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Geography of France
France is a country in Western Europe, bordering the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) and English Channel between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; and bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Spain. Mainland France's roughly hexagonal shape has lent itself to a popular French nickname: l'Hexagone. France is the largest West European nation.
Area
* Total area: 674,843 km2
o (Whole territory of the French Republic, including all the overseas departments and territories, but excluding the disputed French territory of Terre Adélie in Antarctica)
* Metropolitan France: 551,695 km2
o (Metropolitan - i.e. European - France only, French National Geographic Institute data)
* Metropolitan France: 543,965 km2
o (Metropolitan - i.e. European - France only, French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, glaciers larger than 1 km2, and estuaries)
Boundaries
* Land boundaries:
o Total: 4082,2 km
o 2889 km (metropolitan), 1183 km (French Guiana) 10,2 km (Saint Martin)
* Border countries:
o Andorra 56.6 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km (metropolitan)
o Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km, km (French Guiana)
o Netherlands Antilles 10,2 km; (Saint Martin)
* Coastline: 3,427 km (metropolitan), 378 km (French Guiana), 306 km (Guadeloupe), 350 km (Martinique), 207 km (Réunion)
* Maritime claims:
o Contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles (44 km)
o Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
o Exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km); does not apply to the Mediterranean
o Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km)
Internal divisions
Subdivisions of France
Regions and departments of France.
Metropolitan (i.e. European) France is divided into 22 régions (although strictly speaking Corsica is in fact a territorial collectivity, not a région, but is referred to as a region in common speech), which are subdivided into 96 départements, which are further divided into 329 arrondissements, which are further divided into 3,879 cantons, which are further divided into 36,568 communes (as of 1/1/2004). The current number is unknown.
French Guiana
The French Republic is further made up of the following overseas divisions:
* Four overseas regions (régions d'outre-mer, or ROM): Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, and Réunion, which have the same status as metropolitan regions (as much as Hawaii has the same status as a continental US state), each of these overseas regions also being an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM), with the same status as a département of metropolitan France. This double structure (région/département) is new, due to the recent extension of the regional scheme to the overseas départements, and may soon transform into a single structure, with the merger of the regional and departmental assemblies, unless new départements are created such as in the case of Réunion, where it has been proposed to create a second département in the south of the island, with the région of Réunion above these two départements.
* Five overseas collectivities (collectivités d'outre-mer, or COM): Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Wallis and Futuna, and Mayotte (although strictly speaking Mayotte is in fact a "departmental collectivity", not an overseas collectivity, with the possibility to become a full-status French département in 2010, but for the sake of clarity it is most often classified as overseas collectivity)
* One overseas "country" (pays d'outre-mer, or POM): French Polynesia. In 2003 it became an overseas collectivity (or COM). Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the particular designation of overseas country inside the Republic (or POM), but without legal modification of its status.
* One sui generis collectivity (collectivité sui generis): New Caledonia, whose status is unique in the French Republic
* One overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer, or TOM): the French Southern and Antarctic Lands divided into 5 districts: Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Islands, Amsterdam Island and Saint Paul Island, Adelie Land, and the Scattered islands (Bassas da India, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorioso, and Tromelin ).
* One uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico which belongs directly to the central State public land and is administered by the high-commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia: Clipperton
Terrain
Mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west.
Elevation extremes:
* Lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
* Highest point: Mont Blanc 4,808 m
Natural resources
Coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, potash, and zinc
Land use
* Arable land: 33%
* Permanent crops: 2%
* Permanent pastures: 20%
* Forests and woodland: 27%
* Other: 18% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 16,300 km² (1995 est.)
Natural hazards
Flooding; avalanches; forest fires
Environment
Environmental issues
Some forest damage from acid rain (major forest damage occurred as a result of severe December 1999 windstorm); air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff, high pesticide use (honeybee mortality)
International environmental agreements
* Party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
* Signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Cities and towns
Cities and major towns, or those of historical significance, include:
Abbeville, Ajaccio, Albertville, Albi, Amiens, Angers, Angouleme, Aurillac, Avignon, Bastia, Besançon, Bordeaux, Belfort, Brest, Brive, Caen, Cahors, Calais, Cannes, Carcassonne, Chamonix, Charleville-Mezieres, Chatellerault, Cherbourg, Chinon, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Deauville, Dieppe, Digne-les-Bains, Dijon, Dole, Domremy, Dreux, Dunkerque, Evreux, Grenoble, La Baule, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Lille, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Mende, Metz, Mont-de-Marsan, Montauban, Montpellier, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Nimes, Orléans, Paris, Pau, Perigueux, Perpignan, Poitiers, Quimper, Reims, Rennes, Rodez, Roubaix, Rouen, Saint-Gaudens, Saint-Etienne, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Tropez, Saumur, Sete, Soissons, Strasbourg, Tarbes, Toulon, Toulouse, Tours, Tourcoing, Troyes, Valence, Versailles, Vichy
Regions of France
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This article is part of the series on
Administrative divisions of France
Main article
Regions
(incl. overseas regions)
Departments
(incl. overseas departments)
Arrondissements
Cantons
Intercommunality
Urban communities
Agglomeration communities
Commune communities
Syndicates of New Agglomeration
Communes
Associated communes
Municipal arrondissements
Others in Overseas France
Overseas collectivities
Sui generis collectivity
Overseas country
Overseas territory
Clipperton Island
France is administratively divided into 26 regions or régions (in French), of which 21 are on mainland France, one is the island of Corsica, and four are overseas. Each mainland region and Corsica are further subdivided into 2 to 8 Departments, or départements.
General characteristics
In mainland France (excluding Corsica), the median land area of a region is 25,809 km² (9,965 sq mi), which is about 25% of the median land area of an Alaskan county, and only 4% as large as the median land area of a Canadian province, but 15% larger than the median land area of a German region/land, and 67% larger than the area of a region of England.
In 2004, the median population of a region in continental France was 2,329,000 inhabitants, which is a little less than one-half of the median population of a region of England, and three-quarters of the median population of a German lander (region), but more than twice the median population of a Canadian province.
Role
Regions do not have separate legislative authority and cannot therefore write their own statutory law. They levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a regional council (conseil régional) made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections.
A region's primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools. In March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contend that tax revenue is insufficient to be allocated to pay for the resulting costs and such measures would increase regional inequalities.
Apart from these legal attributions, regions have considerable discretionary powers for infrastructural spending, e.g., education, public transit, funding universities and research, and assistance for business owners. Because of this, being the regional head of a wealthy region such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be quite a high-profile position.
Occasional discussions about giving limited legislative autonomy to the regions remain controversial. There are also proposals to transfer certain local government powers of the departments to their respective regions, leaving the departments with very limited authority.
Regions and their Capitals
Nord-Pas
de Calais
Picardie
Haute-
Normandie
Île-de-
France
Champagne-
Ardenne
Lorraine
Alsace
Franche-
Comté
Bourgogne
Centre
Pays-de-la-
Loire
Bretagne
(Brittany)
Basse-
Normandie
Poitou-
Charentes
Limousin
Auvergne
Rhône-
Alpes
Aquitaine
Midi-Pyrénées
Languedoc-
Roussillon
Provence-Alpes-
Côte d'Azur
Corsica
Guyane
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Réunion
Belgium
Luxembourg
Germany
Switzerland
Italy
United Kingdom
Andorra
Spain
English Channel
Bay of
Biscay
Ligurian
Sea
Mediterranean
Sea
Metropolitan Regions Region Capital
Alsace Alsace Strasbourg
Aquitaine Aquitaine Bordeaux
Auvergne (region) Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand
Bourgogne Bourgogne Dijon
Brittany Brittany Rennes
Centre (region) Centre Orléans
Champagne-Ardenne Champagne-Ardenne Châlons-en-Champagne
Corsica Corsica Ajaccio
Franche-Comté Franche-Comté Besançon
Île-de-France (region) Île-de-France Paris
Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon Montpellier
Limousin (region) Limousin Limoges
Lorraine (region) Lorraine Metz
Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées Toulouse
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais Lille
Basse-Normandie Basse-Normandie Caen
Haute-Normandie Haute-Normandie Rouen
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire Nantes
Picardie Picardy Amiens
Poitou-Charentes Poitou-Charentes Poitiers
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Marseille
Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes Lyon
Overseas Regions Region Capital
French Guiana French Guiana Cayenne
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe Basse-Terre
Martinique Martinique Fort-de-France
Réunion Réunion Saint-Denis
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