France is a country located on the western edge of Europe, bordered by the Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic Ocean) in the west, by the English Channel in the northwest, by the North Sea in the North. Paris is its capital famed for its fashion houses, classical art museum including the Louvre and monuments like the famous Eiffel tower.

FUN FACTS

• France is the largest country in the European Union, covering a total area of 551,695 square kilometers. However, it is only the third-largest country in Europe, behind Ukraine and the European portion of Russia. Around a third (31%) of France is forest and it is the fourth most forested country in the EU, after Sweden, Finland, and Spain. The country is also sometimes referred to as ‘l’hexagone’ due to its six-sided shape
• Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), a French engineer who designed the famous Eiffel tower in Paris. The Eiffel tower is named after him. He also worked together with Auguste Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty in New York. 
• Did you know that the camera phone was invented in France? That’s right, the camera phone was invented in France in 1997 by an enterprising Parisian called Philippe Kahn – a very surprising France fact. The first photo he took was of his new-born daughter, Sophie whom he sent to his family and friends.
• French political leader Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born on Corsica. He reformed the French laws. He declared himself Emperor of the French in 1804. Napoleon’s army was defeated by the British in the Battle of Waterloo (now in Belgium) in 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the island St. Helena in the South Atlantic where he died in 1821.
• Since French writer Sully Prudhomme won the first ever Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903, the country has taken the accolade a further fourteen times (the USA and Great Britain come in second with twelve prizes apiece). The winning writers include Jean-Paul Sartre, who won the prize in 1967 but declined it. He described his reasons for declining the prize as being both “personal and objective”.
• It turns out we have the French to thank for many of the useful inventions we know and love today. For instance, French inventor Nicolas Appert came up with the idea to use sealed glass jars placed in boiling water to preserve food in 1809. Pierre Durand later invented the tin can. Braille was also developed by Louis Braille who was blinded as a child. Meanwhile, physician René Laennec invented the stethoscope at a hospital in Paris in 1816 and Alexandre-Ferdinand Godefroy patented the world’s first hairdryer in 1888. The majestical hot air ballon was also pioneered by the Montgolfier brothers Joseph and Etienne who unveiled the world’s first public display of an untethered balloon in 1783.
• The world’s first artificial heart transplant and face transplant both took place in France.The heart transplant occurred in December 2013 at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris. The bioprosthetic device, which mimics a real heart’s contractions, is powered by an external lithium-ion battery and is about three times the weight of a real organ. French surgeons were also the first to perform a face transplant in 2005.
• At least 35% of all music played on private radio stations must be French. If you’re not a fan of French music then you might want to stick with your own playlist rather than tuning in to the local radio station. After all, more than a third of the songs you will hear will be French. The French government initially introduced a 40% quote in 1994 to protect France from what the government considered the ‘Anglo-Saxon cultural invasion’. However, after a 24-hour rebellious boycott by French radio stations, French MPs voted in favor of reducing the quota to 35% in 2016. Radio stations specializing in foreign music also have a 15% quota.
• The tour de France cycle race has been running for over 100 years. The world’s most prestigious cycling race was first held in 1903. It has run every year since, save for the two world wars. In 2020, the race was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic – but it still went ahead! 
• French is one of the Romance languages. The Romance languages, which include Italian and Spanish, have their origins in the Latin language. Today, French is the second most studied language after English and spoken by more than 300 million people around the world as first or second language.

CHOICE AS A STUDY DESTINATION

Top 03 reasons for international students to choose France as their study destinations is

- High quality of education
- Remarkably low tuition fees
- A robust economy with a bright future

USEFUL LINKS

Click on the below link to know more about your study destination, and what the French government has to say….

https://www.srilanka.campusfrance.org/campus-france-near-you

NEWS & UPDATES

https://lk.ambafrance.org/COVID-19-Est-ce-que-je-peux-venir-en-France

https://www.srilanka.campusfrance.org/scholarships-for-foreign-students-in-france

https://www.srilanka.campusfrance.org/health-social-security-and-insurance