framed structure or frame structure Structure supported mainly by a skeleton, or frame, of wood, steel, or reinforced concrete rather than by load-bearing walls. Rigid frames have fixed joints that enable the frames to resist lateral forces; other frames require diagonal bracing or shear walls and diaphragms for lateral stability. Heavy timber framing was the most common type of construction in East Asia and northern Europe from prehistoric times to the mid-19th century. It was supplanted by the balloon frame and the platform frame (see ught-frame construction). Steel’s strength, when used in steel framing, made possible buildings with longer spans. Concrete frames impart greater rigidity and continuity; vari¬ ous advancements, such as the introduction of the shear wall and slip¬ forming, have made concrete a serious competitor with steel in high-rise structures.
framing, timber See timber framing
France officially French Republic Country, northwestern Europe. It includes the island of Corsica. Area: 210,026 sq mi (543,965 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 60,733,000. Capitaclass="underline" Paris. The people are mainly
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French. Language: French (official). Reli¬ gions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant); also Islam, Judaism. Currency: euro. France has extensive plains, rivers, and a number of mountain ranges, including the Pyrenees and the Alps. The climate is gen¬ erally moderate. More than half of the land is suitable for agriculture, and forests, largely unexploited, cover about one-fourth of the area. France has a developed mixed economy with a preponderance of small firms. Its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime
French monarchs (to 1795)
Carolingian dynasty
Philip III
1270-85
Charlemagne
768-814
Philip IV
1285-1314
Louis 1
814-40
Louis X
1314-16
Charles II
843-77
John 1
1316
Louis II
877-79
Philip V
1316-22
Louis III
879-82
Charles IV
1322-28
Carloman
879-84
Valois dynasty
Charles (III)
884-87
Philip VI
1328-50
Robertian (Capetian) dynasty
John II
1350-64
Eudes
888-98
Charles V
1364-80
Carolingian dynasty
Charles VII
1422-61
Charles III
893/98-922
Charles VI
1380-1422
Robertian (Capetian) dynasty
Louis XI
1461-83
Robert 1
922-23
Charles VIII
1483-98
Rudolf
923-36
Valois dynasty (Orleans branch)
Carolingian dynasty
Louis XII
1498-1515
Louis IV
936-54
Valois dynasty (Angouleme branch)
Lothair
954-86
Francis 1
1515-47
Louis V
986-87
Henry II
1547-59
Capetian dynasty
Francis II
1559-60
Hugh Capet
987-96
Charles IX
1560-74
Robert II
996-1031
Henry III
1574-89
Henry 1
1031-60
House of Bourbon
Philip 1
1059/60-1108
Henry IV
1589-1610
Louis VI
1108-37
Louis XIII
1610-43
Louis VII
1137-80
Louis XIV
1643-1715
Philip II
1179-1223
Louis XV
1715-74
Louis VIII
1223-26
Louis XVI
1774-92
Louis IX (St. Louis)
1226-70
Louis (XVII)
1793-95
minister. The legislature consists of two houses. France is one of the major economic powers of the world and was a founding member of the Euro¬ pean Community (see European Union). Culturally, France has enjoyed a significant role in the world from the early Middle Ages. Archaeological excavations in France indicate continuous settlement from Paleolithic times. By the 5th century bc the Gauls migrated south from the Rhine River valley to the Mediterranean coast of modern France, and in 600 bc Ionian Greeks established several settlements, including one at Marseille. Juuus Caesar completed the Roman conquest of Gaul in 50 bc. During the 6th century ad the Salian Franks ruled; by the 8th century power had passed to the Carolingians, so named for the influential reign of Charle¬ magne. The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) resulted in the return to France of land that had been held by England; by the end of the 15th century, France approximated its modem boundaries. The 16th century was marked by the Wars of Religion between Protestants (Huguenots) and Roman Catholics. Henry IV’ s Edict of Nantes (1598) granted substantial religious toleration, but this was revoked in 1685 by Louis XIV, who helped to raise monarchical absolutism to new heights. In 1789 the French Revo¬ lution proclaimed the rights of the individual and destroyed the ancien regime. Under the rule of Napoleon (1799-1814/15), France fought to expand its dominion. It then became a monarchy again until the found¬ ing of the Second Republic (1848-52), after which Napoleon III ruled as emperor before the creation of the Third Republic in 1871. World War I (1914-18) ravaged the northern part of France. After Nazi Germany’s invasion of France during World War II, the collaborationist Vichy regime governed. Liberated by Allied and Free French forces in 1944, France restored parliamentary democracy under the Fourth Republic. A costly war in Indochina (see Indochina wars) and rising nationalism in French colo¬ nies during the 1950s overwhelmed the Fourth Republic. The Fifth Repub¬ lic officially began in January 1959 under Charles de Gaulle, who presided over the dissolution of most of France’s overseas colonies (see Algerian War; French Equatorial Africa; French West Africa). In 1981 France elected its first socialist president, Francois Mitterrand. At various times from 1986 through the beginning of the 21st century, France balanced a form of divided government known as “cohabitation,” with a president and prime minister of different political parties.
France Vfra n s\, Anatole orig. Jacques-Anatole-Francois Thibault (b. April 16, 1844, Paris, France—d. Oct. 12, 1924, Saint-Cyr- sur-Loire) French novelist and critic. France’s characteristically ironic and urbane skepticism appeared in his early novels, including Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard (1881) and At the Sign of the Reine Pedauque (1893).
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
702 i Francesca ► Francis Ferdinand
Later he introduced both bitter satire and humanitarian concerns into many works, such as the tetralogy L’Histoire Contemporaine (1897— 1901), whose final volume, Monsieur Bergeret in Paris (1901), reflects his support for Alfred Dreyfus. The comedy Crainquebille (1903) pro¬ claims the hostility toward the bourgeois order that led him to embrace socialism, and he was ultimately drawn to communism. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1921.