place_of_birth claude bourquard
___MASK87___ , officially the French Republic , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area ___MASK25___ ___MASK87___ extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the ___MASK48___ . Overseas ___MASK87___ include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . ___MASK87___ spans and had a total population ___MASK25___ almost 67 million people as ___MASK25___ January 2017 . It is a unitary semi - presidential republic with the capital in Paris , the country ' s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux . Claude Bourquard ( 5 March 1937 -- 23 May 2011 ) was a French fencer . He founded Asmb escrime , a fencing club in ___MASK35___ . Franche - Comté ( literally " Free County ", Frainc - Comtou dialect : " Fraintche - Comtè "; ) is a former administrative region and a traditional province ___MASK25___ eastern France . Since 1 January 2016 , it is part ___MASK25___ the new region Bourgogne - Franche - Comté . It is composed ___MASK25___ the modern departments ___MASK25___ Doubs , Jura , Haute - Saône and the Territoire de ___MASK92___ . In 2009 , its population was 1 , 168 , 208 . ___MASK35___ ( French and Arpitan : ; archaic ) is the capital ___MASK25___ the department ___MASK25___ Doubs and ___MASK25___ the Bourgogne - Franche - Comté region in eastern France , close to the border with Switzerland . In 2013 , it had a population ___MASK25___ 116 , 952 . ___MASK84___ ( Arpitan : " Dubs ") is a department in the Bourgogne - Franche - Comté region ___MASK25___ eastern France named after the ___MASK84___ River .