The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide of France:
France – country in Western Europe with several overseas regions and territories. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. From its shape, it is often referred to in French as ("The Hexagon").
General reference
Pronunciation: or , ; (the French Republic: , ) Common English country name: France Official English country name: The French Republic Common endonym(s): La France Official endonym(s): Adjectival(s): French (can refer to people, language or anything related to the country) Demonym(s): French (or Frenchman/Frenchwoman) Etymology: Name of France International rankings of France ISO country codes: FR, FRA, 250 ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:FR Internet country code top-level domain: .fr
Geography of France
France is a: Country Developed countryOvercoming barriers: Human mobility and development. Human Development Report 2009. the United Nations Development Programme. New York. Sovereign state Member State of the European Union Member state of NATO Location: Northern Hemisphere, on the Prime Meridian Eurasia Europe mostly in Western Europe Time in France Time zones: Metropolitan France – Central European Time (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time (UTC+02) Extreme points of France (major towns)Map of France, SitesAtlas.com, 2009, webpage: [http://www.sitesatlas.com/Maps/Maps/507.gif SitA-507]. North: Dunkirk at the North Sea South: Perpignan, at the Spanish border East: Haguenau, at the German border West: Brest, south of Land's End (England) High: Mont Blanc – highest point of Western Europe Low: Les Moëres Land boundaries: Metropolitan France:
French Guiana:
Coastline: Metropolitan France: Incorporated overseas territories: Population of France: 68,035,000 people (2021 estimate) – 20th most populous country Area of France: – 40th largest country Atlas of France Communes (municipalities) of France
Environment of France
Climate of France Ecology of France Renewable energy in France Geology of France National parks of France Wildlife of France Flora of France Flora of the Alps Fauna of France Birds of France Mammals of France Non-marine molluscs of France
Geographic features of France
Glaciers of France Islands of France Lakes of France Mountains of France French Alps Volcanoes in France Rivers of France List of World Heritage Sites in France (See also List of World Heritage Sites in Western Europe for transboundary sites)
Regions of France "Region" is also the name of France's main type of political division
Metropolitan France (in Western Europe) Overseas departments and territories of France
Administrative divisions of France
Regions of France Departments of France Municipalities of France ("Communes")
Regions of France (Administrative)
Regions of France Since January 1, 2016, continental France is divided into 13 administrative Regions instead of the former 22 regions. The 5 overseas regions are untouched:
Before 2016 From January, 1st 2016 1. Alsace 2. Aquitaine 3. Auvergne 4. Lower Normandy 5. Burgundy 6. Brittany 7. Centre-Val de Loire 8. Champagne-Ardenne 9. Corsica (special status) 10. Franche-Comté 11. Upper Normandy 12. Île-de-France 13. Languedoc-Roussillon 14. Limousin 15. Lorraine 16. Midi-Pyrénées 17. Nord-Pas de Calais 18. Pays de la Loire 19. Picardy 20. Poitou-Charentes 21. Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 22. Rhône-Alpes 1. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté 2. Nouvelle-Aquitaine 3. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 4. Normandy 5. Grand Est 6. Brittany 7. Centre-Val de Loire 8. Occitanie 9. Hauts-de-France 10. Île-de-France 11. Pays de la Loire 12. Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 13. Corsica (special status)
Departments of France
Departments of France French departments are roughly analogous to British counties.
INSEE code Arms Department Prefecture 01 Ain Bourg-en-Bresse 02 Aisne Laon 03 Allier Moulins 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Digne-les-Bains 05 Hautes-Alpes Gap 06 Alpes-Maritimes Nice 07 Ardèche Privas 08 Ardennes Charleville-Mézières 09 Ariège Foix 10 Aube Troyes 11 Aude Carcassonne 12 Aveyron Rodez 13 Bouches-du-Rhône Marseille 14 Calvados Caen 15 Cantal Aurillac 16 Charente Angoulême 17 Charente-Maritime La Rochelle 18 Cher Bourges 19 Corrèze Tulle 2A Corse-du-Sud Ajaccio 2B Haute-Corse Bastia 21 Côte-d'Or Dijon 22 Côtes-d'Armor Saint-Brieuc 23 Creuse Guéret 24 Dordogne Périgueux 25 Doubs Besançon 26 Drôme Valence 27 Eure Évreux 28 Eure-et-Loir Chartres 29 Finistère Quimper 30 Gard Nîmes 31 Haute-Garonne Toulouse 32 Gers Auch 33 Gironde Bordeaux 34 Hérault Montpellier 35 Ille-et-Vilaine Rennes 36 Indre Châteauroux 37 Indre-et-Loire Tours 38 Isère Grenoble 39 Jura Lons-le-Saunier 40 Landes Mont-de-Marsan 41 Loir-et-Cher Blois 42 Loire Saint-Étienne 43 Haute-Loire Le Puy-en-Velay 44 Loire-Atlantique Nantes 45 Loiret Orléans 46 Lot Cahors 47 Lot-et-Garonne Agen 48 Lozère Mende 49 Maine-et-Loire Angers 50 Manche Saint-Lô 51 Marne Châlons-en-Champagne 52 Haute-Marne Chaumont 53 Mayenne Laval 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle Nancy 55 Meuse Bar-le-Duc 56 Morbihan Vannes 57 Moselle Metz 58 Nièvre Nevers 59 Nord Lille 60 Oise Beauvais 61 Orne Alençon 62 Pas-de-Calais Arras 63 Puy-de-Dôme Clermont-Ferrand 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau 65 Hautes-Pyrénées Tarbes 66 Pyrénées-Orientales Perpignan 67 Bas-Rhin Strasbourg 68 Haut-Rhin Colmar 69 Rhône Lyon 70 Haute-Saône Vesoul 71 Saône-et-Loire Mâcon 72 Sarthe Le Mans 73 Savoie Chambéry 74 Haute-Savoie Annecy 75 Paris Paris 76 Seine-Maritime Rouen 77 Seine-et-Marne Melun 78 Yvelines Versailles 79 Deux-Sèvres Niort 80 Somme Amiens 81 Tarn Albi 82 Tarn-et-Garonne Montauban 83 Var Toulon 84 Vaucluse Avignon 85 Vendée La Roche-sur-Yon 86 Vienne Poitiers 87 Haute-Vienne Limoges 88 Vosges Épinal 89 Yonne Auxerre 90 Territoire de Belfort Belfort 91 Essonne Évry 92 Hauts-de-Seine Nanterre 93 Seine-Saint-Denis Bobigny 94 Val-de-Marne Créteil 95 Val-d'Oise Cergy/Pontoise 971 Guadeloupe Basse-Terre 972 Martinique Fort-de-France 973 Guyane Cayenne 974 La Réunion Saint-Denis 976 Mayotte Mamoudzou
Municipalities of France
Cities of France Capital of France: Paris – also the largest city in France, with over 2,000,000 inhabitants Strasbourg – official seat of the European Parliament Lyon – silk capital of the world and the location of the headquarters of Interpol and Euronews Marseille – France's largest commercial port
Demography of France
Neighbors of France
Metropolitan France is bordered by: Belgium Luxembourg Germany Switzerland Italy Monaco Andorra Spain
France is also linked to: United Kingdom (by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel)
France's overseas departments share borders with: Brazil (borders French Guiana) Suriname (borders French Guiana) Sint Maarten (borders Saint-Martin)
Government and politics of France
Form of government: unitary semi-presidential republic Capital of France: Paris Constitutional Council of France Elections in France French presidential elections: 1848 – 1958 – 1965 – 1969 – 1974 – 1981 – 1988 – 1995 – 2002 – 2007 – 2012 – 2017 – 2022 French parliamentary elections: 1795 – 1798 – 1815 – 1816 – 1820 – 1824 – 1827 – 1830 – 1831 – 1834 – 1837 – 1839 – 1842 – 1846 – 1848 – 1849 – 1852 – 1857 – 1863 – 1869 – 1871 (Feb) – 1871 (Jul) – 1876 – 1877 – 1881 – 1885 – 1889 – 1893 – 1898 – 1902 – 1906 – 1910 – 1914 – 1919 – 1924 – 1928 – 1932 – 1936 – 1945 – 1946 (Jun) – 1946 (Nov) – 1951 – 1956 – 1958 – 1962 – 1967 – 1968 – 1973 – 1978 – 1981 – 1986 – 1988 – 1993 – 1997 – 2002 – 2007 – 2012 – 2017 – 2022 – 2024 French referendums: 1793 – 1795 – 1800 – 1802 – 1804 – 1815 – 1851 – 1852 – 1870 – 1945 – 1946 (May) – 1946 (Oct) – 1958 – 1961 – 1962 (Jun) – 1962 (Oct) – 1969 – 1972 – 1988 – 1992 – 2000 – 2005 Feminism in France Foreign relations of France Liberalism and radicalism in France Political parties in France Political scandals of France Taxation in France
Branches of the government of France
Executive branch Emmanuel Macron, current President of France
Head of state: President of the French Republic Le Gouvernement (Cabinet of ministers) Head of government: Prime Minister of France Ministries of France Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of the Interior Minister of Overseas France Minister of the Environment Minister of Transportation Minister of Public Works Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry Minister of Defence Minister of Justice Minister of National Education Minister of Higher Education and Research Minister of Culture Minister of Agriculture Minister of Tourism Minister of the Sea Minister of Health Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Minister of Budget, Public Accounting and Civil Servants Minister of Immigration, Integration, National identity and Co-development Minister of Social Affairs Minister of Housing
Legislative branch Parliament of France (Parlement) (see also: Congress of France) French National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) French Senate (Sénat) French Economic and Social Council (consultative assembly)
Judicial branch
Constitutional Council of France
International relations of France Foreign relations Foreign relations of France Foreign policy of François Mitterrand France is a nuclear power France–Africa relations France–Americas relations France–Asia relations Evolution of the French Empire French colonial empire French colonisation of the Americas International relations, 1648–1814 International relations (1814–1919) Aftermath of World War I International relations (1919–1939) Diplomatic History of World War II Cold War Foreign policy of Charles de Gaulle International relations since 1989
International organization membership The French Republic is a member of:
African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (nonregional member) African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) Arctic Council (observer) Asian Development Bank (ADB) (nonregional member) Australia Group Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Black Sea Economic Cooperation Zone (BSEC) (observer) Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) Conference des Ministres des Finances des Pays de la Zone Franc (FZ) Council of Europe (CE) Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) (observer) Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) European Investment Bank (EIB) European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) European Space Agency (ESA) European Union (EU) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of Five (G5) Group of Seven (G7) Group of Eight (G8) Group of Ten (G10) Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20) Indian Ocean Commission (InOC) Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Court (ICCt) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Energy Agency (IEA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) International Labour Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Organization for Migration (IOM) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM)