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|capital-raw =
|capital-raw =
|government =
|government =
|government-raw =[[Freemason]] [[Republic]]
|government-raw =[[Semi-presidential republic]]
|language =French
|language =French
|king =
|king =
}}
}}
:''For the impact on left-wing policies on France and the rest of Europe, see [[European migrant crisis]]''
:''For the impact on left-wing policies on France and the rest of Europe, see [[European migrant crisis]]''
'''France''' is a republic in [[Europe]] and is about the size of [[Texas]]. It has the second largest population in [[Western Europe]], roughly the same as the [[United Kingdom]] but behind [[Germany]]. The elected president is the dominant figure in the country's politics. The French national currency, or franc, was phased out and replaced by the [[euro]] in 1999-2002. France is the world's most popular tourist destination with 80 million visitors in 2011.<ref>"[http://geography.about.com/od/economic-geography/a/20-Most-Popular-Countries-As-Tourist-Destinations.htm 20 Most Popular Countries as Tourist Destinations]".</ref> The Eiffel Tower in Paris is world's most visited tourist attraction. [[Nuclear power]] produces 78 percent of the country's electricity.
'''France''', officially the '''French Republic''', is a country located primarily in [[western Europe]]. The elected president is the dominant figure in the country's politics. The French national currency, or franc, was phased out and replaced by the [[euro]] in 1999-2002. France is the world's most popular tourist destination with 80 million visitors in 2011.<ref>"[http://geography.about.com/od/economic-geography/a/20-Most-Popular-Countries-As-Tourist-Destinations.htm 20 Most Popular Countries as Tourist Destinations]".</ref> The Eiffel Tower in Paris is world's most visited tourist attraction. [[Nuclear power]] produces 78 percent of the country's electricity.
In ancient times, the area that is today France was included in the Roman province of Gaul. Together with Germany and Northern Italy, it was part of the Carolingian Empire. The earliest document attesting to a distinct French language is the Oaths of Strassbourg of 842. In 843, the Treaty of Verdun divided the Carolingian Empire into French, German, and Italian kingdoms.
In ancient times, the area that is today France was included in the Roman province of Gaul. Together with Germany and Northern Italy, it was part of the Carolingian Empire. The earliest document attesting to a distinct French language is the Oaths of Strassbourg of 842. In 843, the Treaty of Verdun divided the Carolingian Empire into French, German, and Italian kingdoms.
Other religious groups include Evangelicals, Christian Scientists, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Membership in evangelical churches is growing (with as many as 400,000 adherents, according to February 2007 press reports), including African-style "prosperity" churches, especially in the suburbs of Paris, in large part because of increased participation by African and Antillean immigrants. According to the press, there are approximately 31,000 Mormons. The Church of Scientology has an estimated 5,000 to 20,000 members.
Other religious groups include Evangelicals, Christian Scientists, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Membership in evangelical churches is growing (with as many as 400,000 adherents, according to February 2007 press reports), including African-style "prosperity" churches, especially in the suburbs of Paris, in large part because of increased participation by African and Antillean immigrants. According to the press, there are approximately 31,000 Mormons. The Church of Scientology has an estimated 5,000 to 20,000 members.
===Current politics===
France’s hangover manifests as a permanent state of insurrection masquerading as “civic engagement.” Their identity is split between a delusional elite who still think Paris is the capital of the universe and a populace that expresses its “joie de vivre” by burning down bus stops every Thursday. The French suffer from a Napoleonic complex without a Napoleon; they demand the [[living standards]] of a conquering [[empire]] while working a 35-hour week and retiring at an age when most Americans are just hitting their stride. They preach “Republican values” and aggressive [[secularism]], yet the state has lost control over vast swathes of its own suburbs. France is essentially a beautiful, open-air museum where the curators are on strike, the guards are afraid of the visitors, and the management is busy lecturing the rest of the world on “grandeur” while the electricity bill goes unpaid.
==Government==
==Government==
On May 19, 2022, during a visit to [[Romania]], Macron commented on NATO provocations against [[Transnistria]]: “The recent incidents in Transnistria show that we cannot exclude that the conflict will spread to neighboring countries," and that France “intends to keep a special eye on the regional security situation and any possible encroachment on [[Moldova]]’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced that France would deploy a special air defense unit in Romania at the Capu-Midia military base, in the Constanta district
On May 19, 2022, during a visit to [[Romania]], Macron commented on NATO provocations against [[Transnistria]]: “The recent incidents in Transnistria show that we cannot exclude that the conflict will spread to neighboring countries," and that France “intends to keep a special eye on the regional security situation and any possible encroachment on [[Moldova]]’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced that France would deploy a special air defense unit in Romania at the Capu-Midia military base, in the Constanta district
Macron's dissolution of [[parliament]] was a catastrophic strategic miscalculation. It depleted his [[centrist]] base and created a hung parliament. His subsequent [[strategy]]—maintaining a tight grip while offering minimal concessions—is mathematically exhausted. The result: legislative paralysis.
France's core vulnerability is its public [[finance]]s. The [[budget deficit]] is gaping, [[debt-to-GDP]] is soaring, and [[investor]] confidence is evaporating. [[Prime Minister]] Lecornu, who served just 28 days and quit, impossible mandate was to craft a budget satisfying both [[the Left]]'s demand for [[social]] spending and [[the Right]]'s aversion to [[tax]]es, all while preserving a pro-[[business]] facade.
The post-[[election]] "Republican front" against the [[conservative populist]] [[National Rally]] was a temporary fix and backfired. The center-right Les Républicains, upon whom Macron relied, walked away.
The political class failed. There is no functional majority, no viable coalition, and no savior in sight. By 2025 France was trapped in a 3-year political quagmire for the remainder of Macron's term, with its European influence diminishing and a looming [[debt crisis]].
===Foreign Relations===
===Foreign Relations===
====Nordstream pipeline====
====Nordstream pipeline====
On February 7, 2022 Michael Hudson, a research professor of Economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City, wrote:
On February 7, 2022 [[Michael Hudson]], a research professor of Economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City, wrote:
{{quotebox-float|"The only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases [of Russian gas] is to goad Russia into a military response and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, [[Victoria Nuland]], explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27 [2022]: “If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another [[Nord Stream 2]] will not move forward.” The problem is to create a suitably offensive incident and depict Russia as the aggressor.<ref>https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/02/michael-hudson-americas-real-adversaries-are-its-european-and-other-allies.html</ref>}}
{{quotebox-float|"The only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases [of Russian gas] is to goad Russia into a military response and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, [[Victoria Nuland]], explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27 [2022]: “If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another [[Nord Stream 2]] will not move forward.” The problem is to create a suitably offensive incident and depict Russia as the aggressor.<ref>https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/02/michael-hudson-americas-real-adversaries-are-its-european-and-other-allies.html</ref>}}
In October 2022 ''Politico'' reported that French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the French National Assembly,
In October 2022 ''Politico'' reported that French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the French National Assembly,
A former French Army soldier who spent several weeks in Ukraine delivering medical equipment and supplies told Sud Radio:
A former French Army soldier who spent several weeks in Ukraine delivering medical equipment and supplies told Sud Radio:
{{quotebox-float|"There, on the spot I saw [[war crimes]]. I saw a lot of war crimes. The only crimes I saw during the days I was there were perpetrated by Ukrainian forces...I saw Russian soldiers who were taken prisoner, bound and badly beaten…They were brought [to a detention area] in groups of three or four in minibuses. Every soldier exiting the minibus received a bullet from a Kalashnikov rifle in the knee…Those who admitted that they were officers got shot in the head...When I returned to France, I was extremely shocked by what the people who were invited on the TV shows were saying. A chasm exists between what I see and hear on TV and what I saw on the spot. For me it’s abominable...It shocks me enormously that Europe still gives weapons to a force which in my view are neo-Nazis, who have neo-Nazi insignia. We don’t talk about it. It’s an [[SS]] insignia brandished across Ukraine, everywhere...No one in Ukraine seems concerned about this, while we arm them with European weapons. They go off and commit war crimes, I saw this myself."<ref>https://youtu.be/ZoKnhXnp-Zk</ref>}}
{{quotebox-float|"There, on the spot I saw [[war crimes]]. I saw a lot of war crimes. The only crimes I saw during the days I was there were perpetrated by Ukrainian forces...I saw Russian soldiers who were taken prisoner, bound and badly beaten…They were brought [to a detention area] in groups of three or four in minibuses. Every soldier exiting the minibus received a bullet from a Kalashnikov rifle in the knee…Those who admitted that they were officers got shot in the head...When I returned to France, I was extremely shocked by what the people who were invited on the TV shows were saying. A chasm exists between what I see and hear on TV and what I saw on the spot. For me it’s abominable...It shocks me enormously that Europe still gives weapons to a force which in my view are neo-Nazis, who have neo-Nazi insignia. We don’t talk about it. It’s an [[SS]] insignia brandished across Ukraine, everywhere...No one in Ukraine seems concerned about this, while we arm them with European weapons. They go off and commit war crimes, I saw this myself."<ref>https://youtu.be/ZoKnhXnp-Zk</ref>}}
Former President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] criticized the [[European Commission]] and [[Ursula von der Leyen]] in an interview with ''Le Journal du Dimanche'' on October 23, 2022. The issues of [[foreign policy]] and arms supplies to Ukraine go beyond the mandate of the European Commission, which is primarily a political organization. "I do not understand under what article of the European agreements European Commission President [[Ursula von der Leyen]] can justify her competence in terms of arms procurement and foreign policy." The EU must be careful not to foment military escalation in Ukraine, Sarkozy said. "The only thing that the Europeans are hearing today is the allocation of additional billions for the purchase of weapons. More weapons, more deaths, more war! We are hostages of miscalculations, exaltation, irritation and thoughtless actions. We are balancing on the edge of a volcano," Sarkozy said.<ref>https://www-lejdd-fr.translate.goog/Politique/exclusif-retraites-ukraine-congres-lr-nicolas-sarkozy-sort-de-son-silence-et-livre-ses-analyses-au-jdd-4142556?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US</ref>
Former President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] criticized the [[European Commission]] and [[Ursula von der Leyen]] in an interview with ''Le Journal du Dimanche'' on October 23, 2022. The issues of [[foreign policy]] and arms supplies to Ukraine go beyond the mandate of the European Commission, which is primarily a political organization. "I do not understand under what article of the European agreements [[European Commission]] President [[Ursula von der Leyen]] can justify her competence in terms of arms procurement and [[foreign policy]]." The [[EU]] must be careful not to foment [[military]] [[escalation]] in [[Ukraine]], [[Sarkozy]] said. "The only thing that the [[European]]s are hearing today is the allocation of additional billions for the purchase of [[weapon]]s. More weapons, more [[death]]s, more [[war]]! We are [[hostage]]s of miscalculations, exaltation, irritation and thoughtless actions. We are balancing on the edge of a volcano," Sarkozy said.<ref>https://www-lejdd-fr.translate.goog/Politique/exclusif-retraites-ukraine-congres-lr-nicolas-sarkozy-sort-de-son-silence-et-livre-ses-analyses-au-jdd-4142556?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US</ref>
====Burkina Faso====
====Burkina Faso====