About France

     France (French: IPA: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, IPA: [ʁepyˈblik fʁɑ̃ˈsɛz]), is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various overseas islands and territories located in other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. French people often refer to Metropolitan France as L'Hexagone (The "Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory.

     France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. Due to its overseas departments, France also shares land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin). France is also linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel.

     The French Republic is a democracy that is organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. In the 18th and 19th centuries, France built one of the largest colonial empires of the time, stretching across West Africa and Southeast Asia, prominently influencing the cultures and politics of the regions. France is a developed country with the sixth-largest economy in the world. France is the most visited country in the world, receiving over 79 million foreign tourists annually (including business visitors, but excluding people staying less than 24 hours in France). France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; it is also an acknowledged nuclear power.

     The name France originates from the Franks (Francs), a Germanic tribe that occupied northern Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. More precisely, the region around Paris, called Île-de-France, was the original French royal demesne. The first King of the Franks, Clovis, is regarded as the forefather of the French kings.

About Alpes Maritimes

     Alpes-Maritimes (Occitan: Aups Maritims) is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.

    The Romans had a province called Alpes Maritimae as early as 7 BC. Its capital was Cemenelum, today Cimiez, a neighborhood in the north of Nice. At its largest in 297, this province extended to Digne and Briançon, and its capital was Embrun.

     A department of this name existed in France from 1793 to 1815, but it had different boundaries and included Monaco and San Remo.

     The present department was created in 1860 when the county of Nice was annexed. It was constituted out of the county of Nice and the arrondissement of Grasse in the department of Var.

     In 1947, the department was enlarged by the addition of the communes of Tende and La Brigue, which had remained Italian after the 1860 annexation.

     Tourism in the department centers on the Riviera, known as the Côte d'Azur, known for its beaches and luxury hotels.

     The area inland from the busy Cote d'Azur is an excellent base for many out door sports: cycling, mountain biking, skiing, walking, rock climbing, canyoning, canoeing, rafting, fishing, horse riding, forests of adventure, caving and the area has the first ever under ground via ferrata. The area has internationally renowned paragliding and hang gliding flying sites - Col de Bleyne, Gourdon, Greolieres and Lachens. This website gives further information on these sports and general information about the area.

     The department is surrounded by the French departments of Var, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the principality of Monaco, Italy on the east, and the Mediterranean on the south.

     Alpes-Maritimes includes the famous French Riviera coastline on the Mediterranean Sea with the important towns and cities of Cannes, Nice, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and Antibes.

     The area is mountaneous right down to the coast. This Southern area of the Alps is termed the Maritime Alps.

     The economy is largely driven by tourism. Nice is second only to Paris in the number and size of its hotels. Because of the mild climate, it is a year-round tourist attraction.

     Other notable industry includes the perfume industry in Grasse and high-tech industry around Sophia-Antipolis.