A striking impression on anyone travelling in France is the infinite variety of landscape, climatic conditions, vegetation and architecture concentrated into a relatively small area. The culture of France's people reveals a similar variety despite a long tradition of highly centralized government administration.

Standard French, although the official language since the 16th century, was spoken as a mother tongue by less than half of the population until the beginning of this century. In the North, communities spoke Flemish, in the North-East, Alsatian- a German dialect- and in the West, Breton- a Celtic language related to Welsh and Old Cornish- while almost the entire Southern half of the country spoke Occitan (Langue d'Oc). Additionally, in the Pyrennees, Basque and Catalan were spoken, and in Corsica dialects of Italian and Sarde. Despite the vigorous efforts of public educators to eradicate their use in France, these languages remain vital to this day and contribute greatly to the cultural diversity of the country.