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"How can you govern a country which has
246 varieties of cheese???"
(Charles de Gaulle)
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Official Name: France
Summary
- Geography:
situated in Western Europe. Borders Spain
in the south by the Pyrennees mountains, Italy
and Switzerland in the east by the Alps
mountains, Germany in the east by the Rhine river and
Maginot Line. France borders Belgium
and Luxembourg to the north but has no
natural borders with both of these
countries.
- History: France was on the winning
side of the Great War, but even though she has signed
many treaties with East European
countries and has built the Maginot Line,
many French are afraid of another war
with Germany. No doubt this has to do
with the loss of many soldiers in the
Great War: over 1.3 million. France has
been an active and very important player
on the diplomatic battlefields of
Western, Central and Eastern Europe, but
is also active throughout its large
colonial empire. The search for security
is what drives French diplomacy.
- Political system: democratic
- Head of Government: Prime minister
Camille Chautemps
- Head of State: President Albert Lebrun
- Treaties: None of importance.
- Economic system: capitalist
- Economy: medium sized. Industry
concentrated in the North
- Demography: negative population
growth! Aging population of about 40
million.
- Morale: low.
- Armed forces: 658,777 men.
Reserves: 5.5 million. Quality of the
army's equipment is good, morale is average.
Air force is of average size but
contains quite a few obsolescent
aircraft. Navy is medium sized and of
good quality.
- Status: France is one of the major powers.
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