France

FRANCE(LA FRANCE)

Necla Begüm AKKAYA20150603011

COMM 101.1: Introduction to CommunicationBahtiyar Ahu ALPASLAN

2015 - 2016

1. General Information Capital City: Paris Population: 67,087,000 Total Area (including overseas departments):

640,679 km² Region: 27 (22 Metropolitan France, 5 Overseas) Unemployment rates: 10.5% Literacy: 99% (age 15 and above who can

understand, read, and write a short statement about their daily lives)

Flag (Drapeau tricolore) Red and blue were originally the colours of the city of Paris During the storming of Bastille, the soldiers wore cockades

of red and blue, which would become a part of the National Guard uniforms

White was the 'ancient French colour' (the colour of the king's flag) and was added to the cockades to 'nationalise' them

These colours became the flag of France in 1794

2. Geography

Neighbors North: United

Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany

South: Spain East: Switzerland,

Italy Seas

North: English Channel

South: Mediterranean Sea

West: Atlantic Ocean

2. 1. Regions

Overseas regions: In the Indian

Ocean Mayotte Réunion

In the New World French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique

3. Religion

4. Top 10 Tourist Attractions

4.1. Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) Location: 7th arrondissement, Paris Is 324 metres tall, including 24m antenna Built by Gustave Eiffel for Exposition universelle de 1889, a

world's fair meant to celebrate the 100th year of the French Revolution (La Révolution française)

Construction began at January 28, 1887 and finished at March 31, 1889

Initially meant to be built in Barcelona, Spain Was supposed to be torn down after 20 years if not for its

benefits in war as a communication tower Was not liked by the French but their opinion softened when the

tower was used to capture German agent, Mata Hari

4.2. Saint-Tropez

Location: Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (French Riviera)

Named after a semi-legendary figure named Saint Tropes who was said to be beheaded by Nero and his body washed up to present-day Saint-Tropez

A former military stronghold and a simple fishing village

Became popular during 1960s among European and American jet set for its beaches and nightclubs

4.3. Chamonix

Location: Haute-Savoie, Rhône-Alpes One of the oldest ski resorts in France North of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain

of the Alps Popular among winter sports athletes and

mountain climbers

4.4. Palace of Versailles (Palais de Versailles)

Location: Versailles, Île de France Construction began in 1624 in the orders of Louis XIII and

finished in 1708 Originally a hunting lodge, the royal family officially moved

in from Paris to control the nobility better and distance itself from the Parisian population

After the French Revolution, the castle fell into despair until Louis-Phillipe I restored it and turned it into a museum

Now a symbol of absolute monarchy of Ancient Régime

4.5. Mont Saint-Michel Location: Manche, Basse-Normandie Total area: 0.97 km² A rocky tidal island that

has held strategic fortifications since ancient times since 8th century AD, the seat of a monastery was used as a prison by Louis XI

Has the population of 44 (2009)

4.6. Les Gorges de Verdon Location: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur A river canyon that is 25 km long and up to 700m deep Considered to be one of the Europe's most beautiful

river canyons Named after Rivière Verdon, which is known for its

turquoise-green water Very popular among tourists for driving around,

kayaking and hiking due to being close to the French Riviera

4.7. Château de Chambord Location: Chambord, Loir-et-Cher one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its

very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures

was never completed was constructed by King Francis I of France to serve as a hunting

lodge during French Revolution, many objects were torn or sold During the Second World War, art works from the collections of

the Louvre and the Château de Compiègne were moved to the Château de Chambord

no one knows who originally designed the castle: some say Domenico da Cortona, an Italian architect in the French Court, but there are also claims of Leonardo da Vinci being involved

4.8. Palais de Papes Location: Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in

Europe was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century six papal conclaves were held in the Palais since 1995, classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as

a UNESCO World Heritage Site Festival d'Avignon is an annual arts festival held in the French city

of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Popes' Palace as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, an actor and director, it is the oldest extant festival in France and one of the world's greatest.

4.9. Dune de Pilat Location: La Teste-de Buch, Aquitaine the tallest sand dune in Europe has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³ is around 500 m wide from east to west 2.7 km in length from north to south height is currently 110 meters above sea level a famous tourist destination with more than one million

visitors per year

4.10. Cathédrale Notre Dame de Chartres

Location: Chartres A medieval Catholic cathedral and one of the finest examples of

French Gothic architecture a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Middle Age, was the heart of the town's economy: a place for

numerous commercial activities due to war and fire, the cathedral was rebuilt many times, finally

completed in 1220 the cathedral also managed to survive many attempts of its

destruction: during French Revolution, an architect pointed out exploding the cathedral would cause rubble to clog the streets, which could take years to clean up, and during WW2, the American Allies almost destroyed the cathedral in fear of it being occupied by the Germans

5. Cuisine French cuisine was codified in the 20th century

by chef Auguste Escoffier, who made it turn into the haute cuisine it's known as today.

In the Middle Ages, the foods were very spicy and marine food was more common as game was very rare.

During 18th century, the flavours became lighter and the dishes became varied.

5.1. Internationally Known French Food

1. Baguette2. Croissant3. Foie gras

4. Cuisses de grenouille

5. Soufflé6. Crème brûlée7. Éclair

7. Wine Wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60

million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world.

High quality French wines must pay attention to two things:

Where the grapes are grown and the wine is made The system of Appellation d'origine contrôlée: it defines which grape

varieties and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or even specific vineyards.

France is the source of many grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah) that are now planted throughout the world, as well as wine-making practices and styles of wine that have been adopted in other producing countries.

1. Merlot grapes (red)

2. Grenache grapes (red)

3. Trebbiano grapes (white)

4. Chardonnay grapes (white)

6. Tradition and Culture

6.1. Traditional holidays Due to France being predominantly a Christian country,

most of the traditional holidays are religious. Le Noël (Christmas)

many people attend the traditional late evening Christmas Mass. Le Réveillon (referring to the birth of Christ) is the dinner that follows

and will usually include turkey, capon, goose, chicken, and boudin blanc (white pudding).

Père Noël (Santa Clause) fills shoes left in front of the fireplace instead of stockings with presents, while Père Fouettard accompanies him to spank any naughty children.

Les Pâques (Easter)

always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April inclusive, within about seven days after the astronomical full moon

church bells don't ring between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, to commemorate the death of Christ and his resurrection

When the bells resume, people hug and kiss each other. Instead of the Easter Bunny, French children believe that

the silent church bells become Flying Bells that depart before Good Friday, taking with them all the grief and misery of mourners of Christ's crucifixion

After they visit the Pope in Rome, they return on Easter Sunday, having hidden chocolate Easter eggs for children to find.

Le poisson d'avril (April Fools Day)

on April 1st

children make fish out of paper and pin them to the backs of as many adults as possible, running away while yelling poisson d'avril!

La Fête nationale (Bastille Day)

celebrated on July 14 commemorates the day in 1789 when the prison

at the Bastille was stormed and pillaged by angry French citizens, the beginning of the French Revolution

the day is marked with fireworks, parades and similar celebrations

The French national anthem is often heard on this memorable holiday

6.2. National clothing

As a result of being composed of many regions that were until recent history separated from each other, France has no common national clothing.

However, it's certain that nearly all of them included these clothing items to their clothes.

For men, there are:

• Chemise (a knee length cotton or linen shirt, considered to be an undergarment)

• Culottes or Breech cloth (a pair of knee length pants, usually wool or linen, which button around the knees, or a cloth worn over the loins)

• Hose (a pair of cotton or wool socks, knee high)

• Mitasses (a pair of protective garters worn over the lower legs, made of leather or wool, which button to the breeches or tie to a belt)

• Guillette: Small short vest usually without sleeves, worn over the Chemise.

• Capote or Justacorp: Heavy coat with large cuffs worn over all else, kind of like a suit coat.

For women, there are: Caps Skirts scarcely down the

middle of legs Shoes often like those of the

Finnish women, but are sometimes provided with heels

A silver cross hanging down the breast.

Jupon (a garment very similar to a skirt, only shorter, can be used to show off wealth)

Chemise (an underskirt or shift worn under all of the outer petticoats and the jupon)

Mantelet (a short women's waistcoat, worn with the jupon and chemise)

Fichu (a square or oblong piece of cloth used by women as a modesty scarf worn about the neck and shoulders)

7. Media

7.1. Newspaper

The French are not known to read newspapers: only 164 out of every 1000 adults say they read them.

The reasons of decline are: popularity of broadcast media broadcast getting more monetary support than

newspapers

While national newspapers has seen a decline in circulation since World War II, during which period it was at its highest point, regional newspapers have a more loyal reading group.

Top 3 National Newspapers and their Circulations

Le Nouvel Observateur (weekly/centre-left) 511, 900 L'Express (weekly/centre-right) 437, 800 Le Canard enchaîné (weekly/satirical) 420, 300

Top 3 Regional Newspapers and their Circulations

Ouest-France (daily/centre-right) 2, 441, 000 La Voix du Nord (daily/centre-right) 1, 141, 000 Sud Ouest (daily/left) 1, 083, 000

7.2. Television

France was one of the first countries in the world to broadcast television programs with its introduction in 1931.

The French television in current day is mostly formed of talk shows, reality shows, competition and soap operas.

Most viewed channels

TF1 (private) %22.9 France 2 (public) %14.1 M6 (private) %10.1

7.3. Internet

• France is one of the countries where the usage of internet is above average compared to the other EU countries in every possible aspect:

– regular usage (at least once a week) (78% vs 70%)– daily usage (65% vs 59%)– number of non-internet users (15% vs 22%)

• The French typically go online to look up information (69% vs 62%), manage their money (54% vs 40%) and make use of travel and accommodation services (38% vs 36%).

• However, the French use the internet for reading newspapers/news less compared to the other EU countries (31% vs 45%).