France

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of France}}

===Art===
{{Main|French art}}
[[File:Claude Monet 1899 Nadar crop.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Claude Monet]], founder of the [[Impressionism|Impressionist]] movement]]

The origins of French art were very much influenced by [[Flemish art]] and by [[Italian art]] at the time of the [[Renaissance]]. [[Jean Fouquet]], the most famous medieval French painter, is said to have been the first to travel to Italy and experience the Early Renaissance firsthand. The Renaissance painting [[School of Fontainebleau]] was directly inspired by Italian painters such as [[Primaticcio]] and [[Rosso Fiorentino]], who both worked in France. Two of the most famous French artists of the time of the [[Baroque era]], [[Nicolas Poussin]] and [[Claude Lorrain]], lived in Italy.

French artists developed the [[rococo]] style in the 18th century, as a more intimate imitation of the old baroque style, the works of the court-endorsed artists [[Antoine Watteau]], [[François Boucher]] and [[Jean-Honoré Fragonard]] being the most representative in the country. The French Revolution brought great changes, as [[Napoleon]] favoured artists of [[Neoclassicism|neoclassic style]] such as [[Jacques-Louis David]] and the highly influential [[Académie des Beaux-Arts]] defined the style known as [[Academism]].

In the second part of the 19th century, France's influence over painting grew, with the development of new styles of painting such as [[Impressionism]] and [[Symbolism (arts)|Symbolism]]. The most famous impressionist painters of the period were [[Camille Pissarro]], [[Édouard Manet]], [[Edgar Degas]], [[Claude Monet]] and [[Auguste Renoir]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guide to Impressionism |url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/learn-about-art/guide-to-impressionism/guide-to-impressionism |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=National Gallery}}</ref> The second generation of impressionist-style painters, [[Paul Cézanne]], [[Paul Gauguin]], [[Toulouse-Lautrec]] and [[Georges Seurat]], were also at the avant-garde of artistic evolutions,<ref>{{In lang|fr}} RFI, [http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/063/article_34792.asp Le néo-impressionnisme de Seurat à Paul Klee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010120343/http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/063/article_34792.asp |date=10 October 2017 }} 15 March 2005</ref> as well as the [[Fauvism|fauvist]] artists [[Henri Matisse]], [[André Derain]] and [[Maurice de Vlaminck]].<ref>National Gallery of Art (United States), [http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/fauve/index.shtm The Fauves (dossier)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105195501/http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/fauve/index.shtm|date=5 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{In lang|fr}} RFI, [http://www.rfi.fr/culturefr/articles/098/article_63189.asp Vlaminck, version fauve] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010120345/http://www.rfi.fr/culturefr/articles/098/article_63189.asp|date=10 October 2017}}, 25 February 2008</ref>

At the beginning of the 20th century, Cubism was developed by [[Georges Braque]] and the Spanish painter [[Pablo Picasso]], living in Paris. Other foreign artists also settled and worked in or near Paris, such as [[Vincent van Gogh]], [[Marc Chagall]], [[Amedeo Modigliani]] and [[Wassily Kandinsky]].

There are many art museums in France, the most famous of which being the state-owned [[Louvre|Musée du Louvre]], which collects artwork from the 18th century and earlier. The [[Musée d'Orsay]] was inaugurated in 1986 in the old railway station [[Gare d'Orsay]], in a major reorganisation of national art collections, to gather French paintings from the second part of the 19th century (mainly Impressionism and Fauvism movements).<ref>Musée d'Orsay (official website), History of the museum&nbsp;– [http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/history-of-the-museum/home.html From station to museum]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=31 July 2007 |title=History of the painting collection |url=http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/history-of-the-collections/painting.html |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Musee-orsay.fr}}</ref> It was voted the best museum in the world in 2018.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/best-museums-world-2018-musee-dorsay-paris-911-new-york-tripadvisor-a8525151.html The top 10 museums in the world], [[The Independent]], 6 September 2018</ref> Modern works are presented in the [[Musée National d'Art Moderne]], which moved in 1976 to the [[Centre Georges Pompidou]]. These three state-owned museums are visited by close to 17&nbsp;million people a year.<ref name="sites">{{In lang|fr}} Ministry of Tourism, [http://www.tourisme.gouv.fr/stat_etudes/memento/2009/sites.pdf Sites touristiques en France] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511093631/http://www.tourisme.gouv.fr/stat_etudes/memento/2009/sites.pdf|date=11 May 2011}} page 2 "Palmarès des 30 premiers sites culturels (entrées comptabilisées)" [Ranking of 30 most visited cultural sites in France]</ref>

===Architecture===
{{Main|French architecture}}
[[File:Sainte Chapelle - Upper level 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Sainte Chapelle interior showing painted stonework vaulting and stained glass|[[Louis IX of France|Saint Louis]]'s [[Sainte-Chapelle]] represents the French impact on religious architecture.]]
During the Middle Ages, many fortified castles were built by feudal nobles to mark their powers. Some French castles that survived are [[Chinon (castle)|Chinon]], [[Château d'Angers]], the massive [[Château de Vincennes]] and the so-called [[Cathar castles]]. During this era, France had been using [[Romanesque architecture]] like most of Western Europe.

[[Gothic architecture]], originally named ''Opus Francigenum'' meaning "French work",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brodie |first=Allan M. |title=Oxford Art Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-884446-05-4 |chapter=Opus francigenum |doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t063666 |access-date=13 January 2019 |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000063666}}</ref> was born in [[Île-de-France]] and was the first French style of architecture to be imitated throughout Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Gothic Period |url=http://www.justfrance.org/france/architecture/001.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718181401/http://www.justfrance.org/france/architecture/001.asp |archive-date=18 July 2011 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Justfrance.org}}</ref> Northern France is the home of some of the most important Gothic cathedrals and basilicas, the first of these being the [[Saint Denis Basilica]] (used as the royal necropolis); other important French Gothic cathedrals are [[Cathedral of Chartres|Notre-Dame de Chartres]] and [[Amiens Cathedral|Notre-Dame d'Amiens]]. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church: [[Notre-Dame de Reims]].<ref>{{In lang|fr}} [http://www.cathedrale-reims.culture.fr/histoire.html Histoire et Architecture]&nbsp;– [http://www.cathedrale-reims.culture.fr Site officiel de la Cathedrale de Notre-Dame de Reims] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717234437/http://www.cathedrale-reims.culture.fr/|date=17 July 2016}}</ref>

The final victory in the Hundred Years' War marked an important stage in the evolution of French architecture. It was the time of the [[French Renaissance]] and several artists from Italy were invited to the French court; many residential palaces were built in the [[Loire Valley]], from 1450 as a first reference the [[Château de Montsoreau]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Loire |first=Mission Val de |title=Charles VII et Louis XI -Know -Val de Loire patrimoine mondial |url=https://www.valdeloire.org/Connaitre/Au-fil-de-l-histoire/Le-Val-de-Loire-siege-du-pouvoir-royal/Charles-VII-et-Louis-XI |access-date=10 October 2018 |website=loirevalley-worldheritage.org}}</ref> Examples of such residential castles include the [[Château de Chambord]], the [[Château de Chenonceau]], or the [[Château d'Amboise]].

Following the renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages, [[French Baroque architecture|Baroque architecture]] replaced the traditional Gothic style. However, in France, baroque architecture found greater success in the secular domain than in the religious one.<ref>{{In lang|fr}} Claude Lébedel&nbsp;– Les Splendeurs du Baroque en France: ''Histoire et splendeurs du baroque en France'' page 9: "Si en allant plus loin, on prononce les mots 'art baroque en France', on provoque alors le plus souvent une moue interrogative, parfois seulement étonnée, parfois franchement réprobatrice: Mais voyons, l'art baroque n'existe pas en France!"</ref> In the secular domain, the [[Palace of Versailles]] has many baroque features. [[Jules Hardouin Mansart]], who designed the extensions to Versailles, was one of the most influential French architects of the baroque era; he is famous for his dome at [[Les Invalides]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hills |first=Helen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLmFbEdqBDUC&pg=PA86 |title=Architecture and the Politics of Gender in Early Modern Europe |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7546-0309-2 |page=86}}</ref> Some of the most impressive provincial baroque architecture is found in places that were not yet French such as [[Place Stanislas]] in [[Nancy, France|Nancy]]. On the military architectural side, [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban|Vauban]] designed some of the most efficient fortresses in Europe and became an influential military architect; as a result, imitations of his works can be found all over Europe, the Americas, Russia and Turkey.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 July 2008 |title=Fortifications of Vauban |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1283 |access-date=9 August 2010 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Official site of the UNESCO |url=https://en.unesco.org/ |access-date=9 August 2010 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref>

After the Revolution, the [[Republicanism|Republicans]] favoured [[Neoclassicism]] although it was introduced in France before the revolution with such buildings as the [[Panthéon|Parisian Pantheon]] or the [[Capitole de Toulouse]]. Built during the first French Empire, the [[Arc de Triomphe]] and [[Église de la Madeleine|Sainte Marie-Madeleine]] represent the best example of [[Empire style|Empire-style]] architecture.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtabdzMdbboC&pg=PA48 |title=Paris: City Guide |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-74059-850-7 |page=48}}</ref> Under [[Napoleon III]], a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth; extravagant buildings such as the neo-baroque [[Palais Garnier]] were built. The urban planning of the time was very organised and rigorous; most notably, [[Haussmann's renovation of Paris]]. The architecture associated with this era is named [[Second Empire (architecture)|Second Empire]] in English, the term being taken from the [[Second French Empire]]. At this time there was a strong Gothic resurgence across Europe and in France; the associated architect was [[Eugène Viollet-le-Duc]]. In the late 19th century, [[Gustave Eiffel]] designed many bridges, such as the [[Garabit viaduct]], and remains one of the most influential bridge designers of his time, although he is best remembered for the [[Eiffel Tower]].

In the 20th century, French-Swiss architect [[Le Corbusier]] designed several buildings in France. More recently, French architects have combined both modern and old architectural styles. The [[Louvre Pyramid]] is an example of modern architecture added to an older building. The most difficult buildings to integrate within French cities are skyscrapers, as they are visible from afar. For instance, in Paris, since 1977, new buildings had to be under {{Convert| 37| m}}.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Henri |last=Seckel |date=8 July 2008 |title=Urbanisme : Des gratte-ciel à Paris : qu'en pensez-vous &nbsp;– Posez vos questions |url=http://lci.tf1.fr/posez-vos-questions/2008-07/gratte-ciel-paris-pensez-vous-4872555.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029152433/http://lci.tf1.fr/posez-vos-questions/2008-07/gratte-ciel-paris-pensez-vous-4872555.html |archive-date=29 October 2010 |publisher=MYTF1News}}</ref> France's largest financial district is [[La Défense]], where a significant number of skyscrapers are located.<ref>[http://www.groupenci.com/uk/ile-de-france/defense.com-square.html In the heart of the main European Business area] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729154317/http://www.groupenci.com/uk/ile-de-france/defense.com-square.html|date=29 July 2010}}&nbsp;– NCI Business Center</ref> Other massive buildings that are a challenge to integrate into their environment are large bridges; an example of the way this has been done is the [[Millau Viaduct]]. Some famous modern French architects include [[Jean Nouvel]], [[Dominique Perrault]], [[Christian de Portzamparc]] and [[Paul Andreu]].

===Literature and philosophy===
{{Main|French literature|French philosophy}}

The earliest French literature dates from the [[Middle Age]]s when what is now known as modern France did not have a single, uniform language. There were several languages and dialects, and writers used their own spelling and grammar. Some authors of French medieval texts, such as ''[[Tristan and Iseult]]'' and ''[[Lancelot-Grail]]'' are unknown. Three famous medieval authors are [[Chrétien de Troyes]], [[Christine de Pizan]] ([[Langues d'oïl|langue d'oïl]]), and [[William IX of Aquitaine|Duke William IX of Aquitaine]] ([[Occitan language|langue d'oc]]). Much medieval French poetry and literature was inspired by the legends of the [[Matter of France|Carolingian cycle]], such as ''[[The Song of Roland]]'' and the various [[chansons de geste]]. The ''Roman de Renart'', written in 1175 by Perrout de Saint Cloude, tells the story of the medieval character [[Reynard]] ('the Fox') and is another example of early French writing. An important 16th-century writer was [[François Rabelais]], who wrote five popular early [[picaresque]] novels. Rabelais was also in regular communication with [[Marguerite de Navarre]], author of the ''[[Heptameron]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Rabelais and Marguerite de Navarre on Sixteenth-Century Views of Clandestine Marriage | first= Cathleen M. |last= Bauschatz | journal = Sixteenth Century Journal | volume = 34 | issue = 2 | pages = 395–408 | date = 2003| doi = 10.2307/20061415 | jstor = 20061415 | s2cid= 163972746 }}</ref> Another 16th-century author was [[Michel de Montaigne]], whose most famous work, ''[[Essays (Montaigne)|Essais]]'', started a literary genre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Montaigne |url=http://www.humanistictexts.org/montaigne.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525201508/http://www.humanistictexts.org/montaigne.htm |archive-date=25 May 2011 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Humanistictexts.org}}</ref>

French literature and poetry flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries. [[Denis Diderot]]'s best-known works are ''[[Jacques the Fatalist]]'' and ''[[Rameau's Nephew]]''. He is best known, however, as the main editor of the ''[[Encyclopédie]]'', whose aim was to sum up all the knowledge of his century (in fields such as arts, sciences, languages, and philosophy) and to fight ignorance and [[obscurantism]]. During that same century, [[Charles Perrault]] was a prolific writer of children's fairy tales including ''[[Puss in Boots]]'', ''[[Cinderella]]'', ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'' and ''[[Bluebeard]]''. At the start of the 19th century, [[symbolist poetry]] was an important movement in French literature, with poets such as [[Charles Baudelaire]], [[Paul Verlaine]] and [[Stéphane Mallarmé]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le Symbolisme français |url=http://users.skynet.be/litterature/symbolisme/symbolismefrancais.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307192737/http://users.skynet.be/litterature/symbolisme/symbolismefrancais.htm |archive-date=7 March 2018 |access-date=29 July 2010 |website=users.skynet.be}}</ref>

The 19th century saw the writings of many renowned French authors. Victor Hugo is sometimes seen as "the greatest French writer of all time"<ref name="victor">{{Cite web |title=Victor Hugo est le plus grand écrivain français |url=http://www.lecavalierbleu.com/images/30/extrait_75.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723121408/http://www.lecavalierbleu.com/images/30/extrait_75.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2013}}</ref> for excelling in all [[literary genre]]s. The preface of his play ''[[Cromwell (play)|Cromwell]]'' is considered to be the manifesto of the [[Romanticism|Romantic movement]]. ''[[Les Contemplations]]'' and ''[[La Légende des siècles]]'' are considered "poetic masterpieces",<ref name="hugo">{{Cite web |title=Victor Hugo 1802–1885 |url=http://www.enotes.com/victor-hugo-criticism/hugo-victor |access-date=16 July 2011 |publisher=Enotes.com}}</ref> Hugo's verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, [[Dante]] and [[Homer]].<ref name = hugo/> His novel ''[[Les Misérables]]'' is widely seen as one of the greatest novels ever written<ref>{{Cite web |title=All-Time 100 Best Novels List |url=http://www.adherents.com/people/100_novel.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051128235020/http://adherents.com/people/100_novel.html |archive-date=28 November 2005 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Adherents.com}}</ref> and ''[[The Hunchback of Notre-Dame|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' has remained immensely popular. Other major authors of that century include [[Alexandre Dumas]] (''[[The Three Musketeers]]'' and ''[[The Count of Monte-Cristo]]''), [[Jules Verne]] (''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]''), [[Émile Zola]] (''[[Les Rougon-Macquart]]''), [[Honoré de Balzac]] (''[[La Comédie humaine]]''), [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Théophile Gautier]] and [[Stendhal]] (''[[The Red and the Black]]'', ''[[The Charterhouse of Parma]]''), whose works are among the most well known in France and the world.

In the early 20th century France was a haven for literary freedom.<ref name="Beat censors"/> Works banned for obscenity in the US, the UK and other Anglophone nations were published in France decades before they were available in the respective authors' home countries.<ref name="Beat censors">{{Cite news |title=Dirty books and literary freedom: The Lady Chatterley publisher who beat the censors |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/25GtYStZ3wsmZHBt6BCP51p/dirty-books-and-literary-freedom-the-lady-chatterley-publisher-who-beat-the-censors |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117185434/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/25GtYStZ3wsmZHBt6BCP51p/dirty-books-and-literary-freedom-the-lady-chatterley-publisher-who-beat-the-censors |archive-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> The French were disinclined to punish literary figures for their writing, and prosecutions were rare.<ref name="Beat censors"/> Important writers of the 20th century include [[Marcel Proust]], [[Louis-Ferdinand Céline]], [[Jean Cocteau]], [[Albert Camus]], and [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]. [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]] wrote ''[[The Little Prince]]'', which has remained popular for decades and is one of the best selling books in history.<ref name="Patrick Modiano">[http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/141009/modiano-strengthens-frances-literature-nobel-dominance Modiano strengthens France's literature Nobel dominance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018105721/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/141009/modiano-strengthens-frances-literature-nobel-dominance|date=18 October 2014}}, [[Global Post]], 9 October 2014</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-22 |title=The Little Prince {{!}} Plot, Analysis, & Facts {{!}} Britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Little-Prince |access-date=2023-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122012253/https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Little-Prince |archive-date=22 January 2019 }}</ref>

Medieval philosophy was dominated by [[Scholasticism]] until the emergence of [[Humanism in France|Humanism]] in the Renaissance. [[Modern philosophy]] began in France in the 17th century with the philosophy of [[René Descartes]], [[Blaise Pascal]] and [[Nicolas Malebranche]]. Descartes was the first [[Western philosophy|Western philosopher]] since ancient times to attempt to build a philosophical system from the ground up rather than building on the work of predecessors.<ref>Russell, Bertrand (2004) [1945]. ''A History of Western Philosophy''. Routledge. p. 511</ref><ref>Kenny, Anthony (2006). ''The Rise of Modern Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, vol. 3''. Oxford University Press. pp. 40</ref> France in the 18th century saw major philosophical contributions from [[Voltaire]] who came to embody the Enlightenment and [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] whose work highly influenced the French Revolution.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VOLTAIRE - University of Kent |url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/ewto/projects/anthology/voltaire.html |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=www.kent.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=David Lay |date=2012-08-01 |title=Review of Rousseau and Revolution |url=https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/rousseau-and-revolution/ |language=en |issn=1538-1617}}</ref> French philosophers made major contributions to the field in the 20th century including the [[Existentialism|existentialist]] works of [[Simone de Beauvoir]], Camus, and Sartre.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-07 |title=Who Were the Most Famous Existentialists? |url=https://www.thecollector.com/who-were-the-most-famous-existentialists/ |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=TheCollector |language=en}}</ref> Other influential contributions during this time include the moral and political works of [[Simone Weil]], contributions to [[structuralism]] including from [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] and the [[Post-structuralism|post-structuralist]] works by [[Michel Foucault]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Norman |first=Max |title=The subversive philosophy of Simone Weil |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/37517/the-subversive-philosophy-of-simone-weil |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=[[Prospect (magazine)|Prospect]] |language=en |date=2021-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207180719/https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/37517/the-subversive-philosophy-of-simone-weil |archive-date=2023-12-07 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pollard |first=Christopher |date=2019-08-26 |title=Explainer: the ideas of Foucault |url=http://theconversation.com/explainer-the-ideas-of-foucault-99758 |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Music of France}}
[[File:Claude Debussy by Atelier Nadar.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Claude Debussy]]]]
France has a long and varied musical history. It experienced a golden age in the 17th century thanks to Louis XIV, who employed talented musicians and composers in the royal court. The most renowned composers of this period include [[Marc-Antoine Charpentier]], [[François Couperin]], [[Michel-Richard Delalande]], [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]] and [[Marin Marais]], all of them composers at the court. After the death of the "Roi Soleil", French musical creation lost dynamism, but in the next century the music of [[Jean-Philippe Rameau]] reached some prestige, and he is still one of the most renowned French composers. Rameau became the dominant composer of [[French opera]] and the leading French composer of the harpsichord.<ref>Girdlestone, Cuthbert (1969). Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work (paperback ed.). Dover. p. 14: "It is customary to couple him with Couperin as one couples Haydn with Mozart or Ravel with Debussy."</ref>

[[Erik Satie]] was a key member of the early-20th-century Parisian [[avant-garde]]. [[Francis Poulenc]]'s best-known works are his piano suite ''[[Trois mouvements perpétuels]]'' (1919), the ballet ''[[Les biches]]'' (1923), the ''[[Concert champêtre]]'' (1928) for [[harpsichord]] and orchestra, the opera ''[[Dialogues des Carmélites]]'' (1957) and the ''[[Gloria (Poulenc)|Gloria]]'' (1959) for [[soprano]], choir and orchestra. [[Maurice Ravel]] and [[Claude Debussy]] are the most prominent figures associated with [[Impressionist music]]. Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and [[chromaticism]] influenced many composers who followed.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Allen |last=Schrott |title=Claude Debussy&nbsp;– Biography&nbsp;– AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/claude-debussy-mn0000768781/biography |website=AllMusic}}</ref> Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of [[atonality]]. The two composers invented new musical forms<ref>{{Cite web |last=Huizenga |first=Tom |date=14 October 2005 |title=Debussy's 'La Mer' Marks 100th Birthday |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4957580 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=NPR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 July 2008 |title=Debussy's Musical Game of Deception |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92338564 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=NPR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography of Claude Debussy |url=http://www.classicfm.co.uk/music/composers/c-g/claude-debussy/ |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Classicfm.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography of Maurice Ravel |url=http://www.classicfm.co.uk/music/composers/n-r/maurice-ravel/ |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Classicfm.co.uk}}</ref> and new sounds. Ravel's piano compositions, such as ''[[Jeux d'eau (Ravel)|Jeux d'eau]]'', ''[[Miroirs]]'', ''[[Le tombeau de Couperin]]'' and ''[[Gaspard de la nuit]]'', demand considerable virtuosity. His mastery of orchestration is evident in the ''[[Rapsodie espagnole]]'', ''[[Daphnis et Chloé]]'', his arrangement of [[Modest Mussorgsky]]'s ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]'' and his orchestral work ''[[Boléro]]'' (1928). More recently, in the middle of the 20th century, [[Maurice Ohana]], [[Pierre Schaeffer]] and [[Pierre Boulez]] contributed to the evolution of [[contemporary classical music]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Lloyd |date=24 May 2010 |title=Composer-Conductor Pierre Boulez at 85 |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126668117 |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=NPR}}</ref>

French music then followed the rapid emergence of pop and rock music in the middle of the 20th century. Although English-speaking creations achieved popularity in the country, [[French popular music|French pop music]], known as ''[[chanson française]]'', has also remained very popular. Among the most important French artists of the century are [[Édith Piaf]], [[Georges Brassens]], [[Léo Ferré]], [[Charles Aznavour]] and [[Serge Gainsbourg]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2003 |title=100人の偉大なアーティスト&nbsp;- No. 62 |trans-title=The 100 Greatest Artists&nbsp;– No. 62 |url=http://www.hmv.co.jp/news/newsDetail.asp?newsnum=304080038 |website=ローチケHMV [Roachke HMV] |language=ja}}</ref> Although there are very few rock bands in France compared to English-speaking countries,<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2010 |title=Biography of Noir Désir |url=http://www.rfimusic.com/artist/rock/noir-desir/biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430102257/http://www.rfimusic.com/artist/rock/noir-desir/biography |archive-date=30 April 2016 |access-date=11 January 2018 |website=rfi Music |publisher=[[Radio France Internationale|RFI]] Musique |quote=Rock music doesn't come naturally to the French. A Latin country, with more affinity to poetry and melody, France has very rarely produced talented rock musicians. Rock music has other, more Anglo-Saxon ingredients: fury, excess, electricity.}}</ref> bands such as [[Noir Désir]], [[Mano Negra (band)|Mano Negra]], [[Niagara (band)|Niagara]], [[Les Rita Mitsouko]] and more recently [[Superbus (band)|Superbus]], [[Phoenix (band)|Phoenix]] and [[Gojira (band)|Gojira]],<ref name="frmusic">{{Cite web |date=22 June 2009 |title=French music has the whole planet singing |url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/culture-and-media_6819/culture_6874/music_5335/french-music-has-the-whole-planet-singing_13031.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222105333/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/culture-and-media_6819/culture_6874/music_5335/french-music-has-the-whole-planet-singing_13031.html |archive-date=22 December 2010 |website=France Diplomatie}}</ref> or [[Shaka Ponk]], have reached worldwide popularity.

===Cinema===
{{Main|Cinema of France}}
[[File:Palmed'or.jpg|thumb|alt=Palme d'Or award in presentation case|A ''[[Palme d'Or]]'' from the [[Cannes Film Festival]], one of the "[[Film festival|Big Three]]" film festivals alongside the [[Venice Film Festival]] and [[Berlin International Film Festival]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dargis |first=Manohla |title=Cannes International Film Festival |work=The New York Times |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/cannes_international_film_festival/index.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lim |first=Dennis |date=15 May 2012 |title=They'll Always Have Cannes |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/arts/16iht-lim16.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Woolsey |first=Matt |title=In Pictures: Chic Cannes Hideaways |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/2008/05/14/cannes-properties-luxury-forbeslife-cx_mw_0514realestate_slide.html}}</ref>]]

France has historical and strong links with [[Filmmaking|cinema]], with two Frenchmen, Auguste and Louis Lumière (known as the [[Auguste and Louis Lumière|Lumière Brothers]]) credited with creating cinema in 1895.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Larousse |first=Éditions |title=Encyclopédie Larousse en ligne – les frères Lumière |url=http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/personnage/les_frères_Lumière/130661 |website=larousse.fr}}</ref> The world's first female filmmaker, [[Alice Guy-Blaché]], was also from France.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Dargis, Manohla |author-link=Manohla Dargis |last2=Scott, A.O. |author-link2=A. O. Scott |date=20 September 2018 |title=You Know These 20 Movies. Now Meet the Women Behind Them |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/14/movies/women-film-history.html |access-date=4 December 2018 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> Several important cinematic movements, including the late 1950s and 1960s [[Nouvelle Vague]], began in the country. It is noted for having a strong film industry, due in part to protections afforded by the [[Government of France]]. France remains a leader in filmmaking, {{As of|2015|lc=y}} producing more films than any other European country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UIS |title=UIS Statistics |url=http://data.uis.unesco.org/?ReportId=5538 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref><ref name="NYT 1995-02-28">{{Cite news |first=Alan |last=Riding |date=28 February 1995 |title=The Birthplace Celebrates Film's Big 1–0–0 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/28/movies/the-birthplace-celebrates-film-s-big-1-0-0.html}}</ref> The nation also hosts the [[Cannes Festival]], one of the most important and famous film festivals in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 February 2007 |title=Cannes&nbsp;– a festival virgin's guide |url=http://www.cannesguide.com/basics/ |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Cannesguide.com |archive-date=12 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912231419/http://www.cannesguide.com/basics/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cannes Film Festival - Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France |url=http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=21731 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610125315/http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=21731 |archive-date=10 June 2012 |publisher=Whatsonwhen.com}}</ref>

Apart from its strong and innovative film tradition, France has also been a gathering spot for artists from across Europe and the world. For this reason, French cinema is sometimes intertwined with the cinema of foreign nations. Directors from nations such as Poland ([[Roman Polanski]], [[Krzysztof Kieślowski]], [[Andrzej Żuławski]]), Argentina ([[Gaspar Noé]], [[Edgardo Cozarinsky]]), Russia ([[Alexandre Alexeieff]], [[Anatole Litvak]]), Austria ([[Michael Haneke]]) and Georgia ([[Géla Babluani]], [[Otar Iosseliani]]) are prominent in the ranks of French cinema. Conversely, French directors have had prolific and influential careers in other countries, such as [[Luc Besson]], [[Jacques Tourneur]] or [[Francis Veber]] in the [[Cinema of the United States|United States]]. Although the French film market is dominated by Hollywood, France is the only nation in the world where American films make up the smallest share of total film revenues, at 50%, compared with 77% in Germany and 69% in Japan.<ref name="erudit">{{In lang|fr}} Damien Rousselière [http://www.erudit.org/revue/hphi/2005/v15/n2/801295ar.pdf Cinéma et diversité culturelle: le cinéma indépendant face à la mondialisation des industries culturelles]. ''Horizons philosophiques'' Vol. 15 No. 2 2005</ref> French films account for 35% of the total film revenues of France, which is the highest percentage of national film revenues in the developed world outside the United States, compared to 14% in Spain and 8% in the UK.<ref name = erudit/> In 2013 France was the second greatest exporter of films in the world, after the United States.<ref name="unifrance.org">{{Cite web |title=Enquête sur l'image du cinéma français dans le monde |url=http://www.unifrance.org/actualites/11596/enquete-sur-l-image-du-cinema-francais-dans-le-monde |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213021911/http://www.unifrance.org/actualites/11596/enquete-sur-l-image-du-cinema-francais-dans-le-monde |archive-date=13 December 2014 |website=unifrance.org}}</ref>

As part of its advocacy of [[cultural exception]], a political concept of treating culture differently from other commercial products,<ref>Joëlle Farchy (1999) [http://www.scienceshumaines.com/la-fin-de-l-exception-culturelle_fr_10912.html La Fin de l'exception culturelle ?] [[CNRS]] {{ISBN|978-2-271-05633-7}}</ref> France succeeded in convincing all EU members to refuse to include culture and audiovisuals in the list of liberalised sectors of the WTO in 1993.<ref>[http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/politique/diversite/wto-en2.htm The cultural exception is not negotiable by Catherine Trautmann]&nbsp;– Ministry of Culture</ref> Moreover, this decision was confirmed in a vote by [[UNESCO]] in 2005: the principle of "cultural exception" won an overwhelming victory with 198 countries voting for it and only 2 countries, the United States and Israel, voting against it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Convention UNESCO pour la diversité culturelle : vers un droit international culturel contraignant ? |url=http://www.fnsac-cgt.com/administration/upload/ARTICLE%20UNESCO%20CONF%201602_06%20(3).pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427020210/http://www.fnsac-cgt.com/administration/upload/ARTICLE%20UNESCO%20CONF%201602_06%20%283%29.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2011 |publisher=Fédération Nationale des Syndicats du spectacle du cinéma, de l'audiovisuel et de l'action culturelle |language=fr}}</ref>

===Fashion===
{{Main|French fashion}}
[[File:Channel headquarters bordercropped.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Chanel's headquarters storefront window at the Place Vendôme Paris with awning|[[Chanel]]'s headquarters on [[Place Vendôme]], Paris]]

Fashion has been an important industry and cultural export of France since the 17th century, and modern "[[haute couture]]" originated in Paris in the 1860s. Today, Paris, along with London, Milan, and New York City, is considered one of the world's [[fashion capital]]s, and the city is home or headquarters to many of the premier fashion houses. The expression Haute couture is, in France, a legally protected name, guaranteeing certain quality standards.

The association of France with fashion and style ({{Lang-fr|link=no|la mode}}) dates largely to the reign of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]]<ref>Kelly, 181. DeJean, chapters 2–4.</ref> when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe. But France renewed its dominance of the high fashion ({{Lang-fr|link=no|couture {{Noitalic|or}} haute couture}}) industry in the years 1860–1960 through the establishment of the great [[couturier]] houses such as [[Chanel]], [[Christian Dior S.A.|Dior]], and [[Givenchy]]. The French perfume industry is the world leader in its sector and is centred on the town of [[Grasse]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=French perfume |url=http://about-france.com/tourism/french-perfume.htm |publisher=About-France.com}}</ref>

According to 2017 data compiled by [[Deloitte]], [[Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey]] (LVMH), a French brand, is the largest luxury company in the world by sales, selling more than twice the amount of its nearest competitor.<ref name="mode">[https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ar/Documents/Consumer_and_Industrial_Products/Global-Powers-of-Luxury-Goods-abril-2019.pdf Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2019: Bridging the gap between the old and the new], [[Deloitte]]</ref> Moreover, France also possesses 3 of the top 10 luxury goods companies by sales ([[LVMH]], [[Kering SA]], [[L'Oréal]]), more than any other country in the world.<ref name="mode"/>

===Media===
{{Main|Telecommunications in France}}
[[File:Siège_Figaro,_14_boulevard_Haussmann,_Paris_9e.jpg|thumb|''[[Le Figaro]]'' was founded in 1826 and it is still considered a [[newspaper of record]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Le Figaro |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=5 October 2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/206556/Le-Figaro}}</ref>]]

In 2021, regional daily newspapers, such as ''[[Ouest-France]]'', ''[[Sud Ouest (newspaper)|Sud Ouest]]'', ''[[La Voix du Nord (daily)|La Voix du Nord]]'', ''[[Dauphiné Libéré]]'', ''[[Le Télégramme]]'', and ''[[Le Progrès]]'', more than doubled the sales of national newspapers, such as ''[[Le Monde]]'', ''[[Le Figaro]]'', ''[[L'Équipe]]'' (sports), ''[[Le Parisien]]'', and ''[[Les Echos (France)|Les Echos]]'' (finance). Free dailies, distributed in metropolitan centers, continue to increase their market share.<ref>{{Cite web | website = acpm.fr | date = 2022 | title = L'observatoire de la presse et des médias de L'APCM 2022 | url = https://www.acpm.fr/Media/Files/Plaquette-Observatoire-2022}}</ref> The sector of weekly magazines includes more than 400 specialised weekly magazines published in the country.<ref>{{In lang|fr}} Observatoire de la Presse, [http://observatoire.ojd.com/report/visu/obs/20/do/GP_PMAG Presse Magazine&nbsp;– Synthèse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929204536/http://observatoire.ojd.com/report/visu/obs/20/do/GP_PMAG|date=29 September 2010}}</ref>

The most influential news magazines are the left-wing ''[[L'Obs|Le Nouvel Observateur]]'', centrist ''[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]'' and right-wing ''[[Le Point]]'' (in 2009 more than 400,000 copies),<ref>{{In lang|fr}} Observatoire de la Presse, [http://observatoire.ojd.com/report/visu/obs/20/do/GP_NEWS Presse News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929204512/http://observatoire.ojd.com/report/visu/obs/20/do/GP_NEWS|date=29 September 2010}}</ref> but the highest circulation numbers for weeklies are attained by TV magazines and by women's magazines, among them ''[[Marie Claire]]'' and ''[[ELLE]]'', which have foreign versions. Influential weeklies also include investigative and satirical papers ''[[Le Canard Enchaîné]]'' and ''[[Charlie Hebdo]]'', as well as ''[[Paris Match]]''. As in most industrialised nations, the print media have been affected by a [[Newspaper crisis|severe crisis]] with the rise of the internet. In 2008, the government launched a major initiative to help the sector reform and become financially independent,<ref>''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'', [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/3125110/Nicolas-Sarkozy-French-media-faces-death-without-reform.html Nicolas Sarkozy: French media faces 'death' without reform] 2 October 2008</ref><ref>French government portal, [http://www.gouvernement.fr/gouvernement/lancement-des-etats-generaux-de-la-presse Lancement des états généraux de la presse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625023755/http://www.gouvernement.fr/gouvernement/lancement-des-etats-generaux-de-la-presse|date=25 June 2010}} 2 October 2008 [Launching of General State of written media]</ref> but in 2009 it had to give 600,000 euros to help the print media cope with the [[Global financial crisis of 2008–2009|economic crisis]], in addition to existing subsidies.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Angelique |last=Chrisafis |date=23 January 2009 |title=Sarkozy pledges €600m to newspapers |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jan/23/sarkozy-pledges-state-aid-to-newspapers |access-date=21 June 2012}}</ref>
In 1974, after years of centralised monopoly on radio and television, the governmental agency [[ORTF]] was split into several national institutions, but the three already-existing TV channels and four national radio stations<ref>Radio France, "L'entreprise", [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722004341/http://www.radiofrance.fr/lentreprise/reperes/statuts Repères]. Landmarks of Radio France company</ref><ref name="mediapol">{{In lang|fr}} Vie Publique, [http://www.vie-publique.fr/politiques-publiques/politique-audiovisuel/chronologie Chronologie de la politique de l'audiovisuel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513064756/http://www.vie-publique.fr/politiques-publiques/politique-audiovisuel/chronologie/|date=13 May 2011}} 20 August 2004 [Chronology of policy for audiovisual]</ref> remained under state control. It was only in 1981 that the government allowed free broadcasting in the territory, ending the state monopoly on radio.<ref name=mediapol/>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|French cuisine}}
[[File:French taste of wines.JPG|thumb|[[French wines]] are usually made to accompany French cuisine.]]

French cuisine is renowned for being one of the finest in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Amy B. |last=Trubek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bSuAyMNantQC |title=Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8122-1776-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Priscilla Parkhurst |last=Ferguson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbttJD4bW6UC |title=Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-226-24327-6}}</ref> Different regions have different styles. In the North, butter and cream are common ingredients, whereas [[olive oil]] is more commonly used in the South.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Véronique MARTINACHE |date=30 November 2009 |title=La France du beurre et celle de l'huile d'olive maintiennent leurs positions |trans-title=France butter and olive oil maintain their positions |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jvmxWfyZ2tFVA3qcmC7DkX6SMi5g |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425112349/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jvmxWfyZ2tFVA3qcmC7DkX6SMi5g |archive-date=25 April 2011}}</ref> Each region of France has traditional specialties: [[cassoulet]] in the Southwest, [[choucroute]] in Alsace, [[quiche]] in the [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine region]], [[beef bourguignon]] in [[Burgundy]], [[Provence|provençal]] [[tapenade]], etc. France is most famous for its [[French wine|wines]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 May 2008 |title=Wines of France |url=http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/walter/wine/france.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211145428/http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/walter/wine/france.html |archive-date=11 February 2010 |access-date=9 August 2010 |website=Walter's Web}}</ref> and [[List of French cheeses|cheeses]], which are often named for the territory where they are produced ([[Appellation d'origine contrôlée|AOC]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=French Cheese |url=http://www.goodcooking.com/frcheese.htm |access-date=22 July 2011 |publisher=Goodcooking}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=French Cheese |url=http://www.franceway.com/cheese/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827131743/http://www.franceway.com/cheese/ |archive-date=27 August 2010}}</ref> A meal typically consists of three courses, ''entrée'' (starter), ''plat principal'' (main course), and ''fromage'' (cheese) or ''dessert'', sometimes with a salad served before the cheese or dessert.

French cuisine is also regarded as a key element of the [[quality of life]] and the attractiveness of France. A French publication, the [[Michelin guide]], awards ''Michelin stars'' for excellence to a select few establishments.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fairburn, Carolyn |date=29 February 1992 |title=Fading stars&nbsp;– Michelin Red Guide |work=[[The Times]] |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F91F33FE0903F10&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Beale, Victoria |last2=Boxell, James |date=16 July 2011 |title=Falling stars |work=[[Financial Times]] |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:FINB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=13885C564656C1C8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA}}</ref> The acquisition or loss of a star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. By 2006, the Michelin Guide had awarded 620 stars to French restaurants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michelin 3 Star Restaurants around the world |url=http://www.3starrestaurants.com/michelin-restaurants-star-guide.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724032127/http://www.3starrestaurants.com/michelin-restaurants-star-guide.asp |archive-date=24 July 2010 |access-date=30 October 2010 |website=Andy Hayler's 3 Star Restaurant Guide}}</ref>

In addition to its wine tradition, France is also a major producer of beer and rum. The three main French brewing regions are Alsace (60% of national production), Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Lorraine. [[List of French rums|French rum]] is made in distilleries located on islands in the Atlantic and Indian oceans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Région Guadeloupe-Guadeloupe, a land of cultures and flavours |url=https://www.regionguadeloupe.fr/guadeloupe-regional-council/guadeloupe-a-land-of-cultures-and-flavours/#_ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=www.regionguadeloupe.fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rum and Reunion Island – La Saga du Rhum |url=https://www.sagadurhum.fr/en/rum-and-reunion-island/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Sports===
{{Main|Sport in France}}
[[File:2020 Tour de France, 2nd stage, before km zero.jpg|thumb|alt=The peloton in the streets of Nice during the 2nd stage of the Tour de France on 30 August 2020|Starting in 1903, the [[Tour de France]] is the most prestigious of [[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grands Tours]], and the world's most famous cycling race.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Union Cycliste Internationale |url=http://www.uciprotour.com/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTcxNw&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34028&LangId=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114060844/http://www.uciprotour.com/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTcxNw&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34028&LangId=1 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |access-date=19 May 2012}}</ref>]]

France hosts "the world's biggest annual sporting event", the [[Tour de France]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 July 2019 |title=Tour De France 2019: Everything you need to know |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/18769169 |access-date=15 July 2019 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> Other popular sports played in France include: [[Association football|football]], [[judo]], [[tennis]],<ref>{{In lang|fr}} [http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?ref_id=NATTEF05401&reg_id=0 Les licences sportives en France]&nbsp;– Insee</ref> [[rugby union]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=All you need to know about sport in France |url=http://www.france-pub.com/esport.htm |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610041323/http://www.france-pub.com/esport.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[pétanque]]. France has hosted events such as the [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]] and [[1998 FIFA World Cup]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the World Cup Final Draw |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226235749/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2008 |access-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> the [[2007 Rugby World Cup]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110606170717/http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2003_april/france_wins_right_to_host_the_2007_rugby_wor_15381%2C3851.html France wins right to host the 2007 rugby world cup]. Associated Press. 11 April 2003</ref> and the [[2023 Rugby World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McLaughlin |first1=Luke |last2=Symons |first2=Harvey |last3=Amani |first3=Julian |date=2023-09-06 |title=Everything you need to know about the 2023 Rugby World Cup |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/sep/06/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-rugby-world-cup |access-date=2024-01-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The country also hosted the [[1960 European Nations' Cup]], [[UEFA Euro 1984]], [[UEFA Euro 2016]] and [[2019 FIFA Women's World Cup]]. The [[Stade de France]] in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]] is France's largest stadium and was the venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup finals. Since 1923, France is famous for its [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] [[sports car racing|sports car]] [[endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance race]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Une course légendaire |url=http://www.lemans.org/fr/courses/24h/histoire.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116131353/http://www.lemans.org/fr/courses/24h/histoire.html |archive-date=16 January 2013 |language=fr}}&nbsp;– [http://www.lemans.org Site officiel du 24 heures du Mans]</ref> Several major tennis tournaments take place in France, including the [[Paris Masters]] and the [[French Open]], one of the four [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tournaments. French [[martial arts]] include [[Savate]] and [[Fencing]].
[[File:Zinedine Zidane 2015 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Zinedine Zidane|Zidane]] is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time]]

France has a close association with the Modern Olympic Games; it was a French aristocrat, Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]], who suggested the Games' revival, at the end of the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Christopher R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o-9AAAAIAAJ |title=Olympic Politics |publisher=Manchester University Press ND |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7190-4451-9 |page=5 |access-date=5 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="Olympic">[http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/olympic.htm Olympic History]&nbsp;– World Atlas of Travel</ref> After [[Athens]] was awarded the first Games, in reference to the Olympics' Greek origins, Paris hosted the second Games [[1900 Summer Olympics|in 1900]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 August 2018 |title=Paris 1900 Summer Olympics. Official Site of the Olympic Movement |url=http://www.olympic.org/paris-1900-summer-olympics |publisher=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> Paris was the first home of the [[International Olympic Committee]], before it moved to [[Lausanne]].<ref>[http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/view.asp?DomID=63416&Language=E Lausanne, olympic capital]&nbsp;– Tourism in Lausanne {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006220349/http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/view.asp?DomID=63416&Language=E|date=6 October 2007}}</ref> Since 1900, France has hosted the Olympics on 4 further occasions: the [[1924 Summer Olympics]], again in Paris<ref name="Olympic" /> and three [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Games]] ([[1924 Winter Olympics|1924]] in [[Chamonix]], [[1968 Winter Olympics|1968]] in [[Grenoble]] and [[1992 Winter Olympics|1992]] in [[Albertville]]).<ref name="Olympic" /> Similar to the Olympics, France introduced Olympics for the deaf people (Deaflympics) in [[1924 Summer Deaflympics|1924]] with the idea of a French deaf car mechanic, [[Eugène Rubens-Alcais]] who paved the way to organise the inaugural edition of the [[Summer Deaflympics]] in Paris.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 December 2004 |title=Deaflympics lowdown |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/4113957.stm |access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref>

Both the [[France national football team|national football team]] and the [[France national rugby union team|national rugby union team]] are nicknamed "''Les Bleus''" in reference to the team's shirt colour as well as the national [[Flag of France|French tricolour flag]]. Football is the most popular sport in France, with over 1,800,000 registered players and over 18,000 registered clubs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fédération Française de Football |url=https://www.fff.fr/ |website=fff.fr}}</ref>

The French Open, also called Roland-Garros, is a major [[tennis]] tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the [[Stade Roland Garros|Stade Roland-Garros]] in Paris. It is the premier clay court tennis championship event in the world and the second of four annual [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tournaments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clarey |first=Christopher |date=30 June 2001 |title=Change Seems Essential to Escape Extinction: Wimbledon: World's Most Loved Dinosaur |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/06/30/a20_16.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016123550/http://iht.com/articles/2001/06/30/a20_16.php <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=26 February 2018 |website=[[International Herald Tribune]]}}</ref>

[[Rugby union]] is popular, particularly in Paris and the southwest of France.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090615002946/http://www.123voyage.com/realsw/tosee/rugby.htm Rugby]. 123 Voyage</ref> The national rugby union team has competed at every [[Rugby World Cup]]; it takes part in the annual [[Six Nations Championship]].