Capital City: Paris
Government: Republic
Languages: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Location: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Area: 643,427 sq km; 551,500 sq km [slightly less than the size of Texas]
Terrain: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east.
National Holiday: Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1790); note - although often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, the celebration actually commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 July 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are Fete Nationale (National Holiday) and quatorze juillet (14th of July)

Youth Books about France:
France by Don Nardo c2008 [J 914.4 Nardo]
You Wouldn’t Want to be an Aristocrat in the French Revolution by Jim Page c2008
Everybody Bonjours! by Leslie Kimmelman c2008 [E Fiction Kimmelman]
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo c2008 (abridged retelling) [J Fiction Hugo]
Invention of Hugo Cabret: a novel in words and pictures by Brian Selznick c2007 [J Fiction Selznick]
Crepes by Suzette by Monica Wellington c2004 [E Fiction Wellington]
Puss in Boots:The Adventures of That Most Enterprising Feline by Philip Pullman c2001

Learn more on the Web
CIA World Factbook: France
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html
Food in France
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/France.html
France Facts National Geographic Kids
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Places/Find/France
List of Mammals of France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_France

Web Scavenger Hunt Questions
1. What are the main agricultural products of France?
2. What is a baguette?
3. What are the three types of mole found in France?

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