France travel deals include France tour packages for Paris travel. Archeological excavations indicate that France has been continuously settled since Paleolithic times. The Celts, who were later called Gauls by the Romans, migrated from the Rhine valley into what is now France. In about 600 B.C. Greeks and Phoenicians established settlements along the Mediterranean, most notably at Marseille. Julius Caesar conquered part of Gaul in 57-52 B.C., and it remained Roman until Franks invaded in the 5th century A.D.
The Treaty of Verdun (843) divided the territories corresponding roughly to France, Germany, and Italy among the three grandsons of Charlemagne. Charles the Bald inherited Francia Occidentalis, which became an increasingly feudalized kingdom.

France is about 80% the size of Texas. In the Alps near the Italian and Swiss borders is western Europe's highest point-Mont Blanc (15,781 ft; 4,810 m). The forest-covered Vosges Mountains are in the northeast, and the Pyrénées are along the Spanish border. Except for extreme northern France, the country may be described as four river basins and a plateau. Three of the streams flow west-the Seine into the English Channel, the Loire into the Atlantic, and the Garonne into the Bay of Biscay. The Rhône flows south into the Mediterranean. For about 100 mi (161 km), the Rhine is France's eastern border. In the Mediterranean, about 115 mi (185 km) east-southeast of Nice, is the island of Corsica (3,367 sq mi; 8,721 sq km).

210,668 sq mi (545,630 sq km); total area: 211,209 sq mi (547,030 sq km)

60,876,136 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 12.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.2/1000; life expectancy: 79.7; density per sq mi: 289

Paris, 9,854,000 (metro. area), 2,110,400 (city proper)

Marseille, 820,700; Lyon, 443,900; Toulouse, 411,800; Nice, 332,000; Nantes, 282,300; Strasbourg, 272,600; Bordeaux, 217,000

French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Euro (formerly French franc)

French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Southeast Asian, and Basque minorities

Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Islam 5%-10%, Jewish 1%, unaffiliated 4%

99% (1980 est.)

Coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorospar, gypsum, timber, fish.

Wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish.

Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname.

Permanent Entry Visas
Permanent entry visa applications (except general skilled, business skills and parent subclasses) from France, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco are lodged, processed and decided at the Australian Embassy, Berlin, Germany
General skilled migration applications are lodged and processed at the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre.
Business Skills applications are lodged and processed at the Perth Business Skills Processing Centre.
Contributory parent and parent migration applications are lodged and processed at the Perth Offshore Parents Centre.

Temporary entry visa applications from France, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco are lodged, processed and decided in Paris.
416 Special Program applications are lodged and processed at the Hobart Special Program Processing Centre
420 Entertainment sponsorship and visa applications are lodged and processed at the Sydney Entertainment Processing Centre.