| France
today is one of the most modern countries in the world and
is a leader among European nations. It plays an influential
global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security
Council, NATO, the G-7, the G-20, the EU, and other multilateral
organisations. France rejoined NATO's integrated military
command structure in 2009, reversing De Gaulle's 1966 decision
to withdraw French forces from NATO. Since 1958, it has constructed
a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant
to the instabilities experienced in earlier, more purely parliamentary
administrations. In recent decades, its reconciliation and
cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic
integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common
currency, the euro, in January 1999. In the early 21st century,
five French overseas entities - French Guiana, Guadeloupe,
Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion - became French regions and
were made part of France proper. Its dependent areas include
Clipperton Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic
Lands, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint
Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna.
Location: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and
English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the
UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain.
|
