Facts and figures about France
Some facts and figures about France which may be of use to you.
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Trivia quiz
The capital city of France is Paris.
Geographical information
The country is split into 22 administrative regions
The regions listed in alphabetical are :
Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne,
Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie,
Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees,
Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes,
Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes.
Each region is divided into "departments" (counties). There
is a total of 96 departments (106 when including the DOMs which are
the overseas counties).
There are 36851 towns and villages in France (including the DOMs).
Total land surface 550,000 sq km. The highest point being the Mont
Blanc which culminates at 4,807 metres above sea-level. The coastline
is more than 5,500 km long, with access to the Atlantic and
Mediterranean.
Facts from France
964 356 km of roads
7 396 km are "autoroutes" or motorways;
31 940 km of railway track, 1 268 reserved for the high-speed TGV
train. The railway system in France is nationalised and called the SNCF (Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer)
Main airport, Charles de Gaule Roisy Paris, secondary is Orly, Paris.
Military service is now abolished, however 3 days of civil service
for men and women from 18 years of age are required.
The forces are divided into Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
Currency
Until 02 January 2002, the currency was the French Franc,
it has since changed into the European currency and now the Euro is
the legal tender.
1 Euro (€) = 100 Euro centimes
Information, value and pictures
of Francs, old exchange
rates
History
The history of France is complicated, with frontiers that continually changed, invasions and wars with the neighbours and migrations of populations to and from various countries. The country changed in shape and size through the centuries and even the capital changed locations.
Historical timeline, briefly
describing the principle events and important dates of France.
History and time line of events during World War II
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Information