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French Republic
République française
Flag National emblem
Motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (French)
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem: "La Marseillaise"
Location of  metropolitan France  (dark green)

– in Europe  (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union  (green)

Territory of the French Republic in the world[note 1]
Territory of the French Republic in the world[note 1]
and largest city
Official languages French
[note 2]
Recognised languages
Demonym French
Government Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
 -  President François Hollande
 -  Prime Minister Manuel Valls
Legislature Parliament
 -  Upper house Senate
 -  Lower house National Assembly
 -  Kingdom of France
(Treaty of Verdun)
August 843 
 -  French Republic
(National Convention)
22 September 1792 
 -  Current constitution
(Fifth Republic)
4 October 1958 
 -  Total[note 3] 640,679[1] km2 (43rd)
246,201 sq mi
 -  Metropolitan France
   - IGN[note 4] 551,695 km2 (50th)
213,010 sq mi
   - Cadastre[note 5] 543,965 km2 (50th)
210,026 sq mi
 -  Total[note 3] 66,616,416[2] (20th)
 -  Metropolitan France 63,929,000[2] (22nd)
 -  Density[note 6] 116/km2 (89th)
301/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate
 -  Total $2.587 trillion[3] (8th)
 -  Per capita $40,445[3] (26th)
GDP (nominal) 2014 estimate
 -  Total $2.902 trillion[3] (5th)
 -  Per capita $45,384[3] (18th)
Gini (2008) 32.7[4]
HDI (2013) Steady 0.884[5]
very high · 20th
Time zone CET[note 9] (UTC+1)
 -  Summer (DST) CEST[note 10] (UTC+2)
Date format dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the right
Calling code +33[note 11]
ISO 3166 code FR
Internet TLD .fr[note 12]

France (Listeni/fræns/; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( )), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories.[note 13] Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean; due to its shape, it is often referred to in French as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon"). France is one of only three countries (with Morocco and Spain) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. France has a population of 66 million. France is a semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the nation's largest city and the main cultural and commercial center. The Constitution of France establishes the country as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people.

During the Iron Age, what is now France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The Gauls were conquered by the Roman Empire in 51 BC, which held Gaul until 486. The Gallo-Romans faced raids and migration from the Germanic Franks, who dominated the region for hundreds of years, eventually creating the medieval Kingdom of France. France's victory in the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453) strengthened French nationalism and paved the way for a future centralized absolute monarchy. France has been a major power in Europe since the Late Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, France experienced a vast cultural development and established the first steps of a worldwide colonial empire. The 16th century was dominated by Religious Civil Wars primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots).

Louis XIV made France the cultural, political and military dominant power in Europe, but by the late 18th century, the monarchy was overthrown in the French Revolution. The nation's ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, one of the world's earliest documents on human rights. The country was governed as a Republic, until the Empire was declared by Napoleon Bonaparte. As Napoleon I, he dominated European affairs and had a long-lasting impact on Western culture. Following Napoleon's defeat, an absolute monarchy was restored, replaced in 1830 by a constitutional monarchy, then briefly by a Second Republic, and then by a Second Empire, until a more lasting French Third Republic was established in 1870.

France's colonial empire reached the height of global prominence during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it possessed the second-largest colonial empire in the world.[6]In World War I, France was one of the Triple Entente powers fighting against Germany and the Central Powers. France was one of the Allied Powers in World War II, but it was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established, but it lasted less than a decade and a half. In the wake of the May 1958 crisis of the Algerian War, the Fourth Republic collapsed and was succeeded by the Charles de Gaulle-led French Fifth Republic. Into the 1960s decolonization saw most of the French colonial empire become independent. Throughout its long history, France has produced many influential artists, thinkers, and scientists, and remains a prominent global center of culture. It hosts the world's fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually – the most of any country in the world.[7]

France remains a great power with significant cultural, economic, military, and political influence in Europe and around the world.[8] It has the world's fifth-largest military budget,[9] third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons,[10] and second-largest diplomatic corps.[11] Due to its overseas regions and territories throughout the world, France has the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world.[12] France is a developed country and has the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and eighth-largest by purchasing power parity.[13] In terms of total household wealth, France is the wealthiest nation in Europe and fourth in the world.[14] French citizens enjoy a high standard of living, and the country performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, civil liberties, and human development.[15][16] France is a founding member of the United Nations, where it serves as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. It is a member of numerous international institutions, including the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and La Francophonie. France is a founding and leading member state of the EU.[17]


Main article: Name of France

The name "France" comes from the Latin Francia, which means "country of the Franks".[18] Originally it applied to the whole Empire of the Franks. Modern France is still named today Frankreich in German language (Frankrijk in Dutch), meaning "Frank Reich", the Realm of the Franks.

There are various theories as to the origin of the name Frank. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm,[19] the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank (free) in English.[20] It has been suggested that the meaning of "free" was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation.[21] An other theory is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon, which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca.[22] It seems that these weapons were named because of their use by the Franks, and not the other way around.[23]


Main article: History of France


Main article: Prehistory of France
One of the Lascaux paintings of which depicts a horse (Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC).

The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1.8 million years ago.[24] Humans were then confronted by a hard and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras, which led them to a nomadic hunter-gatherer life.[24] France has a large number of decorated caves from the upper Paleolithic era, including one of the most famous and best preserved: Lascaux[24] (approximately 18,000 BC).



Main articles: Gaul, Celts and Roman Gaul




Around 390 BC the Gallic chieftain Brennus and his troops made their way to Italy through the Alps, defeated the Romans in the Battle of the Allia, and besieged and ransomed Rome. The Gallic invasion left Rome weakened and the Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC, when they entered into a formal peace treaty with Rome. But the Romans and the Gauls would maintain an adversarial relationship for the next several centuries and the Gauls would remain a threat in Italia.



Kingdom of Francia (3rd century–843)

Frankish expansion from 481 to 843/870.







Kingdom of France (843–1791)

The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of the Franks.[40] His descendants – the Capetians, the House of Valois, and the House of Bourbon – progressively unified the country through wars and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France, which was fully declared in 1190 by Philip II Augustus. Gerbert d'Aurillac (Gerbert of Aurillac) was the first French pope; his reign as Pope Sylvester II lasted from 999 to 1003. The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed into the kingdom of France.[41] Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred on a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners.


Charles IV the Fair died without an heir in 1328.[42] Under the rules of the Salic law the crown of France could not pass to a woman nor could the line of kingship pass through the female line.[42] Accordingly, the crown passed to Philip of Valois, a cousin of Charles, rather than through the female line to Charles' nephew, Edward, who would soon become Edward III of England. During the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power.[42] Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death,[43] England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.[44] The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for decades. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back English continental territories. Like the rest of Europe, France was struck by the Black Death; half of the 17 million population of France died.[45][46]





The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers at the Palace of Versailles, Louis XIV's personal power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power. France possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France) and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became the most-used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs, and remained so until the 20th century.[48] France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, forcing thousands of Huguenots into exile.

Under Louis XV, France lost New France and most of its Indian possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763. Its continental territory kept growing, however, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770). An unpopular king, Louis XV's weak rule, his ill-advised financial, political and military decisions, and his debauchery discredited the monarchy and arguably led to the French Revolution 15 years after his death.[49][50]

Louis XVI, Louis XV's grandson, actively supported the Americans, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain (realized in the Treaty of Paris (1783)). The example of the American Revolution and the financial crisis that followed France's involvement in it were two of many contributing factors to the French Revolution. Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the discovery of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists. French explorers, such as Bougainville and Lapérouse, took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and helped pave the way for the French Revolution.

Republics and Empires (1792–)



European monarchies gathered against the new régime, to restore the French absolute monarchy. The foreign threat exacerbated France's political turmoil and deepened the sense of urgency among the various factions and war was declared against Austria on 20 April 1792. Mob violence occurred during the insurrection of 10 August 1792[51] and the following month.[52] As a result of this violence and the political instability of the constitutional monarchy, the Republic was proclaimed on 22 September 1792.







France was a member of the Triple Entente when World War I broke out. A small part of Northern France was occupied, but France and its allies emerged victorious against the Central Powers, at a tremendous human and material cost. World War I left 1.4 million French soldiers dead, 4% of its population,[56] between 27 and 30% of the conscript classes of 1912–1915.[57] The interbellum years were marked by intense international tensions and a variety of social reforms introduced by the Popular Front government (Annual leave, working time reduction, women in Government among others).


In 1940 France was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. Metropolitan France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north and Vichy France, a newly established authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, in the south, while Free France, the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle, was set up in London.[58] From 1942 to 1944, about 160,000 French citizens, including around 75,000 Jews,[59][60][61] were deported to death camps and concentration camps in Germany and Poland.[62] On 6 June 1944 the Allies invaded Normandy and in August they invaded Provence. Over the following year the Allies and the French Resistance emerged victorious over the Axis powers and French sovereignty was restored with the establishment of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF). This interim government, established by de Gaulle, aimed to continue to wage war against Germany and to purge collaborators from office. It also made several important reforms (suffrage extended to women, creation of the Social security, founding of the École nationale d'administration).


In 1958, the weak and unstable Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic, which contained a strengthened Presidency.[65] In the latter role, Charles de Gaulle managed to keep the country together while taking steps to end the war. The Algerian War was concluded with the Évian Accords in 1962 that led to Algerian independence. France granted independence progressively to its colonies. A vestige of the colonial empire are the French overseas departments and territories.

In the context of the Cold War, de Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence" towards the Western and Eastern blocks. To this end, he withdrew from NATO's military integrated command, he launched a nuclear development program and made France the fourth nuclear power. He restored cordial Franco-German relations in order to create a European counterweight between the American and Soviet spheres of influence. However, he opposed any development of a supranational Europe, favouring a Europe of sovereign Nations. In the wake of the series of worldwide protests of 1968, the revolt of May 1968 had an enormous social impact. In France, it is considered to be the watershed moment when a conservative moral ideal (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shifted towards a more liberal moral ideal (secularism, individualism, sexual revolution). Although the revolt was a political failure, as the Gaullist party emerged even stronger than before, it announced a split between the French and de Gaulle who resigned shortly after.

In the post-Gaullist era, France remained one of the most developed economy in the World, but faced several economic crises that resulted in high unemployment rate and increasing public debt. Lately, France has been at the forefront of the development of a supranational European Union, notably by adopting the Euro currency.[66]France has also gradually but fully reintegrated NATO and has participated since then in most of NATO sponsored wars[67]


Main article: Geography of France




The European territory of France covers 547,030 square kilometres (211,209 sq mi),[68] the largest among European Union members.[17] France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west.


France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is 674,843 km2 (260,558 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. France possesses the second largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world,[70] covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,637 sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the United States (11,351,000 km2 or 4,382,646 sq mi).[71]


The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France.[72] In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and warm summers. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.



France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971.[73] Although it is one of the most industrialised countries in the world, France is ranked only 17th by carbon dioxide emissions, behind less populous nations such as Canada or Australia. This is due to France's decision to invest in nuclear power following the 1973 oil crisis,[74] which now accounts for 75% of its electricity production[75] and results in less pollution.[76][77]

Like all European Union members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020,[78] compared to the U.S. plan to reduce emissions by 4% of 1990 levels.[79] As of 2009, French carbon dioxide emissions per capita were lower than that of China's.[80] The country was set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 Euros per tonne of carbon emitted,[81] which would have raised 4 billion Euros of revenue annually.[82] However, the plan was abandoned due to fears of burdening French businesses.[83]

Forests account for 28% of France's land area,[84][85] and are some of the most diverse in Europe, comprising more than 140 species of trees.[86] There are nine national parks[87] and 46 natural parks in France,[88] with the government planning to convert 20% of its Exclusive Economic Zone into a Marine Protected Area by 2020.[89] A regional nature park[90] (French: parc naturel régional or PNR) is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the French national government covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty, in order to protect the scenery and heritage as well as setting up sustainable economic development in the area.[91] A PNR sets goals and guidelines for managed human habitation, sustainable economic development, and protection of the natural environment based on each park's unique landscape and heritage. The parks also foster ecological research programs and public education in the natural sciences.[92] As of 2014 there are 49 PNRs in France.


Administrative divisions


France is divided into 27 administrative regions: 22 regions in metropolitan France (including the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and five located overseas.[68] The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments,[95] which are numbered mainly alphabetically. This number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates among others. Among the 101 departments of France, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs) and are an integral part of France (and the European Union) and thus enjoy exactly the same status as metropolitan departments.



Overseas territories and collectivities




Name Constitutional status Capital
 New Caledonia Sui generis collectivity Nouméa


Main article: Politics of France


The French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic with strong democratic traditions.[98] The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by referendum on 28 September 1958.[99] It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to parliament. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the President of the Republic, currently François Hollande, who is head of state and is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 5-year term (formerly 7 years),[100] and the Government, led by the president-appointed Prime Minister, currently Manuel Valls.

The French parliament is a bicameral legislature comprising a National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and a Senate.[101] The National Assembly deputies represent local constituencies and are directly elected for 5-year terms.[102] The Assembly has the power to dismiss the government, and thus the majority in the Assembly determines the choice of government. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 6-year terms (originally 9-year terms), and one half of the seats are submitted to election every 3 years starting in September 2008.[103]

The Senate's legislative powers are limited; in the event of disagreement between the two chambers, the National Assembly has the final say.[104] The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament.

French politics are characterised by two politically opposed groupings: one left-wing, centred on the French Socialist Party, and the other right-wing, centred previously around the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) and now its successor the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).[105] Since the 2012 elections, the executive branch is currently composed mostly of the Socialist Party.


Main article: Law of France





France does not recognize religious law as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions. France has long had neither blasphemy laws nor sodomy laws (the latter being abolished in 1791). However, "offenses against public decency" (contraires aux bonnes mœurs) or disturbing public order (trouble à l'ordre public) have been used to repress public expressions of homosexuality or street prostitution. Since 1999, civil unions for homosexual couples are permitted, and since May 2013, same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption are legal in France.[106] Laws prohibiting discriminatory speech in the press are as old as 1881. Some consider however that hate speech laws in France are too broad or severe and damage freedom of speech.[107] France has laws against racism and antisemitism.[108] Since 1990, the Gayssot Act prohibits Holocaust denial.


Foreign relations

French President François Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, in 1987.

France is a member of the United Nations and serves as one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto rights.[112] It is also a member of the G8, World Trade Organization (WTO),[113] the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)[114] and the Indian Ocean Commission (COI).[115] It is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)[116] and a leading member of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) of fifty-one fully or partly French-speaking countries.[117]

As a significant hub for international relations, France hosts the second largest assembly of diplomatic missions in the world and the headquarters of international organizations including the OECD, UNESCO, Interpol, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, and la Francophonie.[118]

Postwar French foreign policy has been largely shaped by membership of the European Union, of which it was a founding member. Since the 1960s, France has developed close ties with reunified Germany to become the most influential driving force of the EU.[119] In the 1960s, France sought to exclude the British from the European unification process,[120] seeking to build its own standing in continental Europe. However, since 1904, France has maintained an "Entente cordiale" with the United Kingdom, and there has been a strengthening of links between the countries, especially militarily.

France is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), but under President de Gaulle, it excluded itself from the joint military command to protest the special relationship between the United States and Britain and to preserve the independence of French foreign and security policies.[121] France vigorously opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq,[122][123] straining bilateral relations with the US[124][125] and the UK.[126] However, as a result of Nicolas Sarkozy's pro-American politics (much criticised in France by the leftists and by a part of the right),[127][128] France rejoined the NATO joint military command on 4 April 2009.


France retains strong political and economic influence in its former African colonies (Françafrique)[130] and has supplied economic aid and troops for peace-keeping missions in Ivory Coast and Chad.[131] Recently, after the unilateral declaration of independence of northern Mali by the Tuareg MNLA and the subsequent regional Northern Mali conflict with several Islamist groups including Ansar Dine and MOJWA, France and other African states intervened to help the Malian Army to retake control.

In 2009, France was the second largest (in absolute numbers) donor of development aid in the world, behind the US, and ahead of Germany, Japan and the UK.[132] This represents 0.5% of its GDP, in this regard rating France as tenth largest donor on the list.[133] The organisation managing the French help is the French Development Agency, which finances primarily humanitarian projects in sub-Saharan Africa.[134] The main goals of this help are "developing infrastructure, access to health care and education, the implementation of appropriate economic policies and the consolidation of the rule of law and democracy."[134]


Main article: French Armed Forces

The French Armed Forces (Armées françaises) are the military and paramilitary forces of France, under the president as supreme commander. They consist of the French Army (Armée de Terre), French Navy (Marine Nationale), the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) and the auxiliary paramilitary force, the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) and are among the largest armed forces in the world. While administratively a part of the French armed forces, and therefore under the purview of the Ministry of Defence, the Gendarmerie is operationally attached to the Ministry of the Interior.

The gendarmerie is a military police force that serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force. It encompasses the counter terrorist units of the Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie (Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) and the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale). One of the French intelligence units, the Directorate-General for External Security (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure) reports to the Ministry of Defence. The other, the Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence (Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur), reports directly to the Ministry of the Interior. There has been no national conscription since 1997.[135] France has a unique military wing, the French Foreign Legion, which consists of foreign nationals from over 140 countries who are willing to serve in the French Armed Forces.

France is a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN, and a recognised nuclear state since 1960. France has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)[136] and acceeded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. France's annual military expenditure in 2011 was US$62.5 billion, or 2.3%, of its GDP making it the fifth biggest military spender in the world after the United States, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom.[137]


France has major military industries with one of the largest aerospace industries in the world.[139][140] Its industries have produced such equipment as the Rafale fighter, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the Exocet missile and the Leclerc tank among others. Despite withdrawing from the Eurofighter project, France is actively investing in European joint projects such as the Eurocopter Tiger, multipurpose frigates, the UCAV demonstrator nEUROn and the Airbus A400M. France is a major arms seller,[141][142] with most of its arsenal's designs available for the export market with the notable exception of nuclear-powered devices.

The military parade held in Paris each 14 July for France's national day is the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe.[143]

Government finance



In June, Hollande's Socialist Party won a supermajority in legislative elections capable of amending the French Constitution and enabling the immediate enactment of the promised reforms. French government bond interest rates fell 30% to record lows,[144] less than 50 basis points above German government bond rates.[145]

Government debt




Main article: Economy of France
France derives 75% of its electricity from nuclear power, the highest percentage in the world.[148]

A member of the Group of 7 (formerly G8) leading industrialised countries, it is ranked as the world's seventh largest and the EU's second largest economy by purchasing power parity.[13] With 39 of the 500 biggest companies in the world in 2010, France ranks fourth in the Fortune Global 500, ahead of Germany and the UK.[149] France joined 11 other EU members to launch the euro in 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc (₣) in 2002.[150]

France has a mixed economy that combines extensive private enterprise[151][152] with substantial state enterprise and government intervention. The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications.[68] It has been relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s.[68] The government is slowly corporatising the state sector and selling off holdings in France Télécom, Air France, as well as in the insurance, banking, and defence industries.[68] France has an important aerospace industry led by the European consortium Airbus, and has its own national spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais.

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), in 2009 France was the world's sixth largest exporter and the fourth largest importer of manufactured goods.[153] In 2008, France was the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment among OECD countries at $118 billion, ranking behind Luxembourg (where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers to banks located there) and the US ($316 billion), but above the UK ($96.9 billion), Germany ($25 billion), or Japan ($24 billion).[154][155]


Financial services, banking and the insurance sector are an important part of the economy. The Paris stock exchange (French: La Bourse de Paris) is an old institution, created by Louis XV in 1724.[156] In 2000, the stock exchanges of Paris, Amsterdam and Bruxelles merged into Euronext.[157] In 2007, Euronext merged with the New York stock exchange to form NYSE Euronext, the world's largest stock exchange.[157] Euronext Paris, the French branch of the NYSE Euronext group is Europe's 2nd largest stock exchange market, behind the London Stock Exchange.

French companies have maintained key positions in the insurance and banking industries: AXA is the world's largest insurance company. The leading French banks are BNP Paribas and the Crédit Agricole, ranking as the world's first and sixth largest banks in 2010[158] (by assets), while the Société Générale group was ranked the world's eighth largest in 2009.


Further information: Energy in France

Électricité de France (EDF), the main electricity generation and distribution company in France, is also one of the world's largest producers of electricity. In 2003, it produced 22% of the European Union's electricity, primarily from nuclear power. France is the smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the G8, due to its heavy investment in nuclear power.[159] As a result of large investments in nuclear technology, most electricity produced by France is generated by 59 nuclear power plants (75% in 2012).[160] In this context, renewable energies are having difficulty taking off. France also uses hydroelectric dams to produce electricity, such as the Eguzon dam, Étang de Soulcem, and Lac de Vouglans.


The world-famous Champagne, widely regarded as a luxury good associated with the celebration of many important events or festivities, originates from the Champagne region in northeast France.

France has historically been a large producer of agricultural products.[161] Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EU subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer and exporter in Europe[162] (representing 20% of the EU's agricultural production[163]) and the world's third biggest exporter of agricultural products.[164]

Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as internationally recognized processed foods are the primary French agricultural exports. Rosé wines are primarily consumed within the country, but Champagne and Bordeaux wines are major exports, being known worldwide. EU agriculture subsidies to France have decreased in recent years, but still amounted to $8 billion in 2007.[165] That same year, France sold 33.4 billion euros of transformed agricultural products.[166]


Labour market and unemployment

When "GDP per capita" is converted to U.S. dollars using purchasing power parities, it is the most widely used income measure for international comparisons of living standards. According to the American Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a 2011 report showed that France's GDP per capita is similar to the UK, with just over US$35,000 GDP per capita.[167]The New York Times Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman used the BLS data to state in January 2011 that "French workers are roughly as productive as US workers", but fewer French people were working in 2011 and "when they work, they work fewer hours". Krugman concluded that the differences were due to the French making "different choices about retirement and leisure."[168]

Keynesian economists sought out different solutions to the unemployment issue in France, and their theories led to the introduction of the 35-hour workweek law in 1999, which eventually failed to reduce the unemployment rate. Between 2004 and 2008, the government attempted to combat unemployment with supply-side reforms, but was met with fierce resistance;[169] the contrat nouvelle embauche and the contrat première embauche were of particular concern, and both were eventually repealed.[170] The Sarkozy government used the revenu de solidarité active to redress the negative effect of the revenu minimum d'insertion on the incentive to work.[171]

French employment rates for 15–64 years is one of the lowest of the OECD countries: in 2012, only 71% of the French population aged 15–64 years were in employment, compared to 74% in Japan, 77% in the UK, 73% in the US and 77% in Germany.[172] This gap is due to the low employment rate for 15–24 years old: 38% in 2012, compared to 47% in the OECD. Conservative economists attribute the low employment rate, particularly evident among young people, to high minimum wages that prevent low productivity workers—such as young people—from easily entering the labour market.[173] But Krugman states by contrast in his January 2011 Op-Ed that fewer French young people work "in part because of more generous college aid", while the overall employment rate is lower than in the US because of the comparatively early retirement age in France—i.e. the difference is partly volitional.[168]

A December 2012 New York Times article reported on a "floating generation" in France that formed part of the 14 million unemployed young Europeans documented by the Eurofound research agency. In the same article, a senior economist studying unemployment at the OECD estimated that nearly two million young people in France had given up looking for employment at that time, while French labour minister Michel Sapin said that 82 percent of people hired were on temporary contracts. Sapin further explained that the challenge at that time was to create a more flexible system, in which greater trust existed between unions and companies, and “partial unemployment” was accommodated during difficult periods. The floating generation was attributed to a dysfunctional system: "an elitist educational tradition that does not integrate graduates into the work force, a rigid labor market that is hard to enter, and a tax system that makes it expensive for companies to hire full-time employees and both difficult and expensive to lay them off."[174] In July 2013, the unemployment rate for France was 11%.[175]

In early April 2014, employers' federations and unions negotiated an agreement with technology and consultancy employers, as employees had been experiencing an extension of their work time through smartphone communication outside of official working hours. Under a new, legally binding labour agreement, around 250,000 employees will avoid handling work-related matters during their leisure time and their employers will, in turn, refrain from engaging with staff during this time.[176]


Main article: Tourism in France
The iconic Canal du Midi, in the South of France, was inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, as it "combines with its technological innovation a concern for high aesthetic architectural and landscape design that has few parallels."[177]



The Galerie des Glaces of the Palace of Versailles. France is home to many Châteaux, one of the most famous being that of the city of Versailles, which has remained a very popular tourist destination to this day.

With more than 10 millions tourists a year, the French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur), in south-east France, is the second leading tourist destination in the country, after the Paris region.[180] It benefits from 300 days of sunshine per year, 115 kilometres (71 mi) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants.[181] Each year the Côte d'Azur hosts 50% of the world's superyacht fleet.[182]



Main article: Transport in France

The railway network of France, which as of 2008 stretches 29,473 kilometres (18,314 mi)[184] is the second most extensive in Western Europe after that of Germany.[185] It is operated by the SNCF, and high-speed trains include the Thalys, the Eurostar and TGV, which travels at 320 km/h (199 mph) in commercial use.[186] The Eurostar, along with the Eurotunnel Shuttle, connects with the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries in Europe, except Andorra. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both underground services and tramway services complementing bus services.

There are approximately 1,027,183 kilometres (638,262 mi) of serviceable roadway in France, ranking it the most extensive network of the European continent.[187] The Paris region is enveloped with the most dense network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all parts of the country. French roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighbouring Belgium, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; however, motorway usage is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The new car market is dominated by domestic brands such as Renault (27% of cars sold in France in 2003), Peugeot (20.1%) and Citroën (13.5%).[188] Over 70% of new cars sold in 2004 had diesel engines, far more than contained petrol or LPG engines.[189] France possesses the Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge,[190] and has built many important bridges such as the Pont de Normandie.

There are 475 airports in France.[68] Charles de Gaulle Airport, located in the vicinity of Paris, is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic and connecting Paris with virtually all major cities across the world. Air France is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are ten major ports in France, the largest of which is in Marseille,[191] which also is the largest bordering the Mediterranean Sea.[192][193] 12,261 kilometres (7,619 mi) of waterways traverse France including the Canal du Midi, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean through the Garonne river.[68]



Population density in the French Republic at the 1999 census.

With an estimated population of 66 million people as of July 2013, France is the 21st-most populous country in the world and the third-most populous in Europe.[68]


From 2006 to 2011 population growth was on average +0.6% per year.[194] Immigrants are also major contributors to this trend; in 2010, 27% of newborns in metropolitan France had at least one foreign-born parent and 24% had at least one parent born outside of Europe (parents born in overseas territories are considered as born in France).[197]

Ethnic groups

Although the French people are historically of Celtic (Gallic and Breton), Latin, Aquitanian, and Germanic (Frankish, Alemannic, Viking) origin, they are today a mixture of several other ethnic groups, due mostly to large-scale immigration over the last century and a half. In 2004, the Institut Montaigne estimated that within Metropolitan France, 51 million people were White (85% of the population), 6 million were North African (10%), 2 million were Black (3.5%), and 1 million were Asian (1.5%).[198][199]

A law originating from the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the 1958 French Constitution makes it illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and ancestry, although some surveys, such as the TeO ("Trajectories and origins") poll conducted jointly by INED and INSEE in 2008, are allowed to do so.[200][201] It was estimated that 5 million people were of Italian ancestry (the most numerous immigrant community), between 3 million[202][203] and 6 million[204] people are of North African ancestry, 2.5 million people are of Sub-Saharan African origin, 200,000 people are of Turkish ancestry,[205] and many more are of other European ethnic ancestry, namely Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Greek.[202][206][207]

It is currently estimated that 40% of the French population is descended at least partially from the different waves of immigration the country has received since the early 20th century;[208] between 1921 and 1935 alone, about 1.1 million net immigrants came to France.[209] The next largest wave came in the 1960s, when around 1.6 million pieds noirs returned to France following the independence of its North African possessions, Algeria and Morocco.[210][211] They were joined by numerous former colonial subjects from North and West Africa, as well as numerous immigrants from Spain and Portugal.

France remains a major destination for immigrants, accepting about 200,000 legal immigrants annually.[212] It is also Western Europe's leading recipient of asylum seekers, with an estimated 50,000 applications in 2005 (a 15% decrease from 2004).[213] The European Union allows free movement between the member states, although France established controls to curb Eastern European migration, and immigration remains a contentious political issue.

In 2008, the French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that the total number of foreign-born immigrants was around 5 million (8% of the population), while their French-born descendants numbered 6.5 million, or 11% of the population. Thus, nearly a fifth of the country's population were either first or second-generation immigrants, more than 5 million of European origin and 4 million of Maghrebi origin.[214][215][216] In 2008, France granted citizenship to 137,000 persons, mostly to people from Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.[217]

Major cities


Commune Department Region Pop. 1999 census Rank
Paris Paris Île-de-France 2,125,246 1
Marseille Bouches-du-Rhône Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 798,430 2
Lyon Rhône Rhône-Alpes 445,452 3
Toulouse Haute-Garonne Midi-Pyrénées 390,350 4
Nice Alpes-Maritimes Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 342,738 5
Nantes Loire-Atlantique Pays de la Loire 270,251 6
Strasbourg Bas-Rhin Alsace 264,115 7
Montpellier Hérault Languedoc-Roussillon 225,392 8
Bordeaux Gironde Aquitaine 215,363 9
Lille[²] Nord Nord-Pas-de-Calais 212,597 10


France's legacy: a map of the Francophone world
  native language
  administrative language
  secondary or non-official language
  francophone minorities

According to Article 2 of the Constitution, the official language of France is French,[218] a Romance language derived from Latin. Since 1635, the Académie française has been France's official authority on the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal power.


From the 17th to the mid-20th century, French served as the pre-eminent international language of diplomacy and international affairs as well as a lingua franca among the educated classes of Europe.[219] The dominant position of French language in international affairs was overtaken by English, since the emergence of the US as a major power.[48][220][221]



It is estimated that between 300 million[224] and 500 million[225] people worldwide can speak French, either as a mother tongue or a second language.


Main article: Religion in France


Catholicism has been the predominant religion in France for more than a millennium, though it is not as actively practised today as it was. Among the 47,000 religious buildings in France, 94% are Roman Catholic.[227] While in 1965, 81% of the French declared themselves to be Catholics, in 2009 this proportion was 64%. Moreover, while 27% of the French went to Mass once a week or more in 1952, only 5% did so in 2006.[228] The same survey found that Protestants accounted for 3% of the population, an increase from previous surveys, and 5% adhered to other religions, with the remaining 28% stating they had no religion.[228] Evangelical Christianity may be the fastest growing religion in France.[229]

The French Revolution saw a radical shift in the status of the Catholic Church with the launch of a brutal campaign of de-Christianization. After the back and forth of Catholic royal and secular republican governments over the 19th century, laïcité was established with the 1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State.[230]

According to a poll in January 2007,[231] only 5% of the French population attended church regularly (10% attend church services regularly among the respondents who did identify themselves as Catholics). The poll showed[232] 51% identified as being Catholics, 31% identified as being agnostics or atheists (another poll[233] sets the proportion of atheists equal to 27%), 10% identified as being from other religions or being without opinion, 4% identified as Muslim, 3% identified as Protestant, 1% identified as Buddhist, 1% identified as Jewish. Meanwhile, an independent estimate by the politologist Pierre Bréchon in 2009 concluded that the proportion of Catholics had fallen to 42% while the number of atheists and agnostics had risen to 50%.[234]

Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely. In 2003, the French Ministry of the Interior estimated the total number of people of Muslim background to be between 5 and 6 million (8–10%).[235][236] According to the Pewforum, "In France, proponents of a 2004 law banning the wearing of religious symbols in schools say it protects Muslim girls from being forced to wear a headscarf, but the law also restricts those who want to wear headscarves – or any other “conspicuous” religious symbol, including large Christian crosses and Sikh turbans – as an expression of their faith"[237]


Since 1905 the French government has followed the principle of laïcité, in which it is prohibited from recognising any specific right to a religious community (except for legacy statutes like that of military chaplains and the local law in Alsace-Moselle). Instead, it merely recognises religious organisations, according to formal legal criteria that do not address religious doctrine. Conversely, religious organizations should refrain from intervening in policy-making.[238] Certain bodies of beliefs such as Scientology, Children of God, the Unification Church, or the Order of the Solar Temple are considered cults ("sectes" in French),[239] and therefore do not have the same status as religions in France. Secte is considered a pejorative term in France.[240]


Main article: Health in France
The Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, a teaching hospital in Paris, one of Europe's largest hospitals.[241]

The French health care system is one of universal health care largely financed by government national health insurance. In its 2000 assessment of world health care systems, the World Health Organization found that France provided the "close to best overall health care" in the world.[242] The French healthcare system was ranked first worldwide by the World Health Organization in 1997.[243][244] In 2011, France spent 11.6% of GDP on health care, or US$4,086 per capita,[245] a figure much higher than the average spent by countries in Europe but less than in the US. Approximately 77% of health expenditures are covered by government funded agencies.[246]

Care is generally free for people affected by chronic diseases (affections de longues durées) such as cancer, AIDS or Cystic Fibrosis. Average life expectancy at birth is 78 years for men and 85 years for women, one of the highest of the European Union.[247] There are 3.22 physicians for every 1000 inhabitants in France,[248] and average health care spending per capita was US$4,719 in 2008.[249] As of 2007, approximately 140,000 inhabitants (0.4%) of France are living with HIV/AIDS.[68]

Even if the French have the reputation of being one of the thinnest peoples in developed countries,[250][251][252][253][254][255] France—like other rich countries—faces an increasing and recent epidemic of obesity, due mostly to the replacement of traditional healthy French cuisine by junk food in French eating habits.[250][251][256] Nevertheless, the French obesity rate is far below that of the USA (for instance, obesity rate in France is the same that the American once was in the 1970s[251]), and is still the lowest of Europe,[253][256] but it is now regarded by the authorities as one of the main public health issues[257] and is fiercely fought; rates of childhood obesity are slowing in France, while continuing to grow in other countries.[258]


Main article: Education in France

In 1802, Napoleon created the lycée.[259] Nevertheless it is Jules Ferry who is considered to be the father of the French modern school, which is free, secular, and compulsory until the age of 13 since 1882[260] (school attendance in France is now compulsory until the age of 16[261]).





Main article: Culture of France



France receives the highest number of tourists per year, largely thanks to the numerous cultural establishments and historical buildings implanted all over the territory. It counts 1,200 museums welcoming more than 50 million people annually.[264] The most important cultural sites are run by the government, for instance through the public agency Centre des monuments nationaux, which is responsible for approximately 85 national historical monuments.



Main article: French art




In the second part of the 19th century, France's influence over painting became even more important, with the development of new styles of painting such as Impressionism and Symbolism. The most famous impressionist painters of the period were Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir.[266] The second generation of impressionist-style painters, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Georges Seurat, were also at the avant-garde of artistic evolutions,[267] as well as the fauvist artists Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck.[268][269]






Main article: French architecture
The world's most visited paid monument,[273] the Eiffel Tower is an icon of both Paris and France.


The Gothic architecture, originally named Opus Francigenum meaning « French work »,[275] was born in Île-de-France and was the first French style of architecture to be copied in all Europe.[276] Northern France is the home of some of the most important Gothic cathedrals and basilicas, the first of these being the Saint Denis Basilica (used as the royal necropolis); other important French Gothic cathedrals are Notre-Dame de Chartres and Notre-Dame d'Amiens. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church: Notre-Dame de Reims.[277] Aside from churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one being the Palais des Papes in Avignon.







Main article: French literature
French literary figures. Clockwise from top left: Molière is the most played author in the Comédie-Française;[285] Victor Hugo is one of the most important French novelists and poets, and is sometimes seen as the greatest French writer of all time.[286] 19th-century poet, writer, and translator Charles Baudelaire; 20th-century philosopher and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre.







As of 2014, France possesses more Nobel Prizes in Literature than any other nation.[293]

The 19th century saw the writings of many renowned French authors. Victor Hugo is sometimes seen as "the greatest French writer of all times"[286] for excelling in all literary genres. The preface of his play Cromwell is considered to be the manifesto of the Romantic movement. Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles are considered as "poetic masterpieces",[294] Hugo's verse having been compared to that of Shakespeare, Dante and Homer.[294] His novel Les Misérables is widely seen as one of the greatest novel ever written[295] and The Hunchback of Notre Dame has remained immensely popular.


The Prix Goncourt is a French literary prize first awarded in 1903.[296] Important writers of the 20th century include Marcel Proust, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote Little Prince, which has remained popular for decades with children and adults around the world.[297] As of 2014, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation.[293] The first Nobel Prize in Literature was a French author, while France's latest Nobel prize in literature is Patrick Modiano, who was awarded the prize in 2014.[293] Jean-Paul Sartre was also the first nominee in the committee's history to refuse the prize in 1964.[293]


Main article: French philosophy


René Descartes, founder of modern philosophy.


19th-century French thought was targeted at responding to the social malaise following the French Revolution. Rationalist philosophers such as Victor Cousin and Auguste Comte, who called for a new social doctrine, were opposed by reactionnary thinkers such as Joseph de Maistre, Louis de Bonald and Lamennais, who blamed the rationalist rejection of traditional order. De Maistre is considered, together with the Englishman Edmund Burke, one of the founders of European conservatism, while Comte is regarded as the founder of positivism and sociology.



Ariane 4 launched from Kourou, French Guiana (1988)

Since the Middle Ages, France has been a major contributor to scientific achievement . Around the beginning of the 11th century Pope Sylvester II reintroduced the abacus and armillary sphere, and introduced Arabic numerals and clocks to northern and western Europe.[299] The University of Paris, founded in the mid-12th century, is still one of the most important universities in the Western world.[300] In the 17th century, René Descartes defined a method for the acquisition of scientific knowledge, while Blaise Pascal became famous for his work on probability and fluid mechanics. They were both key figures of the Scientific revolution, which erupted in Europe during this period. The Academy of Sciences was founded by Louis XIV to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is one of the earliest academies of sciences.


Famous French scientists of the 20th century include the mathematician and physicist Henri Poincaré, physicists Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie, remained famous for their work on radioactivity, the physicist Paul Langevin or virologist Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of HIV AIDS. Hand transplantation was developed on September 23, 1998 in Lyon by a team assembled from different countries around the world including Jean-Michel Dubernard who, shortly thereafter, performed the first successful double hand transplant.[302] Telesurgery was developed by Jacques Marescaux and his team on 7 September 2001 across the Atlantic Ocean (New-York-Strasbourg, Lindbergh Operation).[303]A face transplant was first done on November 27, 2005[304][305] by Dr Bernard Devauchelle.

As of 2014, 67 French people have been awarded a Nobel Prize[306] and 12 have received the Fields Medal.[307]


Main article: Music of France
Serge Gainsbourg, one of the world's most influential popular musicians.[308]



Later came precursors of modern classical music. Érik Satie was a key member of the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde, best known for his Gymnopédies. Francis Poulenc's best known works are his piano suite Trois mouvements perpétuels (1919), the ballet Les biches (1923), the Concert champêtre (1928) for harpsichord and orchestra, the opera Dialogues des Carmélites (1957), and the Gloria (1959) for soprano, choir and orchestra. Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy are the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music. Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed.[310] Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of atonality. The two composers invented new musical forms[311][312][313][314] and new sounds. Ravel's piano compositions, such as Jeux d'eau, Miroirs, Le tombeau de Couperin and Gaspard de la nuit, demand considerable virtuosity. His mastery of orchestration is evident in the Rapsodie espagnole, Daphnis et Chloé, his arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and his orchestral work Boléro (1928).


Daft Punk, pioneers of the French house.

French music then followed the rapid emergence of pop and rock music at the middle of the 20th century. Although English-speaking creations achieved popularity in the country, French pop music, known as chanson française, has also remained very popular. Among the most important French artists of the century are Édith Piaf, Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré, Charles Aznavour and Serge Gainsbourg. Although there are very few rock bands in France compared to English-speaking countries,[316] bands such as Noir Désir, Mano Negra, Niagara, Les Rita Mitsouko and more recently Superbus, Phoenix and Gojira[317] have reached worldwide popularity.

Other French artists with international careers have been popular in several countries, for example female singers Dalida, Mireille Mathieu and Mylène Farmer,[317] electronic music pioneers Jean-Michel Jarre, Laurent Garnier and Bob Sinclar, and later Martin Solveig and David Guetta. In the 1990s and 2000s (decade), electronic duos Daft Punk, Justice and Air also reached worldwide popularity and contributed to the reputation of modern electronic music in the world.[317][318][319]

Among current musical events and institutions in France, many are dedicated to classical music and operas. The most prestigious institutions are the state-owned Paris National Opera (with its two sites Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille), the Opéra National de Lyon, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. As for music festivals, there are several events organized, the most popular being the Eurockéennes and Rock en Seine. The Fête de la Musique, imitated by many foreign cities, was first launched by the French government in 1982.[320][321] Major music halls and venues in France include Le Zénith sites present in many cities and other places in Paris (Paris Olympia, Théâtre Mogador, Élysée Montmartre, etc.).


Main article: Cinema of France
A Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival, the world's most prestigious and publicized film festival.[322][323][324]

France has historical and strong links with cinema, with two Frenchmen, Auguste and Louis Lumière (known as the Lumière Brothers) having created cinema in 1895.[325] Several important cinematic movements, including the late 1950s and 1960s Nouvelle Vague, began in the country. It is noted for having a particularly strong film industry, due in part to protections afforded by the French government.[326][dated info] France remains a leader in filmmaking, as of 2006 producing more films than any other European country.[327] The nation also hosts the Cannes Festival, one of the most important and famous film festivals in the world.[328][329]


Although the French film market is dominated by Hollywood, France is the only nation in the world where American films make up the smallest share of total film revenues, at 50%, compared with 77% in Germany and 69% in Japan.[330] French films account for 35% of the total film revenues of France, which is the highest percentage of national film revenues in the developed world outside the United States, compared to 14% in Spain and 8% in the UK.[330]France is in 2013 the 2nd exporter of films in the world after the United States.[331]

Until recently, France had for centuries been the cultural center of the world,[219] although its dominant position has been surpassed by the United States. Subsequently, France takes steps in protecting and promoting its culture, becoming a leading advocate of the cultural exception.[332] The nation succeeded in convincing all EU members to refuse to include culture and audiovisuals in the list of liberalized sectors of the WTO in 1993.[333] Moreover, this decision was confirmed in a voting in the UNESCO in 2005, and the principle of "cultural exception" won an overwhelming victory: 198 countries voted for it, only 2 countries, the U.S and Israel, voted against it.[334]


Main article: French fashion
Chanel's headquarters on the Place Vendôme, Paris.






Compared to other developed countries, the French do not spend much time reading newspapers, due to the popularity of broadcast media. Best-selling daily national newspapers in France are Le Parisien Aujourd’hui en France (with 460,000 sold daily), Le Monde and Le Figaro, with around 300,000 copies sold daily, but also L'Équipe, dedicated to sports coverage.[338] In the past years, free dailies made a breakthrough, with Metro, 20 Minutes and Direct Plus distributed at more than 650,000 copies respectively.[339] However, the widest circulations are reached by regional daily Ouest France with more than 750,000 copies sold, and the 50 other regional papers have also high sales.[340][341] The sector of weekly magazines is stronger and diversified with more than 400 specialized weekly magazines published in the country.[342]

The most influential news magazines are the left-wing Le Nouvel Observateur, centrist L'Express and right-wing Le Point (more than 400.000 copies),[343] but the highest circulation for weeklies is reached by TV magazines and by women’s magazines, among them Marie Claire and ELLE, which have foreign versions. Influential weeklies also include investigative and satirical papers Le Canard Enchaîné and Charlie Hebdo, as well as Paris Match. Like in most industrialized nations, the print media have been affected by a severe crisis in the past decade. In 2008, the government launched a major initiative to help the sector reform and become financially independent,[344][345] but in 2009 it had to give 600,000 euros to help the print media cope with the economic crisis, in addition to existing subsidies.[346]

In 1974, after years of centralized monopoly on radio and television, the governmental agency ORTF was split into several national institutions, but the three already-existing TV channels and four national radio stations[347][348] remained under state-control. It was only in 1981 that the government allowed free broadcasting in the territory, ending state monopoly on radio.[348] French television was partly liberalized in the next two decade with the creation of several commercial channels, mainly thanks to cable and satellite television. In 2005 the national service Télévision Numérique Terrestre introduced digital television all over the territory, allowing the creation of other channels.




According to a BBC poll in 2010, based on 29,977 responses in 28 countries, France is globally seen as a positive influence in the world's affairs: 49% have a positive view of the country's influence, whereas 19% have a negative view.[349][350] The Nation Brand Index of 2008 suggested that France has the second best international reputation, only behind Germany.[351]

A Gallic rooster on top of a war memorial in La Rochelle

According to a poll in 2011, the French were found to have the highest level of religious tolerance and to be the country where the highest proportion of the population defines its identity primarily in term of nationality and not religion.[352] 69% of French have a favourable view of the US, making France one of the most pro-American countries in the world.[353]

In January 2010, the magazine International Living ranked France as "best country to live in", ahead of 193 other countries, for the fifth year running.[354][355]




Main article: French cuisine

French cuisine is renowned for being one of the finest in the world.[359][360] According to the regions, traditional recipes are different, the North of the country prefers to use butter as the preferred fat for cooking, whereas olive oil is more commonly used in the South.[361] Moreover, each region of France has iconic traditional specialities : Cassoulet in the Southwest, Choucroute in Alsace, Quiche in the Lorraine region, Beef bourguignon in the Bourgogne, provençal Tapenade, etc. France's most renowned products are wines,[362] including Champagne, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, and Beaujolais as well as a large variety of different cheeses, such as Camembert, Roquefort and Brie. There are more than 400 different varieties.[363][364]


French cuisine is also regarded as a key element of the quality of life and the attractiveness of France.[355] A French publication, the Michelin guide, awards Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments.[365] The acquisition or loss of a star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. By 2006, the Michelin Guide had awarded 620 stars to French restaurants, at that time more than any other country, although the guide also inspects more restaurants in France than in any other country (by 2010, Japan was awarded as many Michelin stars as France, despite having half the number of Michelin inspectors working there).[366][367]


Main article: Sport in France

Popular sports played in France include football, judo, tennis[369] and rugby union.[370] France has hosted events such as the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups,[371] and the 2007 Rugby World Cup.[372] France will host UEFA Euro 2016. The Stade de France in Saint-Denis is France's largest stadium and was the venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup finals. France hosts the annual Tour de France, the most famous road bicycle race in the world.[373][374] France is famous for its 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race.[375] Several major tennis tournaments take place in France, including the Paris Masters and the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. French martial arts include Savate and Fencing.

France has a close association with the Modern Olympic Games; it was a French aristocrat, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who suggested the Games' revival, at the end of the 19th century.[376][377] After Athens was awarded the first Games, in reference to the Olympics' Greek origins, Paris hosted the second Games in 1900.[378] Paris was the first home of the International Olympic Committee, before it moved to Lausanne.[379] Since 1900, France has hosted the Olympics on 4 further occasions: the 1924 Summer Olympics, again in Paris[377] and three Winter Games (1924 in Chamonix, 1968 in Grenoble and 1992 in Albertville).[377]


Both the national football team and the national rugby union team are nicknamed “Les Bleus” in reference to the team’s shirt color as well as the national French tricolor flag. Football is the most popular sport in France, with over 1,800,000 registered players, and over 18,000 registered clubs.[380] The football team is among the most successful in the world, particularly at the start of the 21st century, with one FIFA World Cup victory in 1998,[381] one FIFA World Cup second place in 2006,[382] and two UEFA European Championships in 1984[383] and 2000.[384] The top national football club competition is Ligue 1. France has produced some of the greatest players in the world, including three time FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane, three time Ballon d'Or recipient Michel Platini, record holder for most goals scored at a World Cup Just Fontaine, first football player to receive the Légion d'honneur Raymond Kopa, and the all-time leading goalscorer for the French national team Thierry Henry.[385]




See also


  1. ^ Excluding Adélie Land in Antarctica, where sovereignty is suspended.
  2. ^ French is the official and national language throughout the French Republic. For information about the official and unofficial regional languages also spoken see Languages of France.
  3. ^ a b Including all the overseas departments and overseas territories but excluding the French territory of Terre Adélie in Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
  4. ^ French National Geographic Institute data, which includes bodies of water.
  6. ^ Metropolitan France only. The population density for the whole territory of the French Republic (including overseas departments and territories) is 96.837/km2 (250.808/sq mi).
  7. ^ Whole of the French Republic except the overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean.
  8. ^ French overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean only.


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    INSEE, Government of France. "Populations légales dans les collectivités d'outre-mer et Mayotte". Retrieved January 2014.  (Mayotte : 212,645 inhabitants – overseas collectivities : 337,191 – new Caledonia : 245,580)
    Total (French departments+French overseas collectivies+New Caledonia) : 66,616,416 inhabitants
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External links

