France

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News stories from Wikinews. Much of the drive for computer-driven vehicles has been led by DARPA with their Grand Challenge race. However, most people, both inside and outside France, are not aware of this, and assume that the stadium was called after the country France. In order to limit deaths, there has been a push for self-driving automobiles. The name reflected this. A much higher number of accidents result in injury or permanent disability. In particular, the mayor of Saint-Denis made it very clear that he wanted the new stadium to be a stadium of the northern suburbs of Paris, and not just a national stadium which happens to be located in the northern suburbs. The death toll is expected to nearly double worldwide by 2020.

It was decided to call the stadium after the Pays de France, to give it a local touch. This figure increases annually in step with rising population and increasing travel, but the rate per capita and per mile travelled decreases steadily. Another example of the use of France in this meaning is the new Stade de France, which was built near Saint-Denis for the 1998 Football World Cup. Despite technological advances, there is still significant loss of life from car accidents: About 40,000 people die every year in the U.S., with similar trends in Europe. The name of the town literally means "Roissy in the Pays de France", and not "Roissy in the country France", as many people wrongly believe. There are also tests run by organizations such as IIHS and backed by the insurance industry. This fourth meaning is found in many place names, such as the town of Roissy-en-France, on whose territory is located Charles de Gaulle International Airport. There are standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the EuroNCAP and the US NCAP tests.

Pays de France is now almost entirely built up, being but the northern extension of the Paris suburbs. Since then, most research has focused on absorbing external crash energy with crushable panels and reducing the motion of human bodies in the passenger compartment. Its historic main town is Saint-Denis, where the first gothic cathedral in the world was built in the 12th century, and inside which the kings of France are buried. Systematic research on crash safety started in 1958 at Ford Motor Company. "Plain of France"). Brakes are hydraulic so that failures are slow leaks, rather than abrupt cable breaks. Pays de France is also called Plaine de France (i.e. For example, modern engine compartments are open at the bottom so that fuel vapors, which are heavier than air, vent to the open air.

Pays de France is the extremely fertile plain located immediately north of Paris which supported one of the most productive agriculture during the Middle Ages and was responsible for the tremendous wealth of the kingdom of France before the Hundred Years' War, making possible the emergence of Gothic art and architecture which spread all over western Europe. Early safety research focused on increasing the reliability of brakes and reducing the flammability of fuel systems. The province of Île-de-France is thus made up of several pays: Pays de France, Parisis, Hurepoix, French Vexin, and so on. Both safety modifications of the roadway are thought to be too expensive by most funding authorities, although these modifications could dramatically increase the number of vehicles that could safely use a high-speed highway. French provinces are traditionally made up of several pays, which are the direct continuation of the pagi set up by the Roman administration during Antiquity. Shoulder-belted passengers could tolerate a 32G emergency stop (reducing the safe intervehicle gap 64-fold) if high-speed roads incorporated a steel rail for emergency braking. In a fourth meaning, "France" refers only to the Pays de France, one of the many pays (Latin: pagi, singular pagus) of Île-de-France. Automated control has been seriously proposed and successfully prototyped.

In modern French, the French language is called le français, while the old language of Île-de-France is called le francien. Cars have two basic safety problems: They have human drivers who make mistakes, and the wheels lose traction near a half gravity of deceleration. It is not until the 19th and 20th centuries that the language of Île-de-France indeed became the language of the whole country France. The first recorded automobile fatality was Bridget Driscoll on 1896-08-17 in London and the first in the United States was Henry Bliss on 1899-09-13 in New York City, NY. This meaning is also found in the name of the French language (langue française), whose literal meaning is "language of Île-de-France". Joseph Cugnot crashed his steam-powered "Fardier" against a wall in 1770. Likewise, French Vexin was the part of Vexin inside Île-de-France, as opposed to Normandy Vexin (Vexin normand) which was inside Normandy. Accidents seem as old as automobile vehicles themselves.

French Brie, the area where the famous Brie cheese is produced, is the part of Brie that was annexed to the royal demesne, as opposed to Champagne Brie (Brie champenoise) which was annexed by Champagne. Millions have been able to reach medical care much more quickly when transported by ambulance. This meaning is found in some geographic names, such as French Brie (Brie française) and French Vexin (Vexin français). Automobiles were a significant improvement in safety on a per passenger mile basis, over the horse based travel that they replaced. In a third meaning, "France" refers specifically to the province of Île-de-France (with Paris at its centre) which historically was the heart of the royal demesne. Other R&D efforts in alternative forms of power focus on developing fuel cells, alternative forms of combustion such as GDI and HCCI, and even the stored energy of compressed air (see water Engine). This is the most common meaning. As of 2005, The car is still in production and achieves around 60 mpg.

In a second meaning, it refers to metropolitan France only. The first hybrid vehicle available for sale in the USA was the Honda Insight. In a first meaning, "France" refers to the whole French Republic. Current research and development is centered on "hybrid" vehicles that use both electric power and internal combustion. The name "France" (and its adjective "French") can have four different meanings which it is important to distinguish in order to avoid ambiguities. Battery powered cars have used lead-acid batteries which are greatly damaged in their recharge capacity if discharged beyond 75% on a regular basis and NiMH batteries. In a few languages (essentially Greek and Breton), France is known as "Gaul". Attempts at building viable battery-powered electric vehicles continued throughout the 1990s (notably General Motors with the EV1), but cost, speed and inadequate driving range made them uneconomical.

In almost all the languages of the world, France is known by the word "France" or any of its derivatives. Brazil is the only country which produces ethanol-running cars, since the late 1970s. Nonetheless, contemporary Frenchmen could not help noticing the striking similarity between the two names, and it added to the aura surrounding de Gaulle. In the United States, alcohol fuel was produced in corn-alcohol stills until Prohibition criminalized the production of alcohol in 1919. William and Guillaume). Of course, certain measures are available to increase this efficiency, such as different camshaft configurations, altering the timing/spark output of the ignition, or simply, using a larger fuel tank. It seems that "Gaulle" comes from an old Germanic word meaning "wall", where w- evolved into g- under the influence of French (cf. Therefore, if your vehicle is capable of 300 miles on a 15-gallon tank, the efficiency is reduced to approximately 150 miles.

Note that the family name of Charles de Gaulle (with two "l") has nothing to do with the name Gaul (French: Gaule, with one "l"). Further, the use of higher levels of alcohol requires that the automobile carry/use twice as much. The adjective Gallic is sometimes used to refer to French people, especially in a derisive and critical way, such as "Gallic pride" or "Gallic hygiene". There has been some concern that the ethanol-gasoline mixtures prematurely wear down seals and gaskets. In English the word Gaul is never used in a modern context. All petrol fuelled cars can run on LPG. The adjective gaulois is also used to describe a kind of humour located below the belt. Most cars that are designed to run on gasoline are capable of running with 15% ethanol mixed in, and with a small amount of redesign, gasoline-powered vehicles can run on ethanol concentrations as high as 85%.

During the French Third Republic, the authorities often referred to notre vieille Nation gauloise ("our old Gallic Nation"), a case in which the adjective gaulois is used with a positive connotation. Many cars that currently use gasoline can run on ethanol, a fuel made from plant sugars. The adjective gaulois (Gallic) is still sometimes used when a Frenchman wants to stress some idiosyncrasies of the French people entrenched in history, such as notre vieux fond gaulois querelleur ("the love of quarrels of our old Gallic stock"), a phrase used when denouncing French propensity for strikes or controversies. Diesel-powered cars can run with little or no modification on 100% pure biodiesel, a fuel that can be made from vegetable oils. Gaul is in the plural in the title, reflecting the three Gallic entities identified by the Romans (Celtica, Belgica, and Aquitania). With heavy taxes on fuel, particularly in Europe and tightening environmental laws, particularly in California, and the possibility of further restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, work on alternative power systems for vehicles continues. The only current use of the word is in the title of the leader of the French bishops, the archbishop of Lyon, whose official title is Primate of the Gauls (Primat des Gaules). For example, in the 1950s, Chevrolet shared hood, doors, roof, and windows with Pontiac; the LaSalle of the 1930s, sold by Cadillac, used the cheaper mechanical parts made by the Oldsmobile division.

Today, in modern French, the word Gaule has completely disappeared, and is only used in a historical context. The makes shared parts with one another so that the larger production volume resulted in lower costs for each price range. In fact, for as long as the cultural elites of Europe used Latin predominantly (until the 18th century), the name Gallia continued to be used alongside the name France. Sloan who established the idea of different makes of cars produced by one firm, so that buyers could "move up" as their fortunes improved. This name continued to be used for a very long time after the Franks arrived in what is now France. It was Alfred P. Before the arrival of the Franks, France was called Gaul (Latin: Gallia; French: Gaule). Cars are not merely continually perfected mechanical contrivances; since the 1920s nearly all have been mass-produced to meet a market, so marketing plans and manufacture to meet them have often dominated automobile design.

These new coins were called francs, because they were minted to "free" the king. Developed by Bosch, these electronic systems have enabled automobiles to drastically reduce exhaust emissions while increasing efficiency and power. In order to raise the money to pay the ransom, a new coinage had to be minted. The chief exception to this was electronic engine management, which entered into wide use in the 1960s, when electronic parts became cheap enough to be mass-produced and rugged enough to handle the harsh environment of an automobile. The English asked for a ransom to liberate the king, which amounted to twice the yearly income of France. For the most part, "new" automotive technology was a refinement on earlier work, though these refinements were sometimes so extensive as to render the original work nearly unrecognizable. During the Hundred Years' War, King John II of France was captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers (1356). Since 1960, the number of manufacturers has remained virtually constant, and innovation slowed.

"freemason"). After 1930, the number of auto manufacturers declined sharply as the industry consolidated and matured. "free port") or franc-maçon (i.e. For example, front-wheel drive was re-introduced by Andre Citroën with the launch of the Traction Avant in 1934, though it appeared several years earlier in road cars made by Alvis and Cord, and in racing cars by Miller (and may have appeared as early as 1897). The meaning "free" was lost, except in a few set phrases, such as port franc (i.e. By the 1930s, most of the technology used in automobiles had been invented, although it was often re-invented again at a later date and credited to someone else. In modern French, franc means "frank, sincere". Key developments included electric ignition and the electric self-starter (both by Charles Kettering, for the Cadillac Motor Company in 1910-1911), independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes.

Instead, the name of the currency comes from Old French franc, a word which meant "free", directly borrowed from the Germanic word frank ("free"). Through the period from 1900 to the mid 1920s, development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to the hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain the world's attention. Contrary to what many people believe, the name of the former French currency, the franc, does not come from the name of the country. Early automobiles were often referred to as 'horseless carriages', and did not stray far from the design of their predecessor. However, rather than the ethnic name of the Franks coming from the word frank ("free"), it is more probable that the word frank ("free") comes from the ethnic name of the Franks, the connection being that only the Franks, as the conquering class, had the status of freemen. The large scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted by Oldsmobile in 1902, then greatly expanded by Henry Ford in the 1910s. Another proposed etymology is that Frank means "the free men", based on the fact that the word frank meant "free" in the ancient Germanic languages. Steam, electric, and gasoline powered autos competed for decades, with gasoline internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s.

The name of the Franks itself is said to come from the Proto-Germanic word *frankon which means "javelin, lance". A major breakthrough came with the historic drive of Bertha Benz in 1888. In order to distinguish from the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne, France is called Frankreich, while the Frankish Empire is called Frankenreich. This patent did more to hinder than encourage development of autos in the USA. Noticeably, in German, France is still called Frankreich, which literally means "Reich (realm) of the Franks". Patent 549160). The French state has been in continuous existence since 843 (except for a brief interruption in 885-887), with an unbroken line of heads of states since the first king of Francia Occidentalis (Charles the Bald) to the current president of the French Republic (Jacques Chirac). Selden was granted a United States patent for a two-stroke automobile engine (U.S.

Since the name Francia Orientalis had disappeared, there arose the habit to refer to Francia Occidentalis as Francia only, from which the word France is derived. On 5 November 1895, George B. The Battle of Bouvines in 1214 definitely marked the end of the efforts by the Holy Roman Empire to reunify the old Frankish Empire by conquering France. The first automobile patent in the United States was granted to Oliver Evans in 1789; in 1804 Evans demonstrated his first successful self-propelled vehicle, which not only was the first automobile in the US but was also the first amphibious vehicle, as his steam-powered vehicle was able to travel on wheels on land and via a paddle wheel in the water. The kings of Francia Occidentalis successfully opposed this claim, and managed to preserve Francia Occidentalis as an independent kingdom, distinct from the Holy Roman Empire. Electric vehicles were produced by a small number of manufacturers. The rulers of Francia Orientalis, who soon claimed the imperial title and wanted to reunify the Frankish Empire, dropped the name Francia Orientalis and called their realm the Holy Roman Empire (see History of Germany). It was in Birmingham also that the first British four wheel petrol-driven automobiles were built in 1895 by Frederick William Lanchester who also patented the disc brake in the city.

"Eastern Frankland"). It was here that the term horsepower was first used. "Western Frankland") and Francia Orientalis (i.e.
Meanwhile, notable advances in steam power evolved in Birmingham, England by the Lunar Society. At the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the Frankish Empire was divided in three parts, and eventually only two: Francia Occidentalis (i.e. Henry Ford was notoriously against the American patent system, and Selden's case against Ford went all the way to the Supreme Court, who ruled that Ford and everyone else was free to build automobiles without paying royalties to Selden, since automobile technology had improved since Selden's patent, and no one was building those antiquated designs. Originally it applied to the whole Frankish Empire, extending from southern France to eastern Germany. Selden received his patent and later sued the Ford Motor Company for infringing his patent.

The name France comes from Medieval Latin Francia, which literally means "land of the Franks, Frankland". Selden didn't build a single car until 1905, when he was forced to do so due to the lawsuit. A Gallup poll established that 15% of the French population attend places of worship. The first American automobile with gasoline-powered internal combustion engines was supposedly designed in 1877 by George Baldwin Selden of Rochester, New York, who applied for a patent on the automobile in 1879. When questioned about their religion, 62% answered Roman Catholic, 6% Muslim, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 2% "other religions" (except for Orthodox or Buddhist, which were negligible), 26% "no religion" and 1% declined to answer. They were inspired by Daimler's Stalhradwagen of 1889, which was exhibited in Paris in 1889. 33% declared that "atheist" described them rather or very well, and 51% said they were "Christian". In 1890, Emile Levassor and Armand Peugeot of France began series-producing vehicles with Daimler engines, and so laid the foundation of the motor industry in France.

However, in a 2003 poll 41% said that the existence of God was "excluded" or "unlikely". From about 1890-1895 about 30 vehicles were built by Daimler and his innovative assistant, Maybach, either at the Daimler works or in the Hotel Hermann, where they set up shop after having a falling out with their backers. Statistics from an unspecified source and date given in the CIA World Factbook gives the following number: Roman Catholic 83 to 88%, Muslim 5 to 10%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%. In 1889, he built two vehicles from scratch, with several innovations. The government does not maintain statistics as to the religion of its inhabitants. Daimler built a car in 1886 - a new horse carriage fitted with his new high-speed 4-stroke engine. Tensions occasionally erupt about alleged or real discrimination against minorities; see Islam in France. Because France was more open to the automobile in general, more were built and sold in France than by Benz himself in Germany.

The dominant concept of the relationships between the public sphere and religions is that of laïcité, which implies that the government and government institutions (such as schools) should not endorse any particular religion or intervene in religious dogma, and that religions should refrain from intervening in policy-making. Emile Roger of France, already producing Benz engines under license, now added the Benz car to his line of products. Freedom of religion is constitutionally a right, inspired by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. They were powered with four-stroke engines of his own design. Traditionally a predominantly Roman Catholic country, yet also with anticlerical leanings, France has since the 1970s been a very secular country. Appromixately 25 were built until 1893, when his first four-wheeler was introduced. She also features on everyday articles such as postage stamps and coins. Benz, after building his first three-wheeled car in 1885, built improved versions in 1886 and 1887, and went into production in 1888 -- the world's first vehicle to do so.

Recent ones are Sophie Marceau, and Laetitia Casta. The internal-combustion-engined car really can be said to have begun with Benz and Daimler in 1886, for their vehicles were successful, they went into series-production, and they inspired others. In recent times, famous French actresses are given the title of Marianne. But if all of the above experiments hadn't taken place, the development of the automobile wouldn't have been retarded by so much as a moment, since they were unknown experiments that went no further than the testing stage. She was represented in several different manners, depending on whether the aim was to emphasize her revolutionary nature or her "wisdom." Over time, the Phrygian cap was felt to be too seditious, and was replaced by a diadem or a crown. Although nothing more than a toy, it is said to have operated somewhat successfully, unlike Murginotti's and Deboutteville's vehicles. Under the Third Republic, statues, and especially busts, of Marianne began to proliferate, particularly in town halls. The same year, Enrico Bernardi, another Italian, installed a similar engine on his son's tricycle.

Mediterranean seamen and convicts manning the galleys also wore a similar type of cap. Also about 1884, an Italian by the name of Murginotti installed an IC engine on a tricycle, but it appears the engine wasn't powerful enough to make the vehicle move. It is believed that revolutionaries from the South of France adopted the Phrygian cap as it symbolised liberty, having been worn by freed slaves in both Greece and Rome. No one else knew of the vehicles and experiments until years later. Anti-revolutionaries of the time derisively called her La République. No more vehicles were built by the two men, and their venture went completely unnoticed and their patent unexploited. The origins of the name Marianne are unknown, but Marie-Anne was a very common first name in the 18th century. However, during the vehicle's first test, the frame broke apart, the vehicle literally "shaking itself to pieces," in Malandin's own words.

The earliest representations of Marianne are of a woman wearing a Phrygian cap. The patent, and presumably the vehicle, contained many innovations, some of which wouldn't be used for decades. She is an allegorical figure of liberty and the Republic and first appeared at the time of the French Revolution. This one consisted of two four-stroke, liquid-fueled engines mounted to an old four-wheeled horse cart. Marianne is a symbol of the French Republic. In 1884, Delamare-Deboutteville and Malandin built and patented a second vehicle. The principal cities by population include:. As they tested the vehicle, the tank hose came loose, resulting in an explosion.

If we add up people with mother tongue and people with some exposure to the language before the age of 5, then the five most important languages in metropolitan France are (note that the percentages add up to more than 100, because many people are now counted twice):. In 1883, Edouard Delamare-Deboutteville and Leon Malandin of France installed an internal-combustion engine powered by a tank of city gas on a tricycle. It is important to read the notes at the Languages of France article in order to correctly interpret the numbers. Reithmann had been experimenting with IC-engines as early as 1852. Here is a list of the nine most prominent mother tongues in France based on Enquête familiale. There is some evidence, although not conclusive, that one Christian Reithmann, an Austrian living in Germany, had built a four-stroke engine entirely on his own by 1873. The results were published in Enquête familiale, Insee, 1999. He knew nothing of Beau de Rochas's patent or idea, and came upon the idea entirely on his own; in fact, he began thinking about it in 1861, but abandoned the idea until the mid-1870's.

This is the first time serious statistics were computed about the proportion of mother tongues in France. Most historians agree that Nikolaus Otto of Germany built the world's first four-stroke engine. One of the questions was about the languages that their parents spoke with them before the age of 5. Beau de Rochas never built a single engine. At the 1999 census, INSEE sampled 380,000 adult people all across Metropolitan France, and asked them questions about their family situation. In fact, hardly anyone knew of it to begin with. Some languages spoken by immigrants are also frequently spoken, especially in large cities: Portuguese, Maghreb Arabic, several Berber languages, several languages of Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkish, several spoken variants of Chinese (most notably Wu, Cantonese, Min Nan, and Mandarin), Vietnamese, and Khmer are the most frequently spoken. He printed about 300 copies of his pamphlet and they were distributed in Paris, but nothing came of this, with the patent expiring soon after and the pamphlet disappearing into total obscurity.

They are now taught at some schools, though French remains the only official language in use by the government, local or national. The four-stroke engine had already been written down and patented in 1862 by the Frenchman Beau de Rochas in a long-winded and rambling pamphlet. These historical regional languages have been known as patois, though this has been considered depreciative. In 1888/1889, he built a second car, this one with seats, brakes and steering, and a four-stroke engine of his own design. However, several regional languages (including Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Caribbean Creole, Catalan, Corsican, Flemish, Franco-Provençal dialects, Gascon, Lorraine German dialect, Norman, Occitan, and some Oïl dialects - e.g., Picard) are also occasionally understood and spoken, mostly by elderly people, but the French government and state school system discouraged the use of any of them until recently. It was tested in Vienna in September of 1870. The sole official language of France is French. In 1870, he built a crude vehicle, with no seats, steering or brakes, but it was spectacular for one reason: it was the world's first internal-combustion-engine-powered vehicle fueled by gasoline.

In the most extreme case, the population of Creuse fell by 24%. He developed the idea of using gasoline as a fuel in a two-stroke internal-combustion engine. Over the period 1960-1999 fifteen rural départements experienced a decline in population. The next innovation comes in the 1860s, with Siegfried Marcus, a German working in Vienna, Austria. A perennial political issue concerns rural depopulation. If he did, he most certainly didn't use gasoline, as this was not well-known and was considered a waste product. France thereby replaced the United States as the world's top destination for asylum-seekers in 2004. Lenoir is said to have tested liquid fuel, such as alcohol, in his stationary engines; but it doesn't appear he used them in his vehicle.

According to the UNHCR, the number of people seeking political asylum in France rose by around 3 % between 2003 and 2004, while in the same period, the number of asylum applications submitted in the United States fell by about 29 %. It seems to have been powered by city lighting-gas in bottles, and was said by Lenoir to have "travelled slower than a man could walk, with breakdowns being frequent." Lenoir, in his patent of 1860, included the provision of a carburettor, so liquid fuel could be substituted for gas, particularly for mobile purposes, i.e., vehicles. By 2050 it is estimated that the population of the European Union (of the current 25 members) will have declined to 445 million inhabitants, of whom 17.5% will be living in France. In about 1863, Lenoir installed his engine in a vehicle. In mid-2004 the EU had 460 million inhabitants, 13.6% of whom were living in France (including overseas départements). Etienne Lenoir produced the first successful internal-combustion engine in 1860, and within a few years, about 400 were in operation in Paris. It would be the first time since the 1860s that France is the largest Nation of Europe (Russia excluded). It was not very successful, as was the case with the British inventor, Brown, and the American inventor, Morey, who produced clumsy IC-engine-powered vehicles about 1826.

If these estimates become reality, it may fundamentally alter the balance of power in Brussels. He subsequently used it to develop the world’s first vehicle to run on such an engine, one that used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen to generate energy. Demographers now estimate that by 2050 metropolitan France's population will be 75 million, at which time it will be the most populated country of the European Union, above Germany (71 million), the United Kingdom (59 million), and Italy (43 million). In 1806 Fransois Isaac de Rivaz, a Swiss, designed the first internal combustion engine (sometimes abbreviated "ICE" today). By 2050, demographers initially thought the population of metropolitan France would be 64 million inhabitants, but they now agree that their estimates were too conservative, being based on the 1990s growth rate of population. In 1771 he designed another steam-driven car, which ran so fast that it rammed into a wall, producing the world’s first car accident. At the moment, France is the third most populous country of Europe, behind Russia and Germany. The first self-propelled car was built by [[--70.49.56.157 00:57, 4 February 2006 (UTC)]] 00:54, 4 February 2006 (UTC)]] in 1769—it could attain speeds of up to 6 km/h.

These unexpected results bear great consequences for the future. Steam-powered self-propelled cars were devised in the late 18th century. In 2004 the natural increase in France's population reached 256,000, but figures for other European countries are not available yet. These inventors are: Karl Benz on July 3, 1886 in Mannheim, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart (also inventors of the first motor bike) and in 1888/89 German-Austrian inventor Siegfried Marcus in Vienna, although Marcus didn't go beyond the prototype stage.
. In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding immigration) was responsible for almost all the natural growth in European population: the population of the European Union increased by 216,000 inhabitants (without immigration), of which 211,000 was the increase in France's population alone, and 5,000 was the increase in all the other countries of the EU combined. Even though Karl Benz is credited with the invention of the modern automobile, several other German engineers worked on building the first automobile at the same time. France is now well ahead of all other European countries (except for the Republic of Ireland). The modern automobile powered by the Otto gasoline engine was invented in Germany by Karl Benz.

2004 was the year with the highest increase in French population since 1974. . In 2004, population growth was 0.68%, almost reaching North American levels. The biggest two companies are General Motors (GM) and Toyota. Between 1999-2003, annual population growth was 0.58%. As of 2005 there are 500 million cars worldwide (0.074 per capita), of which 220 million are located in the United States (0.75 per capita). The census revealed that population growth rebounded significantly after the 1999 census, something nobody had anticipated. It is the main source of transportation across the world.

However, first results from the 2004 French census have greatly surprised demographers. An automobile has seats for the driver and, almost without exception, one or more passengers. After 1974, France's population growth stalled, and reached its nadir in the 1990s with only 0.39% annual growth, being now more in tune with the rest of Europe, which has entered demographic decline. Earlier terms for automobile include 'horseless carriage' and 'motor car'. On the other hand, it experienced a much stronger growth in the second half of the 20th century than the rest of Europe or indeed its own growth in the previous centuries. The term is derived from Greek 'autos' (self) and Latin 'movére' (move), referring to the fact that it 'moves by itself'. Unlike the rest of Europe, France did not experience a strong population growth in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Different types of automobiles include cars, buses, trucks, vans, and motorcycles, with cars being the most popular.

Starting with the 19th century, the historical evolution of the population in France has been extremely atypical in the Western World. An automobile is a wheeled vehicle that carries its own motor. Nevertheless, the immigrants from other European countries have an easier time blending in, while the 'non-European' groups tend to assimilate at a slower pace, because of greater cultural barriers and social discrimination which is, according to left-wing thought, tied to economic exploitation. It is currently estimated that about 40% of the French population descends in varying amounts from these different waves of migrations, making France the most ethnically diverse country of Europe, despite the still popular stereotypes of France as an essentially Gallic country. Besides these "historic" populations, new populations have migrated to France since the 19th century: Belgians, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Poles, Armenians, Jews from Eastern Europe and the Maghreb, Arabs and Berbers from the Maghreb, Black Africans, and Chinese, to list only the most prominent.

Four basic European ethnic stocks - Celtic (Gallic and Breton), Aquitanian (Basque related), Latin, and Germanic (Franks, Visigoths, Burgundians, Vikings) - have blended over the centuries to make up its present population. Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions.
. Today the two countries form what is often referred to as the "core" countries in favour of greater integration of the European Union.

Since the end of the Second World War the government made efforts to integrate more and more with Germany, both economically and politically. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EU subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer in Europe. France is also the most energy independent Western country due to heavy investment in nuclear power, which also makes France the smallest producer of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialised countries in the world. France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium Airbus and is the only European power to have its own national spaceport (Centre Spatial Guyanais).

It features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). With over 75 million foreign tourists in 2003, France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (52.5 million) and the United States (40.4 million). Liberal and Keynesian economists have different answers to that issue. In their opinion, it is an issue of structural reforms, in order to increase the size of the working population in the overall population.

As many economists have stressed repeatedly over the years, the main issue with the French economy is not an issue of productivity. This phenomenon is the result of almost thirty years of massive unemployment in France, which has led to three consequences reducing the size of the working population: about 10% of the active population is without a job; students delay as long as possible their entry into labour market; and finally the French government gives various incentives to workers to retire in their early 50s, though these are now receding. In 2003, 41.5% of the French population was working, compared to 50.7% in the US, and 47.3% in the UK. In fact, France has one of the lowest percentage of its population at work among the OECD countries.

The reason for this is because a much smaller percentage of the French population is working compared to the US, which sinks the GDP per capita of France, despite its higher productivity. Despite a higher productivity per hour worked than in the US, France's GDP per capita is significantly lower than the US GDP per capita, being in fact comparable to the GDP per capita of the other European countries, which is on average 30% below US level. [6]. [5] In 2004, the GDP per hour worked in France was 47.7 USD, ranking France above the United States (46.3 USD per hour worked), Germany (42.1 USD per hour worked), the United Kingdom (39.6 USD per hour worked), or Japan (32.5 USD per hour worked).

In the 2005 edition of OECD in Figures, the OECD also noted that France leads the G7 countries in terms of productivity (measured as GDP per hour worked). At the same time, French companies invested 57.3 billion USD outside of France, ranking France as the second most important outward direct investor in the OECD, behind the United States (173.8 billion USD of outward FDI), but ahead of the United Kingdom (55.3 billion USD of outward FDI), Japan (28.8 billion USD of outward FDI), or Germany (2.6 billion USD of outward FDI). With 47 billion USD of foreign direct investments, France ranked above the United States (39.9 billion USD of FDI received), the United Kingdom (14.6 billion USD of FDI received), Germany (12.9 billion USD of FDI received), or Japan (6.3 billion USD of FDI received). Yet according to the OECD, in 2003 France was the OECD country that received the most foreign direct investment (Luxembourg excepted, where foreign direct investment was mostly monetary transfers to banks located in that country).

It was also the fourth-largest importer of manufactured goods (behind the United States, Germany, and China, but ahead of the United Kingdom and Japan). According to the OECD, in 2004 France was the world's fifth-largest exporter of manufactured goods, behind the United States, Germany, Japan, and China, (but ahead of the United Kingdom). France joined 10 other EU members to launch the Euro on January 1, 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc in early 2002. A member of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries, it ranked as the fifth-largest economy in the world in 2004, behind the United States, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunication firms. France's economy combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered) with substantial (though declining) government intervention (see dirigisme).

See Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. France also maintains control over a number of small uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean: Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, Tromelin Island. The departmental and overseas collectivities have an intermediate status between overseas départements and overseas territories. In contrast, the overseas "départements" used the French franc and now use the euro.

The Pacific territories continue to use the Pacific Franc whose value is linked to that of the Euro. Overseas territories and countries form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the EU or its fiscal area. The French Republic is further made up of a number of overseas territories, overseas countries, departmental collectivities and overseas collectivities. Four of the départements are overseas départements which are an integral part of France (and the EU) and thus enjoy a status similar to metropolitan départments.

Historically, the cantons were also territorial collectivities with elected assemblies. Until 1940, the arrondissements were also territorial collectivities with elected assemblies (arrondissement council), but these were suspended by the Vichy regime and abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946. The régions, départements, and communes are known as territorial collectivities (collectivités territoriales), and possess local assemblies and executives. The departments are subdivided into 342 arrondissements and 4,035 cantons which serve only administrative and electoral purposes, and 36,682 communes as the lowest tier.

The departments are numbered (mainly alphabetically) and this number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates. The régions are subdivided into 100 départements. France has 26 administrative régions: 21 metropolitan régions, the territorial collectivity of Corse (Corsica) (commonly referred to as a région), and four overseas régions.
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About 10% of France's defence budget goes toward its force de frappe, or nuclear weapons.
. In most other EU countries, defence spending is less than 1.5% of GDP. Those two countries account for 40% of EU defence spending. Among the larger European economies, France and the United Kingdom are the only significant spenders on defence: France with 2.6% of GDP, and the UK at 2.4%, according to 2003 figures from NATO.

The French armed forces are divided into four branches:. France hosts the headquarters of the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, and the International Bureau for Weights and Measures in charge of the international metric system. France is also a member of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Indian Ocean Commission (COI), an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and a leading member of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) of fifty-one fully or partly French-speaking countries. The outcome of the vote was widely regarded as crucial for the future development of the EU, as well as for France's ability to retain leadership in Europe.

On May 29, 2005 the French electorate voted in the referendum with about 55% against ratification of the proposed Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. French foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership of the European Union. Lately its share of the votes has remained stable at approximately 16%. The right-wing Front National party made significant inroads in the early 1980's, seized on voter concern about the perceived decline of France and 'national dissolution' as a result of immigration and globalisation, by advocating tougher law-and-order and immigration policies.

For the past thirty years, French politics has been characterised by the two politically opposed groupings: one left-wing, centred around the French Socialist Party, and the other right-wing, centred around the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) and its successor the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP). The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. Senators are chosen by electoral college for 6-year terms (originally 9-year terms), and one half of the seats are submited to election every 3 years starting in September 2008.^[4] The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the National assembly has the final say, except for constitutional laws (amendments to the constitution & "lois organiques"). The Assembly has the power to dismiss the cabinet, and thus the majority in the Assembly determines the choice of government.

The National Assembly deputies represent local constituencies and are directly elected for 5-year terms. The French parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and a Senate. The president names the prime minister, presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, and concludes treaties. Presidential arbitration assures regular functioning of the public powers and the continuity of the state.

Under the constitution, the President of the French Republic is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year (originally 7-year) term. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to Parliament. The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on September 28, 1958. However the French electorate voted against ratification of the European Constitutional Treaty in May 2005.

France has been at the forefront of European states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to create a more unified and capable European political, defence and security apparatus. In recent decades, France's reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the political and economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of the Euro in January 1999. The Fourth Republic was established after World War II, to be replaced in 1958 by the current semi-presidential Fifth Republic established under General Charles de Gaulle. France's ultimate victory in World War I and World War II after initially being invaded and partly occupied by German forces did not prevent the loss of the empire, the comparative economic status, population and status as a dominant nation state.

Louis-Napoléon was unseated following the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 to be replaced by the Third Republic. The short-lived Second Republic ended in 1852 when Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed the Second French Empire. In 1830, a civil uprising established the constitutional July Monarchy followed by the Second Republic in 1848. Following Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the French monarchy was re-established.

In the course of several wars, his armies conquered many countries, with members of the Bonaparte family being appointed as monarchs of newly established kingdoms. Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799, making himself First Consul, and later Emperor of what is now known as the First French Empire (1804-1814). The monarchy ruled France until 1792, when the French Revolution established the First Republic. At this time France had a tremendous influence over the European politics, economy and culture as well as possessing the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France).

The monarchy reached its height during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. His descendants, the Capetian, Valois and Bourbon dynasties progressively unified the country through a series of wars and dynastic inheritance. Charlemagne's descendants ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France. The western part approximated to much of modern France.

Existence as a separate entity began in 843, with the division of Charlemagne's Carolingian empire into eastern, central and western parts. The modern name "France" derives from the name of the feudal domain of the Capetian Kings of France around Paris. In the fourth century CE, Gaul's eastern frontier along the Rhine was overrun by Germanic tribes, principally the Franks, from whom the ancient name of "Francie" was derived. Christianity also took root in the second and third centuries CE.

Gaul was conquered by the Romans in the first century BCE, and the Gauls eventually adopted Roman speech and culture. The borders of modern France are roughly the same as those of ancient Gaul, which was inhabited by Celtic Gauls. Due to its overseas departments and territories scattered on all oceans of the planet, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 mi²), just behind the EEZ of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 mi²), but ahead of the EEZ of Australia (8,232,000 km² / 3,178,000 mi²).^[3] The EEZ of France covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, whereas the land area of the French Republic is only 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. France also has extensive river systems such as the Loire, the Rhône, the Garonne and the Seine.

There are several other elevated regions such as the Massif Central, the Jura, the Vosges, and the Ardennes which are quite rocky and forested. The French Alps contain the highest point in western Europe, Mont Blanc at 4810 m. Metropolitan France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges in the south-east (the Alps) and the south-west (the Pyrenees). These territories have varying forms of government ranging from overseas département to "overseas country".

While the main territory of France (metropolitan France; French: la Métropole, or France métropolitaine) is located in Western Europe, France is also constituted from a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica (sovereignty claims in Antarctica are governed by the Antarctic Treaty System). . More precisely, the region around Paris, called Île-de-France, was the original French royal demesne. The name France originates from the Franks, a Germanic tribe that occupied the region after the fall of the Roman Empire.

It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also one of only eight acknowledged nuclear powers. France is also a founding member of the United Nations. France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. It is a highly developed country with the fifth-largest economy in the world in 2004.^[2] Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

The French Republic is a democracy organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. France is also linked to the United Kingdom via the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel. In some of its overseas parts, France also shares land borders with Brazil, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain.

French people often refer to Metropolitan France as l'Hexagone (the "Hexagon") because of its geographical shape. ^[1] Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and North Sea, and from the Rhine River to the Atlantic Ocean. France (pronounced /fʀɑ̃s/ in French), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced /ʀepyblik fʀɑ̃sɛz/), is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. France also uses .eu, shared with other members of the European Union..

or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers
⁶ Whole of the French Republic except the overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean
⁷ French overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean only
⁸ In addition to .fr, several other Internet TLDs are used in French overseas départements and territories: .re, .mq, .gp, .tf, .nc, .pf, .wf, .pm, and .yt. mi. European) France only
⁴ French National Geographic Institute data
⁵ French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq. ¹ See Languages section for regional languages
² Whole territory of the French Republic, including all the overseas departments and territories, but excluding the French territory of Terre Adélie in Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959
³ Metropolitan (i.e.