正式名称法兰西共和国（French Republic）
面积543,965平方公里。人口约59,090,000（2001）。首都︰巴黎。主要人口为法国人。语言︰法语（官方语）。宗教：天主教（3/4）、基督教、新教徒和伊斯兰教。货币︰欧元。有大平原、河流和数座山脉，包括庇里牛斯山脉和阿尔卑斯山脉。法国的气候大体温和。土地约有3/5适於耕农。森林约占土地面积的1/4左右。法国经济发达。为公营和私营企业均有的混合型经济。法国是世界上经济实力最强的国家之一。为欧洲共同体（参阅European Union）创始会员国之一。政府形式为共和国，两院制。国家元首是总统，政府首脑为总理。
考古发掘显示自旧石器时代起法国即有人类居住。约西元前1200年，塞尔特族进入该地区。约西元前600年，爱奥尼亚的希腊人在今马赛一带建立了贸易殖民地。西元前121年，罗马人开始进行对高卢的征服，西元前58～西元前50年，凯撒完成了此项功业。6世纪时，萨利安法兰克人在高卢大部地区取得了霸主地位。至8世纪，大权落入加洛林王朝之手，其最伟大的人物是查理曼。百年战争（1337～1453）後法国收回曾被英国占领的领土。至15世纪末，法国疆界已大体与现代法国相同。16世纪标志着新教徒（胡格诺派）与天主教徒之间的宗教战争（1337～1453）。亨利四世颁布《南特敕令》（1598），保证实质上的宗教自由，但於1685年被路易十四世撤销。路易十四世将王权至上制度在法国推向新的高度。1789年法国大革命宣布人权并消灭了古代政权。拿破仑1779～1814年一直统治着法国，之後，有限的君主整体得到恢复，一直延续到1871年，第三共和成立。第一次世界大战（1914～1918）破坏了法国北部地区。第二次世界大战期间，纳粹德国侵入法国後，在维琪成立了以贝当元帅为首的傀儡政府。法国在1944年被盟军及自由法国军队解放。第四共和成立後，法国又恢复了议会民主政治。1950年代，法国在印度支那进行镇压民族主义游击队的战争以及其他法国殖民地不断高涨的民族主义，使第四共和穷於应付。1958年，戴高乐重返政坛。作为第五共和的总统，他主持解散了大多数法国海外殖民地（参阅Algerian War、French Equatorial Africa和French West Africa）。1981年法国选举出第一位社会党总统密特朗。1990年代，法国政府左翼和右翼力量均势，并朝向巩固欧洲统一。
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.
