France
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France is a nation in northwestern continental Europe.Traditionally a monarchy,it has been governed under a succession of republican constitutions since 1871.
Geography
Modern France proper is bounded by Belgium,Luxembourg,Germany,Switzerland,Italy,Monaco,Spain,and Andorra,and has seacoasts on the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea (it is separated from Great Britain by the English Channel,known in French as La Manche).
The overseas territories of France are considered part of "Metropolitan France" and are represented in its Parliament;these include French Guiana,in South America,and a variety of colonies in distant oceans.
Origin as Nation
The land that is now France was previously inhabited by a succession of Celtic peoples,most notably the Gauls.The Gauls were conquered by the Romans.It was under the Romans that Christianity took root in the area,and it has remained the predominant religion since.The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lyon (a city known under the Romans as Lugdunum,named for the Celtic god Lugh) bears the title of Primate of the Gauls to this day.
As the Western Roman Empire collapsed,the area was invaded under the Franks,led by Chlodovech (Clovis) of the Merovingian dynasty,who led his people from 481 AD.He accepted conversion to Christianity.
The Merovingians sometimes established separate realms (principally Austrasia and Neustria) and sometimes united under a "King of All Franks",but were ultimately shouldered aside by their "Mayors of the Palace",the Carolingians.After the death of the great Frankish leader Charlemagne who had extended the dominions beyond those previously ruled by Franks and been crowned Emperor,his dominions were divided,and the western portion became France.
Capetian dynasty
Hugh Capet,Count of Vermandois,whose family had taken an increasingly influential role under the Carolingians just as the Carolingians had under the Merovingians,shouldered aside the last Carolingian king in 987,and his descendants ruled continuously until 1793 and discontinuously until 1848 (another branch includes the present Spanish royal family).
