Law of France

France uses a civil legal system; that is, law arises primarily from written statutes; judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judge interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to case law). Basic principles of the rule of law were laid in the Napoleonic Code.

Government of France

The French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic with strong democratic traditions. The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the President of the Republic, who is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year term (formerly 7 years) and is the Head of State, and the Government, led by the president-appointed Prime Minister.

Geography of France

While Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe, France also has a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica>. These territories have varying forms of government ranging from overseas department to overseas collectivity.

Name of France

The name "France" comes from Latin Francia , which literally means "land of the Franks" or "Frankland". There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks. One is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca.

History of France

Rome to revolution

The borders of modern France are approximately the same as those of ancient Gaul, which was inhabited by St. Jerome wrote that Gaul was the only region "free from heresy".

In the 4th century AD, Gaul's eastern frontier along the Rhine was overrun by Germanic tribes , principally the Franks, from whom the ancient name of "Francie" was derived.