[435] Several major tennis tournaments take place in France, including the Paris Masters and the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. [388] In the past years, free dailies made a breakthrough, with Metro, 20 Minutes and Direct Plus distributed at more than 650,000 copies respectively. This number is used in postal codes and was formerly used on vehicle number plates. The two composers invented new musical forms[357][358][359][360] and new sounds. Following the Battle of Bouvines, the Angevin court retreated to England, but persistent Capetian–Plantagenet rivalry would pave the way for another conflict, the Hundred Years' War. Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles are considered as "poetic masterpieces",[349] Hugo's verse having been compared to that of Shakespeare, Dante and Homer. Spanish troops, the terror of Western Europe,[57] assisted the Catholic side during the Wars of Religion in 1589–1594, and invaded northern France in 1597; after some skirmishing in the 1620s and 1630s, Spain and France returned to all-out war between 1635 and 1659. [383] Moreover, this decision was confirmed in a voting in the UNESCO in 2005: the principle of "cultural exception" won an overwhelming victory with 198 countries voting for it and only 2 countries, the United States and Israel, voting against.[384]. With the exception of its north-eastern border, the country is bounded either by water or by mountains – namely the Rhine and Jura, the Alps and the Pyrenees. Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107 percent between 2009 and 2012, i.e. The oceanic climate of western France brings average rainfall spread over many days, and modest annual temperature variations (Brittany, Normandy, Atlantic Loire, Loire Valley). [237] Western Europe is now serviced by a network of TGV lines. Higher education is divided between public universities and the prestigious and selective Grandes écoles, such as Sciences Po Paris for Political studies, HEC Paris for Economics, Polytechnique, the École des hautes études en sciences sociales for Social studies and the École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris that produce high-profile engineers, or the École nationale d'administration for careers in the Grands Corps of the state. See the map to the right for the 22 metropolitan regions. Other eminent French scientists of the 19th century have their names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower. [176] In late 2012, credit rating agencies warned that growing French Government debt levels risked France's AAA credit rating, raising the possibility of a future downgrade and subsequent higher borrowing costs for the French authorities. In 2008, the TeO ("Trajectories and origins") poll conducted jointly by INED and the French National Institute of Statistics[254][255] estimated that 5 million people were of Italian ancestry (the largest immigrant community), followed by 3 million to 6 million[256][257][258] of Northwest African ancestry, 2.5 million of Sub-Saharan African origin, 500,000 ethnic Armenian, and 200,000 people of Turkish ancestry. As of 2009[update], the World Trade Organization (WTO) reported France was the world's sixth largest exporter and the fourth largest importer of manufactured goods. La Convention UNESCO pour la diversité culturelle : vers un droit international culturel contraignant ? Charlemagne's son, Louis I (Emperor 814–840), kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive his death. Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, Andorra 56.6 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km, metropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east, metropolitan France: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish, UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time), +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October. Some authors of French medieval texts are unknown, such as Tristan and Iseult and Lancelot-Grail. The tricolour flag of France,[409] the anthem "La Marseillaise", and the motto Liberté, égalité, fraternité, defined in Title 1 of the Constitution as national symbols, all emerged during the cultural ferment of the early revolution, along with Marianne, a common national personification. Metropolitan France has four coastlines: the North Sea, English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Two of the most famous French artists of the time of Baroque era, Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, lived in Italy. [177] Louis XVI, Louis XV's grandson, actively supported the Americans, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain (realised in the Treaty of Paris (1783)). [37] Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC. Native speakers of other languages made up the remaining 5.2% of the population.[287]. [196], With 89 million international tourist arrivals in 2018,[200] France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (83 million) and the United States (80 million). From 2006 to 2011 population growth averaged 0.6 percent per year;[248] since 2011, annual growth has been between 0.4 and 0.5 percent annually. There were several languages and dialects, and writers used their own spelling and grammar. [293] Certain groups, such as Scientology, Children of God, the Unification Church, and the Order of the Solar Temple are considered cults ("sectes" in French), and therefore do not have the same status as recognized religions in France. Stretching 1,000km (600 miles) from north to south and the same from east to west, it’s the third largest country in Europe after Russia and Ukraine, covering an area of 551,500km² (213,000 square miles). The Gothic architecture, originally named Opus Francigenum meaning "French work",[330] was born in Île-de-France and was the first French style of architecture to be copied in all Europe. The war cost France 300,000 casualties.[58]. Due to its shape, France is often referred to as l'Hexagone ("The Hexagon").