France celebrates National Day
11:13 | 14.07.2016 Category: Political
Chisinau, July 14 /MOLDPRES/ – France today marks its National Day. It is the largest country in Western Europe, located between Spain, the Atlantic, the English Channel, the North Sea, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco and the Mediterranean Sea. The country celebrates the anniversary of the Fall of the Bastille in 1789.
France has an area of 643, 801 square kilometers and a population of 66.7 million inhabitants. Its capital is the Paris city. Other cities are: Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulon, Grenoble, Cannes, etc. The Gross Domestic Product is over 2. 6 trillion dollars. The national motto is Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and France’s flag consists of three vertical stripes coloured in blue, white, red, respectively. The national anthem is La Marseillaise.
France is an old country, formed in the feudal Middle Ages, and takes its name from the Franc people. Since 1950, the country has embarked into the construction of the European Union. It is a nuclear power, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a NATO member. France also is a member of G7, G20, the euro zone, the Schengen area and hosts the headquarters of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). France plays an important role in the world history through the influence of its culture, language and century-old democratic and republican values, which the country has been promoting in the last two centuries.
It is the second European and the fifth world economic power. The country's capitalist economy makes it a world leader in the agricultural and food sectors, aeronautical, automotive, luxury goods, tourism and in the nuclear energy.
France has a rich architectural heritage, witness of a long history and combination of more different influences. France is the third country in the world according to the number of cultural sites, with a list of 34 out of 753 cultural riches classified in the World Heritage by UNESCO on 27 January 2012.
The main goods exoported by France are: automobiles, electronic gear, textiles, iron ore, aluminum, bauxite, wheat, sugar, wine and food. It imports: industrial raw materials and fuels. The foreign trade is conducted with Germany, UK, USA, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Japan and other countries.
The diplomatic relations between Moldova and the French Republic were established on 11 March 1992.
In January-April 2016, Moldova exported to France goods worth 15 million 749 thousand dollars. In the same period, Moldova imported from France goods worth 92 million 631 thousand dollars.
The main enterprises with French capital operating in Moldova are: Orange (telecom sector), Cement Plant (Lafarge) (construction materials); Kazayak Vin (food/wine); Fabbri-Inox (industrial equipment); Lactis (food); Société Génerale (Banking sector).
(Reporter N. Roibu, editor M. Jantovan)
