The French Republic is one of the most advanced countries in the world, and it is a leader in the European Union (EU). France borders Spain in the south, and Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy on the north and east. The country has coastline on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Historically, France was ruled by a series of absolutist and despotic monarchs. The monarchy was abolished by the French Revolution but was reinstated by the Bourbon Restoration, followed by the reign of Napoleon I (Emperor of the French), Louis XVIII, Charles X (House of Bourbon), Louis Philippe (House of Orleans), and eventually Napoleon III (Emperor of the French). The monarchical system ended in the 1870s and was replaced by a series ...