France
France, a country that borders Spain, Italy, Andorra (A small country that is in between France and Spain, it is landlocked), Monaco (another small country), Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and the small country of Luxemburg that is also known for its beautiful sights also has a great history. France participated in both the world wars and fought a revolution. The people of France speak French. A well-known saying that is French is bonjour which is hello. Some of the things that you probably heard of from France are the Eiffel Tower, Le Tour de France (Tour of France, a bike race), the Arc de Triomphe, La Grande Arche de La Defense(new Arc de Triomphe), and Napoleon Bonaparte. Right now Le Tour de France is running. It started running on Saturday, June 30th. It is going to stop running on Sunday, July 22nd. France is also a member of the United Nations.

Geography
France touches Spain, Italy, Andorra, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and Luxemburg. Large bodies of water that touch France include the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. France is a little bit smaller than the state of Texas. In France there can be floods, avalanches, windstorms, droughts, and forest fires. France also has territories. One of Frances territories is French Guiana in South America. Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion are all also French territory.
France has mountains. There are the Pyrenees Mountains that are in the south of France and the Alps in the east of France. The rest of France is basically plains and small hills.
Paris is the capital of France. Paris is located in the middle of the top half of France. There are lots of places you can visit in Paris. You could visit Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe. The picture on the right is a picture of the Eiffel Tower at night. In Notre Dame, a little island in Paris, there is a well-known cathedral. The cathedral is called the Notre Dame Cathedral. During the French Revolution, the people of France partly destroyed parts of the Notre Dame Cathedral. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the whole Notre Dame Cathedral was fully restored. In Paris there are very well-known things like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
La Grande Arche de La Defense isn’t in Paris though. It is located at a village like place called Puteaux. Puteaux is near Paris.

History
France helped the colonists in the Revolutionary War. France only helped the colonists because they wanted to fight Great Britain, but did not want to just declare war, so when the colonists started to fight Britain, France helped them. Then, after the war was ending, they signed the Treaty of Paris in France.
The French Revolution started in 1789. There is a movie called Les Misérables that is about the French Revolution. One of the reasons that people think that the French Revolution started was because the people of France may have been inspired by how the colonists were able to fight Britain and become their own country. The French Revolution was fought between the common/poor people in France and the military/royalty. During the French Revolution, Louis XVI was executed and his wife was too. Louis XVI was executed in the early part of 1793, and his wife, Marie Antoinette, was executed in the later part of 1793 at the same place as her husband, Place de la Concorde. The French Revolution ended in the 1790’s. The poor and common people of France won the war.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a great military leader. He was very short, and is known for trying to take over the whole world. He was born in