France
1st Edition
Published on 15. July 2013
371 pages
978-1-61530-981-8 (ISBN)
Description
France's cultural and historical legacies are numerous and diverse. It has long played a dominant role on the world stage, and as one of the largest countries of the European Union, its global influence shows no signs of dying down. But despite its cultural, economic, governmental, and historical achievements, France has experienced trials and tribulations, perhaps most memorably during the French Revolution, but throughout history as well. This comprehensive volume surveys France's assorted regions, its renowned traditions, the individuals and peoples that have led it to greatness, and the struggles and successes of its past and present.
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Content
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Land
- Relief
- The Hercynian Massifs
- The Great Lowlands
- The Younger Mountains and Adjacent Plains
- The Seine System
- The Loire System
- The Garonne System
- The Rhône System
- The Rhine System
- The Smaller Rivers and the Lakes
- Soils
- Climate
- The Oceanic Region
- The Continental Region
- The Mediterranean Region
- The Riviera
- Plant and Animal Life
- Chapter 2: People
- Languages
- French Language and the French Academy
- Religion
- Rural Landscape and Settlement
- Bocage
- Open-Field
- Mediterranean
- Mountain
- Postwar Transformation
- Urban Settlement
- Demographic Trends
- Emigration
- Immigration
- Population Structure
- Population Distribution
- Chapter 3: Economy
- Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
- Grains
- Fruits and Wine Making
- Dairying and Livestock
- Agribusiness
- Champagne
- Roquefort
- Forestry
- Fishing
- Resources and Power
- Minerals
- Energy
- Manufacturing and Industrial Trends
- Michelin
- Finance
- Banking and Insurance
- The Stock Exchange
- Foreign Investment
- Trade
- Services
- Civil Service
- Tourism
- Transportation and Telecommunications
- Roads
- Railroads
- Waterways
- Air Transport
- Telecommunications
- Chapter 4: Government and Society
- Government
- The 1958 Constitution
- The Dual Executive System
- The Role of the President
- Parliamentary Composition and Functions
- The Role of Referenda
- The Role of the Constitutional Council
- Regional and Local Government
- Justice
- The Judiciary
- Administrative Courts
- Political Process
- Security
- Armed Forces
- Police Services
- French Foreign Legion
- Social Security and Health
- Housing
- Wages and the Cost of Living
- Education
- Primary and Secondary Education
- Higher Education
- Other Features
- Chapter 5: Cultural Life
- Cultural Milieu
- Daily Life and Social Customs
- The Arts
- Literature
- The Fine Arts
- The Cinema
- New Wave
- Cultural Institutions
- Museums and Monuments
- Sports and Recreation
- Tour de France
- Broadcast Media
- The Press
- Chapter 6: Early History
- Gaul
- The People
- The Roman Conquest
- Vercingetorix
- The End of Roman Gaul (c. 400-c. 500)
- Merovingian and Carolingian Age
- Early Frankish Period
- Gaul and Germany at the end of the 5th Century
- The Merovingians
- The Carolingians
- Battle of Tours
- The Frankish World
- Chapter 7: The Emergence of France
- French Society in the Early Middle Ages
- The Political History of France (c. 850-1180)
- Principalities North of the Loire
- The Principalities of the South
- The Monarchy
- Economy, Society, and Culture in the Middle Ages (c. 900-1300)
- Rural Society
- Religious and Cultural Life
- The Age of Cathedrals and Scholasticism
- The Albigensian Crusade
- Culture and Learning
- The Capetian and Valois Dynasties
- The Kings and the Royal Government
- Foreign Relations
- The Period of the Hundred Years' War
- Saint Joan of Arc
- Recovery and Reunification, 1429-83
- Economy, Society, and Culture in the 14th and 15th Centuries
- Culture and Art
- Chapter 8: The Sun King and the Napoleonic Era
- France in the 16th Century
- Military and Financial Organization
- The Age of the Reformation
- The Wars of Religion
- Political Ideology
- France in the Early 17th Century
- Henry IV
- Louis XIII
- The Fronde
- The Age of Louis XIV
- The Development of Central Government
- Louis's Religious Policy
- Absolutism of Louis
- Foreign Affairs
- Louis XIV Style
- French Culture in the 17th Century
- Prelude to Revolution
- The Social and Political Heritage
- Continuity and Change
- Philosophe
- The Political Response
- The Causes of the French Revolution
- The Bastille
- The End of the Ancien Régime, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Era
- The Convergence of Revolutions, 1789
- The New Regime
- Seeds of Discord
- The First French Republic
- Guillotine
- The Rise and Fall of Napoleon
- Battle of Waterloo
- Napoleon and the Revolution
- Chapter 9: Restoration, republicanism, the Great War, World War II, and Beyond
- The Restoration and Constitutional Monarchy
- Louis XVIII, 1815-24
- Charles X, 1824-30
- The Revolution of 1830
- The July Monarchy
- The Second Republic and Second Empire
- The Revolution of 1848
- The Second Republic, 1848-52
- The Second Empire, 1852-70
- The Third Republic
- The Commune of Paris
- The Formative Years (1871-1905)
- World War I
- Maginot Line
- The Interwar Years
- German Aggressions
- Society and Culture Under the Third Republic
- World War II and the Fifth Republic
- Wartime France
- Algerian War
- The Fourth Republic
- The Fifth Republic
- France After de Gaulle
- France Under a Socialist Presidency
- France Under Conservative Presidencies
- Conclusion
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- Back Cover
