Flag:
Three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the “Le drapeau tricolore” (French Tricolor), the origin of the flag dates to 1790 and the French Revolution; the official flag for all French dependent areas.
note: The design and/or colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Cote d’Ivoire, Luxembourg, and Netherlands.
Capital: Paris
Langauges: French 100% (official), rapidly declining regional dialects and languages include Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque and Flemish.
Currency: Euro
Main Industries: Vehicles, aerospace, electronics, telecommunications; Wine; cosmetics, perfumes, fashion.
Did You Know?
- The English Channel seperates the United Kingdom from France.
- The Channel Tunnel (Chunnel), which links the United Kingdom and France, is the longest undersea tunnel in the world.
- Eurostar is a high-speed train service operating via the Chunnel.
- Medicins sans Frontieres, an international humanitarian relief and medical orginization, was founded in France.
- The Tour de France (the world’s most famous cycle race) first took place in 1903. The tradition of presenting a yellow jersey (maillot jaune) to the overall leader in the cycle race originated in the Tour de France.
