法国历史英文简介

History
Early man was present in France at least 1.57 million years ago.The first modern humans appeared in the area 40,000 years ago. Romans called this place Gaul at that time.
In the first century BC,Julius Caesar conquered Gaul.In the fifth century.In fifth century,Franks established Frankish kingdom.In 1337,the Hundred Years' War break out,England and France went to war.The wars ended in 1453.During the next centuries, France experienced the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation. A burgeoning worldwide colonial empire was established from the 16th century.
In 1789,The French Revolution ended the feudal rule.The country was governed for a period as a Republic, until the French Empire was declared by Napoleon Bonaparte.France went through several further regime changes after Napoleon's defeat, being ruled as a monarchy, then briefly as a Second Republic, and then as a Second Empire, until a more lasting French Third Republic was established in 1870.
France was one of the Triple Entente powers in World War I, fighting alongside the United Kingdom, Russia, and their allies against the Central Powers.
France was one of the Allied Powers in World War II, but was conquered by Nazi Germany in 1940. The Third Republic was dismantled, and most of the country was controlled directly by the Axis Powers, while the south was controlled by the collaborationist Vichy government. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established.
In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic.It’sthe country's current government.After the war decolonization saw most of the French colonial empire become independent, while other parts were incorporated into the French state as overseas departments and collectivities. Since World War II France has been a leading member in the UN, the European Union and NATO, and remains a strong economic, cultural, military and political influence in the 21st century.
France established diplomatic relations with China in 1964.It is the first western country that recognize People’s Republic of China.
Geography
France located in Western Europe. From southwest to northeast, France shares borders with Spain,
Andorra, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. France also borders Suriname to its west and Brazil to its east and south, by way of the overseas region of French Guiana, which is considered an integral part of the republic.
The area of France is 633,000 square kilometers,having the largest area among European Union membersrance possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west.Mont Blanc is the highest point in Western Europe.In France,Climate are different in different places.
[The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France.[65] In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool to warm summers. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.]。