Generalities
Area
550,000 sq. km France is the largest country in Western Europe (almost one fifth of the total area of the European Union), with a vast maritime zone (exclusive economic zone extending over 11 million sq. km).
Relief
Plains cover two thirds of the total area. Principal mountain ranges: the Alps (of which the highest peak, Mont Blanc, rising to 4,808 metres, is the highest mountain in Western Europe), Pyrenees, Jura, Ardennes, Massif Central and Vosges.
Coastline: Bordered by four seas (North Sea, Channel, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean), France has 5,500 km of coastline.
Climate
Three types:
- Oceanic in the west
- Mediterranean in the south
- Continental in central and eastern France
Environment
Farms and forests cover 48 million hectares, i.e. 82% of the total area of metropolitan France.
Nearly 30% of French territory is covered by forests, placing France third in the European Union in terms of land under forest, behind Sweden and Finland. Forested areas in France have doubled in the last 200 years and have expanded by 46% since 1945.
France boasts 136 different kinds of trees - exceptional for a European country - and the number of large animals is on the rise: in 20 years, the deer population has doubled and the number of roe deer has tripled.
In order to conserve and develop France’s natural heritage, the government has established:
- 7 national parks
- 156 nature reserves
- 516 designated areas for protected species
- 429 protected coastal areas
- France also has 37 regional nature parks covering more than 7% of the country.
€47.7 billion is allocated to the protection of the environment - €755.00 per inhabitant. Three quarters of this goes on waste water management and waste disposal.
France is party to many international treaties and conventions concerning the environment, among them United Nations agreements on climate, biodiversity and desertification.
www.environnement.gouv.fr
Population
63.8 million inhabitants (2008) Density: 98.1 inhabitants per sq. km France has 57 urban areas with over 100,000 inhabitants.
The five largest are:
Urban areas Population in 2005
1. Paris 9.6 million
2. Lille 1.7 million
3. Lyon 1.4 million
4. Marseille 1.3 million
5. Toulouse 1 million
Adminsitrative organization
The French Republic is made up of:
- Mainland France, divided into 22 regions and subdivided into 96 departments
- Four overseas departments (DOM) - Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane (French Guiana) and Réunion
- Seven overseas territories - French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Saint-Barthélémy, Saint-Martin
- and one territory with special status: New Caledonia