France, French Republic

a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe

• European country, European nation — countries occupying the European continent

• Basque — a member of a people of unknown origin living in the western Pyrenees in France and Spain
• Frenchman, Frenchwoman, French person — a native or inhabitant of France

• battle of the Marne, Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry, Marne River — a World War I battle in northwestern France where the Allies defeated the Germans in 1918
• Chalons, Chalons-sur-Marne — the battle in which Attila the Hun was defeated by the Romans and Visigoths in 451
• Crecy, battle of Crecy — the first decisive battle of the Hundred Years' War; in 1346 the English under Edward III defeated the French under King Philip of Valois
• Dunkirk, Dunkerque — a city in northern France on the North Sea where in World War II (1940) 330,000 Allied troops had to be evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk in a desperate retreat under enemy fire
• Ivry, battle of Ivry, Ivry la Bataille — a battle (1590) in which the Huguenots under Henry IV of France defeated the Catholics under the duke of Mayenne
• Meuse, Meuse River, Argonne, Argonne Forest, Meuse-Argonne, Meuse-Argonne operation — an American operation in World War I (1918); American troops under Pershing drove back the German armies which were saved only by the Armistice on November 11
• Orleans, siege of Orleans — a long siege by the English was relieved by Joan of Arc in 1429
• Poitiers, battle of Poitiers — the battle in 1356 in which the English under the Black Prince defeated the French
• Rocroi, battle of Rocroi — a battle in the Thirty Years' War (1643); the French defeated the Spanish invaders
• Saint-Mihiel, St Mihiel, battle of St Mihiel — a battle in the Meuse-Argonne operation in World War I (1918); the battle in which American troops launched their first offensive in France
• Soissons, battle of Soissons-Reims, battle of the Chemin-des-Dames, battle of the Aisne — a battle in World War I (May 1918); the Germans tried to attack before the American numbers were too great to defeat; the tactical success of the Germans proved to be a strategic failure
• Somme, Somme River, battle of the Somme — battle in World War I (1916)
• Somme, Somme River, battle of the Somme — battle of World War II (1944)
• Tertry, battle of Tertry — a battle in France in 687 among the descendants of Clovis
• Valmy, battle of Valmy — the French defeated the Austrian and Prussian troops in 1792 (with a famous cannonade from the French artillery)
• Verdun, battle of Verdun — a battle in World War I (1916); in some of the bloodiest fighting in World War I the German offensive was stopped
• French Revolution — the revolution in France against the Bourbons; 1789-1799
• Paris, City of Light, French capital, capital of France — the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
• Bordeaux — a port city in southwestern France; a major center of the wine trade
• Brest — a port city in northwestern France (in Brittany); the chief naval station of France
• Cannes — a port and resort city on the French Riviera; site of an annual film festival
• Chablis — a town in north central France noted for white Burgundy wines
• Dijon — an industrial city in eastern France north of Lyons
• Grenoble — a city in southeastern FRance on the Isere River
• Le Havre — a port city in northern France on the English Channel at the mouth of the Seine
• Lille — an industrial city in northern France near the Belgian border; was the medieval capital of Flanders
• Lyon, Lyons — a city in east-central France on the Rhone River; a principal producer of silk and rayon
• Marseille, Marseilles — a port city in southeastern France on the Mediterranean
• Nancy — a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
• Nantes — a port city in western France on the Loire estuary
• Nice — a city in southeastern France on the Mediterranean; the leading resort on the French Riviera
• Orleans — a city on the Loire river in north central France; site of the siege of Orleans by the English (1428-1429)
• Toulouse — a city on the Garonne River in southern France southeast of Bordeaux; a cultural center of medieval Europe
• Versailles — a city in north central France near Paris; site of the Palace of Versailles that was built by Louis XIV in the 17th century
• Vichy — a town in central France (south of Paris) noted for hot mineral springs; was capital of the unoccupied part of France during World War II
• Riviera — a coastal area between La Spezia in Italy and Cannes in France
• French region — a geographical subdivision of France
• Alsace, Alsatia, Elsass — a region of northeastern France famous for its wines
• Anjou — a former province of western France in the Loire valley
• Aquitaine, Aquitania — a region of southwestern France between Bordeaux and the Pyrenees
• Artois — a former province of northern France near the English Channel (between Picardy and Flanders)
• Auvergne — a region in central France
• Bourgogne, Burgundy — a former province of eastern France that is famous for its wines
• Bretagne, Brittany, Breiz — a former province of northwestern France on a peninsula between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay
• Centre — a low-lying region in central France
• Champagne, Champagne-Ardenne — a region of northeastern France
• Corse, Corsica — a region of France on the island of Corsica; birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte
• Franche-Comte — a former province of eastern France
• Gascogne, Gascony — a region of southwestern France
• Ile-de-France — a region of north central France in the Paris Basin
• Languedoc-Roussillon — a region in south central France; named after the medieval dialect of French that was spoken there
• Limousin — a region of central France west of the Auvergne mountains
• Lorraine, Lothringen — an eastern French region rich in iron-ore deposits
• Midi — the south of France
• Midi-Pyrenees — a region in southwestern FRance
• Nord-Pas-de-Calais — a region in northeastern France
• Pays de la Loire — an agricultural region of western France on the Bay of Biscay
• Picardie, Picardy — a region of northern France on the English Channel
• Poitou-Charentes, Poitou — a low-lying region of west central France on the Bay of Biscay
• Rhone-Alpes — a mountainous region of eastern France drained by the Rhone and Saone and Isere rivers
• Normandie, Normandy — a former province of northwestern France on the English channel; divided into Haute-Normandie and Basse-Normandie
• Orleanais — a former province of north central France; centered around Orleans
• Provence — a former province of southeastern France; now administered with Cote d'Azur
• Alps, the Alps — a large mountain system in south-central Europe; scenic beauty and winter sports make them a popular tourist attraction
• Garonne, Garonne River — a river that rises in the Pyrenees and flows northwest to the Bay of Biscay
• Isere, Isere River — a river in southeastern France; a tributary of the Rhone
• Loire, Loire River — a French river; flows into the North Atlantic
• Meuse, Meuse River — a European river; flows into the North Sea
• Mont Blanc, Monte Bianco — the highest mountain peak in the Alps; on the border between France and Italy south of Geneva (15,781 feet high)
• Pyrenees — a chain of mountains between France and Spain
• Rhine, Rhine River, Rhein — a major European river carrying more traffic than any other river in the world; flows into the North Sea
• Rhone, Rhone River — a major French river; flows into the Mediterranean near Marseilles
• Sambre, Sambre River — a river in western Europe that rises in northern France and flows generally east into Belgium where it joins the Neuse at Namur
• Saone, Saone River — a river in eastern France; rises in Lorraine and flows south to become the chief tributary of the Rhone
• Scheldt, Scheldt River — a river that rises in France and flows northeast across Belgium and empties into the North Sea
• Seine, Seine River — a French river that flows through the heart of Paris and then northward into the English Channel

• European Union, EU, European Community, EC, European Economic Community, EEC, Common Market, Europe — an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO — an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security

• Europe — the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use `Europe' to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles