France & the Benelux

French Economy• Overall economy relies of both agriculture & manufacturing• Manufacturing• Steel, chemicals, textiles, computers.

• Most people work in the service industries• Banking, commerce, tourism, communications

French Government

• Paris- Capital & largest city• The 5th Republic (1958)• President serves 5 year terms- handles foreign affairs

• Currently Francois Hollande• Appoints Prime Minister for day-to-day affairs

• Currently Manuel Valls• Bicameral Legislature

• Senate & National Assembly

French Land & Climate

• Various Climate Zones• Alpine/Mountain: • French Alps

• Oceanic (Warm Summer & Cool Winters)• West & Northwest: Normandy & Paris

• Mediterranean (Hot Summer & Cold Winters)• Mediterranean Coast• Includes some beautiful beaches

• Overall Mild Climate

French Agriculture• Climate & Fertile Soil make France ideal for Agriculture• Beef & Dairy• Grains, fruits, vegetables• Olives• World Famous Grapes (Wine)

French Culture

• High Fashion• Palaces & Museums• Artists (Monet, Renoir)• Paris (City of Light)• Eiffel Tower• Cathedral of Notre Dame• Roman Catholic

European Union

• European Economic Alliance• Originated as Common Market• Established as EU in 1993 (12 members)• France, Belgium, Netherlands, & Luxembourg all members

Vocabulary• Navigable• Rivers (Ex- Seine & Loire) are wide & deep enough for shipping

• Multinational Companies:• Firms that do business in several countries (Ex-McDonalds, Coca-Cola, IBM)

• Multilingual• Ability to speak multiple languages

• Polders:• Water pumps drain land, drained lands good for farming

• Republic: • Strong representative national government.

Belgium

• Size of Maryland• Few natural resources themselves, but central location between

resource rich lands makes ideal for manufacturing & trade.• Densely populated, urban country.• Brussels- Capital & largest city.• Roman Catholic• Country split North (Flemish) South (French)

Netherlands• Small country half size of Maine.• Country also known as Holland,• People are the Dutch.• Half country below sea level!• System of trench's, wall, dikes• Polders and high tech farming = highly valuable agriculture

• Most people work in services, manufacturing, trade.• Amsterdam capital & largest city.• Diary of Anne Frank

Luxembourg

• Tiny country (smaller than Rhode Island)• Highly prosperous economy• Many multinational companies headquarters• Major banking center.• People are multilingual