Facts About France

France is a nation of food lovers and the food culture contains some interesting facts. Food is to be enjoyed and savored, for example, lunch time in France is usually two hours long just for this reason. Except for large cities, almost everything closes from noon until two pm when French restaurants are open for lunch.

There are many restaurants operating in France with over 5,000 restaurants in Paris alone. With so many restaurants, there are many food guides to assist. The most famous and successful restaurant guide in France is the Michelin Guide Rouge, which has approximately 50% market share. It has enormous influence; the award of a single star by the Guide Rouge to a restaurant can add 25% to its turnover and the loss of a star can mean financial ruin for a restaurant.

A survey of over 500 people through rsvp.com.au considered French food to be a turn on and a French restaurant was more romantic than an Italian meal.

Researchers are still trying to explain the ‘French paradox’ - low rate of chronic heart disease despite high saturated fat diet; some explanations include their consumption of red wine, the French style of eating and/or the saturated fats being mostly from dairy. The French also have one of the longest life expectancies of any EU country (longest for females, 3rd longest for males) and the incidence of obesity is very low (lowest in EU for men and 2nd lowest for females).

The French consume enough cheese to provide 25 kg of cheese per person, making them the largest cheese consumers in the world. In addition the French produce over 300 different kinds of cheese.In addition to its use in cooking, cheese is often served as a course in itself. In this case, it is served after the main meal but before dessert. This typically consists of a platter with three or four different cheeses, from which guests can slice pieces according to their preferences. Slices of a baguette are typically provided at the same time.

Foie gras may be part and parcel of French cuisine, but its origins go back to 4,500 years ago in Ancient Egypt, from where it spread to Greece (500 B.C.E.), then to the Romans, ancestors of the modern French.

A truffle in the west sometimes means chocolates but in France, truffles are edible underground fungi. Believed to be an aphrodisiac, they are a favorite food in France. They are cultivated by men called trufficulteurs, who use trained pigs or dogs to hunt by smell alone for the truffles, which smell like walnuts or sunflower seeds.

In 1652, the first French cookbook appeared. "Le Cuisine François," was written by a famous French chef, La Varenne, and it showed how French cuisine had become a vital part of cooking and dining in Europe. The book provided many preparation methods, including making a roux (a mix of flour and butter used for thickening soups and sauces). Before roux, the French, and others, had simply put bread in the soup to thicken it. Changes like these would make French cooking the most important type of cooking in Europe, and then the world.

There are on average two new cook books produced very day in France. American Julia Child is world recognized for introducing French cuisine to America with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

There are four approaches to French food:

• Classical French cuisine which is rich and filling, with many dishes using cream-based sauces.
• Haute cuisine is classical French cuisine taken to its most sophisticated and extreme. Food is elegant and elaborate with a strong emphasis on presentation. Only the finest ingredients are used and the meal is correspondingly expensive.
• Nouvelle Cuisine was developed in the 1970s, as a reaction against the classical school of cooking. The food is simpler and lighter. Portions are smaller and less rich; the heavy cream sauces of the classical approach are particularly avoided. Cooking is less elaborate and quicker, with more emphasis on seasonal ingredients.
• Cuisine du terroir focuses on regional specialities and is somewhat more rustic in nature. Local produce and food traditions are the main focus.

Greatly influenced by the French geography, the French cuisine also includes a wide range of regional cuisines:

• LORRAINE has Quiche Lorraine
• BRITTANY specialties include crêpes and galettes
• BURGUNDY has boeuf bourguignon
• RHÔNE-ALPES has gratin dauphinois
• PROVENCE specialties include Bouillabaisse, Ratatouille, Salade Niçoise and Pisaladiere.

More traditional French recipes

After more than two years of lobbying by President Nicolas Sarkozy and a brigade of French chefs, academics and politicians, French cuisine in 2010 earned a spot on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The "gastronomic meal of the French" — defined as "a festive meal bringing people together for an occasion to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking" — took its place alongside other embodiments of cultural heritage on UNESCO's list celebrating world art forms and traditions.

The Government of France:

France is a republic; the head of the executive is thePresident, elected by universal suffrage, currently Nicolas Sarkozy. The President determines policy with the aid of his Council of Ministers (Conseil des ministres). Ministers cannot sit in parliament, and if an elected member of parliament (député) is appointed minister, he or she has to hand over parliamentary duties to his / her deputy (adjoint). Since each elected member has a deputy, by-elections are unusual in France.

Parliament:

The lower and principal house of parliament is theAssemblée nationale, or national assembly; the second chamber is the Sénat or Senate. Députés (members of parliament) are elected to the National Assembly by universal suffrage, in general elections (élections législatives) that take place every five years. Senators are chosen by an electoral college of "grand electors", who are mostly other local  representatives.
The electoral system for presidential and parliamentary elections involves two rounds; a candidate can be elected on the first round by obtaining an absolute majority of votes cast. The second round is a runoff between the leading two candidates from round one (presidential election), or two or more candidates (parliamentary elections).
Click here for further facts and information about the French Constitution and political system

Structure of local government:

Metropolitan France is administered as 22 regions, 96 "départements" or departments, and some 36,000 "communes". See maps of regions and departments. 
(There are also 4 overseas regions - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Ile de la Réunion - and other overseas territories known as "TOM" )
Each region is administered by a Regional council (Conseil régional), and each department is administered by a county council (Conseil Général). The central government is represented in each department and region by a Prefect (préfet), with powers over the police and public security. The Prefect's other main role is to make sure that local authorities administer their area in compliance with national law.
   Prefects are appointed by the President, regional councils are elected by universal suffrage every six years, involving a complex two-round semi-proportional voting system.
   Departmental councils, conseils généraux, are elected by universal suffrage every six years, in elections known as canton elections  (élections cantonales).
   Communes are run by municipal councils (conseils municipaux) elected every six years by universal suffrage.  Increasingly, the important business of small communes, and issues that involve communes and their neighbours are dealt with by groupings of communes, known as "Communauté de communes"

The Geography of metropolitan France (France in Europe): key data.

Surface area:  547,030 sq km, of which 545,630 sq km of land and 1,400 sq km of rivers and lakes.

Paris, the capital city of the country France is celebrated most for the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon's tomb and Notre Dame. This city is also known as the world's fashion capital. The very popular Statue of Liberty was created in France, and gifted to the United States of America. The face of the statue is sculpted similar to the face of Isabella Eugenie Boyer, wife of the manufacturer of the Parisian sewing machine, Isaac Singer. The official language in France, French was also the official language of England for more than 300 years. The 1st of April originated as the fools day from France. When the country switched over to the Gregorian calendar people unaware of the change considered 1st April as the New Year's Day. From that day onwards the fool's day originated to mock them.