Country Chooser Country InformationFrance Standards
Road Traffic:right side
Electricity:
Voltage:230V
Frequency:50 Hz
Plug types:E,
Note:Type
TV Systems:
System:SECAM L
DVD-Region: 2
Geography
Bordering countries:
Location:
metropolitan France: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
French Guiana: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Guadeloupe: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico
Martinique: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Reunion: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Area:
total: 643,427 sq km; 547,030 sq km (metropolitan France)
land: 640,053 sq km; 545,630 sq km (metropolitan France)
water: 3,374 sq km; 1,400 sq km (metropolitan France)
Climate:
metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
Terrain:
metropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east
French Guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin
Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
Economy
GDP:
$2.097 trillion (2008 est.)
$2.083 trillion (2007)
$2.074 trillion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP growth rate:
0.7% (2008 est.)
2.1% (2007 est.)
GDP per capita:
$32,700 (2008 est.)
$33,300 (2007 est.)
$32,800 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
Inflation rate: 1% (2008 est.)
Currency: euro (EUR)
Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
People
Population:
total: 64,057,792
note: 62,150,775 in metropolitan France (July 2009 est.)
Growth rate: 0.549% (2009 est.)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages:
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Government
Capital:
name: Paris
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
note: applies to metropolitan France only, not to its overseas departments, collectivities, or territories
Independence:
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Note: Information on France was mainly sourced from CIA's World Factbook and may represent an American point of view. To learn more about France, please visit one of the links below.
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Penthouse for sale in Beausoleil, France
France Real Estate
Aquitaine Real Estate,
Auvergne Real Estate,
Basse-Normandie Real Estate,
Bourgogne Real Estate,
Bretagne Real Estate,
Centre Real Estate,
Franche-Comté Real Estate,
Île-de-France Real Estate,
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Limousin Real Estate,
Midi-Pyrénées Real Estate,
Pays-de-la-Loire Real Estate,
Picardie Real Estate,
Poitou-Charentes Real Estate,
Provence-Alpes-Côte-dʿAzur Real Estate,
Rhône-Alpes Real Estate
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