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The history of France is the history of European and the history of modern France is the history of modern Europe. When the French Duke of Normandy invaded the European offshore islands of Britain and eventually proclaimed himself king, it was clear to Europeans that kings of Britain fell under the Emperors of France, a position which caused England’s animosity toward the French and for nearly ten centuries consternation in Europe.

France has been a republic since the overthrow of the Second Empire in 1870 and the Constitution, which was passed by the National Assembly in 1871 model for several revisions thereafter. Subsequent to Julius Caesar between 58 and 51 BC France became completely romanised. With both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, France is the only country that belongs to Northern and Southern Europe. Politically and culturally it has played a focal role in European affairs, economically it was slow to develop and it was only its remarkable post war modernisation through successive five-year plans, that made it a major industrial power and Europe’s second largest economy.

Agriculture is important for France as it is a fertile and a spacious country and French farmers which replaced the peasant smallholders, have benefited from inclusion in the common agricultural policy making today France the second largest agricultural exporter in the world after the USA, and in some specific areas, for example wine, they are the worlds largest exporters. Although Agriculture is important, there has been of late a significant and important sift of economic activity to the industrial sector. French industry, sometimes nationalised, sometimes privatised, is world class in scale although many firms are still small family business operating alongside world-class giants. Heavy engineering was a traditional strength in French industry, but the high-tech sector is now possibly Frances most successful sector and the French have dominated various EU programmes such as Ariane, Airbus and Eureka. These changes have contributed another shift in econimc activity, from the old coal, steel and textile areas of the northeast and toward the south were Grenoble and Toulouse have attracted new enterprises.

France is a foudning member of the European Union and is in many respects strongly in favour of European integration including more political. Although very communautaire, they still have the strong individualistic independent attitude of General de Gaulle. It withdrew from the military arm of NATO in 1966 and regards the Western European Union as a more appropriate vehicle than NATO on which to base EU defence policy. Community now.

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