INTRODUCTION

France is one of the largest countries in Europe. It is bordered by six countries : Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the north-east, Switzerland and Italy across the Alps to the southeast and Spain across the Pyrenees to the south-west. The UK is across the English Channel (La Manche). France is regarded by many people as the geographical gateway to Europe. It has several large international airports, two of which are in the capital, Paris and many of which are served by budget airlines. Ferry terminals are located along the north, west and Mediterranean coasts. Visitors from the UK also have the option of taking the Channel Tunnel rail link. Once in France, the motorway network and French rail service are known to be extremely efficient with the high-speed, long distance TGV train service the envy of other nations. Geographical diversity and cultural plenty France is the worlds most popular tourist destination and it doesnt take long to work out why. The country has an extremely diverse physical landscape and an equally diverse climate to match. This makes it the ideal venue for a huge range of sporting and other outdoor activities. For example, France has a huge range of golf courses. However, France also caters on a grand scale for those who prefer a more sedate pace of life. There are numerous museums and art galleries in France reflecting the fact that the French are fiercely and deservedly proud of their countrys rich cultural, educational and political heritage. France has had a turbulent history characterised by successive revolutions but at every stage it has been at the forefront of European development. The notion of France as a leader finds its legacy in the countrys pivotal role in the construction of the European Union as we know it today. The French: polite and chic The French people and particularly the older generations - tend to be extremely courteous and formal, a national trait that is often ungenerously dismissed as arrogance by other nations. The French are also renowned for being chic, that is, for taking great pride in their personal appearance and in particular, their clothes. This is symptomatic of the importance placed on presentation in general in France. The French simply dont do scruffy. Shops, homes and public gardens are all immaculately kept and display immense attention to detail. A food lovers paradise France is known throughout the world for its cuisine and wine. The French love their food. Whenever possible meals are long, sociable family occasions which sometimes span several hours in the middle of the day. French meals usually involve three or four courses including cheese before the dessert and are accompanied by wine and freshly baked breads. A typical main dish might be Coq au vin (chicken in a red wine sauce), Coquilles Saint-Jacques (sea scallops cooked in butter) or Noisettes dAgneau (sauted lamb cutlets with mushrooms). However, French food varies enormously between regions with regional specialities and distinctive

regional variations on classic French dishes. Distinctive regions France is divided into 22 official rgions each of which is subdivided into several administrative dpartements. Many of the regions have very clearly defined and distinct regional identities. This is in part due to the enormous geographical and climatic differences between the regions which force the inhabitants of the various regions to lead very different ways of life.

National cuisine
Main article: List of French dishes There are many dishes that are considered part of the nation's national cuisine today. Many come from haute cuisine in the fine-dining realm, but others are regional dishes that have become a norm across the country. [edit]History French cuisine has evolved extensively over centuries. The national cuisine started forming in the Middle Ages due to the influence of the work of skilled chefs and various social and political movements. Over the years the styles of French cuisine have been given different names, and have been modified by various master-chefs. During their lifetimes, these chefs have been held in high regard for contributions to the culture of the country. The national cuisine developed primarily in the city of Paris with the chefs to French royalty, but eventually it spread throughout the country and was even exported overseas. [edit]Middle Ages
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John, Duke of Berry enjoying a grand meal. The Duke is sitting with a cardinalat the high table, under a luxuriousbaldaquin, in front of the fireplace, tended to by several servants, including a carver. On the table to the left of the Duke is a golden salt cellar, or nef, in the shape of a ship; illustration from Trs Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, ca. 1410.

In French medieval cuisine, banquets were common among the aristocracy. Multiple courses would be prepared, but served in a style called service en confusion, or all at once. Food was generally eaten by hand, meats being sliced off large pieces held between the thumb and two fingers. The sauces were highly seasoned and thick, and heavily flavored mustards were used. Pies were a common banquet item, with the crust serving primarily as a container, rather than as food itself, and it was not until the very end of the Late Middle Ages that the shortcrust pie was developed. Meals often ended with an issue de table, which later changed into the modern dessert, and typically consisted of drages (in the Middle Ages, meaning spiced lumps of hardened sugar or honey), aged cheese and spiced wine, such as hypocras.
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The ingredients of the time varied greatly according to the seasons and the church calendar, and many items were preserved with salt, spices, honey, and other preservatives. Late spring, summer, and autumn afforded abundance, while winter meals were more sparse. Livestock were slaughtered at the beginning of winter. Beef was often salted, while pork was salted and smoked. Bacon and sausages would be smoked in the chimney, while the tongue and hams were brined and dried. Cucumbers were brined as well, while greens would be packed in jars with salt. Fruits, nuts and root vegetables would be boiled in honey for preservation. Whale, dolphin and porpoise were considered fish, so during Lent, the salted meats of these sea mammals were eaten.
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Artificial freshwater ponds (often called stews) held carp, pike, tench, bream, eel, and other fish. Poultry was kept in special yards, with pigeon and squab being reserved for the elite. Game was highly prized, but very rare, and included venison, wild boar, hare, rabbit, and birds. Kitchen gardens provided herbs, including some, such as tansy, rue, pennyroyal, and hyssop, which are rarely used today. Spices were treasured and very expensive at that time they included pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and mace. Some spices used then, but no longer today in French cuisine are cubebs, long pepper (both from vines similar to black pepper), grains of paradise, and galengale. Sweet-sour flavors were commonly added to dishes with vinegars and verjus combined with sugar (for the affluent) or honey. A common form of food preparation was to finely cook, pound and strain mixtures into fine pastes and mushes, something believed to be beneficial to make use of nutrients.
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Visual display was prized. Brilliant colors were obtained by the addition of, for example, juices from spinach and the green part of leeks. Yellow came from saffronor egg yolk, while red came from sunflower, and purple came from Crozophora tinctoria or Heliotropium europaeum. Gold and silver leaf were placed on food surfaces and brushed with egg whites. Elaborate and showy dishes were the result, such

as tourte parmerienne which was a pastry dish made to look like a castle with chicken-drumstick turrets coated with gold leaf. One of the grandest showpieces of the time was roast swan or peacock sewn back into its skin with feathers intact, the feet and beak being gilded. Since both birds are stringy, and taste unpleasant, the skin and feathers could be kept and filled with the cooked, minced and seasoned flesh of tastier birds, like goose or chicken.
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The most well known French chef of the Middle Ages was Guillaume Tirel, also known as Taillevent. Taillevent worked in numerous royal kitchens during the 14th century. His first position was as a kitchen boy in 1326. He was chef to Philip VI, then the Dauphin who was son of John II. The Dauphin became King Charles V of France in 1364, with Taillevent as his chief cook. His career spanned sixty-six years, and upon his death he was buried in grand style between his two wives. His tombstone represents him in armor, holding a shield with three cooking pots,marmites, on it. [edit]Ancien rgime During the ancien rgime, Paris was the central hub of culture and economic activity, and as such, the most highly skilled culinary craftsmen were to be found there. Markets in Paris such as Les Halles, la Mgisserie, those found along Rue Mouffetard, and similar smaller versions in other cities were very important to the distribution of food. Those that gave French produce its characteristic identity were regulated by the guild system, which developed in the Middle Ages. In Paris, the guilds were regulated by city government as well as by the French crown. A guild restricted those in a given branch of the culinary industry to operate only within that field.
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There were two basic groups of guilds first, those that supplied the raw materials; butchers, fishmongers, grain merchants, and gardeners. The second group were those that supplied prepared foods; bakers, pastry cooks, saucemakers, poulterers, and caterers. There were also guilds that offered both raw materials and prepared food, such as the charcutiers and rtisseurs (purveyors of roasted meat dishes). They would supply cooked meat pies and dishes as well as raw meat and poultry. This caused issues with butchers and poulterers, who sold the same raw materials.
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The guilds served as a

training ground for those within the industry. The degrees of assistant-cook, full-fledged cook and master chef were conferred. Those who reached the level of master chef were of considerable rank in their individual industry, and enjoyed a high level of income as well as economic and job security. At times, those in the royal kitchens did fall under the guild hierarchy, but it was necessary to find them a parallel appointment based on their skills after leaving the service of the royal kitchens. This was not uncommon as the Paris cooks' guild regulations allowed for this movement.
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During the 18th and 19th centuries, French cuisine assimilated many new food items from the New World. Although they were slow to be adopted, records of banquets show Catherine de' Mediciserving sixty-six turkeys at one dinner.
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The dish called cassoulet has its roots in the New World discovery of haricot

beans, which are central to the dish's creation, but had not existed outside of the New World until its exploration by Christopher Columbus.
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[edit]17th century early 18th century Haute cuisine (pronounced: [ot kizin], "high cuisine") has foundations during the 17th century with a chef named La Varenne. As author of works such as Cvisinier franois, he is credited with publishing the first true French cookbook. His book includes the earliest known reference to roux using pork fat. The book contained two sections, one for meat days, and one for fasting. His recipes marked a change from the style of cookery known in the Middle Ages, to new techniques aimed at creating somewhat lighter dishes, and more modest presentations of pies as individual pastries and turnovers. La Varenne also published a book on pastry in 1667 entitled Le Parfait confitvrier (republished as Le Confiturier franois) which similarly updated and codified the emerging haute cuisine standards for desserts and pastries.
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Chef Franois Massialot wrote Le Cuisinier roal et bourgeois in 1691, during the reign of Louis XIV. The book contains menus served to the royal courts in 1690. Massialot worked mostly as a freelance cook, and was not employed by any particular household. Massialot and many other royal cooks received special privileges by association with the French royalty. They were not subject to the regulation of the guilds; therefore, they could cater weddings and banquets without restriction. His book is the first to list recipes alphabetically, perhaps a forerunner of the first culinary dictionary. It is in this book that a marinade is first seen in print, with one type for poultry and feathered game, while a second is for fish and shellfish. No quantities are listed in the recipes, which suggests that Massialot was writing for trained cooks.
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The successive updates of Le Cuisinier roal et bourgeois include important refinements such as adding a glass of wine to fish stock. Definitions were also added to the 1703 edition. The 1712 edition, retitled Le Nouveau cuisinier royal et bourgeois, was increased to two volumes, and was written in a more elaborate style with extensive explanations of technique. Additional smaller preparations are included in this edition as well, leading to lighter preparations, and adding a third course to the meal. Ragout, a stew still central to French cookery, makes its first appearance as a single dish in this edition as well; prior to that, it was listed as a garnish.
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Marie-Antoine Carme

[edit]Late 18th century 19th century The Revolution was integral to the expansion of French cuisine, because it effectively abolished the guilds. This meant any one chef could now produce and sell any culinary item he wished. Marie-Antoine Carme was born in 1784, five years before the onset of the Revolution. He spent his younger years working at aptisserie until being discovered by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Prigord, who would later cook for the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Prior to his employment with Talleyrand, Carme had become known for his pices montes, which were extravagant constructions of pastry and sugar architecture.
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More important to Carme's career was his contribution to the refinement of French cuisine. The basis for his style of cooking came from his sauces, which he named mother sauces. Often referred to as fonds, meaning "foundations", these base sauces, espagnole, velout, and bchamel, are still known today. Each of these sauces would be made in large quantities in his kitchen, as they were then capable of forming the basis of multiple derivatives. Carme had over one hundred sauces in his repertoire. In his writings, souffls appear for the first time. Although many of his preparations today seem extravagant, he simplified and codified an even more complex cuisine that had existed beforehand. Central to his codification of the cuisine were Le Matre d'htel franais (1822), Le Cuisinier parisien (1828) and L'Art de la cuisine franaise au dix-neuvime sicle (18335). [edit]Late 19th century early 20th century Georges Auguste Escoffier is commonly acknowledged as the central figure to the modernization of haute cuisine and organizing what would become the national cuisine of France. His influence began with the rise of some of the great hotels in Europe and America during the 1880s 1890s. The Savoy
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Hotelmanaged by Csar Ritz was an early hotel Escoffier worked at, but much of his influence came during his management of the kitchens in the Carlton from 1898 until 1921. He created a system of "parties" called the brigade system, which separated the professional kitchen into five separate stations. These five stations included the "garde manger" that prepared cold dishes; the "entremettier" prepared starches and vegetables, the "rtisseur" prepared roasts, grilled and fried dishes; the "saucier" prepared sauces and soups; and the "ptissier" prepared all pastry and desserts items. This system meant that instead of one person preparing a dish on one's own, now multiple cooks would prepare the different components for the dish. An example used is "oeufs au plat Meyerbeer", the prior system would take up to fifteen minutes to prepare the dish, while in the new system, the eggs would be prepared by the entremettier, kidney grilled by the rtisseur, truffle sauce made by the saucier and thus the dish could be prepared in a shorter time and served quickly in the popular restaurants.
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Escoffier also simplified and organized the modern menu and structure of the meal. He published a series of articles in professional journals which outlined the sequence, and then he finally published his Livre des menus in 1912. This type of service embraced the service la russe (serving meals in separate courses on individual plates), which Flix Urbain Dubois had made popular in the 1860s. Escoffier's largest contribution was the publication of Le Guide Culinaire in 1903, which established the fundamentals of French cookery. The book was a collaboration with Philas Gilbert, E. Fetu, A. Suzanne, B. Reboul, Ch. Dietrich, A. Caillat and others. The significance of this is to illustrate the universal acceptance by multiple high-profile chefs to this new style of cooking.
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Le Guide Culinaire deemphasized the use of heavy sauces and leaned toward lighter fumets, which are the essence of flavor taken from fish, meat and vegetables. This style of cooking looked to create garnishes and sauces whose function is to add to the flavor of the dish, rather than mask flavors like the heavy sauces and ornate garnishes of the past. Escoffier took inspiration for his work from personal recipes in addition to recipes from Carme, Dubois and ideas from Taillevent's Viander, which had a modern version published in 1897. A second source for recipes came from existing peasant dishes that were translated into the refined techniques of haute cuisine. Expensive ingredients would replace the common ingredients, making the dishes much less humble. The third source of recipes was Escoffier himself, who invented many new dishes, such as pche Melba and crpes Suzette.
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Escoffier

updated Le Guide Culinaire four times during his lifetime, noting in the foreword to the book's first edition that even with its 5,000 recipes, the book should not be considered an "exhaustive" text, and that even if it were at the point when he wrote the book, "it would no longer be so tomorrow, because progress marches on each day."
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[edit]Mid 20th century late 20th century

Paul Bocuse

The 1960s brought about innovative thought to the French cuisine, especially because of the contribution of Portuguese immigrants that had come to the country fleeing the forced drafting to the Colonial Wars Portugal was fighting in Africa. Many new dishes were introduced, as well as techniques. This period is also marked by the appearance of the "Nouvelle Cuisine". The term nouvelle cuisine has been used many times in the history of French cuisine. This description was seen in the 1740s of the cuisine from Vincent La Chapelle, Franois Marin and Menon, and even during the 1880s and 1890s to describe Escoffier's cooking. The term came up again, however, during the 1960s, when used by two authors, Henri Gault and Christian Millau, to describe the cooking of Paul Bocuse, Jean and Pierre Troisgros, Michel Gurard, Roger Vergand Raymond Oliver. These chefs were working toward rebelling against the "orthodoxy" of Escoffier's cuisine. Some of the chefs were students of Fernand Pointat the Pyramide in Vienne, and had left to open their own restaurants. Gault and Millau "discovered the formula" contained in ten characteristics of this new style of cooking.
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The first characteristic was a rejection of excessive complication in cooking. Second, the cooking times for most fish, seafood, game birds, veal, green vegetables and pts was greatly reduced in an attempt to preserve the natural flavors. Steaming was an important trend from this characteristic. The third characteristic was that the cuisine was made with the freshest possible ingredients. Fourth, large menus were abandoned in favor of shorter menus. Fifth, strong marinades for meat and game ceased to be used. Sixth, they stopped using heavy sauces such as espagnole and bchamel thickened with flour based "roux", in favor of seasoning their dishes with fresh herbs, quality butter, lemon juice, and vinegar. Seventh, they used regional dishes for inspiration instead of haute cuisine dishes. Eighth, new techniques were embraced and modern equipment was often used; Bocuse even used microwave ovens. Ninth, the

chefs paid close attention to the dietary needs of their guests through their dishes. Tenth and finally, the chefs were extremely inventive and created new combinations and pairings.
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Some have speculated that a contributor to nouvelle cuisine was World War II when animal protein was in short supply during the German occupation.
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By the mid-1980s food writers stated that the style of

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cuisine had reached exhaustion and many chefs began returning to the haute cuisine style of cooking, although much of the lighter presentations and new techniques remained. [edit]Regional

cuisine

The 22 regions and 96 departments ofmetropolitan France include Corsica (Corse, lower right). Paris area is expanded (inset at left).

French regional cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity and style. Traditionally, each region of France has its own distinctive cuisine. [edit]Paris
[8]

and le-de-France

Paris and le-de-France are central regions where almost anything from the country is available, as all train lines meet in the city. Over 9,000 restaurants exist in Paris and almost any cuisine can be had here. High-quality Michelin Guide rated restaurants proliferate here. [edit]Champagne,
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Lorraine, and Alsace

Game and ham are popular in Champagne, as well as the special sparkling wine simply known as Champagne. Fine fruit preserves are known fromLorraine as well as the quiche Lorraine. Alsace is heavily influenced by the German food culture; as such, the wines and beers made in the area are similar to the style of bordering Germany.
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[edit]NordPas-de-Calais,

Picardy, Normandy, and Brittany

fleur de sel from Gurande

The coastline supplies many crustaceans, sea bass, monkfish and herring. Normandy has top quality seafood, such asscallops and sole, while Brittany has a supply of lobster, crayfish and mussels. Normandy is home to a large population of apple trees; apples are often used in dishes, as well as cider and Calvados. The northern areas of this region, especially Nord, grow ample amounts of wheat, sugar beets and chicory. Thick stews are found often in these northern areas as well. The produce of these northern regions is also considered some of the best in the country, including cauliflower and artichokes. Buckwheat grows widely in Brittany as well and is used in the region's galettes, called jalet, which is where this dish originated. [edit]Loire
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Valley and central France

High quality fruits come from the Loire Valley and central France, including cherries grown for the liqueur Guignolet and the Belle Angevine pears. The strawberries and melons are also of high quality. Fish are seen in the cuisine, often served with a beurre blanc sauce, as well as wild game, lamb, calves, Charolais cattle, Gline fowl, and high quality goat cheeses. Young vegetables are used often in the cuisine as are the specialty mushrooms of the region, champignons de Paris. Vinegars from Orlans are a specialty ingredient used as well. [edit]Burgundy
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and Franche-Comt

Burgundy is known for its wines. Pike, perch, river crabs, snails, poultry from Bresse, Charolais beef or game, redcurrants, blackcurrants, honey cake, Chaource and Epoisses cheese are all specialties of the local cuisine of both Burgundy and Franche-Comt. Crme de Cassis is a popular liquor made from the blackcurrants. Dijon mustard is also a specialty of Burgundy cuisine. Oils are used in the cooking here, types include nut oils and rapeseed oil. Smoked meat and specialties are produced in the Jura.
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[edit]Lyon-Rhne-Alpes Fruit and young vegetables are popular in the cuisine from the Rhne valley. Poultry from Bresse, guinea fowls from Drme and fish from the Dombes lakes and mountain in Rhne-Alpes streams are key to the cuisine as well. Lyon and Savoy supply high quality sausages while the Alpine regions supply their specialty cheeses like Beaufort, Abondance, Reblochon, Tomme and Vacherin. Mres lyonnaises are a

particular type of restaurateur relegated to this region that are the regions bistro. Celebrated chefs from this region include Fernand Point, Paul Bocuse, the Troisgros brothers and Alain Chapel. The Chartreuse Mountains are in this region, and the liquor Chartreuse is produced in a monastery there. [edit]Poitou-Charentes
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and Limousin

Oysters come from the Olron-Marennes basin, while mussels come from the Bay of Aiguillon. High quality produce comes from the region's hinterland, especially goat cheese. This region and in theVende is grazing ground for Parthenaise cattle, while poultry is raised in Challans. Poitou and Charente purportedly produce the best butter and cream in France. Cognac is also made in the region along the Charente River. Limousin is home to the high quality Limousin cattle, as well as high quality sheep. The woodlands offer game and high quality mushrooms. The southern area around Brivedraws its cooking influence from Prigord and Auvergne to produce a robust cuisine. [edit]Bordeaux,
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Prigord, Gascony, and Basque country

Main article: Basque cuisine

An entire foie gras (partly prepared for aterrine)

Bordeaux is known for its wine, as it is throughout the southwest of France, with certain areas offering specialty grapes for its wines. Fishing is popular in the region for the cuisine, sea fishing in the Bay of Biscay, trapping in the Garonne and stream fishing in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees also support top quality lamb, such as the "Agneau de Pauillac", as well as high quality sheep cheeses. Beef cattle in the region include the Blonde d'Aquitaine, Boeuf de Chalosse,Boeuf Gras de Bazas, and Garonnaise. High quality free-range chicken, turkey, pigeon, capon, goose and duck prevail in the region as well. Gascony andPrigord cuisines includes high quality pats, terrines, confits and magrets. This is one of the regions notable for its production of foie gras or fattened goose or duck liver. The cuisine of the region is often heavy and farm based. Armagnac is also from this region, as are high quality prunes from Agen.
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[edit]Toulouse,

Quercy, and Aveyron

Black Prigord Truffle

Gers, a department of France, is within this region and has high quality poultry, while La Montagne Noire andLacaune area offers high quality hams and dry sausages. White corn is planted heavily in the area both for use in fattening the ducks and geese for foie gras and for the production of millas, a cornmeal porridge. Haricot beans are also grown in this area, which are central to the dish cassoulet. The finest sausage in France is commonly acknowledged to be the saucisse de Toulouse, which also finds its way into their version of cassoulet of Toulouse. The Cahors area produces a high quality specialty "black wine" as well as high-quality truffles and mushrooms. This region also produces milk-fed lamb. Unpasteurized ewe's milk is used to produce the Roquefort in Aveyron, while in Laguiole is producing unpasteurized cow's milk cheese. The Salers cattle produce quality milk for cheese, as well as beef and veal products. The volcanic soils create flinty cheeses and superb lentils. Mineral waters are produced in high volume in this region as well.
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Cabcou cheese is from Rocamadour, a medieval settlement

erected directly on a cliff, in the rich countryside of Causses du Quercy. This area is one of the regions oldest milk producers; it has chalky soil, marked by history and human activity, and is favourable for the raising of goats. [edit]Roussillon,

Languedoc, and Cvennes

Restaurants are popular in the area known as Le Midi. Oysters come from the Etang de Thau, to be served in the restaurants of Bouzigues, Meze, and Ste. Mussels are commonly seen here in addition to fish specialties of Ste, Bourride, Tielles and Rouille de seiche. In the Languedoc jambon cru, sometimes known as jambon de montagne is produced. High quality Roquefort comes from the brebis (sheep) on the Larzac plateau. The Les Cvennes area offers mushrooms, chestnuts, berries, honey, lamb, game, sausages, pts and goat [Link] influence can be seen in the cuisine here with dishes like brandade made from a pure of dried cod wrapped in mangold leaves. Snails are plentiful and are prepared in a specific Catalan style known as a cargolade. Wild boar can be found in the more mountainous regions of the Midi. [edit]Provence
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and Cte d'Azur

The Provence and Cte d'Azur region is rich in quality citrus, vegetables and fruits and herbs the region is one of the largest suppliers of all these ingredients in France. The region also produces the largest amount of olives, and creates superb olive oil. Lavender is used in many dishes found in Haute Provence. Other important herbs in the cuisine include thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, savory,fennel, marjoram, tarragon, oregano, and bay leaf. Honey is a prized ingredient in the region. Seafood proliferates throughout the coastal area. Goat cheeses, airdried sausages, lamb, beef, and chicken are popular here. Garlic* and anchovies are used in many of the region's sauces, as in Poulet Provenal, which uses white wine, tomatoes, herbs, and sometimes anchovies, and Pastis is found everywhere that alcohol is served. The cuisine uses a large amount of vegetables for lighter preparations. Truffles are commonly seen in Provence during the winter. Thirteen desserts in Provence are the traditional Christmas dessert, almonds, nougat, apple, and fougasse. Rice is grown in the Camargue, which is the most-northerly rice growing area in Europe, with Camargue red rice being a specialty.
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e.g. quince cheese, biscuits,

Anibal Camous, a Marseillais who lived to be 104, maintained that it was by eating garlic daily that he kept his youth and brilliance. When his eighty-year-old son died, the father mourned : I always told him he wouldnt live long, poor boy. He ate too little garlic ! (cited by chef Philippe Gion)

[edit]Corsica Goats and sheep proliferate on the island of Corsica, and lamb are used to prepare dishes such as "stufato", ragouts and roasts. Cheeses are also produced, with "brocciu" being the most [Link], growing in the Castagniccia forest, are used to produce flour, which is used in turn to make bread, cakes and polenta. The forest provides acorns used to feed the pigs and boars that provide much of the protein for the island's cuisine. Fresh fish and seafood are common. The island's pork is used to make fine hams, sausage and other unique items including coppa (dried rib cut), lonzu(dried pork fillet), figatella, salumu (a dried sausage) salcietta, Panzetta, bacon, figarettu (smoked and dried liverwurst) and prisuttu (farmer's ham). Clementines (which hold an AOC designation), lemons, nectarines and figs are grown there. Candied citron is used in nougats and cakes, while and the aforementioned brocciu and chestnuts are also used in desserts. Corsica offers a variety of wines and fruit liqueurs, including Cap Corse, Patrimonio, Cdratine, Bonapartine, liqueur de myrte, vins de fruit, Rappu, and eaude-vie de chtaigne.
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[edit]Specialties

by season

French cuisine varies according to the season. In summer, salads and fruit dishes are popular because they are refreshing and produce is inexpensive and abundant. Greengrocers prefer to sell their fruit and

vegetables at lower prices if needed, rather than see them rot in the heat. At the end of summer, mushrooms become plentiful and appear in stews throughout France. The hunting season begins in September and runs through February. Game of all kinds is eaten, often in elaborate dishes that celebrate the success of the hunt. Shellfish are at their peak when winter turns to spring, and oysters appear in restaurants in large quantities. With the advent of deep-freeze and the air-conditioned hypermarch, these seasonal variations are less marked than hitherto, but they are still observed, in some cases due to legal [Link], for example, have a short season and it is illegal to catch them out of season. freeze well. [edit]Foods
[11]

Moreover, they do not

and ingredients

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Escargot la bourguignonne or "escargot cooked with garlic and parsley butter in a shell" (with a 0.02 coin as scale)

Smoked and salted horse meat on asandwich

Moulard duck foie gras (right) with pickled pear.

French regional cuisines use locally grown vegetables, such as pomme de terre (potato), haricot verts (a type of French green bean), carotte (carrot), poireau (leek), navet (turnip), aubergine (eggplant), courgette (zucchini), and chalotte (shallot). French regional cuisines use locally grown fungi, such as truffe (truffle), champignon de Paris (mushroom), chanterelle ou girolle (chanterelle), pleurote (en hutre) (oyster mushrooms), and cpes (porcini). Common fruits include oranges, tomatoes, tangerines, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, plums, cherries, strawberries,raspberries, redcurrant, blackberries, grapes, grapefruit, and blackcurrants. Varieties of meat consumed include poulet (chicken), pigeon (squab), dinde (turkey), canard (duck), oie (goose, the source offoie gras), buf (beef), veau (veal), porc (pork), agneau (lamb), mouton (mutton), lapin (rabbit), caille (quail), cheval (horse),grenouille (frog), and escargot (snails). Commonly consumed fish and seafood include cod, canned sardines, fresh sardines, canned tuna, fresh tuna, salmon, trout, mussels, herring, oysters, shrimp and calamari. Eggs are fine quality and often eaten as: omelettes hard-boiled with mayonnaise scrambled plain scrambled haute cuisine preparation uf la coque

Herbs and seasonings vary by region, and include fleur de sel, herbes de Provence, tarragon, rosemary, marjoram, lavender, thyme, fennel, and sage. Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat, can be purchased either from supermarkets or specialty shops. Street markets are held on certain days in most localities; some towns have a more permanent covered market enclosing food shops, especially meat and fish retailers. These have better shelter than the periodic street markets. [edit]Structure [edit]Breakfast

of meals

Cafs often offer Croissants for breakfast.

Le petit djeuner (breakfast) is often a quick meal consisting of tartines (slices) of French bread with jelly or jam, croissants or pain au chocolat also namedchocolatine in the south of France (a pastry filled with chocolate) along with coffee or tea. Children often drink hot chocolate in bowls along with their breakfasts. Breakfast of some kind is always served in cafs opening early in the day. [edit]Lunch Le djeuner (lunch) was once a two hour mid-day meal, but it has recently seen a trend towards the one hour lunch break. In some smaller towns, the two hour lunch may still be customary. Sunday lunches are often longer and are taken with the family.
[12]

Restaurants normally open for lunch at noon and close at

[13]

2:30 pm. Many restaurants close on Saturday and Monday during lunch.

In large cities, a majority of working people and students eat their lunch at a corporate or school cafeteria, which normally serve complete meals as described above; it is therefore not usual for students to bring their own lunch food. It is common for white-collar workers to be given lunch vouchers as part of their employee benefits. These can be used in most restaurants, supermarkets and traiteurs; however, workers having lunch in this way typically do not eat all three dishes of a traditional lunch due to price and time considerations. In smaller cities and towns, some working people leave their workplaces to return home for lunch, generating four rush hours during the day. Finally, an alternative also popular, especially among blue-collar workers, is to lunch on a sandwich, possibly followed with a dessert; both dishes can be found ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets for budget prices. [edit]Dinner Le dner (dinner) often consists of three courses, hors d'uvre or entre (introductory course, sometimes soup), plat principal (main course), and a cheese course or dessert, sometimes with a salad offered before the cheese or dessert. Yogurt may replace the cheese course, while a normal everyday dessert would be fresh fruit. The meal is often accompanied by bread, wine and mineral water. Wine consumption has been dropping recently amongst young people. Fruit juice consumption has risen from 25.6% in 1996 to 31.6% in 2002. Main meat courses are often served with vegetables, along with rice or

pasta.

[12]:82

Restaurants often open at 7:30 pm for dinner, and stop taking orders between the hours of
[13]:342

10:00 pm and 11:00 pm. Many restaurants close for dinner on Sundays. Some restaurants open on Sundays, such as pizzerias. [edit]Beverages Beverages are not a part of French cuisine, though they are associated with it. In French cuisine beverages that precede a meal are called apritifs (literally: that opens the appetite). Those that end it are called digestifs. During the meal, wine, water, and/or cider are typically served. Apritifs are typically fortified wines with added herbs. Quinquinas, gentianes and vermouths are examples. Trade names that sell well include Cinzano, Suze (the classic gentiane), Byrrh, Dubonnet,Noilly Prat. In the South, pastis and Kir are extremely common as apritifs. Mixed cocktails, such as the American-style Martini, are very seldom served. Digestifs are traditionally stronger, and include Cognac, Armagnac, and fruit alcools. [edit]Food

establishments

[edit]History The modern restaurant has its origins in French culture. Prior to the late 18th century, diners who wished to "dine out" would visit their local guild member's kitchen and have their meal prepared for them. However, guild members were limited to producing whatever their guild registry delegated them to.
10 [14]:8

These guild members offered food in their own homes to steady clientele that appeared day-to-day but
[14]:3031

at set times. The guest would be offered the meal table d'hte, which is a meal offered at a set price with very little choice of dishes, sometimes none at all.

The first steps toward the modern restaurant were locations that offered restorative bouillons, or restaurants these words being the origin of the name restaurant. This step took place during the 1760s 1770's. These locations were open at all times of the day, featuring ornate tableware and reasonable prices. These locations were meant more as meal replacements for those who had "lost their appetites and suffered from jaded palates and weak chests."
[14]:3435

In 1782 Antoine Beauvilliers, pastry chef to the future Louis XVIII, opened one of the most popular restaurants of the time the Grande Taverne de Londres in the arcades of the Palais-Royal. Other restaurants were opened by chefs of the time who were leaving the failing monarchy of France, in the period leading up to the French Revolution. It was these restaurants that expanded upon the limited menus of decades prior, and led to the full restaurants that were completely legalized with the advent of the French Revolution and abolition of the guilds. This and the substantial discretionary income of the French Directory's nouveau riche helped keep these new restaurants in business.
[14]:140144

Categories

English French

Description

Restaurant

More than 5,000 in Paris alone, with varying levels of prices and menus. Open at certain times of the day, and normally closed one day of the week. Patrons select items from a printed menu. Some offer regional menus, while others offer a modern styled menu. Waiters and waitresses are trained and knowledgeable professionals. By law, a prix-fixe menu must be offered, although high-class restaurants may try to conceal the fact. Few French restaurants cater to vegetarians. The Guide Michelin rates many of the better restaurants in this category.[9]:30

Bistro(t)

Often smaller than a restaurant and many times using chalk board or verbal menus. Wait staff may well be untrained. Many feature a regional cuisine. Notable dishes include coq au vin, potau-feu, confit de canard, calves' liver and entrecte.[9]:30

Bistrot Vin

Similar to cabarets or tavernes of the past in France. Some offer inexpensive alcoholic drinks, while others take pride in offering a full range of vintage AOC wines. The foods in some are simple, including sausages, ham and cheese, while others offer dishes similar to what can be found in a bistro.[9]:30

Bouchon

Found in Lyon, they produce traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, such as sausages, duck pt or roast pork. The dishes can be quite fatty, and heavily oriented around meat. There are about twenty officially certified traditional bouchons, but a larger number of establishments describing themselves using the term.[15]

these establishments were created in the 1870s by refugees from Alsace-Lorraine. These establishments serve beer, but most serve wines from Alsace such as Riesling,Sylvaner, brewery Brasserie and Gewrztraminer. The most popular dishes are Sauerkraut and Seafood dishes.[9]:30 In general, a brasserie is open all day every day, offering the same menu. [16]

Caf

Primarily locations for coffee and alcoholic drinks. Tables and chairs are usually set outside, and prices marked up somewhat en terrasse. The limited foods sometimes offered include croquemonsieur, salads, moules-frites (mussels and pommes frites) when in season. Cafs often open early in the morning and shut down around nine at night. [9]:30

Salon de Th

These locations are more similar to cafs in the rest of the world. These tearooms often offer a selection of cakes and do not offer alcoholic drinks. Many offer simple snacks, salads, and sandwiches. Teas, hot chocolate, and chocolat l'ancienne (a popular chocolate drink) offered as well. These locations often open just prior to noon for lunch and then close late afternoon. [9]:30

Bar

Based on the American style, many were built at the beginning of the 20th century (particularly around World War I, when young American expatriates were quite common in France, particularly Paris). These locations serve cocktails, whiskey, pastis and other alcoholic drinks.[9]:30

Estaminet

Typical of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, these small bars/restaurants used to be a central place for farmers, mine or textile workers to meet and socialize. Alongside the usual beverages (beers and liquors), one could order basic regional dishes, as well as play various indoor games. These estaminets almost disappeared, but are now considered a part of Nord-Pas-de-Calais history, and therefore preserved and promoted.

A bouchon, Le tablier (the apron), in Vieux Lyon

[edit]Restaurant

staff

Larger restaurants and hotels in France employ extensive staff and are commonly referred to as either the kitchen brigade for the kitchen staff or dining room brigade system for the dining room staff. This system was created by Georges Auguste Escoffier. This structured team system delegates responsibilities to different individuals that specialize in certain tasks. The following is a list of positions held both in the kitchen and dining rooms brigades in France:
[9]:32

Cooks at work

Staff

Section

French

English

Duty

Chef de cuisine

Head chef

Responsible for overall management of kitchen. They supervise staff, create menus and new recipes with the assistance of the restaurant manager, make purchases of raw food items, trains apprentices and maintains a sanitary and hygienic environment for the preparation of food.[9]:32

Sous-chef de cuisine

Deputy Head chef

Receives orders directly from the chef de cuisine for the management of the kitchen and often represents the chef de cuisine when he or she is not present.[9]:32

Chef de partie Senior chef

Responsible for managing a given station in the kitchen where they specialize in preparing particular dishes. Those that work in a lesser station are referred to as a demi-chef.[9]:32

Kitchen brigade

Cuisinier

Cook

This position is an independent one where they usually prepare specific dishes in a station. They may be referred to as a cuisinier de partie.[9]:32

Commis

Junior cook

Also works in a specific station, but reports directly to the chef de partie and takes care of the tools for the station.[9]:32

Apprenti(e)

Apprentice

Many times they are students gaining theoretical and practical training in school and work experience in the kitchen. They perform preparatory work and/or cleaning work.[9]:30

Plongeur

Dishwasher

Cleans dishes and utensils and may be entrusted with basic preparatory job.[9]:32

Marmiton

Pot and pan washer

In larger restaurants takes care of all the pots and pans instead of the plongeur.[9]:33

Saucier

Prepares sauces, warm hors d'uvres, completes meat dishes and in Saucemaker/Saut smaller restaurants may work on fish dishes and prepares sauted cook items. This is one of the most respected positions in the kitchen brigade.[9]:32

Rtisseur

Roast cook

Manages a team of cooks that roasts, broils and deep fries dishes.[9]:32

Grillardin

Grill cook

In a larger kitchen this person prepares the grilled foods instead of the rtisseur.[17]:8

Friturier

Fry cook

In larger kitchens this person prepares fried foods instead of the rtisseur.[17]

Poissonnier

Fish cook

Prepares fish and seafood dishes.[9]:33

Entremetier

Entre preparer

Prepares soups and other dishes not involving meat or fish, including vegetable dishes and egg dishes.[9]:32

Potager

soup cook

In larger kitchens this person reports to the entremetier and prepares the soups.[17]

Legumier

Vegetable cook

In larger kitchen this person also reports to the entremetier and prepares the vegetable dishes.[17]

Garde manger Pantry supervisor

responsible for preparation of cold hors d'uvres, prepares salads, organizes large buffet displays and prepares charcuterie items.[9]:30

Tournant

Spare hand/ roundsperson

Moves throughout kitchen assisting other positions in kitchen

Ptissier

Pastry cook

Prepares desserts and other meal end sweets and for location without a boulanger also prepares breads and other baked items. They may also prepare pasta for the restaurant.[9]:33

Confiseur

Prepares candies and petit fours in larger restaurants instead of

the ptissier.[17]

Glacier

Prepares frozen and cold desserts in larger restaurants instead of the ptissier.[17]

Dcorateur

Prepares show pieces and specialty cakes in larger restaurants instead of the ptissier.[17]:89

Boulanger

Baker

Prepares bread, cakes and breakfast pastries in larger restaurants instead of the ptissier.[9]:33

Boucher

Butcher

butchers meats, poultry and sometimes fish. May also be in charge of breading meat and fish items.[17]

Aboyeur

Announcer/ expediter

Takes orders from dining room and distributes them to the various stations. This position may also be performed by the sous-chef de partie.[17]

Communard

Prepares the meal served to the restaurant staff.[17]

Garon de cuisine

Performs preparatory and auxiliary work for support in larger restaurants.[9]:33

Directeur de General manager la restauration

Oversees economic and administrative duties for all food related business in large hotels or similar facilities including multiple restaurants, bars, catering and other events.[9]:33

Dining room brigade

Directeur de restaurant

Restaurant manager

Responsible for the operation of the restaurant dining room which includes managing staff, hiring and firing staff, training of staff and economic duties of the such matters. In larger establishments there may be an assistant to this position who would replace this person in their absence.[9]:33

Matre d'htel

Welcomes guests, and seats them at tables. They also supervise the service staff. It is this person that commonly deals with complaints and verifies patron bills.[9]:33

Chef de salle

Commonly in charge of service for the full dining room in larger establishments; this position can be combined into the matre d'hotel position.[17]

Chef de rang

The dining room is separated into sections called rangs. Each rang is supervised by this person to coordinate service with the kitchen.[9]:33

Demi-chef de rang Back server commis de rang Clears plates between courses if there is no commis dbarrasseur, fills water glasses and assists thechef de rang.[17]

Commis dbarrasseur

Clears plates between courses and the table at the end of the meal.[9]:33

Commis de suite

In larger establishments, this person brings the different courses from the kitchen to the table.[9]:33

Chef d'tage

Captain

Explains the menu to the guest and answers any questions. This person often performs the tableside food preparations. This position may be combined with the chef de rang in smaller establishment.[17]

Chef de vin Wine server Sommelier Manages wine cellar by purchasing and organizing as well as preparing the wine list. This person also advises the guest on wine choices and serves it.[9]:33

chef sommelier In larger establishments, this person will manage a team of sommeliers.[9]:33 chef caviste

Serveur de restaurant

Server

This position found in smaller establishments performs the multiple duties of various positions in the larger restaurants in the service of food and drink to the guest.[9]:33

Responsable de bar Bar manager Chef de bar

Manages the bar in a restaurant which includes ordering and creating drink menus; they also oversee the hiring, training and firing of barmen. Also manages multiple bars in a hotel or other similar establishment.[9]:33

Barman

Bartender

Serves alcoholic drinks to guests.[9]:33

Dame du vestiaire

Coat room attendant who receives and returns guests coats and hats.[9]:33

Voituriers

Valet

Parks guests' cars and retrieves them upon the guests exiting the restaurant.[9]:33

French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 78 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer losing it once (in 2008) to Italy. French wine traces its history to the 6th century BC, with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced today range from expensive high-end wines sold internationally, to more modest wines usually only seen within France. Two concepts central to higher end French wines are the notion of "terroir", which links the style of the wines to the specific locations where the grapes are grown and the wine is made, and the Appellation d'Origine Contrle (AOC) system. Appellation rules closely define which grape varieties and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or even specific vineyards. France is the source of many grape varieties (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah) that are now planted throughout the world, as well as wine-making practices and styles of wine that have been adopted in other producing countries. Although some producers have benefited in recent years from rising prices and increased demand for some of the prestige wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux, the French wine industry as a whole has been influenced by a decline in domestic consumption as well as growing competition from both the New Worldand other European countries.
Contents
[hide]
[1]

1 History 2 Quality levels and appellation system

2.1 Reforms

3 Wine styles, grape varieties and terroir

o o

3.1 Grape varieties 3.2 Terroir

4 Labelling practices 5 Wine regions of France

o o o o o o o o o o o o

5.1 Alsace 5.2 Bordeaux 5.3 Burgundy 5.4 Champagne 5.5 Corsica 5.6 Jura 5.7 Languedoc-Roussillon 5.8 Loire 5.9 Provence 5.10 Rhne 5.11 Savoy 5.12 South West France

6 Trends 7 Organisations 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit]History Main article: History of French wine French wine originated in the 6th century BC, with the colonization of Southern Gaul by Greek settlers. Viticulture soon flourished with the founding of the Greek colony of Marseille.
[2]

The Roman Empire licensed regions in the south to produce wines. St. Martin of
[3]

Tours (316397) was actively engaged in both spreading Christianity and planting vineyards. During the Middle Ages, monksmaintained vineyards and, more importantly, conserved wine-making knowledge

and skills during that often turbulent period. Monasteries had the resources, security, and motivation to produce a steady supply of wine both for celebrating mass and generating income.
[4]

During this time, the

[5]

best vineyards were owned by the monasteries and their wine was considered to be superior.
[6]

Over time

the nobility developed extensive vineyards. However, the French Revolution led to the confiscation of many of the vineyards owned by the Church and others.

The advance of the French wine industry stopped abruptly as first Mildew and then Phylloxera spread throughout the country, indeed across all of Europe, leaving vineyards desolate. Then came an economic downturn in Europe followed by two world wars, and the French wine industry didn't fully recover for decades. Meanwhile competition had arrived and threatened the treasured French "brands" such as Champagne and Bordeaux. This resulted in the establishment in 1935 of the Appellation d'Origine Contrle to protect French interests. Large investments, the economic upturn following World War II and a new generation of Vignerons yielded results in the 1970s and the following decades, creating the modern French wines we know today. [edit]Quality
[7]

levels and appellation system

In 1935 numerous laws were passed to control the quality of French wine. They established the Appellation d'Origine Contrle system, which is governed by a powerful oversight board (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, INAO). Consequently, France has one of the oldest systems for protected designation of origin for wine in the world, and strict laws concerning winemaking and production. Many other European systems are modelled after it.
[8] [9]

The word "appellation" has been put to

use by other countries, sometimes in a much looser meaning. As European Union wine laws have been modelled after those of the French, this trend is likely to continue with further EU expansion. French law divides wine into four categories, two falling under the European Union's Table Wine category and two falling under the EU's Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region (QWPSR) designation. The categories and their shares of the total French production for the 2005 vintage, excluding wine destined for Cognac, Armagnac and other brandies, were: Table wine: Vin de Table (11.7%) Carries with it only the producer and the designation that it is from France. Vin de Pays (33.9%) Carries with it a specific region within France (for example Vin de Pays d'Oc from Languedoc-Roussillon or Vin de Pays de Ctes de Gascogne from Gascony), and subject to less restrictive regulations than AOC wines. For instance, it allows producers to distinguish wines that are made using grape varieties or procedures other than those required by the AOC rules, without having to use the simple and commercially non-viable table wine classification. In order to maintain a
[10]

distinction from Vin de Table, the producers have to submit the wine for analysis and tasting, and the wines have to be made from certain varieties or blends. QWPSR: Vin Dlimit de Qualit Suprieure (VDQS, 0.9%) Less strict than AOC, usually used for smaller areas or as a "waiting room" for potential AOCs. This category will be abolished at the end of 2011. Appellation d'Origine Contrle (AOC, 53.4%) Wine from a particular area with many other restrictions, including grape varieties and winemaking methods. The total French production for the 2005 vintage was 43.9 million hl (plus an additional 9.4 million hl destined for various brandies), of which 28.3% was white and 71.7% was red or ros.
[10]

The proportion of

white wine is slightly higher for the higher categories, with 34.3% of the AOC wine being white. In years with less favourable vintage conditions than 2005, the proportion of AOC wine tends to be a little lower. The proportion of Vin de table has decreased considerably over the last decades, while the proportion of AOC has increased somewhat and Vin de Pays has increased considerably. In 2005 there were 472 different wine AOCs in France. [edit]Reforms The wine classification system of France has been under overhaul since 2006, with a new system to be fully introduced by 2012. The new system consists of three categories rather than four, since there will be no category corresponding to VDQS from 2012. The new categories are:
[12] [11]

Vin de France, a table wine category basically replacing Vin de Table, but allowing grape variety and vintage to be indicated on the label.

Indication Gographique Protge (IGP), an intermediate category basically replacing Vin de Pays. Appellation d'Origine Protge (AOP), the highest category basically replacing AOC wines.

The largest changes will be in the Vin de France category, and to VDQS wines, which either need to qualify as AOP wines or be downgraded to an IGP category. For the former AOC wines, the move to AOP will only mean minor changes to the terminology of the label, while the actual names of the appellations themselves will remain unchanged. While no new wines will be marketed under the old designations from 2012, bottles already in the distribution chain will not be relabelled. [edit]Wine

styles, grape varieties and terroir

All common styles of wine red, ros, white (dry, semi-sweet and sweet), sparkling and fortified are produced in France. In most of these styles, the French production ranges from cheap and simple

versions to some of the world's most famous and expensive examples. An exception is French fortified wines, which tend to be relatively unknown outside France. In many respects, French wines have more of a regional than a national identity, as evidenced by different grape varieties, production methods and different classification systems in the various regions. Quality levels and prices vary enormously, and some wines are made for immediate consumption while other are meant for long-time cellaring. If there is one thing that most French wines have in common, it is that most styles have developed as wines meant to accompany food, be it a quick baguette, a simple bistro meal, or a full-fledged multicourse menu.
[13]

Since the French tradition is to serve wine with food, wines have seldom been developed
[14]

or styled as "bar wines" for drinking on their own, or to impress in tastings when young. [edit]Grape

varieties

Numerous grape varieties are cultivated in France, including both internationally well-known and obscure local varieties. In fact, most of the so-called "international varieties" are of French origin, or became known and spread because of their cultivation in France.
[15]

Since French appellation rules generally

restrict wines from each region, district or appellation to a small number of allowed grape varieties, there are in principle no varieties that are commonly planted throughout all of France. Most varieties of grape are primarily associated with a certain region, such as Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux and Syrah in Rhne, although there are some varieties that are found in two or more regions, such as Chardonnay in Bourgogne (including Chablis) and Champagne, and Sauvignon Blanc in Loire and Bordeaux. As an example of the rules, although climatic conditions would appear to be favourable, no Cabernet Sauvignon wines are produced in Rhne, Riesling wines in Loire, or Chardonnay wines in Bordeaux. (If such wines were produced, they would have to be declassified to Vin de Pays or French table wine. They would not be allowed to display any appellation name or even region of origin.) Traditionally, many French wines have been blended from several grape varieties. Varietal white wines have been, and are still, more common than varietal red wines. At the 2007 harvest, the most common grape varieties were the following:
[16][17]

Common grape varieties in France (2007 situation, all varieties over 1 000 ha)

Variety

Colour

Area (%)

Area (hectares)

1. Merlot

red

13.6%

116 715

2. Grenache

red

11.3%

97 171

3. Ugni Blanc

white

9.7%

83 173

4. Syrah

red

8.1%

69 891

5. Carignan

red

6.9%

59 210

6. Cabernet Sauvignon

red

6.7%

57 913

7. Chardonnay

white

5.1%

43 887

8. Cabernet Franc

red

4.4%

37 508

9. Gamay

red

3.7%

31 771

10. Pinot Noir

red

3.4%

29 576

11. Sauvignon Blanc

white

3.0%

26 062

12. Cinsaut

red

2.6%

22 239

13. Melon de Bourgogne

white

1.4%

12 483

14. Smillon

white

1.4%

11 864

15. Pinot Meunier

red

1.3%

11 335

16. Chenin Blanc

white

1.1%

9 756

17. Mourvdre

red

1.1%

9 494

18. Colombard

white

0.9%

7 710

19. Muscat Blanc Petits Grains

white

0.9%

7 634

20. Malbec

red

0.8%

6 291

21. Alicante Bouschet

red

0.7%

5 680

22. Grenache Blanc

white

0.6%

5 097

23. Viognier

white

0.5%

4 111

24. Muscat de Hambourg

red

0.4%

3 605

25. Riesling

white

0.4%

3 480

26. Vermentino

white

0.4%

3 453

27. Aramon

red

0.4%

3 304

28. Gewurztraminer

pink

0.4%

3 040

29. Tannat

red

0.3%

3 001

30. Gros Manseng

white

0.3%

2 877

31. Macabeu

white

0.3%

2 778

32. Muscat d'Alexandrie

white

0.3%

2 679

33. Pinot Gris

grey

0.3%

2 582

34. Clairette

white

0.3%

2 505

35. Caladoc

red

0.3%

2 449

36. Grolleau

red

0.3%

2 363

37. Auxerrois Blanc

white

0.3%

2 330

38. Marselan

red

0.3%

2 255

39. Mauzac

white

0.2%

2 077

40. Aligot

white

0.2%

1 946

41. Folle Blanche

white

0.2%

1 848

42. Grenache Gris

grey

0.2%

1 756

43. Chasselas

white

0.2%

1 676

44. Nielluccio

red

0.2%

1 647

45. Fer

red

0.2%

1 634

46. Muscadelle

white

0.2%

1 618

47. Terret Blanc

white

0.2%

1 586

48. Sylvaner

white

0.2%

1 447

49. Piquepoul Blanc

white

0.2%

1 426

50. Villard Noir

red

0.2%

1 399

51. Marsanne

white

0.2%

1 326

52. Ngrette

red

0.2%

1 319

53. Roussanne

white

0.2%

1 307

54. Pinot Blanc

white

0.2%

1 304

55. Plantet

white

0.1%

1 170

56. Jacqure

white

0.1%

1 052

All white varieties

30.1%

259 130

All red, pink and grey varieties

69.9%

601 945

Grand total [edit]Terroir Main article: Terroir

100.0%

861 075

A Cahors chateau and vineyard

The concept of Terroir, which refers to the unique combination of natural factors associated with any particular vineyard, is important to French vignerons.
[15]

It includes such factors as soil, underlying rock,

altitude, slope of hill or terrain, orientation toward the sun, and microclimate (typical rain, winds, humidity, temperature variations, etc.). Even in the same area, no two vineyards have exactly the same terroir, thus being the base of the Appellation d'origine contrle(AOC) system that has been model for appellation and wine laws across the globe. In other words: when the same grape variety is planted in different regions, it can produce wines that are significantly different from each other. concept of terroir manifests itself most extremely in the Burgundy region.
[19] [18]

In France the
[20]

The amount of influence and

the scope that falls under the description of terroir has been a controversial topic in the wine industry. [edit]Labelling

practices

The amount of information included on French wine labels varies depending on which region the wine was made in, and what level of classification the wine carries. As a minimum, labels will usually state that classification, as well as the name of the producer, and, for wines above the Vin De Table level, will also include the geographical area where the wine was made. Sometimes that will simply be the wider region where the wine was made, but some labels, especially for higher quality wines, will also include details of the individual village or commune, and even the specific vineyard where the wine was sourced. With the exception of wines from the Alsace region, France had no tradition of labelling wines with details of the

grape varieties used. Since New World wines made the names of individual grape varieties familiar to international consumers in the late 20th century, more French wineries started to use varietal labelling. In general, varietal labelling is most common for the Vin de Pays category, although some AOC wines now also display varietal names. For most AOC wines, if grape varieties are mentioned, they will be in small print on a back label. Labels will also indicate where the wine was bottled, which can be an indication as to the quality level of the wine, and whether it was bottled by a single producer, or more anonymously and in larger quantities: "Mis en bouteille ..."
[21]

"... au chteau, au domaine, la proprit": these have a similar meaning, and indicate the wine was "estate bottled", on the same property on which it was grown or at a cooperative (within the boundary of the appellation) of which that property is a member.

"... par ..." the wine was bottled by the concern whose name follows. This may be the producing vineyard or it may not.

"... dans la rgion de production": the wine was not bottled at the vineyard but by a larger business at its warehouse; this warehouse was within the same winemaking region of France as the appellation, but not necessarily within the boundary of the appellation itself. If a chateau or domaine is named, it may well not exist as a real vineyard, and the wine may be an assemblage from the grapes or the wines of several producers.

"... dans nos chais, dans nos caves": the wine was bottled by the business named on the label.

"Vigneron indpendant" is a special mark adopted by some independent wine-makers, to distinguish them from larger corporate winemaking operations and symbolize a return to the basics of the craft of wine-making. Bottles from these independent makers carry a special logo usually printed on the foil cap covering the cork.

If varietal names are displayed, common EU rules apply:

[22]

If a single varietal name is used, the wine must be made from a minimum of 85% of this variety. If two or more varietal names are used, only the displayed varieties are allowed. If two or more varietal names are used, they must generally appear in descending order.

[edit]Wine

regions of France

Map of the principal wine regions in France

The recognized wine producing areas in France are regulated by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine INAO in acronym. Every appellation in France is defined by INAO, in regards to the individual regions particular wine "character". If a wine fails to meet the INAO's strict criteria it is declassified into a lower appellation or even into Vin de Pays or Vin de Table. With the number of appellations in France too numerous to mention here, they are easily defined into one of the main wine producing regions listed below: [edit]Alsace Alsace is primarily a white-wine region, though some red, ros, sparkling and sweet wines are also produced. It is situated in eastern France on the river Rhine and borders Germany, a country with which it shares many grape varieties as well as a long tradition of varietal labelling. Grapes grown in Alsace include Riesling,Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Muscat. [edit]Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a large region on the Atlantic coast, which has a long history of exporting its wines overseas. This is primarily a red wine region, famous for the wines Chteau Lafite-Rothschild, Chteau Latour, Chteau Mouton-Rothschild, Chteau Margaux and Chteau Haut-Brion from the Mdoc subregion; Chteau Cheval Blanc and Chteau Ausone in Saint-milion; and Chteau Ptrus and Chteau Le Pin in Pomerol. The red wines produced are usually blended, from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and sometimes Cabernet Franc. Bordeaux also makes dry and sweet white wines, including some of the world's most famous sweet wines from the Sauternes appellation, such as Chteau d'Yquem. [edit]Burgundy Burgundy or Bourgogne in eastern France is a region where red and white wines are equally important. Probably more terroir-conscious than any other region, Burgundy is divided into the largest number of appellations of any French region. The top wines from Burgundy's heartland in Cte d'Or command high prices. The Burgundy region is divided in four main parts: The Cote de Nuits (from Marsannay-La-Cote down to Nuits-Saint-Georges) The Cote de Beaune (from north of Beaune to Santenay) The Cote Chalonnaise The Maconnais

Two parts of Burgundy that are sometimes considered as separate regions are: Beaujolais in the south, close to the Rhne Valley region, where mostly red wines are made in a fruity style that is usually consumed young. "Beaujolais Nouveau" is the only wine that can be legally consumed in the year of its production (Third week end of November) Chablis, halfway between Cte d'Or and Paris, where white wines are produced on chalky soil giving a more crisp and steely style than the rest of Burgundy. There are two main grape varieties used in Burgundy Chardonnay for white wines, and Pinot Noir for red. White wines are also sometimes made from Aligot, and other grape varieties will also be found occasionally. [edit]Champagne Champagne, situated in eastern France, close to Belgium and Luxembourg, is the coldest of France's major wine regions and home to its major sparkling wine. Champagne wines can be both white and ros. A small amount of still wine is produced in Champagne (as AOC Coteaux Champenois) of which some can be red wine. [edit]Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean the wines of which are primarily consumed on the island itself. It has nine AOC regions and an island-wide vin de pays designation and is still developing its production methods as well as its regional style. [edit]Jura Jura, a small region in the mountains close to Switzerland where some unique wine styles, notably Vin Jaune and Vin de Paille, are produced. The region covers six appellations and is related to Burgundy through its extensive use of the Burgundian grapes Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, though other varieties are used. It also shares cool climate with Burgundy. [edit]Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest region in terms of vineyard surface, and the region in which much of France's cheap bulk wines have been produced. While still the source of much of France's and Europe's overproduction, the so-called "wine lake", Languedoc-Roussillon is also the home of some innovative producers who combine traditional French wine and international styles while using lessons from the New World. Much Languedoc-Roussillon wine is sold as Vin de Pays d'Oc. [edit]Loire Loire valley is a primarily white-wine region that stretches over a long distance along the Loire River in central and western France, and where grape varieties and wine styles vary along the river. Four subregions are situated along the river: Upper Loire is known for its Sauvignon Blanc, producing wines such as Sancerre AOC, but also consisting of several VDQS areas; Touraine produces cold climate-styled white wines (dry, sweet or sparkling) from Chenin Blanc in Vouvray AOC and red wines from Cabernet Franc in Bourgueil AOC and Chinon AOC; Anjou-Saumur is similar to the Tourain wines with respect to varieties, but the dry Savennires AOC and sweet Coteaux du Layon AOC are often more powerful than their upstream [Link] AOC and Saumur-Champigny AOC provides reds; and Pays Nantais is situated closest to the Atlantic, and Muscadet AOC produces white wines from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. [edit]Provence Provence, in the south-east and close to the Mediterranean. It is perhaps the warmest wine region of France and produces mainly ros and red wine. It covers eight major appellations led by the Provence flagship, Bandol.
[25] [24] [23]

Some Provence wine can be compared with the Southern Rhne wines as they share
[25][26][27]

both grapes and, to some degree, style and climate. prestigious estates, much like Bordeaux.
[28]

Provence also has a classification of its most

[edit]Rhne Rhone Valley, primarily a red-wine region in south-eastern France, along the Rhne River. The styles and varietal composition of northern and southern Rhne differ, but both parts compete with Bordeaux as traditional producers of red wines. [edit]Savoy Savoy or Savoie, primarily a white-wine region in the Alps close to Switzerland, where many grapes unique to this region are cultivated. [edit]South

West France

South West France or Sud-Ouest, a somewhat heterogeneous collection of wine areas inland or south of Bordeaux. Some areas produce primarily red wines in a style reminiscent of red Bordeaux, while other produce dry or sweet white wines. Areas within Sud-Ouest include among other: Bergerac and other areas of upstream Dordogne; Areas of upstream Garonne, including Cahors; Areas in Gascony, also home to the production of Armagnac, Madiran, Ctes de Gascogne, Ctes de Saint-Mont, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and Tursan; Barn, such as Juranon; and Basque Country areas, such as Iroulguy.

There are also several smaller production areas situated outside these major regions. Many of those are VDQS wines, and some, particularly those in more northern locations, are remnants of production areas that were once larger. [edit]Trends France has traditionally been the largest consumer of its own wines. However, wine consumption has been dropping in France for 40 years. During the decade of the 1990s, per capita consumption dropped by nearly 20 percent. Therefore, French wine producers must rely increasingly on foreign markets. However, consumption has also been dropping in other potential markets such as Italy, Spain and Portugal. The result has been a continuing wine glut, often called the wine lake. This has led to the distillation of wine into industrial alcohol as well as a government program to pay farmers to pull up their grape vines through vine pull schemes. A large part of this glut is caused by the re-emergence of Languedoc wine. Immune from these problems has been the market for Champagne as well as the market for the expensive ranked or classified wines. However, these constitute only about five percent of French production.

French regulations in 1979 created simple rules for the then-new category of Vin de pays. The Languedoc-Roussillon region has taken advantage of its ability to market varietal wines. [edit]Organisations L'Office national interprofessionnel des vins, abbreviated ONIVINS, is a French association of vintners. [edit]See

also

French poltics
This article is about political groups and tendencies in France. For information on the political and administrative structures (executive, legislative and judiciary) of France, see Government of France. This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (November 2008)

France

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France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the government, Senate andNational Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Contents
[hide]

1 Left and Right in France and main political parties

1.1 The Left

1.1.1 After World War I 1.1.2 After World War II

[Link] The Old Left [Link] The New Left (or Second Left) [Link] The Moderate Centre-Left

1.1.3 After the end of the Cold War

1.2 The Right

1.2.1 Legitimists 1.2.2 Orleanists 1.2.3 Bonapartists 1.2.4 Today

2 The Fifth Republic (1958-1981) 3 The Fifth Republic (1981-1995) 4 The Fifth Republic (1995-2011)

4.1 The right in power 2002-now

5 The issue of liberalism or socialism 6 2007 presidential campaign 7 Unions and leaders

8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit]Left

and Right in France and main political parties

Since the 1789 French Revolution, the political spectrum in France has obeyed the left-right distinction. However, due to the historical association of the term droite "right" with monarchism, conservative or right-wing parties have tended to avoid officially describing themselves as representing the "right wing". [edit]The

Left

Further information: History of the Left in France At the beginning of the 20th century, the French Left divided itself into : The Anarchists, who were more in active in trade unions (they controlled the CGT from 1906 to 1909). Revolutionaries: the SFIO founded by Jean Jaurs, Jules Guesde etc. Reformists: the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party and non-SFIO socialists.

[edit]After World War I Unlike those in Spain, the Anarchists lost popularity and significance due to the nationalism brought about by World War I and lost the CGT majority. They joined the CGT-U and later created theCGTSR. The SFIO split in the 1920 Tours Congress, where a majority of SFIO members created the French Section of the Communist International (the future PCF) The SFIC, which quickly turned into a pro-Stalinist and isolated party (with no alliances), lost many of its original members, and changed only in 1934 (after a fascist attack to the Parliament on February 6, 1934) when it integrated the Popular Front. The minority of the SFIO who refused to join the Comintern retained the name and, led by Lon Blum, gradually regained ground from the Communists. The Radical Party, which inherited of the tradition of the French Left and of Radical Republicanism (sharing left-wing traits such as anti-clericalism), progressively moved more and more to the mainstream center, being one of the main governing parties between the two World Wars. The Left was in power during: The Cartel des gauches (coalition between the Radicals and the SFIO, who not participate in the government), from 1924 to 1926.

From 1932 to the 6 February 1934 crisis (Radicals and independent socialists). Under the Popular Front (Radicals, SFIO, PCF) in 1936 to 1938 under Socialist Lon Blum and then Radical Camille Chautemps.

[edit]After World War II

[edit]The Old Left

The anarchist movements. The PCF remained an important force (around 28% in elections) despite it being in perpetual opposition after May 1947. From 1956 to the end of the 1970s it was interested in the ideas of "eurocommunism". The SFIO declined from 23.5% in 1946 to 15% in 1956 and increased only in 1967 (19,0%). It was in government from 1946 to 1951 and 1956-1958. It was transformed in 1971 (congrs d'pinay) in the Parti Socialiste by reunion of various socialists "clubs", the SFIO,... After 1959, both parties were in opposition until 1981. They had formed a coalition (with the Party Radical de Gauche) called the "Union de la Gauche" between 1972 to 1978.

[edit]The New Left (or Second Left)

The Old Left was contested on its left by the New Left parties including the Cornelius Castoriadis's Socialisme ou Barbarie from 1948 to 1965 Advocates of new social movements (including Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Pierre Bourdieu) Arlette Laguiller's Workers' Struggle The Revolutionary Communist League Others components of the New Left included the environmentalists (who would eventually found The Greens in 1982) However, the emblem of the New Left was the Unified Socialist Party, or PSU.

[edit]The Moderate Centre-Left

The Radical Party, despite some ambiguities (support to Pierre Mends-France's centerleft Republican Front during the 1956 legislative elections), finally embraced economic liberalism and slid to the center-right. But in 1972, left-wing Radicals split to form the Left Radical Party. [edit]After the end of the Cold War In 1993, Jean-Pierre Chevnement left the PS to form the Citizen and Republican Movement (MRC), a left-wing eurosceptic party attached to the tradition of republicanism and universalism(secularism, equal opportunities, opposition to multiculturalism).

In 1994, communist and socialist dissidents created the Convention for a Progressive Alternative, a party with a eco-socialist platform, and they have 1 deputy, 8 mayors, and some councillors. They remain present in the Haute-Vienne and Val-de-Marne.

In the 1990s and 2000s, some parties continued the inheritance of the PSU like Les Alternatifs, or ANPAG.

The New Anticapitalist Party is founded in an attempt to unify the fractured movements of the French radical Left, and attract new activists drawing on the relative combined strength of far-left parties in presidential elections in 2002, where they achieved 10.44% of the vote, and 2007 (7.07%).

[edit]The

Right

Further information: Liberalism and Radicalism in France and History of the far-right in France The right-wing has been divided into three broad families by historian Ren Rmond. [edit]Legitimists Counter-revolutionaries who opposed all change since the French Revolution. Today, they are located on the far-right of the French political spectrum. These included: The ultra-royalists during the Bourbon Restoration The Action franaise monarchist movement The supporters of the Vichy regime's Rvolution nationale The activists of the OAS during the Algerian War (19541962) Most components of Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front Philippe de Villiers' conservative Movement for France

[edit]Orleanists Orleanists had rallied the Republic at the end of the 19th century and advocated economic liberalism (referred to in French simply as libralisme). Today, they are broadly classified as centre-right or centrist parties. These included: The right-wing of the Radical Party The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance The Christian-democratic Popular Republican Movement (MRP) Valry Giscard d'Estaing's Independent Republicans The Union for a French Democracy

Today, a large majority of the politicians of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling Union for a Popular Movement can be classified in this family. [edit]Bonapartists These included: Charles de Gaulle's various parties: first the Rally of the French People,

then the Union of Democrats for the Republic But also Boulangisme or Poujadisme

[edit]Today The Gaullist UDR was then transformed by Jacques Chirac in the Rally for the Republic (RPR) in 1976, a neo-Gaullist party which embraced economic liberalism. In 2002 the RPR became the Union for the Presidential Majority and then the Union for a Popular Movement in an attempt to unify the French conservatives together with a minority of the Union for French Democracy (UDF). In 2007, a section of the remaining UDF, headed by Franois Bayrou, refused to align themselves on Nicolas Sarkozy and created the MoDem in an attempt to make space for a center-right party. In conclusion, Jean-Marie Le Pen managed to unify most of the French far-right in the National Front, created in 1972 in the aftermaths of the Algerian War, which succeeded in gaining influence starting in the 1980s. Residual monarchists movements, inheritors of Charles Maurras' Action franaise, also managed to survive, although many of them joined Le Pen's FN in the 1980s. Some neo-fascists who considered Le Pen to be too moderate broke away in 1974 to form the Parti des forces nouvelles, which maintained close links to the far-right students' union Groupe Union Dfense. Another important theoretical influence in the far-right appeared in the 1980s with Alain de Benoist's Nouvelle Droite movement, organized into the GRECE. Despite Le Pen's success in the 2002 presidential election, his party has been weakened by Bruno Mgret's spin-out, leading to the creation of the National Republican Movement, as well as by the concurrence of Philippe de Villiers' Movement for France, and also by the internal struggles concerning Le Pen's forthcoming succession.
[show]v d ePolitical parties in France

[edit]The

Fifth Republic (1958-1981)

Further information: France during the twentieth century and French Fifth Republic During the Fifth Republic, founded in 1958 amid the troubles brought by the Algerian War (195462), France was ruled by successive right-wing administrations until 1981. The successive governments generally applied the Gaullist program of national independence, and modernization in a dirigiste fashion. The political instability characteristic of the Fourth Republic was gone. The far-right extremists who had threatened military coups over the question of French Algeria largely receded after Algeria was granted independence. The French Communist Party's image gradually became less radical. Politics largely turned into a Gaullists vs left-wing opposition.
[1]

The Gaullist government, however, was criticized for its heavy-handedness: while elections were free, the state had a monopoly on radio and TV broadcasting and sought to have its point of view on events imposed (this monopoly was not absolute, however, since there were radio stations transmitting from nearby countries specifically for the benefit of the French). Although Gaullism, which had gained legitimacy during World War II, initially also attracted several leftwing individuals, Gaullism in government became decidedly conservative. In 1962, de Gaulle had the French citizens vote in a referendum concerning the election of the president at universal suffrage, something which had been discredited since Napoleon III's 1851 coup. 3/5 of the voters approved however the referendum, and thereafter the President of the French Republic was elected at universal suffrage, giving him increased authority on the Parliament. De Gaulle won the1965 presidential election, opposed on his left by Franois Mitterrand who had taken the lead of the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left, a coalition of most left-wing parties (apart from theFrench Communist Party, then led by Waldeck Rochet who did call to vote for Mitterrand). In May 1968, a series of worker strikes and student riots rocked France. These did not, however, result in an immediate change of government, with a right-wing administration being triumphantly reelected in the snap election of June 1968. However, in 1969 the French electorate turned down a referendum on the reform of the French Senate proposed by de Gaulle. Since the latter had always declared that in the eventuality of a "NO" to a referendum he would resign, the referendum was also a plebiscite. Thus, the rejection of the reform by more than 52% of the voters was widely considered to be mostly motivated by weariness with de Gaulle, and ultimately provoked his resignation that year. May '68 and its aftermaths saw the occupation of the LIP factory in Besanon, one of the major social conflict of the 1970s, during which the CFDT and the Unified Socialist Party, of which Pierre MendsFrance was a member, theorized workers' self-management. Apart of the PSU, the autonomist movement, inspired by Italian operaismo, made its first appearance on the political scene.

Georges Pompidou, de Gaulle's Prime Minister, was elected in 1969, remaining President until his death in 1974. In 1972, 3/5 of the French approved by referendum the enlargement of the European Economic Community (CEE) to the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway. After Pompidou's sudden death, Valry Giscard d'Estaing managed to overhaul the remaining Gaullist barons with the help of Jacques Chirac , and won the subsequent election against Franois Mitterrand on the left. Giscard transformed the ORTF, the state organism in charge of media, and created several different channels, including Radio France. However, it was not until Franois Mitterrand's accession to the lyse Palace in 1981 that media were liberalized. [edit]The

Fifth Republic (1981-1995)

In 1981, Franois Mitterrand, a Socialist, was elected president, on a program of far-reaching reforms (110 Propositions for France). This was enabled by the 1972 Common Program between the PS, the PRG and the PCF which had remained, just as in Italy, a strong party through-out the Cold War. After securing a majority in parliament through a snap election, his government ran a program of social and economic reforms: social policies: abolition of the death penalty; removal of legislation criminalizing certain homosexual behaviors: lowering of the age of consent for homosexual sex to that for heterosexual sex (since the French Revolution, France had never criminalized homosexuality between adults in private liberalization of media creation of a solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) and reform of the inheritance tax
[citation needed]

);

economic policies: the government embarked on a wave of nationalizations; the duration of the legal workweek was set to 39 hours, instead of the previous 40 hours. increase of the SMIC minimum wages

institutional reforms: repealing of exceptional judicial procedures (courts-martial in peace-time, etc.)

However, in 1983, high inflation and economic woes forced a dramatic turnaround with respect to economic policies, known as rigueur (rigor) the Socialist-Communist government then embarked on policies of fiscal and spending restraint. Though the nationalizations were subsequently reversed by both subsequent left-wing and right-wing governments, the social reforms undertaken have remained standing.

Furthermore, the end of the Trente Glorieuses (Thirty Glorious) period of growth witnesses the beginning of a structural unemployment, which became an important political issue. Since the 1980s, unemployment has remained permanently high, at about 10% of the population, regardless of the policies applied to fight it. In 1986, Jacques Chirac's neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) party won the legislative election. For the first time in the Fifth Republic, a left-wing President was forced to compose with a right-wing Prime minister, leading to the first cohabitation. Although many commentators were surprised at the time, and considered it to be an institutional crisis, some claiming the Fifth Republic could not accommodate itself of such rivalry at the head of the state, cohabitation repeated itself after the 1993 elections, when the RPR again won the elections, and then after the 1997 elections, when the Socialist Party won, leading to the constitution of Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government while Chirac was only at the beginning of his first presidential term. The tradition in periods of "cohabitation" (a President of one party, prime minister of another) is for the President to exercise the primary role in foreign and security policy, with the dominant role in domestic policy falling to the prime minister and his government. Jospin stated, however, that he would not a priori leave any domain exclusively to the President, as that was a tradition issued from de Gaulle. Since then, the government alternated between a left-wing coalition (composed of the French Socialist Party (PS), the French Communist Party (PCF) and more recently Les Verts, the Greens) and a rightwing coalition (composed of Jacques Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR), later replaced by the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), and the Union for French Democracy, UDF). Those two coalitions are fairly stable; there have been none of the mid-term coalition reorganizations and governments frequently overthrown which were commonplace under the Fourth Republic. The 1980s and 1990s saw also the rise of Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front (FN), a far-right party which blames immigration, more particularly immigration from North African countries such asAlgeria, for increased unemployment and crime. The social situation in the French suburbs (banlieues: literally, "suburbs", but in France a euphemism for large suburban housing projects for the poor, with a high proportion of the population of North African descent) still have to be successfully tackled. JeanMarie Le Pen's relative success at the French Presidential election, 2002 has been attributed in part to concerns about juvenile criminality. Massive general strikes followed by all the trade-unions were triggered in NovemberDecember 1995, paralyzing France, in protest against the Jupp plan of libral (in French, free market) reforms. These strikes were generally considered a turning point in the French social movement. It remains to be seen how much of these reforms will now be enacted by Sarkozy's first government, as Sarkozy was elected President on a similar platform in May 2007.

[edit]The

Fifth Republic (1995-2011)

Further information: Jacques Chirac's second term as President of France During his first two years in office, President Jacques Chirac's prime minister was Alain Jupp, who served contemporaneously as leader of Chirac's neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR). Chirac and Jupp benefited from a very large, if rather unruly, majority in the National Assembly (470 out of 577 seats). Mindful that the government might have to take politically costly decisions in advance of the legislative elections planned for spring 1998 in order to ensure that France met the Maastricht criteria for the single currency of the EU, Chirac decided in April 1997 to call early elections. The Left, led by Socialist Party leader Lionel Jospin, whom Chirac had defeated in the 1995 presidential race, unexpectedly won a solid National Assembly majority (319 seats, with 289 required for an absolute majority). President Chirac named Jospin prime minister on June 2, and Jospin went on to form a Plural Left government composed primarily of Socialist ministers, along with some ministers from allied parties of the left, such as the Communist Party and the Greens. Jospin stated his support for continued European integration and his intention to keep France on the path towards Economic and Monetary Union, albeit with greater attention to social concerns. Chirac and Jospin worked together, for the most part, in the foreign affairs field with representatives of the presidency and the government pursuing a single, agreed French policy. Their "cohabitation" arrangement was the longest-lasting in the history of the Fifth Republic. [edit]The

right in power 2002-now

However, it ended subsequent to the legislative elections that followed Chirac's decisive defeat of Jospin (who failed even to make it through to the runoff) in the 2002 presidential election. This led to President Chirac's appointment of Jean-Pierre Raffarin (UMP) as the new prime minister. On May 29, 2005, French voters in the referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe turned down the proposed charter by a wide margin. This was generally regarded as a rebuke to Chirac and his government as well as the PS leadership, the majority save for the leftist faction and Laurent Fabius had supported the proposed constitution. Two days later, Raffarin resigned and Chirac appointed Dominique de Villepin, formerly Foreign Minister as Prime Minister of France. An enduring force is Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front party, whose anti-immigration, isolationist policies have been described by critics as inspired by xenophobia. Le Pen's survival into the runoff of 2002 had many observers worried this time, but in the 2007 first round Le Pen finished a distant fourth.

The February 23, 2005 French law on colonialism was met by a public uproar on the left-wing. Voted by the UMP majority, it was charged with advocating historical revisionism, and after long debates and international opposition (from Abdelaziz Bouteflika or Aim Csaire, founder of the Ngritude movement), was repealed by Jacques Chirac himself. In Autumn 2005, civil unrest erupted in a number of lower classes suburbs due to the violence of the police. As a result, the government invoked a state of emergency which lasted until January 2006. In 2006, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin enacted amendments that established a First Employment Contract, known as the CPE, a special kind of employment contract under which workers under the age of 26 could be hired and fired liberally. Proponents of the measure argued that French workforce laws, which put the burden of proof on the employer for dismissing employees, dissuaded employers from hiring new employees; according to them, this is one reason while the unemployment rate of those under 26 is 23% and that of youngsters from some lower classes neighbourhoods as high as 40%, and not the refusal of exploitation to enrich the wealthy class. However, the plan backfired, with criticism both on the way the law was passed (using an exceptional legislative procedure) and on the law itself, which was criticized both for weakening workers' rights in general, and for singling out the young disfavourably instead of attempting to cure more general issues. Following the 2006 protests against the CPE, the government had to withdraw the legislation. Following from these events, Villepin lost all hopes of winning the presidency, and his government no longer tried to enact reforms. [edit]The

issue of liberalism or socialism

One of the great questions of current French politics is that of libralisme that is, economic liberalism, individualism society and the market system, as opposed to government intervention in the economy. Broadly speaking, supporters of libralisme want to let the forces of the free market operate with less regulation. For example, they want little regulation of the workforce and repeal of French laws setting a 35-hour work week rather than leaving this to contract negotiations. Critics of libralisme argue that governmental intervention is necessary for the welfare of workers; they point out that great gains in workers' rights were historically achieved by government intervention and social mobilization, as during the Popular Front. Similarly, proponents of libralisme favour free markets and the free movement of goods, which critics contend benefit the wealthy class at the expense of the ordinary worker. According to historian Ren Rmond's famous classification of the right-wings in France, this librale tradition belongs to the Orleanist inheritance, while Gaullists inherited from Bonapartism and a tradition of state intervention issued from the National Council of Resistance (CNR)'s welfare

state program after the war. However, neo-Gaullists have since rallied economic liberalism, with the result that modern French conservatives such as the UMP, or before that the RPR, the UDF or the Independent Republicans all supported economic liberalism. The so-called right-wing of the Socialist Party: Francois Hollande, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Sgolne Royal have done likewise. Some rightists, such as Nicolas Sarkozy, favour radical change in the relationship between the government and the free-market. They argue that for the last 30 years, under both left-wing and rightwing governments, the French have been misled into believing that things could go on without real reforms. One may say that they favour a Thatcherite approach. Others on the right (including Dominique de Villepin) as well as some on the left argue in favour of gradual reforms. In comparison, the 2005 refusal of the French electorate to vote for the proposed European Constitution was interpreted by some in particular the French Communist Party and far-left parties such as LO or the LCR as a popular refusal of libralisme, which the European Union is perceived to embody. Some such as Laurent Fabius have argued that the Socialist Party should thus have a more "left-wing" line. Libertarianism as such is rare in France; it is considered a form of ultra-liberalism or neo-liberalism and upheld only by very few right-wingers, such as Alain Madelin. [edit]2007

presidential campaign

Main article: French presidential election, 2007 [edit]Unions

and leaders

Workers' unions. Confdration Gnrale du Travail (CGT): around 800,000 claimed members. It had traditional ties with the French Communist Party, but is currently tending more towards social-democratic views. 34.00%. General secretary : Bernard Thibault Confdration Franaise Dmocratique du Travail (CFDT): about 800,000 members. Considered to be close to the more reformist factions of the PS, and the first to sign with "patronat". 21.81%. General secretary : Franois Chrque Force Ouvrire (FO): 500,000 members. Anarcho-syndicalism to yellow syndicalism, depend of the union, split from the CGT (1947). 15.81%. General secretary: Jean-Claude Mailly Confdration Franaise des Travailleurs Chrtiens (CFTC): 140,000 members. Christian reformist. 8.69%. President: Jacques Voisin Confdration Gnrale des Cadres (CFE-CGC): Reformist, White-collar and executive workers union which claims 180,000 members. 8.19%. President : Bernard Van Craeynest

Union Nationale des Syndicats Autonomes (UNSA): 360,000 members. Reformist. 6.25%. General Secretary: Alain Olive

Solidaires Unitaires Dmocratiques, (SUD): heir of the "Group of 10", a group of radical trade unions ("syndicalisme de lutte"), 110,000 members, 3.82% ;

Confdration Nationale du Travail (CNT): Anarcho-syndicalist trade union which claims 8,000 members

Employers' organisations. Movements of French Corporations (Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), formerly known as CNPF), sometimes referred to as patronat. General confederation of the little and middle corporations ("Confdration Gnrale des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises") (CGPME), aligned its position to the MEDEF.

France geography
France is a country located primarily in Western Europe, but containing territory in South America, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean, as well as numerous territories of various status. In Europe France borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. To the west is the Bay of Biscay, to the north is the English Channel.
Contents
[hide]

1 Area 2 Terrain

o o o

2.1 Land use 2.2 Natural resources 2.3 Natural hazards

3 Environment 4 Cities and towns 5 Flora and Fauna 6 Picture from space 7 Political Geography

o o o

7.1 Internal divisions 7.2 Boundaries 7.3 Extreme points


8 Antipodes 9 See also

7.3.1 France (mainland Europe) 7.3.2 France (metropolitan) 7.3.3 France (including dpartements d'outre mer) 7.3.4 France (territory of the French Republic, including collectivits territoriales and pays et territoires d'outre-mer)

10 External links

[edit]Area

Exclusive economic zones of France and its dependencies

Total area: 674,843 km2

(Whole territory of the French Republic, including all the overseas departments and territories, but excluding the disputed French territory of Terre Adlie in Antarctica)

Metropolitan France: 551,695 km2

(Metropolitan - i.e. European - France only, French National Geographic Institute data)

Metropolitan France: 543,965 km2

(Metropolitan - i.e. European - France only, French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, glaciers larger than 1 km2 , and estuaries)

[edit]Terrain

Mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west. Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m Highest point: Mont Blanc 4,808 m

[edit]Land

use

Arable land: 33% Permanent crops: 2% Permanent pastures: 20% Forests and woodland: 27% Other: 18% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 16,300 km (1995 est.) [edit]Natural

resources hazards

Coal, iron ore, fish, zinc [edit]Natural

Flooding, avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes [edit]Environment Some forest damage from acid rain (major forest damage occurred as a result of severe December 1999 windstorm); air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff, high pesticide use (honeybee mortality) [edit]Cities

and towns

Cities and major towns, or those of historical significance, include: Abbeville, Ajaccio, Albertville, Albi, Amiens, Angers, Angoulme, Aurillac, Avignon, Barbizon, Bastia, Bes anon, Bordeaux, Belfort, Brest, Brive, Caen, Cahors, Calais, Cannes, Carcassonne,Chamonix, Charlevill e-Mzires, Chtellerault, Cherbourg, Chinon, ClermontFerrand, Colmar, Compigne, Deauville, Dieppe, Digne-lesBains, Dijon, Dole, Domrmy, Dreux, Dunkerque, vreux,Grenoble, La Baule, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Laval, Lille, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Mende, Metz, Mont-deMarsan, Montauban, Montpellier, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Nmes, Niort, Orlans, Paris, Pau,Prigueux, Perp ignan, Poitiers, Quimper, Reims, Rennes, Rodez, Roubaix, Rouen, Saint-Gaudens, Saint-tienne, SaintNazaire, Saint-

Tropez, Saumur, Ste, Soissons, Strasbourg, Tarbes, Toulon,Toulouse, Tours, Tourcoing, Troyes, Valen ce, Versailles, Vichy [edit]Flora

and Fauna

An open grassland during the Pleistocene Ice Age, France gradually became forested as the glaciers retreated starting in 10,000 BC. Clearing of the primeval forests began in Neolithic times, but they were still fairly extensive until major clearing began in medieval times. By the 15th century, France had largely been denuded of its forests and was forced to rely on Scandinavia and their North American colonies for lumber. Significant remaining forested areas are in the Gascony region and north in the Alsace-Ardennes area. The Ardennes Forest was the scene of extensive fighting in both world wars. In prehistoric times, France was home to large predatory animals such as wolves and brown bears, as well as herbivores like elk. The larger fauna have disappeared outside of the Pyrenees Mountains where bears live as a protected species. Smaller animals include martens, wild pigs, foxes, weasels, bats, rodents, rabbits, and assorted birds. [edit]Picture

from space

Mainland European France, viewed from the NASA Shuttle Topography Radar Mission

This image of mainland European France was generated with data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). For this broad view the resolution of the data was reduced, resampled to a Mercator projection and the French border outlined. The variety of landforms comprising the country is readily apparent. The upper central part of this scene is dominated by the Paris Basin, which consists of a layered sequence of sedimentary rocks. Fertile soils over much of the area make good agricultural land. The Normandie coast to the upper left is characterized by high, chalk cliffs, while the Brittany coast (the

peninsula to the left) is highly indented where deep valleys were drowned by the sea, and the Biscay coast to the southwest is marked by flat, sandy beaches. To the south, the Pyrenees form a natural border between France and Spain, and the south-central part of the country is dominated by the ancient Massif Central. Subject to volcanism that has only subsided in the last 10,000 years, these central mountains are separated from the Alps by the north-south trending Rhone River Basin. Two visualization methods were combined to produce the image: shading and color coding of topographic height. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the northwest-southeast direction, so that northwest slopes appear bright and southeast slopes appear dark. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow and tan, to white at the highest elevations. Elevation data used in this image were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. Location: 42 to 51.5 north, 5.5 west to 8 east. Orientation: north toward the top, Mercator projection. Image Data: shaded and colored SRTM elevation model. Original Data Resolution: 1 arcsecond (~30 meters). Date Acquired: February 2000. Image Courtesy SRTM Team NASA/JPL/NIMA

[edit]Political [edit]Internal

Geography
divisions

Main article: Subdivisions of France

Regions and departments of France.

France has several levels of internal divisions. The first-level administrative division of Integral France is regions. Besides this the French Republic has sovereignty over several other territories, with various administrative levels. Metropolitan (i.e. European) France is divided into 21 rgions and 1 territorial collectivity, Corsica. However, Corsica is referred to as a region in common speech. These regions are subdivided into 96 dpartements, which are further divided into 329 arrondissements, which are further divided into 3,879cantons, which are further divided into 36,568 communes (as of 1/1/2004).

French Guiana

Five overseas regions (rgions d'outre-mer, or ROM): Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, and Runion, with identical status to metropolitan regions. Each of these overseas regions also being an overseas dpartement (dpartement d'outre-mer, or DOM), with the same status as a dpartementof metropolitan France. This double structure (rgion/dpartement) is new, due to the recent extension of the regional scheme to the overseas dpartements, and may soon transform into a single structure, with the merger of the regional and departmental assemblies. Another proposed change is that new dpartements are created such as in the case of Runion, where it has been proposed to create a second dpartement in the south of the island, with the rgion of Runion above these two dpartements.

Four overseas collectivities (collectivits d'outre-mer, or COM): Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthlemy, Saint Martin, and Wallis and Futuna.

One overseas "country" (pays d'outre-mer, or POM): French Polynesia. In 2003 it became an overseas collectivity (or COM). Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the particular designation of overseas country inside the Republic (or POM), but without legal modification of its status.

One sui generis collectivity (collectivit sui generis): New Caledonia, whose status is unique in the French Republic.

One overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer, or TOM): the French Southern and Antarctic Lands divided into 5 districts: Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Islands,Amsterdam Island and le SaintPaul, Adelie Land, and the Scattered islands (Banc du Geyser, Bassas da India, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorioso, andTromelin).

One uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico which belongs directly to the central State public land and is administered by the high-commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia: Clipperton.

[edit]Boundaries Land boundaries: Total: 4082.2 km 2889 km (metropolitan), 1183 km (French Guiana) 10.2 km (Saint Martin)

Border countries: Andorra 56.6 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km (metropolitan) Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km, 1183 km (French Guiana) Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km; (Saint Martin)

Coastline: 3,427 km (metropolitan), 378 km (French Guiana), 306 km (Guadeloupe), 350 km (Martinique), 207 km (Runion)

Maritime claims: Contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi) Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi); does not apply to the Mediterranean Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)

[edit]Extreme

points

This is a list of the extreme points of France; the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

[edit]France (mainland Europe) Northernmost Point Bray-Dunes, Nord at 5105N 232E 4220N 231E

Southernmost Point Puig de Comanegra, Pyrnes-Orientales at Westernmost Point Pointe de Corsen, Finistre at Easternmost Point Lauterbourg, Bas Rhin at

4824N 447W

4858N 813E

[edit]France (metropolitan) Northernmost Point Bray-Dunes, Nord at 5105N 232E 4120N 915E 4827N 508W 4217N 933E

Southernmost Point les Lavezzi, off Corsica at Westernmost Point le d'Ouessant, off Brittany at Easternmost Point near Cervione, Haute-Corse at

[edit]France (including dpartements d'outre mer) Northernmost Point Bray-Dunes, Nord at 5105N 232E 2223S 5538E 1616N 6148W

Southernmost Point Saint-Joseph, Runion at

Westernmost Point La Pointe-Noire, Guadeloupe at Easternmost Point Sainte-Rose, Runion at

2111S 5550E

[edit]France (territory of the French Republic, including collectivits

territoriales and pays et territoires d'outre-mer)

Northernmost Point : Bray-Dunes, Nord at 5105N 232E

Southernmost Point : les de Boynes, Kerguelen Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Lands at 5001S 6852E

Westernmost Point : Toloke, Futuna, Wallis and Futuna at Easternmost Point : Hunter Island, New Caledonia at

1442S 17833W

2231S 1726E

[edit]Antipodes The land hemispherethe half of the Earth with the most landis centred on Nantes. Thus the antipodes of France are in the middle of the water hemisphere in the South Pacific. The only significant land mass antipodal to metropolitan France is the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, corresponding to an area north of Montpellier including much of the Cvennes National Park, though the antipodes of the uninhabited Bounty Islands are between Tours, Orlans, and Le Mans, and those of the likewise uninhabited Antipodes Islands are in Normandy, near Saint-Sans outside of Rouen. However, French overseas possessions are widespread enough that Clipperton Island and Runion are passably close to being antipodal to each other, and several are antipodal to other countries. The Indonesian island of Buru, for example, finds its antipodes within French Guiana, as do a few smaller

islands. The French Antarctic territory of Kerguelen is opposite the border between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the US state of Montana. New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands overlap Mauritania and southern Western Sahara, with the Mauritanian town of Zouerattecorresponding to the Isle of Pines. Wallis and Futuna are antipodal to Niger north of Niamey (spec. Ffandou near Ouallam). In French Polynesia, the Marquesas are opposite central Ethiopia; the Society Islands of northern Sudan, with Tahiti close to antipodal with Al Dabbah on the Nile. The Austral Islands cover southernEgypt and Saudi Arabia. The Tuamotus cover a broad swath of Sudan, northern Eritrea, the Red Sea, and Saudi Arabia, with Khartoum antipodal to Rangiroa and Jeddah close to Tematangi. TheGambier Islands overlap Arabia, with Mangareva between Riyadh and Mecca.

Evolution of france
This article describes the process by which the territorial extent of metropolitan France came to be as it is in 2009.
[1]

The territory of the French State is spread throughout the world. Metropolitan France is that

part which is in Europe. Occidental France, which arose from the Treaty of Verdun of 843, remained stable for many years. The first kings, theCapetians, were too much occupied with imposing their authority in their own realm to be expansionist. They deftly exploited dissent among their turbulent vassals, applying pressure on them and on the Church and towns. The great conflicts with the kings of England were important occasions for asserting royal power. The 13th century re-annexations of Normandy and ofLanguedoc to the French kingdom were two important stages in the unification of the kingdom. France soon lost the County of Barcelona (Catalonia), from the end of the 9th century. The crossing beyond the Rhone, which for a long time remained the frontier, did not begin until the 14th century, with the purchase of the Dauphin. Louis XI regained his inheritance of the two most powerful prerogatives granted to cadet branches of the dynasty: Burgundy and Anjou includingProvence in the Holy Roman Empire (14811482). The marriage of Anne of Brittany first with Charles VIII then with Louis XII led finally to the effective annexation in 1532, of her duchy which was already within the ambit of the French Kingdom but which had hitherto firmly maintained its distinct existence. From 1635 to 1748, Richelieu and Louis XIV undertook an expansion of the frontiers of the kingdom towards the north and towards the Rhine. Their aim was to check the aspiration of the Austrian royal

house towards its own predominance in Europe. The loss of French Flanders (1526) had brought the frontier dangerously close to the French capital. Alsace, Artois andFranche-Comt were annexed between 1648 and 1697. The Duchy of Lorraine remained some time an enclave in the French kingdom before it too was incorporated in 1766. This and the purchase of Corsica in 1768 brought the territory of the kingdom into a consolidated block. During the period of the French Revolution and First Empire, France expanded temporarily on the left bank of the Rhine. The frontier in the north east lost its definition. On the whole, it remained stable from 1697 to 1789 when it became vague, following no particular line. It was re-established, more or less on its old line in 1815, by the Congress of Vienna. France did lose some places such as Landau and Saarlouis. These strategic losses and the construction of a powerful German state may be seen as giving rise to later diplomatic and military events. But even after the Armistice of 1918, France was unable to make new territorial gains towards the north-east, into the Saarland. Subsequently in the 19th century, there were only a few developments. The Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice were definitively re-attached to France, by plebiscite in 1860. Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by Germany in 1871 but became French again in 1918.
[2]

Other alterations were made temporarily, by the occupying power, during the period of World War II.
Contents
[hide]

1 Geographical context 2 The Middle Ages (843-1492): the unification of the kingdom

o o

2.1 The great feudal domains 2.2 Consolidation of royal power when faced with the Kings of England

o o

2.2.1 Expansion of the royal domain in the 13th century

2.3 Difficulties of the late medieval period 2.4 Expansion towards the Alps

3 The Modern period (1492-1789): conflicts with the Habsburgs of Spain and Austria

o o

3.1 Integration of the last great feudal domains 3.2 Expansion toward the east: the frontier on the Rhine

3.2.1 Toward new conflicts with the house of Austria 3.2.2 The wars of the 17th century 3.2.3 Consolidation of territory

4 Lpoque contemporaine

4.1 The transformation arising from the French Revolution (1789-1815)

4.1.1 Implementation of a new concept of national territory

[Link] Suppression of the provinces and creation of the dpartements [Link] Reduction of enclaves

4.1.2 French domination in Europe

[Link] Tempting prizes beyond the natural boundaries of The Alps, Jura, Pyrenees and Rhine. (1789-1799) [Link] Conquests during the period of the Consulate and of the Empire (1799-1815) [Link] An appraisal after the Congress of Vienna (1815): the Treaty of Paris (1815)
[8]

4.2 Unification of Italy (1860) and the reunification of Germany (1866-1871): the effects

4.2.1 Intervention of France in Italy

[11]

[Link] Reunification of Savoy and of the County of Nice (1860) with France [Link] Modifications of the Monaco frontier (1861)

4.2.2 France's position on Prussia's reunification of Germany

[Link] The Luxembourg Crisis [Link] Alsace-Lorraine : contention between France and Germany (1871-1945)

4.3 The National territory since 1945

4.3.1 The Treaty of Paris with Italy (1947), last general revision of a French frontier

5 Appendix: minor modifications to the frontiers since 1815 6 Maps showing the development of the territory 7 See also 8 Bibliography 9 Footnotes

[edit]Geographical

context

Modern Metropolitan France lies to a large extent, within clear limits of physical geography. Roughly half of its margin lies on sea coasts. In the south-west, its border lies among the peaks of thePyrenees mountain range. Similarly, in the south-east it lies in part of the Alps. In the East it follows one or another of the Jura ranges till it reaches the River Rhine, which it follows downstream. The remaining section, in the north-east, between the Rhine and the North Sea, is provided with the least clear natural definition. [edit]The [edit]The

Middle Ages (843-1492): the unification of the kingdom

great feudal domains

France in Europe from 843 to 870

The Treaty of Verdun of 843 marked the appearance of France and Germany. The arrangement was seen as a temporary sharing out of the inheritance between the heirs of Charlemagne. It set a seal to the creation the borders of two states which would have each its own development. Their common frontier at that time, was placed approximately along the Sane and the Rhne. On the one side, the first Germanic monarchy would weaken itself in trying to re-establish the Carolingian Empire without having sufficient means. On the other hand, the French monarchy would from a modest base, slowly establish itself, ultimately to take the leading role in Western Europe. In 987, the Carolingians were ousted in France by the election of Hugues Capet who imposed his dynasty. The royal domain of the first Capetians was initially limited to a part of the le-de-France, between Paris and Orlans, which were its principal towns. Elsewhere, it was the great lords who exercised their authority, notably the six lay peers of France : the dukes of Aquitaine, of Burgundy and ofNormandy, besides the counts of Champagne, of Flanders and of Toulouse. The first objective of the Capetian kings was the consolidation of their regional authority, which they tried to do in the course of the 11th and 12th centuries. The principal enlargement of the royal domain in the course of that period was the purchase of the Viscounty of Bourges in 1101 which was to become the Duchy of Berry. [edit]Consolidation

of royal power when faced with the Kings of England

[edit]Expansion of the royal domain in the 13th century

France in 1328

The struggle against the Norman and Angevin kings of England was the opportunity for the kings of France to extend their authority. They had it is true; to face up to the formidable challenge with which they were presented. The Duke of Normandy William the Conqueror became King of England in 1066 through his victory at Hastings over the Saxons. On the extinction of his male line of descent, his heir was the Duke of Anjou, Henry Plantagenet, grandson by his mother of Henry I of England. Two months before he ascended to the English throne, as Henry II, he married Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, the richest heiress in the French kingdom and ex-wife of the King of France. The kings of France nevertheless, held some trump cards: the prestige and prerogatives of their position, the dissent at the heart of the Plantagenet family and the difficulty the latter had in exacting obedience in the South-West. John Lackland, son of Henry II, caused confusion among his vassals by his irregular and violent behaviour. The king of France, Phillip Augustus was able to take advantage of this by taking Normandy from him by his capture of the fortress of the Chteau Gaillard, upstream from Paris (1204).

The conquest of that province was vital as it increased the revenues of the French Crown substantially. Philip Augustus was in fact the first king of whom the authority extended beyond the le de France. The extent of his field of action and its effectiveness of his authority were enhanced. The king subdued notably, the County of Vermandois, Touraine and the key parts of the County of Auvergne. The last was entrusted to several lords of the royal entourage before being formally reattached to the royal domain in 1531. The success of Philip Augustus was confirmed by his victory over the Holy Roman Emperor at Bouvines in 1214. Shortly afterwards, The King of France Louis VIII the Lion exploited the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars of the Midi to impose his authority on the County of Toulouse (1229). This new conquest was to become the province of Languedoc and until The Revolution, comprised essentially eight of the modern French dpartments in the Midi. Thanks to the troubles of the end of the mediaeval period, Languedoc was to obtain the establishment of its own institutions: a parliament (which was a sovereign court of justice) and tats, that is States: assembly which voted on taxes and which decided on communal investments. The cumulative effect of these conquests was to prompt the kings to appoint their younger sons to territories: the apanages or privileges. This policy would allow the kings to progressively impose royal authority on the provinces, since in practice, the apanages would return without difficulty, to the crown whether by inheritance or by confiscation. This happened for example, in Poitou, in 1271 and Anjou, in 1481. These were two provinces taken by conquest from the kings of England by Phillip Augustus and Louis VIII.

France after the Treaty of Brtigny (1360)

[edit]Difficulties

of the late medieval period

Occasionally, the apanage policy weakened the royal power. When the French king, Charles VI was in conflict with Louis of Orlans, his brother, their cousin, the duke of Burgundy, Jean Sans Peur, by a series of violent strikes, tried to impose himself on the government. He progressively attracted the hostility of the rest of the group of the royal princes: he ended by being ousted. By a surprise attack in 1418, he seized Paris, forcing the heir to the throne, the future Charles VII, to flee to Bourges. Similarly, counts of the very rich county of Flanders (at this stage, they were the dukes of Burgundy) used their position as top rank peers of France to establish a powerful state. Their policy was facilitated by the fragmentation of power in France and in Germany, at the end of the Middle Ages. The duchy of Burgundy's holdings in the Netherlands were the precursor of the modern Belgium. However, the kings of England remained dukes of Aquitaine. When Philip IV died, his nephew, Philip I count of Valois mounted the throne of France in the end, as Philip VI. Philip VI had married Jean of Champagne, who brought Champagne with her into the royal domain (1284). They had two sons but a new series of conflicts, known as the Hundred Years' War, was provoked by the claim of Edward III of England, grandson of Philip VI through Edward's mother. Edward's aim was to supplant Philip VI. French armies suffered heavy defeats at Crcy (1346) and Poitiers (1356). Later, a third serious defeat was suffered at Agincourt (1415). Having temporarily lost territory as a result of the Treaty of Brtigny, the kingdom was again divided by the Treaty of Tours (1420). But a new spirit was born in Joan of Arc who obliged the English king to raise the Siege of Orlans (1429). Having been crowned at Reims, Charles VII returned to Paris and finally established his authority in the South West, that is to say Aquitaine, taking Bordeaux and Bayonne (1453) from the English king.

France after 1360

[edit]Expansion

towards the Alps

The Holy Roman Empire, which is represented in the modern world by Germany, sank into political anarchy during the 13th century. This opened the way to all sorts of encroachment. Philip IV joined the town of Lyon to his realm again (1312). It was a former capital of the Gauls and an important crossroads in European commerce. The unhappy Phillip VI bought the Dauphin on 30 March 1349, by the treaty of Romans. His grandson, the brother of Charles V, Louis was invested as Duke of Anjou. He was further adopted as heir by the Countess of Provence and Queen of Sicily, Joan. He accomplished his conquest of Provence in 1383-1384. His grandson, King Ren could not however, maintain his position in Italy and transferred his possessions to the King of France, Louis XI: Anjou in France and Provence in the Holy Roman Empire (1481). Louis XI had the good sense not to adopt Ren's claims in Italy. That was not so in the case of his son Charles VIII who not only undertook an expedition to Naples which gave no result but beforehand, abandoned several of his father's conquests; Artois, Franche-Comt and Roussillon, to his eventual competitors.

France in the late 15th century

[edit]The

Modern period (1492-1789): conflicts with the Habsburgs of Spain and Austria
[edit]Integration

of the last great feudal domains

On the one hand, the succession of the Duchy of Burgundy and on the other, the desire to gain a foothold in Italy were the cause of a first series of conflicts with the House of Austria, the Habsburgs. On the death of the last Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, his possessions were divided. His daughter, Mary of Burgundy inherited the Burgundian Netherlands and the Burgundian part of the Franche-Comt. Louis XI took back the Duchy of Burgundy proper and Picardy (1482). The grandson of Mary, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of Habsburg entered into conflict with Francis I of France. Duchy of Burgundy as well as the Duchy of Milan. This first phase was interrupted by the French Wars of Religion and it was not decisive for the French monarchy. After his defeat at Pavia in 1526, Francis I kept Burgundy but renounced in perpetuity, his suzerainty over the County of Flanders. The Burgundian Netherlands which Emperor Charles V had inherited, had hitherto been composed partially of French and partially of German territories. By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, they became a separate political entity. Meanwhile, Henry II of France consolidated the frontiers of the French kingdom by the occupation in 1552, of the towns of Metz, Toul and Verdun which became the province of the Three Bishoprics and the re-taking of Calais from the Queen of England (1558).
[3]

They both wanted the

Elsewhere, the marriage of Louis XII with Ann of Brittany, followed by that of their daughter Claude to Francis I in 1514 permitted the attachment of the Duchy of Brittany to France again (1532). At the time of his accession in 1589, Henry IV of France brought the possessions of the last remaining great feudal house, the Albrets, to the royal domain. He was the heir by his mother, Joan of Albret. These possessions were Barn, Armagnac and Limousin. Having each developed a strong identity, like Languedoc, these later additions, Barn, Burgundy and Brittany retained their own institutions such as states and parliament, until the Revolution.

Europe after the Peace of Westphalia. Note the red, Spanish-controlled lands around France and the fragmented nature of the holy Roman Empire.[4]

[edit]Expansion

toward the east: the frontier on the Rhine

[edit]Toward new conflicts with the house of Austria The house of Austria showed a wish for supremacy in Europe, giving an impression of a militant bastion of Catholicism faced with the emergentProtestant states. The French monarchy was more worried that this claim would find echoes in catholic circles in France. Besides, Habsburg possessions encircled its territory: Spain, the Netherlands, Franche-Comt and more distantly, Milan. Until the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588, it was not clear that England would not become part of this encirclement. Henry IV of France had inherited a dispute with Spain. By his mother, he was heir to the kings of Navarre who had been dispossessed by the kings of Spain. They had been left with only Lower Navarre. From this time on, the kings of France carried also the title of 'king of Navarre'. Before taking up the struggle again, Henry IV paid off the French adventure in Italy. In 1601, he intervened against Duke of Savoy who had supported plots against him. By the Treaty of Lyon, France acquired Bresse, Bugey, Valromey and the Pays de Gex, which together constitute the modern

dpartement of Ain. This was in exchange for the marquisate of Saluzzo, the last place he held in Italy. France had taken possession of Saluzzo in 1548, on the death of its last marquis. It had been claimed since the purchase of the Dauphin. However, the prospect of a conflict with the house of Austria offended a great part of the Catholics of France, notably the court. Marie de Mdicis and the duke D' pernon were notable members of this party. It was in this context that Henry was assassinated by a fanatic,Ravaillac, which put a stop to his project.

Territorial conquests from 1552 to 1798

[edit]The wars of the 17th century The king of FranceLouis XIII and his prime minister Richelieu retook the offensive in 1635 within the framework of the Thirty Years' War. A first, decisive war against Spain was marked by the victory at Rocroi in 1643. The eastward expansion was aimed at cutting the lines of communication of France's enemies and to facilitate contacts with her allies in Germany, a country then comprising many small, more or less independent states. Wars against the house of Austria followed each other and the several treaties resulting from them accumulated into a French grasp on several provinces of the Holy Roman Empire: The Peace of Westphalia (1648) had the effect of an annexation by France of the margraviate of Haute-Alsace, hitherto a Habsburg property, and of the Dcapole, a federation of ten Alsatian towns. They also ratified the annexation of the Three Bishoprics, of Metz, Toul and Verdun, occupied since 1552.

The Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) allowed the recovery of the County of Artois (with the exception of Aire of Saint-Omer), and of Roussillon: at this stage, the frontier with Spain became permanently defined.

The first Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) in 1668 ended the War of Devolution. Louis XIV took the towns of Lille, Douai and Armentiresfrom the Spanish, thereby allowing France a foothold back in Flanders.

The Treaty of Nijmegen, signed 10 August 1678, ended the Franco-Dutch War. The great loser in the war was Spain, ceding to France a list of places - Franche-Comt, the forts on the Aire andSaintOmer, Cambrai, Valenciennes and Maubeuge in Hainaut. From the time of the Revolution, these French lands in Flanders and Hainaut would become the dpartement of Nord.

From 1680 to 1697, Louis XIV emboldened by his early successes, adopted a policy of unilateral annexations and groupings. The French were even took part during the temporary conquest of Habsburg ruled Luxembourg from 1684 to 1697. By the Treaty of Rijswijk in 1697, which concluded the War of Austrian Succession, he had finally to renounce most of these newly-taken lands but retained Saarlouis and Lower Alsace, with the town of Strasbourg. The bulk of Alsace was thenceforward, entirely French. The exceptions were Mulhouse and some territories held by German princes. [edit]Consolidation of territory At the end of Louis XIV's reign, a balance seemed to have been achieved. The other European powers were no longer disposed to accept a new French expansion and were prepared to form alliances to oppose such a thing. The borders had been pushed out far from the French capital. On top of this, they were thenceforward defended by a network of modern fortresses constructed by Vauban. Fortified towns to the north of Lorraine (Montmdy, Thionville, Longwy, Saarlouis)
[5]

isolated the Duchy from other states

of the German (Holy Roman) Empire so as to weaken the independence of the duke. Since 1632, France had regularly occupied Lorraine in periods of war, without annexing it.
[6]

The

duke, Charles IV, who was allied with the houses of Austria and Bavaria, adopted a policy hostile towards France. He and afterwards, his nephew, Charles V of Lorraine had been officers in the Imperial Austrian Army. It was only later that France was presented with both motive and a favourable occasion to annexe the duchy. This was the marriage, in 1736, of Francis de Lorraine to the heiress of the Austrian imperial house, Archduchess Maria Theresa, at a moment when Austria was weakened. The Treaty of Vienna (1738) awarded Lorraine to Louis XV of France, who gave it for life, to his father-in-law, Stanisaw Leszczyski. The duchy of Lorraine would be formally annexed to France in 1766, when Stanisaw died. In recompense, Duke Francis III was given the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which was vacant.

Through animosity towards the Habsburgs, France allowed itself to be drawn into the War of Austrian Succession again. However, after the victory at the Battle of Fontenoy, Louis XV renounced all his new conquests. In 1748, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) put an end to the rivalry of the French and Austrian monarchies. In 1768, the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to Louis XV in exchange for annulment of a debt.
[7]

Thus, on the eve of the Revolution, the modern, hexagonal shape of France was accomplished. However, the complexity of the feudal framework which governed the political organization under theAncien Rgime explains the survival of a number of foreign enclaves, particularly in the recent zone of expansion - Alsace, Franche-Comt and Lorraine. [edit]Lpoque

contemporaine

The French title of this section has been retained in translation from the French Wikipedia page because the apparently corresponding term in English has not quite the same meaning. English-speaking historians, though they define it otherwise, in effect, regard the term 'contemporary history' as meaning 'within living memory'. French writers on the other hand, are inclined to open the period with the French Revolution. [edit]The

transformation arising from the French Revolution (1789-1815)

[edit]Implementation of a new concept of national territory The Revolution did away with the concept of ownership of political entities by individuals. France became one state rather than the aggregate of a mosaic of semi-states.

[edit]Suppression of the provinces and creation of the dpartements

As a means of loosening old ties of allegiance, and of rationalizing administration, the old divisions based on feudal ownership were replaced by dpartements of roughly uniform size and named after geographical features such as rivers. Even Paris was in the dpartement of Seine. Nevertheless, in some cases such as Nord the modern dpartement comprises broadly, the territory of one period of acquisition.

[edit]Reduction of enclaves
Several territories were foreign enclaves surrounded by the lands of the kingdom of France. The Convention nationale willed their merging into France, by treaty or regardless of the rights of the (mainly German) princely owners. Some of these treaties were: The Comtat Venaissin, property of the Holy See since 1274, unilaterally annexed in 1791, annexation recognised by the Pope in the treaty of Tolentino (1797). The County of Montbliard added to Haute-Sane (1793).

Riquewihr and the county of Horbourg belonging to the ruling family of Wrttemberg-Monbliard, the counties of Hanau-Lichtenberg, of La Petite-Pierre and of Sarrewerden, all added to Bas-Rhin(1793)

The principality of Salm-Salm joined to Vosges (1793). The counties of Crhange and of Dabo joined to Moselle (1793), as was the lordship of Lixing (1795). Mulhouse, affiliated to the Helvetic Confederation since 1515 and having become an enclave in HautRhin, it was attached in 1798.

[edit]French domination in Europe

[edit]Tempting prizes beyond the natural boundaries of The Alps, Jura, Pyrenees and Rhine. (1789-1799)
The institution of a revolutionary regime in France led most of the European monarchies to form coalitions against it. The military successes of the armies of the First Republic resulted in a considerable expansion of the national territory. Savoy: 1792. Nice: 1793. The Austrian Netherlands: 1795; The Prince-Bishopric of Lige: 1795; The German states on the left bank of the Rhine: 1797. Geneva: 1798;

Most of these annexations were to be lost subsequently, at the Congress of Vienna (1815).

[edit]Conquests during the period of the Consulate and of the Empire (1799-1815)[8]
Under Napoleon Bonaparte the conquests continued. They were principally motivated by the aim of controlling the coasts of Europe. This was in the context of the struggle against the United Kingdom and the commercial blockade which that country imposed.
[9]

In that way, the following were annexed:

Piedmont 1802, the king of Sardinia having taken refuge in his island. Ligurian Republic 1805. The Kingdom of Etruria and the Duchy of Parma 1808. The Papal States 1809. The Kingdom of Holland and the Valais 1810. The German North Sea coast (Hanover, Oldenburg) with the ports of Bremen, Hamburg, even Lbeck on the Baltic coast, in 1811.

[edit]An appraisal after the Congress of Vienna (1815): the Treaty of Paris (1815)
Nearly all the conquests since the Revolution were restored to their former owners. France was virtually returned to its borders of 1791, except that she retained the former enclaves. the Comtat Venaissin with Avignon, Mulhouse and Montbliard. The other European powers were watchful lest France should ever regain control of the left bank of the Rhine (below the River Lauter): The bulk of the German territories in the left (West) bank was restored to Prussia despite the distance from the Prussian centre and the difference in cultures. A new state was created: the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, of which the citadel served as an outpost of the Prussian army. France lost several strongholds covering her frontiers: Bouillon (Ardennes NE of Sedan), Saarlouis (Saarland NW of Saarbrcken), Landau (Rhineland NW of Karlsruhe) and so on. [edit]Unification
[10]

of Italy (1860) and the reunification of Germany (1866-1871):

[11]

the effects
[edit]Intervention of France in Italy

[edit]Reunification of Savoy and of the County of Nice (1860) with France

Following discussion at Plombires, of 21 July 1858, the minister of the Estates of Savoy Camillo Cavour promised Napoleon III the Duchy of Savoy and the county of Nice, in exchange for French support in the policy of the unification of Italy (the Risorgimento), led by king Victor-Emmanuel II of Savoy. That proposition was made official by a treaty at Turin, dated December 1858. It was actually signed in January 1859. Following the victories over Austria in 1859 (Magenta and Solferino),
[12]

and the armistice of Villafranca,

Austria ceded Lombardy to France, who ceded it immediately to Piedmont/Sardinia, Napoleon III took back Savoy and Nice. With the Treaty of Turin, 24 March 1860, Victor-Emmanuel consented to ceding the duchy of Savoy and the county of Nice, after consulting the populations, which took place in April 1860. The king released his Savoyard subjects following the plebiscite of the same month.

[edit]Modifications of the Monaco frontier (1861)

Since 1848, Menton and Roquebrune, then integral parts of the principality of Monaco, declared themselves to be free towns and were occupied by a Sardinian garrison. Following the secession by theKingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia of the Duchy of Savoy and of the County of Nice to France in 1860, the inhabitants of Roquebrune and Menton, towns considered in the circumstances as forming part of the County of Nice, chose by referendum, to be reunited with France.

On 2 February 1861, Prince Charles III of Monaco and Napoleon III signed a treaty at Paris by which, in exchange for 4,000,000 francs, the prince and his successors would renounce in perpetuity, in favour of the Emperor of the French, all rights direct and indirect on these two communes. [edit]France's position on Prussia's reunification of Germany
[13]

[edit]The Luxembourg Crisis

Detailed article:

[edit]Alsace-Lorraine : contention between France and Germany (1871-1945)

Following the Franco-Prussian War, of 1870 and by virtue of the Treaty of Frankfurt (10 May 1871), all of Alsace excepting the Territory of Belfort, was annexed by Germany, as were the districts ofSarreguemines, Metz, Sarrebourg (less 9 communes), Chteau-Salins (less 10 communes) and 11 communes of the arrondissement of Briey in Lorraine and the cantons of Saales and Schirmeck in the Vosges; a total of 1,447,000 hectares; 1,694 communes and 1,597,000 inhabitants. These territories would be recovered at the end of the First World War.
[14]

Alsace-Lorraine was annexed de facto to the Third Reich on 27 November 1940. Though the main towns of Alsace-Lorraine were liberated during the autumn of 1944, by troops of Generals Koenig andLeclerc, fighting raged on in the Colmar Pocket until 2 February 1945. The region was formally returned to France in 1947. [edit]The

National territory since 1945

[edit]The Treaty of Paris with Italy (1947), last general revision of a French frontier In 1947, in the Treaty of Paris, France gained about 700 km, in five extensions of the national territory in the dpartements of Alpes-Maritimes, Hautes-Alpes and Savoie: annexation of the Tende Valley, which had remained Italian when the County of Nice became French in 1860. The border here now follows the main crest of the Alps. The dpartement of Alpes-Maritimes saw its area extended by 560 km. the upper valley of the Roya, that is the communes of Tende and La Brigue, the hamlets of Libre, Pine-Basse and Pine-Haute (commune of Breil-sur-Roya), the hamlet of Mollires (commune of Valdeblore), the upper valleys of the Vsubie and the Tine;

displacement by several kilometres of the Italian border in the Mont-Cenis massif, thereby increasing French territory by 81.8 km, on the commune of Lanslebourg, Savoie. From this time on, the frontier has no longer followed the line of the crest but is on the slope of the Italian side. The Mont-Cenis Dam and reservoir, subsequently constructed on its slopes, is thus in France though on the Italian side of the ridge.

annexation of the summit of Mont Thabor and its eastern slopes, notably the upper basin of the Valle troite (narrow valley), in the commune of Nvache, Hautes-Alpes (47 km).

annexation of Mont Chaberton (17.1 km), in the commune of Montgenvre (Hautes-Alpes), notably of an Italian fort, destroyed by French forces at the opening of the Second World War.

annexation of the western part of the Little St. Bernard Pass following the watershed. (3.22 km), to the benefit of the commune of Sez, Savoie.

It should be noted that though the Paris Treaty settled disputes on these five points in the line of the border, in the area of the summits of Mont Blanc and Mont Blanc de Courmayeur, questions remain open.