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Au Pair in America matches carefully screened young women and nannies from around the world who will provide live-in child care during a year-long cultural exchange.

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Children in France begin kindergarten classes when they are six. Before the age of six, many children attend pre-schools. Students start the school day around 8:30 and end at 4:30, but they have a 2 hour lunch break where they can go home. Most students go to a university for free when they are eighteen.

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Fun France Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about France

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France is officially known as the French Republic.

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Author of Little Red Riding Hood

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Fun children's crafts, including printable craft templates, for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school kids.

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More facts about France

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Facts about France.

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FAST FACTS
OFFICIAL NAME: French Republic
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic
CAPITAL: Paris
POPULATION: 66,259,012
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: French
MONEY: Euro
AREA: 210,026 square miles (543,965 square kilometers)
MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central
MAJOR RIVERS: Seine, Rhine, and Rhône

GEOGRAPHY
France, the largest country in Western Europe, has long been a gateway between the continent's northern and southern regions. Its lengthy borders touch Germany and Belgium in the north; the Atlantic Ocean in the west; the Pyrenees Mountains and Spain in the south.

It also borders the Mediterranean Sea in the southeast; and the Alps, Switzerland, and Italy in the east. France has a very diverse landscape. There are beaches on the southeast coast, home to the French Riviera, and towering mountains in the south and east, including Europe's tallest peak, Mont Blanc, which rises to 15,781 feet (4,810 meters) within the French Alps.

Wide fertile plains dominate most of the north and west, making France the agricultural epicenter of Europe. The sprawling, forested plateau of the Massif Central, a range of ancient mountains and extinct volcanoes, occupies France's southern interior.

PEOPLE & CULTURE
France is one of the oldest nations on Earth and the most ethnically diverse country in Europe. These deep and broad influences have made France a world leader throughout history in nearly all aspects of culture, including cuisine, wine-making, politics, philosophy, music, art, film, fashion, literature, and sports.

NATURE

France has ample land area to provide habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals. More than 25 percent of its territory is covered with forest, and another 50 percent is countryside or farmland.

Lowland forests are home to deer and wild boar, while the woodlands of the Alps and Pyrenees provide refuge for rare chamois antelope, ibex, brown bears, and alpine hares, among many other species. The Mediterranean coastline is a stopover of millions of migrating African birds, including flamingos, vultures, egrets, and bee-eaters.

The French government has made a broad commitment to preserving open spaces and the wildlife they contain. About 10 percent of the country has been set aside as national or regional parklands and nature reserves.

Euro

Photograph by Scanrail, Dreamstime

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY
Over the years, France has been through many political crises. Its current government is a combination of presidential and parliamentary systems. The president is elected by the people and is head of state. A prime minister, chosen by the president, works with the elected parliament to pass laws.

France is among the world's largest economies. The country produces many items that other countries buy, including its most famous products: wine and cheese. Other exports include automobiles, electronics, and clothing. Tourism is also a huge industry in France. Some 75 million people visit the country every year, more than any other country.

HISTORY
There is evidence that early relatives of humans first settled in France nearly two million years ago. By 300,000 B.C., Neanderthals arose there, and by 40,000 B.C., Cro-Magnons had arrived. Over time, Celtic tribes from central Europe moved into the region. When the Romans occupied the territory in the second century B.C., they named it Gaul.

Julius Caesar established full Roman control over Gaul in 51 B.C., but by 400 A.D., Rome was in decline. Gaul was attacked by neighboring tribes, including Visigoths, Vandals, and the Germanic Franks, from which France would eventually get its name. In 843 a treaty created the territory of West Francia, which would later become France.

Over the next thousand years, West Francia was ruled by a series of powerful kings. Several wars were fought over who would rule France, including the Hundred Years War, from 1337 to 1453. In 1789, a violent period of change called the French Revolution began, eventually ending in the overthrow of the monarchy.

Napoleon Bonaparte, a general during the French Revolution, declared himself leader of France in 1799 and began a campaign of wars with the country's neighbors. He was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. France later suffered great losses in both World War I and World War II. It has since emerged, though, as an important and prosperous world power.

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France Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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FAST FACTS OFFICIAL NAME: French Republic FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic CAPITAL: Paris POPULATION: 66,259,012 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: French MONEY: Euro AREA: 210,026 square miles (543,965 square kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central MAJOR RIVERS: Seine, Rhine, and Rhône GEOGRAPHY France, the largest country in Western Europe, has long been a gateway between the continent's northern and southern regions.

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Here are some interesting France Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

Population: more than 67 million people live in the country (2017)

Capital: Paris, with 2,2 million inhabitants

Name: Republique Francaise (French Republic)

Motto: 'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite' (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity)

Government: Democracy

Language: French

Religion: mainly Christians (Roman Catholics 64%)

Currency: 1 Euro=100cents, until 2002 French Franc

History: In 700-500BC the Celtic Gauls arrive in France. In 58-50BC Roman Emperor Julius Caesar defeats the Gauls and France becomes part of the Roman Empire until 476AD. French was ruled by kings for many centuries until the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution in 1789. Then Napoleon becomes Emperor of the French Republic until he is sent to exile.

France Map and Geography

* France is situated in Western Europe, 1 hr flight from London/England, 5.5 hrs from New York/USA. On the France outline you will see the little island of Corsica, which belongs to France, also in the French flag colors.

* The western-european country shares borders with Belgium to the North East, Germany and Luxemburg in the East as well as with Switzerland, Italy to the South East. The Pyrenees, a mountain range to the South of France, form a natural border between Spain and France. The highest mountain in France is the Mont Blanc, that is 4,810m high and stands at the border between France and Italy.

Mainland France is divided into 27 regions and these into 101 departments. The Mediterranean island of Corsica belongs to France too as you can see in the outline above. Of the 101 departments there are also 5 ROM ('regions d'outre mer' or overseas regions) also belonging to France: French Guyana in South America, Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean, La Reunion and Mayotte in Africa in the Indian Ocean.

France Facts:
Tourist Attractions in France

Paris: Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre (which you can see in the image to the right), Montmartre, Arc de Triomphe, river Seine and many other great attractions

Versailles : castle of French kings

Lasceaux Caves for 17,000year old rock paintings

Cote d'Azur for turquoise blue sea and great beaches

Corsica: in the Mediterranean sea

French Alps: great skiing and snowboarding

Mont St. Michel: Island with high tide

La Provence for lavender fields and old historic towns like Avignon

There are so many exciting places and landmarks, gorgeous beaches, historic cities and villages, ancient ruins and majestic castles to visit. Start with these France Attractions everybody should know about:

Interesting French Language Facts

French is the official language in France and it is also the second major language in Europe.

French is one of the Romance languages. These languages, including also Italian and Spanish, have their origins in the Latin language. Today, French is the second most studied language after English and spoken by more than 300million people around the world as first or second language.

Try these five useful expressions in French:

bonjour - good day

salut - hello

merci - thank you

je m'appelle... - my name is....

bon appétit! - enjoy your meal!

And here is the French Alphabet. Enjoy!

France Facts:
Famous French People

Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), a French engineer who designed the famous Eiffel tower in Paris, which is named after him. He also worked together with Auguste Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty in New York.

France is famous for the 'beaux-arts' with many masters of the arts such as the many great painters, artisans and sculptors.

Famous French painters are:

and Auguste Rodin is certainly one of the most famous French sculptors.

French composers which are very famous are: Maurice Ravel (Bolero) and Georges Bizet (Carmen). Children all around the world love French literature, like the famous "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas and "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

French political leader Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born on Corsica. He reformed the French laws. He declared himself Emperor of the French in 1804. Napoleon's army was defeated by the British in the Battle of Waterloo (now in Belgium) in 1815. He was exiled to the island St. Helena in the Mediterranean Sea where he died in 1821.

The current president of France is Emmanuel Macron who became the youngest president in the history of France, with 39 years of age.

France Facts: French Food

The French main dishes contain: fresh vegetables, meat and cheeses. French cuisine is well known for its freshness and high quality dishes. The French people enjoy their main meal in the evening and this meal often consists of three courses starting with a 'hors d'oeuvre', a starter dish which often is soup or a salad and bread, then the main course and afterwards some cheese or fruit.

The bread you will get in France in a typical French "boulangerie" (bakery) is mostly white wheat bread or bread sticks, called "baguette".

Make sure to read our separate article on 'Food in France', but let's quickly tell you some typical French food:

Baguette: long bread stick

Croque Monsieur/Croque Madame: ham and cheese grilled sandwich while Croque Madame is the more heavy version with ham, cheese and a fried egg on top

Escargots: snails

Foie Gras: goose liver pate

Ratatouille: vegetable stew

Pain au chocolat: similar to a croissant filled with chocolate

Crepes: very thin pancakes with filling

Click here to read more about 10 Typical French Dishes: Food in France

Try to visit a patisserie for the wonderful sweet like cakes like the petit fours or pain au chocolat. Not to forget to eat some pancakes in the many creperies. In Paris, you will find the oldest café or coffee shop in the world which was opened in 1694. It is called 'Le Procope'.

Here is a good picture of a typical boulangerie (bakery) in Paris. You can see the white church of Sacre Coeur in Montmartre in the background.

Did you know...?
Read more interesting facts on France and Europe here. Picture Credits on France Facts: All Pictures, own and if not otherwise mentioned from sxc.hu and shutterstock.com Back from France Facts to Kids-World-Travel-Guide
...the Tour de France, which is the world's most famous cycle race, was started already in 1903. The winning bike rider gets to wear a yellow shirt to show that he is the leader of the race.

We hope you enjoyed reading our France Facts. Please bookmark this page and spread the word. We will add more information in the near future.

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France Facts for Kids | Facts about France and the French | France for Kids

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Here are some interesting France Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids. Population: more than 67 million people live in the country (2017) Capital: Paris, with 2,2 million inhabitants Name: Republique Francaise (French Republic) Motto: 'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite' (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) Government: Democracy Language: French Religion: mainly Christians (Roman Catholics 64%) Currency: 1 Euro=100cents, until 2002 French Franc History: In 700-500BC the Celtic Gauls arrive in France.

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The Eiffel Tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel to be the point and entrance arch for the World's Fair celebrating the 100 th anniversary of the French Revolution. It was inaugurated on March 31, 1889, and has since become the of Paris and France, as well as one of the most-recognizable structures in the world.

In France, the Eiffel Tower is known as La Tour Eiffel or la dame de fer, which means "the iron lady." It's an iron lattice tower that stands 984 feet tall (1,063 feet if you include the broadcast antennas at the top).

At completion, it passed the Washington Monument as the tallest man-made structure in the world. It held that title until 1930, when the Chrysler Building was built in New York City.

The Eiffel Tower remains the tallest building in Paris. It is also the most-visited paid monument in the world. Experts estimate more than 200 million people have visited the Eiffel Tower since it opened!

Visitors can ascend to three different levels of the Eiffel Tower. The lower two levels can be accessed by stair or elevator, and they both contain restaurants. The top level can only be reached via elevator.

To build the Eiffel Tower, hundreds of workers used more than 2 million rivets to join together more than 18,000 pieces of iron. Although the building process was risky because of the tower's open-frame design, Eiffel insisted on safety precautions, and only one worker died during construction.

Believe it or not, the Eiffel Tower was not an immediate hit with the people of Paris. Many considered it to be an and wanted it to be torn down.

Since it was built for the 1889 World's Fair, the tower was originally meant to be temporary. The City of Paris planned to the tower after 20 years. However, it proved to be valuable as a radio communications tower, so it was allowed to stay.

Today, of course, the Eiffel Tower is considered an architectural masterpiece that has inspired more than 30 similar towers around the world. More than just a attraction , it also continues to be a valuable communications tool, since it is used to transmit both radio and television broadcast signals.

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The Eiffel Tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel to be the point and entrance arch for the World's Fair celebrating the 100 th anniversary of the French Revolution. It was inaugurated on March 31, 1889, and has since become the of Paris and France, as well as one of the most-recognizable structures in the world.