France (pronounced /ˈfræns/ ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] listen) franss or /ˈfrɑːns/ frahns;
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] French pronunciation (help·info):[fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French
Republic (French: République
française,
pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of itsoverseas territories and islands
located on other continents and in the Indian,Pacific, andAtlantic oceans.Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to

as L’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its
territory. It is bordered
(clockwise from the north) by Belgium,Luxembourg,Germany,Switzerland,Italy, Monaco, SpainAndorra.
France's overseas
departments and collectivities also share land borders with Brazil and Suriname(bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin). France is linked to the United
Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes
underneath the English Channel.
France is a member state of the European Union,
the largest one by area. It is also the third largest in Europe behind
Russia and Ukraine. It would be second if its extra-European territories
like French Guiana were included. France
has been a major power for many centuries with strong
economic, cultural, military and political influence. During the 17th
and 18th
centuries, France colonised great parts of North America;
during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time,
including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, South-east Asia, and many Pacific islands.
France is a unitarysemi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen. France is one of the most developed countries and possesses the fifth largest
economy by nominal GDPand seventh largest
economy by purchasing power parity.
France
enjoys a high standard of living as well as a
high public education level,it is one of the most globalised nations,has 2009's second best international reputationand has also one
of the world's highest life expectancies,with its health care system rated as the best in the
world.
It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82
million foreign tourists annually.
France is one of the founding
members of the European Union. It is also a founding member of the
United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8,
G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council, possesses the third largest number of nuclear weapons in the
world and the largest number of nuclear power plants in the
European Union.
TOPIC : France  SOURCE : Linguistic Studies ** http://languages.forumactif.org/