The country was under attack by the Vikings who came from the north and navigated upstream the river

France discount airline fares for death of family member is geographically one of the most diverse countries discount airline fares for death of family member in Europe. Its cities contain some of the greatest treasures in Europe, its countryside is prosperous and well tended and it boasts dozens of major tourist attractions, like Paris , the French Riviera , the Atlantic beaches, the winter sport resorts discount airline fares for death of family member of the French Alps , the castles discount airline fares for death of family member of the Loire Valley , Brittany and Normandy . France is renowned for its gastronomy (particularly wines and cheeses), history, culture and fashion.
Metropolitan France is in Western Europe sharing frontiers with Belgium , Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy to the south-east. Spain and the small country of Andorra are to the south-west, across discount airline fares for death of family member the Pyrenees mountain range. The Mediterranean Sea laps the south of France, with the Principality of Monaco discount airline fares for death of family member forming a small enclave. To the west, France discount airline fares for death of family member has a long Atlantic Ocean coastline, while to the north lies the English Channel, across which lies the last of France's neighbours, England (part of the United Kingdom ).
In the Caribbean, France borders the Netherlands via the French territory of Saint-Martin which borders the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten . Five oversea regions also form part of France: Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean , French Guiana in South America , and Reunion and Mayotte , both off the coast of Madagascar . Numerous discount airline fares for death of family member French oversea territories also exist around the Earth with varying status.
A lot of variety, but temperate winters and mild summers on most of the territory, and especially in Paris . Mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean and in the southwest (the latter has lots of rain in winter). Mild winters (with lots of rain) and cool summers in the northwest ( Brittany ). Cool to cold winters and hot summer along the German border ( Alsace ). Along the Rhône Valley, there is an occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral .
France has been populated since the Neolithic period. The Dordogne region is especially discount airline fares for death of family member rich in prehistoric caves, some used as habitation, others are temples with remarkable paintings of animals discount airline fares for death of family member and hunters, like those found at Lascaux .
Written History began in France with the invasion of the territory by the Romans, between 118 and 50 BC. Starting then, the territory which is today called discount airline fares for death of family member France was part of the Roman Empire, and the Gauls (name given to local Celts by the Romans), who lived there before Roman invasions, became acculturated "Gallo-Romans".
With the fall of the Roman empire, what was left were areas inhabited by descendants of intermarriages between Gallo-Romans and "barbaric" easterners (Mainly the Franks, but also other tribes like the "burgondes").
The legacy of the Roman presence is still visible, particularly in the southern part of the country where Roman circuses are still used for bullfights and rock and roll shows. Some of the main roads still follow the routes originally traced 2,000 years ago, and the urban organisation of many old town centres discount airline fares for death of family member still transcript the cardo and the decumanus of the former Roman camp (especially Paris ). The other main legacy discount airline fares for death of family member was the Catholic discount airline fares for death of family member Church which can be, arguably, considered as the only remnant of the civilization of that time
Clovis, who died in 511, is considered as the first French king although his realm was not much more than the area of the present Île de France, around Paris. Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800, was the first strong ruler. He united under his rule territories which extend today in Belgium, Germany and Italy. His capital was Aix-la-Chapelle (now in Germany, known as Aachen ).
The country was under attack by the Vikings who came from the north and navigated upstream the rivers to plunder the cities and abbeys, it was also under attack from the south by the Muslim Saracens who were established in Spain. The Vikings were given a part of the territory (today's Normandy) in 911 and melted fast in the Feudal system. The Saracens were stopped in 732 in Poitiers by Charles Martel, grand father of Charlemagne, a rather rough warrior who was later painted as a national hero.
Starting with Charlemagne, a new society starts to settle, based on the personal links of feudalism. This era is named middle age. Although discount airline fares for death of family member generally seen as an era of stagnation, it can more be described as a very complex mix of periods of economic and cultural developments (Music and poems of the Troubadours and Trouveres, building of the Romantic, then Gothic cathedrals), and recessions due to pandemic disease and wars.
In 987, Hughes Capet was crowned as king of France ; he is the root of the royal families who later governed France. In 1154 much of the western part of France discount airline fares for death of family member went under English rule with the wedding of Alienor d'Aquitaine to Henry II (Count of Anjou, born in the town of Le Mans). Some kings of the Plantagenet dynasty are still buried in France, the most famous being Richard I, of Walter Scott's fame, and his father discount airline fares for death of family member Henry II, who lies in the Abbaye de Fontevraud. The struggle between the English and French kings between 1337 and 1435 is known as the Hundred Years War and the most famous figure, considered as a national heroine, is Joan of Arc.
The beginning of the 16th century saw the end of the feudal system and the emergence discount airline fares for death of family member of France as a "modern" state with its border relatively close to the present ones (Alsace, Corsica, Savoy, the Nice region weren't yet French). Louis XIV who was king from 1643 to 1715 (72 years) was probably the most powerful monarch of his time. French influence extended deep in western Europe, its language was used in the European courts and its culture was exported all over Europe.
That era and the following century also saw the expansion of France on the other continents. This started a whole series of wars with the other colonial empires, mainly England (later Britain) and Spain over the control of North America, the Caribbean, South American, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
The French Revolution started in 1789, leading to the overthrow of King Louis XVI of the House of Bourbon discount airline fares for death of family member and the creation of the First French Republic. Although discount airline fares for death of family member this period was also fertile in bloody excesses it was, and still is, a reference for many other liberation struggles. discount airline fares for death of family member In 1791, the other monarchies of Europe looked with outrage at the revolution and its upheavals, and considered whether they should intervene, either in support of the deposed King Louis XVI, or to prevent the spread of revolution, or to take advantage of the chaos in France. The French Revolutionary Wars were a series discount airline fares for death of family member of major conflicts fought between the French Republic and several European discount airline fares for death of family member Monarchies from 1792 to 1802.
Napoléon Bonaparte seized power in a coup d'état, reunited the country and declared himself Emperor of the French, he crowned by Pope Pius VII as Napoleon I of the French discount airline fares for death of family member Empire, on 2 December 1804 at Notre Dame de Paris. His militaristic ambition which, at first, discount airline fares for death of family member made him the ruler of most of western Europe were finally his downfall. In 1815 he was defeated in Waterloo (Belgium) by the Seventh Coalition - United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Nassau, Brunswick, and Prussia. discount airline fares for death of family member He is still revered in some Eastern discount airline fares for death of family member European countries as its armies discount airline fares for death of family member and its government brought with them the ideas of the French philosophers.
1905 saw the separation of the Church from the State. This was a traumatic process, especially in rural areas. The French state carefully avoids any religious discount airline fares for death of family member recognition. The Church was badly hurt and lost half its priests. In the long run, however, it gained autonomy—for the French State no longer had a voice in choosing bishops. In the early 21st century, the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) 2009 study, based on self declaration in a percentage of the total French population, 64.4% of the population identified as Catholic but with only 15.2% regularly attending discount airline fares for death of family member or occasionally attending Mass, and 4.5% attending Mass weekly.
The First World War (1914-1918) was a disaster for France, even though the country was ultimately a victor. At first many welcomed the war to avenge the humiliation of defeat and loss of territory to Germany following the Franco-Prussian War. However very high losses and almost no gain on the Western Front change opinions of the war. A significant part of the male workforce was killed or disabled and a large part of the country and industry destroyed. discount airline fares for death of family member When World War II (1939-45) discount airline fares for death of family member was declared there was little enthusiasm and much dread in France at the prospect of enduring another major war. In the spring of 1940 Hitler's army invaded France, discount airline fares for death of family member the army and government of the Third French Republic collapse and France surrendered in June of 1940. With British troops fleeing France an atmosphere of humiliation and defeat swept over the country. On the other hand, the French discount airline fares for death of family member Resistance conducted sabotage operations inside German-occupied France. To support the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, various groups increased their sabotage and guerilla attacks.
Since the end of WWII France went through a period of reconstruction and prosperity came back with the development of industry. The Fifth Republic discount airline fares for death of family member (1958-to the present) emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic (1946-58) and replaced the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system. It is France's third-longest-enduring political regime, after the pre-French Revolution Ancien Régime and the Third Republic.
discount airline fares for death of family member In 1963 France and West Germany signed the Élysée Treaty, known as the Friendship Treaty, the treaty established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them. France would play a role in what would eventually became the European Union. One of the most visible consequence being the introduction in 2002 of the euro (€), now the common currency of eighteen of the twenty-eight EU members and also used by seven other European countries.
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