France

France

By Cynthia and Sandra French Geography France is the second largest country in Europe and has the fifth largest population in Europe. The capital of France in Paris, which has 8.7 million people living in it. The total population of France is 57.5 million. France is mostly made up of mountains and hills. The Alps, Pyrenees and Vosges ranges also lie in France. Mont Blanc also is in France which is the highest mountain in Europe. At 1,050 feet tall the Eiffel Tower is one the nation’s most recognizable landmarks. Built in 1163 The Cathedral of Notre Dame is the largest church in Northern France. France has a total of 543,965 sq km of land. Paris is a major culture center for Europe and the world. Paris is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It is also a very popular tourist area. Paris was founded by, and named after, the Celtic Tribe, the Parisii. The Arc de Triomphe is the entrance way to the Champs Elysees. It is also a Paris landmark. The Louvre contains many of the world’s most famous art including the Mona Lisa. It is one of the world’s best known and finest art galleries. Today in France about 75% of people line in towns or cities. The Celts, Roman, Germans, Russians, Asians, Africans and North Americans have all settled in France. The populations vary by region and have very diverse origins. France is also known for the Famous artist such as Renoir for Monet. They are also famous for several writers such as Victor Hugo, for Le Miserables and Hunchback of Notre Dame. France is also famous the “Tour de France” which is a 2.500 mile bicycle race. Sports are also very popular in France. Soccer being a major team sport. France is the largest west European nation. The Seine, The Loire, and the Rhone are the France’s three major rivers. The Loire River is the longest in France. It is 634 miles long and gets its water from melting snow on the mountaintops. It flows through the Paris Basin and coastal plain. The Seine River is 485 miles long. Its starts northwest running through Paris and empties into the English Channel. The Seine River is also the second largest river in France. Next we have the Rhone River. It is 500 miles long and runs from the Swiss Alps to the Mediterranean Sea. It divides into two about 25 miles before running into the Mediterranean Sea. The Petit Rhone flows southwest and the Grand Rhone runs south east. France borders the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the English Channel. Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium all border France also. The South is mostly hilly or mountainous and the north is mainly flat or rolling. France also has a couple natural resources. Some of those resources are coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, and fish. France also has come natural hazards that it needs to watch out for. Some of these hazards include flooding, avalanches, drought, forest fires, and in midwinter windstorms.

French Cuisine The French have a great variety of tastes, from simple food from a bistro, to the really complex tastes of the world’s finest restaurants. A Bistro is a small restaurant that serves moderately priced food and moderately prices wine. Most French cooks say you should never take short cuts in making fine cuisine, but others have their own way of cooking. French chefs like to take their time in preparing their favorite dishes, whereas American chefs prefer hurrying and rushing through things to get on with their day, which is why fast food is more common in America than in France. Only the Chinese have similar variety of food. For breakfast the French often eat at cafes which offer croissants. Breakfast is often quick and only consisting of croissants, butter and jam, coffee or tea, and eggs or ham. Breakfast of some kinds are always in café’s which open extremely early. Breakfast in French is always called le petit dejeuner. The word for lunch in French is le dejeuner. Lunch used to be a two hour break but the trend seems to be moving toward the one hour lunch break. Sunday lunches are normally eaten with the family and are often longer. Many restaurants open around 12 p.m. and close again around 2:30 p.m. It is also very common for restaurants to be closed on Saturday and Monday during lunch. Majority of working people and students in large cities often eat their lunch at the cafeteria provided. The cafeteria’s serve a complete meal. As part of their employee benefits, it is common for white-collar workers to be given lunch vouchers, which can be used in most restaurants, traiteurs and supermarkets. There are three dishes which workers rarely eat because of the price and time consideration. Another common thing is for blue-collar workers to lunch on a sandwich and maybe even follow that with a dessert. These meals can be bought pre-made at their local supermarkets or bakeries. Le diner which is dinner in French normally consists of three courses, hors d’oeuvre or entrée which is the introductory course often soup, plat principal which is the main course, and a dessert or cheese course, with a salad offered before cheese or dessert. The main meat courses are often served with rice or pasta and vegetables. The main meal is often accompanied by bread, wine and mineral water. Wine consumption has dropped in young people recently. The French have been known for their wine consumption. While many French still drink wine daily, the characteristic has lessened. Beer has been increasingly popular among the young. Yet it is still popular for low-quality wine to be consumed during meals. Another popular alcoholic beverage is Pastis, which is an aniseed flavored beverage drunk diluted with cold water, or cider. The legal age of alcohol purchase is 16 in France. Students and young adults are known to drink extremely heavy at parties but drunkenness is not usually displayed in public. Parents usually forbid their children to consume alcohol before they reach their early teens.