How are you today? Comment êtes-vous aujourd'hui?
Quote (Citer)
Du sublime au ridicule il n'y a qu'un pas.
It's just one step from the
sublime to the ridiculous.
Napoléon.
La creativite commence avec la liberte.
Creativity starts with freedom.
Maira Faizy
La creativite commence avec la liberte.
Creativity starts with freedom.
Maira Faizy
Flag (Drapeau)
National motto: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité
(Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood)
(Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood)
Facts
The French Republic or France ( French Republiue Francaise), is a country located in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. It is a founding member of the European Union.
Official language: French
Capital / Largest City: Paris / Home of the Eiffel Tower, constructed in 1889.
National holiday: Fete National / Bastille, 14 July 1789
No 1 tourist destination: The Palace of Versailles
No 2: Chateaux of the Loire Valley
Symbols
Coat of Arms: Emblem of France since 1953
It doesn't have any legal status as an official coat of arms
Flower: Lily
Marianne: Symbol of the "Triumph of the Republic", and stands as a bronze sculpture overlooking Place de la Nation in Paris as well holds a place of Honor in town halls and law courts.
National Anthem: La Marseillaise (words and music by C. Rouget de Lisle)
National Emblem: Gallic Rooster ( decorated French flags during the Revolution, and since 1848, the rooster has been seen on the seal of the Republic
History in Timeline (Histoire dans le scénario):
Origins
1,500 BC: Prehistoric populations, cave art and stone monuments.
1200 BC: Settlement by the Gauls (related to the Celts).
59-52 BC: Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar and the beginning of Gallo-Roman civilisation.
500 AD: Barbarian invasions and the end of Pax Romana following the fall of Rome.
600 AD: Settlement by the Franks, the barbarian tribe from which France derives its name.
1200 BC: Settlement by the Gauls (related to the Celts).
59-52 BC: Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar and the beginning of Gallo-Roman civilisation.
500 AD: Barbarian invasions and the end of Pax Romana following the fall of Rome.
600 AD: Settlement by the Franks, the barbarian tribe from which France derives its name.
Establishment of a State and Nation
768 AD: Charlemagne, named Emperor of the Western world, attempts to recreate
the Roman Empire.
987 AD: Hughes Capet founds the Capetian dynasty, which will last until 1328. The monarchy asserts its new power over feudal lords.
11th-13th centuries Middle Ages: flourishing of Romanesque and Gothic art. Crusades.
14th-15th centuries: French-English rivalry culminates in the Hundred Years War triggering a new wave of nationalism. France is also plagued by the Black Death and famines.
the Roman Empire.
987 AD: Hughes Capet founds the Capetian dynasty, which will last until 1328. The monarchy asserts its new power over feudal lords.
11th-13th centuries Middle Ages: flourishing of Romanesque and Gothic art. Crusades.
14th-15th centuries: French-English rivalry culminates in the Hundred Years War triggering a new wave of nationalism. France is also plagued by the Black Death and famines.
1429-3): Joan of Arc helped rally France's fortunes and within a generation the English had been driven out of France.
Absolute Monarchy and the Enlightenment
The Grand Siecle
The end of the religious wars heralded a period of exceptional French influence and power. The cardinal ministers Reichelieu and Mazarin paved the way for Louis XIV'S absolute monarchy. Political development was matched by artistic styles of unprecedented brilliance: enormous Baroque edifices, the drama of Moliere and Racine, and the music of Lully. Versailles, built under the supervision of Louis' capable finance minister Colbert, was the glory of Europe, but it cost and Louis XIV's endless wars proved expensive for the French state and led to widespread misery by the end of his reign.
15th-16th centuries: The Renaissance.
1539: French replaces Latin as the official language.
1562-1589: Religious wars between Catholics and Protestants.
1598: Edit of Nantes grants freedom of conscience and worship.
1610-1715: Reign of Louis XIII followed by the Absolute Monarchy of Louis XIV resulting in royal authority and hegemony; increased spread of French culture.
18th century : Economic and demographic growth. Age of Enlightenment. Absolutism questioned. French participate in the American Revolution.
1539: French replaces Latin as the official language.
1562-1589: Religious wars between Catholics and Protestants.
1598: Edit of Nantes grants freedom of conscience and worship.
1610-1715: Reign of Louis XIII followed by the Absolute Monarchy of Louis XIV resulting in royal authority and hegemony; increased spread of French culture.
18th century : Economic and demographic growth. Age of Enlightenment. Absolutism questioned. French participate in the American Revolution.
- 1746: Jeanne Antoinette Poisson ( Marquise de Pompadour, also known ass Madame de Pompadour) was a member of the French court and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death 1746.
1789: French Revolution; Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. End of the monarchy followed by establishment of the First Republic.
1799: Napoleon Bonaparte leads coup to overthrow government.
Political Experiments
Napoleonic France
Two generations of Napoleons dominated France from 1800 to 1870. Napoleon Bonaparte took the title of Emperor Napoleon I. He extended his empire throughout most western Europe, placing his brothers and sisters on the thrones of conquered countries. Defeated in 1814 and replaced by the restored Bourbon dynasty, followed by the 1830 Revolution and the so called July Monarchy, the Napoleonic clan made a comeback after 1848. Napoleon His nephew, Louis Napoleon, became President of the Second Republic, then made himself emperor as Napoleon III. During his reign Paris was modernised and the industrial transformation of France began.
1804-1815: Napoleon is named Emperor ( crowns himself emperor of First French Empire; he reorganises the French administration and legal system, establishing the Napoleonic Code. Series of military successes brings most of continental Europe under his control.
Mona Lisa used to hang in Napoleons bedroom…Google Facts-Twitter
1804 - 1814:
1830-1848: Revolution. July Monarchy. Industrialisation.
1848: Revolution. Second Republic. Slavery abolished.
1852-1870: Louis - Napoloen takes title of Napoleon III in Second Empire.. Prosperity and growth. Colonial conquests.
1870-1871: Franco-Prussian War, ending in French defeat, loss of Alsace-Lorraine and end of the Second Empire; Third Republic lasts until 1940
1875: Third Republic.
1877: Republicans win general elections,ending hopes of monarchist revival.
Republican France
The Belle Epoque
The decades before World War I became the Belle Epoque for the French, remembered as a golden era forever past. Nevertheless this was a politically turbulent time, with working-class militancy, organised socialist movements, and the Dreyfus Affair polarising the country between Left and anti-semitic Right. New inventions such as electricity and vaccination against disease made life easier at all social levels. The cultural scene thrived and took new forms with Impressionism and Art Nouveau, the realist novels of Gustave Flaubert and Emile Zola, cabaret and cancan and, in 1895, the birth of the cinema.
1880-1910: Secular education, freedom to assemble, separation of church and state.
Avant - Garde France
Despite the devastation wrought by two world wars, France retained its international renown as a centre for the avant garde. Paris in particular was a magnet for experimental writers, artists and musicians. The cafés were full of American authors and jazz musicians, French surrealists and film makers. The French Riveria also attracted colonies of artists and writers, from Matisse and Picasso to Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald, along with the wealth industrialists and aristocrats arriving in automobiles or the famous Train Bleu. And from 1936 paid holidays meant that the working classes could also enjoy the new fashion for sunbathing.
Alsace-Lorraine restored to France. Peace Treaty of Versailles (1919).
1918: Anglo - French offensives - backed by American troops- forces Germany to an armistice on 11 November.
1919: Peace Treaty of Versailles. France regains Alsace-Lorraine; Germany agrees to reparations.
1936 -38: Rise of the Popular Front, an alliance of left-wing forces.
1939 - 1945: World War II - Germany occupies much of France. Vichy regime in unoccupied south collaborates with Nazis. General de Gaulle, undersecretary of war, establishes government-in-exile in London and, later, Algiers. Rise of French Resistance.1944: Allied forces land at Normandy leading to liberation of France. De Gaulle sets up provisional government. Purge against former collaborators.
Modern France
After the 1950s, the traditional foundations of French society changed: the number of peasant farmers plummeted, old industries decayed, jobs in the service sector and high-technology industries grew dramatically, and the French came to enjoy the benefits of mass culture and widespread consumerism. High prestige projects, such as the Concorde, TGV, La Défense and Pompidou Centre, brought international acclaim. Efforts for European integration and the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel aim towards closer relations with France's neighbours.
1946 - 1958: Fourth Republic is marked by economic reconstruction and the start of the process of independence for many of France's colonies.
Fifth Republic
1962: Algeria granted independence from French colonial rule.
May 1968: Student revolt against government policies and lack of social reform escalates into national strike.1969-1974: Georges Pompidou elected President of the Republic. European construction strengthened.
1974-1981: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the Republic. Oil crisis followed by recession.
1974-1981: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the Republic. Oil crisis followed by recession.
1981: Socialist candidate Francois Mitterrand is elected president.
1986: Centre - right victory in legislative elections of 1986 leads to "co-habitation" - a left-wing president and right-wing prime minister, Jacques Chirac.
1988: Mitterrand re-elected.
1992: France signs Maastricht Treaty on European Union.
June 2001: Compulsory military service abolished.
January 2002: Euro replaces franc, first minted in 1360.
Jospin resigns, Chirac re-elected.
November 2004: Nicolas Sarkozy takes over as leader of UMP.
June 2005: International project group says France is to host the world's first experimental nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache, near Marseille.
2005: Deprived, largely immigrant, communities in north - east Paris are hit by riots after two youths of North African origin are electrocuted in an electricity substation. The authorities deny that they were being chased by police at the time.
Unrest escalates and spreads to other cities. Government introduces emergency measures to try to restore order.
2006: Sarkozy becomes president.
2009: Government says it will set up a commission to study the extent of Burka - waring in France after President Sarkozy said such garments undermine the dignity of citizens.
2010: Prosecutors launch enquiry into allegations that L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt made illegal donations to President Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.
April 2011: Face veil ban comes into force.
May 2011: Dominique Strauss - Kahn ( Strong Socialist candidate for the presidency,New York) was charged for sexual assault and was than later dropped.
January 2012: France loses its top AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's along with Spain and Italy.
May 2012: Francois Hollande wins presidential election.
Sport:
Sports in France play an important role in French society, and the country has a strong sporting history. The most popular sports in France are football and rugby union.Tour de France 2012
5 Great Websites for Learning French:
The five languages of romance are Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and of course French.
BBC
| French Assistant |
Register with French Assistant, access all of the lessons, the site is divided into difficulty levels, and organised by section.
Basic to advanced french, offers multimedia that includes MP3 files, flashcards and Exercises.
The multimedia tools give you a chance to learn French using a variety of formats that will keep you interested in coming back often.
While About.com doesn't offer a large quantity of free tutorials or exercises, it does offer something that most other sites do not - a thriving community of french speakers that are willing to enter into a dialogue with you.
In addition to the forums, you'll also discover a great Pen Pal area where you can find both people that are fluent with the language, as well as other students that are trying to improve their skills just like you.
eLearning French
From the main page, you can click on links that will take you to free French courses, an area on French grammar, French slang and idioms and even flashcards and French songs.
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