In the 1990s Franco-German cooperation was central to European economic integration. The bond between the two countries was again to the fore in the new millennium when their leaders voiced strong opposition to the US-led war with Iraq.

France initially expressed sympathy and support for the USA following the 11 September attacks. The French offered military assistance in the war on terror at an early stage but as the focus shifted to Baghdad the policy direction changed.

The country insisted at the UN that political and diplomatic measures should be used to disarm Iraq and that force be employed only as a last resort. For a time, this stand put relations with both the USA and UK under strain and also highlighted differences of opinion within international bodies, not least the UN and the EU.

Government in France is known for its high degree of centralisation but in March 2003 parliament approved government-backed amendments to the constitution allowing for the devolution of quite wide-ranging powers to the country's 22 regions and 96 departments. The amendments also provide for local referenda to give people more say in local decisions.

Following low turnout in 2002 elections, the move was widely seen as a bid to re-engage in the political process French people disillusioned by the ubiquitous influence of the Paris elite.

France has produced some of the continent's most influential writers and thinkers from Descartes and Pascal in the 17th century, through Rousseau and Voltaire in the 18th, Baudelaire and Flaubert in the 19th to Sartre and Camus in the 20th. In the last two centuries it has given the art world the works of Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Braque, to name but a few.

• Population: 60.7 million (UN, 2005)
• Capital: Paris
• Area: 543,965 sq km (210,026 sq miles)
• Major language: French
• Major religion: Christianity
• Life expectancy: 75 years (men), 83 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 Euro = 100 cents
• Main exports: Machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products, including wine
• GNI per capita: US $24,770 (World Bank, 2003)
• Internet domain: .fr
• International dialling code: +33

President: Jacques Chirac

Conservative Jacques Chirac, who has been president since 1995, won a second term in a landslide victory over far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen on 5 May 2002.

Mr Chirac's allies dominate the National Assembly and Senate and France has a centre-right government, marking an end to the "cohabitation" years when Mr Chirac had to work with the Socialists.

He promised an ambitious programme of tax cuts, public sector reform and anticrime measures. The budgetary constraints imposed by membership of the eurozone have not made it easy to implement. There have been mounting protests over the government's privatisation and pension reform plans. Rising unemployment is also an issue.

By the time he reached the Elysee in 1995, Jacques Chirac had been twice prime minister, held several other ministerial positions and had ruled Paris as mayor.

Anticorruption judges want to question him about alleged graft during his time as Paris mayor, but the courts have ruled that he remains immune from the justice system as long as he is in power.