PIPP Anul I Grupa III

Negut Vladut Stefan

France
 The Country,The capital and nearby cities

• The name France comes from the Latin name Francia, which means the land of the Franks. Francia
originally designated a region in northern Europe, populated, or rather dominated by the Germanic
warrior people who called themselves Franks. Thus, Francia originally did not have a geo-political
connotation, but rather a geographical or sociological one, similar to the current terms Maghreb or the
Balkans. The administrative, financial, industrial and cultural center of the country is Paris, which
annually attracts large masses of tourists from all over the world. An important industrial city and
commercial road junction is Lyon (1.3 million inhabitants) founded by Romanians at the confluence of
the rivers Rhone and Saone. Marseille (1.2 million inhabitants) was a colony founded by the Greeks
around 600 BC. and was an important center in the Romanian period as well. It is a large port of the
Mediterranean Sea, from where ships depart both to the former French colonies in North Africa and to
the former French colonies in West Africa. The fourth largest settlement is the industrial city of Lille
(959,000 inhabitants) from the northerners.
The capital of this country is Paris, a very beautiful city from a tourist point
of view, with noumbers museums, Notre-Dame cathedral and even the Eifell
Tower. The official language spoken in France is French.
 Location

• France has access to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as to the Mediterranean Sea, its shores are slightly
indented and, in some places, low and sandy. In addition to the maritime border, it also has 9 old
lands: Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and two of the mini-states: Andorra
and Monaco. The island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea also belongs to the brother. The relief of
France is distinguished by two large relief steps: some lower, in the northern half, of plateaus and
plains, and others higher, mountainous, especially in the southeast and southwest. The relief is
developed on Hercynian structures (where there are plateaus, low mountains, which are eroded, and
plains) and alpine (the Alps and the Pyrenees). The plateaus and plains range includes, among others,
the Massif Central, the Armorican Massif, the Ardennes Plateau, the Paris Basin and the coastal
plains. The mountain range includes the Alps, Jura and Pyrenees Mountains. The French Alps have a
glacial relief and culminate at 4807 m in the peak of Mont Blanc, located on the border with Italy.
 The History

• The territory of France was inhabited in antiquity by Celtic tribes (Gauls) and conquered by Caesar
(59-51 IH) and transformed into a Roman province. Franks, a Germanic people settled in 5th in
Gaul, merged with the Gallo-Romans and gave birth in the following centuries to the French
people. The foundations of the Frankish Kingdom were laid by Clovis (481-511) from the
Merovingian dynasty. Charlemagne (768-814), the most prominent representative of the
Carolingian dynasty, waged victorious wars against the Saxons, Avars, Longobards and was
crowned emperor of the West, in Rome, in 800.
• The Treaty of Verdun (843) consecrates the dismemberment of the Carolingian Empire , whose
western part would form the future of France. In the 12th-14th century, during the reigns of Philip
II Augustus and Philip IV the Fair, the first steps were taken on the road to royal authority and state
centralization. After the French defeats in the first part of the 100-year war fought against England
(1337-1453), the national vanguard (Jeanne d'Arc) allows the victorious end of the long
confrontation. Louis XI (1461-1483) repressed the opposition of the great elders, and the reign of
Francis I (1515-1547) inaugurated the era of absolutism.
• The spread of Calvinism in the first half of the 16th century triggered the devastating
religious wars (1562-1598) concluded by Henry IV the founder of the Bourbon dynasty
(1589-1830) through the edict of tolerance of Nantes (1598). The reign of Louis XIV
(1643-1715) marks the peak of French absolutism ("the state is me"), France becoming now
the first European power.

The frequent wars during the time of Louis XIV and Louis XV (1715-
1774) accentuated social tensions, the loss through the Treaty of Paris
(10.02.1763) of possessions in India and Canada deepening the economic
and credibility crisis of the Bourbon absolutism.
 Culture

• French culture is rich, diverse and ancient, and reflects its regional cultures and the influence
of many waves of immigration over time. Paris, its capital, is also called the City of Lights
(French la Ville lumière), has long been an important cultural center hosting artists of all
origins, being currently the city that gathers the largest number of sites with a cultural
character in the world (museums , flats, buildings and others).

• In addition, these sites are dedicated to a great variety of themes. The birthplace of
Cartesianism and the Age of Enlightenment, French culture left as a legacy to the world, the
language of diplomats, a certain universal conception of man (sometimes considered Franco-
centrist), numerous technical and medical achievements and an ancestral art of living.
The birthplace of cinema and a fervent supporter of cultural exception, France has developed a
quality film industry, one of the few European film industries that can resist the Hollywood
machine. French culture is one of the main links of the International Organization of La
Francophonie that brings together the various countries that have cultural affinities that have been
strongly influenced, over time, by French culture.
 Easter in France

• Considered the cradle of Christianity, France celebrates Easter with great

• Easter in France: Another important Easter tradition for the French is called "Flying
Bells". French Catholics believe that on Good Friday all church bells fly to the
Vatican, carrying with them the pain of those who mourned the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ. The bell ringers return on the first day of Easter bringing a lot of chocolate
eggs. Respecting this tradition, in France the church bells stop ringing from Good
Friday until the first day of Easter. Another French custom consists in a competition
of rolling some raw eggs on a slope. The egg that did not break is considered the
"Victorious Egg" and symbolizes the stone that was rolled away from the tomb of
Jesus Christ. As for the children, they get involved in a game in which they throw
eggs in the air. The first one to drop the egg lost the competition.
 Eifell Tower

• The Eiffel Tower It was built by Gustav Eiffel for . The International Exhibition of 1889, despite the
sustained opposition of national personalities who considered it unsafe and ugly. When the concession of
the Exhibition expired in 1909, the 300 m tower was to be demolished, but its value as an antenna for
radio transmissions saved it. The elements added for television transmissions increased its height by 17 m.
From the highest point of the three platforms, the view stretches for more than 64 km.
• From two acres of alder, a huge field, Champ de Mars (Field of Mars), stretches to the Military School,
which was built between 1769-1772 and continues to be used by the War College. Champ de Mars which
initially served as the parade ground of the school, and was the scene of two great gatherings during the
French Revolution: that of the Federation (1790) and that of the Supreme Being (1794). Behind the
Military Academy is the headquarters of the Organization for Education, Science and Culture, UN,
UNESCO. The building erected in 1958 was designed by an international trio of architects and decorated
by artists from the member countries.
 Notre-Dame Cathedral

• At the eastern end of the square is the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, which is located on a place that
Parisians have always reserved for the practice of religious rituals. The Gallo-Roman Luntras from the
city raised their altar to Jupiter there (now the Cluny Museum) and, when Christianity spread, a church
was built on the site of the temple. The first bishop of Paris, St. Denis, became its patron saint.
• The red in the colors of Paris represents the blood of this martyr who, in popular legend, after being
beheaded, raised his head and walked on his feet. When Maurice de Sully became bishop in 1159, he
decided to replace the dilapidated cathedral of Saint-Etienne and Notre-Dame from the century. VI with
a church in the new Gothic style. The style was conceived in France and a small structural element, the
buttress arch, which supplemented the beauty of the exterior and allowed the interior columns to rise to
new heights, was introduced in the construction of the Notre-Dame church. After being damaged during
the French Revolution, the church was sold at auction to a dealer of deconstruction materials.
 Napoleon came to power in time to cancel the sale and order the redecoration of the
edifice for his coronation as emperor in 1804. Later, Louis-Philippe initiated the
restoration of the neglected church. The architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was
employed between 1845-1864 to restore the monument. Like all cathedrals in France,
Notre-Dame is the property of the state, although its functioning as a religious
institution is left to the Roman Catholic Church.