Devastated during World War II, France was a pioneer of European integration, to which Franco-German cooperation was central in the 90s. The bond between France and Germany was key again in the new millennium when their leaders voiced strong opposition as the US-led ‘war on terror’ began in Iraq, but France sent shockwaves through European Union capitals when its voters rejected the proposed EU constitution in a referendum in May 2005. Thus began a less positive and trusting relationship with its formerly supportive neighbour.

France's colonial past is a major contributing factor in the presence of a diverse multicultural population. It is home to more than five million people of Arab and African descent and has a number of territories overseas which, together with mainland France and Corsica, go to make up the 26 regions which the country comprises. It is further divided into 100 departments, five of which - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte - are located some distance from Europe.

Since the economy crashed and the modern ‘age of austerity’ reared its head in 2010, France has had a turbulent time politically - as of August 2014, unemployment stands at over 10% and the country has not managed two successive quarters of economic growth since president, Francois Hollande, arrived at the Elysee Palace in May 2012. Stagnated growth is not doing the budget deficit any favours and the country’s industry is less than competitive leading to factory closures and increased job losses.

The country has however produced some of the world's most influential writers and thinkers from Descartes and Pascal in the 17th century, Voltaire in the 18th, Baudelaire and Flaubert in the 19th to Sartre and Camus in the 20th. In the last two centuries alone it has given the art world the works of Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Braque, to name but a few and is also famed worldwide for its strong culinary tradition produces more than 400 cheeses and some of the world's best-loved wines.