An Overview of France for Travelers

Throughout history, France has always played aand Latin for strong influences of Teutonic, Slavic,
pivotal role in Europe. From Art to Politics toNorth African, Sub-Saharan African, Indochinese and
Architecture, it is a fascinating place. Here is someBasque minorities. The strong minority base is due to
background information to consider before yourtwo facts, a lax immigration policy and the migration of
trip.The official name of the country is the Frenchpeoples from former colonies of France during its
Republic. The French Republic covers an area ofmore imperial periods.Despite the massive immigrant
220,668 square miles. This makes it the largest countryinflux over time, France is a largely uniform religious
in Western Europe, which is about 80 percent the sizesociety. Over 90 percent of all French claim the
of Texas for comparison purposes. The capital ofRoman Catholic faith as their religion of choice. Strong
France is Paris. Other major cities of note include theMuslim population sectors, however, exist and are
port city of Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nice,growing rapidly through immigration. The official
Rennes, Lille and Bordeaux in the famous wine regionlanguage of the country is French and it is also the
of the same name. If you have ever watched thedominant language used in daily life. The literacy rate
Tour de France, you know the terrain in France variesfor France is over 99 percent, which makes sense
from majestic mountain peaks to flat plains to beautifulgiven the free, compulsory education system.As this
coast line along the southern and western borders ofoverview of France demonstrates, it has played a
the country. This gives the country various climaticmajor role in European history. This makes it a great
conditions ranging from very cool in the mountaintravel destination since much of the country has
areas to downright hot in the southern beach locationshistorical value, which you can experience by just
such as Nice.Citizens of the French Republic arewalking down the street.Richard Monk is with - a site
designated with the name French. The total populationwith facts about everything. Visit us to read more
exceeds 62.4 million with a strong annual growth rateabout country facts and facts about France.
of over 2 percent. Ethnicity is broken down as Celtic