ABSTRACT
Background Information With 64 million inhabitants, France is an established, prosperous, urbanized, powerful, offi cially monolingual, democratic, and secular country. In 2007 the country ranked eighth on the Human Development Index, which is provided by the United Nations Development Program in order to refl ect the level of development for all in terms of education, access to health services, and equality. Economically, it is one of the wealthiest nations in Europe, with comprehensive policies on education, health, family support, and the distribution of wealth. Geographically, France provides a diversity of temperate weather and a variety of landscapes.
