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| Facts & Figures about France |
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Basic facts French kids
know - or should know - about their country
- The 5 mountain ranges
: the Alps, on the border with Italy with the hightest mountain
in Europe (Mont-Blanc 4,810 meters i .e. 15,781 ft.), the Pyrénées,
on the border with Spain with several summits above 10,000 ft.,
the Massif Central a spectacular chain of extinct volcanoes (see
a spectacular picture),
in the very center of the country, the Jura along the Swiss border
and the Vosges not far from the German border
- The 5 main rivers : the
Loire (the longest : 4,012 kilometers i.e. 629 mi.), the Rhine
(the Franco-German border), the Rhône (coming from Switzerland
through the Lake of Geneva), the Seine (crossing Paris) and the
Garonne in the South-West
- The four seas : the Mediterranean,
the North Sea, the British Channel and the Atlantic Ocean
- The climate is mild (monthly
averages between 3°C i.e. 38°F and 19°C i.e. 66°F),
often changing with clouds and rain coming from the Atlantic
Ocean, except in the Center and the East where it can be relatively
cold (but temperatures as cold as 10°C i.e. 10°F
or +40°C i.e. 104°F are considered unusually cold or
hot)
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- Population 66 million including 2 million in overseas territories;
France is among the 4 most populated European countries (with
Germany in the 80s, UK and Italy in the 60s) ; with its 550,000
square kilometers (i.e. 212,000 sq. mi.), it is one of the least
dense countries in Europe.
- The 8 neighbors (clockwise
from SW to North) : Spain (including small Franco-Spanish Andorra),
tiny Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium
(+ the neighbors in overseas territories : Brazil, Surinam and
Netherlands : guess where!)
- The main cities are Paris
(10,5 million), Lyon (1,6m), Marseille (1,4m), Lille (1,1m),
Toulouse and Bordeaux (0,9m), Nantes and Strasbourg (0,7m), Nice
and Grenoble (0,6m)
- Administratively, the country is divided into 22 regions
composed of 95 " Départements " (including more
than 36,000 " Communes ", local authorities) + (overseas)
4 regions and 6 territories. More about French administrative
organization.
- Thanks to its overseas territories,
France has the second largest maritime economic area in
the world.
- More to come
DID YOU KNOW THAT..... In 2009, a cable-stayed bridge is under construction between France and Brazil. You think I'm bragging and you don't believe me ? You should : it is not across the Atlantic but across the Oyapock river, between Brazil and French Guyana ! |
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Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books :
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..)
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