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Features of French Administrative Divisions

France (La France), the full name of the French Republic, is now the Fifth Republic of France, located in western Europe. France is the third largest country in Europe and the largest country in Western Europe, bordering Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Andorra and Monaco. The local terrain of France is high in the southeast and low in the northwest. It is roughly hexagonal, facing water on three sides, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the English Channel to the northwest. Corsica is the largest island in France.

France was a major victor in the First and Second World Wars, and thus became a permanent member of the UN Security Council, with veto power over Security Council bills. France is also one of the founding members of the European Union and NATO, one of the Group of Eight and one of the four major European economies, and a member of the Schengen Convention. Capital Paris.

Geographical Environment

The area is 551,602 square kilometers. Located in western Europe, bordering Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Andorra and Monaco, and facing the United Kingdom across the Lamanche Strait in the northwest, it is on the verge of the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Corsica is the largest island in France. The terrain is high in the southeast and low in the northwest.

Plains account for two-thirds of the total area. The main mountain ranges are the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Jura and so on. At 4,810 meters above sea level, Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is the highest peak in Europe. The main rivers are the Loire (1010 km), the Rhone (812 km) and the Seine (776 km).

Corsica is the largest island in France. The total length of the border line is 5,695 kilometers, of which the coastline is 2,700 kilometers, the land line is 2,800 kilometers, and the river line is 195 kilometers. The western part belongs to the oceanic temperate broad-leaved forest climate, the southern part belongs to the subtropical Mediterranean climate, and the central part and the eastern part belong to the continental climate. The average precipitation increases from 600 mm to more than 1000 mm from northwest to southeast.

Administrative Division

Divided into regions, provinces and municipalities. Provinces have prefectures and counties, but not administrative regions . Counties are judicial and electoral units. France is divided into 22 regions, 96 provinces, 4 overseas provinces, 4 overseas territories, and 2 local administrative regions with special status.

There are 36,565 cities and towns nationwide, of which 34,000 have a population of less than 3,500, 231 cities have a population of over 30,000, and 37 have a population of more than 100,000.

22 regions : Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Bourgogne, Brittany, Midlands, Champagne-Ardennes, Corsica, Franche-Gontay, Paris Region, Long Cdoc-Roussillon, Limzain, Lorraine, Midi Pyrenees, Nord Calais, Lower Normandy, Haute Normandy, Loire, Picardy, Boitou-Charentes, Proud Vence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Rhone-Albes.

4 overseas departments : Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion.

4 overseas territories : French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, French Southern Hemisphere and Antarctic Territory.

2 local administrative regions : Mayotte, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

History

BC Gauls settled here. In the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar, the Roman governor of Gaul, occupied all of Gaul and was under Roman rule for 500 years. In the 5th century AD, the Franks conquered Gaul and established the Frankish kingdom. After the 10th century, the feudal society developed rapidly. In 1337, the British king coveted the French throne, and the “Hundred Years’ War” broke out.

In the early days, large areas of French land were occupied by the British, and the French king was captured. Later, the French people fought against aggression and ended the Hundred Years War in 1453.

From the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th century, a centralized state was formed.

In the mid-17th century, the absolute monarchy reached its peak.

With the development of bourgeois power, the French Revolution broke out in 1789, abolished the monarchy, and established the First Republic on September 22, 1792.

On November 9, 1799 (18 Brumaire), Napoleon Bonaparte seized power and proclaimed himself emperor in 1804, establishing the first empire. In February 1848, a revolution broke out and the Second Republic was established.

In 1851, President Louis Bonaparte staged a coup and established the Second Empire in December the following year. After being defeated in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the Third Republic was established in September 1871 until the French Petain government surrendered to Germany in June 1940, and the Third Republic was destroyed.

On March 18, 1871, the people of Paris staged an armed uprising and established the Paris Commune. At the end of May of the same year, it was brutally suppressed by the French army. France was invaded by Germany during the First and Second World Wars.

In June 1944, an interim government was announced, with Charles de Gaulle as the head. In 1946, the constitution was passed and the Fourth Republic was established. In September 1958, a new constitution was adopted, the Fifth Republic was established, and in December of the same year, Charles de Gaulle was elected president.

Diplomatic

France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a founding member of the European Union and an important member, and a member of NATO (but does not participate in the NATO military integration organization).

Since the establishment of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, successive governments have followed the independent foreign policy formulated by General Charles de Gaulle to safeguard national independence. The EU is the foundation of French diplomacy.

France is committed to promoting the construction of Europe, building the EU into a truly independent pole, and playing the central role of law in it; promoting multi-polarization, developing and strengthening inter-regional cooperation such as Europe and Asia; striving to coordinate relations with major powers; maintaining and developing cooperation with The traditional relationship of African countries promotes developed countries to increase aid to Africa; actively participates in the Middle East peace process and related hotspot affairs; strengthens political and economic relations with Asia and Latin America.

Relations with China On January 27, 1964, France established diplomatic relations with China.