FRANCE, a republic of S. W. Eu rope; bounded on the N. and N. E. by the North Sea, Strait of Dover, English Channel, and Belgium; E. and S. E. by the Alps, separating it from Italy, Switzerland, German Empire, and the Mediterranean; S. by the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, that separate it from Spain; and W. by the Atlantic Ocean. By the terms of the Peace Treaty with Germany signed on June 28, 1919, Alsace-Lorraine was transferred to France, to date from the armistice of November 11, 1918. The districts of Lower Alsace, Upper Alsace and Lor raine became the Departments of Bas Rhin, Alsace; Haut-Rhin; and Moselle. The total area added to France was 5,605 square miles, with a population in addition of 1,874,014, making the total area 212,659 square miles and the popu lation 41,475,523.
Topography.—Generally, France may be said to lie in a gently descending slope between the mountains and the sea. The principal mountains are the Alps, designated in their various parts as the Maritime Alps, between France and Italy; the Cottian Alps, bounding the province of Savoy; the Graian Alps, between France and Switzerland, and the Pennine Alps, reaching to St. Gott hard. Branch ranges of the Alps in the interior make the whole country more or less mountainous. Of these spurs the Alps of Valais, Savoy, Dauphine, and Faucigny, and the Great Chartreuse group, are the most important. Next in importance to the Alps are the Pyre nees, across nearly the entire Spanish boundary, and then N. nearly 300 miles. This range, called the Cevennes Moun tains, is continued by the COte d'Or. The Faucilles connect the Cote d'Or with the Vosges range on the Swiss frontier. In the interior are the mountains of Lim ousin, and the Aubrac system. Some of the highest peaks are famous, Mt. Blanc, 15,776 feet; Mt. Cenis, noted for the great tunnel that pierces it; St. Gotthard and Mt. Viso, 12,585 feet, of the Alps; and Pique d'Etats, 10,302 feet; Pic d'Carlitte, 10,203 feet; Nethou. 11,168 feet; and Mount Perdu, 10,995 feet, of the Pyrenees. The Seine, Loire, Garonne, Rhine, Meuse, Rhone, and Scheldt are the principal rivers of the country. Some of the chief affluents are the Maine and Allier, flowing into the Loire; the Dor dogne, that joins the Garonne to form the Gironde; the Sambre, flowing into the Meuse; the Moselle, flowing into the Rhine; and the Saone, flowing into the Rhone. France has over 1,500 miles of
sea-coast, of which 395 is Mediter ranean, 584 Atlantic, and 572 washed by the North Sea, English Channel, and Dover Straits. The principal ports are Havre, at the mouth of the Seine; Brest on the W. extremity of Brittany; Nantes, on the Loire estuary; Bordeaux, on the Garonne, having the Gironde estuary for a harbor; and Toulon on the Mediterranean. The Atlantic coast is mostly bold and rocky. The principal outlying islands are the Channel Islands in Bay St. Michael. The island of Corsica, in the Mediterranean, belongs to France.
Agriculture.—France is essentially an agricultural country of great richness and fertility. There were in 1912 nearly 100,000,000 acres available for cultiva tion, and of this about 60,000,000 acres were under crops. The war area in cluded some of the richest agricultural land in the country and this, for more than four years, was practically un touched, and after the conclusion of the war remained in such condition that it will be probably useless for cultivation for many years. The arable ground torn up by shell fire and troops was about 9,925,000 acres. The fact that practically all the men available were engaged in the armies or in military services, threw the burden of agricultural cultivation on the women, girls, and boys. In spite of this fact the production of agricul tural products continued to an amazing extent. The decrease in production, how ever, is shown by comparative figures. There were planted to wheat in 1914 6,060,000 hectares (a hectare is equal to 2.47 acres) ; in 1919 4,579,000 hectares, and in 1920 4,896,000 hectares. There were planted in rye in 1914 1,050,000 hectares; in 1919 827,000; and in 1920 906,000. In 1914 there were planted to oats 3,590,000 hectares; in 1919 2,758, 000; and in 1920 3,014,000. France is a great wine producing country. The production of wine in 1919 was as great as that in the pre-war period, amounting to 1,132,161,000 gallons. The Germans removed from France a great number of cattle and horses. The cattle taken by them numbered 523,000 head; the horses and mules, 367,000; and the sheep and goats, 465,000 head. According to the terms of the Peace Treaty these ani mals were to be replaced. In 1920 74,000 head of cattle, 4,400 horses and mules, and 43,000 sheep and goats were re placed.