france history

France is an independent nation in Western Europe and the center of a large overseas administration. It is the third-largest European nation (after Russia and Ukraine).

France was part of the Celtic region in ancient times known as Gaul or Gallia. The current name comes from Latin Francia, which means "land of Frank", 
the German who conquered the area in the 5th century during the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It became another country in the 9th century.
Since the 17th century, France has played a major role in Europe and world affairs. In the 20th century, 
we experienced many crises, including the destruction of two world wars, political and social upheavals, and the loss of the Great Empire in Indochina, Algeria, West, and Equator Africa. However, it survived and emerged from the remains of World War II as a major global supplier of agricultural and industrial products and a major partner of the European Community (EC, or common market).

Today, the term Metropolitan France refers to the mainland sector and Corsica, a large island off the coast of Italy that has been part of France since 1768. France has six foreign sectors.

 French Guiana in South America. Guadeloupe and Martinique in the West Indies; Mayotte in the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean. Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean.  And Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the islands off the east coast of Canada.

 In addition, France has a very small asset called a foreign territory. It is widely scattered throughout the South Pacific, managed from Tahiti, and consists of a group of islands collectively known as French Polynesia. Southern and Antarctic regions of France; New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna Islands. And some small islands in the Southern Ocean, including Kerguelen and Croze, St. Paul, and Amsterdam (Indian Ocean).

Foreign sectors and territories are represented by the French National Assembly.