France is situated in Western Europe. It is the major industrialized nation in Europe. France is the third largest country in Europe and according to the population it is the fourth populous country of Europe. Officially the French Republic, the nation comprises ten overseas islands and territories. France shares boundaries with Belgium and Luxembourg to the northeast, Germany, Switzerland and Italy to the east and Spain and Andorra to the Southwest. In the northwest, France is bounded by the English Channel. Three major seas the North Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the southwest surround France.

The France Economy is large and one of the most developed in the European Union. France is a member of the G8 group of leading industrialized countries. It is not only the founding member of the European Union but also a founding member of the United Nations. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also one of only eight acknowledged nuclear powers. The French Republic is democracy.

The name France come from the Latin word 'Francia', which means "land of the Franks". Basically Franks was the name of a Germanic tribe, which had occupancy of the region. "France" refers specifically to the province of Ile-de-France (with Paris at its Center), which historically was the heart of the royal demesne.

France is one of the oldest states in the Western world and its history is rich and varied. Today's France is similar to ancient Gaul. 'Gaul' was a Celtic word, which was a name used in antiquity for the region of France. Gaul was conquered by the Romans in the first century BCE. The ancient Romans incorporated France in the 1st century be and ruled the region until the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century ad.

After the fall of Rome a Series of royal dynasties ruled much of what would become France. In the Middle Ages, with the spread of feudalism, Royal power had been declined. In the 14th century the monarchy started ruled over France. It reached its height during the 17th century. At this time the power of the monarchy grew steadily as French kings and their ministers built a centralized bureaucracy and a large standing army. The monarchy ruled France until 1792, when the French Revolution established the First Republic. Napoleon Bonaparte took hold forcibly of the Republic in 1799, making himself first consul and than after became Emperor of the First French Empire. Under Bonaparte's leadership, his armies conquered many countries. But after Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the French monarchy was re-established. In 1830, a civil uprising established the constitutional July Monarchy followed by the second republic in 1848. The second republic ended in 1852.

French strength and prosperity grew during the 19th and 20th centuries, and France built a worldwide colonial empire rivaling that of the United Kingdom. In During 1914-1918, France faced the World War I and due to the war, the nation suffered heavy losses During second World War(139-1945), Germany occupied northern France. After the war France rebuilt its shattered economy and emerged as one of the world's major industrial countries. The Forth Republic was established after the Second World War. In 1958 an uprising in Algeria, a French colony threatened France with civil war, and Fifth Republic established under General Charles de Gaulle. De Gaulle viewed France as a great power and he followed an independent stance in foreign affairs, a policy, which helped boost France's international influence. In recent decades France working with Germany, has played a leading role in the move toward greater European economic & political integration.

Until the 20th century, France was still largely a nation of small forms and family-owned businesses. But after World War II the French government nationalized some business enterprises. As a result today France is one of the world's leading economic powers. Today, France economy is large and one of the most highly developed in the European Union (EU). It is a member of the Group of Eight (G8) Forum of highly industrialized nations and of the OECD. France has world's fifth largest economy. It is also the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe.

According to the OECD, in 2004 France was the world's fifth largest exporter of manufactured goods. It was also the forth-largest importer of manufactured goods. It is a leading manufacturing nation, producing equipment, machine tools, and chemicals. France is also very important investor. It received the most foreign direct investment like 47 billions. So it ranked above the United States, the United Kingdome, Germany and Japan as the most important inward direct investor. On the other side French companies invested 57.3 billion USD outside of France, So it ranked as the Second most important outward direct investor in OECD.

In 2003, France's gross domestic product (GDP) was $ 1.76 trillion and its per capita income was $ 29,410. In 2004, the GDP per hour worked in France was 47.7 USD. So according to the GDP per hour, France ranked above than United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. France is also a founding member of the United Nations. It is one of the five permanent member of the United Nations Security Council wielding veto power and it is also one of only eight acknowledged nuclear powers. France faces several pressing economic problems in 21st century, such as high unemployment rate.

The history of France witnessed many migrations and invasions from different peoples Pre-Celtic, Celtic, Latin, and Germanic were historic populations. Since the 19th century, new populations have migrated to France.

French is the official language of France and it is spoken by the majority of people in the country. In addition to French, some other regional languages like Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Catalan, Flemish, Franco-Provencal dialect, Norman, Occitan and some oil dialects are also spoken in many areas. In which the most widely spoken regional language is Occitan, However the French government and state school system discouraged the use of any of those languages have been known as patois. Though, by the government some schools taught these regional languages also.