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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 Grenoble

     Grenoble (Arpitan: Grasanòbol) is a city and commune in south-east France situated at the foot of the Alps where the Drac joins the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes région, Grenoble is the préfecture (capital) of the département of Isère. The population of the city (commune) of Grenoble at the 1999 census was 153,317 inhabitants (157,900 inhabitants estimated as of February 2004 ). The population of the whole metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 514,559 inhabitants and 552,547 inhabitants at the 2007 estimate. Among the numerous communes included are the city's largest suburbs, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Échirolles, and Fontaine, each with a population exceeding 20,000 inhabitants.

     Grenoble is surrounded by mountains: to the north are the Chartreuse, to the west are the Vercors, and to the east are the Belledonne range. As such, it is often visited by the Tour de France and has been called the "capital of the Alps".

     The city is mainly built on the alluvial plain of the River Isere at an altitude of around 214 meters. Mountain sports are an important tourist draw for the city. Twenty ski stations surround the city, the nearest being fr:Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse, which is about 15 minutes' drive away.

     Because the city sits in a valley bottom, it has serious issues of air quality due to the mountains trapping the pollution from a large number of cars, garbage burning plants, chemical plants, paper mills and even nuclear test labs. Radiation detectors can be observed at regular intervals along the Drac river. The trash burning plant in fr:Meylan, one of the city's most prosperous suburbs, is currently being investigated for polluting the environment with Dioxin. A similar plant in Savoie was found to have been doing the same.

     Historically both Grenoble and the surrounding areas were the site of mining and heavy industry. Abandoned mills and factories can be found in small villages like La Mure (carbon mine).