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Covering large parts of modern day France, Belgium, and northwest Germany, Gaul
was inhabited by many Celtic tribes whom the Romans referred to as Gauls and who
spoke the Gaulish language. On the lower Garonne the people spoke Aquitanian, an
archaic language related to Basque. The Celts founded cities such as Lutetia
Parisiorum (Paris) and Burdigala (Bordeaux) while the Aquitanians founded Tolosa
(Toulouse).
Long before any Roman settlements, Greek navigators settled in what would become
Provence. The Phoceans founded important cities such as Massalia (Marseille) and
Nikaia (Nice), bringing them in to conflict with the neighboring Celts and Ligurians. The
Phoceans were great navigators such as Pytheas who was born in Marseille. The
Celts themselves often fought with Aquitanians and Germans, and a Gaulish war band
led by Brennus invaded Rome circa 393 or 388 BC following the Battle of the Allia.
However Gaulish tactics would not evolve and the Romans would learn to counter
them, the Gauls would from then be defeated in battles such as Sentinum and
Telamon.
When Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barca fought the Romans, he recruited
several Gaulish mercenaries which fought on his side at Cannae. It was this Gaulish
participation that caused Provence to be annexed in 122 BC by the Roman
Republic.[citation needed] Later, the Consul of Gaul—Julius Caesar—conquered all of
Gaul. Despite Gaulish opposition led by Vercingetorix, the Overking of the Warriors,
Gauls succumbed to the Roman onslaught; the Gauls had some success at first at
Gergovia, but were ultimately defeated at Alesia. The Romans founded cities such as
Lugdunum (Lyon) and Narbonensis
How kids dress in France
France is a country where freedom of thought and of religion are preserved,
in virtue of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The
Republic is based on the principle of laïcité (or "freedom of conscience,"
including the lack thereof) enforced by the 1880s Jules Ferry laws and the
1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State. Roman
Catholicism, the religion of a majority of French people, is no longer
considered a state religion, as it was before the 1789 Revolution and
throughout the various, non-republican regimes of the 19th century (the
Restoration, the July Monarchy and the Second Empire).
• The major landforms of France are:
mountains, hills, plains and rivers.
France lies on the western edge of the European continent and shares
borders with six neighbors: Belgium and Luxembourg to the north,
Germany and Switzerland to the east, Italy to the southeast and Spain
to the southwest. Thus it forms a bridge linking northern and southern
Europe and joining the countries in the central part of the continent to
those in the east. Its extensive coastline gives France a natural outlet
toward America and Africa.
The territory of France is compact and is often represented as a
hexagon of which each axis measures just under 1,000 km. With a
total area of 550,000 sq. km., France ranks as a medium-sized
country on the world scale. However, it is the largest country in
Western Europe, bigger than Spain, Germany or the United Kingdom.
Because of its extensive network of modern communications, France
is a real hub in Europe. The eastern reaches of the country abut the
great industrial and urban area stretching from the mouth of the Rhine
to the plains of the Po River. It is also within easy reach of the
industrial centers of the United Kingdom and the other countries lying
on the North Sea. To the south it is an integral part of the
Mediterranean arc running from Catalonia to central Italy.
Date English name Local nameRemarks1 January New
Year's DayJour de l'AnmoveableEasterPâques Sunday,
date variesmoveableEaster MondayLundi de
PâquesMonday after Easter1 MayLabour Day Fete du
Travail8 MayV-E DayVictoire 1945End of World War
2moveableAscension DayAscensionThursday, 40 days
after EastermoveablePentecostPentecôteSeventh
Sunday after EastermoveableWhit MondayLundi de
PentecôteMonday after Pentecost14 July Bastille Day
Fête National National Day15 August Assumption of
MaryAssomption1 November All Saints DayToussaint11
NovemberVeterans Day
Armistice Day
Remembrance Day Armistice 1918End of WW I
Bodies of water
• The major bodies of water that surround
France are:
• The English Channel,
• The Atlantic Ocean,
• The Bay of Biscay,
• and The Mediterranean Sea