=Location and Extent.=--France occupies the narrowest part of the great
western peninsula of the European continent between the Mediterranean on
the one side, and the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel on the
other. As both coasts have many harbors, the situation between two seas
is a very advantageous one. In extent it is fully three and a half times
larger than England, measuring about six hundred miles each way across
it.
Most of its frontiers are natural. On the south the high barrier of the
Pyrenees rises between it and Spain; on the east the Alps and Jura
separate it from Italy and Switzerland and part of the Vosges mountains
forms the boundary towards Germany. On the northeast alone the political
limit towards Germany and Belgium is artificially drawn, and has to be
guarded by a line of fortresses.
Since 1768, France had held the Mediterranean island of _Corsica_, a
rugged pyramid of forest-covered mountains.
=Divisions of the Country.=--Previous to the French Revolution, France
was divided into _provinces_, which bore the names of the separate
territories out of which the state had been gradually built up. These
are accordingly of much greater historical interest than the present
division into eighty-seven _departments_, which are almost universally
named after the river basins in which they lie. The provincial names are
also those which are still most in use in ordinary life in France.
The following are the provinces, with the dates of their incorporation
as parts of France, and the departments they include:
ILE DE FRANCE, the original kernel of the state round Paris
(_Departments_--Seine, Seine et Oise, Seine et Marne, Oise, Aisne).
CHAMPAGNE (part of France since 1285) to the east of the former
(Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne, Aube).
LORRAINE (since 1766), east of Champagne (Meuse, Meurthe et Moselle,
Vosges, and territory of Belfort).
FLANDERS (since 1677), on the border of Belgium (Nord).
ARTOIS (since 1640), on the Channel (Pas de Calais).
PICARDY (original), adjoining Ile de France on N. (Somme).
NORMANDY (since 1203), along the Channel (Seine-inferieure, Eure,
Calvados, La Manche, Orne).
BRITTANY (since 1532), the western peninsula (Finistere, Morbihan,
Cotes-du-Nord, Ille et Vilaine, Loire-inferieure).
POITOU (since 1375), southeast of Brittany (Vendee, Deux-Sevres,
Vienne).
ANJOU (since 1202) north of Poitou, across the Loire (Maine et Loire).
MAINE (since 1202), between Anjou and Normandy (Mayenne, Sarthe).
ANGOUMOIS, AUNIS and SAINTONGE (since 1242), south of Poitou, along the
Bay of Biscay (Charente and Charente-inferieure).
TOURAINE (since 1256), across the Loire, east of Anjou (Indre et Loire).
ORLEANS (original), south of Ile de France (Loire et Cher, Eure et
Loire, Loiret).
NIVERNAIS (since 1707), southeast of Orleans (Nievre).
BOURBONNAIS (since 1559), south of Nivernais (Allier).
MARCHE (since 1531), southwest of Bourbonnais (Creuse).
BERRI (since 1100), between Marche and Orleans (Cher, Indre).
LIMOUSIN (since 1369), southwest of Marche (Haute-Vienne and Correze).
AUVERGNE (since 1531), west of Limousin (Cantal, Puy-de-Dome).
LYONNAIS (since 1307), northeast of Auvergne (Loire, Rhone).
BURGUNDY (since 1476), south of Champagne (Ain, Saone et Loire, Cote
d’or, Yonne).
FRANCHE COMTE (since 1674), nearest Switzerland (Haute-Saone, Jura,
Doubs).
DAUPHINE (since 1349), between the Alps and the Rhone Channel (Isere,
Drome, Hautes, Alpes).
SAVOIE (since 1860), south of Lake of Geneva (Savoie, Haute-Savoie).
LANGUEDOC (since 1271), along the Mediterranean, west of the Rhone
(Ardeche, Haute-Loire, Lozere, Gard, Herault, Tarn, Haute-Garonne,
Aude).
GUYENNE (since 1453), in the basin of the Garonne, southwest (Aveyron,
Lot, Dordogne, Tarn et Garonne, Lot et Garonne, Gironde).
GASCOGNE (since 1453), in the southwest, old _Aquitaine_ (Landes, Gers,
Hautes-Pyrenees).
BEARN and NAVARRE (since 1607) (Basses Pyrenees).
FOIX (since 1607) next Spain, in the south (Ariege).
ROUSSILLON (since 1642), in the southeast (Pyrenees-Orientales).
AVIGNON, VENNAISSIN, and ORANGE (since 1791), near the Rhone delta
(Vaucluse).
PROVENCE, Roman Provincia (since 1245), in the southeast along the
Mediterranean (Bouches-Du-Rhone, Basses-Alpes, Var, Alpes-Maritimes).
CORSICA (since 1768), in the Mediterranean (Corse).
=Surface and Mountains.=--Within France the long curve of the _Cevennes
Mountains_ in the southeast, prolonged northward by the _Cote d’or_, the
_Plateau of Langres_, and the _Vosges_, determines the slope of the
country. Between them and the _Alps_ lies the deep valley of the Rhone,
with a southward fall to the Mediterranean. But these high lands,
ramifying outward with gentler descent to north and west, give direction
to the drainage of the longer slope to the Atlantic coast, the Bay of
Biscay, the Channel, and the North Sea.
_Mont Blanc_, the highest point in Europe, rises within France, near the
point of union of its boundary with that of Italy and Switzerland; the
_Pic de Nethou_, the highest point of the Pyrenean barrier, stands just
outside the boundary on the Spanish side; centrally in the country, the
highest point is _Mont Dore_, in the volcanic group of the mountains of
Auvergne, embraced by the curve of the Cevennes. The lowlands of France
are not level plains like those of Belgium and Holland, but for the most
part undulating districts; they lie along the Atlantic border (excepting
where the heights of Normandy and Brittany run out into the ocean) and
in the Mediterranean valley of the Rhone.
=Chief Rivers.=--The main direction of the drainage of France is from
southeast to northwest over the long slope of land. The _Garonne_,
receiving the numerous _gaves_, as the streams from the Pyrenees are
called, and its tributary the _Dordogne_, from the mountains of
Auvergne, forming the estuary of the _Gironde_ in the south; the
_Loire_, curving through the center of the country from the Cevennes to
the Atlantic,--the longest river of France; the _Seine_, from the Cote
d’or, flowing northwest to the English Channel; and the _Meuse_, from
the Vosges, passing out to join the Rhine in the Netherlands. All are
navigable, forming with their tributaries the natural waterways of
France, which possesses a river navigation of about five thousand five
hundred miles. The great southern river, the _Rhone_, from the mountains
of Switzerland, receiving its chief tributary, the _Saone_, from the
southern Vosges, is comparatively valueless to navigation from the
rapidity of its current.
=Climate and Soil.=--Occupying a middle position between northern and
southern Europe, France enjoys one of the finest climates of the
continent. Toward the northeast it becomes more continental, toward the
northwest more maritime and like that of southern England; in the warm
south the hot winds from the African deserts may occasionally be felt,
and in contrast to these, in the Rhone valley, the chilly northeast wind
known as the _Mistral_ at times descends from the Alpine Heights with
great violence; but the greater part of the country is within the area
of the westerly winds.
=Products of Soil.=--Very few parts of the country are unadapted for
cultivation; only some parts of the Pyrenees, the Landes, and of the
Vosges, can be thus characterized.
The destruction of natural timber in France within the past two
centuries has been enormous. About a sixth part of the surface is
wooded, the most extensive remaining forests being those of _Orleans_
and _Fontainebleau_, between the northern curve of the Loire and Paris;
of the hills of Var in the extreme southeast; and of the Jura and the
Vosges. Much of the department of Vaucluse, in the lower valley of the
Rhone, is covered with _Truffle oaks_, from about the roots of which
enormous quantities of this fungus are obtained. The western promontory
of Brittany is now barest of all, but here, as in the mountains of
Auvergne, the Cevennes, the Pyrenees, and the Alps, replanting has
begun.
The vine is grown in all parts of France excepting the northwestern
departments; more than one thousand four hundred varieties of grapes are
recognized; the finest growths being those of _Champagne_ and _Burgundy_
in the east, and of the basin of the Gironde (_Bordeaux_) in the
southwest. Wheat, flax and beet-root for sugar, are the staple products
of the north; olives of the extreme southeast. Apples and pears are
widely grown in Normandy for cider and perry; oranges, citrons, and
pomegranates come from the Mediterranean departments.
In pastoral wealth, in cattle and sheep rearing, France is far behind
England and Germany in proportion to its extent.
=Industries and Trade.=--Agricultural and pastoral pursuits occupy the
larger share of the people of France. The trade of the Champagne wine
district centers at _Reims_ and _Chalons-sur-Marne_, east of Paris; that
of the Burgundy wines at _Dijon_, in the Saone valley, on the east; that
of the Gironde wines, or claret, at _Bordeaux_, on the southwest. The
subsidiary products of vinegar and brandy are made most largely, the one
at _Orleans_, on the Loire, the other at _Cognac_, a small town on the
Charente, north of Bordeaux.
=The French People.=--To the aboriginal _Iberian_ and _Celtic_ peoples
of France came the _Romans_ chiefly in the south and east; the
descendants of this intermixture being the small dark and lively
Frenchman of the south; in the north, in some degree, the Germanic
element became interwoven; hence the Frenchman of the northern parts of
the land partakes more of the character of his neighbors, is taller,
blonde, blue-eyed, and less volatile than the southerner. Hence also the
old division of the Romanized French language into the _Langue d’oc_ (or
Provençal) of the south; and the _Langue d’oil_ (or Roman Walloon) of
the north, from which the many dialects now spoken have descended.
The _Celtic_ element remains almost pure in Brittany, and the _Iberian_
in the _Basques_ of the western Pyrenees. _Italians_ appear in the
southeast and in Corsica, _Flemings_ on the Belgian frontier, and
_Germans_ toward Lorraine and Alsace, though, in this direction, the
boundary drawn long the Vosges and round Lorraine since the war of 1871
follows as nearly as possible the meeting points of the German and
French inhabitants of the northeast.
=Religion and Education.=--France is a Roman Catholic country.
Protestants form but a small proportion, and the most numerous in the
southwest between the Loire and the Pyrenees. Public education is
entirely under the supervision of the Government, and no longer in the
hands of the clergy. The percentage of illiterates is least in the
districts which lie nearest to Germany, and greatest in the Atlantic
coast-lands of the west and southwest.
There are state universities at Aix, Algiers, Angers, Bordeaux, Caen,
Clermont, Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Marseilles, Montauban,
Montpelier, Nancy, Nantes, Paris, Poitiers, Rennes, and Toulouse.
=Cities and Towns.=--More than 8,000,000 people live in the seventy-one
chief cities. Fifteen cities have populations of more than 100,000:
Paris 2,888,110
Marseilles 550,619
Lyon 523,796
Bordeaux 261,678
Lille 217,807
Nantes 170,535
Toulouse 149,576
St. Etienne 148,656
Nice 142,940
Le Havre 136,159
Rouen 124,987
Roubaix 122,723
Nancy 119,949
Rheims 115,178
Toulon 104,582
There are besides twenty others of over 50,000 inhabitants.
[Illustration: =PLACE DE LA CONCORDE, PARIS, UNDER GIANT SEARCHLIGHTS=]
=Paris= (Fr. pron. _Par-ee´_), capital of France, and the largest city
in Europe after London, is situated on the river Seine, about one
hundred and ten miles from its mouth. It lies in the midst of the
fertile plain of the Île-de-France, at a point to which converge the
chief tributaries of the river, the Yonne, the Marne, and the Oise; and
is the center of a great network of rivers, canals, roads, and railways.
France has long been the most highly centralized country in Europe, and
Paris as its heart contains a great population of government
functionaries. It is a metropolis of pleasure, and attracts the wealthy
from all parts of the world; hence it is a city of capitalists and a
great financial center.
THE SEINE AND ITS BRIDGES.--The Seine divides the city into two parts,
and forms the islands of La Cite and St. Louis, both covered with
buildings. This river is navigable by small steamers. The quays or
embankments, which extend along its banks on both sides, are built of
solid masonry, protect the city from inundation and form excellent
promenades. The Seine, within the city, is fully five hundred and
thirty feet in width, and is crossed by numerous bridges, the more
important being Pont Neuf, Pont de la Concorde, Pont Alexandre III.,
Pont d’Iena, and the Pont de l’Alma.
[Illustration: =THE MADELEINE, PARIS=
This splendid edifice, begun in 1764, is modeled after the Parthenon at
Athens. In 1806, Napoleon decreed its completion for a Temple of Glory.
Louis XVIII. proposed converting it into an expiatory chapel to Louis
XVI. and XVII. and Marie Antoinette. It was completed, 1842, at a cost
of nearly $3,000,000.]
ENVIRONS AND FORTIFICATIONS.--Paris is surrounded by a line of
fortifications twenty-five miles long; outside of this is a chain of
fortresses, while beyond that again are the detached forts. These form
the two main lines of defense. The inner line consists of sixteen forts,
the outer line of eighteen forts besides redoubts; the area thus
inclosed measuring four hundred and thirty square miles, with an
encircling line of seventy-seven miles.
Montmartre, within the fortifications is four hundred feet high; the
city is encircled at a distance of from two to five miles by an outer
range of heights, including Villejuif, Meudon, St. Cloud, and
Mont-Valerien (six hundred and fifty feet), some of which are crowned by
the detached forts which now form the main defenses of the city. At the
fifty-six gates in the walls of Paris are paid the octroi dues.
STREETS AND BOULEVARDS.--The houses of Paris are almost all built of
white calcareous stone, and their general height is from five to six
stories, arranged in separate tenements. Many of the modern street
buildings have mansard roofs, and are highly enriched in the renaissance
manner. In the older parts of the city the streets are narrow and
irregular, but in the newer districts the avenues are straight, wide,
and well-paved.
The central point of the city is Place Royal, along which passes the
great thoroughfare of the city from southeast to northwest. Beginning at
the Place de la Nation, at the southeast margin of the city, this grand
avenue, from Place de la Nation to Place de la Bastille, is called _Rue
du Faubourg St. Antoine_; from Place Bastille to near Hotel de Ville it
is called _Rue St. Antoine_; from Hotel de Ville, past the Louvre, to
Place de la Concorde, _Rue de Rivoli_; from Place de la Concorde to the
Arc de Triomphe, _Avenue des Champs Elysees_; and beyond the Arch, _Ave.
de la Grande Armée_.
THE CENTER OF PARISIAN LIFE.--That which is specifically called _The
Boulevard_ extends in an irregular arc on the north side of the Seine,
from the Place de la Bastille in the east to the Place de la Madeleine
in the west and it includes the Boulevards du Temple, St. Martin, St.
Denis, des Italiens, Capuchins, and Madeleine, and its length is nearly
three miles. Here may be noted also the triumphal arches of the Porte
St. Denis and the Porte St. Martin, the former of which is seventy-two
feet in height.
On the south side of the Seine the boulevards are neither so numerous
nor so extensive, the best-known being the Boulevard St. Germain, which
extends from the Pont Sully to the Pont de la Concorde.
After the boulevards among the best streets are the great new streets
formed in the time of Napoleon III. are the Rue de Rivoli, two miles in
length, the Rue de la Paix, the Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, the Rue
Royale and twelve fine avenues radiating from the Place de l’Etoile.
SQUARES AND PARKS.--The most notable public squares or _places_ are the
Place de la Concorde, one of the largest and most elegant squares in
Europe, adorned by an Egyptian obelisk, fountains, and statues; Place de
l’Etoile, in which is situated the Arc de Triomphe, a splendid structure
one hundred and fifty-two feet in height; the Place Vendôme with column
to Napoleon I.; Place des Victoires, with equestrian statue of Louis
XIV.; Place de la Bastille, with the Column of July; Place de la
République, with colossal statue of the Republic.
[Illustration: =A REMARKABLY INFORMING PANORAMA OF PARIS AND IMMEDIATE
SUBURBS, SHOWING THE PLAN OF THE CITY, THE COURSE OF THE RIVER SEINE,
CHIEF BOULEVARDS AND STREETS, AS WELL AS THE LOCATION AND ARCHITECTURAL
OUTLINES OF THE PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS.=]
[Illustration: =ARC DE TRIOMPHE (ARCH OF TRIUMPH), PARIS=]
Within the city also are situated the gardens of the Tuileries, which
are adorned with numerous statues and fountains; the gardens of the
Luxembourg, in which are fine conservatories of rare plants; the Jardin
des Plantes, in which are the botanical and zoological gardens,
hothouses and museums, which have made this scientific institution
famous; the Buttes-Chaumont Gardens, in which an extensive old quarry
has been turned to good account in enhancing the beauty of the
situation; the Parc Monceaux; and the Champs Elysees, the latter being a
favorite promenade of all classes.
[Illustration: =TROCADERO PALACE, PARIS=
Built for the Exhibition of 1878, the Trocadero contains a fine
collection of architectural and monumental casts. The building affords
some of the finest views of Paris.]
But the most extensive parks are outside the city. Of these the Bois de
Boulogne, on the west, covers an area of two thousand one hundred and
fifty acres, gives an extensive view toward St. Cloud and Mont Valérien,
comprises the racecourses of Longchamps and Auteuil, and in it are
lakes, cascades, ornamental cafes, and the Jardin d’Acclimatation.
The Bois de Vincennes, on the east, even larger, is similarly adorned
with artificial lakes and streams, and its high plateau offers a fine
view over the surrounding country.
The most celebrated and extensive cemetery in Paris is Père la Chaise
(one hundred and six and one-half acres), finely situated and containing
the tombs of many celebrities. The Catacombs are ancient quarries which
extend under a portion of the southern part of the city, and in them are
deposited the bones removed from old cemeteries now built over.
CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES.--Of the churches of Paris the most celebrated
is the Cathedral of Notre Dame, situated on one of the islands of the
Seine, called the Île de la Cité. It is a vast cruciform structure, with
a lofty west front flanked by two square towers, the walls sustained by
many flying-buttresses, and the eastern end octagonal.
The church of La Madeleine, a modern structure in the style of a great
Roman temple, with a peristyle of lofty Corinthian columns, stands on an
elevated basement fronting the north end of the Rue Royale. It is
considered by many to be the most beautiful edifice in Paris.
The Pantheon, or church of St. Geneviève, patron saint of Paris (1764)
was begun as a church, but converted by the Constituent Assembly into a
temple dedicated to the great men of the nation. Napoleon III. restored
it to the church and rededicated it to St. Geneviève, but once more, on
the occasion of the funeral of Victor Hugo (1885), it was reconverted
into a valhalla. There are the tombs also of Voltaire, Rousseau, Marat
and Victor Hugo.
[Illustration: =PALACE OF JUSTICE, PARIS=
The Sainte Chapelle, in the south court of the Palais of Justice is the
most beautiful example of Gothic in Paris.]
St. Eustache (1532-1637) is an interesting example of French Renaissance
architecture; and others worthy of note are: St. Germain l’Auxerrois;
St. Gervais; St. Roch; St. Sulpice; Notre Dame de Lorette; and St.
Vincent de Paul. On the very summit of Montmartre is the Church of the
Sacred Heart, a vast new structure in the Byzantine style which cost
over five million dollars. The chief French Protestant churches are the
Oratoire and Rédemption. There are several English, Scotch, and American
churches, a Russian Greek church, and several synagogues.
[Illustration: =THE PANTHEON, PARIS=
It occupies a most commanding position near the Luxembourg Palace, and
is one of the finest architectural structures of the city.]
PALACES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS.--Notable among the public buildings of
Paris are its palaces.
The Louvre, a great series of buildings within which are two large
courts, is now devoted to a museum which comprises splendid collections
of sculpture, paintings, engravings, bronzes, pottery, Egyptian and
Assyrian antiquities. _The Venus de Milo_, the _Fettered Slaves_ of
Michael Angelo, the _Mona Lisa_ of Leonardo da Vinci, and a noble group
of the works of Raphael, Titian, and Veronese are the chief treasures.
In one gallery there are twenty-one large pictures by Rubens. The _Salon
Carré_ contains the most striking works of art.
The palace of the Tuileries was set on fire in 1871 by the Communists.
The ruins have been removed, but a few of the architectural details have
been preserved.
The Palace of the Luxembourg, south of the Seine, since 1879 the
meeting-place of the French senate, was built by Marie de Médicis in the
Florentine style. Close to it a gallery has been constructed for the
reception of the works of living artists acquired by the state.
The Palais de l’Élysée, situated in the Rue St. Honoré, with a large
garden, is now the residence of the president of the republic. The
Chambre des Députés--known under the Empire as the Palais du Corps
Législatif--is the building in which the deputies meet.
The Hôtel de Ville, or municipal building, is situated in the Place de
l’Hôtel de Ville, formerly Place de Grève, on the right bank of the
river. It was destroyed by the communists in 1871, but has now been
re-erected on the same site with even greater magnificence. It is a very
rich example of Renaissance architecture.
[Illustration: =HOTEL DES INVALIDES, PARIS=