1.
Regions of France
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France is divided into 18 administrative regions, including 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions. The current legal concept of region was adopted in 1982, the term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation, which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for representatives took place on 16 March 1986. In 2016, the number of regions was reduced from 27 to 18 through amalgamation, in 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 with effect from 1 January 2016. However, the region of Upper and Lower Normandy is simply called Normandy. Permanent names were to be proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016, the legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to Centre-Val de Loire with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names, between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four regions, in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth. Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law and they levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a council made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections. A regions primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools, in March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the costs. In addition, regions have considerable power over infrastructural spending, e. g. education, public transit, universities and research. This has meant that the heads of regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions. Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986, Overseas region is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. Radio France Internationale in English Overseas regions Ministère de lOutre-Mer some explanations about the past and current developments of DOMs and TOMs
2.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
3.
Prefectures in France
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There are 101 prefectures in France, one for each department. The official in charge is the prefect, the prefect represents the national government at the local level and as such exercises the powers that are constitutionally attributed to the national government. The prefect issues ordinances written for the application of law, to close a building that does not conform to safety codes. In the past, the prefect was head of the department, but since 1982, there is an exception in Paris and its three surrounding departments. These departments are administered by a prefecture for law enforcement and security purposes, called the Prefecture of Police. The power of law enforcement is usually invested in the mayor in other French communes, the departments are divided into arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons. The chef-lieu darrondissement is the subprefecture, the official in charge is the subprefect (French, sous-préfet. Cantons have relatively few competences, the most important one being the local organisation of elections, administrative divisions of France French National Police
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Lyon
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Lyon or Lyons is a city in east-central France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, about 470 km from Paris and 320 km from Marseille. Inhabitants of the city are called Lyonnais, Lyon had a population of 506,615 in 2014 and is Frances third-largest city after Paris and Marseille. Lyon is the capital of the Metropolis of Lyon and the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the metropolitan area of Lyon had a population of 2,237,676 in 2013, the second-largest in France after Paris. The city is known for its cuisine and gastronomy and historical and architectural landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lyon was historically an important area for the production and weaving of silk. It played a significant role in the history of cinema, Auguste, the city is also known for its famous light festival, Fête des Lumières, which occurs every 8 December and lasts for four days, earning Lyon the title of Capital of Lights. Economically, Lyon is a centre for banking, as well as for the chemical, pharmaceutical. The city contains a significant software industry with a focus on video games. Lyon hosts the headquarters of Interpol, Euronews, and International Agency for Research on Cancer. Lyon was ranked 19th globally and second in France for innovation in 2014 and it ranked second in France and 39th globally in Mercers 2015 liveability rankings. These refugees had been expelled from Vienne by the Allobroges and were now encamped at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers, dio Cassius says this task was to keep the two men from joining Mark Antony and bringing their armies into the developing conflict. The Roman foundation was at Fourvière hill and was officially called Colonia Copia Felix Munatia, a name invoking prosperity, the city became increasingly referred to as Lugdunum. The earliest translation of this Gaulish place-name as Desired Mountain is offered by the 9th-century Endlicher Glossary, in contrast, some modern scholars have proposed a Gaulish hill-fort named Lugdunon, after the Celtic god Lugus, and dúnon. It then became the capital of Gaul, partly due to its convenient location at the convergence of two rivers, and quickly became the main city of Gaul. Two emperors were born in city, Claudius, whose speech is preserved in the Lyon Tablet in which he justifies the nomination of Gallic senators. Today, the archbishop of Lyon is still referred to as Primat des Gaules, the Christians in Lyon were martyred for their beliefs under the reigns of various Roman emperors, most notably Marcus Aurelius and Septimus Severus. Local saints from this period include Blandina, Pothinus, and Epipodius, in the second century AD, the great Christian bishop of Lyon was the Easterner, Irenaeus. Burgundian refugees fleeing the destruction of Worms by the Huns in 437 were re-settled by the commander of the west, Aëtius. This became the capital of the new Burgundian kingdom in 461, in 843, by the Treaty of Verdun, Lyon, with the country beyond the Saône, went to Lothair I
5.
Departments of France
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In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
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Ain
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Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône and it has an excellent transport network and benefits from the proximity to the international airports of Lyon and Geneva. Ain is composed of four different areas which – each with its own characteristics – contribute to the diversity. In the Bresse agriculture and agro-industry are dominated by the cultivation of cereals, cattle breeding, milk, in the Dombes, pisciculture assumes greater importance as does wine making in the Bugey. The high diversification of the industry is accompanied by a strong presence of the plastics sector in. Due to its industrial character and the cooperation of small and medium enterprises. Its unemployment rate lies far beneath the national and regional average, besides the export-oriented SMEs, several large enterprises, with a prominent position on national and international markets, have settled in the department. The first inhabitants settled in the territory of todays Ain about 15000 BC, the menhir of Pierrefiche in Simandre-sur-Suran dates from the mid-Neolithic era, in the fourth or third millennium BC, it is the sole standing stone in Burgundy. The late-second century BC Calendar of Coligny bears the longest surviving Gaulish inscription, in the year 58 BC Julius Caesars military action against the Helvetians advancing through Gaul on the territory of todays Ain marked the beginning of the Gallic Wars. Under the Merovingians, the four regions of the modern département belonged to the Kingdom of Burgundy. In the beginning of the 6th century AD the diocese of Belley was created, abbeys of the order of Saint Benedict were established in the valleys. In 843 the Treaty of Verdun assigned the territories that comprise the Ain to the kingdom of Lothar I, the first big fiefdoms emerge between 895 and 900 in Bâgé-le-Châtel, which formed the nucleus of the pays of Bresse, and in Coligny. Numerous castles were erected in a low rolling terrain that was not otherwise easily defended, in the 12th century the Romanesque architecture prospered. In the 11th century the Counts of Savoy and Valromey settled in the region of Belley, in the beginning of the 15th century almost the whole region of Ain is united under the house of Savoy. New monasteries are founded in the cities, churches are constructed or reshaped according to the Gothic style of architecture. In the beginning of the 16th century – the Duchy of Savoy was at the peak of its power – Ain was inherited by Margaret of Habsburg, in Brou she erected a church and a monastery in late-Gothic style. The Treaty of Lyon of 17 January 1601 ends finally the conflict, in the 17th century sculpture, painting and literature prosper. During the 18th century streets and small industries emerge, on 28 March 1762 the Count of Eu, son of the Duke of Maine, cedes the region of Dombes to Louis XV
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Allier
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Allier (French pronunciation, , is a French department located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France named after the river Allier. Moulins is the prefecture and the INSEE and Post Code is 03, the inhabitants of the department are known as Elavérins or Elavérines Allier department is composed of almost all of the former Duchy of Bourbonnais. It is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and borders the departments of Cher, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Loire, Puy-de-Dome, and Creuse. The Bourbonnais Bocage To the north and just over 500 metres above sea level, almost all of the southern area consists of Combrailles which is sometimes called High Bourbonnais, in an area that goes beyond the departmental boundaries of Creuse and Puy-de-Dôme. This area of the department rises to 778 metres at Bosse, the rivers Sioule, Bouble, and Cher have carved the most picturesque gorges in Allier. Limogne, together with Sioule and Allier, is part of the Gannat / Escurolles / Saint-Pourçain triangle while Forterre covers the Canton of Varennes-sur-Allier ending near Jaligny, as noted Atlantic winds are dominant from the west, northwest, or southwest. The influence of topography, especially in the valleys of Cher and Allier, the history of Allier corresponds to the Duchy of Bourbon with which it shares almost the entire territory. Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 and it was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais. In 1940, the government of Marshal Philippe Pétain chose the town of Vichy as its capital, Vichy also became the departments second sub-prefecture in 1940, since the department now found itself split by the demarcation line between the occupied and free zones of France. On 1 January 1997 the population of Allier was estimated at 357,100 inhabitants which represented an average density of 50 people/km², many areas have a density less than 20 people/km². Since the early 1980s Allier has faced many demographic handicaps, the ratio of older people is important and with low fertility rates the natural growth is negative. Meanwhile, net migration has become very negative, at 1 January 2009 the legal population was 343,046 inhabitants. Allier has three cities, Montlucon, Vichy, and Moulins by size. The rest of the department includes some towns and villages scattered mainly along the rivers. The few villages are far from other and it is generally a sparsely populated department. Until the end of the 19th century, however, the population was increasing through the development of its cities compensated by the rural exodus, the department then passed 420,000 inhabitants. After the population losses of the First World War the population stabilized, since then, due to the continuing rural exodus and especially the decline of old industries, the population has decreased and aged steadily from 386,533 inhabitants in 1968 to 343,046 in 2009. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the censuses conducted in the communes of the department since 1793
8.
Cantal
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Cantal is a department in south-central France, with its capital at Aurillac. Its residents are known as Cantalians and its principal towns are Aurillac, Saint-Flour, and Mauriac. Cantal is part of the current region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and borders the departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire, Aveyron, Lot, Lozère, the department is named for the Plomb du Cantal, the central peak of the bare and rugged Monts du Cantal mountain chain which traverses the area. Cantal lies in the middle of Frances central plateau, the Cantal range is a group of extinct and eroded volcanic peaks. Its highest point is the Plomb du Cantal, which reaches an elevation of 1,858 meters and its neighbors are Puy Mary and Puy Chavaroche. To their north lie the Cézallier and Dore ranges and the arid Artense Plateau, immediately to their east is the fertile Planèze Plateau, bound on its east by the Monts de la Margeride. The principal rivers are the Alagnon, which is tributary to the Allier, the Celle and Truyère, tributary to the Lot, at an elevation of 250 meters above sea level, the low point of the province lies in the Lot valley. The Truyère valley skirts the Planèze on the south and divides it from the Monts dAubrac, the western area of the department consists of grassy plateaus and beautiful river valleys. At first, Cantal was divided into four arrondissements—Aurillac, Mauriac, Murat, Murat was later merged into the others. The climate of the department varies considerably, prevailing winds and mountain ranges divide Cantal into four climatic zones, The west is subject to oceanic winds which bring rains. The mountains of the Cantal and the Cézallier create a shadow, it rains. The Planèze of Saint-Flour and the region of Massiac receive less precipitation, the plateaux of the Margeride and the Aubrac have harsh winters and pleasant summers. Generally, the weather is mild and dry in the plain between Murat and St-Fleur and around Aurillac, while summer storms and winters can be long and severe in the northern. The west—nearer precipitation coming in from the Atlantic—is well watered, there is abundant snowfall which can remain up to six months on the mountaintops. Winter temperatures can fall to below −15 °C, whereas in summer 25 °C is often reached, the southern part of the department, on its borders with Aveyron and Lot, is the hottest region. Aurillac averaged 2080 hours of sunlight per year over the period from 1991 to 2000, fog is rare and disappears quickly. Wind is usually not very strong, but the lightning flashes in this department are among the most spectacular in France, televised French weather forecasts often note Aurillac as the coldest city in France in the mornings. This status should be understood in light of their derivation from temperature readings by Météo France, of the 30 cities included on its maps, Aurillac is by far the one with the highest altitude, at 640 m above sea level
9.
Haute-Loire
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Haute-Loire is a department in south-central France named after the Loire River. Haute-Loire is part of the current region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, Lozère, Cantal, the inhabitants of the department are called Altiligériens. The department covers the upper reaches of the Loire and consists of the Loire Valley and it is one of the original 83 departments of France created in 1790 during the French Revolution. Parts of the department are included in the Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park, the first known inhabitants of this region were hunter-gatherers and it was later occupied by pastoralists, shepherds living in caves or simple huts. It later came under the control of a Gaulish tribe called Vellavi and at the time of Julius Caesars Gallic Wars, the area became a Roman province in 121 BC, originally under the name Gallia Transalpina. The name distinguished it from Cisalpine Gaul on the side of the Alps to Rome. In 40 BC, during the Second Triumvirate, Lepidus was given responsibility for Narbonese Gaul, after the Gothic takeover, the Visigothic dominions were generally known as Septimania. The king of the Visigoths, Alaric I was killed at the Battle of Vouillé in 507, a battle won by Clovis I and Velay came under Frankish rule. On Clovis death in 511, his kingdom was divided among his four sons and these subdivisions were united under the auspices of his longest surviving son Chlothar I, only to be split again under his four sons at his death. It was reunited once more under Chlothar II who became the ruler of the Frankish people in 613. In about 928, the became a fiefdom of the Count of Toulouse. In 1137, Eleanor of Aquitaine succeeded to the Duchy of Aquitaine and her marriage to Henry, Duke of Normandy, by the end of the thirteenth century the area was known as the Dauphiné d’Auvergne. Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, the new departments were to be uniformly administered and approximately equal to one another in size and population. Haute-Loire was formed parts of the former provinces of Auvergne, Languedoc. Two thirds of the department, centred on Le Puy-en-Velay, used to be part of the province of Languedoc and is known as Velay. The geographical distance from Toulouse had allowed this region to enjoy a great deal of autonomy, Haute-Loire is a department in south central France and is part of the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The capital and largest town in the department is Le Puy-en-Velay, to the north of Haute-Loire lie Puy-de-Dôme and Loire, to the east lies Ardèche, to the south lies Lozère and to the west lies Cantal. The river Loire rises in the part of the department and flows northwards
10.
Haute-Savoie
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Haute-Savoie is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland, to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc, the French entrance to the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Italy is in Haute-Savoie. It is noted for winter sports, the first Winter Olympic Games were held at Chamonix in 1924, before 1860, the territory occupied by modern Haute-Savoie and the adjoining department of Savoie had been part of the Kingdom of Sardinia since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Annexation of the region by France was formalized in the Treaty of Turin on March 24,1860, from November 1942 to September 1943, Haute-Savoie was subjected to military occupation by Fascist Italy. The Maquis des Glières operated from Haute-Savoie, Haute-Savoie comprises four arrondissements, divided into 294 communes and 17 cantons. Haute-Savoie has the largest range of elevations of all the departments in France, the lowest point is 250 metres in the Rhône River Valley, some of the worlds best-known ski resorts are in Haute-Savoie. Its mountainous terrain makes mountain passes important to trade and economic life, some of the most important are the Col de la Forclaz and the Mont Blanc Tunnel, linking Chamonix to Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley. As of 1996,178,624 hectares of Haute-Savoie is forested, compared to 34.4 percent for the Rhone-Alpes region and 27.1 percent for France as a whole. Of the forested area 141,063 hectares is managed for timber and other forest products, national nature reserves are designated by the French government as areas where an outstanding natural heritage is present in both rare and typical areas in terms of species and geology. Management is charged to local organizations, with direction and evaluation focusing on protection for future generations. Lake Annecy is an attraction, along with the town of Évian-les-Bains, perhaps the best-known town on the French shore of Lake Geneva. Haute-Savoie is entirely within the watershed of the Rhone, there were 4,450 farmers in 1999,4,800 farmers and over 1,700 full-time farm employees at the end of 2006. In 1999, crop production was valued at €71.5 million, dairy production is a large part of the Haute-Savoie economy, earning €117.2 million in 2006 and representing 74 percent of the net animal-product worth. The average expenditure per capita in 2006 was €21,706, with the 2004–2007 rise of the euro, Swiss customer traffic decreased five or six percent. At the end of 2006, traditional small businesses represented 84 percent of businesses and 40 percent of retail space,4,301 companies were established in 2004 in Haute-Savoie, nearly 80 percent in the service sector, with a high percentage offering service to individuals. This accounted for 21.6 percent of new businesses, the most active sectors were real estate, construction, business services and the food industry. In 1999, Haute-Savoie had 2,779 industrial companies producing 13.60 percent of all business income. T, firms engaged in screw-cutting are major employers in the department. While the automotive industry is the client, firms also service the electronics, household-appliance
11.
Loire (department)
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Loire is a department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loires upper reaches. Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two and this was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon which, by population, was the countrys second largest city. By splitting Rhône-et-Loire the government sought to protect the French Revolution from the potential power, the River Loire traverses the department from south to north. The inhabitants of the department are called Ligériens, the industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its suburbs contains some 290,000 of the areas 728,542 inhabitants
12.
Savoie
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Savoie is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of the French Alps. For history before 1860, details of the annexation, and modern regionalism and it is widely accepted that Savoie takes its name from the Latin Sapaudia or Sabaudia, meaning land covered in fir trees. Savoie was long part of the states of Savoy, though beginning in the 16th century and it was integrated into the Mont-Blanc department from 1792 to 1815. The province was annexed by France in 1860, the former Duchy of Savoy became the two departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie. Moûtiers, capital of the province of Tarentaise Valley ceased to be the prefecture after a law passed on September 10,1926. Savoie, along with Albertville, hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics, with ski events at Tarentaise and Beaufortain. The other main alpine valley is the Maurienne, connected to the Tarentaise valley by two passes, the col de la Madeleine and the highest pass in Europe, the col de lIseran. The Maurienne valley was through the col du Mont Cenis, the commercial route between France and Italy. It is one of the longest intra-alpine valleys in the Alps, Savoie is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région. It borders the departments of Haute-Savoie, Ain, Isère and Hautes-Alpes in addition to Italy and its two main lakes are Lac du Bourget and Lac dAiguebelette, one of the least polluted in France due to a 1976 law forbidding any use of motorboats on the lake. According to the Chambéry chamber of commerce, close to 50% of the departments wealth comes from tourism, each year, Savoie hosts over 30 million visitor-nights of tourists. Savoie also profits from its resources with particular strengths in ore processing. Savoie had an exceptionally high export/import ratio of 214% in 2005 and its exports rose to €1.768 billion and €825 million in imports. Its leading exports were steel, aluminum, and electric and electronic components, Savoie is famous for its cows, which produce numerous cheeses, some of them are, Beaufort Savoie Gruyère Reblochon Tamié Tome des Bauges Tomme de Savoie Numerous wine grapes are also grown in Savoie. The most famous wines are made of Gamay, Pinot noir, fruit production is the third largest component of agriculture in Savoie. Apples and pears are also produced in the region and are known for their qualities. Residents of Savoie are known as Savoyards, though they can also be called Savoisiens or Savoyens,8,507 The average population density is not a good indicator, the valleys tend to be much more densely populated, whereas the mountains tend to be near-completely uninhabited. The Catholic Church in Savoie is divided into three dioceses, Chambéry, Maurienne, and Tarentaise, together, they form an archdiocese, in which the bishop of Chambéry is the archbishop
13.
Laurent Wauquiez
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Laurent Wauquiez is a French politician and was the Secretary of State for European Affairs under the Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Alain Juppé. He was previously Secretary of State for Employment under the Minister of the Economy, Industry and he also has been Government Spokesman since June 2007, until March 2008 as Minister of State under the Prime Minister. He was elected as 2nd Vice President of ORU Fogar at the organizations General Assembly held in Quito on 16 October 2016, governmental functions Minister of Higher Education and Research, 2011-2012. Secretary of State with the Prime Minister, Government Spokesman, 2007-2008, Secretary of State for Employment, 2008-2010. Electoral mandates National Assembly of France Member of the National Assembly of France for Haute-Loire, elected in 2004, reelected in 2007 and 2012. Regional Council President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, since 2016, municipal Council Mayor of Le Puy-en-Velay, 2008-2016. Municipal councillor of Le Puy-en-Velay, 2008-2016
14.
The Republicans (France)
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The Republicans is a centre-right political party in France. The party was formed on 30 May 2015 by renaming the Union for a Popular Movement party, the party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Socialist Party. The Republicans are a member of the European Peoples Party, Centrist Democrat International, with the name already chosen, vice-president of the UMP Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet presented Sarkozy and the partys political bureau the proposed new statutes. The new name was adopted by the party bureau on 5 May 2015, the new party statutes were adopted by 96. 3% of voters and the composition of the new political bureau by 94. 8%. The change to the name The Republicans was confirmed at the founding congress on 30 May 2015 at the Paris Event Centre in Paris. Angela Merkel, chairwoman of the conservative CDU, sent a message to the congress. The Republicans thus became the successor of the UMP and the leading centre-right party in France. The organisation has been declared in the préfecture de Saône-et-Loire on 9 April 2015 and this party foundation was published in the Journal officiel de la République française on 25 April 2015. On 3 July 2016, Sarkozy announced that he would resign as leader that year in order to compete to be the candidate in the 2017 presidential election. On 27 November 2016, Francois Fillon, the former Prime Minister of France, politics of France List of political parties in France Official web site of Les Républicains
15.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
16.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
17.
Arpitan language
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Franco-Provençal, Arpitan or Romand is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in east-central France, western Switzerland, northwestern Italy, and in enclaves in the Province of Foggia in Apulia, Italy. Franco-Provençal has several dialects and is separate from but closely related to neighboring Romance languages, Oïl languages, Occitan, Gallo-Italian. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G. I, Ascoli in the 19th century because it shared features with French and Provençal without belonging to either. Arpitan, a neologism, is becoming a name for the language. This name was popularized due to the lands where the Arpitan language is spoken or used to be the prevalent idiom, the name for the region comes from the term Arpes, meaning Alps in Arpitan. Today, the largest number of Franco-Provençal speakers reside in the Aosta Valley, the language is also spoken in alpine valleys in the province of Turin, two isolated towns in Foggia, and rural areas of the Romandie region of Switzerland. It is one of the three Gallo-Romance language families of France and is recognized as a regional language of France. Organizations are attempting to preserve it through cultural events, education, scholarly research, aside from regional French dialects, it is the most closely related language to French. The number of speakers of Franco-Provençal has been declining significantly, according to UNESCO, Franco-Provençal is a potentially endangered language in Italy and an endangered language in Switzerland and France. Franco-Provençal emerged as a Gallo-Romance variety of Latin, the linguistic region comprises east-central France, western portions of Switzerland, and the Aosta Valley of Italy with the adjacent alpine valleys of the Piedmont. This area covers territories once occupied by pre-Roman Celts, including the Allobroges, Sequani, Helvetii, Ceutrones, by the 5th century, the region was controlled by the Burgundians. Franco-Provençal is first attested in manuscripts from the 12th century, possibly diverging from the langues doïl as early as the 8th–9th centuries, one writer has detected the influence of Basque by analyzing fossil words from toponymy and the dialect in the Aosta Valley Valdôtain patois. However, Franco-Provençal is consistently typified by a strict, myopic comparison to French, and so is characterized as conservative. Thus, commentators, like Désormaux, consider medieval the terms for many nouns and verbs, including pâta rag, bayâ to give, moussâ to lie down, all of which are conservative only relative to French. As an example, Désormaux, writing on this point in the foreword of his Savoyard dialect dictionary, states, one can note it not only in phonetics and morphology, but also in the vocabulary, where one finds numerous words and directions that clearly disappeared from French. Franco-Provençal failed to garner the prestige of its three more widely spoken neighbors, French, Occitan, and Italian. Communities where speakers lived were generally mountainous and isolated from one another, the internal boundaries of the entire speech area were divided by wars and religious conflicts. France, Switzerland, the Franche-Comté, and the duchy, later kingdom, the edict explicitly replaced Latin with French as the language of law and the courts
18.
Occitan language
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Occitan, also known as lenga dòc by its native speakers, is a Romance language. It is spoken in southern France, Italys Occitan Valleys, Monaco, and Spains Val dAran, collectively, Occitan is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese. However, there is controversy about the unity of the language, others include Catalan in this family, as the distance between this language and some Occitan dialects is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. In fact, Catalan was considered an Occitan dialect until the end of the 19th century, today, Occitan is an official language in Catalonia, where a subdialect of Gascon known as Aranese is spoken in the Val dAran. Since September 2010, the Parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be the preferred language for use in the Val dAran. Unlike other Romance languages such as French or Spanish, there is no written standard language called Occitan. Instead, there are competing norms for writing Occitan, some of which attempt to be pan-dialectal, There are also significant lexical differences, where some dialects have words cognate with French, and others have Catalan and Spanish cognates. Nonetheless, there is a significant amount of mutual intelligibility, the long-term survival of Occitan is in grave doubt. According to the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages, four of the six dialects of Occitan are considered severely endangered. The name Occitan comes from lenga dòc, òc being the Occitan word for yes and this was not, of course, the only defining characteristic of each group. The word òc came from Vulgar Latin hoc, while oïl originated from Latin hoc illud, Old Catalan, and now the Catalan of Northern Catalonia also have hoc. Other Romance languages derive their word for yes from the Latin sic, thus, etc. such as Spanish sí, Eastern Lombard sé, Sicilian and Italian sì, or Portuguese sim. French uses si to answer yes in response to questions that are asked in the negative sense, the name Occitan is sometimes considered a neologism, however, it was attested around 1300 as occitanus, a crossing of oc and aquitanus. For many centuries, the Occitan dialects were referred to as Limousin or Provençal, after Frédéric Mistrals Félibrige movement in the 19th century, Provençal achieved the greatest literary recognition and so became the most popular term for Occitan. The term first came into fashion in Italy, currently, linguists use the terms Provençal and Limousin strictly to refer to specific varieties within Occitania, keeping the name Occitan for the language as a whole. Many non-specialists, however, continue to refer to the language as Provençal, NO·L LI TOLRÀ NO·L LI DEVEDARÀ NI NO LEN DECEBRÀ. Nec societatem non AURÀ, si per castellum recuperare NON O FA, et si recuperare potuerit in potestate Froterio et Raimundo LO TORNARÀ, carolingian litanies, both written and sung in Latin, were answered to in Old Occitan by the audience. Occitan was the vehicle for the poetry of the medieval troubadours and trobairises, At that time
19.
Auvergne
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Auvergne is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and it comprises four departments, Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. The administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the province of Auvergne. The Auvergne region is composed of the old provinces, Auvergne, departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, northwest of Haute-Loire. The province of Auvergne is entirely contained inside the Auvergne region Bourbonnais, a small part of Bourbonnais is also contained inside the Centre-Val de Loire region. Velay, centre and southeast of department of Haute-Loire, velay is entirely contained inside the Auvergne region. A small part of Gévaudan, extreme southwest of Haute-Loire, Gévaudan is essentially inside the Languedoc-Roussillon region. A small part of Vivarais, extreme southeast of Haute-Loire, Vivarais is essentially inside the Rhône-Alpes region. A small part of Forez, extreme northeast of Haute-Loire, Forez is essentially inside the Rhône-Alpes region. Velay, Gévaudan, and Vivarais are often considered to be sub-provinces of the old province of Languedoc, Forez is also often considered to be a sub-province of Lyonnais. Therefore, the region of Auvergne is composed of the provinces of Auvergne, major part of Bourbonnais. The region is home to a chain of volcanoes known collectively as the chaîne des Puys, the last confirmed eruption was around 4040 BCE. The volcanoes began forming some 70,000 years ago, and most have eroded, Auvergne has a surface area of 26,013 square kilometres equivalent to 4. 8% of Frances total surface area. Auvergne is one of the smallest regions in France, Auvergne is known for its mountain ranges and dormant volcanoes. Together the Monts Dore and the Chaîne des Puys include 80 volcanoes, the Puy de Dôme is the tallest volcano in the region, with an altitude of 1,465 metres. The Sancy Massif in the Monts Dore is the highest point in Auvergne, the northern region is covered in hills while the southern portion is mountainous and dotted with pastures. The Forest of Tronçais covers nearly 11,000 hectares and is the largest oak forest in Europe, the Loire runs through the southeast and borders the northeast, and the Allier runs from north to south down the center of Auvergne, with branches going east and west. Over many years the Allier river has created what are known as the Allier gorges, Auvergne has about 50 freshwater ponds and lakes
20.
Geographical renaming
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Geographical renaming is the changing of the name of a geographical feature or area. This can range from the change of a street name to a highly disputed change to the name of a country. Some names are changed locally but the new names are not recognised by other countries, other names may not be officially recognised but remain in common use. Many places have different names in different languages, and a change of language in official or general use has resulted in what is arguably a change of name. There are many reasons to undertake renaming, with political motivation being the cause, for example many places in the former Soviet Union. Sometimes a place reverts to its former name, one of the most common reasons for a country changing its name is newly acquired independence. When borders are changed, sometimes due to a splitting or two countries joining together, the names of the relevant areas can change. This, however, is more the creation of a different entity than an act of geographical renaming, often the older name will persist in colloquial expressions. For example, the known in English as Peking duck retained that name even when the Chinese capital changed its transliteration to Beijing. Names in non-Roman characters can also be spelled differently when Romanised in different European languages. China developed and adopted the pinyin romanisation system in February 1958 in place of previous systems such as the postal romanization, many Chinese geographical entities thus had their English names changed. Pinyin was adopted by the International Organization for Standardisation in 1982, the system is not used by North Korea. Transfer of a city between countries with different patterns of phonology can result in seeming changes of name. Changes can be so slight as Straßburg and Strasbourg, some are translations, Karlsbad became Karlovy Vary. When the formerly-German city of Danzig came under Polish rule, it known in English by its Polish name of Gdańsk. The pattern is far from uniform, and it takes time, decolonisation in India saw a trend to change the established English names of cities to the names in the local language. Since then, changes have included Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai, for example, it changed Dihua to Ürümqi and Zhenxi to Barkol. It peacefully dissolved into the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993, yugoslavia was originally Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, created by joining Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro and parts of Austro-Hungarian Empire inhabited by South Slavs
21.
French Alps
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The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, at 4,808 metres, Mont Blanc, on the French-Italian border, is the highest mountain in the Alps, and the highest Western European mountain. Notable towns in the French Alps include Grenoble, Chamonix, Annecy, Chambéry, Évian-les-Bains, the largest connected ski areas are, Les Trois Vallées,338 slopes,600 km of pistes. Portes du Soleil,288 slopes,650 km of slopes not entirely connected, paradiski, Champagny-en-Vanoise,239 slopes,420 km of slopes. Via Lattea,214 slopes,400 km of slopes, Évasion Mont-Blanc,183 slopes,420 km of slopes not entirely connected. Espace Killy,137 slopes,300 km of slopes, grand Massif,134 slopes,265 km of slopes. Les Aravis,133 slopes,220 km of slopes not entirely connected, Les Grandes Rousses,117 slopes,236 km of slopes. Serre Chevalier,111 slopes,250 km of slopes, La Forêt Blanche,104 slopes,180 km of slopes. Les Sybelles,96 slopes,310 km of slopes, valloire and Valmeinier,83 slopes,150 km of slopes. Grand Domaine,82 slopes,150 km of slopes Espace San Bernardo,73 slopes,150 km of slopes, Les Deux Alpes and La Grave,69 slopes,220 km of slopes. The other large ski areas are, Le Val dArly,150 km of slopes, in the winter, these include skiing and snowboarding as well as alternatives such as snowshoeing, sledging. There is a range of activities that happen such as gliding which most happens during the summer months. Summer activities include hiking, mountaineering, biking and rock climbing, roger Frison-Roche, Les montagnes de la terre. Sergio Marazzi, Atlante Orografico delle Alpi, pavone Canavese, Priuli & Verlucca editori. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8 Sergio Marazzi, La Suddivisione orografica internazionale unificata del Sistema Alpino - article with maps and illustrations, PDF
22.
Occitanie
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Occitanie is an administrative region of France that was created on 1 January 2016 from former French regions Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. Frances Conseil dÉtat approved Occitanie as the new name of the region on 28 September 2016, the new Région Occitanie should not be confused with the wider cultural entity of Occitania, of which the new administrative region is part. The new region covers an area of more than 72,724 km2 with a population of 5,626,858. As the provisional name of the new region, the text of the law specified the hyphenated names of the predecessors, Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. As for most of the regions, a permanent name was proposed by the new regional council. Enacted in 2014, the reform of the regions has been subject to debate for many years. The provisional name of the region was withdrawn on 30 September 2016, toulouse Montpellier Nîmes Perpignan Béziers Montauban Languedoc-Roussillon Midi-Pyrénées Regions of France Occitania Merger of the regions - France 3
23.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
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Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the largest administrative region in France, located in the southwest of the country. The region was created by the reform of French Regions in 2014 through the merger of three regions, Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes. It covers 84,061 km2 – or 1⁄8 of the country – and has approximately 5,800,000 inhabitants, the new region was established on 1 January 2016, following the regional elections in December 2015. It is the largest region in France by area, with a slightly larger than that of Austria. Its largest city, Bordeaux, together with its suburbs and satellite cities, forms the 7th-largest metropolitan area of France, with 850,000 inhabitants. The region has 25 major urban areas, among which the most important after Bordeaux are Bayonne, Limoges, Poitiers, Pau, after Île-de-France, New Aquitaine is the premier French region in research and innovation, with five universities and several Grandes Ecoles. Many companies specializing in surfing and related sports have located along the coast, in terms of culture, the new region includes major parts of Southern France, marked by Basque, Occitan and Oïl cultures. Historically, it is the successor to medieval Aquitaine. In June 2016, a group headed by historian Anne-Marie Cocula. The decision came after the favorite, Aquitaine, faced resistance by regional politicians from Limousin. The other popular favorite, Grande Aquitaine, was rejected for its connotation with a feeling of superiority, alain Rousset, president of the region, concurred with the working groups conclusion, reaffirming that he considered the acronym ALPC no choice at all. On 27 June 2016, just a few days ahead of the 1 July deadline, frances Conseil dÉtat approved New-Aquitaine as the new name of the region on 28 September 2016, effective 30 September 2016. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is delimited by four other French regions, three communities in Spain to the south, and the North Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its largest city and only metropolis is Bordeaux, in the heart of an agglomeration of nearly one million inhabitants. Taking into consideration the area, the new region is home to six of the fifty largest metropolitan areas of French territory. It is part of five watersheds facing the Atlantic Ocean, Loire, Charente, Garonne and Dordogne and Adour, giving rivers bordering land dedicated mostly to viticulture and to agriculture. This diverse area is the area of the oyster, mussel, the Landes forest, by far the most extensive, covering almost one million hectares, making it the largest artificial forest of Western Europe. The Landes forest is included in the Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park
24.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
25.
Canton of Geneva
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The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French-speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons, this canton is referred to as a republic within the Swiss Confederation, the canton of Geneva is located in the southwestern corner of Switzerland, and is considered one of the most cosmopolitan areas of the country. As a center of the Calvinist Reformation, the city of Geneva has had a influence on the canton. The Republic of Geneva was proclaimed in 1541, under John Calvin, the Republic of Geneva reinforced its alliance to the Protestant cantons of the Swiss Confederacy, becoming an everlasting ally in 1584. The French Revolution reached Geneva in 1792, and in February 1794, after the death of Robespierre in July of the same year, there was a counter-revolution, which gained the upper hand by 1796. This prompted the French invasion of 1798, and the annexation of Geneva as part of the French département du Léman, Geneva finally joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815 as the 22nd canton, having been enlarged by French and Savoyard territories at the Vienna Congress. The area of the canton of Geneva is 282 square kilometers, the canton is surrounded on almost all sides by France and bordered by the Swiss canton of Vaud on northeast. The adjoining French départements are Ain and Haute-Savoie, the current boundaries of the canton were established in 1815. There are 45 municipalities in the canton, Geneva does not have any administrative districts. There are 10 cities with a population of over 10,000 as of 2007, Genève, Vernier, Lancy, Meyrin, Carouge, Onex, Thônex, Versoix, Grand-Saconnex, Chêne-Bougeries. The constitution of the canton was established in 1847, and has, the cantonal government has seven members who are elected for four years. The legislature, the Grand Council, has 100 seats, with deputies elected for four years at a time, the last elecation was held on 7 October 2013. In a similar way to what happens at the Federal level, in addition, any law can be subject to a referendum if it is demanded by 7,000 persons entitled to vote, and 10,000 persons may also propose a new law. The republique and canton of Geneva has 11 seats in the National Council, on 18 October 2015, in the federal election the most popular party was the The Liberals which received three seats with 20. 5% of the votes. In the federal election, a total of 106,852 votes were cast, and she is part of the Council of States since 2007. Councilor Robert Cramer, member of the Green Party, was re-elected in the round with a majority of 42,075 votes. He is part of the Council of States since 2007, ^a FDP before 2009, FDP. The Liberals after 2009 ^b * indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. ^c Part of the FDP for this election ^d Part of the SD for this election The population of the canton is 484,736, as of 2013, the population included 194,623 foreigners from 187 different nations, or about 40. 1% of the total population
26.
Valais
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The canton of Valais is widely known for the Matterhorn and resort towns such as Crans-Montana, Saas Fee and Zermatt. It is composed of 13 districts and its capital is Sion, the Romans called the upper Rhône valley Vallis Poenina. According to a tradition which can be traced back to the middle of the 8th century, from 888 onwards the lands were part of the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy. Valais formed part of the kingdom of Transjurane Burgundy, which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032 and it became part of the duchy of Burgundia Minor, which was held from the emperors by the house of Zähringen. About the middle of the 13th century, the large communities began to develop independence, the name Zenden or tithings probably came from a very ancient division of the bishops manors for administrative and judicial purposes. In the same century the part of the valley was colonized by Germans from Hasli in the Canton of Bern. The locals became German speaking, though many Romance local names still remain, in 1354 the liberties of several of the seven Zenden were confirmed by the Emperor Charles IV. By the late 14th century, the counts of Savoy acquired the bishopric of Sion, the Zenden resisted his attempts to gather both spiritual and secular power in the valley. In 1375-76, Zenden forces crushed the army of the house of La Tour-Chatillon, and in 1388 utterly defeated the forces of the bishop, the German-speaking Zenden spread further into the valley. Starting in 1384 the Morge stream was recognized as the boundary between Savoyard, French-speaking Lower Valais and German-speaking episcopal Upper Valais, during the Raron affair rebellion in 1414 to 1420, some cantons of the Swiss Confederation took sides in the Valais. Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden supported the Upper Valais rebels, while Bern supported the noble Raron family, the uprising was successful in driving out the Rarons, and almost brought the Confederation to civil war. Following the violence of the Raron affair, the canton was the location of the Valais witch trials between 1428 and 1447 in which at least 367 men and women were put to death and this event marks one of the earliest witch scares in late medieval Europe. The phenomenon later spread to parts of the contintent. With the election of Walther von Supersax of Conches as bishop in 1457, at the outbreak of the Burgundian War in 1475 the bishop of Sion and the Zenden made a treaty with Bern. In November of the year they seized all Lower or Savoyard Valais up to Martigny. In March 1476, after the victory of Grandson, they advanced and captured St Maurice, Évian, Thonon and they had to give up the last three districts in 1477, but won them again in 1536. In the treaty of Thonon in 1569, Monthey, Val-dllliez and these conquered districts in the Lower Valais were always ruled as subject lands by the bishop and Zenden of the Upper Valais. On March 12,1529, Valais became a member of the Swiss Confederation
27.
Vaud
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The Canton of Vaud is the third largest of Swiss cantons by population and fourth by size. The capital and biggest city is Lausanne, officially designated Olympic Capital by the International Olympic Committee, the canton had 725,944 inhabitants as of 2011. Along the lakes, Vaud was inhabited in prehistoric times, later, the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii inhabited the area. The tribe was defeated by Caesars troops in 58 BC and as a consequence the Romans settled the area, the towns of Vevey and Lausanne are two of the many towns established by the Romans. In 27 BC the state of Civitas Helvetiorum was established around the capital of Avenches, there are still many Roman remains around the town today. Between the 2nd and the 4th century the area was invaded by Alemannic tribes. The Merovingian Franks later replaced the Burgundians and their occupancy did not last long either, and in 888 the area of the canton of Vaud was made part of the Carolingian Empire. In 1032 the Zähringens of Germany defeated the Burgundians, the Zähringens themselves were succeeded in 1218 by the counts of Savoy. It was only under the counts of Savoy that the area was given political unity, a part stretching from Attalens to the River Sarine, in the north, was absorbed by the canton of Fribourg. As the power of the Savoys declined at the beginning of the 15th century the land was occupied by troops from Bern, by 1536 the area was completely annexed. The Bernese occupiers were not popular amongst the population, later, inspired by the French Revolution, the Vaudois drove out the Bernese governor in 1798 and declared the Lemanic Republic. Under Napoleon I, it became the canton of Léman, in 1803, Vaud joined the re-installed Swiss confederation. In spite of Bernese attempts to reclaim Vaud, it has remained a sovereign canton ever since, separation was prevented at the cost of very few lives. The current constitution dates from 14 April 2003, replacing the one from 1885, in the Jura mountains in the west, the canton borders the French departments of Ain, Jura, and Doubs. In the east, it borders the cantons of Fribourg and Bern, the total area is 3,212 square kilometres. Along with the canton of Berne, Vaud is one of the two cantons whose territory extends from the Jura to the Alps, through the three geographic regions of Switzerland. The areas in the south east are mountainous, situated on the side of the Bernese Alps. This region is named the Vaud Alps
28.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
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Aosta Valley
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The Aosta Valley is a mountainous semi-autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France to the west, Valais, Switzerland to the north, covering an area of 3,263 km2 and with a population of about 128,000 it is the smallest, least populous, and least densely populated region of Italy. It is the only Italian region that is not sub-divided into provinces, provincial administrative functions are provided by the regional government. The region is divided into 74 comuni, the Aosta Valley is an Alpine valley which with its tributary valleys includes the Italian slopes of Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso and the Matterhorn, its highest peak is Mont Blanc. The region is cold in the winter, especially when compared with other places in the Western Alps. Winter temperatures average around −3 °C or −4 °C, and summers between 13 °C and 15 °C, the snow season starts in November and lasts until March. Mist is common during the morning from April until October, the main communities in this area are Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Brusson and Gressoney-La-Trinité. The valleys above 1600 metres usually have a Cold Continental Climate, in this climate the snow season is very long, as long as 8 or 9 months at the highest points. During the summer, mist occurs almost every day and these areas are the wettest in the western Alps. Temperatures are low, between −7 °C and −3 °C in January, and in July between 10 °C and 13 °C. In this area is the town of Rhêmes-Notre-Dame. which may be the coldest town in the Western Alps, areas between 2000 metres and 3500 metres usually have a Tundra Climate, where every month has an average temperature below 10 °C. Temperature averages in Pian Rosà, at 3400 metres high, are −11.6 °C in January and 1.4 °C in July and it is the coldest place in Italy where the climate is verifiable. In the past, above 3500 metres, all months were having a temperature below freezing. In recent years there was a rise in temperatures. See as an example the data for Pian Rosà, the first inhabitants of the Aosta Valley were Celts and Ligures, whose language heritage remains in some local placenames. Thus, the name Valle dAosta literally means Valley of Augustus, saint Anselm of Canterbury was born in Aosta in 1033 or 1034. In the mid-13th century Emperor Frederick II made the County of Aosta a duchy, the region remained part of Savoy lands, with the exceptions of French occupations from 1539 to 1563, later in 1691, then between 1704 and 1706. As part of the Kingdom of Sardinia it joined the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861 and it was also ruled by the First French Empire between 1800 and 1814
France
listen), Arpitan: Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes, Occitan: Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups) is a region of France created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into effect on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015.[1].svg)
