The 18th century’s Enlightment brought thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau to struggle against the principles of the old regime and absolutism…
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Transportation
<!–^~^67|right|^~^–> Road network Densest in the world, longest in the EU with a total of 964,356 km of local, secondary and main roads and motorways, including 7,396 km of motorways (second in Europe). Rail network On 1 January 1996, the SNCF (National Railroad Company) was responsible for 31,940 km of track. France holds the world [...]
Television Stations
Private radio and television stations have only been authorized in France since 1982. In the following 14 years, the number of TV channels jumped from three to over 30.
Napoleonic Era
The Revolution ends in 1799 when Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris and was crowned First Consul at the age of thirty…
Research & Development
<!–^~^70|right|^~^–>National R & D expenditure amounts to 190 billion francs ($38 billion) i.e. 2.5% of GDP. The public sector finances 51% of it and is responsible for operating (building maintenance, salaries, laboratory equipment) the major national research centres, which include the CNRS (all fields), INSERM (medicine), INRA (agronomy), etc.. Privately-financed research focuses on advanced technology [...]
Radio Stations
Private radios have only been authorized in France since 1982. As with television, the number of private radios increased dramatically since then.
19th Century
The industrial expansion was not slowed by the war and continued at a fast pace. To commemorate the centenial of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower was constructed during the Universal Exhibition of 1889…
Industry
<!–^~^69|right|^~^–>Leading industrial sectors in France : Construction and civil engineering. Annual production : 797 billion francs ($159.4 billion). Four French groups (Bouygues, SGE, Eiffage and GTM-Entrepose) rank among the top ten in European construction, with an annual turnover of 158 billion francs ($31.6 billion). Agri-foodstuffs. Annual turnover: 637 billion francs ($127.8 billion). Leading sectors: meat [...]
Introduction
France is nonetheless extremely diverse: it concentrates a wealth of scenery, regional identities each with their own particular joie de vivre defined by cultural and historic differences.
20th Century
The First World War erupted in 1914 in northeast France and after two years of German victories, fell into the horrors of trench warfare. The United States entered the war in 1917 and helped France to victory…