France Portal

The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and that also comprises a collection of overseas islands and territories located in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica. After Russia, France is the largest country in Europe (643,427 km² with its overseas départements). With a population of over 63 million inhabitants, France is the second most populous country in Western Europe (after Germany) and the 20th largest in the world. Paris is the most populated city in France with over 12 million people in its aire urbaine.

The French Republic is a democracy which is organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. It has the seventh-largest economy in the world. Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the G8, NATO, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also one of eight acknowledged nuclear powers. With almost 75 million foreign tourists each year, France is the most popular international tourist destination in the world.

French is the official language of France, but each region has its own unique accent; in addition to French, there are several other languages of France traditionally spoken, although use of these languages has greatly decreased over the past two hundred years. French is also an official language in 41 countries, most of which form what is called in French La Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations.

Picture of the Month (Archive)

"Promenade des Anglais" in Nice, a major tourist centre and a leading resort on the French Riviera - Côte d'Azur. During the middle ages Nice had its share in the wars and disasters of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, and both the king of France and the emperor endeavoured to subjugate it; but in spite of all it maintained its municipal liberties. Photo credit:W. M. Connolley

Article of the Month (Archive)

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (English: the art of displacement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment—from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls—and can be practised in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females. Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practising efficient movements to develop one's body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency.

Parkour is a physical activity that is difficult to categorize. Often miscategorized as a sport or an extreme sport, parkour has no set of rules, team work, formal hierarchy, or competitiveness. On the contrary it is more like an art or discipline that resembles self-defense in the ancient martial arts. According to David Belle, "the physical aspect of parkour is getting over all the obstacles in your path as you would in an emergency. You want to move in such a way, with any movement, as to help you gain the most ground on someone or something, whether escaping from it or chasing toward it." Thus, when faced with a hostile confrontation with a person, one will be able to speak, fight, or flee. As martial arts are a form of training for the fight, parkour is a form of training for the flight.

An important characteristic of parkour is efficiency. Practitioners move not only as fast as they can, but also in the most direct and efficient way possible; a characteristic that distinguishes it from the similar practice of free running, which places more emphasis on freedom of movement, such as acrobatics. Efficiency also involves avoiding injuries, short and long-term, part of why parkour's unofficial motto is être et durer (to be and to last). Those who are skilled at this activity normally have an extremely keen spatial awareness. Traceurs claim that parkour also influences one's thought process by enhancing self-confidence and critical-thinking skills that allow one to overcome everyday physical and mental obstacles. Read more...

Person of the Month (Archive)

Anaïs Nin IPA: [ana'iːs nin] (born Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell) (February 21, 1903 - January 14, 1977) was a Cuban-French author who became famous for her published journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death. Nin is also famous for her erotica.

She was born in Neuilly, France, to two artistic parents. Her father, Joaquin Nin, was a Cuban pianist and composer, and her mother Rosa Culmell was also Cuban, but of French and Danish ancestry and was a classically trained singer. Her paternal great-grandfather fled France during the Revolution, going first to Haiti, then New Orleans, and finally to Cuba where he helped build that country's first railroad.

On 3 March 1923, in Havana, Cuba, she married her first husband, Hugh Parker Guiler (1898-1985), a banker and artist, later known as "Ian Hugo" when he became a filmmaker of experimental films in the late 1940s. The couple moved to Paris the following year, where Guiler pursued his banking career and Nin began to pursue her interest in writing. Her first published work was a critical evaluation of D. H. Lawrence called D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study. She also explored the field of psychotherapy, studying under the likes of Otto Rank, a disciple of Sigmund Freud.

According to her diaries,Volume One, 1931 - 1934, Nin shared a Bohemian lifestyle with Henry Miller during her time in Paris. There is no mention of her husband in that edited edition. In 1939, Nin and Hugh Parker Guiler moved back to New York City. Nin appeared in the Kenneth Anger film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954) as Astarte, the Maya Deren film Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946), and in Bells of Atlantis (1952), a film directed by Guiler under the name "Ian Hugo" with a soundtrack of electronic music by Louis and Bebe Barron. Read more...

Recent events in France

July 27 - Carlos Sastre wins 2008 Tour de France
The Spanish cyclist Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France. Sastre is the third consecutive Spanish rider to win the Tour. Full story: NYTimes BBC CNN

July 5 - 2008 Tour de France begins
The 2008 Tour de France began on July 5 and will run through the 27th. This year's Tour differs from previous years' in significant ways. For the first time since 1967, the Tour will begin without a prologue time trial. Tour organizers have also decided to eliminate time bonuses. Full story: NYTimes Telegraph

July 1 - France takes over EU presidency
France began its six-month European Union presidency got on July 1. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said that the EU needs profound changes following Ireland's rejection of a key reform treaty. Full story: Canada.com Deutsche Welle AP

June 17 - French workers go on strike to protest reforms
French workers went on strike on Tuesday to protest reforms to the pension system and the 35-hour work week. Full story: Reuters

June 16 - France will rejoin NATO military command
French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that France will rejoin NATO's military command. While France has been a member of the 26-member alliance, participating fully in all political decision-making bodies, it has been not part of the integrated command structure since 1966. Full story: NYTimes AP

June 1 - Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71
Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died today at age 71 in Paris, following a long illness. Full Story: AFP AP BBC

Did you know ... (Archive)

• ...that a replica of the château from the Bordeaux wine estate Château Beauregard was constructed for the Guggenheim family on Long Island, New York?
• ...that Haulotte Group are the third-biggest manufacturer of aerial work platforms (pictured) in the world?
• ...that the Bordeaux wine estate Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot was demoted in the Saint-Émilion classification amidst controversy, only to be later re-instated?

• ...that many of the viaducts (pictured) on the Chemin de Fer de Côtes du Nord were two-tiered structures, and that the Viaduc de Souzain had a railway junction on the viaduct itself?
• ...that the final section of the Chemins de Fer du Calvados was closed by damage from the 1944 D-Day invasion?

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