France

France officially the French Republic (French: République française), is a sovereign country in Western Europe that includes several overseas regions and territories.
Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean.
It is one of only three countries (with Morocco and Spain) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Due to its shape, it is often referred to in French as l'Hexagone ("The Hexagon").
By area, France is the 42nd largest country in the world but the largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the third-largest in Europe as a whole.
With a population approaching 67 million, it is the 20th most populated country and the second-most populated country in the EU.
France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the nation's largest city and the main cultural and commercial center.
The current Constitution of Franc e, adopted by referendum on 4 October 1958, establishes the country as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people.
The nation's ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , one of the world's earliest documents on human rights, which was formulated during the seminal French Revolution of the late 18th century.

View also World Heritage Sites in France

France's Notable Births

1935 November 08

Alain Delon, actor (born at Sceaux, France) Scorpio

1934 September 28

Brigitte Bardot, actress (born at Paris,France) Libra

1943 October 22

Catherine Deneuve, actress (born at Paris,France) Libra

1840 November 14

Claude Monet, painter (born at Paris,France) (dead 1926 December 05) Scorpio

1834 July 19

Edgar Degas, painter (born at Paris, France) (dead 1917 September 27) Cancer

1832 January 23

Edouard Manet, painter (born at Paris, France) (dead 1883 April 30) Aquarius

1990 April 15

Emma Watson, actress(Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson) (born at Paris,France) Aries

1798 April 26

Eugene Delacroix, painter (born at Saint-Maurice-en-Chalencon, France) (dead 1863 August 13) Taurus

1864 November 24

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, painter (born at Albi, Tarn, France) (dead 1901 September 09) Sagittarius

1869 December 31

Henri Matisse, painter (born at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France) (dead 1954 November 03) Capricorn

1978 May 11

Laetitia Casta, actress (born at Pont-Audemer, France) Taurus

1839 January 19

Paul Cezanne, painter (born at Aix-en-Provence, France) (dead 1906 October 22) Capricorn

1848 June 07

Paul Gauguin, painter (born at Paris, France) (dead 1903 May 08) Gemini

1841 February 25

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painter (born at Limoges, France) (dead 1919 December 03) Pisces

1966 November 17

Sophie Marceau, actress (born at Paris,France) Scorpio

1972 December 22

Vanessa Paradis, actress, singer (born at Saint-Maur-des-Fossés,France) Capricorn

1955 February 24

Alain Prost , ex Formula1 driver (born at Lorette, France) Pisces

France's Notable Deaths

1920 January 24

Amedeo Modigliani, painter,sculptor (dead at Paris,France) (born 1884 July 12) Cancer

1926 December 05

Claude Monet, painter (dead at Giverny, France) (born 1840 November 14) Scorpio

1917 September 27

Edgar Degas, painter (dead at Paris, France) (born 1834 July 19) Cancer

1883 April 30

Edouard Manet, painter (dead at Paris, France) (born 1832 January 23) Aquarius

1863 August 13

Eugene Delacroix, painter (dead at Paris, France) (born 1798 April 26) Taurus

1828 April 16

Francisco Goya, painter,incisore (dead at Bordeaux, France) (born 1746 March 30) Aries

1901 September 09

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, painter (dead at Saint-André-du-Bois, France) (born 1864 November 24) Sagittarius

1954 November 03

Henri Matisse, painter (dead at Nizza, France) (born 1869 December 31) Capricorn

1519 May 02

Leonardo da Vinci, Artist,inventor (dead at Amboise, France) (born 1452 April 15) Aries

1985 March 28

Marc Chagall, painter (dead at Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France) (born 1887 July 07) Cancer

1996 December 19

Marcello Mastroianni, actor (dead at Paris,France) (born 1924 September 28) Libra

1992 May 06

Marlene Dietrich, actress, singer (dead at Paris,France) (born 1901 December 27) Capricorn

1973 April 08

Pablo Picasso, painter (dead at Mougins, France) (born 1881 October 25) Scorpio

1906 October 22

Paul Cezanne, painter (dead at Aix-en-Provence, France) (born 1839 January 19) Capricorn

1919 December 03

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painter (dead at Cagnes-sur-Mer, France) (born 1841 February 25) Pisces

1997 March 15

Victor Vasarely, artist (dead at Paris,France) (born 1906 April 09) Aries

1890 July 29

Vincent van Gogh, painter (dead at Auvers-sur-Oise, France) (born 1853 March 30) Aries

2008 February 18

Alain Robbe-Grillet , letterato (dead at Caen, France) (born 1922 August 18) Leo