Background: Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier parliamentary democracies. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy.
June 27th 2008Europe » France » Picardie The idea of spending four days on the Somme was so that I could follow in the the footsteps of Frederick Stobo Phillips and try to get a 'feel' for the area and, possibly, gain some sort of understand ... 31 photos[full story]
June 23rd 2008Europe » France » Picardie Heathrow's Terminal Five is awesome - huge - and even has comfy looking lounge/beds in the waiting area.
With the short hop from London to Paris on British Airways it wasn't long before we were back ... 7 photos[full story]
March 25th 2008Europe » France » Picardie » Amiens Bonjour,
We are on our way.
We picked up the cqr at the airport and had a 2 hour drive to Amiens: Although we had had a short tutorial on GPS it took a while to work out how to drive it:
We arri ... [full story]
Map of France
France's Flag