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France, [X] officially the French Republic, [XI] is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world.
Tourism in France directly contributed 79.8 billion euros to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013, 30% of which comes from international visitors and 70% from domestic tourism spending. The total contribution of travel and tourism represents 9.7% of GDP and supports 2.9 million jobs (10.9% of employment) in the country. [ 1 ]
France hosts "the world's biggest annual sporting event", the annual cycling race Tour de France. [37] Other popular sports played in France include: football, judo, tennis, [38] rugby union [39] and pétanque. France has hosted events such as the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, [40] the 2007 Rugby World Cup, [41] and the 2023 Rugby World Cup. [42]
The Scout movement in France consists of about 80 different associations and federations with about 180,000 Scouts and Girl Guides. [1] Next to Germany , France is the country with the most fragmented Scout movement.
Stone tools discovered at Chilhac and Lézignan-la-Cèbe indicate that pre-human ancestors may have been present in France at least 1.6 million years ago. [1] Neanderthals were present in Europe from about 400,000 BC, [2] but died out about 40,000 years ago, possibly out-competed by modern humans during a period of cold weather.
The countries excluded were Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain. They were chosen because their average winter temperatures are higher than the warmest region of the UK.
A topographic map of the Republic, excluding all the overseas departments and territories Simplified physical map. The geography of France consists of a terrain that is mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in the north and the west and mountainous in the south (including the Massif Central and the Pyrenees) and the east (the country's highest points being in the Alps).
In 1914, the territory of France was different from today's France in two important ways: most of Alsace and the northeastern part of Lorraine had been annexed by Germany in 1870 (following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871), and the North African country of Algeria had been established as an integral part of France in 1848.