Click to enlarge

France plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the G-20, the EU and other multilateral organizations. France rejoined NATO’s integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing de Gaulle’s 1966 decision to take French forces out of NATO. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier, more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent decades, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common currency, the euro, in January 1999. In the early 21st century, five French overseas entities – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion – became French regions and were made part of France proper.

Capital: Paris 

Population: 65,102,719 (2010 est.)

Currency: Euro

Official Language: French

Ethnicity/race: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, and Basque minorities

Religion: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%

3 Interesting Facts:

1. French was the official language of England for over 300 years (1066 until early 1400s)! Today, it is the official language of 30 countries worldwide.
2. The tradition of decorating Christmas trees came from Eastern France in 16th century (then part of Germany).
3. The French TGV is the fastest train in the world, reaching an average speed of  263 km/h from station to station. On a test run in 2007, it reached a record speed of 575 km/h!

See more on France from Cris2Travel:

• Nice
• Paris
• Strasbourg
• Blog: Euro-trip

~