France

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of France}}
France is a founding member of the United Nations and serves as one of the [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent members of the UN Security Council]] with veto rights.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 July 2010 |title=Membership of the Security Councils of the UN |url=https://www.un.org/sc/members.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706231352/http://www.un.org/sc/members.asp |archive-date=6 July 2010}}</ref> In 2015, it was described as "the best networked state in the world" due to its membership in more international institutions than any other country;<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Soft Power 30 |url=http://www.comres.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Report_Final-published.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120204008/http://www.comres.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Report_Final-published.pdf |archive-date=20 November 2015 |website=[[Monocle (media company)|Monocle]]}}</ref> these include the G7, [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Members and Observers |url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm |access-date=30 October 2010 |website=World Trade Organization}}</ref> the [[Pacific Community]] (SPC)<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 February 2010 |title=History |url=http://www.spc.int/en/about-spc/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828105101/http://www.spc.int/en/about-spc/history.html |archive-date=28 August 2010 |website=Secretariate of the Pacific Community}}</ref> and the [[Indian Ocean Commission]] (COI).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Les pays membres de la COI |trans-title=IOC member countries |url=http://www.coi-ioc.org/index.php?id=36 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402173028/http://www.coi-ioc.org/index.php?id=36 |archive-date=2 April 2012 |website=Commission de l'Océan Indien {{!}} Indian Ocean Commission |language=fr}}</ref> It is an associate member of the [[Association of Caribbean States]] (ACS)<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 July 1994 |title=About the Association of Caribbean States |url=http://www.acs-aec.org/index.php?q=about-the-acs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822100530/http://www.acs-aec.org/index.php?q=about-the-acs |archive-date=22 August 2012 |access-date=22 June 2012 |publisher=Association of Caribbean States}}</ref> and a leading member of the {{Lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]]|italic=no}} (OIF) of 84 French-speaking countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=84 États et gouvernements |trans-title=84 states and governments |url=http://www.francophonie.org/-Etats-et-gouvernements-.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003114546/http://www.francophonie.org/-Etats-et-gouvernements-.html |archive-date=3 October 2009 |access-date=22 July 2010 |publisher=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie}}</ref>
[[File:La francophonie mapa.svg|thumb|alt=La Francophonie map (dozens of countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America are members of this international organisation.|88 states and governments are part of ''[[La Francophonie]]'',<ref>[https://www.francophonie.org/la-francophonie-en-bref-754 La Francophonie en bref], ''[[La Francophonie]]'', retrieved on 26 January 2020</ref> which promotes values of [[democracy]], [[multilingualism]] and [[cultural diversity]].<ref>Anne Gazeau-Secret, [https://www.cairn.info/revue-geoeconomie-2010-4-page-39.htm Francophonie et diplomatie d'influence], [[Cairn.info]], dans ''Géoéconomie'' 2010/4 (n° 55), pages 39 à 56</ref> France has been a key member of this global organisation since its inception in 1970.]]
[[File:Inauguration EYE2014 Parlement européen Strasbourg 9 mai 2014.jpg|thumb|alt=European Parliament opening in Strasbourg with crowd and many countries' flags on flagpoles|The [[European Parliament]] in [[Strasbourg]] (near the border with Germany). France is a founding member of all EU institutions.]]

As a significant hub for international relations, France has the [[List of diplomatic missions of France|third-largest assembly]] of [[diplomatic mission]]s, second only to China and the United States, which are far more populous. It also hosts the headquarters of several [[international organization|international organisations]], including the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]], [[UNESCO]], [[Interpol]], the [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]], and the OIF.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Embassies and consulates |url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/ministry_158/embassies-and-consulates_2052/bilateral-embassies_1580.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100908014607/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/ministry_158/embassies-and-consulates_2052/bilateral-embassies_1580.html |archive-date=8 September 2010 |website=France Diplomatie |publisher=The French Ministry of Foreign affairs}}</ref>

French foreign policy after World War II has been largely shaped by membership in the European Union, of which it was a [[Inner Six|founding member]]. Since the [[Élysée Treaty|1960s]], France has developed close ties with reunified Germany to become the [[France–Germany relations|most influential driving force of the EU]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pierre-Louis Germain |date=12 November 2009 |title=L'alliance Franco-allemande au coeur de la puissance européenne |trans-title=The Franco-German alliance at the heart of European power |url=http://www.oftt.eu/perspectives/article/l-alliance-franco-allemande-au-coeur-de-la-puissance-europeenne |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123092331/http://www.oftt.eu/perspectives/article/l-alliance-franco-allemande-au-coeur-de-la-puissance-europeenne |archive-date=23 January 2010 |publisher=Institut Montaigne |language=fr}}</ref> In the 1960s, France sought to exclude the British from the European unification process,<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 November 1967 |title=De Gaulle says 'non' to Britain&nbsp;– again |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/27/newsid_4187000/4187714.stm |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> seeking to build its standing in continental Europe. However, since 1904, France has maintained an "[[Entente cordiale]]" with the United Kingdom, and there has been a strengthening of links between the countries, especially [[Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty|militarily]].

France is a member of the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO), but under President de Gaulle excluded itself from the joint military command, in protest of the [[Special Relationship]] between the United States and Britain, and to preserve the independence of French foreign and security policies. Under [[Nicolas Sarkozy]], France rejoined the NATO joint military command on 4 April 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Isabelle |last=Lasserre |date=11 March 2009 |title=Quand Mitterrand, déjà, négociait le retour de la France dans l'Otan |trans-title=Mitterrand already negotiated the return of France to NATO |url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2009/03/11/01003-20090311ARTFIG00073-quand-mitterrand-deja-negociait-le-retour-dans-l-otan-.php |website=Le Figaro |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 2009 |title=France ends four-decade Nato rift |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7937666.stm |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Roger |first=Patrick |date=11 March 2009 |title=Le retour de la France dans l'OTAN suscite un malaise dans les rangs de la Droite |language=fr |trans-title=The return of France to NATO causes discomfort in the ranks of the right |work=Le Monde |location=Paris |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2009/03/11/le-retour-de-la-france-dans-l-otan-suscite-un-malaise-dans-les-rangs-de-la-droite_1166352_823448.html}}</ref>

France retains strong political and economic influence in its [[Second French colonial empire|former African colonies]] (''[[Françafrique]]'')<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'empire colonial français |url=http://www.memo.fr/article.asp?ID=CON_COL_009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425142925/http://www.memo.fr/article.asp?ID=CON_COL_009 |archive-date=25 April 2011}}</ref> and has supplied economic aid and troops for peacekeeping missions in [[Ivory Coast]] and [[Chad]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=France involvement in peace-keeping operations |url=http://www.delegfrance-onu-geneve.org/spip.php?article417 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425024055/http://www.delegfrance-onu-geneve.org/spip.php?article417 |archive-date=25 April 2011 |access-date=9 August 2010 |publisher=Delegfrance-onu-geneve.org}}</ref> From 2012 to 2021, France and other African states intervened in support of the [[Mali]]an government in the [[Northern Mali conflict]].

In 2017, France was the world's fourth-largest donor of [[development aid]] in absolute terms, behind the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Official development assistance (ODA) – Net ODA – OECD Data |url=http://data.oecd.org/oda/net-oda.htm |access-date=20 August 2019 |website=theOECD}}</ref> This represents 0.43% of its [[GNP]], the 12th highest among the OECD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aid to developing countries rebounds in 2013 to reach an all-time high |url=http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/aid-to-developing-countries-rebounds-in-2013-to-reach-an-all-time-high.htm |access-date=3 March 2016 |publisher=OECD}}</ref> Aid is provided by the governmental [[French Development Agency]], which finances primarily humanitarian projects in [[sub-Saharan Africa]],<ref name="aid"/> with an emphasis on "developing infrastructure, access to health care and education, the implementation of appropriate economic policies and the consolidation of the rule of law and democracy".<ref name="aid">[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france-priorities_1/index.html France priorities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722114125/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france-priorities_1/index.html|date=22 July 2010}}&nbsp;– France Diplomatie</ref>