France is a 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 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.
List of facts
France land area is almost 551,000 sq km.
There are an estimated 67 million people in France.
‘France’ originates from a Germanic tribe, the Franks, who settled there in the 2nd century.
The capital of France is Paris.
2.148 million people live in Paris.
Paris is known as the City of Light
Paris used to be a Roman town called Lutetia of the Parisii.
The Romans once ruled France but they referred to it as Gaul.
France is the largest country in the European Union.
France is divided into 13 Regions.
These regions are divided into 101 Departments.
There are 5 ROMs or overseas regions which are part of France.
France’s national motto is “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity”.
You can get a French Citizenship by joining the French Foreign Legion.
France is the world’s most popular tourist destination.
Approximately 85% of the French population resides in cities.
France is sometimes known as “The Hexagon” due to the fact that it has six sides.
The current French flag is known as the Tricolor for its blue, white and red stripes.
Louis XIX was the king of France for just 20 minutes, the shortest ever reign.
French was England’s official language for 300 years.
The French Army was the first to use camouflage.
The French language originates from Latin.
The world’s tallest bridge is located in southern France.
It is called the Millau Bridge and is 1125 feet tall.
The famous bicycle race the Tour De France is held in France.
Cars drive on the right.
The national flower of France is the sword lily.
The national animal is a Gallic Rooster.
France is one of the five UN Security Council permanent members.
France is one of the founding members of the United Nations.
The Palace of Versailles was built in the 17th century for King Louis XIV.
The predominant religion in France is Catholicism.
Over half of the roundabouts in the world are located in France.
In France, you can marry a dead person.
France became the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food.
The hot air ballon was also pioneered by two french brothers the Montgolfier.
The Louvre Museum in Paris is one of the most visited museum in the world.
France produces at least 1,200 cheese varieties in a year.
France consumes around 30,000 tonnes of snails in a year.
France banned unlimited ketchup and salad dressings.
France is the world’s biggest producer of wine.
Champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France.
It’s okay to drink alcohol at work in France.
11.2 billion glasses of wine are consumed each year.
The longest book in the world called A la recherche du temps perdu has over 3,000 pages.
France has a total of 41 UNESCO Heritage Sites.
The University of Paris or the “La Sorbonne” is Europe’s first established university.
Lake Geneva is France’s largest lake.
The highest mountain in France is Mont Blanc.
French citizens can claim their state pension as early as 62 years old.
France has 12 official time zones due to overseas territories.
France introduced the first automobile license plates.
Marseille is the oldest and second-largest city in France.
It used to be illegal in Paris for women to wear pants.
Emmanuel Macron became the youngest French President at 39 years old.
A taxi driver needed to pay at least €200,000 in order to get their license.
France has had 17 Nobel Laureates in Literature, the most in the world.
The French created the metric system of weights and measures in 1793.
Europe’s busiest railway station is Paris Gare du Nord.
190 million passengers go through the station each year.
The French Open for tennis is held each year in Paris.
A 1910 law bans couples from kissing on train platforms.
The French national anthem, “La Marseillaise” was written in 1792.
The world’s first artificial heart transplant took place in France in December 2013.
French surgeons were also the first to perform a face transplant in 2005.
The Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris is the most visited monument in Paris.
In France the forests cover around 28% of the country.
The French rail network is the second largest in Europe.
The longest river in France is the Loire River.
TV came to France in 1931.
The first public screening of a movie was by the French Lumière in 1895.
The oldest person who ever lived was a French woman named Jeanne Louise Calment.
Turning a baguette upside down is seen as unlucky in France.
There are over 700,000 farms in France.
In France, full-time workers have an official work of 35 hours in a week.
Part-time workers an average of 23.30 hours per week.
Workers have a guaranteed 5 weeks of vacation in a year.
