France France France (), officially the French Republic (, ), is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral
Economy of Germany BMW, Deutsche Telekom, Bayer, BASF, Munich Re and SAP. Germany is the world's top location for trade fairs. Around two thirds of the world's leading trade fairs take place in Germany. The largest annual international trade fairs and congresses are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, Cologne, Leipzig and Düsseldorf. The Industrial Revolution in Germany got underway approximately a century later than in England, France, and Belgium, partly because Germany only became a unified country in 1871. The establishment of the Deutscher Zollverein (German Customs Union) in 1834 and the expansion of railway systems were the main