France in Focus

Geographically the largest country in Western Europe, France is a land of rich natural contrast, ranging from sun-drenched beaches to snow-covered peaks. It is also an important center for world trade, finance, tourism, culture, and the arts.

Paris, known as the City of Lights, is one of the world's greatest cities and most popular destinations. Its many architectural gems, monuments, and landmarks are rivaled only by its vibrant nightlife, rich museums, and fine cuisine. The city is divided into 20 districts, called arrondissements, each with its own mayor, city hall, police station, and post office. The First, Second, and Eighth arrondissements are the center of the French fashion and perfume industries, the stock exchange, and the city's most elegant hotels. The Fifth Arrondissement, known as the Latin Quarter, is the site of the University of Paris and the Sorbonne.

Paris is divided by the river Seine, which flows through the city in a wide arc. The northern part of the city is called the Right Bank, and the southern part the Left Bank. The Right Bank is the site of luxurious hotels, elegant restaurants, and fashionable shops, while the Left Bank is the main artistic and cultural area, with numerous sidewalk cafes, art galleries, and book shops. The Place de la Concorde is a huge city square, with a total area of 85,000 square feet. In this square, King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and 1,342 other victims were beheaded during the French Revolution.

The Champs-Elysee, which leads from the square to the Arc de Triomphe, is crowded with people and lined by theaters and restaurants. The boulevard's most famous night spot is the birthplace of the cancan, the Moulin Rouge, which was immortalized in the sketches, paintings, and serigraphs of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The Montmarte district, formerly an artist's village, has been transformed into a center of bawdy entertainment and exuberant nightlife.

Paris has an abundance of famous and historic landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Hotel des Invalides, and the Palace of the Louvre. The Eiffel Tower, designed by Gustav Eiffel and erected for the Universal Exposition of 1899, was not intended to be a permanent landmark. However, the 985-foot tower proved to be convenient station for transmitting radio signals. During World War I, signals transmitted from atop the tower jammed the radios of advancing German soldiers. The tower houses two restaurants, a snack bar, and a cocktail lounge. On the fourth level is a reconstruction of Eiffel's office, with wax figures of the French engineer receiving Thomas Edison. On a clear day, the tower offers spectacular views of Paris and the surrounding countryside.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame was built to replace two Romanesque churches that had stood on the site until 1160. The cathedral was started by Bishop Maurice de Sully and took 150 years to complete. Inside, Napoleon crowned himself emperor. The cathedral is regarded as a nearly perfect example of Gothic architecture. Above the main entrance, an arched window forms a 31-foot halo around the head of a statue of Virgin Mary.

The Arc de Triomphe is the centerpiece of the Right Bank, where 12 avenues on the Place Charles DeGaulle converge. Napoleon began constructing the arch in 1806 to commemorate his victories, but, by the time it was finished, his army had been defeated. Beneath the arch, the Flame of Remembrance marks the tomb of France's Unknown Soldier. The Hotel des Invalides is a palace and church housing a museum, administrative offices of the French military, and the Tomb of Napoleon. Other noteworthy sites in Paris include the Pantheon, La Madeleine, and Cite Universitaire. Visitors can also tour the sewers and catacombs beneath Paris, where, supposedly, the remains of the English king James I are stored in a golden urn.

Shopping for designer clothes, perfume, ceramics, jewelry, wine, or luxury foods is also a popular leisure pastime in the city. Parisian restaurants, night clubs, and brasseries (small, informal restaurants with bars) are among the best in the world. Paris is also known as an important center for music and performing arts.

The Palais du Louvre is one of the world's most important art museums, with a vast collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and art objects from every historical period. Many of the world's great works, including the Venus de Milo, Rembrandt's self-portrait, Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and the Winged victory of Samothrace, are part of the permanent exhibition. Nearly 300,000 works of art are displayed in eight departments-- Egyptian Antiquities, Oriental Antiquities, Objects of Art, Graphic Arts, Sculptures, Paintings, Louvre History, and Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities. Besides the Louvre, Paris has a large number of other museums devoted to art, history, and science. Some of the most important are the Musee de l'Orangerie des Tuileries, Musee d'Orsay, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musee Picasso, and the Musee National d'Art Moderne (National Museum of Modern Art).

Versailles, 15 miles southwest of Paris, is a glittering jewelbox of royal French architecture and landscaping. Built as a private retreat for royal families, the palace is divided into various sections, including the Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the museum, and the Grand Apartments. The exterior grounds are covered by lavish gardens with soaring fountains and grandiose statues. Fontainebleu Palace, south of Paris, is surrounded by a 50,000-acre forest which served as the private hunting ground of French rulers from Francois I to Napoleon. The nearby village of Barbizon was a famous nineteenth-century artists' colony, where the painters Jean Francois Millet and Henri Rousseau lived and worked

. A beautiful thirteenth-century cathedral is found in Chartes, a medieval city 60 miles southwest of Paris. Chantilly, north of Paris, is the site of famous riding stables decorated with carvings and sculptures. Chateau de Chantilly and Musee Conde, situated on a quaint artificial lake, have some of the country's great art treasures, including paintings by Raphael, Holbein, and Giotto.

Lyon, known as a major center for trade, finance, and research, is one of the most important business destinations in France. The city has been an important trading center since the Renaissance, when early trade fairs were held. The headquarters of Interpol, the international police organization, is located in Lyon, and several large corporations also have extensive operations in the city. For sightseeing, Lyon has several historic sites exemplary of medieval and Renaissance architecture. The Musee des Beaux-Arts housed in the Palais St- Pierre is a restored twelfth-century convent, with the second largest collection of fine arts in France. The Theatre des Celestins and National Popular Theater in nearby Villeurbane offer performances of classic and modern drama, from Moliere to Cocteau.

In Rouen, the capital of Nomrandy, travelers can visit the place du Vieux-Marche, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Known as the "city of 100 spires," the city is a showcase for French history and architecture, with buildings dating as far back as the fourth century. The Rouen Cathedral was badly damaged during World War II, but since has been restored. Built in the flamboyant Gothic style, the cathedral was financed by Catholic worshippers who were willing to pay for the privilege of eating butter during Lent. The Musee des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) has works by Ingres, Delacroix, Caravaggio, and Monet, among others.

The Loire Valley, known as the "green heart of France," begins about 120 miles southwest of Paris. This region is blanketed by vineyards and dotted with historic castles, palaces, and walled cities clustered around medieval churches. Historic towns in the Loire Valley include Orleans, Blois, Tours, and Chinon. Mont-St-Michel, a majestic citadel on a small high island at the border between Normandy and Brittany, is regarded as one of the greatest sightseeing attractions in Europe. The massive fortress walls are more than one-half mile in circumference. The tides around the island sometimes rise as high as 50 feet. The island is connected to the mainland by an enclosed walkway. The abby inside the citadel was built in the eleventh century and combines Gothic and Romanesque styles.

The provinces of Bordeaux and Burgundy were once small independent countries, each governed by a single family. The Burgundy region has produced fine wines since the first century. Over the generations, the regions have been divided up into numerous estates owned by the descendants of the original landowners. Most of the grapes used in French red wines are grown by the estates in these two regions.

The French Alps, stretching from Lake Geneva almost to the Mediterranean cost, are one of the most spectacular sights in Europe. Chamonix, located near the juncture of France, Italy, and Switzerland, is known as the French capital of alpine skiing. The gateway to Mont Blanc, Chamonix is located at 3,422 feet and is the site of Vallee Blanche, a ten-mile ski run. The Mont Blanc tunnel provides an automobile route through the Alps to Italy.

Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, is one of France's greatest cities and an important inland port, two miles west of the Rhine. The Strasbourg Cathedral, which inspired the poetry of Goethe, was built in 1015 and is one of the largest Christian churches in the world. Each year in June, the International Music Festival is held at the cathedral and at the Chateau des Rohan.

The Cote d'Azur, a short stretch of coastline near the Italian border, is one of the most heavily developed leisure destinations in the world. Known as the French Riviera, the region first became popular among wealthy travelers and royalty, who traveled by rail from the capitals of Europe. The coastal highway passes through charming towns with red tile roofs and faded stucco walls, overlooking the Mediterreanean Sea. Offshore, the white sails of pleasure boats pass slowly beneath gracefully soaring seagulls. The main resorts are concentrated in a 70-mile band along the Mediterranean coast stretching from Menton to Saint-Raphael. Cannes and Nice are popular resort areas that attract travelers from throughout Europe. The Cannes Film Festival is the largest and most famous cinema event in Europe. The Nice area is the site of fashionable resorts, restaurants, and shops.

Country Profile

With a total area of about 210,000 square miles, France is larger than California but smaller than Texas. The coasts of Brittany and the Riviera are lined with warm, sunny beaches and rugged limestone cliffs. Verdant forests cover the land from the Ardennes region near Belgium to the South of France, known as Midi. The peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees mountain ranges are blanketed with snow and ice. Mont Blanc, in the French Alps, is the highest peak in Europe, with an elevation of 15,771 feet.

France has 2,130 miles of coastline, on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and a total population of over 56 million. The largest cities are the capital, Paris, with about 2.2 million residents, Marseille, with about 879,000 residents, and Lyon, which has 420,000 inhabitants.

France originally was inhabited by Celtic and Germanic peoples. Phoenician and Greek traders established colonies on the Mediterranean coast. In the second century B.C., the Romans conquered the region (which was then called Gaul) and ruled for nearly six centuries, introducing their laws, architecture, government, and language. In A.D, 486, the lands were united by the Franks. In 911, the Vikings established the duchy of Normandy along the Atlantic coast of France, and, in 1066, the Normans invaded England. England and France fought continually from the mid 1300s to mid 1400s, a period known as the Hundred Year's War. The English forces were defeated in a major battle by a French army inspired by Joan of Arc.

The country was united under Louis XI and became a center of commerce, industry, agriculture, learning, and culture. In 1533, a fourteen-year-old Italian girl, Catherine de Medici came to France to marry the Duke of Orleans, who later became King Henri II. She had grown up in the refined setting of Renaissance Italy, where the arts, including cuisine, were more advanced than in other parts of Europe. Through her efforts, food preparation became a fine art, and Paris became the culinary capital of Europe. The court of Louis XIV, who ruled from 1643 to 1715, consumed large amounts of luxury goods, creating a major industry devoted to the import of silks, furs, tapestries, porcelain, and furniture.

Although France is noted for fashion apparel, fine wines, perfumes, tourism, and cinema, it has one of the most diverse and industrialized economies in the world. The French stock market, the Paris Bourse, is one of the most active in Europe.