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English Channel

(Encyclopedia)English Channel, Fr. La Manche [the sleeve], arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.350 (560 km) long, between France and Great Britain. It is 112 mi (180 km) wide at its west entrance, between Land's End, Engl...

Vichy

(Encyclopedia)Vichy vĭshˈē, Fr. vēshēˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 28,048), Allier dept., central France, on the Allier River. Vichy's hot mineral springs made it one of the foremost spas in Europe, with a casino ...

Paris Pacts

(Encyclopedia)Paris Pacts, four international agreements signed in Paris on Oct. 23, 1954, to establish a new international status for West Germany. Since the end of World War II, West Germany had been occupied by ...

Ribaut, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Ribaut or Ribault, Jean both: zhäN rēbōˈ [key], c.1520–65, French mariner and colonizer in Florida, b. Dieppe. When Gaspard de Coligny decided to plant a French colony as an asylum for Huguenots...

Charles I, duke of Lower Lorraine

(Encyclopedia)Charles I, 953–992?, duke of Lower Lorraine (977–91); younger son of King Louis IV of France. He claimed the French throne when his nephew, Louis V of France, died (987) without issue, but he was ...

Clipperton Island

(Encyclopedia)Clipperton Island, uninhabited atoll, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), in the Pacific Ocean, c.800 mi (1,290 km) SW of Mexico. It was used as a base by John Clipperton, an English pirate. The French claimed it ...

Ferney-Voltaire

(Encyclopedia)Ferney-Voltaire fĕrnāˈ-vôltĕrˈ [key], town, Ain dept., E France, on the French-Swiss frontier near Geneva. The town grew after Voltaire bought the seigniory of Ferney in 1758 to escape harassmen...

Mâcon

(Encyclopedia)Mâcon mäkôNˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 38,503), capital of Saône-et-Loire dept., E central France, in Burgundy, on the Saône River. It is famous for its quality wines. A transportation center, the ...

Abbo of Fleury

(Encyclopedia)Abbo of Fleury äbōˈ, flörēˈ [key], Fr. Abbon de Fleury, 945?–1004, French monk at the abbey of Fleury (at present-day Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, France). Head of the monastery school, he later t...

Beaujolais

(Encyclopedia)Beaujolais bōzhôlāˈ [key], hilly region, Rhône dept., E central France, W of the Saône between Mâcon and Lyons. It is one of the great wine areas of France, famous for its red wine. Villefranch...