Geography of France

France is the third largest country in Europe (after Turkey and Ukraine), with a surface area of approximately five hundred and forty-seven thousand square kilometers.  This is more than double the size of the UK, although Canada and the USA are each about eighteen times as large as France.    

France has a population of sixty million, which is almost identical to that of the UK or Italy, and somewhat less than Germany (which has over eighty million).  However, due to France's relatively large size, its population density is only half that of its neighbours UK, Italy or Germany. The lower population density has helped to keep land prices comparatively low, which is one of the reasons that French property (except in the major cities and fashionable areas) is generally much more affordable than in the UK and other western European countries.

Geographical details and maps of France are included in our collection of over 100 different Free Maps of France.

France Métropolitaine

As a result of its imperial past, France includes a number of islands scattered around the world (in the Atlantic ocean, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and south Pacific Ocean) as well as part of South America. To avoid confusion, the French use the term France métropolitaine (metropolitan France) to specify the European parts of France (that is, continental France plus the island of Corsica). The République Française is used to describe all of France (the European part plus the overseas areas). Therefore, phrases along the line of "we deliver to all of France métropolitaine" means that a company will delivery to anywhere in European France but not to the overseas areas.

The overseas areas consist of:

• Départments d'outre-mer (overseas departments). This consists of four departments, each of them also being a region (see below for discussion of departments and regions): Guadeloupe (department 971), Martinique (department 972), French Guiana (department 973) and Réunion (department 974).

• Collectivité départmentale d'outre-mer (overseas departmental collectivity), which consists of Mayotte.

• Collectivité territoriales d'outre-mer (overseas territorial collectivites), which consists of: Saint-Pierre, Miquelon, Wallis, and Futuna

• Pays d'outre-mer (overseas country), consisting of French Polynesia

• Collectivité sui-generis (collectivity sui-generis), consisting of New Caledonia

• Territoire d'outre-mer, which includes various islands in the southern hemisphere.

Regions of France

Metropolitan France is divided into twenty-two regions (régions), based on historical divisions and characteristics. They are also the main administrative units of the French government (somewhat like states in the USA, although with less independence). The regions (shown in the following map) are: Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comté, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Nord-pas-de-Calais, Normandie (Basse), Normandie (Haute), Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alps-Côte D'Azur, Rhône-Alpes. For more information on any of these, click on the buttons to the right.

The people in each region are proud of their heritage and try to preserve regional characteristics, as does their government (e.g. champagne wine can be produced only in the region Champagne).  This is not done out of any mean-spiritedness or desire for isolation, but to promote and preserve valued traditions, from clothing to local types of food.  It is also supported by the French belief and sense of terroir. This deliberate effort by both individuals and government to preserve regional characteristics, combined with different cultures and geography, has maintained the unique flavour of the different areas of France.

Departments and Communes

Each of the 22 regions are sub-divided into several departments (départements) for administrative purposes.  These were established in 1790, at the time of the French revolution (much of France’s administrative and legal frameworks were created by Napoleon), and like regions reflect local historical divisions and geographic characteristics (many departments are named after a river or mountain within the department).  There are ninety-five departments in France and each department has both a name and a number.  The numbers run from one to ninety-five and are assigned to the departments in rough alphabetical order, so number one is department Ain and number ninety-five is department Val-d’Oise.  The following table lists the names and numbers. Sometimes you may hear reference to 96 departments instead of 95; this is because some people count department number 20 twice (as department 2a and department 2b, instead of department 20). You may also hear reference to 100 departments; this number includes the overseas departments in addition to the European French departments.

Map of France by Tourizm Maps © 2003

The department names are used in general conversation (e.g. “I live in the Jura”) but the department numbers are often used in business (if you are shopping by phone, you will often be asked your department number).  The first two digits of a postal address are always the department number, which is very useful as you can then match any address to a rough geographical location without looking it up on a map.  The last two digits of a car license plate number is the department number where the car is registered.

The departments are sub-divided into 342 arrondissements., which are further sub-divided into 3,879 cantons, which are finally divided into 36,568 communes. The division into communes is based more on land area than population, so one can find communes with less than a hundred people. Even such small communes will have a mayor (with assistants, mayor's office and so on). Just as each region and department of France has its own history and culture, so each commune tends to have unique characteristics.

These are the main administrative and historical divisions of France. There are several others, including the recent grouping of communes into various administrative structures.

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