National Assembly (577 members elected for five years by direct universal suffrage) and the Senate (321 members elected for a nine-year term). The right to vote is granted from the age of 18. Since 1982, France decentralised part of its power to Regions and Departments. President of the Republic : Jacques Chirac elected in 1995 and re-elected in May 2002. Prime Minister : Dominique de Villepin
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| Number of visitors
in France
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2002
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2003
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2004
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World rank |
| Number of visitors (1000) |
77012
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75048
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75121
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1
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| Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005 |
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Tourist sites
-Paris: The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Notre Dame Cathedral , The Arc de Triomphe.
For more information about tourism
in France
, check out the following web site(s) :
Tourism Board
Tourism Board
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Food
Traditional dishes
French are reputed for their very fine and varied cuisine, enriched by the contributions of the very different regional culinary specialties (Provence, Alsace, Aquitaine, etc.)
Among the most famous French specialties, we can list:
The leg of lamb
The beef bourguignon
The bow of Lyons
The blanquette of veal
Snails
Oysters and seafood
The tripou
The foie gras
The raclette, tartiflette, melted Savoyard etc.
The cassoulet
The sauerkraut
The "Pot au feu" (kind of stew)
Cakes: crêpes (pancakes), madeleines, charlottes in seasonal fruits etc.
Wines and champagnes are famous worldwide.
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Last modified in
October 2005
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