France

Extracted Attributes

• Capital

  Paris

• Total Area

  Approximately 643,801 km2

• Official Name

  French Republic

• Borders (Land)

  Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, Spain, Netherlands (via overseas territories), Suriname (via overseas territories), Brazil (via overseas territories)

• Government Type

  Unitary semi-presidential republic

• Borders (Maritime)

  United Kingdom

• Geographic Location

  Western Europe, Transcontinental

• International Status

  Permanent member of UN Security Council, Nuclear-weapon state, Great power

• Exclusive Economic Zone

  Largest in the world

• Population (Early 2025)

  Approximately 68.6 million

• Economy Rank (Nominal GDP)

  Seventh-largest in the world

• Leading Tourist Destination

  World's leading tourist destination

• UNESCO World Heritage Sites

  Fourth-largest number globally

• Economy Rank (PPP-adjusted GDP)

  Tenth-largest in the world

Timeline

• Rome annexed the area settled by Celtic tribes known as Gauls, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture. (Source: summary)

  0051 BC

• The Treaty of Verdun partitioned the Carolingian Empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France. (Source: wikidata)

  0843-08-01

• France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with England known as the Hundred Years' War (mid-14th to mid-15th centuries). (Source: summary)

  1350-01-01

• French culture flourished during the French Renaissance, a French colonial empire emerged, and religious civil wars occurred (16th century). (Source: summary)

  1500-01-01

• The French Revolution overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man. (Source: summary)

  1789-07-14

• France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte, establishing the First French Empire. (Source: summary)

  1800-01-01

• The Third French Republic was established following the Franco-Prussian War. (Source: summary)

  1870-09-04

• France was a major participant in World War I, emerging victorious at great human and economic cost. (Source: summary)

  1914-07-28

• France was occupied by Axis powers during World War II. (Source: summary)

  1940-05-10

• France was liberated from occupation. (Source: wikipedia)

  1944-08-19

• The current Fifth Republic was established by Charles de Gaulle. (Source: summary)

  1958-10-04

• Algeria and most French colonies became independent (1960s). (Source: wikipedia)

  1960-01-01

• France received 100 million foreign visitors, making it the world's leading tourist destination. (Source: wikipedia)

  2023-01-01

• Estimated total population of over 68.6 million. (Source: summary)

  2025-01-01

France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country primarily located in Western Europe. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north; Germany to the northeast; Switzerland to the east; Italy and Monaco to the southeast; Andorra and Spain to the south; and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its eighteen integral regions—five of which are overseas—span a combined area of 632,702 km2 (244,288 sq mi) and have an estimated total population of over 68.6 million as of January 2025. France is a semi-presidential republic. Its capital, largest city and main cultural and economic centre is Paris. Metropolitan France was settled during the Iron Age by Celtic tribes known as Gauls before Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture. In the Early Middle Ages, the Franks formed the kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France. In the High Middle Ages, France was a powerful but decentralized feudal kingdom, but from the mid-14th to the mid-15th centuries, France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with England known as the Hundred Years' War. In the 16th century, French culture flourished during the French Renaissance and a French colonial empire emerged. Internally, France was dominated by the conflict with the House of Habsburg and the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots. France was successful in the Thirty Years' War and further increased its influence during the reign of Louis XIV. The French Revolution of 1789 overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte, subjugating part of continental Europe and establishing the First French Empire. The collapse of the empire initiated a period of relative decline, in which France endured the Bourbon Restoration until the founding of the French Second Republic which was succeeded by the Second French Empire upon Napoleon III's takeover. His empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. This led to the establishment of the Third French Republic, and subsequent decades saw a period of economic prosperity and cultural and scientific flourishing known as the Belle Époque. France was one of the major participants of World War I, from which it emerged victorious at great human and economic cost. It was among the Allies of World War II, but it surrendered and was occupied in 1940. Following its liberation in 1944, the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the defeat in the Algerian War. The current Fifth Republic was formed in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle. Algeria and most French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with the majority retaining close economic and military ties with France. France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art, science, and philosophy. It hosts the fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the world's leading tourist destination, having received 100 million foreign visitors in 2023. A developed country, France has a high nominal per capita income globally, and its economy ranks among the largest in the world by both nominal GDP and PPP-adjusted GDP. It is a great power, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state. The country is part of multiple international organizations and forums.

Web Search Results

• France - Wikipedia

  France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north; Germany to the northeast; Switzerland to the east; [...] France is a representative democracy organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. Democratic traditions and values are deeply rooted in French culture, identity and politics. The Constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum in 1958, establishing a framework consisting of executive, legislative and judicial branches. It sought to address the instability of the Third and Fourth Republics by combining elements of both the parliamentary and presidential systems, while greatly [...] The vast majority of France's territory and population is situated in Western Europe and is called Metropolitan France. It is bordered by the North Sea in the north, the English Channel in the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Mediterranean Sea in the southeast. Its land borders consist of Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland in the east, Italy and Monaco in the southeast, and Andorra and Spain in the south and southwest. Except for the northeast,

• France – EU country profile | European Union

  France is a semi-presidential republic with a prime minister, who is the head of government, appointed by the president who is the directly elected head of state. France’s territory consists of 18 administrative regions: 13 metropolitan (i.e. Continental France) and 5 overseas regions. All 5 of the overseas regions, as well as Saint-Martin (a French territory in the Caribbean), are considered part of the EU (with the status of outermost region). Strasbourg is one of the three official seats of

• France | History, Maps, Flag, Population, Cities, Capital, & Facts

  France, country of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps and the Pyrenees, France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and southern Europe. It is Europe’s most important agricultural producer and [...] France is among the globe’s oldest nations, the product of an alliance of duchies and principalities under a single ruler in the Middle Ages. Today, as in that era, central authority is vested in the state, even though a measure of autonomy has been granted to the country’s régions in recent decades. The French people look to the state as the primary guardian of liberty, and the state in turn provides a generous program of amenities for its citizens, from free education to health care and [...] France lies near the western end of the great Eurasian landmass, largely between latitudes 42° and 51° N. Roughly hexagonal in outline, its continental territory is bordered on the northeast by Belgium and Luxembourg, on the east by Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and Andorra, on the west by the Bay of Biscay, and on the northwest by the English Channel (La Manche). To the north, France faces southeastern England across the narrow Strait of Dover

• France Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

  France is one of the oldest nations on Earth and the most ethnically diverse country in Europe. These deep and broad influences have made France a world leader throughout history in nearly all aspects of culture, including cuisine, wine-making, politics, philosophy, music, art, film, fashion, literature, and sports. euro bills Left: French Flag Right: Euros ### NATURE [...] France, the largest country in Western Europe, has long been a gateway between the continent's northern and southern regions. ## Fast Facts ### GEOGRAPHY France, the largest country in Western Europe, has long been a gateway between the continent's northern and southern regions. Its lengthy borders touch Germany and Belgium in the north; the Atlantic Ocean in the west; the Pyrenees Mountains and Spain in the south. [...] National Geographic Kids Logo - Home The Champs-Élysées is one of many streets that radiate from the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris. Southeast France’s Mediterranean coast is known as the French Riviera. The Eiffel Tower is one of Paris’s most famous attractions. A glass pyramid is the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. The Tuileries is a public garden just outside the Louvre Museum. # France

• France - The World Factbook - CIA

  18 regions (régions, singular - région); Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Bretagne (Brittany), Centre-Val de Loire (Center-Loire Valley), Corse (Corsica), Grand Est (Grand East), Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Hauts-de-France (Upper France), Ile-de-France, Martinique, Mayotte, Normandie (Normandy), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (New Aquitaine), Occitanie (Occitania), Pays de la Loire (Lands of the Loire), Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Réunion [...] ### Geography - note largest Western European nation; most major French rivers -- the Meuse, Seine, Loire, Charente, Dordogne, and Garonne -- flow northward or westward into the Atlantic Ocean, only the Rhone flows southward into the Mediterranean Sea People and Society ------------------ ### Population total: 68,374,591 (2024 est.) male: 33,557,094 female: 34,817,497 comparison rankings: total 22; female 21; male 23 ### Nationality noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) [...] local long form: République française local short form: France etymology: derives from the Latin name _Francia,_ meaning "Land of the Franks"; the Franks were a group of Germanic tribes located along the middle and lower Rhine River in the 3rd century A.D.; the origin of the tribal name is unclear but may come from the Old German word _franka_, meaning "brave," or from a personal name such as Francio or Francus ### Government type semi-presidential republic ### Capital name: Paris

• Award

  Lagun Onari

• Image

  

• Country

  France

• Instance Of

  Q6256

• Population

  68,373,433

• Coordinates

  Lat: 47.0, Lon: 2.0

• Inception Date

  8/1/843

France (French: [fʁɑ̃s] ), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik frɑ̃sɛz]), is a transcontinental country predominantly located in Western Europe and spanning overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and contain close to 68 million people (as of July 2022). France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice. Inhabited since the Palaeolithic era, the territory of Metropolitan France was settled by Celtic tribes known as Gauls during the Iron Age. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture that laid the foundation of the French language. The Germanic Franks formed the Kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia becoming the Kingdom of France in 987. In the High Middle Ages, France was a powerful but highly decentralised feudal kingdom. Philip II successfully strengthened royal power and defeated his rivals to double the size of the crown lands; by the end of his reign, France had emerged as the most powerful state in Europe. From the mid-14th to the mid-15th century, France was plunged into a series of dynastic conflicts involving England, collectively known as the Hundred Years' War, and a distinct French identity emerged as a result. The French Renaissance saw art and culture flourish, conflict with the House of Habsburg, and the establishment of a global colonial empire, which by the 20th century would become the second-largest in the world. The second half of the 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Huguenots that severely weakened the country. France again emerged as Europe's dominant power in the 17th century under Louis XIV following the Thirty Years' War. Inadequate economic policies, inequitable taxes and frequent wars (notably a defeat in the Seven Years' War and costly involvement in the American War of Independence) left the kingdom in a precarious economic situation by the end of the 18th century. This precipitated the French Revolution of 1789, which overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte, subjugating much of continental Europe and establishing the First French Empire. The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of European and world history. The collapse of the empire initiated a period of relative decline, in which France endured a tumultuous succession of governments until the founding of the French Third Republic during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Subsequent decades saw a period of optimism, cultural and scientific flourishing, as well as economic prosperity, known as the Belle Époque. France was one of the major participants of World War I, from which it emerged victorious at a great human and economic cost. It was among the Allied powers of World War II but was soon occupied by the Axis in 1940. Following liberation in 1944, the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War. The current Fifth Republic was formed in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle. Algeria and most French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with the majority retaining close economic and military ties with France. France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art, science and philosophy. It hosts the fifth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the world's leading tourist destination, receiving over 89 million foreign visitors in 2018. France is a developed country with the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and tenth-largest by PPP; in terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy and human development. It remains a great power in global affairs, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state. France is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the Eurozone, as well as a key member of the Group of Seven, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Francophonie.