Felix Webquest France Information Page Home  Teacher Instructions  Independent Research  Performance Task   FACT FILE Country: France Capital City: Paris Population: 60.6 million Area: 547,000 sq. km Major Ethnic Groups: French, other European, African, and Southeast Asian Language: French Money: French Franc, Euro National Flag:   Climate France has a varied climate. Parts of the country in the North and West, have humid summers and mild winters. In the South, it is hot and dry in the summer and mild in the winter, whereas the East has cold winters and nice summers.   Food A lot of delicious food comes from France such as crepes, quiche, cheeses, baguettes, (bread), and escargots, (snails in garlic butter). The French are also the biggest producers of wine in the world.   Recreation and the Arts The French enjoy a variety of sports and games. One of the most popular is an annual bicycle race called the “Tour de France” where cyclists have to ride 20 different races through different parts of the country. They also like to watch soccer, car racing and tennis. Did you know that the cartoon “Babar the Elephant “was invented by Frenchman Jean de Brunhoff?   Celebrations and Holidays France celebrates many Christian holidays on the calendar, including Easter and Christmas. They also celebrate “Bastille Day” where they set off fireworks to celebrate their history.   Famous Places and Interesting Facts The most famous place to visit in France is the Eiffel Tower located in Paris. It is a 320 metre high tower built in 1889. Until 1931, it was the tallest building in the world. Notre Dame Arc de Triomphe Tour de France Eiffel Tower   ***All information and graphics borrowed from http://www.settlement.org/cp/english/France/index.html http://www.nationmaster.com/country/fr Comments, suggestions? Contact our Webmaster Last revised: January 2006