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France

(Encyclopedia)CE5 France frăns, Fr. fräNs, officially French Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 64,457,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel (N), the Atlantic...

France, Anatole

(Encyclopedia)France, Anatole zhäk, tēbōˈ [key], 1844–1924, French writer. He was probably the most prominent French man of letters of his time. Among his best-remembered works is L'Île des pingouins (1908, ...

Île-de-France, region, France

(Encyclopedia)Île-de-France ēl-də-fräNs [key], region and former province, N central France, in the center of the Paris basin, a fertile depression where the Marne and Ouse rivers join the Seine. Containing par...

Collège de France

(Encyclopedia)Collège de France kôlĕzhˈ də fräNs [key], institution of higher learning founded in Paris, France, in 1529 by Francis I at the instigation of Guillaume Budé. It was founded to encourage humanis...

Dordogne, river, France

(Encyclopedia)Dordogne, river, c.305 mi (490 km) long, rising near the Puy de Sancy in the Auvergne Mts., S central France. It flows southwest to join the Garonne River N of Bordeaux and to form the Gironde. The up...

Doubs, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Doubs do͞o [key], department, E France, in Franche-Comté, bordering on the Jura Mts. and on...

Diane de France

(Encyclopedia)Diane de France dyän də fräNs [key], 1538–1619, duchess of Angoulême; illegitimate daughter of King Henry II of France. She was legitimized in 1547. She was married to François, eldest son of C...

Ardennes, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Ardennes ärdĕnˈ [key], department, NE France, in Champage, Grand Est region. The capital is Charleville-Mézières. Ardennes is also the name of a section of the easter...

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