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Outline of France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The location of Metropolitan France
The territory of the French Republic
An enlargeable map of Metropolitan France

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 l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon").

General reference[edit]

Constituent lands of the French Republic

Geography of France[edit]

An enlargeable topographic map of Metropolitan France
 Spain 623 km (387 mi)
 Belgium 620 km (385 mi)
  Switzerland 573 km (356 mi)
 Italy 488 km (303 mi)
 Germany 451 km (280 mi)
 Luxembourg 73 km (45 mi)
 Andorra 57 km (35 mi)
 Monaco 4 km (2 mi)
 Brazil 673 km (418 mi)
 Suriname 510 km (317 mi)
  • Coastline: 4,668 km (2,901 mi)
  • Metropolitan France: 3,427 km (2,129 mi)
  • Incorporated overseas territories: 1,241 km (771 mi)

Environment of France[edit]

An enlargeable satellite image of Metropolitan France

Geographic features of France[edit]

The Seine as seen from the Pont Royal

Regions of France[edit]

"Region" is also the name of France's main type of political division

Administrative divisions of France[edit]

Regions of France (Administrative)[edit]

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[edit]

Departments of France French departments are roughly analogous to British counties.

Departments and Regions of France
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
The Eiffel Tower, with the skyline of Paris in the background
Municipalities of France[edit]

Demography of France[edit]

Neighbors of France[edit]

Map showing France and its neighbours

Metropolitan France is bordered by:

France is also linked to:

France's overseas departments share borders with:

Government and politics of France[edit]

Branches of the government of France[edit]

Executive branch[edit]

Emmanuel Macron, current President of France

Legislative branch[edit]

Judicial branch[edit]

International relations of France[edit]

Foreign relations[edit]

International organization membership[edit]

The French Republic is a member of:[3]

Law of France[edit]

A policeman armed with a submachine gun guarding a police station in Paris

Historical law[edit]

Military of France[edit]

French Armed Forces, armed with FAMAS F1 assault rifles, await for the opening of the Memorial Day ceremony at the LaFayette Escadrille Monument in Paris, France.

History of France[edit]

General topics[edit]

Napoleon Crossing the Alps, by Jacques-Louis David. Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte

By period[edit]


Charles de Gaulle was the leader (and General) of the Free French Forces during World War II, he founded the Provisional Government of the French Republic, was a prime minister of the French Fourth Republic, and was the first president of the French Fifth Republic.

Culture of France[edit]

Palace of Versailles
Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day
The Louvre Museum, in Paris, is home to many of the world's greatest masterpieces of art, including the Mona Lisa.

Religion and belief systems in France[edit]

Sports in France[edit]

Tour de France 2005: Arrival in Mulhouse from Gérardmer
A traceur – a practitioner of parkour – performs an équilibre de chat (cat balance).

Sport articles specific to France:

Economy and infrastructure of France[edit]

TGV Duplex in Paris, Gare de Lyon. TVG stands for train à grande vitesse, which is French for "train of great speed"), and is the name of France's high-speed rail service.

France is the most visited country in the world, receiving over 79 million foreign tourists annually (including business visitors, but excluding people staying less than 24 hours in France).[4]

Euro banknotes

Education in France[edit]

The three stages of the education process in France:

Health in France[edit]

See also[edit]

France

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ French Guiana is located in South America; Guadeloupe and Martinique are in the Caribbean; and Réunion and Mayotte are in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa. All five are considered integral parts of the republic.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development. Human Development Report 2009. the United Nations Development Programme. New York. ISBN 978-0-230-23904-3
  2. ^ Map of France, SitesAtlas.com, 2009, webpage: SitA-507.
  3. ^ "France". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 2, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  4. ^ Government of France, Directorate of Tourism. "79 millions d'arrivées de touristes internationaux en 2006" (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-07-31.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Atlas of France

  • [1] Radio France Internationale in English

French government

Country profiles

Culture