France , officially French Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 60,656,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel (N), the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay (W), Spain and Andorra (SW), the Mediterranean Sea (S), Switzerland and Italy (SE), and Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium (NE). The natural land frontiers are the Pyrenees, along the border with Spain; the Jura Mts. and the Alps, along the border with Switzerland and Italy; and the Rhine River, which is part of the border with Germany. France's capital and largest city is Paris .

France is one of the world's major economic powers. Agriculture plays a larger role than in the economies of most other industrial countries. A large proportion of the value of total agricultural output derives from livestock (especially cattle, hogs, poultry, and sheep). The mountain areas and NW France are the livestock regions. The country's leading crops are wheat, sugar beets, corn, barley, and potatoes, with the most intensive cultivation N of the Loire; the soil in the Central Massif is less fertile. Fruit growing is important in the south. France is among the foremost producers of wine in the world. The best-known vineyards are in Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhône and Loire valleys, and the Bordeaux region. The centers of the wine trade are Bordeaux, Reims , Épernay , Dijon , and Cognac .

France's leading industries produce machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metals, aircraft, electronics equipment, textiles, and foods (especially cheeses). Advanced technology industries are also important. Coal, iron ore, bauxite, and other minerals are mined. Tourism is an important industry, and Paris is famous for its luxury goods. Nuclear energy furnishes 75% of all electricity produced in France. In addition to the Paris area, important industrial cities are, in the northeast, Metz , Strasbourg , Roubaix , and Lille ; in the southeast, Lyons , Saint-Étienne , Clermont-Ferrand , and Grenoble ; in the south, Marseilles , Toulouse , Nice , and Nîmes ; and in the west, Bordeaux and Nantes . Other important cities are Orléans , Tours , Troyes , and Arles .

French dolls, small figure of a human being, usually used as a child's toy. The many types of French dolls and toys found among the relics of primitive peoples were cult objects. Egypt, Greece, and Rome have left well-preserved dolls of wood, clay, bone, ivory, and bronze that were used symbolically and probably also as childrens' playthings. French puppets with movable arms and legs were known in ancient Greece. Crèche dolls, some of them artistic masterpieces, were used in Roman Catholic lands in representations of the Nativity. From the 15th cent., fashion dolls were popular in Europe as gifts among monarchs and courtiers and were important in the spread of costume styles. Dolls brought to the American colonies exemplified the latest European fashions in dress and coiffure. By the 17th cent., play dolls were commonly used by both boys and girls. Sonneberg, Germany, was noted from the 17th cent. as a center for wooden dolls, and by the 19th cent. the town led also in the making of dolls' china heads. The French doll industry in Paris developed dolls that could speak and close their eyes and specialized in high-fashion dolls. The use of papier-mâché early in the 19th cent. stimulated large-scale manufacture. Wood, china, and wax were also used at this time; hard rubber was introduced c.1850, and bisque c.1862. The colonial cornhusk man and the rag doll began as domestic products, but have developed into commercial popular products. Cutout paper dolls are probably derived form the animated cardboard pantins fashionable among French courtiers in the 18th cent. During the 20th cent. doll manufacturing in the United States developed into a huge industry. Dolls have served various functions throughout Asia and Africa. In Japan they are used mainly as ceremonial figures, and in India they are given to child brides. African girls are often given dolls upon reaching sexual maturity; they eventually give these dolls to their firstborn French children.

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