FranceFrance (fʁɑ̃s), officially the French Republic (République française ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz), is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean.
VaucluseVaucluse (voklyz; Vauclusa or Vau-Cluso ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019. The department's prefecture is Avignon. It is named after a spring, the Fontaine de Vaucluse, one of the largest karst springs in the world. The name Vaucluse itself derives from the Latin Vallis Clausa ("closed valley") as the valley ends in a cliff face from which the spring emanates.
OccitaniaOccitania (Occitània utsiˈtanjɔ, u(k)siˈtanjɔ, ukʃiˈtanjɔ or u(k)siˈtanja) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is occasionally used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except the French Basque Country and French Catalonia) as well as part of Spain (Aran Valley), Monaco, and parts of Italy (Occitan Valleys). Occitania has been recognized as a linguistic and cultural concept since the Middle Ages.
Old FrenchOld French (franceis, françois, romanz; Modern French: ancien français) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the 8th and the 14th century. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligible yet diverse. These dialects came to be collectively known as the langue d'oïl, contrasting with the langue d'oc in the south of France. The mid-14th century witnessed the emergence of Middle French, the language of the French Renaissance in the Île de France region; this dialect was a predecessor to Modern French.
Communes of FranceThe commune (kɔmyn) is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, Gemeinden in Germany, comuni in Italy, or municipios in Spain. The UK equivalent are civil parishes. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France.
Aix-en-ProvenceAix-en-Provence (UKˌɛks_ɒ̃_prɒˈvɒ̃s, USˌeɪks_ɒ̃_proʊˈvɒ̃s,ˌɛks-), or simply Aix (medieval Occitan: Aics), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the subprefecture of the arrondissement of Aix-en-Provence, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The population of Aix-en-Provence is approximately 145,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains.
ArlesArles (ɑːrl(z), USalsoˈɑːrəl, aʁl; Arle ˈaʀle ; Classical Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of Provence. A large part of the Camargue, the largest wetlands in France, is located on the territory of the commune, making it the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of geographic territory (in non-metropolitan France, Maripasoula (French Guiana) is much larger than Arles).
Digne-les-BainsDigne-les-Bains (diɲ le bɛ̃; Occitan: Dinha dei Banhs), or simply and historically Digne (Dinha in the classical norm or Digno in the Mistralian norm), is the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. As of 2018, the commune had a population of 16,333. Its inhabitants are called Dignois (masculine) and Dignoises (feminine). Located on the edge of the fr and on both sides of the river Bléone, which flows southwest through the middle of the commune and crosses the town; it forms part of the commune's northeastern and southwestern borders.
CarpentrasCarpentras (kaʁpɑ̃tʁa, formerly kaʁpɑ̃tʁas; Provençal Occitan: Carpentràs in classical norm or Carpentras in Mistralian norm; Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. As capital of the Comtat Venaissin, it was frequently the residence of the Avignon popes; the Papal States retained possession of the Venaissin until the French Revolution. Nowadays, Carpentras is a commercial center for Comtat Venaissin and is famous for the black truffle markets held from winter to early spring.
County of NiceThe County of Nice (Comté de Nice / Pays Niçois; Contea di Nizza / Paese Nizzardo; Niçard Contèa de Niça / País Niçard) is a historical region of France located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent to the modern arrondissement of Nice. Its territory lies between the Mediterranean Sea (Côte d'Azur), Var River and the southernmost crest of the Alps. Ligurian tribes populated the County of Nice prior to its occupation by the Romans.
