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 | ~550,000 km² ~212,000 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 European country, officially known under the name 'French Republic'. Its metropolitan territory, referred to as the Hexagone because of its geometric shape, extends from the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rhine and the Alps. This territory is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra and Spain. The Channel Tunnel also links France to the United Kingdom. Overseas, parts of its former colonial empire have remained under French sovereignty.
With nearly 62 million inhabitants in its metropolitan territory, France is one of the most populated nations in Europe. French people benefit from high living standards provided by one of the oldest industrial powers. The economy is characterised by a combination of free-market capitalism and traditional interventionism.
French culture has been deeply influenced by Roman civilisation and Christianity since antiquity. The Enlightenment and the following French Revolution gave France its current political shape, a democratic republic whose main fundamental principles are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
The capital, Paris, is also the most populated city and accounts for more than a quarter of the gross domestic product. The city and its region also host most of governmental and economic bodies as well as the most-renowned educational institutions.
In competition with United Kingdom, France was one of the world's foremost powers from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The First and Second World Wars and the loss of its huge colonial empire reduced France's prominence during the twentieth century. Despite this, France remains an important economic and political power, one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an acknowledged nuclear power. It is a member of the European Union, the United Nations and NATO.