France, officially the French Republic, is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents.[12] Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as L'Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
The national flag of France (known in French as drapeau tricolore, drapeau français, and in military parlance, les couleurs) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the French tricolour or simply, the tricolour, although tricolore (in the French pronunciation) is far from unknown.
Nicolas Sarkozy , born Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa on 28 January 1955 in the 17th arrondissement of Paris) is the 23rd President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating Socialist Party candidate S?gol?ne Royal 10 days earlier.