French, the official language, is the first language of 88% of the population. Most of those who speak minority languages also speak French, as the minority languages are given no legal recognition. 3% of the population speak German dialects. Flemish is spoken by around 90,000 people in the northeast, which is 0.2% of the French population. Near the Italian border, roughly 1.7% of the population, speaks Italian.
Basque is spoken by 0.1% and mainly along the French-Spanish border.

The French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic with strong democratic traditions. The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the President of the Republic, who is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year term (formerly 7 years) and is the Head of State, and the Government, led by the president-appointed Prime Minister.

Recent history

The monarchy ruled France until the French Revolution, in 1789. Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed, along with thousands of other French citizens. After a series of short-lived governmental schemes, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799, making himself First Consul, and later Emperor of what is now known as the First Empire (1804–1814).

France’s economy combines extensive private enterprise (nearly 2.5 million companies registered) with substantial (though declining) government intervention (see dirigisme). The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunications firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries.

France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various overseas islands and territories located in other continents.

www.poland.gov.pl

www.polishmarket.com

www.wikipedia.org

www.culture.poland.com

www.expats-in-poland.com

www.polishmarket.com

www.omniglot.com

Nature lovers will certainly enjoy the golden beaches of the Baltic Sea coast in the north and the rocky peaks of the Tatra Mountains in the south.

Greetings

Polish people enjoy greeting each other. If you find the word "cześć" (Hi!)  too difficult to pronounce, you can use "Hello" instead and you’ll certainly be understood. When arriving at a meeting, Polish people shake hands. When the company is larger it’s right to shake hands with all those present. As a rule the first few minutes of any gathering are taken up with everyone greeting everyone else. This breaks the ice and makes life easier for the shy. Don’t be surprised if some people exchange embraces or even a kiss during a greeting.

Religion in Poland has changed throughout centuries, however Christian Faith, particularly Roman Catholicism has dominated polish cociety (see also historical demography of Poland).