FRANCE

Location and Importance

France is located in Europe.

The capital is Paris, France.

The countries that surround France are Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, and Spain

French is the main language spoken in France.

The name “France” comes from “Frank”, a Germanic tribe that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 6th century and found the first independent kingdom covering most of today’s France. The French state is one of the oldest in Europe.It was found in 843.

President of French Republic

Nicolas Sarkozy

since 16 May 2007

Culture – CommunicationEye Contact

• If you refuse eye contact you are looking down upon that person

• If a stranger stares at a woman on the street she is to not to make eye contact even if she is interested.

Shaking Hands• When the French meet people, enter, and leave a room

they shake hands. It is considered rude not to. Kissing Cheeks

• The French kiss each cheek when greeting and saying goodbye to close friends, and family.

• It is custom to start with the right cheek to avoid confusion.

Greeting in France

• Greeting people you don’t know- say your name only

• Say “bonjour” (hello) without the bisou (air-kiss) if you don’t know the person well or not friends with them

• Women greeting men or women they know - kiss the right cheek to right cheek and left cheek to left cheek

• Men greeting other men they know - only shake hands

Communication cont…

Gestures• To indicate that someone is crazy you would put your

pointer finger to your temple and twist your hand.• When telling how delicious something is you touch your

fingers and thumb all together, kiss your fingertips, and then open your hand, as if throwing something into the air.

• If you make a circle with your pointer finger and thumb you are signifying “nothing” to the people in France.

• To indicate that you are done with something you would cross your arms in front of you with your palms facing outward and then swing them outward while saying “C’est fini”

Gestures-To promise or swear to something, place your hand on top of your head

-To apologize or indicate that you've made a mistake, cover your mouth with your hands

-Signal a taxi by snapping your fingers

Gesture: Form a circle with your thumb and forefinger and place it over your nose

Significance: A person is drunk

Gesture: Playing an imaginary flute

Significance: Someone is talking to much and is becoming annoying

Languages • Official language of France is French

• 88% of the population speaks French

• 75 different languages in France

• 24 of these languages are European

• Rest of the languages include languages from the South American, South Asian and Caribbean regions

• The policy of France ensures that the citizens of the country communicate in French

• Many French people can speak at least one foreign language

Religions

-Roman Catholic 83%-88%

-Protestant 2%

- Jewish 1%

-Muslim 5%-10%

-unaffiliated 4%

-Roman Catholic church is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, curia

in Rome, and the Conference of French bishops

EATING IN FRANCE

Breakfast: Consists of coffee, tea or chocolate with croissants and bread

with butter or jam Lunch: Served from noon until 2 pm

-Can consist of a five course meal or a simple salad or sandwich

Dinner: Served from 7:30 pm onwards

-Usually a leisurely event, time to spend with the family or with friends

Tipping: Tips are usually included in the bill, which ranges between 10% and 15%

-Not expected to leave a tip on the table

Dining Etiquette and Table Manners

-Not allowed to bring any friends or pets without asking

-Fork is held in the left hand while knife is held with the right hand when eating

-No elbows on the table

-Cross fork and knife on the plate with the fork over the knife if you’re not finished eating

-Leave wineglass nearly full if you do not want more

Dress Etiquette• Dress with care

• Fashion-conscious

• Good quality accessories

• Men wear dark-colored conservativesuits to make a good impression

• Women wear either stylish suits or elegant dresses in soft colors

• Clothes are elegant and classy

• Backless long dresses and elegant blazers

• Look down on sneakers

Weather and Climate

•South along the Mediterranean - Mostly sunny days throughout the year

•Southwest - Fairly sunny, wet spring, and summers can get very hot and humid

•Northeast - Cold and mostly rainy falls and winters

•Northwest - Mild summers and winters with rain mixed in

•Paris - can get extremely hot in the summer with very little wind to cool things down

Weather is determined by the balance of power between oceanic weather systems from the west, and continental anticyclones from the east

Wedding Traditions

• Ritual Bath • Everything is white • Inside the Church, the couple stand beneath a silk

canopy• Outside the church, laurel leaves are laid down as a

bridal path • Bride and bridegroom toast each other from an

engraved, two-handled cup• Chiverie is a wedding night prank

Family values and relationships

-Each member has certain responsibilities and duties

-Extended family provides support

-Practical approach towards marriage

-Few children

-French people are private

- themselves around family and close friends

-Friendships have requirements

Holidays and festivals in France

• The French enjoy 11 national holidays annually • Bastille Day (July 14th) was incorporated in 1789 • Armistice Day (November 11) was incorporated in 1918 • Labor Day (May 1) was incorporated in 1935

• Holiday’s nearly every week in the month of May • Many regional festivals throughout France

• Every French citizen is entitled to 5 weeks of vacation

Activities in France

-Fishing

-Hiking

-Cycling

-Horse riding

-Golfing

Government

• Centralized government• President is elected for a five-year term • Semi-presidential system• Based on the French Constitution of the fifth Republic• Declares itself as "an indivisible, secular, democratic and

social Republic" • The National Assembly is the lower house of the

Parliament

Transportation

Air

-Approximately 478 airports -All major cities in France have airports

Car

-Approximately 500,000 miles of serviceable roadway -Paris region has most dense network of roads and highways

Public (Metro/Tram/Bus)

-Railway network of France stretches 19,000 miles - All major tourist attractions can easily be reached

Culture – Couture

●France is home to many very famous fashion designers and is considered one of the fashion capitals of the world. ◦Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel ◦Christian Dior ◦Louis Vuitton ◦Hermes ◦Yves Saint Laurent

●Like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Paris also has famous streets filled with shopping such as, Champs-Élysées.

●In France the people dress so fashionable that it is easy to spot a tourist. It is easy for them to recognize if a teen girl is American by if she is wearing Uggs or not depending on the place and season.

In Paris, when at a café if you sit at a table your meal costs more verses if you were to sit at the bar.

Also in France there is a special machine to pick up dog poop because the people feel it is inferior for them to do it.

Dinner is usually served at 8 PM instead of 5 or 6 PM

The only Disneyland in Europe is near ParisThe Statue of Liberty was made in France.April Fool’s Day originated in France with

sticking paper fishes on peoples’ backs.Culture – Fun Facts

THE ENDTHANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!