Info about France

France is about 80% the size of Texas. In the Alps near the Italian and Swiss borders is western Europe's highest point—Mont Blanc (15,781 ft; 4,810 m). The forest-covered Vosges Mountains are in the northeast, and the Pyrénées are along the Spanish border. Except for extreme northern France, the country may be described as four river basins and a plateau. Three of the streams flow west—the Seine into the English Channel, the Loire into the Atlantic, and the Garonne into the Bay of Biscay. The Rhône flows south into the Mediterranean. For about 100 mi (161 km), the Rhine is France's eastern border. In the Mediterranean, about 115 mi (185 km) east-southeast of Nice, is the island of Corsica (3,367 sq mi; 8,721 sq km).

Capital
Paris - 9 854 000 people
all city from France

Country lead by
President: Nicolas Sarkozy (2007)
Prime Minister: François Fillon (2007)

Population
60,876,136 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 12.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.2/1000; life expectancy: 79.7; density per sq mi: 289

Land Area
210,668 sq mi (545,630 sq km); total area: 211,209 sq mi (547,030 sq km)

Monetary unit
Euro (formerly French franc)

Language
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Ethnicity
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Southeast Asian, and Basque minorities

Religion
Roman Catholic 83%–88%, Protestant 2%, Islam 5%–10%, Jewish 1%, unaffiliated 4%

Transportation
Railways: total: 29,519 km (2004). Highways: total: 893,100 km; paved: 893,100 km (including 12,000 km of expressways); unpaved: 0 km (2002). Waterways: 8,500 km (1,686 km accessible to craft of 3,000 metric tons) (2000). Ports and harbors: Bordeaux, Calais, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg. Airports: 478 (2004 est.).

Internet tld
.fr

Travel guides to France

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