GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
FAMOUS FRENCH PEOPLE
FRENCH LANDMARKS
GEOGRAPHY
Introduction
The nickname of France is
« the hexagon », because it is
shaped like a hexagon.
France has 22 regions
including “Corsica”, an island
located south east of France.
and we live in the Rhône- Alpes
region.
But several islands belong to
the French territory, it's the
DOM TOM :
the” Overseas Departments
and Territories”
Such as Réunion,Guadeloupe,
Guyane etc..
The « départements »
There are 101
« departments » in
France, including
the overseas
departments and
Corsica.
We live in Saint-Etienne
in Loire department.
The different landscapes
France has different landscapes :
The mountains in the east and in
the centre of the country, the
ocean on the west coast and the
seas on the north and the south
coasts.
The Alps
The
« Manche »
The
« Pyrénnées »
The « Massif
Central »
The Atlantic
Ocean
The Mediterranean Sea
The Mountains
There are several big mountains such as:
The « Mont Blanc » in the Alps
The « Pyrénées » in the South East.
The « Massif Central »
There are many Volcanoes in
« Auvergne » region. But they
are no longer in activity. They are
extinct.
However, In the French
overseas territories and
departments, there are
volcanoes that are still active
In Reunion island, the
volcano's name is « the piton
of the fournaise »
The Ocean and the Seas
The Meditarrean Sea
Saint-Tropez
The South of France is also called :
“the Riviera”. A lot of tourists spend
their holiday there in the summer.
The most popular town is SaintTropez.
HISTORY
The Birth of the Country
In Antiquity(-3000 to 476), France was
called « Gaul ».
. « La Guerre des Gaules » was a big
war between « the Gauls » led by
Vercingétorix, and the Romans led by
Julius Caesar. The Roman won the war
and conquered «La Gaule ».
Vercingétorix
The Middle Ages
The Middle Age started after the
collapse of the Roman Empire.
Charlemagne (742-814) was the
king of the French Kingdom.
He insisted in the creation of
free schools open to all the
social classes.
At this time, French society
was composed of 3 social
classes:
-The Nobility (who had power),
- le Clergy » ( the Catholic
Church)
- and « le Tiers-Etats » (The
Commoners, they were poor).
The Hundred Years’ War
1337 - 1453
The Hundred Years’ War
opposed the French
kingdom to the kingdom
of England. Joan of Arc
helped the French
kingdom She was
captured and burned by
the British. She is still
very popular in France.
She was declared a
martyr and she was also
beatified and canonized.
Saint Joan of Arc
The French Modern Times
1492- 1789
The Modern Times started right after
the “Hundred Years’ War”. The
power was always between father
and son.
Louis XIV was king of France. He
was born on September 5th,
1638 and he died on September 1st,
1715. He was nicknamed « the Sun
King ». He claimed that his rule was
“divine”, wanted by God.
He reigned for 72 years and 110
days. It’s the longest reign in French
history.
During his reign, France was very
powerful. He fought many wars.
The Sun King
The French Revolution
Louis XVI was King of France in
1789. Louis was a kind man, but he
was raised to be a king and had little
knowledge of common people.
As a matter of fact, The French
Aristocracy were among the richest
people in Europe while 97% of
French people were poor.
They controlled a lot of land, money, and had
power, there was no Parliament that controlled
them. The poor in France were suffering a lot.
They were abused, mistreated, and ignored. They
were forced to work on the estates of the rich
people in terrible conditions. They were starving,
sick, dirty.
So, the gap between the rich people and the poor
people made them very angry.
Then, A group of people at the
bottom of society rebelled against
those who were at the top. They
demanded the end of “Absolute
Monarchy and they wanted society
to change. They wanted a Republic
based on principles of equality for
all the people.
The French Revolution was very
violent. King Louis XVI and his
family were executed. But “the
Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen” was proclaimed.
A « sans-coulotte », a revolutionary
The storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789
The First and the Second World War
The 1st (1914-1918) and the
2nd (1939-1945) World Wars
deeply affected the history
of France. More than
1 697 800 people died during
the first war.
More than 541 000
people died during this
war. More than 80 000
French people were
deported by the Nazis.
The creation of the European Union
In 1957, France founded the
European Union along with five
other countries: Belgium, West
Germany, the Netherlands, Italy
and Luxembourg.
The President
The current French president is
François Hollande. He was
elected on May 6th, 2012. He
belongs to the “Socialist” party.
The Flag
The French flag is also
nicknamed « the Tricolor
Flag ».
It has been used since 1794.
It is composed of three
vertical bands : blue, white
and red.
Blue symbolizes the city of
Paris and the Capetian
dynasty (French monarchs).
White symbolizes monarchy
and red symbolizes the
blood shed by the martyrs.
The National Anthem
The National anthem is
called « La Marseillaise ».
It was written and
composed by Claude Joseph
Rouget de Lisle. He was an
officer but also a poet and a
playwright. He wrote it in
April 26th, 1792.
In fact, it was a war song.
It became the National
Anthem in 1795.
Claude Joseph Roget
de Lisle singing
«La Marseillaise »
CULTURE AND DIVERSITY
French is widely spoken throughout the world, mainly
because France has a long history of colonialism.
Of course in the Overseas Territories and Departments, French
is the official language, however, the « Overseas French » kept
their own languages and traditions. So many languages are still
spolen such as:
« Créole » is
spoken in the
West Indies
Pacific
Islanders
speak
« reo
maohi »
American
Indian
languages
but also
Créole are
spoken.
The shimaoré is the most
widely spoken language.
The language is the
« Réunion Créole »
28 « Kanak »
languages
are spoken.
FAMOUS FRENCH PEOPLE
Some French people are very famous all over
the world.
Zineddine Zidane
is one of the best
football players in
the world.
Marion Cotillard is
one of the best
actresses in France.
She even won an
Academy Awards.
Edith Piaf is the most popular singer
in France and worldwide.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
is one of the most
famous French writers.
He wrote the « Little
Prince »
FRENCH LANDMARKS
France is well-known for its food and fashion.
Food
France is the country of cheese. There are more
than 1200 different kinds of cheese!!
Emmental
Roquefort, Mrs
Derrer’s favorite
cheese!
Reblochon
Fourme de
Montbrison,
it’s the cheese
from our
region
French people always eat cheese
with some bread.
Wine is the most popular drink in France!
There are 400 different sorts of wine.
There are sweet wines and dry wines.
There are three main wines:
Red wine is usually drunk
with meat.
White wine is often drunk
with fish and meat
The « Rosé » is drunk
in summer.
French people spend a lot of time eating. The most
famous dish are:
Snails, or « Escargots »
in French
Frogs are quite appreciated. This is
why English people call us
« Frogs ».
Oysters are often
eaten during
Christmas Eve.
French people love chocolate. During Christmas, we
eat « papillotes ».
The «papillote» is a piece of chocolate wrapped in
golden foil paper. A message is also included in the
golden foil paper.
Fashion
France is also famous
for « couture » clothes,
its clothes designers
and its cosmetics.
Jean Paul Gaultier is one the
most famous French clothes
designers.
He was born on April 24th,
1952.
He designed clothes for
Madonna and Lady Gaga.
L’Oréal is the most
succesful costemics
firm in the world.
French perfumes are
also the most popular
perfumes in the world.
French bags are also the most sold in the world.