Through revolution, revolt and still standing…

1. Through revolution, revolt and still standing…

2. Fun Facts you may or may not want to know… 56% of its population lay claim for a foreign background, making France one of the most diverse countries in Europe. Seventeen times smaller than Brazil; half the size of Ontario; French health care is number one in the world according to the World Health Organization The French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic with strong democratic traditions. Parliament is bicameral: National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and a Senate. President is Jacques Chirac.

3. A History in Three parts Until the French revolution in 1789, the French were ruled by monarchs, mainly from a long line of Louis and Charles’. The trend was broken by the execution of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. They were replaced with, in the long run, Napoleon Bonaparte, who named himself First Consul before becoming Emperor. A step that if Julius Caesar had been around long enough to establish, would have. Bonaparte conquered most of the continental Europe before being exiled, returning and again exiled but to St. Helen were he died.

4. A History In Three Parts: Two Napoleon’s defeat at the famous Battle at Waterloo marked a period of re-established monarchy under constitutional restraints. An uprising established the July Monarchy which lasted until 1848. This monarchy was ruled by Louis-Philippe, sympathetic to the haute bourgeois. A Second Republic was established and lasted only until 1852 when Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon’s nephew, proclaimed the Second Empire. He would be the last person to rule France as such. With the loss of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the Third Republic was born.

5. A History in Three parts: Three In the 19th and 20th centuries, France’s colonial empire was the second largest in the world. Though a “victor” in World War I, France lost immeasurable numbers of human lives and material means. In the 1930’s the Popular Front was introducing social reforms. During World War II, France surrendered its leadership to Germany after numerous losses. France was liberated with the joint effort of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Free French Forces and the French resistance in 1944. The Fourth Republic was established after WWII but struggled to maintains its colonial holdings, resulting in the First Indochina War, which is lost and the conflict with Algeria, who implications of the conflict were most recently felt in the revolts a year ago. The Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth and with the help of Charles de Gaulle managed to keep it together.

6. The Recent Past In recent decades, France has recon ciliated and cooperated with Germany. It has proved to be an important part of the integration of the European Union and the introduction of the Euro, believing that a unified monetary system will unite the countries together. Unfortunately, France voted against ratifying the European Constitutional Treaty in May 2005 that would have replaced existing treaties that comprise the Union's current constitution, to codify uniform human rights throughout the EU and to streamline decision-making in what is now a 27-member organization.

7. Algeria and War of Independence The Algerian war was one of the most important decolonization wars fought. The conflict shook and later became the downfall for the French Fourth Republic. The French forces began a campaign of pacification in an area still considered to be part of the French Empire, it turned into a full-scale war. Algerians, who at first were mostly in favor of peace and tranquility, turned increasingly toward the goal of independence, while French divided themselves on the issues of "French Algeria" (l'Algérie Française), of the conservation of the status quo, the acceptance of negotiations and of an intermediate status between independence and complete integration in the French Republic, and independence. Charles de Gaulle’s return ending the Fourth Republic and marked the Fifth. Algeria won its independence. The Algeria-French conflict was only one of a few contributing factors in the uprisings and “terrorist” attacks within and outside the Paris city limits last year.

8. International Organizations France was a founding member of the European Union. It is also a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Indian Ocean Commission (COI).

9. International Organizations France is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). A leading member of the International Francophone Organization.(OIF) of fifty-one fully or partly French-speaking countries. It hosts the headquarters of the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, and the International Bureau for Weights and Measures. It also has its own coat of arms, commissioned by the UN.

10. France and UN General Assembly, Security Council (Veto power due at the birth of the United Nations), The Economic and Social Council has 54 members, elected for three-year terms by the General Assembly, so France‘s member expires in 2008. Trusteeship council, International Court of Justice After the assessment scale reform was adopted in December 2000, France is the fifth-leading contributor to the organization’s various budgets. France’s contribution to the UN’s regular budget stood at 108.4 million dollars in 2005: its quota is 6.03%; France was part of the small group of countries completely up to date with their contributions.

11. France and UN Peacekeeping As of 30 April 2005, France was the 22nd-biggest supplier of troops for United Nations operations, with 566 personnel made available, and provides more than 7% of the assessed contributions for peacekeeping operations; As such, France intervened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003 France played the role of Framework Nation of the emergency operation, Artemis, deployed by the European Union in Bunia, supporting MONUC, from 1 June through 1 September 2003 and in spring 2004 in Haiti (participation in the Multinational Interim Force, providing 1,000 men). In addition, in Côte d’Ivoire, France’s Licorne force (more than 4,000 men) is helping to establish a secure environment together with ONUCI (United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire). France is also taking part in the stabilization forces deployed by NATO in Asia and the Balkans - ISAF (International Security Assistance Force, with 600 men) in Afghanistan, SFOR became EUFOR, the European Union Force in Bosnia, Operation Althea (400 men), KFOR in Kosovo (2,400 men) - as well as the EU Police Mission in Bosnia (EUPM, with 70 police officers and gendarmes) and the EU police force in Macedonia (Proxima, 26 people).

12. France and the Middle East Its relations with the Middle East hit a low after the Algeria War of Independence and further still in the 50’s when France allied itself with Israel. De Gaulle's foreign policy was centered around an attempt to limit the power and influence of both superpowers, and at the same time increase France's international prestige. De Gaulle hoped to move France from being a follower of the United States to becoming the leading nation of a large group of non-aligned countries and it continues to do so today. This might be the reason (along with several other middle East conflicts and political upheavals) why France is so cautious about entering into the fray of the War on Terror. It was no secret of France’s disapproval of the US in that action. Differences are discussed frankly. The largest current fallout between the United States and France involves the Iraq War, and some aspects of the post- 9/11 War on Terror, CIA “extraordinary renditions”. For the most part, the two countries are cordial.