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Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations.

Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier parliamentary democracies.

In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999.

At present, France is at the forefront of European states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to advance the creation of a more unified and capable European defense and security apparatus.

The French language is the third-largest of the Romance languages in terms of number of native speakers, after French and Portuguese, being spoken by about 150 million people as a mother tongue or fluently.

As a Romance language, it is a daughter language of Latin, although there has been significant borrowing from Ancient Greek.

French is an official language in 30 countries and whilst the status of French as the leading language for international communication has declined since its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries due to the rise of English, it maintains a prominent position, including being one of the few languages to be spoken officially in five continents.

Although there are many French regional accents, only one version of the language is normally chosen as a model for foreign learners. This is the educated standard variety of Paris, which has no commonly used special name, but has been termed 'français neutre'.