La France… et La Francophonie By Ben Hawkins East Carter High School

First thing you have to know about France is…. The French Motto: “Liberté, Egalité, et Fraternité” Means: “Liberty (or Freedom), Equality, and Brotherhood”

And the next thing is… “La Marseillaise”: The French National Anthem Composed on April 25, 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle Adopted by the French Republic in 1795 as the French National Anthem Received its name from the volunteer fighters from Marseille in the French Revolution who sang the song in the streets as they arrived in Paris*

“La Marseillaise” In this recording*, the singers perform four verses of “La Marseillaise” in the following order: 1 st, 7 th,3 rd, and 6 th. *”La Marseillaise” performed by Jacques Gautier et al. from the album “La Révolution Française: Chants du Patrimoine”

“La Marseillaise” Arise children of the fatherland The day of glory has arrived! Against us tyranny's Bloody standard is raised (repeat) Do you hear in the countryside Roaring these ferocious soldiers? They are coming into our midst To cut the throats of our sons and our companions! (husbands, wives) To arms citizens! Form your battalions! Let’s march, let’s march! May an impure blood Soak our furrows!* Allons enfants de la Patrie Le jour de gloire est arrivé ! Contre nous de la tyrannie, L'étendard sanglant est levé. (bis) Entendez-vous dans les campagnes Mugir ces féroces soldats? Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras. Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes! Aux armes, citoyens! Formez vos bataillons! Marchons, marchons! Qu'un sang impur Abreuve nos sillons! *Translation taken from the following two websites and improvised by author:

Fête de la Fédération On July 14 th, 1789, a group of around 600 Parisian citizens “stormed” the Bastille prison, which was “a symbol of royal tyranny” “La Fête de la Fédération” (known as “Bastille Day” in English) is France’s national independence day commemorat- ing the overthrow of the French Monarchy during the French Revolution kicked off by the storming of the Bastille on July 14th. Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789

Le gouvernement français… France’s governmental structure is classified as a “unitary semi-presidential republic”; meaning “a state whose three organs of state are governed constitutionally as one single unit, with one constitutionally created legislature …in which a prime minister and a president are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state…that is not led by a hereditary monarch” France has a constitution and is governed by an elected president and prime minister, who exercise their powers over the “Assemblée Nationale” or the French Parliamental Legislature. The presidential elections for France occur once every five years, though it was formerly set up as a seven-year term.

Le Président de la République… Nicolas Sarkozy Nickname: “Sarko” born in Paris on January 28, 1955 took office on May 16, 2007 favors more conservative ideals than his con- temporaries in the French government

Les Symboles de la République Française FlagNational Emblem

Le tricolore Nickname of the french flag because of its three colors: red, white, and blue. Does the United States’ flag have a nickname? Yes, it does. What is it, do you think? “The Star-Spangled Banner”

Les statistiques… Capital City: Total Population: 64,473,140 Paris GDP: trillion (US dollars) (7 th largest in the world) France is also part of the European Union and their currency is the Euro European Union Flag the Euro “L’Héxagone” Began as an official country in A.D. 843

Total Area: 674,843 km² (260,558 sq mi) (40 th ) Divided into 26 administrative regions, 100 departments, and 6 oversea collectivities

Les Regions de la France Alsace Aquitaine Auvergne Bourgogne Bretagne Centre Champagne-Ardenne Corse Franche-Comté Île-de-France Languedoc-Roussillon Limousin Lorraine Midi-Pyrénées Nord- Pas de Calais Basse-Normandie Haute-Normandie Pays de la Loire Picardie Poitou-Charentes Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rhône-Alpes Overseas regions: French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique Réunion

Religion France religiosity Christianity – 53% Not religious – 31% Islam – 4% Buddhism – 1.2% Judaism – 1% Other religions or no opinion – 10%

La Francophonie French is spoken all over the world by 72 to 130 million people in approximately 54 countries+ Among the European countries that speak French include Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg+ On the North American continent, French is one of two official languages in Canada.+ In the United States, French is the third most widely spoken language. In the state of Louisiana, two dialects of French, Cajun French and Creole French, are spoken.+

La Francophonie Haiti: “French is an official language of Haiti, although it is mostly spoken by the upper class, while Haitian Creole (a French-based Creole language) is more widely spoken as a mother tongue.”+ French overseas territories: “French is also the official language in France's overseas territories of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, St. Martin and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.”+ Asia: French is a widely-spoken language in Lebanon along with Arabic; it is also an administrative language in the Asian countries of Laos and Cambodia, formerly held territories by the French. South Pacific: “French is also a second official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, along with France's territories of French Polynesia, Wallis & Futuna and New Caledonia.”+

La Francophonie en Afrique+ French is an official language of many African countries, most of them former French or Belgian colonies: –Benin –Burkina Faso –Burundi –Cameroon –Central African Republic –Chad –Comoros –Congo (Brazzaville) –Côte d'Ivoire –Democratic Republic of the Congo –Djibouti –Equatorial Guinea (former colony of Spain) –Gabon –Guinea –Madagascar –Mali –Niger –Rwanda –Senegal –Seychelles –Togo In addition, French is an administrative language and commonly used though not on an official basis in Mauritius and in the Maghreb states: –Mauritania –Algeria –Morocco –Tunisia.+

Famous Exports France, as you probably already know, is famous for three main exports: Did you know that there are over 400 types of cheese produced in France? Dijon, France is famous for its vast array of mustards produced there each year. And yes, France is also famous for being producers of some of the world’s finest wines.

Fin

Sources: * + wiki/French_language **For more information, view this insightful link: