France
Researched by Brianna L. 2002-03	RESEARCH REPORT  MY INTERVIEW  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ABOUT THE AUTHOR  DEDICATION  WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC  SELF-EVALUATION  THANK YOU

France has 213,000 square miles, a little bit smaller than two times the size of Colorado.  It touches Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium.  It also touches the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.  It has warm summers and cool winters, except on the Mediterranean coast where it is warm all year long. The highest point is Mount Blanc at 15,771 feet.  The Alps are a range of mountains in southeastern France (and northern Italy.)  France has several rivers, but the Loire River, which is 632 miles long, is the longest. 

There are many open-air markets in France. People go to the sidewalk shops of many French cities and towns. The open-air markets have fresh fruits, vegetables, and wine. People there value good food and wine.

Some French holidays and festivals are closely connected with the Roman Catholic Church. A lot of cities celebrate Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent, with a festival called Carnaval. The Carnaval celebration is in Nice (it sounds like "niece")which includes a colorful parade, and it attracts a lot of tourists. Most villages honor their local patron saints with a festival in July. The French national holiday is Bastille Day on July 14th. On Noel (Christmas), French families hold reunions and receive gifts. The French people also exchange gifts on Le Jour de I’an (New Year’s Day). On Paques (Easter), the children receive colored candy eggs and chocolate chickens.

France is the United State’s oldest ally. Both countries signed a treaty of alliance in 1778, and the French troops, commanded by general Rochambeau helped George Washington defeat the British in the fight for American Independence. One hundred years later, to symbolize the strong friendship between both countries, the French nation built the Statue of Liberty, and presented it to the US as a gift in 1886.  The grateful US helped defend France in World War I (1914-1918) and liberated their country from Nazi occupation in World War II (1939-1945). Both countries have always been there for each other during difficult times, and they will hopefully continue to stand side-by-side in the future.
  
Napoleon Bonaparte was important in French history. He was born in 1769 and he died in 1821. He was a brilliant military leader and general. He also was the first Consul of France (1799-1804). Plus he was the Emperor of France (1804- 1814). France was named after "Francs" who invaded that area after the 400’s AD when Rome fell. In 1792 there was the French Revolution and the people of France overthrew a king for the first time and set up the first republic where they could vote.

The French population in 2002 was about 60,000,000. The languages are French which almost everyone there speaks and some, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, and Flemish). The ethnic groups are mostly Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, and Basque minorities.

In France they have great food, like crepes, which are a special kind of pancake with cooked fruit and whipped cream. In restaurants they have escargots for appetizers, which are snails in garlic butter sauce, scallops and mushrooms in a creamy wine sauce, and puff pastries filled with chicken in cream sauce. Their wine is considered one of world’s best.

France is a democracy. People vote for their leaders. Today the President of France is Jacques Chirac, he was born on November 29, 1932 and elected President on May 19, 1995. The Prime Minister of France is Jean-Pierre Raffarin since May 7, 2002. When Charles de Gaulle was part of the government (1958-1969) he built a strong republic. They have 3 branches of government: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch.  The executive branch is headed by the President, who has a five-year term. The legislative branch is called Parliament. The military has an army, a navy and an air force, which are voluntary. There are about 400,000 people in their armed forces.

The products they make there are aircraft and weapons, machinery and electronics. They are one of the largest automobile makers. They also have large chemical and steel industries. The agriculture there is apples, vineyards, wine, dairy farms and wheat (leader) and vegetables. The money they have are francs. The pictures on francs are famous French women and men. The partner of France is the United States of America. 

Some cities are Nice, Brest, Loire, and Paris. Paris has the Eiffel tower, which is 984 feet tall. The Loire Valley has castles.
 
 

Who I Interviewed And What I Learned I interviewed Shane Paul Edinger on December 5th, 2002 by phone. Shane became interested in France because in high school he had two options to take French or Spanish. He took French class and went to France cause it interested him and he went there to visit the stuff there like the Eiffel Tower and the side walks cafes.  What he enjoys about France is that they have so much history and its such an old country. Plus its been around hundreds and hundreds of years and the United States has maybe only been around for only 200 years, so France has lots of history. Many famous people in history have French backgrounds. He was a good choice because 1. He is going to be my uncle 2. I have met him before 3. He has been to France                                                    I think he was a very good person to interview.

Bibliography Edinger, Scott. Phone interview. .December 5th 2002 Edinger, Shane. Phone interview. December 5th 2002. Gofen, Ethel. France. New York. Marshall Cavendish. 1999. "President of France ." Feb 25th 2003. <http:// www.elysee. Fr/ang>   Reedy, William  France. The World Book Encyclopedia. 2002.

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