If people were to describe France with one adjective, the most common would be "romantic". This is true. France is located in the western part of the European continent and is surrounded by sea on three sides. The capital city of Paris, known as the "City of Romance", is an important transportation hub in France, every day there are 13 million passengers, coming and going here. The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, towers like a steel giant over the tranquil banks of the Seine. In Marseille, the largest port and the second largest city, you can visit the vacation home described by Alexandre Dumas in his novel "The Count of Monte Cristo".
Chateau de Chiffre, the southwestern city of Bordeaux, has a long history of winemaking and is famous for its wines. Premium "Bordeaux red" listed as the world's wine "queen", a bottle of centuries-old wine in the international market can be sold for more than 30,000 U.S. dollars. Located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, Cannes is a small city with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, where the Cannes Film Festival is held every year, and the Palme d'Or awarded by it is recognized as one of the highest honors in the film industry. French fashion has a great reputation in the world, with a rich and excellent selection of materials, bold designs and excellent production techniques, which have always led the world's fashion trends. In Paris, there are 2,000 fashion stores, the owners of the slogan is: "fashion does not sell the second". In the street, you can hardly see two women wearing the same clothes. The French people are naive and love nature, and more than half of French families keep a variety of small animals, totaling more than 30 million.
France is a civilized country, and the French have always been proud of their tradition of modesty and courtesy towards women.
Name of the country: France*** and the country (French, la République fran?aise, RF, English, The Republic of France)
Interpretation of the country's name: "France" evolved from the name of the Frankish tribes, which means It means "brave", "free".
Ethnicity: French people are the main, and Brittany, Basque, Corsican, Flemish, Catalan, Germanic, Slavic, North African and Indochinese and other minorities
Language: French (the local dialects are Provencal, Breton, Corsican, and Germanic)
Religion: Catholicism is the main religion, followed by Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, and Islam, which is the main religion of France. Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Capital: Paris
Population: 63,392,100 (2007)
Currency: Euro, Franc
Currently France's fifth **** and country
Current President: Nicolas Sarkozy
Current Prime Minister: Fran?ois Fillon
National Day: July 14 (1880 Parliamentary Day)
National Day: July 14 (1880 Parliamentary Day). 14 (In 1880, Parliament legislated to recognize the day of the storming of the Bastille as a national holiday to commemorate the French bourgeois revolution)
Heritage Day: the third Saturday and Sunday of September (Officially begun in 1984, this event was initially held on the third Sunday of September, when many historical and cultural monuments in the palaces were opened to the public at the urging of the then Minister of Culture, Jacques Lang, to make more people aware of the love of the city and its cultural heritage. The purpose is to make more people understand the love and protection of human history and cultural heritage, initially named "National Heritage Open Day", to 1992, the opening time was extended to Saturday and Sunday two days.)
Flag: The French flag is one of the most important national flags in the world, and has had a significant impact on the development of national flags around the world.
Shape and pattern:
The French flag is rectangular in shape, with the ratio of length to width being 3:2. The flag consists of three parallel and equal vertical rectangles, with blue, white and red colors from left to right. The arrangement of the colors of the earliest tricolor flag was different from today's, with red on the left. Blue is the color of St. Martin's robes and symbolizes freedom. White honors the national heroine Joan of Arc, symbolizing equality. Red, on the other hand, is the color of St. Denis' military flag, symbolizing fraternity.
Origin and history:
The French flag is known for its tricolor, which first appeared during the French bourgeois revolution of 1789 (during the French Revolution), when the National Guard of Paris adopted the blue, white and red tricolor flag as its team flag. White in the center, on behalf of the king, symbolizing the king's sacred status; red and blue on both sides, on behalf of the citizens of Paris; at the same time, these three colors also symbolize the French royal family and the Paris bourgeoisie alliance, the tricolor flag was also the symbol of the French Revolution. 1794 February 15, the flag was finally determined as the flag of the First **** and the State of France.
During the Bourbon Restoration, the tricolor had been abolished in favor of the royal iris flag (fleur-de-lis). However, after the revolution of July 1830, the tricolor flag once again became the national flag of France and continues to this day.
The French flag is called by the French:
le drapeau tricolore
le drapeau bleu-blanc-rouge
le drapeau de la France
sometimes le tricolore, and orally as les couleurs.
The French flag is also called French tricolor (American English), or French tricolour (British English) by people who use English.
Coat of arms: France does not have an official coat of arms, but has traditionally adopted a Revolutionary-era coat of arms as the country's symbol. The coat of arms is oval in shape and depicts one of the popular symbols of the Revolutionary period, the bundle of rods, which was the standard of authority used by the senior magistrates of ancient Rome and was a symbol of authority. The two sides of the rod are decorated with olive branches and oak leaves, between which a band is twisted with the words "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" written in French. The whole pattern is decorated by a ribbon with the ancient Roman legionary medals.
National anthem: "La Marseillaise"
National flower: iris, rose
National bird: rooster
National stone: pearl
Head of state
President Nicolas Sarkozy (Nicolas Sarkozy), elected in May 2007; Speaker of the National Assembly, Bernard Ackerer, elected in June 2007; Prime Minister Francois Acker. President Nicolas Sarkozy, elected in May 2007; Speaker of the National Assembly Bernard Acquier, elected in June 2007; Prime Minister Francois Fillon, in office since May 2007; and President of the French Constitutional Council Jean-Louis Debre, in office since February 2007.
Geography
It covers an area of 55.16 million square kilometers (including Corsica). France is bordered by the sea on three sides, making it the largest country in western Europe.
Location: located in the west of Europe, and Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Andorra, Monaco border, the northwest across the Straits of La Manche and the United Kingdom, bordering the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, four major waters, the Mediterranean Sea, Corsica is the largest island in France.
Terrain: southeast high northwest low, open to the Atlantic Ocean. The eastern part is the Alps and the Jura mountains; the south-central part is the Central Plateau; the south-western border has the Pyrenees; the south-western part between the Central Plateau and the Pyrenees is the Aquitaine Basin; the northern part is the Paris Basin; and the north-western part is the Amerikan Hills. The plains account for two-thirds of the total area.
Mountains: there are the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Jura. Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is 4810 meters above sea level, the highest peak in Europe.
Rivers: the main Loire (1010 kilometers), the Rhone (812 kilometers), the Seine (776 kilometers). Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea is the largest island of France. The total length of the border is 5695 kilometers, of which 2700 kilometers of coastline, 2800 kilometers of land and 195 kilometers of inland waterways.
Climate: the western part of the oceanic temperate broad-leaved forest climate, the southern part of the subtropical Mediterranean-style climate, the central and eastern part of the continental climate. The average precipitation increases from 600 millimeters to more than 1,000 millimeters from the northwest to the southeast, and more than 1,500 millimeters in the mountains. Average monthly temperature: January west and south 4-7 ℃, east and north 1-3 ℃; July north and west 16-18 ℃, south and east 21-24 ℃
Minerals: iron, coal, bauxite reserves are relatively rich, as well as lead, zinc, uranium, potash and so on. Forest land cover 26.4%.
Population: 60,628,000 (2000), including 3.5 million expatriates, 1.4 million of whom are from EU countries, with Alsatians, Bretons, Corsicans, Basques, Flemings, etc. at the borders. French is commonly spoken. 81.4% of the inhabitants are Catholics, 6.89% are Muslims, others follow other religions such as Protestantism, Judaism and Buddhism.
Administrative divisions
The country is divided into regions, provinces and communes. Under the provinces are sub-prefectures and districts, but they are not administrative districts. Prefectures are judicial and electoral units. The French territory*** is divided into 22 regions, 96 provinces, 4 overseas provinces, 4 overseas territories, and 2 local administrative districts with special status. The country*** has 36,565 municipalities, of which 34,000 have a population of less than 3,500, 231 municipalities with a population of more than 30,000, and 37 municipalities with a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants.
The 22 regions are: Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Bourgogne, Brittany, Midi, Champagne-Ardenne, Corsica, Franche-Gondais, Paris Region, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Pyrénées-Sud, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Basse-Normandie, Haute-Normandie, Pas-de-Normandie. Normandy, Upper Normandy, Loire region, Picardy, Bois-Tour-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-C?te d'Azur, Rh?ne-Alpes.
The 4 overseas departments are Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Réunion.
The 4 overseas territories are: French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Territory (the seat of the Administrator of this territory - in the French overseas department of Reunion Island.)
The 2 local administrations are Mayotte, St. Pierre and Miquelon.
History
The Gauls settled here in BC. In the 1st century BC, Caesar, the Roman governor of the Gauls, occupied all of Gaul, which was then under Roman rule for 500 years. The Franks conquered Gaul in the 5th century A.D. and established the Kingdom of Franks, and after the 10th century, the feudal society developed rapidly. 1337, the King of England coveted the throne of France, and the Hundred Years' War broke out. At the beginning, a large part of the French land was occupied by the British, the French king was captured, and then the French people carried out a war against aggression, ending the Hundred Years' War in 1453.
The centralized state was formed from the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th century, and the monarchy reached its peak in the mid-17th century. With the development of bourgeois power, on July 14, 1789, Parisian citizens armed with weapons were attacking the Bastille. There were only 7 people in the prison, but the citizens fought for a day and sacrificed 98 people.On August 26, 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the program of the French Revolution, was adopted.
In 1789, 11 years after the deaths of Voltaire and Rousseau, the French Revolution broke out.In 1789, the French Revolution broke out, abolishing the monarchy and establishing the First **** and the State on September 22, 1792.On November 9, 1799 (the 18th day of the Fog Moon), Napoleon Bonaparte took power, and was proclaimed the Emperor in 1804, establishing the First Empire.On December 2, 1804 On December 2, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the First French Empire in a grand coronation ceremony held at Notre Dame de Paris. On March 18, 1871, the people of Paris staged an armed insurrection and established the Paris Commune. At the end of May of the same year, it was brutally suppressed by the French army. 1848 February outbreak of revolution, the establishment of the second **** and the country. 1851 President Louis Bonaparte staged a coup d'état, and in December of the following year, the establishment of the Second Empire.
In 1870, after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the Third **** and the State was established in September 1871 until June 1940, when the French government of Pétain surrendered to Germany, so the Third **** and the State was destroyed. France was invaded by Germany during the First and Second World Wars. 1944, the French Arc de Triomphe, symbolizing victory, finally ushered in a real triumph.
Under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle, the French nation, which fought for freedom, not only made its due contribution to the victory over fascism, but also paved the way for the revival of France after the war.
In June 1944, a provisional government was declared, with Charles de Gaulle at the head, and in 1946, a constitution was adopted, establishing the Fourth **** and the State.
In September 1958, a new constitution was adopted, and the Fifth **** and the State was established, with Charles de Gaulle being elected president in December of the same year.
In 1959, France declared its acceptance of the self-determination of the colonial colony of Algeria, and thus began to say goodbye to colonialism.
In 1963, France and the Federal Republic of Germany signed the Franco-German Treaty of Friendship, which led to a rapprochement with their arch-enemy, Germany.
On January 27, 1964, France established diplomatic relations with the new China, becoming the first Western power to recognize it.
In 1966, France announced that it was withdrawing from NATO and ordered the United States to remove its troops and bases on French territory within a year.
France, which insisted on an independent foreign policy, became a counterweight in the world landscape. It is in this pursuit of the ideal process, France with its outstanding temperament out of their own way.
Politics
The President is the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and serves a five-year term (changed to five years in June 2000, with a referendum scheduled for Sept. 24, and before that seven years), elected directly by the electorate. The President has the power to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister and to approve ministers nominated by the Prime Minister; presides over the Cabinet, the Supreme National Defense Council and the National Defense Commission; has the power to dissolve Parliament; can submit certain important bills to a referendum without going through Parliament; and, in times of extraordinary circumstances, has full powers to "take the necessary measures, as the situation requires". The President of the Senate acts as President when the President is unable to fulfill the duties of his office or when the President leaves office in the event of a vacancy. The Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the Senate, and has the power to make laws, oversee the government, approve budgets, and authorize declarations of war.
The National Assembly*** has 577 seats and serves a five-year term. It is directly elected by voters using a two-round majority voting system. Senate *** 321 seats, senators term of office of nine years, every three years to re-election of 1 / 3, the province as a unit, by the National Assembly and local councils at all levels of members of the electoral college indirectly elected.
On July 31, 1995, the French Parliament adopted a constitutional amendment. This act empowered the president to make greater use of referendums to address economic and social issues. The President of France, at the suggestion of the government or the Senate or the National Assembly, may put all reform proposals concerning the organization of the public **** power, the French economy or social policy to a referendum.
Presidential Palace - Elysee Palace, Prime Minister's Palace - Matignon Palace, National Assembly - Bourbon Palace.
Diplomacy: France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a founding and important member of the European Union, and a member of NATO (but does not participate in the NATO military integration body). Since the establishment of France's Fifth **** and State in 1958, successive governments have basically followed the independent foreign policy formulated by Charles de Gaulle to safeguard national independence. The European Union 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 a central role in it; promoting multi-polarization, developing and strengthening inter-regional cooperation in Europe and Asia; striving for a favourable position among the big powers; maintaining and developing the traditional relations with African countries and promoting the increase of aid from developed countries to Africa; actively participating in the Middle East peace process and related hotspot affairs; and strengthening political and economic relations with Asia and Latin America. and economic relations with Asia and Latin America.
Economy
France has a well-developed economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) that ranks among the highest in the world, and is the world's second-largest exporter of agricultural products after the United States. Major industrial sectors include mining, metallurgy, automobile manufacturing, shipbuilding, machinery manufacturing, textiles, chemicals, electrical appliances, power, everyday consumer goods, food processing and construction. Emerging industrial sectors such as nuclear energy, petrochemicals, ocean development, aviation and aerospace have grown rapidly in recent years and continue to account for an increasing share of industrial output. Nuclear power equipment capacity, oil and oil processing technology rank second in the world, after the United States; the aviation and astronautics industry ranks third in the world, after the United States and the CIS. The iron and steel industry and the textile industry occupy the sixth place in the world. However, industry is still dominated by the traditional industrial sector, of which iron and steel, automobiles and construction are the three main pillars. The proportion of industry in the national economy has a tendency to decrease gradually. The proportion of the tertiary sector in the French economy has been increasing year by year. Among them, telecommunication, information, tourism services and transportation sector business volume increase, service industry employees accounted for about 70% of the total labor force.
France's more developed business, the most income-generating food sales, in a wide variety of stores, supermarkets and chain stores are the most dynamic, accounting for almost half of all commercial activities. France's iron ore reserves of about 7 billion tons, but low grade, high mining costs, most of the iron ore needed to rely on imports. Coal reserves of about 21 billion tons (of which 10 billion tons of lignite), with mining value of about 1.47 billion tons. Bauxite reserves are about 90 million tons. Non-ferrous metal reserves are very small, and almost all of them depend on imports. Oil reserves are only 30 million tons. Natural gas reserves of 250 billion cubic meters, 99% of the required oil, 75% of natural gas rely on imports. Hydraulic resources are about 10 million kilowatts, nuclear energy, and the development and utilization of hydraulic resources and geothermal heat is relatively full. The forest area is about 15 million hectares, accounting for 25% of the total forest area of the European Union, with a green area of 0.28 hectares per capita, and a forest coverage rate of 26.7%. Agriculture is very developed, combined with agriculture and animal husbandry, comprehensive development. The main production of wheat, barley, corn, sugar beet, potatoes, tobacco, grapes, apples, vegetables and flowers. Wine production ranks first in the world. There are dairy and meat animal husbandry and egg industry. France is the largest agricultural producer in the EU and the world's leading exporter of agricultural products.
With the urbanization of the French population, the rural population is decreasing, France **** has a land area of 55 million hectares, of which 61% for agricultural land, 27% for forestry land, 12% for non-agricultural land. Ninety-six percent of agricultural land is owned by families. The traditional regional structure of agriculture is as follows: the north-central region is the main producing area for cereals, oilseeds, vegetables and sugar beets; the western and mountainous regions are the main producing areas for fodder crops; and the Mediterranean coast and the south-western region are the main producing areas for perennial crops (grapes, fruits). Mechanization is the main means for France to improve agricultural productivity, and France has basically realized agricultural mechanization. Agri-food processing industry is one of the pillars of the French foreign trade exports to obtain a surplus. Europe's top 100 agri-food industry group has 24 in France, the world's top 100 agri-food industry group has 7 in France, France's agricultural and sideline products exports ranked first in the world, accounting for 11% of the world market.
France is a world-famous tourist country, the capital of Paris, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic coast of the scenic areas and the Alps are tourist attractions, in addition to a number of historical cities, the Loire River, the old castle group, Brittany and Normandy fishing villages, Corsica and so on. Some famous museums in France collect the valuable heritage of world culture.
France is also the world's largest trading country, its foreign trade has two characteristics: one is that imports are greater than exports, resulting in a trade deficit, imports of goods are mainly energy and industrial raw materials, exports of goods are mainly machinery, automobiles, chemical products, iron and steel, agricultural products, food, clothing, cosmetics and arms, etc.; the other is the non-product of technological exports are growing faster, pure technology exports in the entire export trade The position of pure technology exports in the overall export trade is becoming increasingly important.
The main source of government revenue in France is tax, tax is higher than the United States, Japan and other countries, mainly from the value-added tax, and other income tax, corporate tax, social welfare taxes. European economic **** the same body member states. Important seaports are Marseille, Le Havre, Dunkirk, Nantes, St. Nazaire, Rouen and so on.
Culture
Beginning in the 17th century, French classical literature ushered in its own glorious period, with the successive emergence of such literary giants as Molière, Stendhal, Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Flaubert, Alexandre Dumas, Zola, Guy de Maupassant, and Romain Rolland. Many of their works have become treasures of world literature. Among them, Notre Dame de Paris, The Red and the Black, The Elderly Man, The Count of Monte Cristo, Les Misérables and John Christopher have been translated into world literature and are widely circulated in the world. For detective fiction there are Maurice Leblanc's chivalrous thief Arsene Lupin, and Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret. In modern times, French art has been quite innovative on the basis of inheriting tradition, and not only has there been a master of sculpture like Rodin, but also representatives of Impressionism and Fauvism like Monet and Matisse. Since the 17th century, France has been a world leader in industrial design and art design for a long time. Schools specializing in practical art, architecture, fashion design, and industrial design have long been known overseas for their "Made in France" commercial success.
The French love sports, and some of the more popular sports are soccer, tennis, rugby, boccia, sailing, swimming, skiing, and cycling. Famous universities include the University of Paris and the University of Lyon.
The Cannes International Film Festival is one of the world's five major film festivals, held annually in May in Cannes, a small seaside town in southeastern France, and is one of the earliest and largest international film festivals in the world, with a duration of about two weeks. 1956, the top prize was the Golden Duck, which was changed to the Palme d'Or in 1957. The Palme d'Or.
Press and Publications
The main newspapers are Le Figaro, Le Monde, Le Soir de France, Libération, and Le Journal de Paris. The main local newspapers are: Ouest-France, which has the largest circulation in France; and La Voix du Nord. The main weekly newspapers are: L'Express, L'Opinion, Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris Match Illustrated, Le Figaro Magazine, and others. There are about 6,000 publishing houses in France.
News agencies: one of the world's five major news agencies, Agence France-Presse, founded in 1835. France's national broadcaster was founded in 1975, under the six radio stations. In addition, there are national broadcasters and local *** with investment in 17 independent local stations. In 1982, the government passed a decree to abolish the state monopoly on radio stations, allowing private individuals and organizations to set up radio stations. At present, there are nearly 1,300 private radio stations in the country, including Radio Luxembourg, Radio Monte Carlo and Europe One. There are four national state television stations, more than 20 central or local cable television stations and many television channels that can be received via satellite.
Places of interest
Paris Arc de Triomphe (L'arc de Triomphe) is located in the center of Paris Star Square (now known as the General de Gaulle Square) in the middle of France to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon in February 1806 in the Battle of Austerlitz Russian and Austrian allied forces and built, 12 avenues in order to the center of the Arc de Triomphe to the four directions of the radiant, magnificent, like a starlight! The project was built by the architect Charles H. Schallgren. The project was designed by the architect Charlemagne, the foundation stone was laid in August 1806, which lasted 30 summers and was completed in July 1836, and it is the first time for the construction of the Arc de Triomphe to be completed. Triumphal Arch 49.54 meters high, 44.82 meters wide, 22.21 meters thick. It has a door on all sides, the center of the arch is 14.6 meters wide, the gateway to two high piers for the pillar, the middle of the elevator up and down. In the arched dome above three layers of corridors, the highest layer is the showroom, which shows a variety of historical artifacts about the Arc de Triomphe as well as pictures of Napoleon's life; the second layer of the collection of a variety of French medals, medals; the lowest layer of the Arc de Triomphe's security office and accounting room.
The Eiffel Tower, on the south bank of the Seine River in the center of Paris, is the world's first steel structure of the tower, and is regarded as the symbol of Paris. It was named for the famous French architect Stave Eiffel who designed and built it. Built in 1887-1889. The tower is more than 300 meters high, weighing 9,000 tons and divided into three levels. The first platform is 57 meters from the ground, with stores and restaurants; the second platform is 115 meters high, with a café; the third platform is 276 meters high, for visitors to see, the bottom of the area of 10,000 square meters, in the third layer of the building structure violently contracted, pointing straight up to the sky. From one side, it looks like the letter "Y" written backwards. The tower consists of more than 1.8 million components and more than 2.5 million rivets. There is an elevator or a walk to the top of the tower. At night, the top of the tower issued by the rotation of the color searchlight light, anti-aircraft collision. Next to the tower erected rectangular white marble columns, the top of the columns placed Stave Eiffel gilded head.
The Louvre (Palais du Louvre) is one of the largest royal palace buildings in France, located in the center of Paris on the right bank of the Seine, south of the Paris Opera Square. Originally a medieval castle, the 16th century after many alterations, expansion, to the 18th century for the existing scale. Covering an area of about 45 hectares. As early as 1546, King Fran?ois I decided to build a new palace on the basis of the original castle, and then after nine monarchs continued to expand, which lasted more than 300 years, forming a U-shaped magnificent and brilliant palace complex. 1793 August 10, in the overthrow of the monarchy on the anniversary of the French "National Council "decided to open the former palace for the National Museum of Fine Arts; November 18 of the same year, the Louvre Museum officially opened to the public. Its entire project was completed in 1857. In the Louvre mouth-shaped main hall on the west side, stretching out two side halls, the center of the open space to form the Carrousel Square. On the east side of the palace there is a long row of colonnades, and the building is magnificent. Its galleries are 900 feet long and contain a large collection of works by many artists of the seventeenth century and the European Renaissance. The collection amounts to 400,000 pieces. The Louvre Museum of Fine Arts is divided into six main sections: the Gallery of Greek and Roman Art; the Gallery of Oriental Art; the Gallery of Egyptian Art; the Gallery of European Medieval, Renaissance, and Modern Statuary; and the Gallery of Paintings Through the Ages. The exhibitions are divided according to different schools, schools of thought and eras. The first floor exhibits sculpture. Oil paintings on the second floor and drawings and colored pastels on the third floor. In the early eighties, the French government to implement the expansion and restoration of the Louvre "Grand Louvre program".
Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre-Dame de Paris) is the most famous medieval Gothic cathedral, known for its size, age and value in archaeology and architecture. The Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully, had envisioned the synthesis of two earlier Basilican (rectangular) churches into one large church. The foundation stone was laid by Pope Alexander III in 1163, the high altar was consecrated in 1189, and the choir stalls, west fa?ade, and nave were completed in 1240, with porticos, prayer rooms, and other renovations following in the next hundred years. The interior plan is 130 x 48 meters, the roof is 35 meters high and the tower is 68 meters high. The spire of the tower was never built. The church was damaged through the ages and had to be restored in the 19th century, but only the three huge round windows still have the stained glass of the 13th century. The back of the nave is particularly majestic and beautiful flying buttresses.
The site of the Bastille (Place de la Bastille) is located in the eastern part of the city of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine, where a military fortress was built from 1369 to 1382 AD. The word "Bastille" means "castle" in French. The old castle, with its eight fortresses, was built to resist the English invasion and was transformed into a royal prison from 1380 to 1422. The castle covers an area of 2,670 square meters, surrounded by a high and thick stone wall and eight towers over 30 meters high, with a 24-meter wide ditch dug around it and accessed by a drawbridge. As early as in the 16th century, this place began to imprison political prisoners, the French Enlightenment thinker Voltaire was twice imprisoned here. In the minds of the French people, the Bastille has become a symbol of the French feudal dictatorship. 1789 July 3, the people of Paris rose up in revolt, on the 14th, captured the Bastille, opened the prelude to the French Revolution. 1791, the people of Paris demolished the Bastille, built on its former site of the Bastille Square, and demolition of the stone paved to the Seine River on the Pont de la Concorde for the passers-by to trample. In 1830, the French people also built a monument to the martyrs of the July Revolution in the center of the square. This monument is 52 meters high, the monument is cast in bronze cylinder, known as the "July Cylinder", at the top of the column is a right hand holding up the torch of the golden-winged statue of liberty, the statue of God in his left hand with a broken chain to symbolize the freedom. In front of the prison site stands a sign that reads, "Everybody dance here!" In June 1880, France designated July 14, the day the people of Paris captured the Bastille, as a French national holiday.
The Pantheon (le Pantheon) is located in the center of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine in the Latin Quarter, was completed in 1791, is a permanent memorial to the French historical celebrities of the shrine. It was originally built in the era of Louis XV, St. Geneviève church, was nationalized in 1791, separated from the religion, changed to the burial ground of the "great man". 1814 to 1830, it was returned to the Church. The Pantheon's artistic decoration is very beautiful, the large frescoes on its dome were created by the famous painter Antoine Grote, but after the July Revolution of 1830 the theme of the paintings changed and the Pantheon took on a "purely patriotic and national" character. Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, émile Zola, Marcelin Bertolo, Jean Jaurès, Berlioz, Malraux and Alexandre Dumas are buried in the Pantheon. As of November 2002,*** 70 people who have made extraordinary contributions to France enjoy this distinction.
The Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture (Centre National d'art et de Culture Georges Pompidou) is located in the north side of the Latin Quarter of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine, on the Rue de Beaubourg, which is often referred to simply as Beaubourg by the locals. The exterior of the cultural center is lined with steel frames and pipes, and is painted red, yellow, blue, green and white depending on the function. This modern building is also known as the "Refinery" and "Culture Factory" because it resembles a factory. This innovative design, special shape of the modern building is the late President Pompidou in 1969 decided to build, 1972 officially started construction, completed in 1977, opened in February of the same year. The entire building covers an area of 7,500 square meters, construction area **** 100,000 square meters, 6 floors above ground. The whole building *** divided into industrial creation center, the library of popular knowledge, modern art museums and music and sound harmonization and research center four parts.
Place de la Concorde in Paris (Place de la Concorde in Paris) is located in the center of Paris, on the north bank of the Seine River, is the most famous square in France and one of the most beautiful squares in the world. The square was built in 1757, according to the design of the famous architect Cabrière. Because there was a statue of Louis XV riding in the center of the square, it was named "Louis XV Square" in 1763. During the Revolution, it was renamed "Place de la Révolution", and in 1795 it was renamed "Place de la Concorde", which was later renovated under the auspices of the renowned architect Hittorfer, and finally took on its present dimensions in 1840. In the center of the square stands a 23-meter-high Egyptian obelisk with a history of more than 3,400 years, which is a famous cultural relic that Louis-Philippe moved from Luxor, Egypt, in 1831, and the ancient text of the monument records the deeds of Pharaoh Ramses II. There is a fountain on each side of the monument. The exquisite carvings in the fountain are also the work of Hitover. The square is surrounded by eight statues symbolizing the eight cities that played an important role in the history of France: Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Rouen, Brest, Lille and Strasbourg, where, during the Revolution of 1793, the people of Paris rose up to destroy the bronze statue of Louis XV and sent Louis XVI to the guillotine.
The Champs-Elysées (Ave des Champs-Elysees) runs from Place de la Concorde in the east to Place de l'Etoile in the west, with a total length of about 1,800 meters, and a width of about 120 meters at the widest point of the street, which is one of the most distinctive and bustling streets across Paris. In French, "Champs-élysées" means "idyllic paradise". In the past, it was a low-lying, wet open space, and in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV, it was planted with trees, making it a forbidden area reserved for the pleasure of the court nobility. Later on, the east-west axis of the Parc des Tuileries was extended to the west, with a boulevard nearly 1 kilometer long. It was later extended and named Champs Elysées in 1709. The avenue is bounded by the Rue Lombard, which runs north-south, and is divided into two sections, east and west, with very different styles. The quiet eastern section reflects an idyllic landscape, about 700 meters long, with rows of sycamore trees and street gardens hidden among the trees. At the eastern end, the Arc de Triomphe is located in the center of the star-shaped square. Near the main street are the Bourbon Palace and the Cathedral of Madeleine. Here are also Tularey Park, the Louvre, the City Hall and the Elysee Palace and other places of interest. The western section is more than 1,100 meters long, and the Place de la Concorde at the western end is another major transportation hub in Paris. Some of the major festivals in France - July 14 National Day parade, New Year's Eve gala are held on this famous street.