双语资料供参考：
France,officially French Republic
It includes the island of Corsica. Area: 210,026 sq mi (543,965 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 59,440,000. Capital: Paris. The people are mainly French. Language: French (official). Religions: Roman Catholicism (three-fourths), Protestantism, Islam. Currency: euro. France has extensive plains, rivers, and a number of mountain ranges, including the Pyrenees and the Alps. The climate is generally moderate. About three-fifths of the land is suitable for agriculture, and forests, largely unexploited, cover about one-fourth of the area. France has a developed mixed economy with a preponderance of small firms. Its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. The legislature consists of two houses. France is one of the major economic powers of the world and was a founding member of the European Community (see European Union). Culturally, France has enjoyed a significant role in the world from the early Middle Ages. Archaeological excavations in France indicate continuous settlement from Paleolithic times. In с 1200 BC the Gauls migrated into the area, and in 600 BC Ionian Greeks established several settlements, including one at Marseille. Julius Caesar completed the Roman conquest of Gaul in 50 BC. During the 6th century AD the Salian Franks ruled; by the 8th century power had passed to the Carolingians, so named for the influential reign of Charlemagne. The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) resulted in the return to France of land that had been held by the British; by the end of the 15th century, France approximated its modern boundaries. The 16th century was marked by the Wars of Religion between Protestants (Huguenots) and Roman Catholics. Henry IV's Edict of Nantes (1598) granted substantial religious toleration, but this was revoked in 1685 by Louis XIV, who helped to raise monarchical absolutism to new heights. In 1789 the French Revolution proclaimed the rights of the individual and destroyed the ancien régime. Napoleon ruled from 1799 to 1814, after which a limited monarchy was restored until 1871, when the Third Republic was created. World War I (1914–18) ravaged the northern part of France. After Nazi Germany's invasion of France during World War II, the collaborationist Vichy regime governed. Liberated by Allied and Free French forces in 1944, France restored parliamentary democracy under the Fourth Republic. A costly war in Indochina (see Indochina wars) and rising nationalism in French colonies during the 1950s overwhelmed the Fourth Republic. The Fifth Republic was established in 1958 under Charles de Gaulle, who presided over the dissolution of most of France's overseas colonies (see Algerian War; French Equatorial Africa; French West Africa). In 1981 France elected its first socialist president, François Mitterrand. From 1986 through the beginning of the 21st century, France balanced a form of divided government known as "cohabitation," with a president and prime minister of different political parties.
法国 France 正式名称法兰西共和国.
西欧共和国,包括摩纳哥公国和科西嘉岛.面积：543,965平方千米.人口：约59,090,000(2001).首都：巴黎.主要人口为法国人.语言：法语(官方语言).宗教：天主教(3/4)、基督教、新教和伊斯兰教.货币：欧元.有广袤的平原、河流和数座山脉,包括比利牛斯山脉和阿尔卑斯山脉.法国的气候大体温和.土地约有3/5适于农耕.森林约占土地面积的1/4左右,多未经开发.法国经济发达,为混合型经济,多为小企业.法国是世界上主要经济强国之一.为欧洲共同体(参阅欧洲联盟[European Union])创始会员国之一.两院制.国家元首是总统,政府首脑为总理.自中世纪起法国就对世界文化的发展发挥着重要作用.考古发掘显示自旧石器时代起法国即有人类居住.约公元前1200年,高卢人进入该地区.约公元前600年,爱奥尼亚的希腊人在今马赛等地建立了一些定居点.公元前50年,凯撒完成了对高卢的征服.6世纪时,受萨利安法兰克人统治.至8世纪,大权落入加洛林王朝之手,其最伟大的人物是查理曼.百年战争(1337～1453)后法国收回曾被英国占领的领土.至15世纪末,法国疆界已大体与现代法国相同.16世纪的标志是新教徒(胡格诺派教徒)与天主教徒之间的宗教战争.亨利四世颁布南特敕令(1598),给予实质上的宗教自由,但于1685年被路易十四撤销,将王权至上制度在法国推向新的高度.1789年法国大革命宣布人权并消灭了旧政权.拿破仑自1799～1814年一直统治着法国,之后,有限的君主政体得到恢复,一直延续到1871年第三共和国建立.第一次世界大战(1914～1918)破坏了法国北部地区.第二次世界大战期间,纳粹德国侵入法国后,在维希成立了以贝当元帅为首的傀儡政府.法国在1944年被盟军及自由法国军队解放.第四共和建立后,法国又恢复了议会民主政治.20世纪50年代,印度支那耗资巨大的战争和法国殖民地民族主义的兴起,使第四共和穷于应付.1958年,戴高乐建立第五共和,他作为总统主持解决了大多数法国海外殖民地问题(参阅阿尔及利亚战争[Algerian War]、法属赤道非洲[French Equatorial Africa]和法属西非[French West Africa]).1981年法国选出第一位社会党总统密特朗.20世纪90年代,法国政府左翼和右翼力量均衡,致力于巩固欧洲统一.
