Modern France, 1950

some of us will recognize this famous landmark of France the Eiffel Tower it stands in the midst of Paris the capital and largest city of France from the top of the tower we can see almost all Paris lying beneath us and beyond the city lies the land of France a land of variety and beauty fields of deep rich soil produce many different kinds of crops a vast system of rivers and canals provides water transportation in almost every part of France rugged mountain ranges for natural barriers between brands and some of its neighbouring countries hundreds of miles of seacoast make fishing and overseas commerce possible France faces the sea on three sides on the English Channel on the Atlantic Ocean and on the Mediterranean Sea two sides of France a mountainous on the south the Pyrenees separate France from Spain on the east the great mountain system of the Alps helps divide it from Switzerland Italy and Germany of the Northeast the Low Countries border France these natural boundaries give France are six sight shape a hexagon France is not a large country the state of Texas for instance is larger France is located in the middle latitudes about the same as the Great Lakes region of the United States France's pleasant climate has helped it to become one of the leading agricultural countries of Europe the best farmland is in the valleys around Paris the Paris Basin in northern France in the Paris Basin much of the soil is fertile truck farmers such as Paul the tour and his I produce a variety of crops including potatoes sugar beets and various kinds of vegetables and sometimes oxen are still used for work animals although horses are more common the use of machinery is increasing but horse power is still used on most farms the most important farm crop is wheat it is grown in the Paris Basin and in northwestern France where we find scenes that resemble those we might see in our own Middle West France is one of the leading wheat producing countries of Europe from the wheat farms of northern France the grain is shipped to other parts of the country to feed france's more than 40 million people and so wheat is an important part of the geography of northern France in southern France it's quite a different story along the southern coast in the region called the Riviera a climate is much like that of Southern California this is the sunny france of the south an almost tropical land for oranges lemons dates and olives grow oranges grow in all the lands that go to the Mediterranean from this part of France ripe oranges are sent to other parts of the country from the Riviera to our set many kinds of tropical and subtropical flowers in some of these Gardens flowers are grown early for markets in Paris and London the same climate which produces subtropical plants also makes the Riviera one of the most famous health resorts in the world visitors from many countries come to enjoy the beautiful beaches and warm climate of the Riviera in southeastern France in southwestern France the climate and soil are ideal for raising grapes vineyards are a common sight in southwestern France here many farmers grow nothing but grapes zhang's Andre and his wife are typical of the men and who make a living from the vineyards some grapes are shipped fresh some dried into raisins and some made into wine wines from vineyards such as these are an important product of France the famous Bordeaux wines are named after this port in southwestern France from this vineyard we can see Bordeaux one of the important harbours and commercial cities of France on the wharves of Bordeaux we'll find dark hands handling products of southern France as well as goods imported into France products being shipped include casks of wine from southern France bales of cork from cork trees near the Spanish border and crates of oranges from the Riviera in another part of Bordeaux harbours are the fishing fleets more than a hundred thousand people in France make their living as fishermen the French are good sailors from the many villages and ports along the coasts of France generations of hearty fishermen such as these have gone out in their fleets to fish in the English Channel or the Atlantic or the Mediterranean and yet although France has hundreds of miles of coastline it has few large harbors Bordeaux is one the harbor of Marseilles is another in the north narara is the largest port the city of La Habra which in French means the harbour is at the mouth of the Seine River the Seine is Frances largest and most important River it is the big water highway of northern France barges carry goods back and forth from the average of Paris and other cities on the scene if we were to go along on this barge to Paris we'd see what this bargeman Andre Leclerc sees each time he makes the trip on his boat not far from the harbor and the Seacoast we'd find the cool moist grasslands of Normandy frying dairy cattle are raised in this province of northwestern France on both sides of the Seine are dozens of little farm villages as well as historic landmarks such as its Chateau built by Richard the lion-hearted further up the river is the beautiful city of Rouen with its historic Cathedral and finally the barge reaches Paris the capital city the center of commerce at the Paris docks barges delivered tons of goods and foodstuffs to supply the needs of about 3 million people in the city in the marketplaces of Paris are products from all France vegetables from the truck farms of the Paris Basin lemons from the Riviera grapes from the region near Bordeaux wheat from northern France and fish from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean some Paris shops are beautiful china and fine glassware to products for which France is famous fashionable clothes designed and made in Paris are another world famous product of France Paris is a manufacturing city to these automobiles are among the heavier industrial products made in the city but most of France's heavy industry is located in the Northeast where there is coal and iron nancy is one of the big industrial centers of this region among the industries of the city of Nancy of the manufacture of machinery automobiles and farm implements here is a scene we might see and some of our own big industrial cities and here are some industrial workers who represent another part of French let's meet one of the typical workers in the steel mill his name is re bull Shan after a busy day at the mill re leaves with his fellow workers re rides a bus as many workers in our big industrial cities do the bus takes him to an outlying residential section of the town this is where are we and his family lived and this is the way he often spent evenings at home with his family reading the latest Paris newspaper he enjoys news about other places and other people in France places and people that we've seen in some of the various cities and regions of the country the truck farmers of the Paris Basin the wheat merchants of northern France the gardener of the subtropical Riviera the grape farmers of southwestern France the fishermen of thought dole and the bargeman on the River Seine these people represent part of the living geography of modern France