France

France, officially known as French Republic, country of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps and the Pyrenees, France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and southern Europe. It is Europe’s most important agricultural producer and one of the world’s leading industrial powers.

France is one of the major economic powers of the world, ranking along with such countries as the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Despite the dominance of the private sector, the tradition of a mixed economy in France is well established.

Successive governments have intervened to protect or promote different types of economic activity, as has been clearly reflected in the country’s national plans and nationalized industries.

With France’s variety of landscapes and climatic conditions, its cultural diversity, and its renowned cuisine, The tourist industry has grown rapidly since the 1960s, with an increasingly large number of French families taking a holiday each year, encouraged by greater affluence, more leisure time, and, since 1982, five weeks’ statutory paid holiday.