France

The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (French: Président de la République française, [pʁezidɑ̃ d(ə) la ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz]) or president of the Republic (Président de la République), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the position is the highest office in France. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, in addition to their relation with the prime minister and government of France, have over time differed with the various constitutional documents since the Second Republic.

The president of France is the ex officio co-prince of Andorra, grand master of the Legion of Honour and of the National Order of Merit, and protector of the Institut de France in Paris. The officeholder is also honorary proto-canon of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, although some have rejected the title in the past.

48°50′54″N 2°20′14″E / 48.84833°N 2.33722°E / 48.84833; 2.33722The Senate (French: Sénat, [sena] ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (sénateurs and sénatrices) elected by part of the country's local councillors in indirect elections. Senators have six-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every three years. They represent France's departments (328), overseas collectivities (8) and citizens abroad (12).

Senators' mode of election varies upon their constituency's population size: in the less populated constituencies (one or two seats), they are elected individually, whereas in more populated ones (three seats or more), they are elected on lists. It is common for senators to hold dual mandates, such as in a regional council or departmental council.

The Economic, Social and Environmental Council (French: Conseil économique, social et environnemental), known as the Economic and Social Council before the constitutional law of 23 July 2008, is a consultative assembly in France. It does not play a role in the adoption of statutes and regulations, but advises the lawmaking bodies on questions of social and economic policies.

The executive may refer any question or proposal of social or economic importance to the Economic, Social and Environmental Council. The Council publishes reports, which are sent to the Prime Minister, National Assembly and Senate. They are published in the Journal Officiel.

Gaul (Latin: Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of 494,000 km (191,000 sq mi). According to Julius Caesar, who took control of the region on behalf of the Roman Republic, Gaul was divided into three parts: Gallia Celtica, Belgica, and Aquitania. Archaeologically, the Gauls were bearers of the La Tène culture during the 5th to 1st centuries BC. This material culture was found throughout Gaul and as far east as modern-day southern Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Warbands led by the Gaul Brennos sacked Rome in 387 BC, becoming the only time Rome was conquered by a foreign enemy in 800 years. However, Gallia Cisalpina was conquered by the Romans in 204 BC and Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded after 120 BC by the Cimbri and the Teutons, who were in turn defeated by the Romans by 103 BC. Julius Caesar finally subdued the largest part of Gaul in his campaigns from 58 to 51 BC. Roman control of Gaul lasted for five centuries, until the last Roman rump state, the Domain of Soissons, fell to the Franks in AD 486.

The langues d'oïl  are a dialect continuum that includes standard French and its closest relatives historically spoken in the northern half of France, southern Belgium, and the Channel Islands. They belong to the larger category of Gallo-Romance languages, which also include the historical languages of east-central France and western Switzerland, southern France, portions of northern Italy, the Val d'Aran in Spain, and under certain acceptations those of Catalonia.

Linguists divide the Romance languages of France, and especially of Medieval France, into two main geographical subgroups: the langues d'oïl to the north, and the langues d'oc in the southern half of France. Both groups are named after the word for yes in their recent ancestral languages. The most common modern langue d'oïl is standard French, in which the ancestral oïl has become oui.

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. Belgium covers an area of 30,689 km (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.8 million; its population density of 383/km (990/sq mi) ranks 22nd in the world and sixth in Europe. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

Belgium is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex federal system structured on regional and linguistic grounds. The country is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region in the middle. Belgium is also home to two main linguistic communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French-speaking French Community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the population; a small German-speaking Community, comprising around one percent of the population, exists in the East Cantons. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Belgium is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy. It is one of the six founding members of the European Union, with its capital of Brussels serving as the de facto capital of the EU, hosting the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, and one of two seats of the European Parliament (the other being Strasbourg). Brussels also hosts the headquarters of many major international organizations, such as NATO.

This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa. It includes fully recognised states, states with limited or zero recognition, and dependent territories of both African and non-African states. It lists 56 sovereign states (54 of which are member states of the United Nations), two non-sovereign (dependent) territories of non-African sovereign states, and nine sub-national regions of non-African sovereign states. Malta and parts of France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain are located on the African continental plate, some considerably closer to the African mainland than the European mainland but, politically, are generally considered to be European by convention. Egypt, although extending into Asia through the Sinai Peninsula, is considered an African state.

Évian-les-Bains (French pronunciation: [evjɑ̃ le bɛ̃] ), or simply Évian (Arpitan: Èvian, Évyan, or L'Èvian), is a commune in Eastern France, by the border with Switzerland. It is located in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

A high-market holiday resort and spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), it has been visited, over two centuries, by royalty such as Kings Edward VII and George V of the United Kingdom and King Farouk of Egypt, and celebrities such as countess Anna de Noailles and Marcel Proust.

The canton of Évian-les-Bains is an administrative division of the Haute-Savoie department, southeastern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Évian-les-Bains.

It consists of the following communes: