France
| French Republic | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Motto | "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" |
| National anthem | La Marseillaise |
| Capital | Paris |
| Official language | French |
| Government type | Republic |
| President | Nicolas Sarkozy (before: Jacques Chirac) |
| Prime Minister | François Fillon (before: Dominique de Villepin) |
| Area | 674,83 km² 213,010 mi² |
| Population | 64 102 100 (20th) (2007 estimate) |
| Population density | 113/km² (89th) 293 mi² |
| HDI | 0.942 (high) (16th) (2004) |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) Summer:CEST (UTC+2) |
| Country codes | Internet TLD : fr Calling code : +33 |
France is a Western Europe country, officially known under the name 'French Republic'. It also comprises various overseas islands and territories located on other continents.
Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. Metropolitan France is also referred as the 'Hexagon' because of its geometric shape.
The direct neighbors of metropolitan France are :
France is also linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel.
Because of its overseas territories, France also shares land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin).
The French Republic is a democracy, is the sixth-largest economy in the world and is in the G8. It is a founding member of the European Union and the United Nations (permanent member of the United Nations Security Council).