French cuisine

French cuisine is renowned for being one of the finest in the world. French cuisine is extremely diverse and has exerted a major influence on other western cuisines.According to the regions, traditional recipes are differents, the North of the country prefers to use butter as the preferred fat for cooking, whereas olive oil is more commonly used in the South.

Moreover, each region of France has iconic traditional specialities : Cassoulet in the Southwest, Choucroute in Alsace, Quiche in the Lorraine region, Beef bourguignon in the Bourgogne, provençal Tapenade, etc. France's most renowned products are wines,including Champagne, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, and Beaujolais as well as a large variety of different cheeses, such as Camembert, Roquefort and Brie. There are more than 400 different varieties.

French cuisine is also regarded as a key element of the quality of life and the attractiveness of France.Michelin guide(a French publication) awarned 620 stars to French restaurants, more than any other country in the world (Italy came second with 255 stars).

French literature

The earliest French literature dates from the Middle Ages, when what is now known as modern France did not have a single, uniform language. There were several languages and dialects and each writer used his own spelling and grammar.[citation needed] The authors of French mediaeval texts are unknown, such as Tristan and Iseult and Lancelot and the Holy Grail. Much mediaeval French poetry and literature were inspired by the legends of the Matter of France, such as The Song of Roland and the various Chansons de geste. The “Roman de Renart”, written in 1175 by Perrout de Saint Cloude tells the story of the mediaeval character Reynard ('the Fox') and is another example of early French writing. The names of some authors from this period are known, for exampleChrétien de Troyes and Duke William IX of Aquitaine, who wrote in Occitan.

An important 16th century writer was François Rabelais who influenced modern French vocabulary and metaphor.[citation needed] During the 17th century, plays by Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine and Molière, as well as the moral and philosophical books by Blaise Pascal and René Descartes, deeply influenced the French aristocracy leaving an important new niche for authors of the following decades, such as Jean de La Fontaine, who was an important poet from this century.

French literature and poetry flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The 18th century saw the works of writers, essayists and moralists such as Voltaire, Denis Diderot and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Charles Perrault was a prolific writer of famous children's fairy tales including “Puss in Boots”, “Cinderella”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Bluebeard”.
19th century poet, writer, and translator Charles Baudelaire.

At the turn of the 19th century symbolist poetry was an important movement in French literature, with poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé. The 19th century saw the writings of French authors: Victor Hugo (Les Misérables), Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte-Cristo), and Jules Verne (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), which are amongst the most well-known in France and the world. Other 19th century fiction writers include Émile Zola, Honoré de Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, Théophile Gautier and Stendhal.

The Prix Goncourt is a French literary prize first awarded in 1903. Important writers of the 20th century include Marcel Proust, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote Little Prince which has remained popular for decades with children and adults around the world. For most of the 20th century, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation. Compare the Evolution of Nobel Prizes by country.

French architecture

Technically speaking, there is no standard type of "French" architecture, although that has not always been true. Gothic Architecture's old name was French Architecture (or Opus Francigenum). The term “Gothic” appeared later as a stylistic insult and was widely adopted. The Gothic Architecture was the first French style of Architecture to be copied in all Europe. Northern France is the home of some of the most important Gothic cathedrals and basilicas, the first of these being the Saint Denis Basilica (used as the royal necropolis); other important French Gothic cathedrals are Notre-Dame de Chartres and Notre-Dame d'Amiens. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church: Notre-Dame de Reims. Aside from churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one being the Palais des Papes in Avignon.

During the Middle Ages, fortified castles were built by feudal nobles to mark their powers against their rivals. When King Philip II took Rouen from King John, for example, he demolished the ducal castle to build a bigger one. Fortified cities were also common, unfortunately most French castles did not survive the passage of time. This is why Richard the Lionheart's Château Gaillard was demolished, as well as the Château de Lusignan. Some important French castles that survived are Chinon, Château d'Angers, the massive Château de Vincennes and the so called Cathar castles.

Before the appearance of this architecture France had been using Romanesque architecture like most of Western Europe (with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula, which used Mooresque architecture, which now consists of Spain and Portugal). Some of the greatest examples of Romanesque churches in France are the Saint Sernin Basilica in Toulouse (largest romanesque church in Europe) and the remains of the Cluniac Abbey (largely destroyed during the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars).

The end of the Hundred Years' War marked an important stage in the evolution of French architecture. It was the time of the French Renaissance and several artists from Italy and Spain were invited to the French court; many residential palaces, inspired by the Italians, were built, but mainly in the Loire Valley. Such residential castles were the Château de Chambord, the Château de Chenonceau, or the Château d'Amboise. Following the renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages, Baroque Architecture replaced the traditional gothic style. However, in France, baroque architecture found a greater success in the secular domain than in a religious one. In the secular domain the Palace of Versailles has many baroque features. Jules Hardouin Mansart was said to be the most influential French architect of the baroque era, with his famous dome, Les Invalides. Some of the most impressive provincial baroque architecture is found in places that were not yet French such as the Place Stanislas in Nancy. On the military architectural side, Vauban designed some of the most efficient fortresses in Europe and became an influential military architect; as a result, imitations of his works can been found all over Europe, the Americas, Russia and Turkey.
After the Revolution the Republicans favoured Neoclassicism although neoclassicism was introduced in France prior to the revolution with such building as the Parisian Pantheon or the Capitole de Toulouse. Built during the French Empire the Arc de Triomphe and Sainte Marie-Madeleine represent this trend the best.

Under Napoleon III a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth. If extravagant buildings such as the neo-baroque Palais Garnier were built, the urban planning of the time was very organised and rigorous.[citation needed] For example, Baron Haussmann rebuilt Paris. The architecture associated to this era is named Second Empire in English, the term being taken from the Second French Empire. At this time there was a strong Gothic resurgence across Europe and in France the associated architect was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In the late 19th century Gustave Eiffel designed many bridges, such as Garabit viaduct, and remains one of the most influential bridge designer of his time, although he is best remembered for the iconic Eiffel Tower.

In the 20th century, Swiss Architect Le Corbusier designed several buildings in France. More recently French architects have combined both modern and old architectural styles. The Louvre Pyramid is an example of modern architecture added to an older building. Certainly the most difficult buildings to integrate within French cities are skyscrapers, as they are visible from afar. For instance, in Paris, since 1977, new buildings must have been under 37 meters, or 121 feet. France's largest financial district is La Defense, where a significant number of skyscrapers are located.Other massive buildings that are a challenge to integrate into their environment are large bridges; a good example of the way this has been done is the Millau Viaduct. Some famous modern French architects include Jean Nouvel or Paul Andreu.


For more information please view :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France

Middle Age to Revolution

The pagan Franks, from whom the ancient name of “Francie” was derived, originally settled the North-East of Gaul, but conquered most of northern and central Gaul, under Clovis I. The Frankish King Clovis I was the first Germanic conquerors after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert, in 498, to Catholic Christianity, rather than Arianism; thus France obtained the title “Eldest daughter of the Church” (La fille aînée de l’Église) from the papacy, and the French kings would adopt this as justification for calling their country “the Most Christian Kingdom of France”, until the French Revolution. The Franks adopted the Christian Gallo-Roman heritage, and ancient Gaul was progressively renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian Dynasty but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged: Paris, Orléans, Soissons, and Rheims. The last Merovingian kings, sometimes referred as Rois fainéants ("lazy kings"), lost effective power to their mayors of the palace.
French territorial gains (green) and losses (red) from 985 to present-day (Colonial Empire not shown, see below)

The mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated a Muslim invasion from Hispania at the Battle of Tours (732) and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdoms. His son Pippin the Short eventually seized the crown of Francia from the discredited Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Pippin's son Charlemagne reunited the Frankish Kingdoms and built a vast empire across Western and Central Europe.

Proclaimed "Roman Emperor" by the Pope, Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur, from its Palace of Aachen. The efficient administration of this immense empire was ensured by high civil servants, carrying the, still non-hereditary, titles of counts, dukes, marquis, etc. Charlemagne's son Louis I (emperor 814–840) kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive Louis I's death. The Empire was divided between Louis' three sons, with the Treaty of Verdun (843), into East Francia to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I and West Francia to Charles the Bald. Western Francia approximated the area occupied by modern France and was the precursor to modern France.[32] Constantly threatened by Viking invasions, France became a very decentralised state : the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, the authority of the king became more religious than effective and constantly challenged by powerful noblemen. Thus was established the feudal system in France. Some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they would become a threat to the king. By example, after the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, the Duke of Normandy added "King of England" to his titles, becoming vassal (as Duke of Normandy) and equal (as king of England) to the king of France.

The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France.His descendants, the Direct Capetians, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon, progressively unified the country through a series of wars, such as the Saintonge War, and dynastic inheritance into a Kingdom of France. The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed. Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. French knights took also an active part in the various Crusades that were fought, between 1095 and 1291, to restore Christian control over the Holy Land. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred around a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners.

Charles IV (The Fair) died without an heir in 1328.Under the rules of the Salic Law adopted in 1316, the crown of France could not pass to a woman, nor could the line of kinship pass through the female line.Accordingly, the crown passed to the cousin of Charles, Philip of Valois, rather than through the female line to Charles' nephew, Edward, who would soon become Edward III of England. In the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power. However, Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death, England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for centuries. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back all English continental territories, except Calais which was captured in 1558 by the French.

The French Renaissance saw a long set of wars, known as the Italian Wars, between the Kingdom of France and the powerful Holy Roman Empire It saw also the first standardization of the French language, which will become the official language of France and the language of Europe's aristocracy. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed lands in the Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of the First French colonial empire. The rise of Protestantism in Europe led France to a civil war know as the French Wars of Religion, where, in the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.[38] The wars of Religion were ended in France by Henry IV's Edict of Nantes which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Henry IV was eventually murdered by a Catholic fanatic.

The monarchy reached its height during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers in Versailles, Louis XIV's personnal power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power. At this time, France possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France) and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. Since the 18th century, French was the most used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs, before English took the lead in the 20th century. In addition, France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia.

Under Louis XV, while the continental territory of France kept growing, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770), most of its overseas possessions were lost after the French defeat during the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763.

Louis XVI actively supported the Americans seeking independence from Great Britain (realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris). The example of the American Revolution was one of the many contributing factors to the French Revolution.

Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the automobile (1771) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists in the 18th century. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason was advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermined the Absolute monarchy and prepared the French Revolution

History of the Tricolore

The flag was created soon after, in 1790, but with the colours the reverse of what they are today, i.e. with red at the hoist and the blue to the fly. The order was reversed in 1794 to the familiar modern form.

Associated with Revolutionary and later Imperial France.

 

The three colours in vertical stripes were first used as a canton on Naval flags in 1790, and extended to the whole field in 1794. One of the flags in the naval signalling alphabet is still a red-white-blue vertically striped flag - ie like the modern French flag, but with the colours reversed. The French National Convention adopted the modern blue-white-red flag as the national flag on 15 February 1794 (or 27 pluviôse an II in the revolutionary calendar). 

 

The relevant part of thedecree says, in translation:

II. The national flag shall be formed of the three national colours, set in three equal bands, vertically arranged so that the blue is nearest to the staff, the white in the middle, and the red flying.

The Tricolore went out of use with Napoléon's defeat at Waterloo. It was replaced by a white flag (c/f the old royal flag) from 1814 to 1830. During the July revolution of that year the Tricolore was re-established by the Marquis de Lafayette under the relatively liberal regime of Louis-Philippe. It has remained in use ever since. The present Constitution of the French Republic (1958) declares: L'emblème national est le drapeau tricolore, bleu, blanc, rouge (The national emblem is the tricolor, blue, white, red, flag). When hoisted vertically, the French national flag is often forked.

The three vertical coloured bands were not always of equal width, and on the French naval jack they are still not of equal width. The idea is that unequal bands can look more equal that genuinely equal ones when the flag is flying. Whether or not it works in real life, is difficult to tell - it certainly does not work well for flat rectangles on the page (see the flag on the left).

The flag features on an official French logo shown on the left, along with Marianne and French national motto. It is sometimes represented as a coat of arms as on the right, most people not knowing and not recognising the (semi-official) coat of arms of France.

The French National Flag

French National Flag

The French National Flag. Only one visual symbol has the official sanction of the Constitution: the tricolore flag (tricolore drapeau). It is sometimes referred to as a tricolour (UK) or tricolor (US) or tricoleur.
The colours are those of Paris (blue and red) combined with the Royal white (the dispossession and execution of the King still lay in the future when the tricolore was first used).

The motto of the French Republic

The motto of the French Republic is "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" (Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité).

The notions of liberty, equality and fraternity were linked by Fénelon at the end of the 17th century, and the linkage became widespread during the Age of Enlightenment. 

 

At the time of the French Revolution, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" was one of the many mottoes in use, but was by no means the only contender as a motto for the revolutionaries. 

 

Robespierre advocated in a speech on the organization of the National Guards (in December 1790) that the words "The French People" and "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" be written on uniforms and flags, but his proposal was rejected.

From 1793 onwards, Parisians painted the following words "Unity, indivisibility of the Republic; liberty, equality or death" on the façades of their houses. This was imitated by the inhabitants of other cities, but they were soon asked to erase the end of the phrase (as it was too closely associated with the Terror).

This motto was inscribed again on the pediments of public buildings on the occasion of the celebration of 14 July 1880.

Although it was often called into question, the familiar motto finally established itself under the Third Republic, and was written into the 1958 Constitution.

It appears explicitly in the constitutions of 1946 and 1958, and may be found on many everyday items - including coins and postage stamps.

The Constitution of france

The Constitution of 4 October 1958 provides the institutional basis for the Fifth Republic. Its preamble explicitly refers to two previous texts, to which the French people solemnly proclaim their attachment: the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, and the preamble to the 1946 Constitution. The 1958 Constitution is short: only 88 articles (plus those of 1789 and 1946). It has been amended several times, for example to instituteelection of the President of the Republic by direct universal suffrage (1962), to incorporate a new clause defining the criminal liability of members of the Government (1993), and to establish a single parliamentary session (1995). The French Republic has only one explicit principle. It is set out in the fifth clause of Article 2 of the Constitution: "Government of the people, by the people and for the people" (borrowed from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address). As one commentator dryly notes notes "this principle is the one the Republic has espoused, without in fact always showing an equally effective concern for its implementation".


 more information please visit :   http://www.languedoc-france.info

CLIMATE of FRANCE

Four climactic types prevail in France. A true temperate maritime climate is found in the west, near the coasts, and is exemplified at BREST, where winters are mild (7 deg C/45 deg F in January), summers are cool (16 deg C/61 deg F in July), and rainfall is frequent (800 mm/32 in) during 180 days of the year. A mid-latitude continental climate prevails in the interior of the country, with hotter summers Sun and cloud (average July temperature of 18 deg C/64 deg F in PARIS) and more rigorous winters (average January temperature of 2 deg C/36 deg F in Paris), and rain falls on fewer days of the year.

A mountain climate prevails at high elevations, where temperatures are influenced mainly by altitude, and winters are generally bitterly cold and prolonged. Precipitation increases with elevation and occurs in the form of snow in winter, many villages in the high valleys receiving more than 50 days of snow each year. Briancon, in the Alps, has a mean temperature of -2 deg C (28 deg F) in January, and 17 deg C (63 deg F) in July; annual precipitation averages 587 mm (23 in). A Mediterranean type of climate is found in a zone about 20 to 60 km (12 to 35 mi) wide along the Mediterranean coast. It is characterized by hot, dry summers, mild and humid winters, and a small number of rainy days during the year. In MARSEILLE, 550 mm (22 in) of rain falls during 60 days of the year, and the sun shines for more than 3,000 hours each year. The average temperature is 7 deg C (45 deg F) in January and 23 deg C (73 deg F) in July.

Reference : http://www.discoverfrance.net

Languages of France

The official language of the French Republic is French (art. 2 of the French Constitution), and the French government is, by law, compelled to communicate primarily in French. The government, furthermore, mandates that commercial advertising be available in French (though it can also use other languages); see Toubon Law. The French government, however, does not mandate the usage of French in non-commercial publications by private individuals or corporations or in any other media.

A revision of the French constitution creating official recognition of regional languages was implemented by the Parliament in Congress at Versailles in July 2008.

The 1999 Report written for the government by Bernard Cerquiglini identified 75 languages that would qualify for recognition under the government's proposed ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. 24 of those languages are indigenous to the European territory of the state while all the others are from overseas areas of the French Republic (in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and South America).

Although ratification was blocked by the Constitutional Council as contradicting the Fifth Republic's constitutional provision enshrining French as the language of the Republic, the government continues to recognise regional and minority languages to a limited extent (i.e. without granting them official status) and the Délégation générale à la langue française has acquired the additional function of observing and studying the languages of France and has had et aux langues de France added to its title. The category of languages of France (in French: langues de France) is thus administratively recognised even if this does not go as far as providing any official status.

The regional languages of France are sometimes called patois, but this term (roughly meaning "dialect") is often considered derogatory. Patois is used to refer to supposedly purely oral, syntactically loose languages, but this Francocentric perception does not, for instance, take into account that Occitan was already written when French was not and its literature has been thriving throughout the last thousand years, with even a Nobel Prize for Frédéric Mistral in 1904.

Language education

The topic of the teaching of regional languages in public primary and secondary schools is controversial. Proponents of the measure state that it would be necessary for the preservation of those languages and to show respect to the local culture. Opponents contend that local languages are often non-standardised (thus making curricula difficult), of dubious practical usefulness (since most are spoken by a small number of people, without any sizable corpus of publications) and that the curriculum and funding of public schools are already too strained. The topic also leads to wider controversial questions of autonomy of the régions. Regarding other languages, English, Spanish and German are the most commonly studied foreign languages in French schools.

In April 2001, the Minister of Education, Jack Lang , admitted formally that for more than two centuries, the political powers of the French government had repressed regional languages[citation needed], and announced that bilingual education would, for the first time, be recognised, and bilingual teachers recruited in French public schools.

Cross-border languages

Some of the languages of France are also cross-border languages (for example, Basque, Catalan, Picard, Norman, Franco-Provençal, Dutch, Occitan and others), some of which enjoy a recognised or official status in the respective neighbouring state or territory (including French itself in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and in the Val-d'Aoste).

References :http://en.wikipedia.org

Romance languages

The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome. There are more than 800 million native speakers worldwide, mainly in the Americas and Europe, as well as many smaller regions scattered throughout the world. Because of the extreme difficulty and varying methodology of distinguishing among language, variety, and dialect, it is impossible to count the number of Romance languages now in existence, but a restrictive, arbitrary account can place the total at approximately 25. In fact, the number is much larger, and many more existed previously. Nowadays the six most widely spoken standardized Romance languages are Spanish/Castilian (about 500 million), Portuguese (about 240 million), French (about 250 million), Italian, Romanian, and Catalan. Among numerous other Romance languages are Corsican, Emiliano-Romagnolo, Lombard, Occitan, Gascon, Piedmontese, Aromanian, Sardinian, Sicilian, Venetian, Galician, Asturian, Neapolitan and Friulian.

 References :http://en.wikipedia.org

Old French

Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century. It is a direct descendent of Old Gallo-Romance. It was then known as the langue d'oïl (oïl language) to distinguish it from the langue d'oc (Occitan language, also then called Provençal), whose territory bordered that of Old French to the south. The Norman dialect was also spread to England, Ireland, the Kingdom of Sicily and the Principality of Antioch in the Levant.

Chanson de geste

The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds or lineages", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères (troubadours) and the earliest verse romances. The French chanson gave rise to the Old Spanish tradition of the cantar de gesta.


The origin of the chanson de geste as a form is much debated. The nineteenth century medievalist Gaston Paris, recognising that they drew on an oral epic tradition, identified this with narrative songs (sometimes called cantilenae) that are occasionally mentioned by contemporary authors in other genres.

Such songs about important events were sometimes being sung very soon after the military events described. As a first example, a contemporary historian records that the names of those who fell at the very minor ambush at Roncesvalles were on everyone's lips sixty years after the event, indicating the growth of a legend quite out of proportion to the original incident—a legend that would result, long afterwards, in the various versions of the Song of Roland that are now known. As a second example, there are references to contemporary songs on the subject of the First Crusade in two historical sources on that Crusade, supporting the statement by Graindor of Brie, composer of the surviving Chanson d'Antioche, that he had drawn on the original work of the jongleur and participant Richard le Pèlerin. The Spanish Cantar de Mio Cid shows that a comparable narrative tradition existed in Spain at the same period.

Gaston Paris also believed that the early singers followed the courts of kings and military leaders, as did Norse skalds (lyric poets) and some Celtic bards, but the evidence on this is less conclusive.

Another school of thought, championed by Joseph Bédier, holds that the poems were the invention of the poets who wrote them. Bédier further suggests that some of the stories were first invented by monks, who used them to advertise pilgrimage sites by connecting them not only with saints but also by legendary heroes of folklore. Magical relics frequently appear in the tales. This point of view has fewer proponents since the development of Oral theory; it is additionally problematic because monks were specifically forbidden to dabble in the literature of the jongleurs.

References : http://en.wikipedia.org

French-Middle Ages

The first works that began appearing recorded in French were epic stories told in verse form, called "chansons de geste". They were performed in aristocratic feudal courts by minstrels or troubadours called jongleurs or trouvèrs, who wandered from one town to the next. The subject matter of these stories was based mainly on courtly love and the heroic deeds of Christian knights.

Celtic folklore also provided the inspiration for many verse tales and stories during this time. A popular poet of the time, and a master at these verse tales was Chrétien de Troyes, who lived in the 12th century.

Celtic folklore also provided the inspiration for many verse tales and stories during this time. A popular poet of the time, and a master at these verse tales was Chrétien de Troyes, who lived in the 12th century.

When the 12th century came to a close and made way for the new century, the fabliau, another kind of verse tale became increasingly popular. Consisting of shorter, simpler, realistic and sometimes coarse and ironic works, some of these tales were adapted and included by Geoffrey Chaucer, an English author, in his well-known work "The Canterbury Tales". Another popular collection of tales, rather more sophisticated, was the collection of tales known as "Le Roman de Renart" ("Reynard the Fox"). They were written by different authors, many of them unidentified.

In the 13th century the work that attained popularity was a verse allegory known as "Le Roman de la Rose" ("The Romance of the Rose"). The poem was written in parts, the first part having been created by Guillaume de Lorris while Jean de Meun completed the second part. This poem was so significant in that it provided very influential for later writers such as 14th century Guillaume de Machaut.

The popularity of poetry continued increasing and by the 15th century poetry contests with awards were held frequently. The most prominent lyric poet of the time was François Villon.

Theatre in medieval times was also mostly in verse and until the 13th century, performed only by clerics and main themes that were focused on were of a biblical nature. Secular theatre began emerging in that same century and continued throughout the subsequent centuries. By this time, plays were being acted out by laymen such as jongleurs and tradesmen.

Prose was used very little in these times. Literature consisted mainly of verse; however, historians would record events using accounts written in prose. These included accounts of the Crusades, the monarchy of the times and other events of the period.

References:   http://www.sprachcaffe.com

France

French Republic is a state in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is bordered (clockwise starting from the northeast) by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco; with Spain and Andorra to the south. France is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel. In addition to these borders on the European continent France has land borders with Suriname and Brazil through French Guiana, as well as with The Netherlands through the Collectivity of Saint Martin. It is the largest west-European country and possesses second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 mi2), just behind the one of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 mi2).

France has been a major power for several centuries with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and in the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands.

France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The French Republic is defined as indivisible, secular, democratic and social by its constitution. France is one of the most developed countries and possesses the fifth largest economy by nominal GDP and seventh largest economy by purchasing power parity. France enjoys a high standard of living as well as a high public education level, and has also one of the world's highest life expectancies. It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually. France is a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It also is a founding member state of the European Union and is the largest one by area. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and possesses the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the world with ~300 active warheads as of May 25, 2010. In 2007, France was listed 14th on the Human Development Index and 24th on the Corruption Perception Index.

Culture of France

The culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture and of decorative arts since the seventeenth century, first in Europe, and from the nineteenth century on, world wide. From the late nineteenth century, France has also played an important role in modern art, cinema, fashion and cuisine. The importance of French culture has waned and waxed over the centuries, depending on its economic, political and military importance. French culture today is marked both by great regional and socioeconomic differences and by strong unifying tendencies.

Whether in France, Europe or in general, consists of beliefs and values learned through the socialization process as well as material artifacts.Culture guides the social interactions between members of society and influences the personal beliefs and values that shape a person's perception of their environment: "Culture is the learned set of beliefs, values, norms and material goods shared by group members. Culture consists of everything we learn in groups during the life course-from infancy to old age.

The conception of "French" culture however poses certain difficulties and presupposes a series of assumptions about what precisely the expression "French" means. Whereas American culture posits the notion of the "melting-pot" and cultural diversity, the expression "French culture" tends to refer implicitly to a specific geographical entity (as, say, "metropolitan France", generally excluding its overseas departments) or to a specific historico-sociological group defined by ethnicity, language, religion and geography. The realities of "Frenchness" however, are extremely complicated. Even before the late nineteenth century, "metropolitan France" was largely a patchwork of local customs and regional differences that the unifying aims of the Ancien Régime and the French Revolution had only begun to work against, and today's France remains a nation of numerous indigenous and foreign languages, of multiple ethnicities and religions, and of regional diversity that includes French citizens in Corsica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and elsewhere around the globe.

The creation of some sort of typical or shared French culture or "cultural identity", despite this vast heterogeneity, is the result of powerful internal forces — such as the French educational system, mandatory military service, state linguistic and cultural policies — and by profound historic events — such as the Franco-Prussian war and the two World Wars — which have forged a sense of national identity over the last 200 years. However, despite these unifying forces, France today still remains marked by social class and by important regional differences in culture (cuisine, dialect/accent, local traditions) that many fear will be unable to withstand contemporary social forces (depopulation of the countryside, immigration, centralization, market forces and the world economy).

In recent years, to fight the loss of regional diversity, many in France have promoted forms of multiculturalism and encouraged cultural enclaves (communautarisme), including reforms on the preservation of regional languages and the decentralization of certain government functions, but French multiculturalism has had a harder time of accepting, or of integrating into the collective identity, the large non-Christian and immigrant communities and groups that have come to France since the 1960.

The last fifty years has also seen French cultural identity "threatened" by global market forces and by American "cultural hegemony". Since its dealings with the 1993 GATT free trade negotiations, France has fought for what it calls the exception culturelle, meaning the right to subsidize or treat favorably domestic cultural production and to limit or control foreign cultural products (as seen in public funding for French cinema or the lower VAT accorded to books). The notion of an explicit exception française however has angered many of France's critics.

The French are often perceived as taking a great pride in national identity and the positive achievements of France (the expression "chauvinism" is of French origin) and cultural issues are more integrated in the body of the politics than elsewhere (see "The Role of the State", below). The French Revolution claimed universalism for the democratic principles of the Republic. Charles de Gaulle actively promoted a notion of French "grandeur" ("greatness"). Perceived declines in cultural status are a matter of national concern and have generated national debates, both from the left (as seen in the anti-globalism of José Bové) and from the right and far right (as in the discourses of the National Front).

According to Hofstede's Framework for Assessing Culture, the culture of France is moderately individualistic and high Power Distance Index.

Now, the interracial blending of some native French and newcomers stands as a vibrant and boasted feature of French culture, from popular music to movies and literature. Therefore, alongside mixing of populations, exists also a cultural blending (le métissage culturel) that is present in France. It may be compared to the traditional US conception of the melting-pot. The French culture might have been already blended in from other races and ethnicities, in cases of some biographical research on the possibility of African ancestry on a small number of famous French citizens. Author Alexandre Dumas, père possessed one-fourth black Haitian descent,and Empress Josephine Napoleon who was born and raised in the French West Indies from a plantation estate family.We can mention as well, the most famous French singer Edith Piaf whose grandmother was a North African from Kabylie.

For a long time, the only objection to such outcomes predictably came from the far-right schools of thought. In the past few years, other unexpected voices are however beginning to question what they interpret, as the new philosopher Alain Finkielkraut coined the term, as an "ideology of miscegenation" (une idéologie du métissage) that may come from what one other philosopher, Pascal Bruckner, defined as the "sob of the White man" (le sanglot de l'homme blanc). These critics have been dismissed by the mainstream and their propagators have been labelled as new reactionaries (les nouveaux réactionnaires), even if racist and anti-immigration sentiment has recently been documented to be increasing in France at least according to one poll. Such critics, including Nicolas Sarkozy, the current President of France, take example on the United States' conception of multiculturalism to claim that France has consistently denied the existence of ethnic groups within their borders and has refused to grant them specific rights.