什麼是法國

正式名稱法蘭西共和國（French Republic）

面積543,965平方公里。人口約59,090,000（2001）。首都︰巴黎。主要人口爲法國人。語言︰法語（官方語）。宗教：天主教（3/4）、基督教、新教徒和伊斯蘭教。貨幣︰歐元。有大平原、河流和數座山脈，包括庇里牛斯山脈和阿爾卑斯山脈。法國的氣候大體溫和。土地約有3/5適於耕農。森林約佔土地面積的1/4左右。法國經濟發達。爲公營和私營企業均有的混合型經濟。法國是世界上經濟實力最強的國家之一。爲歐洲共同體（參閱European Union）創始會員國之一。政府形式爲共和國，兩院制。國家元首是總統，政府首腦爲總理。

考古發掘顯示自舊石器時代起法國即有人類居住。約西元前1200年，塞爾特族進入該地區。約西元前600年，愛奧尼亞的希臘人在今馬賽一帶建立了貿易殖民地。西元前121年，羅馬人開始進行對高盧的征服，西元前58～西元前50年，凱撒完成了此項功業。6世紀時，薩利安法蘭克人在高盧大部地區取得了霸主地位。至8世紀，大權落入加洛林王朝之手，其最偉大的人物是查理曼。百年戰爭（1337～1453）後法國收回曾被英國佔領的領土。至15世紀末，法國疆界已大體與現代法國相同。16世紀標誌着新教徒（胡格諾派）與天主教徒之間的宗教戰爭（1337～1453）。亨利四世頒佈《南特敕令》（1598），保證實質上的宗教自由，但於1685年被路易十四世撤銷。路易十四世將王權至上制度在法國推向新的高度。1789年法國大革命宣佈人權並消滅了古代政權。拿破崙1779～1814年一直統治着法國，之後，有限的君主整體得到恢復，一直延續到1871年，第三共和成立。第一次世界大戰（1914～1918）破壞了法國北部地區。第二次世界大戰期間，納粹德國侵入法國後，在維琪成立了以貝當元帥爲首的傀儡政府。法國在1944年被盟軍及自由法國軍隊解放。第四共和成立後，法國又恢復了議會民主政治。1950年代，法國在印度支那進行鎮壓民族主義游擊隊的戰爭以及其他法國殖民地不斷高漲的民族主義，使第四共和窮於應付。1958年，戴高樂重返政壇。作爲第五共和的總統，他主持解散了大多數法國海外殖民地（參閱Algerian War、French Equatorial Africa和French West Africa）。1981年法國選舉出第一位社會黨總統密特朗。1990年代，法國政府左翼和右翼力量均勢，並朝向鞏固歐洲統一。

France

FrenchRépublique Fran?aiseRepublic, western Europe. It includes the principality of Monaco and the island of Corsica. Area: 210,026 sq mi (543,965 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 58,835,000. Capital: Paris. The people are mainly French. Language: French (official). Religions: Roman Catholicism (three-fourths), Protestantism, Islam. Monetary unit: euro. It has extensive plains, rivers, and a number of mountain ranges, including the Pyrenees and the Alps. France's climate is generally moderate. About three-fifths of the land is suitable for agriculture, and forests, largely unexploited, cover about one-fourth of the area. France has a developed, mixed economy with a preponderance of small firms. Its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister; the legislature consists of two houses. It is one of the major economic powers of the world and was a founding member of the European Community (see European Union). Culturally, France has enjoyed a significant role in the world from the early Middle Ages. Archaeological excavations in France indicate continuous settlement from Paleolithic times. In c. 1200 BC the Gauls migrated into the area and in 600 BC Ionian greeks established several settlements, including one at Marseille. Julius Caesar completed the Roman conquest of Gaul in 50 BC. During the 6th century AD, the Salian Franks ruled; by the 8th century power had passed to the Carolingians, the greatest of whom was Charlemagne. The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) resulted in the return to France of land that had been held by the British; by the end of the 15th century, France approximated its modern boundaries. The 16th century was marked by the Wars of Religion between Protestants (Huguenots) and Roman Catholics. Henry IV's Edict of Nantes (1598) granted substantial religious toleration, but this was revoked in 1685 by Louis XIV, who helped to raise monarchical absolutism to new heights. In 1789 the French Revolution proclaimed the rights of the individual and destroyed the ancient regime. Napoleon ruled from 1799 to 1814, after which a limited monarchy was restored until 1871, when the Third Republic was created. World War I (1914-18) ravaged the northern part of France. After Nazi Germany's invasion during World War II, the collaborationist Vichy regime governed. Liberated by Allied and Free French forces in 1944, France restored parliamentary democracy under the Fourth Republic. A costly war in Indochina (see Indochina wars) and rising nationalism in French colonies during the 1950s overwhelmed the Fourth Republic. The Fifth Republic was established in 1958 under Charles de Gaulle, who presided over the dissolution of most of France's overseas colonies (see Algerian War, French Equatorial Africa, French West Africa). In 1981 France elected its first Socialist president, Francois Mitterrand. During the 1990s, the French government, balancing right- and left-wing forces, moved toward solidifying European unity.