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PARIS (AP)–Like many a great artist, Bernard Loiseau was a fragile and sometimes tortured soul, a perfectionist tending to one of France’s greatest passions: food.
Loiseau’s apparent suicide Monday shocked France, plunged the gastronomic world into mourning and raised a storm of condemnation from fellow culinary masters, who blamed all-powerful food critics for pushing the celebrated chef toward despair.
The death also served as a solemn reminder of France’s complex relationship with food.
France said for the first time its 2002 public deficit likely topped the three percent limit set by the European Union.
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin also said Tuesday the deficit may remain above three percent this year.
He said the government’s goal of 2.5 percent growth in 2003 appears unattainable. France posted 1.2 percent growth in 2002.
Mr. Raffarin said he would not call for harsh measures to plug the growing budget deficit such as tax increases or budget cuts.
The prime minister made his remarks before the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters.
The Greeks first tried to settle in Celtic Gaul and managed to establish a small colony in Marseille in 600 BC. Then it was the turn of the Romans, lead by Julius Caesar, who entirely invaded Gaul during the Gallic Wars (58-51 BC). The Romans brought unity and peace for two centuries of Pax Romana during which agriculture, cattle-breeding and urban development were greatly improved. 
Charles Martel, the first leader of the Carolingian dynasty, initiated the expansion of the Franks’ kingdom and stopped the Muslim advance from Spain in 732. Charlemagne (742-814) continued this expansion and conquered most of Germany and Italy to reunite most of the former Roman Empire. Shortly after his death, however, his kingdom was divided under the pressure of invaders such as the Normans (Vikings) and the Magyars (Hungarians). 
Romanesque – 10th to 11th century
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Christianity brought a sort of unity and calm to France. As witnessed by the multitude of churches, religion was omnipresent during these turbulent times of Barbarian invasions. The churches of this era, inspired by Roman architecture (thus the name romanesque), are charaterized by round arches, barrel-vaulting and large walls, a simple but heavy style.
In the early 16th century, after a series of Italian wars, Francois I strengthened the French Crown and welcomed to France many Italian artists and designers such as Leonardo da Vinci. Their influence assured the success of the Renaissance style characterized by enlarged doors and windows, the great sophistications of the interiors. 
Not large by North American standards (about the size of the state of Texas), 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. 
Through the years, France’s stamp on western civilization has left an indelible mark in many domains and French savoir-faire remains a reference in the arts, politics, gastronomy, fashion and science.
Gothic – 12th to 14th century
During the Middle Ages the fortress style of the romanesque buildings was refined and improved by French masons and architects.
The 17th century was marked by a period of exeptional power and glamour for the French Monarchy. Starting with King Louis XIII and the Cardinal Richelieu who together transformed the feudal French Monarchy to an Absolute Monarchy, by controlling the opposition of the “Grands” (the Lords) and the growing power of the Protestant (siege of La Rochelle, 1628). Mazarin, Louis XIV’s regent, ended the popular revolts of La Fronde.
This month, like every year on the 14th of July, the French will celebrate their Fête Nationale or Bastille Day, as it is known in English-speaking countries. It commemorates the storming of a Paris royal fortress––the Bastille––on July 14, 1789, a date of great historical significance as it marks the transition from an absolute monarchy to a republican regime.