France

CE5

France frăns, Fr. fräNs [key], officially French Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 64,457,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel (N), the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay (W), Spain and Andorra (SW), the Mediterranean Sea (S; the location of the island of Corsica), Switzerland and Italy (SE), and Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium (NE). The natural land frontiers are the Pyrenees, along the border with Spain; the Jura Mts. and the Alps, along the border with Switzerland and Italy; and the Rhine River, which is part of the border with Germany. France's capital and largest city is Paris.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Contemporary Era
• Gaullist France
• The Fourth Republic and Postwar France
• The World Wars
• Royalism, Reform, and the Birth of Modern France
• The Revolution and Napoleon I
• The Ancien Régime and Attempts at Reform
• The Reformation and its Aftermath
• The Making of a Nation
• The Birth of France
• Ancient Gaul to Feudalismthe Birth of France
• Government
• Economy
• People
• Land
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: French Political Geography