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
Belgium–France relations Paris, they were welcomed during a visite de Courtoisie. They were received by the president Hollande. In 2007, French president Sarkozy and Belgian Prime Minister Verhofstadt called for the euro zone to have an economic government. In September 2008, the French government acted with the Belgian government and with other stakeholders to grant Franco-Belgian bank Dexia a €6.4 billion bailout. The two countries signed a trade agreement in 1934. In 1997, French and Belgian defence ministers Alain Richard and Jean-Paul Poncelet signed an agreement providing for Belgium's use of the French armed forces' Syracuse communication satellite system. Belgium–France relations Belgium–France