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France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the southeast, Andorra and Spain to the south, and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its eighteen integral regions—five of which are overseas—span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and have a total population of nearly 68.4 million as of January 2024[update]. France is a semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. (Full article...)
Administrative divisions
France is currently divided into 26 "régions"; 22 of these form metropolitan France, which includes the continental nation and the island of Corsica, and 4 are overseas. Régions are further subdivided into 100 "départements", including the 4 départements d'outre-mer ("Overseas Departments") or "DOMs".
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Régions which are also départements d'outre-mer :
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France also administers several overseas collectivites and territories:
- 5 overseas collectivities ("collectivités d'outre-mer") Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte, Saint Barthélemy and the French part of Saint Martin.
- 1 sui generis collectivity ("collectivité sui generis"): New Caledonia.
- 1 overseas "country" ("pays d'outre-mer") French Polynesia.
- 1 overseas territory ("territoire d'outre-mer") the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (composed of Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen, Adélie Land).
- 4 small coral islands and an atoll in the Indian Ocean with no permanent population and known as "Îles Éparses" ("Scattered Islands"), Bassas da India, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorioso, and Tromelin.
- 1 uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico, Clipperton.
Historic Provinces
Modern France is the result of centuries of nation building and the acquisition and incorporation of a number of historical provinces into the French domain. The names of these provinces are still used to designate natural, historical and cultural regions, and many of them appear in modern région or département names.
| Major Provinces of France, with provincial capitals. Cities in bold had provincial "parlements" or "conseils souverains" during the ancien régime. Note: The map reflects France's modern borders and does not indicate the territorial formation of France over time. Provinces on this list may encompass several other historic provinces and counties (for example, at the time of the Revolution, Guyenne was made up of eight smaller historic provinces, including Quercy and Rouergue). For a more complete list, see Provinces of France. | ||
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