BASIC FACTS OF FRANCE _PART 2

EDUCATION 

·        Education is free, beginning at age 2, and mandatory between ages 6 and 16.

·        The public education system is highly centralized.

·        Private education is primarily Roman Catholic.

·        Higher education in France began with the founding of the University of Paris in 1150. It now consists of 91 public universities and 175 professional schools, including the post-graduate Grandes Ecoles.

·        The French language derives from the vernacular Latin spoken by the Romans in Gaul,

      although it includes many Celtic and Germanic words.

HISTORY

·        French Revolution (1789-94).

·        Presidents:  de Gaulle (1958-1969), Gaullist Georges Pompidou (1969-74), Independent Republican Valery Giscard d'Estaing (1974-81), Socialist Francois Mitterrand (1981-95), neo-Gaullist Jacques Chirac (1995-2007), and center-right Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-present, 6th)

 

FOREIGN RELATIONS

·        United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the EU, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Indian Ocean Commission (COI), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the WTO, Interpol, la Francophonie and other multilateral institutions.

·        EU member since 1958

·        The French will take over the rotating EU presidency from July-December 2008.

·        It hosts the headquarters of the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, Alliance Base and the International

      Bureau for Weights and Measures.

RIVER

Charente, Doubs, Garonne, Loire, La Lot, Moselle, Rhin, Rhône, Saône, La Seine, l'Yonne

 MILITARY

 

The French armed forces are divided into four branches:

• Armée de Terre (Army)
• Marine Nationale (Navy)
• Armée de l'Air (Air Force)
• Gendarmerie Nationale (A military force which acts as a National Rural Police and as a Military police for the entire French military)

 

SPORT

• France has hosted events such as the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, and hosted the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.
• Stade de France in Paris is the largest stadium in France and was the venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup final, and hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in October 2007.
• During the Modern era, France has hosted the Olympic Games fives times: two Summer Games (1900 and 1924, both in Paris) and three Winter Games (1924 in Chamonix -the first edition-, 1968 in Grenoble and 1992 in Albertville).
• France won two European Championships in 1984 and 2000.