1.
Communes of France
–
The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to civil townships incorporated municipalities in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany, the United Kingdom has no exact equivalent, as communes resemble districts in urban areas, but are closer to parishes in rural areas where districts are much larger. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and have received significant powers of governance to manage the populations, the communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. A French commune may be a city of 2.2 million inhabitants like Paris, communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes, a commune is a town, city, or municipality. Use of commune in English is a habit, and one that might be corrected. There is nothing in commune in French that is different from town in English. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, as of January 2015, there were 36,681 communes in France,36,552 of them in metropolitan France and 129 of them overseas. This is a higher total than that of any other European country. The whole territory of the French Republic is divided into communes and this is unlike some other countries, such as the United States, where unincorporated areas directly governed by a county or a higher authority can be found. There are only a few exceptions, COM of Saint-Martin and it was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe région. The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Martin became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007, COM of Wallis and Futuna, which still is divided according to the three traditional chiefdoms. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region, the commune structure was abolished when Saint-Barthélemy became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007.88 square kilometres. The median area of metropolitan Frances communes at the 1999 census was even smaller, the median area is a better measure of the area of a typical French commune. This median area is smaller than that of most European countries. In Italy, the area of communes is 22 km2, in Belgium it is 40 km2, in Spain it is 35 km2, and in Germany. Switzerland and the Länder of Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia in Germany were the places in Europe where the communes had a smaller median area than in France. The communes of Frances overseas départements such as Réunion and French Guiana are large by French standards and they usually group into the same commune several villages or towns, often with sizeable distances among them
Communes of France
–
Road sign marking the end of the village of
Y in the
Somme department of
Picardy
Communes of France
–
Map of the 36,569 communes of metropolitan France
Communes of France
–
Mittelhausbergen in
Alsace
Communes of France
–
Vacqueyras in
Provence, showing double French/
Provençal name
2.
Paris
–
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
Paris
–
In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
–
Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
–
The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
3.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
France
–
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
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
5.
Regions of France
–
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
Regions of France
6.
Departments of France
–
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
Departments of France
–
Geometrical proposition rejected
Departments of France
–
The 101 departments of France
Departments of France
–
The three Algerian departments in 1848
7.
Hauts-de-Seine
–
Hauts-de-Seine is a department of France. It is part of the Métropole du Grand Paris and of the Île-de-France region and it is small and densely populated and contains the modern office, theatre, and shopping complex known as La Défense. Its creation reflected the implementation of a law passed in 1964, in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Hauts-de-Seine received national attention as the result of a corruption scandal concerning the misuse of public funds provided for the departments housing projects. Implicated were former minister and former President of the council of the Hauts-de-Seine, Charles Pasqua. Hauts-de-Seine is Frances second wealthiest département and one of Europes richest areas and its GDP per capita was €62,374 in 2003, according to INSEE official figures. Hauts-de-Seine is the base of Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic from 2007 to 2012. He was previously the mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine in the department, Charles Pasqua was also based in Hauts-de-Seine. Website of the General council Prefecture website
Hauts-de-Seine
–
La Défense, the business district of
Paris
Hauts-de-Seine
–
Location of Hauts-de-Seine in France
Hauts-de-Seine
–
Empress Joséphine 's bedroom at the
Château de Malmaison
Hauts-de-Seine
–
Paris seen from the
Parc de Saint-Cloud
8.
Grand Paris
–
The Métropole du Grand Paris is an administrative structure for cooperation covering the City of Paris and its nearest suburbs. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometers and has a population of 7 million persons, the Métropole is administered by a Metropolitan Council of 210 members, not directly elected, but chosen by the councils of the member Communes. Its responsibilities include urban planning, housing, and protection of the environment, the Métropole du Grand Paris should not be confused with the Grand Paris Express, a new transportation system being developed independently to connect the Departments in the Paris suburbs. The Métropole du Grand Paris was defined by the law of 27 January 2014 on the modernization of public territorial action and affirmation of cities as part of Act III of decentralization. The plans were modified in December 2015, and the passage into action in two competences, economic development and protection of the environment, was delayed from 2016 to 2017. The project was organized by the French state, with the Minister of Culture, in 2008 an international urban and architectural competition for the future development of metropolitan Paris was launched. The Métropole of Grand Paris is developing a metropolitan project, the residents are associated with its development according to the guidelines determined by the metropolitan council as laid down by the development council. This metropolitan project defines the guidelines of the policy pursued by the Métropole of Grand Paris. It forms part of the implementation of the scheme of the Ile-de-France region. It includes a general, social, economic and environmental analysis of the metropolitan area, independently to the process described above, a position of Minister for Le Grand Paris was created and Christian Blanc was appointed to occupy it. Blanc and his team prepared a plan, announced on April 29,2009. The Île-de-France region had already published its own transportation plan, later, the architects of the consultation joined together to present a third transportation plan. After much negotiation, a compromise between the government the Île-de-France regional government was announced in January 2011 and the final plan subsequently approved. The transport plan will be carried out in ten years, at a cost of 35 billion euros funded by the state, local governments, another 14 billion euros will be spent in the extension and re-equipment of existing metro, regional and suburban lines. In October 2011, Delanoë stated that the President is trying to claim for himself an urban dynamic begun long ago by the local governments, political opposition was also strong from the Green Party, led in the Île-de-France region by Cécile Duflot
Grand Paris
–
The map of Grand Paris
9.
New Centre
–
The party foundation was announced on 29 May 2007 during a press conference. The party was renamed from Nouveau Centre to Les Centristes on 11 December 2016, Les Centristes traces its history to the major centrist and Christian-democratic political parties in the Fourth and Fifth Republics. The parties maintained a separate existence from the Gaullist parties in the years of the Fifth Republic primarily because of de Gaulles strong opposition to European integration. In 2002, the RPR suggested a merger with the UDF but then-UDF leader Francois Bayrou refused, the RPR itself merged with smaller parties in 2002 to become the Union for a Popular Movement. At the same time, the UDF served as a partner for the UMP. UMP prime ministers usually appointed several UDF politicians to their governments to cement that support, in 2005, Bayrou became increasingly critical of the UMP government and ended his support of the Gaullist party in 2006. In the 2007 elections that followed, most UDF deputies running for reelection ran with the UMP in order to gain UMP support, the remains of the UDF renamed itself the New Centre and succeeded in electing 22 deputies to the National Assembly. Bayrou opposed the alliance with the UMP and formed a new party, during the legislative elections in June 2007,17 NC deputies were elected, in addition to five unaffiliated deputies elected under the Majorité Présidentielle banner. Only three MoDem deputies were elected, even though they won 7. 6% of the first round vote, however, fewer than one hundred NC candidates were standing, compared to over 500 for the MoDem. Minister of Defense Hervé Morin was elected by the first round in Eure, other such as François Sauvadet. In total, six NC-PSLE members were elected by round one, in the second round,11 additional deputies were elected, giving the party a total of 17 deputies. With other deputies elected under various banners, the party formed a group of 22 members. Mayotte MoDem deputy Abdoulatifou Aly joined the group before defecting back to the MoDem, in a 2008 by-election in the Rhone, the party gained a seat after the UMP incumbents election was invalidated. The party held its congress in Nîmes in 2008, where Hervé Morin was elected president of the party. In the municipal and cantonal elections held in 2008, the party held most if its seats and it did gain, however, the cities of Agen and Châtellerault. It lost the department of the Somme but gained the Côte-dOr, in the 2009 European elections the party joined the presidential majority alliance and three NC members were elected as MEPs. In May–June 2011 the party joined The Alliance with the Radical Party, Les Centristess political ideas are in large part inspired by those of François Bayrou in his 2007 presidential campaign. It supports a market economy, which seeks to find a compromise between socialism and laissez-faire capitalism
New Centre
–
New Centre Nouveau Centre
10.
Daylight saving time
–
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
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
11.
Central European Summer Time
–
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
Central European Summer Time
–
light blue
12.
Seine
–
The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Source-Seine,30 kilometres northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and it is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea. There are 37 bridges within Paris and dozens more spanning the river outside the city, examples in Paris include the Pont Alexandre III and Pont Neuf, the latter of which dates back to 1607. Outside the city, examples include the Pont de Normandie, one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world, the Seine rises in the commune of Source-Seine, about 30 kilometres northwest of Dijon. The source has been owned by the city of Paris since 1864, a number of closely associated small ditches or depressions provide the source waters, with an artificial grotto laid out to highlight and contain a deemed main source. The grotto includes a statue of a nymph, on the same site are the buried remains of a Gallo-Roman temple. Small statues of the dea Sequana Seine goddess and other ex voti found at the place are now exhibited in the Dijon archeological museum. The Seine is dredged and oceangoing vessels can dock at Rouen,120 kilometres from the sea, commercial riverboats can use the river from Bar-sur-Seine,560 kilometres to its mouth. At Paris, there are 37 bridges, the river is only 24 metres above sea level 446 kilometres from its mouth, making it slow flowing and thus easily navigable. The Seine Maritime,105.7 kilometres from the English Channel at Le Havre to Rouen, is the portion of the Seine used by ocean-going craft. The tidal section of the Seine Maritime is followed by a section with four large multiple locks until the mouth of the Oise at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Multiple locks at Bougival / Chatou and at Suresnes lift the vessels to the level of the river in Paris, upstream from Paris seven locks ensure navigation to Saint Mammès, where the Loing mouth is situated. Through an eighth lock the river Yonne is reached at Montereau-Fault-Yonne, from the mouth of the Yonne, larger ships can continue upstream to Nogent-sur-Seine. From there on, the river is only by small craft. All navigation ends abruptly at Marcilly-sur-Seine, where the ancient Canal de la Haute-Seine used to allow vessels to continue all the way to Troyes and this canal has been abandoned for many years. The average depth of the Seine today at Paris is about 9.5 metres. Until locks were installed to raise the level in the 1800s, the river was much shallower within the city most of the time, today the depth is tightly controlled and the entire width of the river between the built-up banks on either side is normally filled with water. The average flow of the river is low, only a few cubic metres per second
Seine
–
The Seine in Paris
Seine
–
Seine source
Seine
–
The
Pont de Normandie over the Seine, between
Le Havre and
Honfleur, on the
Normandy coast
Seine
–
The Seine and Eiffel Tower
13.
Kilometre Zero
–
In many countries, Kilometre Zero or similar terms in other languages is a particular location, from which distances are traditionally measured. They were markers where drivers could set their odometers to follow directions in early guide books, a similar notion also exists for individual roads, and for individual cities. The most famous such marker of any part survives from ancient times is the Milliarium Aureum of the Roman Empire. Argentina marks Kilometre Zero with a monolith in Plaza Congreso in Buenos Aires. The work of the brothers Máximo and José Fioravanti, the structure was placed on the side of Plaza Lorea on October 2,1935. Highways in Australia are usually built and maintained by the states and territories, in the state of New South Wales, highway distances were traditionally measured from a sandstone obelisk in Macquarie Place in Sydney, designed by Francis Greenway in 1818. The obelisk lists the distances to locations in New South Wales at the time. For the railway, it is located at platform 1 of Sydney Central Station, the Byzantine Empire had an arched building, the Milion of Constantinople, as the starting-place for the measurement of distances for all the roads leading to the other cities. In the 1960s, some fragments were discovered and erected in its location, now in the district of Eminönü, Istanbul. The kilometre zero marker of the origin of the Trans-Canada Highway is located in St. Johns. Coordinates, 47°33′39. 78″N 52°42′44. 33″W Altitude,14.02 m The western origin of the Trans-Canada Highway in Victoria, Mile zero of the Trans Canada Trail is located adjacent to the Railway Coastal Museum in St. Johns, Newfoundland. Coordinates, 47°33′14. 0″N 52°42′50. 5″W Altitude,4.5 m Mile zero for the Alaska Highway is located in Dawson Creek, all national distances from Santiago originate at the Km.0 plaque, located at the Plaza de Armas main square in downtown Santiago. Chiles Autopista Central – Eje Norte-Sur has its Kilometre Zero at the intersection with the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo OHiggins, China Railways 0 km is located at the entrance to the Fengtai Yard on the Jingguang Line just outside Beijing. This point was historically the start of the line, the marker is a concrete marker. The kilometre zero point for highways is located at Tiananmen Square and it is marked with a plaque in the ground, with the four cardinal points, four animals, and Zero Point of Highways, China in English and Chinese. Cubas Kilometre Zero is located in its capital Havana in El Capitolio, embedded in the floor in the centre of the main hall is a replica 25 carat diamond, which marks Kilometre Zero for Cuba. It was replaced in El Capitolio by a replica in 1973, dR-1, DR-2, and DR-3 all depart from Kilometre Zero from Santo Domingos Parque de Independencia. Kilometre Zero in Egypt is located at the Attaba Square Post Office in 1st of Abdel Khaliq Sarwat Pasha Street, Cairo
Kilometre Zero
–
Kilometre Zero, Buenos Aires
Kilometre Zero
–
Reconstruction of Constantinople's Milion based on historical accounts and surviving fragments.
Kilometre Zero
–
The Mile 0 point for the
Alaska Highway in
Dawson Creek
Kilometre Zero
–
Kilometre Zero at Plaza de Armas in
Santiago, Chile.
14.
Central business district
–
A central business district is the commercial and business centre of a city. In larger cities, it is synonymous with the citys financial district. Both the CBD and the city centre or downtown may also coincide with the central activities district, a citys CBD is usually typified by a concentration of retail and office buildings. The CBD usually has a density higher than the surrounding districts of the city. The CBD is often also the city centre or downtown, Mexico City also has a historic city centre, the colonial-era Centro Histórico, along with two CBDs, the mid-late 20th century Paseo de la Reforma - Polanco, and the new Santa Fe. The shape and type of a CBD almost always reflect the citys history. Cities with maximum building height restrictions often have a historic section quite apart from the financial. It has been said that downtowns are therefore distinct from both CBDs and city centres. CBDs usually have very small resident populations, for example, the population of the City of London declined from over 200,000 in the year 1700 to less than 10,000 today. In some instances, however, CBD populations are increasing as younger professional, the Buenos Aires Central Business District, is the main commercial centre of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The actual area was the point of first European settlement and its north-south axis runs from Monserrat in the south to Retiro railway station in the north. Its east-west axis runs from Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve and Puerto Madero, the district is the financial, commercial, and cultural hub of Argentina. Its port is one of the busiest in South America, navigable rivers by way of the Río de la Plata connect the port to northeast Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. As a result, it serves as the hub for a vast area of the southeastern region of the South American continent. Tax collection related to the port has caused political problems in the past. The Buenos Aires Human Development Index is likewise high by international standards, the term is used to refer to the business and financial area of a state capital city such as the Sydney CBD, Melbourne CBD, Brisbane CBD, Perth CBD and Adelaide CBD. The city centres of some cities, such as Townsville, Bendigo. More recently, in cities the city centre, which may or may not be distinct from the CBD, is increasingly separately identified
Central business district
–
La Défense, the largest business district in Europe, in
Paris,
France
Central business district
–
Sydney central business district
Central business district
–
Melbourne city centre or
Melbourne CBD
Central business district
–
Puerto Madero,
Buenos Aires CBD
15.
Medieval Latin
–
Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors, medieval Latin should not be confused with Ecclesiastical Latin. There is no consensus on the exact boundary where Late Latin ends. Medieval Latin had a vocabulary, which freely borrowed from other sources. Greek provided much of the vocabulary of Christianity. The various Germanic languages spoken by the Germanic tribes, who invaded southern Europe, were major sources of new words. Germanic leaders became the rulers of parts of the Roman Empire that they conquered, other more ordinary words were replaced by coinages from Vulgar Latin or Germanic sources because the classical words had fallen into disuse. Latin was also spread to such as Ireland and Germany. Works written in the lands, where Latin was a language with no relation to the local vernacular, also influenced the vocabulary. English words like abstract, subject, communicate, matter, probable, the high point of the development of medieval Latin as a literary language came with the Carolingian renaissance, a rebirth of learning kindled under the patronage of Charlemagne, king of the Franks. On the other hand, strictly speaking there was no form of medieval Latin. Every Latin author in the period spoke Latin as a second language, with varying degrees of fluency, and syntax, grammar. For instance, rather than following the classical Latin practice of placing the verb at the end. Unlike classical Latin, where esse was the auxiliary verb, medieval Latin writers might use habere as an auxiliary, similar to constructions in Germanic. The accusative and infinitive construction in classical Latin was often replaced by a clause introduced by quod or quia. This is almost identical, for example, to the use of que in similar constructions in French. In every age from the late 8th century onwards, there were learned writers who were familiar enough with classical syntax to be aware that these forms and usages were wrong, however the use of quod to introduce subordinate clauses was especially pervasive and is found at all levels. That resulted in two features of Medieval Latin compared with Classical Latin. First, many attempted to show off their knowledge of Classical Latin by using rare or archaic constructions
Medieval Latin
–
Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Medieval Latin manuscript
Medieval Latin
–
Europe, 1000 AD
Medieval Latin
–
An
illuminated manuscript of a
Book of Hours contains prayers in medieval Latin.
Medieval Latin
–
The
Prüfening dedicatory inscription of 1119, composed in medieval Latin.
16.
Gallo-Roman
–
This article covers the culture of Romanized areas of Gaul. For the political history of the brief Gallic Empire of the third century, the term Gallo-Roman describes the Romanized culture of Gaul under the rule of the Roman Empire. This was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman morals, the well-studied meld of cultures in Gaul gives historians a model against which to compare and contrast parallel developments of Romanization in other, less-studied Roman provinces. The barbarian invasions beginning in the fifth century forced upon Gallo-Roman culture fundamental changes in politics, in the economic underpinning. The Gothic settlement of 418 offered a double loyalty, as Western Roman authority disintegrated at Rome, the plight of the highly Romanized governing class is examined by R. W. Mathisen, the struggles of bishop Hilary of Arles by M. Heinzelmann. Into the seventh century, Gallo-Roman culture would persist particularly in the areas of Gallia Narbonensis that developed into Occitania, Cisalpine Gaul and to a lesser degree, the formerly Romanized north of Gaul, once it had been occupied by the Franks, would develop into Merovingian culture instead. Based on mutual intelligibility, David Dalby counts seven languages descended from Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Wallon, French, Franco-Provençal, Romansh, Ladin, Friulian, however, other definitions are far broader, variously encompassing the Rhaeto-Romance languages, Occitano-Romance languages, and Gallo-Italic languages. Over the course of the Roman period, a proportion of Gauls gained Roman citizenship. In 212 the Constitutio Antoniniana extended citizenship to all men in the Roman Empire. During the Crisis of the Third Century, from 260 to 274, in reaction to local problems the Gallo-Romans appointed their own emperor Postumus. The capital was Trier which was used as the northern capital of the Roman Empire by many emperors. The Gallic Empire ended when Aurelian decisively defeated Tetricus I at Chalons, assimilation was eased by interpreting indigenous gods in Roman terms, such as with Lenus Mars or Apollo Grannus. Otherwise, a Roman god might be paired with a goddess, as with Mercury. In at least one case – that of the equine goddess Epona – a native Gallic goddess was also adopted by Rome, eastern mystery religions penetrated Gaul early on. These included the cults of Orpheus, Mithras, Cybele, some of the communities had origins that predated the third-century persecutions. The exhibition of Gallo-Roman silver highlighted specifically Gallo-Roman silver from the treasures found at Chaourse, Mâcon, Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt, Notre-Dame dAllençon, the two more Romanized of the three Gauls were bound together in a network of Roman roads that linked cities. Via Domitia, reached from Nîmes to the Pyrenees, where it joined the Via Augusta at the Col de Panissars, via Aquitania reached from Narbonne, where it connected to the Via Domitia, to the Atlantic Ocean through Toulouse to Bordeaux. Via Scarponensis connected Trier to Lyon through Metz, Lyon, the capital of Roman Gaul, is now the site of the Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon, associated with the remains of the theater and odeon of Roman Lugdunum
Gallo-Roman
–
Gallo-Roman figures found in
Ingelheim
Gallo-Roman
–
Northern Gaul "
sou ", 440-450, 4240mg.
Hotel de la Monnaie.
Gallo-Roman
–
A
Gallic warrior dressed in Roman hamata with a cloak over it whilst wearing a
torc
Gallo-Roman
–
Gallo-Roman Christian
sarcophagus,
Rignieux-le-Franc (
Ain), end of fourth century.
Louvre Museum.
17.
Celtic languages
–
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. Modern Celtic languages are spoken on the north-western edge of Europe, notably in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall. There are also a number of Welsh speakers in the Patagonia area of Argentina. Some people speak Celtic languages in the other Celtic diaspora areas of the United States, Canada, Australia, in all these areas, the Celtic languages are now only spoken by minorities though there are continuing efforts at revitalisation. Welsh is the only Celtic language not classified as endangered by UNESCO, the spread to Cape Breton and Patagonia occurred in modern times. SIL Ethnologue lists six living Celtic languages, of four have retained a substantial number of native speakers. These are the Goidelic languages and the Brittonic languages, the other two, Cornish and Manx, died in modern times with their presumed last native speakers in 1777 and 1974 respectively. For both these languages, however, revitalisation movements have led to the adoption of these languages by adults and children, taken together, there were roughly one million native speakers of Celtic languages as of the 2000s. In 2010, there were more than 1.4 million speakers of Celtic languages, shelta, based largely on Irish with influence from an undocumented source. Some forms of Welsh-Romani or Kååle also combined Romany itself with Welsh language, beurla-reagaird, Highland travellers language Celtic divided into various branches, Lepontic, the oldest attested Celtic language. Anciently spoken in Switzerland and in Northern-Central Italy, from the Alps to Umbria, coins with Lepontic inscriptions have been found in Noricum and Gallia Narbonensis. Celtiberian, anciently spoken in the Iberian peninsula, in parts of modern Galicia, Asturias, La Rioja, Aragón, Cantabria, Old Castile, the relationship of Celtiberian with Gallaecian, in the northwest of the peninsula, is uncertain. Gallaecian, anciently spoken in the former Gallaecia, northwest of the peninsula, Gaulish languages, including Galatian and possibly Noric. These languages were spoken in a wide arc from Belgium to Turkey. Brittonic, including the living languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh, before the arrival of Scotti on the Isle of Man in the 9th century, there may have been a Brittonic language in the Isle of Man. Goidelic, including the living languages Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic, scholarly handling of the Celtic languages has been rather argumentative owing to scarceness of primary source data. Other scholars distinguish between P-Celtic and Q-Celtic, putting most of the Gaulish and Brittonic languages in the former group, the P-Celtic languages are sometimes seen as a central innovating area as opposed to the more conservative peripheral Q-Celtic languages. In the P/Q classification schema, the first language to split off from Proto-Celtic was Gaelic and it has characteristics that some scholars see as archaic, but others see as also being in the Brittonic languages
Celtic languages
–
Classification of Indo-European languages. (click to enlarge)
18.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
19.
Princes of Conti
–
The title of Prince of Conti was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. François de Bourbon, the son of this marriage, was given the title of marquis de Conti and was later elevated to the rank of prince de Conti. He died in 1614 and the title lapsed, since his only child had predeceased him in 1610. In 1629, the title of Prince of Conti was revived in favor of Armand de Bourbon, second son of Henry II, Prince of Condé, and brother of Louis, the holders of this title used the style of Serene Highness. 1558-1614, marquis, then from 1581 onwards 1st prince François de Bourbon At his death, princess of Conti Château de LIsle-Adam This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Conti, Princes of
Princes of Conti
–
Coat of arms of the Princes of Conti
20.
Javel, France
–
The Javel neighborhood is the 60th administrative district of Paris situated in the 15th arrondissement. In the 15th century, the neighborhood was named Javetz and situated to the south of the Grenelle plain bordering the Seine, the neighborhood was founded as a small port and a boat garage. The region became better known starting in the 17th century for its windmill and its stylish gathering spots frequented by swimmers, fishermen, from the 19th to the 20th century, the name of this place was spelled Javelle. Before its annexation to Paris in 1860, it was part of the commune of Issy, afterwards, it became industrialized with the installation of electric plants and automobile factories. The Citroën factories occupied a large section of the neighborhood until the 1970s-1980s. Following this factory, other plants were set up in the neighborhood. The factory was originally a factory designed to support the war effort by the mass production of artillery shells. Following World War I, André Citroën used his experience in automobile construction acquired in the Mors factories and he applied the principles of Henry Ford after having discovering them on a trip to Detroit in 1913 and meeting Henry Ford. The factory in Javel was converted to a production facility which went on to produce the first mass-produced European car. The automobile factory continued to produce cars until 1975, the last car released by the factory was the Citroën DS, the companys headquarters moved in 1982 and permanently left its historic address at Quai de Javel. The following became named after André Citröen, the André Citröen Park, the Collège André Citroën, the neighborhood is currently occupied by the Parc André-Citroën, the Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou, many large buildings containing offices and television studios. The headquarters of the Imprimerie nationale, formerly at Rue de la Convention, the site is now occupied by various offices of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Javel is served by the RATP, the neighborhood is served by the RER C and lines 8,10, and 12 of the métro. The neighborhood has in recent years been serviced by the newly constructed tramway line 2, population of the Javel neighborhood, Paris districts 15th arrondissement of Paris Eau de Javel Gare de Javel Church of Saint-Christophe-de-Javel Paris - Issy-les-Moulineaux Heliport
Javel, France
–
André Citroën Park
Javel, France
–
Polypores Fountain.
Jean-Yves Lechevallier
21.
XVe arrondissement
–
The 15th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France, also called Arrondissement de Vaugirard. Situated on the Rive Gauche of the River Seine and sharing the Montparnasse district with the 6th and 14th arrondissements, the Tour Montparnasse – the tallest skyscraper in Paris – and the neighbouring Gare Montparnasse are both located in the 15th arrondissement, at its border with the 14th. It is also home to the convention center Paris expo Porte de Versailles, the loi du 16 juin 1859 decreed the annexation to Paris of the area between the old Wall of the Farmers-General and the wall of Thiers. The communes of Grenelle, Vaugirard, and Javel were incorporated into Paris in 1860, as in all the Parisian arrondissements, the fifteenth is made up of four administrative quarters. To the south, quartier Saint-Lambert occupies the site of the village of Vaugirard. The geography of the area was particularly suited to wine-making, as well as quarrying, in fact, many Parisian monuments, such as the École Militaire, were built from Vaugirard stone. The village, not yet being part of Paris, was considered by Parisians to be a suburb, pleasant for country walks or its cabarets. In 1860 Vaugirard was annexed to Paris, along with adjoining villages, to the east, quartier Necker was originally an uninhabited space between Paris and Vaugirard. The most well-known landmarks in the area are the Gare Montparnasse train station, the area around the train station has been renovated and now contains a number of office and apartment blocks, a park, and a shopping center. Finally, the contains a number of public buildings, the Lycée Buffon. To the north, quartier Grenelle was originally a village of the same name, the whole area broke off from the commune of Vaugirard in 1830, becoming the commune of Grenelle, which was in turn annexed to Paris in 1860. A century later, a number of apartment and office towers were built along the Seine, to the west, quartier Javel lies to the south of Grenelle plain. In addition, to the south of the highway, an extension of the 15th, formerly an aerodrome at the beginning of the 20th century, is now a heliport, a gym. The early airfield here has been encroached upon by development and a sports centre. The Sécurité Civile has a detachment there close to maintenance facilities, customs facilities are available and especially busy during the Salon dAeronautique airshows held at Le Bourget on the other side of the city. The land area of this arrondissement is 8.502 km2, the peak of population of Pariss 15th arrondissement occurred in 1962, when it had 250,551 inhabitants. Since then it has lost approximately one-tenth of its population, but it remains the most populous arrondissement of Paris, with 144,667 jobs at the same census, the 15th is also very dense in business activities. Musée Pasteur Musée du Service des Objets Trouvés Musée Bourdelle Musée Mendjisky specializing in school of Paris artists, Musée Jean Moulin, French Resistance – Church of Notre-Dame de la Salette in Paris Beaugrenelle Shopping Center
XVe arrondissement
–
Front de Seine Skyline
XVe arrondissement
–
Musée Pasteur
XVe arrondissement
–
Paris –
Pont Mirabeau detail
XVe arrondissement
–
Colonnes d'eau Parc Andre Citroen Paris
22.
Armenian Genocide
–
Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and massacre. Most Armenian diaspora communities around the world came into being as a result of the genocide. Raphael Lemkin was explicitly moved by the Armenian annihilation to define systematic and premeditated exterminations within legal parameters, Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, denies the word genocide as an accurate term for the mass killings of Armenians that began under Ottoman rule in 1915. It has in recent years been faced with repeated calls to them as genocide. To date,29 countries have recognized the mass killings as genocide, as have most genocide scholars. The western portion of historical Armenia, known as Western Armenia, had come under Ottoman rule following the Peace of Amasya, henceforth, the region was also alternatively referred to as Turkish Armenia or Ottoman Armenia. The Armenian community was made up of three denominations, Armenian Catholic, Armenian Protestant, and Armenian Apostolic, the religion of a vast majority of Armenians. Through the millet system, the Armenian community were allowed to rule themselves under their own system of governance with fairly little interference from the Ottoman government, Ottoman census figures clash with the statistics collected by the Armenian Patriarchate. According to the latter, there were almost three million Armenians living in the empire in 1878, in the Ottoman Empire, in accordance with the dhimmi system implemented in Muslim countries, they, like all other Christians and also Jews, were accorded certain freedoms. The dhimmi system in the Ottoman Empire was largely based upon the Pact of Umar, while the Pact of Umar prohibited non-Muslims from building new places of worship, it was not enforced in all regions of the Ottoman Empire. Since there were no laws concerning religious ghettos, the prohibition of non-Muslims building new places of worship led to their clustering around existing ones and it did not mean religious persecution, it meant unutterable contempt. They were dogs and pigs, and their nature was to be Christians, to be spat upon, if their shadow darkened a Turk, to be outraged, in addition to other legal limitations, Christians were not considered equals to Muslims and several prohibitions were placed on them. They were forbidden to carry weapons or ride horses and camels. Their houses could not overlook those of Muslims, and their religious practices were severely circumscribed, from 1839 to the declaration of a constitution in 1876, the Ottoman government instituted the Tanzimat, a series of reforms designed to improve the status of minorities. Nevertheless, most of the reforms were never implemented because the empires Muslim population rejected the principle of equality for Christians. By the late 1870s, the Greeks, along several other Christian nations in the Balkans, frustrated with their conditions, had, often with the help of the great powers. The Armenians remained, by and large, passive during these years, in the mid-1860s and early 1870s this passivity gave way to new currents of thinking in Armenian society. The Ottoman government considered these grievances and promised to punish those responsible, under growing pressure, the government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II declared itself a constitutional monarchy with a parliament and entered into negotiations with the powers
Armenian Genocide
–
German ethnographic map of
Asia Minor and
Caucasus in 1914. Armenians are labeled in blue. The majority of the Armenian population was concentrated in the east of the Ottoman Empire.
Armenian Genocide
–
Armenian civilians, escorted by armed Ottoman soldiers, are marched through Harput (Kharpert), to a prison in the nearby Mezireh (present-day
Elâzığ), April 1915.
Armenian Genocide
–
Corpses of massacred Armenians in
Erzurum in 1895
Armenian Genocide
–
Armenians of
Constantinople celebrating the establishment of the
CUP government.
23.
Armenia
–
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Republic of Armenia constitutes only one-tenth of historical Armenia, Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia, in the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The official date of adoption of Christianity is 301 AD. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century, under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the fell in 1045. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, during World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, in 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the worlds oldest national church, as the countrys primary religious establishment. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991, the native Armenian name for the country is Հայք. The name in the Middle Ages was extended to Հայաստան, by addition of the Persian suffix -stan, the further origin of the name is uncertain. It is also postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription as Armina, the ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία and Ἀρμένιοι are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a descendant of Hayk
Armenia
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map c. 450 BC, with Armenia shown in the center
Armenia
–
Flag
Armenia
–
The Armenian pagan
Temple of Garni, probably built 1st century AD, is the only "Greco-Roman
colonnaded building" in Armenia and the entire
former Soviet Union.
Armenia
–
The
Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia's Mother Church traditionally dated 303 AD, is considered the oldest cathedral in the world.
24.
Yerevan
–
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia as well as one of the worlds oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural and it has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the history of Armenia, and the seventh located in or around the Ararat plain. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, Erebuni was designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital. During the centuries long Iranian rule over Eastern Armenia that lasted from the early 16th century up to 1828, in 1828, it became part of Imperial Russia alongside the rest of Eastern Armenia which conquered it from Iran through the Russo-Persian War between 1826 and 1828. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire settled in the area, the city expanded rapidly during the 20th century as Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the population of Yerevan was 1,060,138, according to the official estimate of 2016, the current population of the city is 1,073,700. Yerevan was named the 2012 World Book Capital by UNESCO, Yerevan is an associate member of Eurocities. One theory regarding the origin of Yerevans name is the city was named after the Armenian king, Yervand IV, the last leader of the Orontid Dynasty, and founder of the city of Yervandashat. However, it is likely that the name is derived from the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni. As elements of the Urartian language blended with that of the Armenian one, while looking in the direction of Yerevan, after the ark had landed on Mount Ararat and the flood waters had receded, Noah is believed to have exclaimed, Yerevats. In the late medieval and early periods, when Yerevan was under Turkic and later Persian rule. This name is widely used by Azerbaijanis. The city was known as Erivan under Russian rule during the 19th. The city was renamed back to Yerevan in 1936, up until the mid-1970s the citys name was spelled Erevan, more often than Yerevan, in English sources. The principal symbol of Yerevan is Mount Ararat, which is visible from any area in the capital, the seal of the city is a crowned lion on a pedestal with the inscription Yerevan. The lions head is turned backwards while it holds a scepter using the front leg. The symbol of eternity is on the breast of the lion with a picture of Ararat in the upper part, the emblem is a rectangular shield with a blue border. On 27 September 2004, Yerevan adopted an anthem, Erebuni-Yerevan, written by Paruyr Sevak and it was selected in a competition for a new anthem and new flag that would best represent the city
Yerevan
–
Yerevan skyline with
Mount Ararat •
Karen Demirchyan Complex Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial •
Saint Gregory Cathedral Tamanyan Street and the
Yerevan Opera •
Yerevan Cascade Republic Square
Yerevan
–
The "birth certificate" of Yerevan in
Erebuni Fortress - a
cuneiform inscription left by King
Argishti I of Urartu on a
basalt stone slab about the foundation of the city in 782 BC
Yerevan
–
Mount Ararat – symbol of the Armenian nation and Yerevan – overlooking the city
Yerevan
–
Erebuni Fortress built by King
Argishti I in 782 BC
25.
Vagharshapat
–
Between 1945 and 1995, the city was officially known as Ejmiatsin which is still commonly used colloquially and in official bureaucracy. It is thus known as a holy city. The 1989 census counted the population of the city as 61,000, the number has declined somewhat since, showing 58,388 in the 2001 census, and 46,540 in 2011. According to Movses Khorenatsi, the area of Vagharshapat was known as Artimed, derived from the ancient Greek deity Artemis. Later, it was renamed Avan Vardgesi or Vardgesavan by prince Vardges Manouk who rebuilt the settlement near the shores of Kasagh River, during the reign of king Orontes I Sakavakyats of Armenia. However, in his first book Wars of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius has cited to the city as Valashabad, the name evolved into its later form by the shift in the medial L into a Gh, which is common in the Armenian language. Movses Khorenatsi mentioned that the Town of Vardges was entirely rebuilt and fenced by king Vagharsh I to become known as Noarakaghak, the territory of ancient Vagharshapat was inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC. Many sites, such as Metsamor Castle, Shresh hill and Mokhrablur hill date back to the neolithic period, the first written records about Vagharshapat were found in the inscriptions left by the Urartian king Rusa II, where it was mentioned as Kuarlini. The inscription found in the site of ancient Vagharshapat cites to a water canal opened by king Rusa II. According to Movses Khorenatsi, the oldest name of Vagharshapat was Artimed, derived from the ancient Greek deity Artemis. Later, it was renamed Avan Vardgesi or Vardgesavan after being rebuilt by prince Vardges Manouk near the shores of Kasagh River, under the reign of king Tigranes the Great, the town was partly inhabited by Jewish captives. In the first half of the 1st century AD, under the reign of the Armenian Arsacid king Vagharsh I of Armenia, in his first book Wars of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius has cited to the city as Valashabad, named after king Valash of Armenia. The name evolved into its form by the shift in the medial L into a Gh. Movses Khorenatsi mentioned that the Town of Vardges was entirely rebuilt and fenced by king Vagharsh I to become known as Noarakaghak, Vagharshapat has served as the capital of the Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia between 120 AD and 330 AD. As a spiritual centre of the entire Armenian nation, Vagharshapat has grown up rapidly and developed as an important centre of education, the city was home to one of the oldest educational institutions in Armenia founded by Mesrop Mashtots. The political capital of the Armenian kingdom was transferred to the city of Dvin in 336, Vagharshapat maintained its status as the countrys most important city until the fall of the Arsacid Kingdom in 428. The city has gradually lost its importance under the Persian rule, however, the first manuscript library in Armenia was founded in 480 in Vagharshapat. In 491, Catholicos Babken I of Armenia, along with the Albanian and Iberian bishops met in Vagharshapat, in 658 AD, Vagharshapat, along with the rest of the Ancient Armenian Highland, was conquered by the Arabs
Vagharshapat
–
Etchmiadzin Cathedral • Gate of Saint Gregory and the Altar
Gevorkian Seminary • Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Manuscript Library Clock tower • Church of the Holy Archangels • Gate of King Trdat and Veharan Pontifical Residence
Vagharshapat
–
Flag
Vagharshapat
–
Seal
Vagharshapat
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Engraving of Etchmiadzin by
Jean Chardin, 1670s
26.
EYE Film Institute Netherlands
–
EYE Film Institute Netherlands is a Dutch archive and museum in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. The museum collection includes 37,000 film titles,60,000 posters,700,000 photographs and 20,000 books, the earliest materials date from the start of the film industry in the Netherlands in 1895. EYE is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and it includes a cinematography museum formerly called Filmmuseum, founded in 1952. Its predecessor was the Dutch Historical Film Archive, founded in 1946, the Filmmuseum was situated in the Vondelparkpaviljoen since 1975, but in 2009, plans were announced for a new home on the north bank of Amsterdams waterfront. It was officially opened on April 4,2012 by Queen Beatrix, the EYE building was designed by Delugan Meissl architects, which specializes in buildings that appear to be in motion, e. g. the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. EYE is performing a major film digitization and preservation project together with IBM and Thought Equity Motion, the project involves scanning and storing more than 150 million discrete DPX files on LTO Gen5 Tape in the Linear Tape File System format. List of film archives Association of European Film Archives and Cinematheques List of museums in Amsterdam Official website
EYE Film Institute Netherlands
–
EYE Film Institute Netherlands in 2012
EYE Film Institute Netherlands
–
Poster by
Cândido de Faria for the silent
Pathé Frères film Les Vampires de la côte, 1908
EYE Film Institute Netherlands
–
Nieuw Weekblad voor de Cinematografie 1, 6 oktober 1922. Dutch weekly of cinematography.
EYE Film Institute Netherlands
–
Filmstar
Lilian Harvey by
Alexander Binder, 1920's
27.
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
–
It was originally developed and manufactured by French firm Aérospatiale, which was merged into the multinational Eurocopter company during the 1990s. Since entering production in 1975, the type has been in production for more than 40 years. The intended successor to the Dauphin is the Airbus Helicopters H160, deliveries of production models began later that decade. The initial production variant entered service under the designation of SA 365C. In 1982, the SA 356C Dauphin was succeeded by the more capable SA365 N, amongst several major design changes and improvements, the SA365 N featured more powerful engines, greater use of composite materials, a better cabin arrangement, and retractable landing gear. In January 1990, the type was formally redesignated as the AS365. The base Dauphin has been developed into several purpose-built variants. A variant of the Dauphin was specifically developed for and operated principally by the United States Coast Guard under the designation HH/MH-65 Dolphin. The AS365 Dauphin is a helicopter capable of travelling long ranges. Electrical power is provided by a pair of generators and a cadmium-nickel main battery. Various portions of the rotorcraft are made from composite materials, such as the blades that made of carbon fiber, other materials are used in portions of the fuselage. Various types and models of radar can be installed in the Dauphins nose.1 decibels below International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, the Dauphin can take off under a full load from sea level under Category A conditions. The main cabin area is designed to be reconfigurable, a feature which is promoted to emergency service and search. In a regular passenger transport layout, the cabin can accommodate up to 12 passengers in addition to the two pilots, up to seven passengers can be accommodated in a VIP layout. Access to the cabin is via sliding doors on either side of the helicopter. By 1980, a total of 265 AS360/361/365 Dauphins had been delivered, amongst the biggest early customers for the type was Saudi Arabia, which ordered 24 Dauphins, and Angola, with an order for 17 Dauphins. In February 1991, it was announced that the 500th Dauphin had been delivered to Bond Helicopters, by 1991, the Dauphin was being operated by 138 customers across 44 nations. In December 2006, Eurocopter president Fabrice Brégier stated that between 30 and 40 Dauphins were being delivered each year, prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics, five AS 356N3 Dauphins were procured for the Hellenic Coast Guard for harbor surveillance purposes
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
–
SA 365 Dauphin 2 AS365 Dauphin
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
–
Eurocopter AS365 N2 cockpit
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
–
French Navy AS365 F Dauphin rescue helicopter on the deck of the
Charles De Gaulle carrier, June 2004
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
–
Eurocopter EC155 B1 at
Paris Air Show 2007
28.
Eiffel tower
–
The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed, the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world,6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. The tower is 324 metres tall, about the height as an 81-storey building. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres on each side, due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres. Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second-tallest structure in France after the Millau Viaduct, the tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top levels upper platform is 276 m above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union, tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually only accessible by lift. Eiffel openly acknowledged that inspiration for a tower came from the Latting Observatory built in New York City in 1853, sauvestre added decorative arches to the base of the tower, a glass pavilion to the first level, and other embellishments. Little progress was made until 1886, when Jules Grévy was re-elected as president of France and Édouard Lockroy was appointed as minister for trade. On 12 May, a commission was set up to examine Eiffels scheme and its rivals, which, after some debate about the exact location of the tower, a contract was signed on 8 January 1887. Eiffel was to all income from the commercial exploitation of the tower during the exhibition. He later established a company to manage the tower, putting up half the necessary capital himself. The proposed tower had been a subject of controversy, drawing criticism from those who did not believe it was feasible and these objections were an expression of a long-standing debate in France about the relationship between architecture and engineering. And for twenty years … we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the column of bolted sheet metal. Gustave Eiffel responded to criticisms by comparing his tower to the Egyptian pyramids. Will it not also be grandiose in its way, and why would something admirable in Egypt become hideous and ridiculous in Paris. Indeed, Garnier was a member of the Tower Commission that had examined the various proposals, some of the protesters changed their minds when the tower was built, others remained unconvinced. Guy de Maupassant supposedly ate lunch in the restaurant every day because it was the one place in Paris where the tower was not visible
Eiffel tower
–
The Eiffel Tower as seen from the
Champ de Mars
Eiffel tower
–
First drawing of the Eiffel Tower by Maurice Koechlin including size comparison with other Parisian landmarks such as
Notre Dame de Paris, the
Statue of Liberty and the
Vendôme Column
Eiffel tower
–
A
calligram by
Guillaume Apollinaire
29.
1911 Paris to Madrid air race
–
The 1911 Paris to Madrid air race was a three-stage international flying competition, the first of several European air races of that summer. The first competitor to take off, at 5,10, was Andre Beaumont, followed by Roland Garros and Eugène Gilbert. Frey took off at 5,35, made a circuit of the field and landed, after some adjustments he tried again at 6,00, the next competitor was not ready, and the following, Garnier, only made a short flight. He was followed by Jules Védrines, who immediately take off attempted to land since his aircraft was not handling properly. In an effort to avoid the spectators he crashed, escaping injury, at 6,22 Le Lasseur de Ranssay departed and at 6,30 Andre Train was called to the starting line. In Trains own words, As soon as I left the ground, I was about to land, after making a turn to one side, when I saw a detachment of cuirassiers crossing the flying track. I then tried to make a curve to avoid them, and to land in the opposite direction, but my motor at that moment failed more and more. I raised the machine, so as to get over the troops, at that very moment a group of persons, who had been hidden from my view by the cuirassiers, scattered before me in every direction. I tried to do the impossible, risking the life of my passenger to prolong my flight, I was about to come to land, when the apparatus, which had been raised almost vertically, dropped heavily to the ground. I got out from under the machine, with my passenger and it was only then that I learned the terrible misfortune. Prime Minister of France Ernest Monis was left unconscious, with a broken leg, moniss son, and the tycoon and aviation patron Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe were both injured. The French Minister of War, Henri Maurice Berteaux, lost an arm, the crash caused a panic in the crowd, causing more injuries and the suspension of all further activity. With the approval of the injured Monis, the event continued the next day, Jules Védrines, flying a Morane-Borel monoplane, was the winner of the race, and the only competitor to finish. Jean Louis Conneau had landed his Bleriot XI at Loches, a little further than halfway to the first destination, for engine maintenance, andré Frey, in a Morane-Saulnier, went no farther than Etampes before damaging his craft. Scheduled competitors who withdrew after the crash included Charles Terres Weymann. The Belgian John Verrept yielded his aircraft to Védrines, eugene Gilbert, flying a Bleriot XI. While over the Pyrenees en route to Madrid, Gilbert was attacked by an eagle which he warded off using a revolver
1911 Paris to Madrid air race
–
the crash of the Louis Émile Train monoplane
1911 Paris to Madrid air race
–
Socialist aviator
Jules Védrines, winner of the race
30.
Trap shooting
–
Trapshooting is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays and they are distinguished roughly as follows, In trap shooting, the targets are launched from a single house or machine, generally away from the shooter. In skeet shooting, targets are launched from two houses in somewhat sideways paths that intersect in front of the shooter, Sporting clays includes a more complex course, with many launch points. There are variations within each group, Trapshooting is practiced all over the world. Trapshooting variants include but are not limited to international varieties Olympic trap, also known as International Trap, Bunker, ISSF Trap. and Trench, other non-Olympic include, Down-The-Line, also known as DTL and Nordic Trap. American Trap is the predominant version in the United States and Canada, American Trap has two independent governing bodies. Trapshooting was originally developed, in part, to augment bird hunting, use of targets was introduced as a replacement for live pigeons. Indeed, one of the names for the used in shooting games is clay pigeons. The layout of a modern trapshooting field differs from that of a skeet field and/or a sporting clays course, Trapshooting has been a sport since the late 18th century when real birds were used, usually the passenger pigeon, which was extremely abundant at the time. Birds were placed under hats or in traps which were then released, artificial birds were introduced around the time of the American Civil War. Glass balls and subsequently clay targets were introduced in the later 1800s, Trapshooting is typically shot with a 12 gauge shotgun. Smaller gauge firearms can be used, but no allowance is given, Trapshooting is shot at either single or double target presentations. This refers to the number of targets which are launched simultaneously. Both general purpose shotguns and more specialized target-type shotguns are used in trapshooting, examples of trap guns are single-barreled shotgun or a double barreled shotgun such as the Beretta DT-10, Browning XT Trap, Beretta 682 Gold E and SKBS. Shooters who shoot all sub-events will often buy a combination-set of a single and double barrel for shooting both singles and double targets respectively, self-loading are popular for recreational shooting due to the lower perceived recoil and versatility because they can be used for singles, handicap, and doubles. Shotguns used in trapshooting can differ from field and skeet guns in several ways, stocks may have a Monte Carlo configuration and/or include a comb height adjustment, a butt plate adjustment for length, angle or both. Trap guns typically have longer barrels, possibly with porting and featuring tighter chokes to compensate for the distances at which trapshooting targets are broken. The majority of trap shotguns built today feature interchangeable choke tubes as opposed to older guns which used chokes of a fixed constriction, interchangeable choke tubes can come in a variety of constrictions and may use names such as modified, improved modified and full
Trap shooting
–
an image of the typical trap shoot line at an amateur event
31.
1924 Summer Olympics
–
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France. It was the second time Paris hosted the games, after 1900, the selection process for the 1924 Summer Olympics consisted of six bids, and Paris was selected ahead of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Prague, and Rome. The selection was made at the 20th IOC Session in Lausanne in 1921, the cost of the Games of the VIII Olympiad was estimated to be 10,000, 000₣. With total receipts at 5,496, 610₣, the Olympics resulted in a hefty loss despite crowds that reached 60,000 people at a time. The opening ceremony and several sporting events took place in the Olympic Stadium of Colombes and this VIII Olympiad was the last one organised under the presidency of Pierre de Coubertin. The Flying Finns dominated the distance running, while the British. Paavo Nurmi won the 1500 m and 5,000 m, ville Ritola won the 10,000 m and the 3,000 m steeplechase, while finishing second to Nurmi on the 5,000 m and cross country. Albin Stenroos won the marathon, while the Finnish team was victorious in the 3,000 m, British runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell won the 100 m and 400 m events, respectively. Their stories are depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire, in addition, Douglas Lowe won the 800 m competition. The marathon distance was fixed at 42.195 km, from the run at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The 1924 Olympics were the first to use the standard 50 m pool with marked lanes, swimmer Johnny Weissmuller won three gold medals in swimming and one bronze in water polo. Harold Osborn won gold medals and set Olympic records in both the high jump and the decathlon at the 1924 Olympics, fencer Roger Ducret of France won five medals, of which three were gold. In gymnastics,24 men scored a perfect 10, twenty-three of them scored it in the now-discontinued event of rope climbing. Albert Seguin scored a 10 here and also a perfect 10 on side vault, unexpectedly, the national team of Uruguay won the gold medal in football. The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius was used for the first time at the Olympics and it had been used before by the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques, a French sporting federation whose founding members included Pierre de Coubertin. De Coubertin took the motto from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who had coined during a speech before a Paris youth gathering of 1891 and these were the first Games to feature an Olympic Village. The Art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics were the first time that the Olympic Art competitions were contested seriously, a total of 14 medals were awarded, though none were given in the music category. 126 events in 23 disciplines, comprising 17 sports, were part of the Olympic program in 1924, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses
1924 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
–
Games of the VIII Olympiad
32.
Voisin
–
Voisin was a French aircraft manufacturing company, one of the first in the world. It created Europes first manned, heavier-than-air powered aircraft capable of a sustained, circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, the Voisin-Farman I. On 28 December 1909, French aviator M. Albert Kimmerling made the first manned, during World War I, it was a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. After the war Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry, and set up a company to design and produce luxury automobiles, Gabriel Voisin bought out Blériot and on 5 November 1906 established the Appareils dAviation Les Frères Voisin with his brother Charles. The company, based in the Parisian suburb of Billancourt, was the first commercial aircraft factory in the world, like many early aircraft companies, Voisin were prepared to build machines to the designs of customers, this work supporting their own design experiments. The latter was underpowered, having a Buchet engine of only 20 hp, however, Kapferer introduced them to Leon Delagrange, for whom they built a similar machine, powered by a 50 hp Antoinette engine. This was first successfully flown by Charles Voisin on 30 March 1907, in turn Delagrange introduced them to Henri Farman, who ordered an identical aircraft. These two aircraft are referred to by their owners names as the Voisin-Delagrange No.1 and the Voisin-Farman No.1. On 13 January 1908 Farman used his aircraft to win the Grand Prix de laviation offered by Ernest Archdeacon,1907 Voisin 1907 biplane 1909 Voisin Tractor Only one built. 1910 Voisin Type de Course 1910 Voisin Type Militaire 1910 Type Bordeaux 1911 Voisin Canard Initially flown as a landplane, examples were sold to the French Navy and to Russia. 1911 Type Tourism 1912 Type Monaco Smaller version of the Canard floatplane, two built to take part in the 1912 Monaco Aero Meeting. 1912 Voisin Icare Aero-Yacht Flying boat built for Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe 1912 Voisin Type L or Voisin Type I Developed for the French Armys 1912 trials, the Voisin III was followed by improved Type LB and Type LBS, or Voisin IV and Voisin V aircraft. The larger Type LC, Voisin VII, followed in 1916, soon after the outbreak of the First World War, it became apparent that the French aviation industry could not produce aircraft in sufficient numbers to meet military requirements. Manufacturers from various other fields became aviation subcontractors, and later license-builders, the earliest such partnership was between Louis Breguet and Michelin. Gabriel Voisin was late to this field, although his designs were produced in quantity by Russian licensees, by 1918, Voisin was involved with the Voisin-Lafresnaye company, a major constructor of airframes, and the Voisin-Lefebvre company, a major builder of aircraft engines. Following the Voisin VII came the powerful, and more successful, Type LAP and Type LBP. This was the French armys main night bomber in 1916–1917, with one thousand built. The Voisin IX, or Type LC, was a design for a reconnaissance aeroplane
Voisin
–
Voisin-Farman 1 winning the Grand Prix de l'aviation, 13 January 1908
Voisin
–
1910 experimental two-seater biplane with
mitrailleuse fired by the passenger
Voisin
–
Voisin Canard seaplane under trial on the Seine, on August 3, 1911. The front of the aircraft is to the right.
33.
Boulogne-Billancourt
–
Boulogne-Billancourt is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.2 km from the centre of Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt. With an average income in 2013 of €47,592, nearly twice the French average of €25,548. Boulogne-Billancourt is the most populous suburb of Paris and one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe, formerly an important industrial site, it has successfully reconverted into business services and is now home to major communication companies headquartered in the Val de Seine business district. The original name of the commune was Boulogne-sur-Seine, before the 14th century, Boulogne was a small village called Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud. The church, meant to become a pilgrimage centre closer to Paris than the distant city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, was named Notre-Dame de Boulogne la Petite, gradually, the village of Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud became known as Boulogne-la-Petite, and later as Boulogne-sur-Seine. In 1924, Boulogne-sur-Seine was officially renamed Boulogne-Billancourt to reflect the development of the neighbourhood of Billancourt annexed in 1860. As for the name Billancourt, it was recorded for the first time in 1150 as Bullencort and it comes from Medieval Latin cortem, accusative of cors, meaning enclosure, estate, suffixed to the Germanic patronym Buolo, thus having the meaning of estate of Buolo. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes, on that occasion, the communes of Auteuil and Passy were disbanded and divided between Boulogne-Billancourt and the city of Paris. Boulogne-sur-Seine received a part of the territory of Passy. Some of the events of the 1900 Summer Olympics took place in Boulogne-Billancourt. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne, which was divided between the communes of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine, was annexed in its entirety by the city of Paris. On that occasion, Boulogne-Billancourt, to which most of the Bois de Boulogne belonged, Boulogne-Billancourt is famous for being the birthplace of three major French industries, cinema, automobile with Renault at Île Seguin, and aircraft. It is also famous for being the setting of the TV show Code Lyoko, with the city of Sèvres, Boulogne-Billancourt is part of the communauté dagglomération Val de Seine. Boulogne-Billancourt is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 10, Boulogne – Jean Jaurès and Boulogne – Pont de Saint-Cloud and it is also served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 9, Marcel Sembat, Billancourt, and Pont de Sèvres. The Musée Albert-Kahn at 14, rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt is a museum and includes four hectares of gardens. The museum also includes photographs and film. The Musée des Années Trente is a museum of artistic and industrial objects from the 1930s, see also, Enseignement à Boulogne-Billancourt The public collèges in the commune include Jacqueline-Auriol, Bartholdi, Paul-Landowski, and Jean-Renoir
Boulogne-Billancourt
–
The church of Our Lady of Boulogne-Billancourt
34.
Avions Voisin
–
Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin in 1919 which traded until 1939. Voisin was a pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux. The characteristic Voisin style of rational coachwork he developed in conjunction with his collaborator André Noel, Noel prioritized lightness, central weight distribution, capacious luggage boxes and distinctively angular lines. The 1930s models with underslung chassis were strikingly low, in the early 1930s, Gabriel Voisin could not pay all of his draftsmen any more and a young creative engineer named André Lefèbvre quit, recommended by Gabriel to Louis Renault. Lefèbvre finally entered Citroën where he led three particularly significant car projects, the Traction Avant, the 2CV and the DS, using a lot of Gabriels lessons, sleeve valve Knight engines were used exclusively until some later models switched to Graham 3.5 litre engines. The Knight engines included, inline four, inline six, V8, V12 -7.2 liter,1921, Inline twelve, after the war the business was nationalised in the political turmoil and the Government installed directors who did not continue the original engineering traditions. Voisin presented a Biscooter Voisin at the 1950 Paris Motorcycle and Bicycle Show, the aluminium-bodied vehicle had a three-speed transmission with a secondary gear and did not require a drivers license. The company failed to proceed with the Biscooter and instead mandated a Mr. Moglia, Moglias design appeared at the 1952 Paris Motor Show fitted with the same Gnome & Rhône engine, but on Moglias design the engine was moved to the rear of the little vehicle. The braking and suspension systems were quite different. The Moglia design was presented as the new Biscooter Voisin, a nomenclature which at least one commentator found abusive, the vehicle, renamed Biscúter, was adapted for Spanish conditions and about 12,000 were produced in Catalonia between 1953 and 1960. In the 1933 Universal Pictures film adaptation of H. G. Wellss The Invisible Man, in the 1938 film Three Comarades a 1923 Voisin C5 is owned by one of the main characters and is seen frequently. In the 2005 movie Sahara, the car stolen from the dictator is a 1936 Avions Voisin C-28, matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt recognizes the car and says Its a 1936 Avions Voisin. Six-cylinder sleeve valve engine, you know there was only six of these ever made. In actuality, the car is a fiberglass replica of a 1936 C-28 Avions Voisin with a 4.2 Jaguar engine and Rover automatic gear box on a 4WD chassis built by D Tessier in Tours. Clive Cussler has a genuine 1936 Avions Voisin, similar to the C-28 that inspired the replica and it was designed by well-known British special effects expert and stunt vehicles coordinator, Steve Lamonby and completed in four months. To make the more visible, the roof was removed giving it the appearance of a mid-1930s four-door cabriolet. “GV” letters on the plate are an insider tribute to the original C-28’s legendary manufacturer. The Voisin C-28 Sahara, as it has known, sold at auction for US$23,400 in 2008
Avions Voisin
–
Avions Voisin
Avions Voisin
–
Voisin C5 1924
Avions Voisin
–
Voisin C25 Aérodyne, 1934, in a Paris Museum
Avions Voisin
–
Voisin C26
35.
ICAO
–
The International Civil Aviation Organization, is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of air transport to ensure safe. Its headquarters are located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The Air Navigation Commission is the body within ICAO. The Commission is composed of 19 Commissioners, nominated by the ICAOs contracting states, Commissioners serve as independent experts, who although nominated by their states, do not serve as state or political representatives. The development of Aviation Standards and Recommended Practices is done under the direction of the ANC through the process of ICAO Panels. Once approved by the Commission, standards are sent to the Council, the forerunner to ICAO was the International Commission for Air Navigation. It held its first convention in 1903 in Berlin, Germany, at the second convention in 1906, also held in Berlin,27 countries attended. The third convention, held in London in 1912 allocated the first radio callsigns for use by aircraft, ICAN continued to operate until 1945. Fifty-two countries signed the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, in Chicago, Illinois, on 7 December 1944. Under its terms, a Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization was to be established, accordingly, PICAO began operating on 6 June 1945, replacing ICAN. The 26th country ratified the Convention on 5 March 1947 and, consequently PICAO was disestablished on 4 April 1947 and replaced by ICAO, in October 1947, ICAO became an agency of the United Nations linked to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In April 2013 Qatar offered to serve as the new permanent seat of the Organization, according to the Globe and Mail, Qatars move was at least partly motivated by the pro-Israel foreign policy of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Approximately one month later, Qatar withdrew its bid after a proposal to the ICAOs governing council to move the ICAO triennial conference to Doha was defeated by a vote of 22–14. The 9th edition of the Convention on International Civil Aviation includes modifications from 1948 up to year 2006, ICAO refers to its current edition of the Convention as the Statute, and designates it as ICAO Document 7300/9. The Convention has 19 Annexes that are listed by title in the article Convention on International Civil Aviation, as of March 2016, there are 191 ICAO members, consisting of 190 of the 193 UN members, plus the Cook Islands. Liechtenstein has delegated Switzerland to implement the treaty to make it applicable in the territory of Liechtenstein, Taiwan attended the 38th Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2013, but in 2016 was denied such an invitation, despite expressions of support from the United States for Taiwan to participate. However, the Republic of China under the name of Chinese Taipei is a member of International Air Transport Association, the Council of ICAO is elected by the Assembly every 3 years and consists of 36 members elected in 3 categories
ICAO
–
ICAO World Headquarters,
Montreal,
Quebec,
Canada
ICAO
–
International Civil Aviation Organization
36.
Aeroports de Paris
–
Paris Aéroport, formerly Aéroports de Paris or ADP, is the airport authority that owns and manages the fourteen civil airports and airfields in the Île-de-France area. Among its notable airports are Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Orly Airport and its headquarters are located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. It was created as a corporation in 1945 but became a public company on 20 April 2005, although the French government. As of the end of 2014, the French government holds 50. 6% of the shares, according to French Transport Code, the French government must remain the majority shareholder. With this transition, the company able to engage in international partnerships. In 2008, the Schiphol Group purchased 8% of the stock of Aéroports de Paris, Aéroports de Paris has 8% of the stock of the Schiphol Group. Aéroports de Paris Management will also acquire 49% of TAV Yatırım Holding, Aéroports de Paris has controlling interests in companies that operate ground handling services in CDG and Orly airport. As of 2004 about 300 employees work in the building, corporate website Commercial revenue boosts AdP results
Aeroports de Paris
–
AdP head office
Aeroports de Paris
–
Aéroports de Paris
37.
Metropolitan France
–
Metropolitan France, also known as European France, is the part of France in Europe. It comprises mainland France and nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, Overseas France is the collective name for the part of France outside Europe, French overseas regions, territories, collectivities, and the sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia. Metropolitan France and Overseas France together form the French Republic, Metropolitan France accounts for 82. 2% of the land territory,3. 3% of the exclusive economic zone, and 95. 9% of the population of the French Republic. The five overseas regions—Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, French Guiana, in overseas France, a person from metropolitan France is often called a métro, short for métropolitain. Similar terms existed to describe other European colonial powers and this usage of the words metropolis and metropolitan itself came from Ancient Greek metropolis, which was the name for a city-state from which originated colonies across the Mediterranean. By extension metropolis and metropolitan came to mean motherland, a nation or country as opposed to its colonies overseas, today there are some people in overseas France who object to the use of the term la France métropolitaine due to its colonial origins. They prefer to call it the European territory of France, as the Treaties of the European Union do, likewise, they oppose treating overseas France and metropolitan France as separate entities. As a result, since the end of the 1990s INSEE has included the five departments in its figures for France. Other branches of the French administration may have different definitions of what la France entière is, the World Bank refers to this as France only, and not the whole of France as INSEE does. According to the French government,64,860,000 people lived in metropolitan France as of January 2017, Metropolitan France covers a land area of 551,695 km². At sea, the economic zone of metropolitan France covers 334,604 km², while the EEZ of overseas France covers 9,821,231 km². In the second round of the 2007 French presidential election,37,342,004 French people cast a ballot. 35,907,015 of these cast their ballots in metropolitan France,1,088,679 cast their ballots in overseas France, and 346,310 cast their ballots in foreign countries. The French National Assembly is made up of 577 deputies,539 of whom are elected in metropolitan France,27 in overseas France, and 11 by French citizens living in foreign countries. Mainland France, or just the mainland, does not include the French islands in the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel or Mediterranean Sea, in Corsica, people from the mainland part of Metropolitan France are referred to as les continentaux. A casual synonym for the part of Metropolitan France is lHexagone, for its approximate shape. French colonial empire Mainland Wildlife of Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France
–
Metropolitan France
38.
Overseas France
–
Overseas France consists of all the French-administered territories outside of the European continent. Their citizens have French nationality and vote for the president of France and they have the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament. From a legal and administrative standpoint, overseas regions are different from overseas collectivities. Overseas regions have exactly the same status as mainland Frances regions, in the French overseas regions, laws cannot be adapted whereas the overseas collectivities are empowered to make their own laws, except in certain areas. The overseas collectivities are governed by elected assemblies and by the French Parliament. Overseas France has an economic zone of 9,821,231 km². Guadeloupe French Guiana Martinique Réunion Mayotte 1976–2003, sui generis overseas territory, 2001–2003, with the designation departmental community, 2003–2011, in the 2009 Mahoran status referendum, Mahorans voted to become an overseas department in 2011, which occurred on March 31,2011. The category of overseas collectivity was created by Frances constitutional reform of March 28,2003, each overseas collectivity has its own statutory laws. French Polynesia In 2004 it was given the designation of overseas country, despite being given the political status of overseas collectivity, Saint Pierre et Miquelon is called collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, literally territorial collectivity. It is still referred to as a territoire. Saint Martin, In 2003, the populations of St. Martin, on February 7,2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both jurisdictions. The new status took effect on February 22,2007 when the law was published in the Journal Officiel and they remain part of the European Union, as stated in the Treaty of Lisbon. It is currently the only overseas territory, according to law 2007-224 of February 21,2007, the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean constitute the 5th district of TAAF. New Caledonia was classified as an overseas territory beginning in 1946, a New Caledonian citizenship was established, and a gradual transfer of power from the French state to New Caledonia itself was begun, to last from 15 to 20 years. Clipperton Island is a 9 km2 coral atoll located 1,280 km south-west of Acapulco, Mexico and it is held as state private property under the direct authority of the French government, and is administered by Frances Overseas Minister. With 2,691,000 inhabitants in 2013, Overseas France account for 4. 1% of the population of the French Republic and they enjoy a corresponding representation in the two chambers of the French Parliament. In the 13th Legislature, Overseas France is represented by 27 députés in the French National Assembly,2004, Official website Overseas France at DMOZ
Overseas France
–
Gustavia in
Saint Barthélemy
Overseas France
–
Flag
Overseas France
–
A street in
Saint-Pierre, capital of
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Overseas France
–
Route des Tamarins motorway near
Saint-Paul,
Réunion
39.
EU-15
–
The 1995 enlargement of the European Union saw Austria, Finland and Sweden accede to the European Union. This was the EUs fourth enlargement and came into effect on the 1 January of that year, all these states were previous members of the European Free Trade Association and had traditionally been less interested in joining the EU than other European countries. Norway had negotiated to join alongside the three but following the signing of the treaty, membership was turned down by the Norwegian electorate in the 1994 national referendum. Switzerland also applied for membership on 26 May 1992, but withdrew it after a referendum result on 6 December 1992. After the 1970s Europe experienced a downturn led to leaders launching of the Single European Act which set to create a single market by 1992. The effect of this was that EFTA states found it harder to export to the EEC, EFTA states began to discuss closer links with the EEC despite its domestic unpopularity. Finally, Austria, Finland and Sweden were neutral in the Cold War so membership of an organisation developing a common foreign, as that obstacle was removed, the desire to pursue membership grew stronger. However membership was still unpopular and the then-EEC was also uninterested in another enlargement. The EEC had begun working on the creation of a common currency, commission President Jacques Delors proposed the European Economic Area to give EFTA access to the EUs internal market without full membership. While they would not have a say in the creation of EU law, however businesses did not accept that the EEA members would be equal members of the single market and investment flows did not return to normal. The large manufacturers in Sweden were instrumental in pushing government policy further towards membership rather than remaining with the EEA, the economic pressures overcame long standing opposition from the social democrat governments which saw the EU as too neo-liberal and a danger to Nordic capitalism. Firms were only kept within Sweden by devaluations of the Swedish krona, the EEA was damaged further with the Swiss electorate voted against it. Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden all applied for membership of the EU. On 30 March 1994, accession negotiations concluded with Austria, Sweden, Finland and their accession treaties were signed on 25 June of that year. Sweden held their elections to the European Parliament for its MEPs later that year on 17 September, the following year, Austria held its elections on 13 October and Finland on 20 October. The impact of the 1995 enlargement was smaller than most as the members were wealthy, as net contributors to the EU budget, they also increased the voice for budgetary reform. Before the 1995 enlargement, the EU had ten treaty languages, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, however, due to the 1995 enlargement, two new official languages were added, Swedish and Finnish. This resulted in the increase in the minority in the Council
EU-15
–
The 1995 enlargement: Austria, Finland and Sweden in yellow.
40.
Pieds-noirs
–
The term usually includes the North African Jews, who had been living there for many centuries but were awarded French citizenship by the 1870 Crémieux Decree. More specifically, the term pied-noir is used for those of European ancestry who returned to mainland France as soon as Algeria gained independence, the term pied-noir began to be commonly used shortly before the end of the Algerian War in 1962. As of the last census in Algeria, taken on 1 June 1960, the conflict contributed to the fall of the French Fourth Republic and the mass exodus of Algerian Europeans and Jews to France. After Algeria became independent in 1962, about 800,000 Pieds-Noirs of French nationality were evacuated to mainland France while about 200,000 chose to remain in Algeria. Of the latter, there were still about 100,000 in 1965, in popular culture, the community is often represented as feeling removed from French culture while longing for Algeria. Thus, the recent history of the Pieds-Noirs has been imprinted with a theme of alienation from both their native homeland and their adopted land. Though the term rapatriés dAlgérie implies that once lived in France. Many families had lived there for generations, and the Algerian Jews, the actual origin of the term pied-noir is unknown and therefore debated. The Le Robert dictionary states that in 1901 the word indicated a sailor working barefoot in the room of a ship. In the Mediterranean, this was often an Algerian native, thus the term was used pejoratively for Algerians until 1955 when it first began referring to French born in Algeria and this usage originated from mainland French as a negative nickname. There is also a theory that the term comes from the boots of French soldiers compared to the barefoot Algerians. Other theories focus on new settlers dirtying their clothing by working in areas, wearing black boots when on horseback. European settlement of Algeria began during the 1830s, after France had commenced the process of conquest with the seizure of the city of Algiers in 1830. The invasion was instigated when the Dey of Algiers struck the French consul with a fly-swatter in 1827, in 1830 the government of Charles X blockaded Algeria and an armada sailed to Algiers, followed by a land expedition. A troop of 34,000 soldiers landed on 18 June 1830, following a three-week campaign, the Hussein Dey capitulated on 5 July 1830, and was exiled. In the 1830s the French controlled only the part of the country. Entering the Oran region, they faced resistance from Emir Abd al-Kader, in 1839 Abd al-Kader began a seven-year war by declaring jihad against the French. The French signed two treaties with al-Kader, but they were broken because of a miscommunication between the military and the Parisian government
Pieds-noirs
–
Notre Dame d'Afrique, a church built by the French Pieds-Noirs in Algeria
Pieds-noirs
–
Bombardment of Algeria by
Admiral Duperré's forces in 1830
Pieds-noirs
–
Four children in a wagon pulled by two
donkeys, circa 1905. The first Pieds-Noirs were the
French Army of Africa personnel's children.
Pieds-noirs
–
Map of
French Algeria
41.
Northwest Africa
–
The Maghreb, or the Greater Maghreb, is usually defined as much or most of the region of western North Africa or Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. Historical terms for the region or various portions of the Maghreb include Mauretania, Numidia, Libya, the term maghrib is Arabic for west, from the verb gharaba. In the strict sense, the definite form al-maghrib denotes the country of Morocco in particular and it identified the westernmost territories that fell to the Islamic conquests of the 7th century. Today, it is a noun for the present region of the Maghreb. The Berber languages alternative term for the region, Tamazgha, has been popularized by Berber activists since the second half of the 20th century. As recently as the late 19th century it was used to refer to the Western Mediterranean region of coastal North Africa in general, and to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in particular. The region was unified as an independent political entity during the rule of the Berber kingdom of Numidia. The most enduring rule was that of the local Berber empires of the Almoravids, Almohads, Hammadids, Zirids, Marinids, Saadi, the Ottoman Turks ruled the region as well. Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya established the Maghreb Union in 1989 to promote cooperation and it was envisioned initially by Muammar Gaddafi as a superstate. The union included Western Sahara implicitly under Moroccos membership, putting Moroccos long cold war with Algeria to a rest, however, this progress was short-lived, and the union is now frozen. Tensions between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara re-emerged strongly, reinforced by the unsolved borderline issue between the two countries and these two main conflicts have hindered progress on the unions joint goals and practically made it inactive as a whole. Around 3,500 BC a tilt in the Earths orbit created a rapid desertification of the Sahara, the Maghreb or western North Africa is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers since from at least 10,000 BC. Maghreb coast ports were predominantly occupied or constructed by the Phoenicians, the main Phoenician settlements centered in the Gulf of Tunis along the North African littoral between the Pillars of Hercules and the Libyan coast east of ancient Cyrenaica. They dominated the trade and intercourse of the Western Mediterranean for centuries, Rome was greatly helped by the defection of King Massinissa and Carthaginians eastern Numidian Massylii client-allies. A century later, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I sent a force under General Belisarius that succeeded in destroying the Vandal kingdom, the Berbers contested outside-the-area control although after the 640s-700 AD period the Arabs controlled the entire region. The Arabs reached the Maghreb in early Umayyad times, Arab expansion and the spread of Islam pushed the development of trans-Saharan trade. While restricted due to the cost and dangers, the trade was highly profitable, commodities traded included such goods as salt, gold, ivory, and slaves. Arab control over the Maghreb was quite weak, various Islamic variations, such as the Ibadis and the Shia, were adopted by some Berbers, often leading to scorning of Caliphal control in favour of their own interpretation of Islam
Northwest Africa
–
Magreb head ornament (Morocco)
Northwest Africa
–
The
Arab Maghreb Union countries
Northwest Africa
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan, founded by the Arab general Uqba Ibn Nafi (in 670), is the oldest mosque in the Maghreb city of
Kairouan,
Tunisia.
Northwest Africa
–
1707 map of northwest Africa by
Guillaume Delisle, including the Maghreb
42.
Saint-Martin
–
Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km east of Puerto Rico. It is the smallest inhabited island divided between two nations, the southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The northern French part comprises the Collectivité de Saint-Martin and is an overseas collectivity of France. On 1 January 2009, the population of the island was 77,741 inhabitants, with 40,917 living on the Dutch side. Collectively, the two territories are known as St-Martin / St Maarten, sometimes SXM, the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport, is used to refer to the island. St. Martin received the ISO 3166-1 code MF in October 2007, the Dutch part changed in status to a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010 and was given the code SX. Saint Martin has an area of 87 km2,53 km2 of which is under the sovereignty of France. This is the land border shared by France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands anywhere on Earth. The main cities are Philipsburg and Marigot, the Dutch side is more heavily populated. The largest settlement on the island is Lower Princes Quarter. The highest hilltop is the Pic Paradis in the center of a chain on the French side. Both sides are hilly with large mountain peaks and this forms a valley where many houses are located. There are no rivers on the island, but many dry guts, hiking trails give access to the dry forest covering tops and slopes. The island is located south of Anguilla, separated from the British territory by the Anguilla Channel, Saint Martin is northwest of Saint Barthélemy, separated from the French territory by the Saint-Barthélemy Channel. It is one of the Renaissance Islands, under the Köppen climate classification, the island has a tropical monsoon climate with a dry season from January to April and a rainy season from August to December. The precipitation patterns are due to the movement of the Azores high during the year, with the wind direction predominantly from the east or the northeast, temperatures remain stable throughout the year and temperatures rarely exceed 34 °C or fall below 20 °C. Temperatures remain steady throughout the year with a mean temperature of 27.2 °C. The average sea temperature is 27.2 °C ranging from a low of 25.9 °C in February to a high of 28.4 °C in October, the total average yearly rainfall is 1,047 mm, with 142 days of measurable rainfall
Saint-Martin
–
Flags flying in Marigot harbor, Saint-Martin.
Saint-Martin
–
Saint Martin
Saint-Martin
–
Border crossing between St. Martin and Sint Maarten
Saint-Martin
–
A newer monument, crossing from St. Martin to Sint Maarten, dedicated in 2008
43.
Eurosport
–
Eurosport is a pan-European television sports network, owned and operated by Discovery Communications. Discovery took a 20% minority interest share in December 2012, and became the majority shareholder in the Eurosport venture with TF1 in January 2014, on 22 July 2015 Discovery agreed to acquire TF1s remaining 49% stake in the venture. Eurosport owns a range of rights across many sports but generally does not bid for premium priced rights such as those to major football leagues. However, in 2015 it was awarded rights to broadcast the Olympic Games from 2018 for most of Europe and 2022 for the UK, Eurosport has also expanded its deal with The All England Club to show all the Wimbledon matches live in 16 additional countries. It is a 3-year deal that includes exclusive TV and digital rights and this expands their tennis portfolio to show all four Grand Slams. The network of channels is available in 54 countries, in 20 different languages, providing viewers with European, Eurosport first launched on European satellites on 5 February 1989. In February 2017, Discovery Communications launched the channel in India, the channel was made available on various platforms in both SD and HD feeds. Eurosport provides viewers with European and international sporting events, in June 2015 it was announced that Eurosport had secured the pan-European rights to the winter and summer Olympic Games between 2018 and 2024. Eurosport broadcasts every WTCC race live and every ERC rally either live or with daily highlights, Eurosport Events was also the promoter of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, a rival rallying series to the World Rally Championship. The IRC ceased at the end of the 2012 season, with Eurosport taking over series promotion of the ERC from 2013, since 2008, the Eurosport Group has also been broadcasting the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans in full. On 29 September 2015, Eurosport acquired the Portuguese broadcasting rights for Formula One between 2016 and 2018, Eurosport broadcasts different sporting events in each region. Region-specific events are noted in the table below with a flag indicating the country it is broadcast in, if no flag is present, the broadcast is multi territory. Prior to the creation of Eurosport, the European Broadcasting Union was acquiring substantial amounts of sports rights and this provided the impetus for setting up the Eurosport Consortium, made up of several EBU members, to establish an outlet where these rights could be exploited. Sky Television plc was chosen as a partner, and the channel could launch on 5 February 1989. Eurosport was closed down in May 1991 after the competing Screensport channel had filed a complaint to the European Commission over the corporate structure, the channel was however saved when the TF1 Group stepped in to replace BSkyB as joint-owners. A new Eurosport channel was able to start its broadcasts the same month, on 1 March 1993, the cable and satellite channel Screensport merged with Eurosport. Eurosport eventually came under a French consortium comprising the TF1 Group, Canal+ Group, in January 2001, TF1 took full ownership of Eurosport. Europe and Eurosport formed a website which Eurosport used as its web portal, including an online TV guide, in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy
Eurosport
–
Eurosport
44.
France 24
–
France 24 is a 24-hour international news and current affairs television network, based in Paris. Its channels broadcast, respectively, in, French, English, and Arabic, based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the suburbs of Paris, the service started on 6 December 2006. The stated mission of the three channels is to provide a public service and a common editorial stance. The budget is approximately €m100 million per year, France 24 is broadcast on three channels, in French, in English, and in Arabic. France 24s programming is divided more or less equally between news coverage and news magazines or special reports, along with 260 journalists of its own, France 24 can call on the resources of the two main French broadcasters as well as partners such as AFP and RFI. The CEO of France 24 is Alain de Pouzilhac, from 19 May 2010, France 24 unveiled a new schedule that prioritizes the morning and evening slots, anchored live by the networks editorial staff. More programming space than ever before goes to business, sport, culture, as from 2016, France 24 shares its night programming with the France-based France Info. Format and Magazines France 24 broadcasts on a cycle with a live news bulletin. In Sunday, all programs are rebroadcasts, except Revisited at 9, the First Gulf War of 1990, relayed across the world by CNN International in particular, revealed the power of international news channels and their role in the formation of opinion. A parliamentary minister, Philippe Séguin, wished to create a French-language equivalent, in 1996, after nineteen governmental reports in ten years, Prime Minister Alain Juppé asked Radio France Internationale president Jean-Paul Cluzel to create a French international news channel. Cluzel proposed in 1997 to group TV5, RFI, and CFI within a corporation entitled Téléfi, admittedly, we have with Agence France-Presse a remarkable information tool that we must continue to reinforce, notably in its international mission. Indeed, everyone here recognises the recent progress made by RFI, by TV5, by CFI, thanks to the efforts of their teams and to the determination of the public bodies. But everybody notices that we are far from having a large international news channel in French. The recent crises have shown the handicap that a country suffers, an area, which doesnt possess a sufficient weight in the battle of the images. It is essential for the influence of our country, an international version of LCI, proposed by Groupe TF1, which asked for a state subvention for the service. Strengthening of TV5s news service, as suggested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on 19 March 2003, Matignon opened offers to, Elicit the development of an international news channel. The international news channel must contribute to a strategy of influence of France in the world. Brochard attempted to group both Groupe TF1 and Groupe Canal+, with no success, after a press conference in January 2004, President Chirac wished for a launch of the channel towards the end of the year
France 24
–
Inaugural News presenter, François Picard
France 24
–
France 24
France 24
–
The News title 2006–2011
45.
Microsoft
–
Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office office suite, and Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup, as of 2016, it was the worlds largest software maker by revenue, and one of the worlds most valuable companies. Microsoft was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates on April 4,1975, to develop and it rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The companys 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion, in June 2012, Microsoft entered the personal computer production market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface, a line of tablet computers. The word Microsoft is a portmanteau of microcomputer and software, Paul Allen and Bill Gates, childhood friends with a passion for computer programming, sought to make a successful business utilizing their shared skills. In 1972 they founded their first company, named Traf-O-Data, which offered a computer that tracked and analyzed automobile traffic data. Allen went on to pursue a degree in science at Washington State University. The January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics featured Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systemss Altair 8800 microcomputer, Allen suggested that they could program a BASIC interpreter for the device, after a call from Gates claiming to have a working interpreter, MITS requested a demonstration. Since they didnt actually have one, Allen worked on a simulator for the Altair while Gates developed the interpreter and they officially established Microsoft on April 4,1975, with Gates as the CEO. Allen came up with the name of Micro-Soft, as recounted in a 1995 Fortune magazine article. In August 1977 the company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first international office, the company moved to a new home in Bellevue, Washington in January 1979. Microsoft entered the OS business in 1980 with its own version of Unix, however, it was MS-DOS that solidified the companys dominance. For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products, branding it as MS-DOS, following the release of the IBM PC in August 1981, Microsoft retained ownership of MS-DOS. Since IBM copyrighted the IBM PC BIOS, other companies had to engineer it in order for non-IBM hardware to run as IBM PC compatibles. Due to various factors, such as MS-DOSs available software selection, the company expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in 1983, as well as with a publishing division named Microsoft Press. Paul Allen resigned from Microsoft in 1983 after developing Hodgkins disease, while jointly developing a new OS with IBM in 1984, OS/2, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows, a graphical extension for MS-DOS, on November 20,1985. Once Microsoft informed IBM of NT, the OS/2 partnership deteriorated, in 1990, Microsoft introduced its office suite, Microsoft Office
Microsoft
–
Front lobby entrance of building 17, one of the largest buildings on Microsoft's main campus in Redmond
Microsoft
–
Paul Allen (l.) and
Bill Gates (r.) on October 19, 1981, in a sea of PCs after signing a pivotal contract. IBM called Microsoft in July 1980 inquiring about
programming languages for its upcoming PC line; after failed negotiations with another company, IBM gave Microsoft a contract to develop the OS for the new line of PCs.
Microsoft
–
Bill Gates giving his deposition in 1998 for the
United States v. Microsoft trial.
Microsoft
–
In 1996, Microsoft released Windows CE, a version of the operating system meant for personal digital assistants and other tiny computers.
46.
Sodexo
–
Sodexo is a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Sodexo is one of the worlds largest multinational corporations, with 420,000 employees that represent 130 nationalities and are present on 34,000 sites in 80 countries. For fiscal year 2010 revenues reached 15.3 billion euros, revenues by region represent 38% in North America, 37% in Continental Europe, 8% in the UK and Ireland, and 17% elsewhere. The company was launched in 1966 by Pierre Bellon in Marseille, France, initially serving company restaurants, today Sodexo is on the Fortune Global 500 list and the second largest employer among all French multi-national corporations. Throughout the 1970s, the expanded in France and internationally, first in Belgium, then Africa. After an initial public offering on the Paris Bourse in 1983, in 2000 Sodexho Alliance became the leader in remote site management after a merger with Universal Ogden Services. In 1998, Sodexho merged with Marriott Management Services, at the one of the largest food services companies in North America. Included in the merger was a change to Sodexho Marriott Services. The merger helped the company one of the largest food services providers in America. In 2002, Sodexho was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, in 2005, Michel Landel was appointed Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Pierre Bellon, who continues as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The initiative includes an agreement and the formation of SodexhoMAGIC, LLC. Since September 2007, its United States operations have been headed by President and CEO George Chavel, in 2007, Sodexho launched its catering arm in United Kingdom schools, using the brand name For you. In August 2009, Sodexo acquired the in-home care services company, Comfort Keepers provides non-medical, in-home care for adults and seniors. It is a franchise system with locally owned and operated franchise offices. The company was launched in 1998, Comfort Keepers franchises are located throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Ireland, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. As of June 2016, Comfort Keepers has 500 franchisees running 750 offices in the United States, Comfort Keepers was named by INC. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing franchise systems in the United States in 2007. In 2016, Comfort Keepers was ranked #7 by Forbes as a Top Franchise to Buy in the lowest investment category, the DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity is the leading assessment of diversity management in corporate America and globally. In 2010, Sodexo ranked number 1, in 2011, Sodexo entered an 8-year contract with the American government, by which the company commits itself to provide food services to 51 United States Marine Corps mess halls
Sodexo
–
Police report of the April 2012 incident at SUNY New Paltz.
47.
Technicolor SA
–
Technicolor SA, formerly Thomson SARL and Thomson Multimedia, is a French multinational corporation that provides services and products for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Technicolors headquarters are located in Issy-les-Moulineaux – France, other main office locations include Rennes, Los Angeles, Edegem, London, Bangalore, Chennai, and Indianapolis. On January 27,2010, the changed its name to Technicolor SA. Thomsons US subsidiary became Technicolor USA, Inc, Technicolor began as Thomson, named after the electrical engineer Elihu Thomson, who was born in Manchester, England, on March 26,1853. Thomson moved to Philadelphia, USA, at the age of 5, Thomson formed the Thomson-Houston Electric Company in 1879 with Edwin Houston. The company merged with the Edison General Electric Company to become the General Electric Company in 1892, in 1893, the Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston was formed in Paris, a sister company to GE in the United States. It was from this company, that the modern Thomson Group would evolve, in 1966, CFTH merged with Hotchkiss-Brandt to form Thomson-Houston-Hotchkiss-Brandt. In 1968 the electronics business of Thomson-Brandt merged with Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie Sans Fil to form Thomson-CSF, Thomson Brandt maintained a significant shareholding in this company. In 1982, both Thomson-Brandt and Thomson-CSF saw nationalization due to the efforts of François Mitterrand, Thomson-Brandt was subsequently renamed Thomson SA, and soon thereafter merged with Thomson-CSF. In 1988, Thomson Consumer Electronics was formed, and then renamed Thomson SA, in 1995, the French government split the consumer electronics from the defense businesses of Thomson Multimedia and Thomson-CSF prior to privatization in 1999. The company then went through a series of transactions, including with Marconi plc, in 2005, Thomson bought Cirpack and Inventel. In 2004, Thomson set up a joint venture with Chinas TCL, giving to TCL all manufacturing of RCA and Thomson television and DVD products, at the time, TCL was hailed as the first Chinese company to compete on the international stage with large international corporations. Thomson initially retained all marketing of TTEs products, but transferred that to TTE in 2005, in June 2005, the Videocon Group of India announced, that it would acquire the color picture tube manufacturing business from Thomson SA for €240 million. In early 2010, Thomson sold TV brand RCA to ON corporation, in December 2007, Thomson SA agreed to sell off its Audio/Video and Accessories businesses to Audiovox. On October 2007, Thomson SA agreed to sell its consumer electronics audio video business outside Europe including the rights to the RCA brand. Thomson then purchased the Moving Picture Company from ITV and the internet startup Singingfish, in 2004, Thomson increased its stake in the Bangalore, India based company Celstream Technologies, which specializes in product engineering. Cirpack, a manufacturer, was incorporated and acquired in April 2005. In July 2005, Thomson agreed to purchase PRN Corporation for $285 million, in December 2005, Thomson re-purchased the Broadcast & Multimedia part of Thales Group
Technicolor SA
–
Technicolor SA
.svg)
Weiden in der Oberpfalz, Germany, since 1954
Frameries, Belgium, since 1979
Macerata, Italy, since 1982
Hounslow, United Kingdom, since 1982
Dapaong, Togo, since 1989
Echmiadzin, Armenia, since 1989
Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain, since 1990
Nahariya, Israel, since 1994
Chongwen District, Beijing, People's Republic of China, since 1998
Guro, Seoul, South Korea, since 2005
Madison, New Jersey, United States
![[3]](http://194.254.135.72/parcs/parcs/germain/images/isgtour.jpg){kind=link}