France (French: [fʁɑ̃s] (listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz] (listen)), is a country consisting of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories.[XIII] The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It borders Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland, Monaco, and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions (five of which are situated overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.07 million (as of May 2020).[10] 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 Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice. France, including its overseas territories, has the most time zones of any country, with a total of 12.
French Republic
République française (French)FlagNational emblemMotto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité"
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"Anthem: "La Marseillaise"
Great Seal:
Show globeShow map of EuropeShow allLocation of metropolitan France (dark green)
– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)
(Note the overseas department of French Guiana highlighted on the extreme lefthand side of the globe image.)
Location of the territory of the French Republic (red)
Adélie Land (Antarctic claim; hatched)
Capital
and largest cityParis
48°51′N 2°21′EOfficial language
and national languageFrench[I]Nationality (2018)
93.0% French citizens
7.0% foreign nationals[1]
Religion (2019[2])
51% Christianity
—45% Catholicism
—6% Other Christian
40% No religion
5% Islam
3% Others
1% Undeclared
Demonym(s)FrenchGovernmentUnitary semi-presidential constitutional republic• PresidentEmmanuel Macron• Prime MinisterJean Castex• President of the SenateGérard Larcher• President of the National AssemblyRichard FerrandLegislatureParliament• Upper houseSenate• Lower houseNational AssemblyEstablishment• Baptism of Clovis I25 December 496• Treaty of Verdun[II]August 843• Republic established22 September 1792• Founded the EEC[III]1 January 1958• Current constitution[IV]4 October 1958Area
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. After the collapse of the empire and a relative decline, France endured a tumultuous succession of governments culminating in the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870 in the midst of the Franco-Prussian War. France was one of the prominent participants of World War I, from which it emerged victorious, and was one of the Allied powers in World War II, but came under occupation by the Axis in 1940. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War. The Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all other French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with most retaining close economic and military connections with France.France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art, science, and philosophy. It hosts the world's fifth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the 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 the tenth-largest by PPP. In terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world.