1.
French Resistance
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The Résistance also planned, coordinated, and executed acts of sabotage on the electrical power grid, transport facilities, and telecommunications networks. Estimated to have a strength of 100,000 in June 1944 and this burden amounted to approximately 20 million German reichsmarks per day, a sum that, in May 1940, was approximately equivalent to four hundred million French francs. Because of this overvaluation of German currency, the occupiers were able to make fair and honest requisitions and purchases while, in effect. Prices soared, leading to food shortages and malnutrition, particularly among children, the elderly. The labour shortage was worsened by the fact that a number of the French were also held as prisoners of war in Germany. Beyond these hardships and dislocations, the occupation became increasingly unbearable, onerous regulations, strict censorship, incessant propaganda and nightly curfews all played a role in establishing an atmosphere of fear and repression. The sight of French women consorting with German soldiers infuriated many French men, as reprisals for Résistance activities, the authorities established harsh forms of collective punishment. For example, the militancy of communist resistance in August 1941 led to the taking of thousands of hostages from the general population. A typical policy statement read, After each further incident, a number, reflecting the seriousness of the crime, during the occupation, an estimated 30,000 French civilian hostages were shot to intimidate others who were involved in acts of resistance. In early 1943, the Vichy authorities established a paramilitary group and they worked alongside German forces that, by the end of 1942, were stationed throughout France. The group collaborated closely with the Nazis, and was the Vichy equivalent of the Gestapo security forces in Germany and their actions were often brutal and included torture and execution of Résistance suspects. After the liberation of France in the summer of 1944, the French executed many of the estimated 25,000 to 35,000 miliciens for their collaboration. Many of those who escaped arrest fled to Germany, where they were incorporated into the Charlemagne Division of the Waffen SS, the experience of the Occupation was a deeply psychologically disorienting one for the French as what was once familiar and safe become strange and threatening. Many Parisians could not get over the shock experienced when they first saw the huge swastika flags hanging over the Hôtel de Ville, Many résistants often spoke of some climax when they saw some intolerable act of injustice, after which they could not longer remain passive. Barthelt recalled, I recognized him only by his hat, only by his hat, I tell you and because I was waiting on the roadside to see him pass. I saw his face all right, but there was no skin on it, both his poor eyes had been closed into two purple and yellow bruises. In the beginning, resistance was limited to such as severing phone lines, vandalizing posters. Another form of resistance was underground newspapers like Musée de lHomme which circulated clandestinely, the Musée de lHomme was founded by two professors, Paul Rivet and the Russian émigré Boris Vildé in July 1940
2.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
3.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
4.
Charles de Gaulle
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Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman. He was the leader of Free France and the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, in 1958, he founded the Fifth Republic and was elected as the 18th President of France, a position he held until his resignation in 1969. He was the dominant figure of France during the Cold War era, born in Lille, he graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1912. He was an officer of the First World War, wounded several times. During the interwar period, he advocated mobile armoured divisions, during the German invasion of May 1940, he led an armoured division which counterattacked the invaders, he was then appointed Under-Secretary for War. Refusing to accept his governments armistice with Nazi Germany, de Gaulle exhorted the French population to resist occupation and he led a government in exile and the Free French Forces against the Axis. Despite frosty relations with Britain and especially the United States, he emerged as the leader of the French resistance. He became Head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic in June 1944, frustrated by the return of petty partisanship in the new Fourth Republic, he resigned in early 1946 but continued to be politically active as founder of the RPF party. He retired in the early 1950s and wrote his War Memoirs, when the Algerian War was ripping apart the unstable Fourth Republic, the National Assembly brought him back to power during the May 1958 crisis. De Gaulle founded the Fifth Republic with a presidency. He granted independence to Algeria and progressively to other French colonies and he restored cordial Franco-German relations to create a European counterweight between the Anglo-American and Soviet spheres of influence. However, he opposed any development of a supranational Europe, favouring a Europe of sovereign nations, De Gaulle openly criticised the US intervention in Vietnam and the exorbitant privilege of the US dollar. In his later years, his support for an independent Quebec, De Gaulle resigned in 1969 after losing a referendum in which he proposed more decentralization. He died a year later at his residence in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, leaving his Presidential memoirs unfinished, many French political parties and figures claim the Gaullist legacy. De Gaulle was ranked as Le Plus Grand Français de tous les temps, De Gaulle was born in the industrial region of Lille in the Nord departement, the third of five children. He was raised in a devoutly Catholic and traditional family and his father, Henri de Gaulle, was a professor of history and literature at a Jesuit college who eventually founded his own school. Henri de Gaulle came from a line of parliamentary gentry from Normandy and Burgundy. De Gaulles mother, Jeanne, descended from a family of entrepreneurs from Lille
5.
Gestapo
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The Gestapo, abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei, or the Secret State Police, was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various security agencies of Prussia into one organization. Then from 27 September 1939 forward, it was administered by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and was considered an organization to the SS Sicherheitsdienst. This gave Göring command of the largest police force in Germany, soon afterward, Göring detached the political and intelligence sections from the police and filled their ranks with Nazis. On 26 April 1933, Göring merged the two units as the Geheime Staatspolizei, which was abbreviated for a stamp and became known as the Gestapo. He originally wanted to name it the Secret Police Office, and its first commander was Rudolf Diels, a protégé of Göring. Diels was appointed with the title of chief of Abteilung Ia of the Political Police of the Prussian Interior Ministry, Diels was best known as the primary interrogator of Marinus van der Lubbe after the Reichstag fire. In late 1933, the Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick wanted to integrate all the forces of the German states under his control. Göring outflanked him by removing the Prussian political and intelligence departments from the interior ministry. Göring himself took over the Gestapo in 1934 and urged Hitler to extend the agencys authority throughout Germany and this represented a radical departure from German tradition, which held that law enforcement was a Land and local matter. In this, he ran into conflict with Heinrich Himmler, who was chief of the second most powerful German state. Frick did not have the muscle to take on Göring by himself so he allied with Himmler, with Fricks support, Himmler took over the political police of state after state. Concerned that Diels was not ruthless enough to counteract the power of the Sturmabteilung, Göring handed over control of the Gestapo to Himmler on 20 April 1934. Also on that date, Hitler appointed Himmler chief of all German police outside Prussia, Heydrich, named chief of the Gestapo by Himmler on 22 April 1934, also continued as head of the SS Security Service. Himmler wanted to free himself entirely from Roehm, who he viewed as an obstacle, roehms position was menacing as upwards of over 4. Several Nazi chieftains, among them Goering, Joseph Goebbels, Rudolf Hess, both the SD and Gestapo released information concerning an imminent putsch by the SA. Once persuaded, Hitler acted by setting Himmlers SS into action, on 17 June 1936, Hitler decreed the unification of all police forces in the Reich and named Himmler as Chief of German Police. This action effectively merged the police into the SS and removed it from Fricks control, Himmler was nominally subordinate to Frick as police chief, but as Reichsführer-SS, he answered only to Hitler
6.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
7.
Law degree
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A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for careers, but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority. The first academic degrees were all law degrees- and the first law degrees were doctorates, the foundations of the first universities in Europe were the glossators of the 11th century, which were schools of law. The first European university, that of Bologna, was founded as a school of law by four famous legal scholars in the 12th century who were students of the school in that city. It is from history that it is said that the first academic title of doctor applied to scholars of law. The degree and title were not applied to scholars of other disciplines until the 13th century, the rising of the doctor of philosophy to its present level is a modern novelty. At its origins, a doctorate was simply a qualification for a guild—that of teaching law, the University of Bologna served as the model for other law schools of the medieval age. In the medieval Islamic madrasahs, there was a doctorate in the Islamic law of the Sharia, the type of law degree conferred differs according to the jurisdiction. Some examples include, Bacharel em Direito or Bacharel em Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais, the abbreviation for Bachelor is Bel. Bachelor of Laws also referred to as a B. A. in Law or an LL. B. in the United Kingdom, Master of Laws in the United Kingdom and various current or former Commonwealth countries. Also referred to as an LL. M. from its Latin name and it is an advanced academic degree pursued by those holding a professional law degree or a degree in a relevant field. Laurea di Dottore in Giurisprudenza for graduates before the Bologna Process reforms, or Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza after the Bologna Process reforms, in Italy. It is a masters degree, however all graduates of Italian universities. Erstes Juristisches Staatsexamen is the equivalent to the law degree, since the part is the German equivalent to the Bar exam in the U. S. At some universities you either become a Lizentiat des Rechts, a Magister iuris or a Diplom-Jurist, Juris Doctor in the United States and Japan. It is a doctorate degree. Legum Doctor is in some jurisdictions the highest academic degree in law and is equivalent to a Ph. D. Doctor of Juridical Science is a research doctorate in law awarded mostly in the United States and Canada. Lizentiat der Rechtswissenschaften / Licence en droit until 2004 and Master of Law since 2004 in Switzerland and it is a masters level degree
8.
Savoie
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Savoie is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of the French Alps. For history before 1860, details of the annexation, and modern regionalism and it is widely accepted that Savoie takes its name from the Latin Sapaudia or Sabaudia, meaning land covered in fir trees. Savoie was long part of the states of Savoy, though beginning in the 16th century and it was integrated into the Mont-Blanc department from 1792 to 1815. The province was annexed by France in 1860, the former Duchy of Savoy became the two departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie. Moûtiers, capital of the province of Tarentaise Valley ceased to be the prefecture after a law passed on September 10,1926. Savoie, along with Albertville, hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics, with ski events at Tarentaise and Beaufortain. The other main alpine valley is the Maurienne, connected to the Tarentaise valley by two passes, the col de la Madeleine and the highest pass in Europe, the col de lIseran. The Maurienne valley was through the col du Mont Cenis, the commercial route between France and Italy. It is one of the longest intra-alpine valleys in the Alps, Savoie is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région. It borders the departments of Haute-Savoie, Ain, Isère and Hautes-Alpes in addition to Italy and its two main lakes are Lac du Bourget and Lac dAiguebelette, one of the least polluted in France due to a 1976 law forbidding any use of motorboats on the lake. According to the Chambéry chamber of commerce, close to 50% of the departments wealth comes from tourism, each year, Savoie hosts over 30 million visitor-nights of tourists. Savoie also profits from its resources with particular strengths in ore processing. Savoie had an exceptionally high export/import ratio of 214% in 2005 and its exports rose to €1.768 billion and €825 million in imports. Its leading exports were steel, aluminum, and electric and electronic components, Savoie is famous for its cows, which produce numerous cheeses, some of them are, Beaufort Savoie Gruyère Reblochon Tamié Tome des Bauges Tomme de Savoie Numerous wine grapes are also grown in Savoie. The most famous wines are made of Gamay, Pinot noir, fruit production is the third largest component of agriculture in Savoie. Apples and pears are also produced in the region and are known for their qualities. Residents of Savoie are known as Savoyards, though they can also be called Savoisiens or Savoyens,8,507 The average population density is not a good indicator, the valleys tend to be much more densely populated, whereas the mountains tend to be near-completely uninhabited. The Catholic Church in Savoie is divided into three dioceses, Chambéry, Maurienne, and Tarentaise, together, they form an archdiocese, in which the bishop of Chambéry is the archbishop
9.
Subprefecture
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Subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is subdivided into several districts, Examples, District of Korçë, District of Sarandë In Brazil the subprefectures are administrative divisions of some big cities, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The head of a subprefecture, the subprefeito, is indicated by the municipalitys mayor, in São Paulo there are 32 subprefectures. The largest in area, Parelheiros, covers 353.5 km². Examples, Djibasso Subprefecture Examples, NGouri Subprefecture, Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture and it was used in Qing Dynasty. Called ting in Chinese, it is also on the level as a department. Examples, Aihun Ting in the late-Qing Heilongjiang, a Sous-préfecture is the administrative town of an arrondissement where an arrondissement doesnt contain the préfecture. The civil servant in charge of executive power is the sous-préfet. Examples, Examples, A sous-préfecture is a subdivision of a department in Ivory Coast. See details in Subprefectures of Japan and an example of Kushiro Subprefecture, under Qing Dynasty rule, this was translated from tīng in Chinese Tamsui Subprefecture and Kavalan Subprefecture. Under Japanese rule, 廳 translated to prefecture, so 支廳 translated to subprefecture
10.
Albertville
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Albertville is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. The town is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics, Albertville is situated on the Arly River, close to the confluence with the Isère River. Its altitude is between 345 and 2,037 metres, nearby mountains include, Belle Etoile, Dent de Cons, Négresse, Roche Pourrie, Mirantin, Pointe de la Grande Journée, and Chaîne du Grand Arc. Nearby mountain ranges include, the Bauges, the Beaufortain, Albertville is also one of two subprefectures of the Savoie department, alongside Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Since then, Albertville has developed trade between France, Italy and Switzerland, industries such as paper mills and hydroelectricity can be found along its river. The 1992 Winter Olympics were organised in the Savoie region, with Albertville hosting it, some of the sports venues were later adapted for other uses. Some sports venues still remain such as the ice rink, La halle de glace Olympique, despite this, the town remains more industrial than touristic. In 2003, the town was labelled a Town of art, léa Lemare, ski jumper and national champion Florine De Leymarie, skier. Adrien NGoma, rugby player Jerome Jarre, comedian on Vine La halle de glace Olympique, lanneau de vitesse, Athletics stadium that previously served as the site of the speed skating competitions of 1992 Winter Olympics. Albertville is twinned with, Aosta, Italy Winnenden Sainte-Adèle, Quebec Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, communes of the Savoie département 1992 Winter Olympics INSEE City council website Tourism webpage about Albertville Tourism webpage about Albertville
11.
Le Rire
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Le Rire was a successful French humor magazine published from October 1894 through the 1950s. Founded in Paris during the Belle Époque by Felix Juven, Le Rire appeared as typical Parisians began to achieve more education, income, interest in the arts, culture and politics intensified during the Gay Nineties. Publications like this helped satisfy such curiosity and it was the most successful of all the Journaux Humoristiques. The Dreyfus Affair occurred in 1894 and Le Rire was one of many publications to tap anti-Republican sentiment in wake of that scandal and it was a time in which French governance was frequently characterized by corruption and mismanagement. Government ministers and military officials became frequent targets, the satirical journal was filled with excellent drawings by prominent artists. It featured full-page chromotypographs on both covers and in the centerfold, many of these pieces are now highly desirable collectibles. The most prominent contributor was Théophile Steinlen and his illustrations were biting caricatures of the political jackasses of the day. During the music era, cabarets and cafes were crowded with personalities. Le Rire was there to capture scene for its readers and its pages depicted the likes of Yvette Guilbert, Polaire, Jane Avril, Réjane and even those of popular visitors to the theaters such as Séverine. The magazine remained in business for almost sixty years, closing down in the 1950s, Steinlen. net - A collection of more than 1,000 Steinlen images Le Rire - online Le rire rouge, édition de guerre du journal le rire - online
12.
Etching
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Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types of material, as a method of printmaking, it is, along with engraving, the most important technique for old master prints, and remains in wide use today. In a number of variants such as microfabrication etching and photochemical milling it is a crucial technique in much modern technology. In traditional pure etching, a plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches off the ground with an etching needle where he or she wants a line to appear in the finished piece. The échoppe, a tool with an oval section, is also used for swelling lines. The plate is dipped in a bath of acid, technically called the mordant or etchant. The acid bites into the metal where it is exposed, leaving behind lines sunk into the plate, the remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate. The plate is inked all over, and then the ink wiped off the surface, the plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper. The paper picks up the ink from the lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times, typically several hundred impressions could be printed before the shows much sign of wear. The work on the plate can also be added to by repeating the whole process, Etching has often been combined with other intaglio techniques such as engraving or aquatint. The process as applied to printmaking is believed to have been invented by Daniel Hopfer of Augsburg, Hopfer was a craftsman who decorated armour in this way, and applied the method to printmaking, using iron plates. Apart from his prints, there are two examples of his work on armour, a shield from 1536 now in the Real Armeria of Madrid. The switch to copper plates was made in Italy. On the other hand, the handling of the ground and acid need skill and experience, prior to 1100 AD, the New World Hohokam independently utilized the technique of acid etching in marine shell designs. Jacques Callot from Nancy in Lorraine made important technical advances in etching technique and he developed the échoppe, a type of etching-needle with a slanting oval section at the end, which enabled etchers to create a swelling line, as engravers were able to do. Callot also appears to have responsible for an improved, harder, recipe for the etching ground
13.
Camp Conlie
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Camp Conlie was one of eleven military camps established by the Republican Government of National Defense under Léon Gambetta during the Franco-Prussian war. It became notable because of events which have led to it being described as a concentration camp and this became a significant atrocity story within Breton nationalism. After the defeat of French forces at the Battle of Sedan, and the fall of the monarchy of Napoleon III, the new government decided to form a new army and continue the war. Major General Émile de Kératry was made responsible for establishing a camp at Conlie in the region of Le Mans, the mobilized quota from the five departments of Brittany was 80,000 men. It was intended that these troops would be equipped with the left over from the American Civil War. Because of a history of anti-republicanism in Brittany, Gambetta doubted the reliability of these troops, the huts were not built when the soldiers arrived. In consequence, they were housed in emergency tents, bad weather and the recently ploughed land quickly created a quagmire in which it was difficult to move. A lack of instructors, equipment and supplies caused frustration, rumours about the camp began to circulate in Brittany. As visiting English journalist Ernest Vizetelly noted, The most appalling rumours were current throughout Brittany regarding the new camp and it was said to be grossly mismanaged and a hotbed of disease. I visited it and prepared an article which was printed by the Daily News. So far as the camps defences, moreover, when a weeks snow was followed by a fortnights thaw, matters could scarcely be different. From first to last 1942 cases of illness were treated in the five ambulances of the camp, among them were 264 cases of small-pox. There were a great many instances of bronchitis and kindred affections, among the small-pox cases 88 proved fatal. I find on referring to documents of the period that on November 23, the day before Gambetta visited the camp, as I shall presently relate, by December 5 the effective had risen to 1241 officers with about 40,000 men. There were 40 guns for the defence of the camp, and some 50 field-pieces of various types, often, however, without carriages, at no time, I find, were there more than 360 horses and fifty mules in the camp. There was also a great scarcity of ammunition for the guns, Gambetta decided to send 12,000 men from camp Conlie, armed with only 4000 badly maintained rifles, against the forces of the Duke of Mecklenburg. Given the repeated refusal of the Government to properly arm his men, Kératry resigned in protest on November 27, leaving the command to his deputy, General Le Bouëdec. General Marivault, who succeeded him, called, from December 10, for the evacuation of the camp. This was denied by Gambetta, who visited the camp, declaring the situation to be excellent, Gambetta eventually agreed to evacuate the camp at the end of December, at the insistence of General Freycinet
14.
Franco-Prussian War
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The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads. The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I, the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and this new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, in Prussia, some officials considered a war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern princes candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. They also argue that he wanted a war to resolve growing domestic political problems, other historians, notably French historian Pierre Milza, dispute this. According to Milza, the Emperor had no need for a war to increase his popularity, the Ems telegram had exactly the effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull, gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt he had just received a slap. Napoleons new prime minister, Emile Ollivier, declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, a crowd of 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government, the southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made, universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented
15.
Saint-Pol-Roux
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Paul-Pierre Roux, called Saint-Pol-Roux was a French Symbolist poet. Saint-Pol-Roux was born to a family in Marseille, where his father was an industrialist. He studied in a lycée in Lyon, and left it as Bachelor of Arts in 1880 and he then wrote some plays under his own name. He left the south of France to install himself in Paris and he particularly frequented the salon of Stéphane Mallarmé, for whom Saint-Pol-Roux had the greatest admiration. He won a certain notoriety, trying out several pseudonyms before finally becoming Saint-Pol-Roux le magnifique and he even got one of his plays, La Dame à la faux, put on by Sarah Bernhardt, and was interviewed by Jules Huret as a member of the Symbolist movement. He perhaps participated in the Rosicrucian aesthetic of Péladan, nevertheless, he wrote nothing on the movement or on its founder although Saint-Pol-Roux seems to have been interested in this audacious literary attempt. On a clairvoyants advice, and also to escape his creditors, he left, there he settled with his wife in Roscanvel, in Finistère, where their daughter Divine was born. After his fathers death, he moved to Camaret and made Britanny the center for his work and he named it the Manoir de Coecilian, after his sons name, or sometimes Manoir des Boultous. He wrote Facing the sea, man is closer to God and he welcomed several artists and writers, notably Louis-Ferdinand Céline, who looked up to him as an ancestor, and even Jean Moulin, then sous-préfet de Châteaulin, who visited in 1930. Saint-Pol-Roux was a member of the académie Mallarmé from 1937 to 1940, the following month, Louis Aragon published an article on the poets assassination, as he called it - Saint-Pol Roux, ou LEspoir - in the journal Poésie. It was the first article published by Aragon after the fall of France, on the Liberation, Divine tried in vain to ensure that her fathers work was not forgotten. A considerable number of unedited manuscripts survived the pillaging, Saint-Pol-Roux is the archetypal forgotten poet. It was under this title that he was a dedicatee of André Bretons Clair de Terre, Saint-Pol-Roux attempted to create a total work of art. This dream of Symbolist literature consisted of creating a perfect work responding to all the senses, Saint-Pol-Roux himself was therefore very interested in plays and operas during his Parisian years. At the end of his life, he marvelled at the possibilities offered by the cinema. Saint-Pol-Roux equally created the notion of idéoréalisme and he desired an artistic fusion between the real world and the world of ideas in a Neoplatonic perspective. He imagined a cosmology in which Beauty - lost in the real world - has to be revealed by the poet, under the name Paul Roux Maman. Mercure de France,1893 LÉpilogue des saisons humaines, Mercure de France 1893 La Dame à la faux, Mercure de France,1899 Les Reposoirs de la procession, vol
16.
Camaret-sur-Mer
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Camaret-sur-Mer is a commune in the Finistère department in northwestern France, located at the end of Crozon peninsula. Camaret-sur-Mer is home to the Tour Vauban or Tour dorée, a fortification guarding the harbor. In 2008, the Tour dorée was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, camaret also is home to a marina and some beaches. Inhabitants of Camaret-sur-Mer are called Camarétois, Camaret-sur-Mer is twinned with St Ives, Cornwall, UK
17.
Max Jacob
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Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School and he was one of the first friends Pablo Picasso made in Paris. They met in the summer of 1901, and it was Jacob who helped the young artist learn French, later, on the Boulevard Voltaire, he shared a room with Picasso, who remained a lifelong friend. Jacob introduced him to Guillaume Apollinaire, who in turn introduced Picasso to Georges Braque and he would become close friends with Jean Cocteau, Jean Hugo, Christopher Wood and Amedeo Modigliani, who painted his portrait in 1916. He also befriended and encouraged the artist Romanin, otherwise known as French politician, moulins famous nom de guerre Max is presumed to be selected in honor of Jacob. Jacob, who had Jewish origins, claimed to have had a vision of Christ in 1909 and his writings include the novel Saint Matorel, the verses Le laboratoire central, and Le défense de Tartuffe, which expounds his philosophical and religious attitudes. The famous psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan attributed the quote The truth is always new to Jacob, having moved outside of Paris in May,1936, to settle in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Loiret, Max Jacob was arrested on 24 February 1944 by the Gestapo, and interned at Orléans prison. Following his incarceration at Orléans, Max was then transferred to Drancy internment camp from where he was to be transported in the convoy to Auschwitz in Poland. However, said to be suffering from pneumonia, Max Jacob died in the infirmary of Le Cité de la Muette. First interred in Ivry, after the war ended in 1949 his remains were transferred by his artist friends Jean Cassou, as well as his nom détat civil, or regular name, Jacob worked under at least two pseudonyms, Léon David and Morven le Gaëlique. Lionel Floch Furniture music, Erik Saties second set of music was composed and performed in 1920 as Entracte music for one of Jacobs comedies The Selected Poems of Max Jacob. Bottom left to right, Marevna, Marika, Moise Kisling, association les Amis de Max Jacob English translations from Max Jacobs major collection of prose poetry The Dice Cup Max Jacob at Find a Grave
18.
Quimper
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Quimper is a commune and capital of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Quimper is the prefecture of the Finistère department, the name Quimper comes from the Breton kemper confluent because the city was built on the confluence of the Steir, Odet and Jet rivers. It is at the intersection of Route National 165, D785, D765, Quimper is the ancient capital of Cornouaille, Brittany’s most traditional region, and has a distinctive Breton character. The Breton origin of the name is Kemper, which means confluence, shops and flags celebrating the regions Celtic heritage can be found throughout the city. Quimper was originally settled during Roman times, by AD495, the town had become a Bishopric. It subsequently became the capital of the counts of Cornouailles, in the eleventh century, it was united with the Duchy of Brittany. During the War of the Breton Succession, the town suffered considerable ruin, in 1364, the duchy passed to the House of Montfort. The town has an atmosphere with footbridges spanning the rivers that flow through it. The Church of Locmaria, a Romanesque structure, dates from the eleventh century, the Cathedral of Saint-Corentin, with its Gothic-style façade, was constructed between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is the oldest Gothic structure in lower Brittany and its two towers are 76 m, its spires were added in the nineteenth century. The fifteenth-century stained glass windows are exceptional, the cathedral is dedicated to Quimpers first bishop, Corentin. To the cathedrals west are the streets of Vieux Quimper with a wide array of crêperies, half-timbered houses. Near the Episcopal palace, which now holds the Musée départemental Breton are the ruins of the towns fifteenth-century walls, nearby is the Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper. The museum has a nineteenth-century façade and an entirely rebuilt interior, the towns best known product is Quimper faience. It has been here since 1690, using bold provincial designs of Jean-Baptiste Bousquet. The town’s eating establishments boast some of the best crêpes and cider in Brittany, the town has also been known for copper and bronze work, food items, galvanized ironware, hosiery, leather, paper and woolen goods. The municipality launched a plan through Ya dar brezhoneg on 6 February 2008. In 2008,4. 61% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools, Quimper has several schools, under which two Diwan preschools, two Diwan primary schools and one Diwan collège
19.
Pierre Cot
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Pierre Cot, was a French politician and leading figure in the Popular Front government of the 1930s. Through the decrypting of 1943 Soviet intelligence cables through the Venona Project it was established that Cot was an agent of the Soviet Union with the name of Dedal. However, other sources suggest that Cot was a communist fellow-traveller rather than an agent, the British Secret Intelligence Service describes him as a highly controversial figure, vilified at the time by the French Right, and since accused of having been a Soviet agent. In the 1920s Cot was a supporter of Aristide Briand, an independent socialist, in 1928 he was elected to the National Assembly as a Radical Deputy for Savoy. In December 1932 he was appointed Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the government of Joseph Paul-Boncour. In January 1933 he became Minister for Air in the Radical government of Édouard Daladier and he oversaw the establishment of Air France, and advocated a major expansion of the French Air Force. He was again Minister for Air in three brief governments led by Camille Chautemps, an antiwar activist, though not a pacifist, he was president of the International Peace Conference from 1936 to 1940. He received the Stalin Peace Prize in 1953, when Blum became Prime Minister in June 1936, Cot returned to the Air Ministry. He oversaw the nationalisation of the industry and the launch of a re-armament program to meet the challenge of the fast-growing German Luftwaffe. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, Blums government reluctantly supported the policy of non-intervention, the head of his ministerial office, Jean Moulin, made several trips to Spain. This brought Cot into close collaboration with the communists, with whom he had increasingly sympathised since a visit to the Soviet Union in 1933. His activities were one of the leading to the withdrawal of the right wing of the Radical Party from the government. In Blums second government in March and April 1938, Cot was Minister for Commerce, when Daladier returned to office and signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler, Cot broke finally with the Radical Party. The fall of France the following month rendered his mission pointless and he flew to London and offered his services to Charles de Gaulles Free French movement, but de Gaulle considered him to be too pro-communist and offered him no position. Cot then went to the United States, where he spent the war years teaching at Yale University. During this period in the United States operating as a Soviet spy his controller was Vasiliy Zarubin, Cot was an influential figure among French political exiles, and in 1943 de Gaulle appointed him a member of the provisional French advisory assembly based in Algiers. De Gaulle also sent him to Moscow to negotiate Soviet recognition of the Free French government in exile, in 1945 Cot was again elected as Deputy for Savoy, styling himself a republican although everyone knew he remained close to the communists. In 1951 he shifted to the Rhône, but when de Gaulle came to power in 1958 he lost his seat, in 1967 he made a final return to politics when he was elected as an independent Deputy for Paris, with the backing of the Communist Party
20.
Paul Doumer
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Joseph Athanase Gaston Paul Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination. He was born in Aurillac, in the Cantal département, in France on 22 March 1857, alumnus of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. He became a professor of mathematics at Mende in 1877, in 1878 he married Blanche Richel, whom he had met at college. They had eight children, five of whom were killed in the First World War, from 1879 until 1883 he was professor at Remiremont, before leaving on health grounds. He then became editor of Courrier de lAisne, a French regional newspaper. Initiated into Freemasonry in 1879, at LUnion Fraternelle lodge, he became Grand Secretary of Grand Orient de France in 1892 and he made his debut in politics as chef de cabinet to Charles Floquet, when Floquet was president of the chamber in 1885. In 1888, Doumer was elected Radical deputy for the department of Aisne, defeated in the general elections of September 1889, he was elected again in 1890 by the arrondissement of Auxerre. He was briefly Minister of Finance of France when he tried without success to introduce an income tax and he was Governor-General of French Indochina from 1897 to 1902. Upon his arrival the colonies were losing millions of francs each year, determined to put them on a paying basis he levied taxes on opium, wine and the salt trade. The Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians who could or would not pay taxes, lost their houses and land. He established Indochina as a market for French products and a source of investment by French businessmen. The Long Bien Bridge was built during his term as Governor-General and was named for him and it became a well-known landmark and target for US pilots during the Vietnam War. After returning from French Indochina, Doumer was elected by Laon to the chamber as a Radical and he refused, however, to support the ministry of Émile Combes, and formed a Radical dissident group, which grew in strength and eventually caused the fall of the ministry. He then served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1902 to 1905 and he became Minister of Finance of France again in 1925 when Louis Loucheur resigned. He then served as President of the French Senate from 1927 until the 1931 presidential election and he was elected President of the French Republic on 13 May 1931, defeating the better known Aristide Briand, and replacing Gaston Doumergue. On 6 May 1932, Paul Doumer was in Paris at the opening of a fair at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild. Suddenly several shots were fired by Paul Gorguloff, a mentally unstable Russian émigré, two of the shots hit Doumer, at the base of the skull and in the right armpit, and he fell to the ground. Claude Farrère wrestled with the assassin before the police arrived, Doumer was rushed to hospital in Paris, where he died at 04,37 AM on 7 May
21.
Thonon-les-Bains
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Thonon-les-Bains is a town in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department, thonon is part of a transborder agglomeration known as Grand Genève. Thonon-les-Bains was the capital of Chablais, a province of the old Duchy of Savoy. The Chablais Savoyard is the portion of Chablais in France, Chablais Valaisan and Chablais Vaudois are those portions of Chablais in the adjacent Switzerland cantons Valais and Vaud. The town was the capital of the Dukedom of Chablais
22.
Montargis
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Montargis is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France on the Loing river. The town is located about 110 km south of Paris and 70 km east of Orléans in the Gâtinais, Montargis is the second largest city in the Loiret, after Orléans. It is near a large forest, and contains light industry, due to its numerous canals and bridges, Montargis sometimes bills itself as the Venice of the Gâtinais. Though quite modern, it retains a medieval charm in its downtown area, numerous Gallo-Roman artifacts have been found in the area, and many are in the towns Gâtinais Museum. Later, the town was a stronghold of the Frankish king Clovis I, Montargis was originally a seat of the house of Courtenay, who fortified a château on a hill overlooking the town. The town was ceded to the king of France in 1188, in the 14th and 15th centuries, it was a royal residence. In 1427, during the Hundred Years War, the Earl of Warwick besieged the town with artillery, during the siege, the residents of Montargis sabotaged the dikes of numerous ponds in the district, flooding and drowning many of the besieging Plantagenets. On September 5, a French force of 1600 men broke the siege, led by Jean de Dunois and La Hire and this marked the first important victory by the army of King Charles VII in the war, gratefully remembered by Charles later. After being wounded in an attempt to besiege Paris in September 1429. After the war, Charles VII, rewarded the town for its valor in the war by granting it various privileges, in 1490, his later successor Charles VIII officially declared the town Montargis Le Franc. This title is abbreviated as MLF in the coat of arms. This privilege was renewed by his successors, and Montargis remained free of taxes for three centuries, until it was revoked during the French Revolution. In 1528, King Francis I granted the town to his sister-in-law, Renée of France, Duchess of Ferrara, after her husband Ercole II, the Duke of Ferrara died in 1559, Renée resided at Montargis. She sheltered there Protestant Huguenots fleeing from persecutions in Paris and elsewhere during the 16th century French Wars of Religion, the best-known legend of Montargis is that of the Dog of Montargis. In the story, Aubry de Montdidier, a courtier of King Charles V of France, was murdered around 1400 in a forest near Montargis by Robert Macaire, after his death, Mondidiers dog showed a remarkable hostility to Macaire. King Charles decreed a trial by combat in the town between the dog and Macaire, who was armed with only a cudgel, after the dog won the battle, Macaire confessed to the crime and was hanged. A dramatic bronze statue of this fight is in the courtyard of the Girodet Museum in central Montargis, and the contest is depicted in a stained glass window in a local church as well. The story was the subject of a 19th-century melodrama, Le Chien de Montargis, ou la Forêt de Bondy, in the 1880s, a rubber factory was built in Châlette, a district of Montargis
23.
Seine
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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
24.
Somme (department)
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Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Hauts-de-France region, the north central area of the Somme was the site of a series of battles during World War I. Particularly significant was the 1916 Battle of the Somme, the 1346 Battle of Crécy, a major English victory early in the Hundred Years War, also took place in this department. The Somme department is in the current region of Hauts-de-France and is surrounded by the departments of Pas-de-Calais, Nord, Aisne, Oise, in the northwest, it has a coast on the English Channel. The main rivers are the Somme and its tributaries as well as the Bresle, at the beginning of the First World War, during the Race to the Sea of September and November 1914, the Somme became the site of the Battle of Albert. The line settled around the town of Thiepval and remained there until July 1916, the Allies had originally intended the Somme to be the site of one of several simultaneous major offensives by Allied powers against the Central Powers in 1916. However, before these offensives could begin, the Germans attacked first, as this battle dragged on, the purpose of the Somme campaign shifted from striking a decisive blow against Germany to drawing German forces away from Verdun and relieving the Allied forces there. By its end the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun, while Verdun would bite deep in the national consciousness of France for generations, the Somme would have the same effect on generations of Britons. The battle is best remembered for its first day,1 July 1916, on which the British suffered 57,420 casualties, as terrible as the battle was for the British Empire troops who suffered there, it naturally affected the other nationalities as well. One German officer, General D. Swaha, famously described it as the grave of the German field army. By the end of the battle, the British had learned lessons in modern warfare while the Germans had suffered irreplaceable losses. British historian Sir James Edmonds stated, It is not too much to claim that the foundations of the victory on the Western Front were laid by the Somme offensive of 1916. The Somme experienced war twice more in the First and Second Battles of the Somme of 1918
25.
Amiens
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Amiens is a city and commune in northern France,120 km north of Paris and 100 km south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France, the city had a population of 136,105 according to the 2006 census. It has one of the biggest university hospitals in France with a capacity of 1,200 beds, Amiens Cathedral, the tallest of the large, classic, Gothic churches of the 13th century and the largest in France of its kind, is a World Heritage Site. The author Jules Verne lived in Amiens from 1871 until his death in 1905, during December, the town hosts the largest Christmas market in northern France. The first known settlement at this location was Samarobriva, the settlement of the Ambiani. The town was given the name Ambianum by the Romans, meaning settlement of the Ambiani people, the town has been much fought over, being attacked by barbarian tribes, and later by the Normans. In 1113 the city was recognized by King Louis VI of France, in 1597, Spanish soldiers held the city during the six-month Siege of Amiens, before Henry IV regained control. During the 18th and 19th century, the tradition of Amiens became famous for its velours. In 1789 the provinces of France were dismantled and the territory was organised into departments, much of Picardy became the newly created department of Somme, with Amiens as the departmental capital. During the industrial revolution the city walls were demolished, opening up space for large boulevards around the town centre, the Henriville neighbourhood in the south of the city was developed around this time. In 1848, the first railway arrived in Amiens, linking the city to Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the 1870 Battle of Amiens, when the Somme was invaded by Prussian forces, Amiens was occupied. The town was fought over during both the First and Second World Wars, suffering damage, and being occupied several times by both sides. The 1918 Battle of Amiens, was the phase of the Hundred Days Offensive. It was heavily bombed by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, the city was rebuilt according to Pierre Dufaus plans, with a focus on widening the streets to ease traffic congestion. These newer structures were built of brick, concrete and white stone with slate roofs. The architect Auguste Perret designed the Gare dAmiens train station and nearby Tour Perret, Amiens, the regional prefecture of Picardy, is also the prefecture of the Somme, one of the three departments in the region. Located in the Paris Basin, across the country the city benefits from a geographical position. At the crossroads of major European routes of movement, the city is also at the heart of a major rail star
26.
Spanish Republic
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The Second Spanish Republic was the republican regime that existed in Spain from 1931 to 1939. Following the Provisional Government between April and December 1931, the 1931 Constitution established the Republic, the Spanish Republic can be divided in three eras, the First Biennium, the Dark Biennium, and the Popular Front government. The Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed when King Alfonso XIII left the following municipal elections where anti-monarchist candidates won the majority of votes. Its government went into exile on 1 April 1939, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered to the rebel nacionales, the government in exile of the Second Spanish Republic had an embassy in Mexico City until 1976. After the restoration of democracy in Spain, the government formally dissolved the following year, on 28 January 1930 the military dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera was overthrown. This led various republican factions from a variety of backgrounds to join forces. The Pact of San Sebastián was the key to the transition from monarchy to republic, Republicans of all tendencies were committed to the Pact of San Sebastian in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic. The restoration of the royal Bourbons was rejected by large sectors of the populace who vehemently opposed the King, the pact, signed by representatives of the main Republican forces, allowed a joint anti-monarchy political campaign. The 12 April 1931 municipal elections led to a victory for republicans. Two days later, the Second Republic was proclaimed, and King Alfonso XIII went into exile, the kings departure led to a provisional government of the young republic under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora. Catholic churches and establishments in cities like Madrid and Sevilla were set ablaze on 11 May, in June 1931 a Constituent Cortes was elected to draft a new constitution, which came into force in December. The new constitution established freedom of speech and freedom of association, extended suffrage to women in 1933, allowed divorce and it also effectively disestablished the Roman Catholic Church, but the disestablishment was somewhat reversed by the Cortes that same year. Its controversial articles 26 and 27 imposed stringent controls on Church property, scholars have described the constitution as hostile to religion, with one scholar characterising it as one of the most hostile of the 20th century. José Ortega y Gasset stated, the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me, pope Pius XI condemned the Spanish governments deprivation of the civil liberties of Catholics in the encyclical Dilectissima Nobis. The legislative branch was changed to a chamber called the Congress of Deputies. The constitution established legal procedures for the nationalisation of public services and land, banks, the constitution provided generally accorded civil liberties and representation. Catholic churches in cities were again subject to arson in 1932. A Catholic church in Zaragoza saw arson in 1933, and the cathedral in Oviedo was destroyed by flames in 1934, the church of San Lorenzo in Gijon was set ablaze in this year as well
27.
Istres
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Istres is a commune in southern France, some 60 km northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department and its inhabitants are called Istréens and Istréennes. Istres is adjacent to the étang de Berre lagoon and the étang de lOlivier lagoon and it is located some 60 km north-west of Marseille,20 km south-west of Salon-de-Provence,10 km north of Martigues and 45 km south-east of Arles. Istres is also adjacent to the de la Crau and the Camargue national park. Istres has a Mediterranean climate characterised by mild, humid winters and hot, january and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of around 7 °C. July and August are the hottest months, the mean summer temperature is around 24 °C with an average maximum temperature around 32°C. The amount of precipitation is around 566 mm per year, the Mistral, a cold and often violent wind, blows through the city mostly in winter and spring. The city has sports facilities and exactly 102 clubs. Each year a race is organized around the Etang de lOlivier, the towns main football club is FC Istres. Istres is the home of the Le Tubé Air Base and this air base was one of 3 utilized by NASA as a contingency landing site for the Space Shuttle in the case of a Transoceanic Abort Landing. Istres shared this responsibility with Zaragoza, Spain and Moron, Spain, communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department FC Istres INSEE Official website Satellite view with Wikimapia
28.
Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
29.
Le Bourget
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Le Bourget is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.6 km from the center of Paris, the commune features Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hosts the Musée de lAir et de lEspace. A very small part of Le Bourget Airport lies on the territory of the commune of Le Bourget, most of the airport lies on the territory of the communes of Dugny, Bonneuil-en-France, and Gonesse. The Bureau dEnquêtes et dAnalyses pour la Sécurité de lAviation civile is also headquartered on the airport grounds, Le Bourget has been twinned with Amityville, New York since 1979 and Zhukovsky in Russia. Le Bourget is served by Le Bourget station on Paris RER line B, there is also an extensive freight rail yard with international traffic to Belgium, among others. The town is served by two major Highways, A1 autoroute in the north of the town, and A86 autoroute in the south of the city. Those two highways ensure a connection to major Paris Region hubs like La Defense, Bobigny, Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport. Paris–Le Bourget Airport is the first business flights airport in Europe and it connects with 800 destinations in Europe The world-renowned Gagosian Gallery is located in Le Bourget airport area. Le Bourget houses the Crèche intercommunale Maryse Bastié, an intercommunal daycare, École maternelle Saint-Exupéry is the sole maternelle public nursery school in Le Bourget, while École primaire Louis Blériot is the sole élémentaire- only public school in Le Bourget. Two municipal schools, Groupe scolaire Jean Jaurès and Groupe scolaire Jean Mermoz, collège Didier Daurat is the sole municipal collège. There is one high school, Lycée Germaine Tillion. Institution Privée Sainte-Marie, serving the maternelle, élémentaire and collège levels, is the private school in Le Bourget. The 350-square-metre Le Bourget Public Library has 45,000 books and it is located within the Urban Community of Le Bourget Airport. Communes of the Seine-Saint-Denis department Citations Bibliography INSEE Commune of Le Bourget
30.
Benito Mussolini
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Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy, known as Il Duce, Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism. In 1912 Mussolini was the member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party. Mussolini was expelled from the PSI for withdrawing his support for the stance on neutrality in World War I. He served in the Royal Italian Army during the war until he was wounded and discharged in 1917, Mussolini denounced the PSI, his views now centering on nationalism instead of socialism, and later founded the fascist movement. Following the March on Rome in October 1922 he became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until the appointment of Matteo Renzi in February 2014, within five years he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means, aspiring to create a totalitarian state. Mussolini remained in power until he was deposed by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1943, a few months later, he became the leader of the Italian Social Republic, a German client regime in northern Italy, he held this post until his death in 1945. Mussolini had sought to delay a major war in Europe until at least 1942, however, Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, resulting in declarations of war by France and the United Kingdom and starting World War II. In the summer of 1941 Mussolini sent Italian forces to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union, and war with the United States followed in December. On 24 July 1943, soon after the start of the Allied invasion of Italy, the Grand Council of Fascism voted against him, on 12 September 1943, Mussolini was rescued from prison in the Gran Sasso raid by German special forces. In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north and his body was then taken to Milan, where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise. Mussolini was born in Dovia di Predappio, a town in the province of Forlì in Romagna on 29 July 1883. During the Fascist era, Predappio was dubbed Duces town, pilgrims went to Predappio and Forlì, to see the birthplace of Mussolini. His father, Alessandro Mussolini, was a blacksmith and a Socialist, while his mother, Benito was the eldest of his parents three children. His siblings Arnaldo and Edvige followed, as a young boy, Mussolini would spend some time helping his father in his smithy. His fathers political outlook combined views of anarchist figures like Carlo Cafiero and Mikhail Bakunin, the military authoritarianism of Garibaldi, in 1902, at the anniversary of Garibaldis death, Benito Mussolini made a public speech in praise of the republican nationalist. The conflict between his parents about religion meant that, unlike most Italians, Mussolini was not baptized at birth, as a compromise with his mother, Mussolini was sent to a boarding school run by Salesian monks. After joining a new school, Mussolini achieved good grades, in 1902, Mussolini emigrated to Switzerland, partly to avoid military service
31.
Prefect (France)
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A prefect in France is the States representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements, the office of a prefect is known as a prefecture and that of a sub-prefect as a subprefecture. Prefects are appointed by a decree of the President of the Republic in the Council of Ministers, following the proposal of the Prime Minister and they serve at the Governments discretion and can be replaced at any meeting of the Council. From 1982 to 1988 prefects were called de la République. The exact role and attributions are defined in decrees, most notably decrees of 1964,1982,2004, the prefect of the département containing the chef-lieu de région is also the préfet de région, or the prefect of the région. Prefects operate under the Minister of the Interior, prefects may issue administrative orders in areas falling within the competency of the national government, including general safety. For instance, they may prohibit the use of roads without special tyres in times of snow. The prohibition on smoking or leaving the running while filling the fuel tank of a motor vehicle is another example of a matter typically decided by a prefectoral administrative order. On official occasions, prefects wear uniforms, prefects originally had fairly extensive powers of supervision and control over departmental affairs. With the decentralization of local government in recent years, the role has largely been limited to preventing local policies from conflicting with national policy. In New Caledonia and French Polynesia, the roles, with certain differences in status, are fulfilled by a high commissioner, in Wallis and Futuna. The French Southern and Antarctic Lands used to be run by a superior administrator, the prefect, however, is not based in the territories, but in Réunion. Paris, which is itself a department, is an exception, in Paris, the law enforcement powers exercised in other French cities and towns by the mayor belong to the Prefect of Police. In 2012, a Prefecture of Police of the Bouches-du-Rhône was also created, seated at Marseille, the authority of the state over the sea is exercised by the Maritime Prefect of the relevant region. In Québec, the word is used to refer to the administrator of a Municipalité régionale de comté. There is no equivalent of French arrondissements, and instead, the word arrondissement always refers to a division with an elected leader
32.
Aveyron
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Aveyron is a department located in the north of the Occitanie region of southern France named after the Aveyron River. The inhabitants of the department are known as Aveyronnais or Aveyronnaises, the inhabitants of Rodez are called Ruthénois, based on the first Celtic settlers, the rutenii. Aveyron is the centre of a formed by the cities of Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand. The department approximately follows the outline of the province of Rouergue. It is the 5th largest department in metropolitan France in terms of area, the department comes under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Toulouse and the Montpellier Court of Appeal. The INSEE and Post Code is 12, Aveyron is located in the south of the Massif Central. The highest point in the department is the summit of Le Signal de Mailhebiau at 1469m on the Plateau of Aubrac, the Aveyron department is divided into several natural regions such as the Grand Causses and Rougiers. Aveyron department consists of an ancient high plateau of great geological diversity. The Truyère, Lot, Aveyron, and Tarn rivers have carved a lot of deep gorges, the department is surrounded by the departments of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot, Hérault, Gard, Lozère, and Cantal. The Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat is used as a reservoir to provide drinking water supplies for the region, Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. During the medieval and early periods, and until the 1790s. In 1797, Victor of Aveyron was found wandering the woods in the area, the story of Victor is told in the film The Wild Child. In 1817, a local prosecutor Antoine Bernardin Fualdès was assassinated, the sordid circumstances of his death, following which his body was found floating in the Aveyron River, led to the matter becoming publicised as a cause célèbre. Recent studies have indicated that he met his end at the initiative of a right wing royalist organisation known as the Chevaliers de la Foi, in 2010, the department had 276,805 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the censuses conducted in the department since 1793. This table shows the towns of Aveyron including second homes. Source INSEE, data from 1 January 2008, the President of the General Council is Jean-Claude Luche of the Union for a Popular Movement. The regional sub-dialect spoken in Aveyron is a form of Languedoc Occitan called Rouergat, faced with the risk of disappearance of the language several associations asked the State and political communities for an ambitious language policy
33.
Departments of France
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In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
34.
Communes of France
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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
35.
Rodez
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Rodez is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron in the region of Occitanie, Rodez is the seat of the Communauté dagglomération du Grand Rodez, of the First Constituency of Aveyron as well as of the general Council of Aveyron. Former capital of the Rouergue, the city is seat of the Diocese of Rodez and its inhabitants are called Ruthénois, from the name of the Ruteni, a Gallic tribe which once occupied the territory, the former demonym of Rodanois having given way to this scholarly form. The territory of Rodez is packed with geological diversity and it straddles on the ancient base of Ségala composed of acidic siliceous earths of Les Rougiers to soil consisting of red argillite, and causses composed of limestones and marls. The city was built on a conical isolated terrain, locally called Le Piton and it is located in a level 2 zone of seismicity, in other words at a low level. The commune is crossed, below, by the Aveyron, an important place for fishing or walks through green spaces proposed for the Layoule Quarter, the climate of Rodez is part of the supra-Mediterranean level. Under the influence of a climate in winter and Mediterranean in summer. Winters are sharp and the often very hot and sunny. In 2011, with nearly 2,400 hours per year of sun and 304 days of sunshine per year, Rodez was ranked 2 and this is significantly above the national average. Events based on the data of Météo-France at Millau Soulobres station, from 1965, On 28 January 2006, a metre of powdery snow, which was very adherent, fell on the agglomeration, crippling the economy for several days and the life of Le Piton. Rodez is growing day by day and has affirmed its place in the Midi-Pyrénées since the early 2000s. As of 2005, the Aveyron department continued its opening up in terms of communication tools, the ring road of Rodez, surrounding the agglomeration of Grand Rodez and gradually converted into a dual carriageway urban boulevard, to serve the strategic locations of the Rodez settlement. Continuity of a dual carriageway on the ring road should emerge on the horizon in 2018 as part of the 2014-2018 plan. Indeed, three grade separated roundabouts are planned as part of this dual carriageway urban boulevard project, Moutiers, La Gineste, finally, the principle of a large bypass has not been excluded. In 2009, the Rodez-Aveyron Airport experienced changes with the expansion of its terminal, once in town, options for getting around include car rental, the local bus system, or on foot. The pedestrian city centre is paved in cobblestone streets, which are lined with buildings that are hundreds of years old, Rodez is at the centre of a railway formed by lines going to Capdenac, Albi along the Castelnaudary to Rodez line and Sévérac-le-Château. The rail network has undergone numerous restructurings, including through its plan rail Midi-Pyrénées, in addition, the region was equipped in 2013 with new TER trains, faster and comfortable. Rodez is situated to the foot of the RN88, transformed in the Rodez area into a boulevard to allow the flow of traffic totalling 35,000 vehicles per day
36.
Spanish Civil War
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Ultimately, the Nationalists won, and Franco then ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from April 1939 until his death in November 1975. Sanjurjo was killed in an accident while attempting to return from exile in Portugal. The coup was supported by units in the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, Pamplona, Burgos, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Cádiz, Córdoba. However, rebelling units in some important cities—such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and Málaga—did not gain control, Spain was thus left militarily and politically divided. The Nationalists and the Republican government fought for control of the country, the Nationalist forces received munitions and soldiers from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, while the Republican side received support from the Communist Soviet Union and leftist populist Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, operated a policy of non-intervention. The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west and they also besieged Madrid and the area to its south and west for much of the war. Those associated with the losing Republicans were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists, with the establishment of a dictatorship led by General Franco in the aftermath of the war, all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of the Franco regime. The war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired, organized purges occurred in territory captured by Francos forces to consolidate the future regime. A significant number of killings took place in areas controlled by the Republicans, the extent to which Republican authorities took part in killings in Republican territory varied. The 19th century was a turbulent time for Spain and those in favour of reforming Spains government vied for political power with conservatives, who tried to prevent reforms from taking place. Some liberals, in a tradition that had started with the Spanish Constitution of 1812, sought to limit the power of the monarchy of Spain, the reforms of 1812 did not last after King Ferdinand VII dissolved the Constitution and ended the Trienio Liberal government. Twelve successful coups were carried out between 1814 and 1874, until the 1850s, the economy of Spain was primarily based on agriculture. There was little development of an industrial or commercial class. The land-based oligarchy remained powerful, a number of people held large estates called latifundia as well as all the important government positions. In 1868 popular uprisings led to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of the House of Bourbon, two distinct factors led to the uprisings, a series of urban riots and a liberal movement within the middle classes and the military concerned with the ultra-conservatism of the monarchy. In 1873 Isabellas replacement, King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy, abdicated owing to increasing pressure. After the restoration of the Bourbons in December 1874, Carlists and Anarchists emerged in opposition to the monarchy, alejandro Lerroux, Spanish politician and leader of the Radical Republican Party, helped bring republicanism to the fore in Catalonia, where poverty was particularly acute
37.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
38.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
39.
Second Spanish Republic
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The Second Spanish Republic was the republican regime that existed in Spain from 1931 to 1939. Following the Provisional Government between April and December 1931, the 1931 Constitution established the Republic, the Spanish Republic can be divided in three eras, the First Biennium, the Dark Biennium, and the Popular Front government. The Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed when King Alfonso XIII left the following municipal elections where anti-monarchist candidates won the majority of votes. Its government went into exile on 1 April 1939, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered to the rebel nacionales, the government in exile of the Second Spanish Republic had an embassy in Mexico City until 1976. After the restoration of democracy in Spain, the government formally dissolved the following year, on 28 January 1930 the military dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera was overthrown. This led various republican factions from a variety of backgrounds to join forces. The Pact of San Sebastián was the key to the transition from monarchy to republic, Republicans of all tendencies were committed to the Pact of San Sebastian in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic. The restoration of the royal Bourbons was rejected by large sectors of the populace who vehemently opposed the King, the pact, signed by representatives of the main Republican forces, allowed a joint anti-monarchy political campaign. The 12 April 1931 municipal elections led to a victory for republicans. Two days later, the Second Republic was proclaimed, and King Alfonso XIII went into exile, the kings departure led to a provisional government of the young republic under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora. Catholic churches and establishments in cities like Madrid and Sevilla were set ablaze on 11 May, in June 1931 a Constituent Cortes was elected to draft a new constitution, which came into force in December. The new constitution established freedom of speech and freedom of association, extended suffrage to women in 1933, allowed divorce and it also effectively disestablished the Roman Catholic Church, but the disestablishment was somewhat reversed by the Cortes that same year. Its controversial articles 26 and 27 imposed stringent controls on Church property, scholars have described the constitution as hostile to religion, with one scholar characterising it as one of the most hostile of the 20th century. José Ortega y Gasset stated, the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me, pope Pius XI condemned the Spanish governments deprivation of the civil liberties of Catholics in the encyclical Dilectissima Nobis. The legislative branch was changed to a chamber called the Congress of Deputies. The constitution established legal procedures for the nationalisation of public services and land, banks, the constitution provided generally accorded civil liberties and representation. Catholic churches in cities were again subject to arson in 1932. A Catholic church in Zaragoza saw arson in 1933, and the cathedral in Oviedo was destroyed by flames in 1934, the church of San Lorenzo in Gijon was set ablaze in this year as well
40.
Gare de Metz-Ville
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The Gare de Metz-Ville is the main railway station serving the city of Metz, capital of Lorraine, France. Sometimes spoken of as the Station Palace as it displays the apartments of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II and this designation gives legal protection to the stations facade, the roof, the departure hall, the honorary lounge, and the former station restaurant with its interior decorations. The station in Metz was a point of plans for a new urban area in Metz. In order to germanify the city, Kaiser Wilhelm II decided upon the creation of a new district shaped by a blend of Germanic architecture. The district was conceived by German architect Conrad Wahn and is now called the Imperial District. The railway station constitutes the cornerstone of this district, not far from the historic downtown and this has resulted in a sizeable station with platforms large enough to accommodate troops on foot and on horseback. So the Metz railway station was linked to Berlin via the Cannons Railway. It was built in the pale grey stoneware of Niderviller, in marked contrast to the buildings of the city. The purpose of this is to represent the religious and temporal powers of the Holy Roman emperors, the statue of the Knight Roland at the angle of the clock tower represents Imperial protection over Metz. In the great hallway a stained glass depicts the Emperor Charlemagne sitting on his throne. Kaiser Wilhelm appreciated his travels to Metz and the territory of Alsace-Lorraine. So at the station can be seen the apartments he used during his visits to the city. The forecourt of the station is adorned by street furnitures designed by Philippe Starck. The Gare de Metz-Ville is connected to the French TGV high speed network, which provides a direct rail service to Paris, the city of Luxembourg, Dijon, Lyon, Marseille, Nice. The time from Paris East station to Metz railway station is about 82 minutes, euroCity trains connect the station with Luxembourg, Namur, Brussels, Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Basle, and Zurich. Night trains connect the station with Marseille, Nice, Port Bou, Berlin, Hamburg, since December 2011 there is also a direct service to Minsk and Moscow. Also Metz is one of the stations of the regional express trains system named Métrolor. One of its lines is the Nancy-Metz-Luxembourg line, completed by many lines going to main cities of the area
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Metz
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Metz is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Great East region, located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, the city forms a central place of the European Greater Region and the SaarLorLux euroregion. The city has been steeped in Romance culture, but has strongly influenced by Germanic culture due to its location. Because of its historical, cultural, and architectural background, Metz has been submitted on Frances UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, Metz is home to some world-class venues including the Arsenal Concert Hall and the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum. A basin of urban ecology, Metz gained its nickname of The Green City, as it has extensive open grounds, the historic city centre is one of the largest commercial pedestrian areas in France. A historic garrison town, Metz is the heart of the Lorraine region, specialising in information technology. In ancient times, the town was known as city of Mediomatrici, after its integration into the Roman Empire, the city was called Divodurum Mediomatricum, meaning Holy Village or Holy Fortress of the Mediomatrici, then it was known as Mediomatrix. During the 5th century AD, the name evolved to Mettis, Metz has a recorded history dating back over 3,000 years. Before the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the city was the residence of the Merovingian kings of Austrasia. After the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Metz became the capital of the Kingdom of Lotharingia and was integrated into the Holy Roman Empire. During the 12th century, Metz rose to the status of Republic, with the signature of the Treaty of Chambord in 1552, Metz passed to the hands of the Kings of France. Under French rule, Metz was selected as capital of the Three Bishoprics, with creation of the departments by the Estates-General of 1789, Metz was chosen as capital of the Department of Moselle. Metz remained German until the end of World War I, when it reverted to France, however, after the Battle of France during the Second World War, the city was annexed once more by the German Third Reich. In 1944, the attack on the city by the U. S, Third Army freed the city from German rule and Metz reverted one more time to France after World War II. During the 1950s, Metz was chosen to be the capital of the newly created Lorraine region, with the creation of the European Community and the later European Union, the city has become central to the Greater Region and the SaarLorLux Euroregion. Metz is located on the banks of the Moselle and the Seille rivers,43 km from the Schengen tripoint where the borders of France, Germany, and Luxembourg meet. The city was built in a place where branches of the Moselle river creates several islands. The terrain of Metz forms part of the Paris Basin and presents a plateau relief cut by river valleys presenting cuestas in the north-south direction
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Eure-et-Loir
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Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4,1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22,1789 and it was created mainly from parts of the former provinces of Orléanais and Maine, but also parts of Île-de-France. The current department corresponds to the part of the land of the Carnutes who had their capital at Autricum. The Carnutes are known for their commitment, real or imagined, a holy place in the Forest of the Carnutes used to host the annual Druidic assembly. In the north of the department another pre-Roman people, the little-known Durocasses, had their capital at Dreux, the inhabitants of the department are called Euréliens. Its agricultural economy is heavily dependent on economic and regulatory environment of the markets for crops. The Eure-et-Loir region is the first grain producer of France and it is also the national leader in the production of rapeseed and peas. Wheat production is by far the most dominant in the area, nearly 40% of all farmland is devoted to the cultivation of wheat, which has generated an average of 29% of the commercial agricultural production of the department over the last 5 years. The Cosmetic Valley represents 2.5 billion euros of turnover, includes 200 companies, collaborates with the Universities of Orleans and Paris, the pharmaceutical industry, around Dreux and the Polepharma cluster. The cluster represents 50% of drug production in France and 30,000 jobs, the Pharma cluster is also one of the creators of the inter-regional alliance Pharma Valley that has partner networks, Polepharma, CBS and Grepic. This alliance represents 60% of the sites located in France and 2.5 billion euros of turnover. The agri-food industry, promoted by Agrodynamic, with two companies in the sector, Ebly at Chateaudun and an Andros at Auneau. Woodcraft and furniture industry around the association Perchebois, the rubber and plastics industry, through the cluster Elastopole]]. The elevator manufacturer Octé has its office in Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais The department also has the lead in renewable energy. Given in February 2011 by the General Council to the operator, EDF Energies Nouvelles, the President of the General Council is Albéric de Montgolfier of the Union for a Popular Movement. The most important tourist attraction is the cathedral of Chartres, with its magnificent stained-glass windows, british intellectual, friend of Thomas Becket. Bishop of Chartres from 1176 to 1180, bernard of Tiron, founder of the monastic order of Tiron and of the abbey of Thiron-Gardais
