At the end of the Antiquity period, ancient Gaul was divided into several Germanic kingdoms and a remaining Gallo-Roman territory, known as the Kingdom of Syagrius. Simultaneously, Celtic Britons, fleeing the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, settled in the western part of Armorica. As a result, the Armorican peninsula was renamed Brittany, Celtic culture was revived, and independent petty kingdoms arose in the region.

Duc Tri-Quê Anh. Promouvoir l’enseignement du français au Vietnam, Le Courrier du Vietnam, 7 March 2022. (in French) With an estimated January 2023 population of 68,042,591 people, [8] France is the 20th most populous country in the world, the third-most populous in Europe (after Russia and Germany), and the second most populous in the European Union (after Germany). Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thus establishing in earnest the French government's longtime historical association with the Catholic Church, [43] Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur. Charlemagne's son, Louis I (Emperor 814–840), kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive his death. In 843, under the Treaty of Verdun, the empire was divided between Louis' three sons, with East Francia going to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I, and West Francia to Charles the Bald. West Francia approximated the area occupied by modern France and was its precursor. [44] Among the deepest points on the earth's surface, not covered by water, is the ice-covered Bentley Subglacial Trench. The trench is located in western Antarctica and has a depth of 2,555 meters (8,382 ft) below sea level. Originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or "realm of the Franks". [20] Modern France is still named today Francia in Italian and Spanish, while Frankreich in German, Frankrijk in Dutch and Frankrike in Swedish and Norwegian all mean "Land/realm of the Franks".

Contemporary period (1946–present) Charles de Gaulle, a hero of World War I, leader of the Free French during World War II, and President of France France, the largest country in Western Europe, has long been a gateway between the continent northern and southern regions as you can see in the detailed map of France. 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. Louis XVI (r. 1774–1793) actively supported the Americans with money, fleets and armies, helping them win independence from Great Britain. France gained revenge but spent so heavily that the government verged on bankruptcy—a factor that contributed to the French Revolution. Some of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the naming of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists. French explorers, such as Bougainville and Lapérouse, took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as the primary source of legitimacy, undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and also was a factor in the French Revolution.

See also: List of national parks of France, Regional natural parks of France, and Climate change in France Teaching your children what countries speak French would be a handy lesson in case they were to ever visit one of these countries, they could use the knowledge gained in their French lessons to speak to the locals.Dependency of France: Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Mayotte, Wallis & Futuna, Saint Barthelemy, and Saint Pierre & Miquelon. There are lots more fantastic resources available you can use to complement this poster. You can use more display items to teach your children more about the French-speaking countries, worksheets to help your children with their French and lots more. Here are a few suggestions which you might find useful: