France

Full name of country: French Republic

Region: Europe

Official language: French

Population: 68,374,591 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) (noun), French (adjective)

Land area: 640,427 sq km (247,270 sq miles)

Water area: 3,374 sq km (1,303 sq miles)

Capital: Paris

National anthem: "La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille), by Claude-Joseph Rouget De Lisle

National holiday: Fete de la Federation, July 14 (1790); note - although often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, the celebration actually commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 July 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are Fete Nationale (National Holiday) and quatorze juillet (14th of July)

Population growth: 0.2% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC +1

Flag: The flag of France depicts three vertical color bands; one blue, one white and one red. It is known as “Le drepeau tricolore” (French Tricolor). The blue and red represent Paris while the white represents the Bourbon Dynasty. The colors have also been associated with the national motto.

Motto: “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood)

Independence: no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship); August 10, 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); July 14, 1789 (French monarchy overthrown); September 22, 1792 (First French Republic founded); October 4, 1958 (Fifth French Republic established)

Government type: semi-presidential republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: civil law; review of administrative but not legislative acts

France is a Western European country that has played a leading role in world history and culture. The French Revolution of the eighteenth century turned France from a kingdom into a republic. A nuclear power, France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a founder of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union.

France is bordered on several sides by water, including the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel. Land borders include Spain and Andorra (southwest), Switzerland and Italy (southeast), Germany (east), and Luxembourg and Belgium (northeast). Paris is known as the "City of Light" and has served for centuries as the center of French life as well as one of the world's great tourist cities.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: France is one of the most populous countries in Europe. About 81.8 percent of the population is urban. Paris, with around 11.208 million inhabitants, is by far the largest city. Other large cities are Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Toulouse, and Bordeaux (2023).

France is highly secularized, though the constitution protects freedom of religion. Since 1905, politics have been governed by the principle of laïcité (lay control), or strict separation between church and state, partly as a reaction against the Catholic Church's political activity. More than 49 percent are Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic), but only a small percent attend church regularly. About 33 percent of all French people profess no religion. There is a Muslim population of around 4 percent.

According to Institut national de la statistique et des etudes economiques (INSEE), 7 million immigrants were living in France and comprised 10.3 percent of the country's total population in 2022. Forty-eight percent of French immigrants came from countries in Africa; 33 percent came from European countries; 14 percent came from Asian countries; and 6 percent came from America and Oceania.

France has been an international cultural center for centuries. The top learned society is the French Institute (Institut de France), comprised of five academies or specialized societies. The oldest of the five is the forty-member French Academy (Académie française), founded in 1635 to protect the purity of the French language.

Languages:French, the official language, is descended from Latin. French is the official language in twenty-eight independent countries besides France. French is a language of global commerce, diplomacy, and sports.

Regional languages include Alsatian (a Germanic tongue spoken in Alsace) and Flemish (a Dutch dialect spoken in Flanders), and the Romance languages Catalan and Franco-Provençal. The government has begun to express greater support for regional languages, after centuries of a French-only policy.

To promote French language and culture, France has established an international community of French-speaking, or "Francophone," nations, similar in concept to the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Indigenous People: France's native population is largely of mixed Celtic, Latin, and Germanic ancestry.

The original inhabitants were Celts known collectively as the "Gauls," who were conquered by the Romans in the first century BCE and adopted their language. As Rome declined, the Germanic Franks conquered Gaul, renaming it "Frankland" (the origin of the name "France").

In the twenty-first century, France has large minorities from its former colonies in North Africa and Indochina. There is also a large Basque minority in the Pyrenees Mountains separating France and Spain.

Education: French public education extends from kindergarten (école maternelle or maternal school) through university. Children attend elementary school (école élémentaire) from ages six to eleven.

The first level of secondary education, or collège, has students ages eleven to fifteen and is equivalent to junior high or middle school in the United States. The second level of secondary education, the lycée, is equivalent to a US high school and has three main tracks: general, technological, and professional.

Études supérieures ("superior studies") refers to postsecondary education, including vocational and technical training, university education, and studies to prepare for the elite Grandes Écoles (literally, "great schools"), which produce most of France's top government and business leaders.

Health Care: France has nationalized health care that is ranked among the best health care systems in the world. Medical care is essentially free, paid by social security or medical insurance. Many private clinics and nonprofit health organizations also exist. France ranked 27th out of 191 countries and territories on the 2022 United Nations Human Development Index.

Food: France is known worldwide for its cuisine and its national passion for fine food. Paris is an international center of fine dining, with numerous five-star restaurants, but also excels in casual dining, with sidewalk cafes and bistros dotting the streets. There are also numerous regional styles and specialties.

Arts & Entertainment: The fine arts occupy a central place in French life. French artists and writers have been influential in the arts throughout history. The eighteenth-century Enlightenment helped spread French culture throughout Europe and America. French literature and drama are noted for their emphasis on clarity and reason yet also display a light-hearted and satirical side. Among the greatest French writers are the satirists François Rabelais and Voltaire, the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, and the novelists Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Émile Zola, and Alexandre Dumas.

France's major national dailies include Le Monde and Le Figaro. The Agence France Presse (AFP), founded in 1835, is one of the world's leading news organizations. The French helped to pioneer motion pictures in the late nineteenth century and remain leaders in the field, hosting numerous film festivals such as Cannes.

The French love sports: the most popular are football (soccer), rugby, tennis, and cycling. A major annual event is the Tour de France cycling race. The modern Olympic movement was founded in the late nineteenth century by French nobleman Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937).

Holidays: France's national holiday is the Fête Nationale (National Day), celebrated on July 14.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Mainland France is the largest nation in Western Europe. In addition to the mainland, France possesses numerous overseas departments and territories that are considered part of France proper. These include territories in the Americas, the Caribbean, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as territory claimed in Antarctica. France also claims a large region of coastal waters as an "exclusive economic zone" (EEZ); this zone covers just over 11 million square kilometers (around 4.26 million square miles).

Mainland France has many maritime borders, with around 4,853 kilometers (3,015 miles) of coastline. To the north and west, France is bordered by the North Sea, English Channel, and Atlantic Ocean. To the south, it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea.

The country is noted for its many rivers. The most important are the Seine, which flows through Paris; the Rhône, which drains into the Mediterranean; and the Garonne and Dordogne, which drain into the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic Coast.

Much of northern and western France is covered by plains or low hills. The south and east are mountainous, except for the southern plain near the Mediterranean. The major ranges are the Pyrenees in the south, on the Spanish border, and the Alps in the East. Mont Blanc, part of the Alps, is Western Europe's highest mountain, rising 4,807 meters (15,771 feet). Other mountain ranges are the Massif Central and the Vosges.

Natural Resources: France's greatest natural resources are agricultural fertility and extensive forests. Over half of the country is covered with rich farmland, and around 29.2 percent is forested (2018 estimate). There is very little oil, and France relies mostly on nuclear energy for its power.

Plants & Animals: France's wild animal population has largely vanished, except in forested regions and national parks, due to centuries of agricultural cultivation. The major wildlife species include deer and wild boar, as well as small mammals such as rabbits, beavers, and foxes. Threatened or vulnerable species include the Atlantic salmon.

According to Explore France, the French government established the Parcs Nationaux de France in 2006. By 2023, France had nine national parks, with a tenth scheduled to open in 2025, and over one hundred nature reserves, as well as fifty-one regional nature parks.

Climate: Metropolitan France has a generally temperate climate, with pleasant summers and cool winters. Because of the country's size and location, however, there are four regional climates: "Atlantic" along the northern and western coasts of the mainland, "Mediterranean" along the southern coast, "continental" in the main inland region, and "alpine" in the mountains of the Alps. The Mediterranean climate, with its hot summers, is marked by a strong wind known as the mistral which blows from the north or northwest.

Economy

France has one of the world's largest and most diversified economies, with strong agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors. In 2023, the estimated gross domestic product (GDP) was $3.764 trillion and the estimated GDP per capita was US$55,200 (in 2023 dollars).

A leading exporter, France exports many durable goods. France is one of Europe's leading agricultural exporters, with products focusing on grains and other foodstuffs. Other important market sectors are transportation, telecommunications, and financial services.

France is a leading member of the European Union (EU). Germany, Spain, China, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Belgium are France's leading trade partners. The economy has become increasingly market-driven, as governments have privatized state-run industries and allowed greater competition.

Industry: Major industries in France include agribusiness, chemicals, heavy manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and tourism. France is home to many world-famous brands. Groupe PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, and DS Automobiles brands) and Renault are among the world's best-known car makers. In aerospace, France is a major player in Europe's Airbus Industrie consortium of aircraft manufacturers.

France has a large railroad system, operated by the National Society of French Railways (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français). Many people own cars, but gasoline taxes are high in order to promote mass transit.

The country is a major maritime nation, with ports on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Among the largest are Marseilles on the Mediterranean, and Brest and La Rochelle on the Atlantic.

Agriculture: France is one of the world's largest agricultural exporters, with arable land that covers more than a third of the country's area. Major crops include grains (wheat, corn, and barley), potatoes, oilseed, and sugar beets. Livestock such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats are also important. France is a leading producer of wine, from regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne.

Tourism: France is one of the world's leading tourist nations, with around 217 million foreign visitors in 2019, but this number dropped to 177 million in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, France's tourism industry began to recover in 2021. The industry contributed 161.5 billion euros to the country's GDP and supported 2.6 million jobs that year.

Visitors come to enjoy the high cultural life in cities such as Paris, as well as the nation's great natural beauty. Among the most famous tourist attractions in Paris are the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Louvre Museum.

Government

France was formed in the year 485, when the Frankish king Clovis established a unified state and adopted Catholic Christianity as the official religion.

The monarchy lasted until the French Revolution of 1789, with the establishment of the First French Republic. Napoleon briefly restored the monarchy under the First French Empire (1804–15). The rest of the nineteenth century alternated between monarchy and republicanism. Napoleon's nephew Louis Napoleon declared a brief Second Republic (1848–52) but proclaimed himself emperor of the Second French Empire in 1852.

The Third Republic was established in 1870, following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and lasted until Germany occupied France in 1940. After the war, France established the Fourth Republic (1946–58) but this fell due to protests over French involvement in Algeria. The current Fifth Republic was established in 1958 under General Charles de Gaulle.

France has a mixed presidential system, in which a strong president serves as head of state but delegates much authority to a prime minister and cabinet whom he appoints. The president is elected by absolute majority vote, in two rounds if needed, and serves a five-year term. Duties include serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appointing high officials including judges and senior civil servants.

France's parliament is made up of the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and the Senate and is responsible for all legislation. National Assembly members, known as deputies, are elected to five-year terms by popular vote in their individual districts. Senators serve for six-year terms and are elected by the local administrative units known as departments.

France's legal system is based on Roman law. Civil courts include ordinary courts for general cases, as well as specialized courts for handling matters such as commercial law. Criminal courts are divided among petty offences, misdemeanors, and serious crimes. The Supreme Court of Cassation is the highest court, but the Council of State serves as highest administrative court.

The nine-member Constitutional Council rules on the constitutionality of legislation and oversees elections. Three members of the Constitutional Council are appointed by the president of the republic, three by the National Assembly president, and three by the Senate president.

There are eighteen administrative regions in France, including thirteen metropolitan regions and the five overseas regions/departments. The regions are subdivided into 101 departments in France, including the five overseas regions/departments of Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion. Each region and department has its own council, elected by popular vote. Each department is further divided into districts (arrondisements), cantons, and communes. The mayors of the communes are in charge of municipal services and serve in parliament.

In the early twenty-first century, five French overseas entities—French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion—were made part of France proper.

France's politics are strongly divided along left-right lines. Leftist parties include the Communists and Greens (Europe Ecology). Rightist parties include the Republicans and the hard-right National Front.

Interesting Facts

• The national anthem is "La Marseillaise," a marching song composed during the French Revolution in 1792. It has been the national anthem since 1795.
• The flag of France is known as the "tricolor" because of its three colors (blue, white, red). Blue and red signify the Revolution, while the white symbolizes royalty.
• As part of its renewable energy program, in late 2016, France became the first country to open a short road constructed with solar panels.
• In 2019, the FIFA Women's World Cup was held in France for the first time.

Bibliography

"Foreigners – Immigrants." French Economy Dashboard, INSEE, 2023, www.insee.fr/en/outil-interactif/5543645/tableau/20‗DEM/25‗ETR. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

"France." The World Bank, 2023, data.worldbank.org/country/France. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

"France." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 24 Oct. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/france/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

France's Travel and Tourism Could Surpass Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2023." World Travel and Tourism Council, 25 May 2022, wttc.org/news-article/frances-travel-and-tourism-could-surpass-pre-pandemic-levels-in-2023. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

"Human Development Insights." Human Development Reports, United Nations Human Development Programme, 2023, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

"National Parks." Explore France, 4 Jan. 2023, www.france.fr/en/news/article/national-parks. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.