France

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
  - The Hercynian massifs
    - The Ardennes
    - The Vosges
    - The Massif Central
    - The Massif Armoricain
  - The great lowlands
    - The Paris Basin
    - The Flanders Plain
    - The Alsace Plain
    - The Loire plains
    - The Aquitaine Basin
  - The younger mountains and adjacent plains
    - Pyrenees, Jura, and Alps
    - The southern plains
- Drainage
  - The Seine system
  - The Loire system
  - The Garonne system
  - The Rhône system
  - The Rhine system
  - The smaller rivers and the lakes
- Soils
- Climate
  - The oceanic region
  - The continental region
  - The Mediterranean region
- Plant and animal life
  - Plant life
  - Animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural landscape and settlement
    - Bocage
    - Open-field
    - Mediterranean
    - Mountain
  - Postwar transformation
  - Urban settlement
- Demographic trends
  - Population history
  - Emigration
  - Immigration
  - Population structure
  - Population distribution
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  - Grains
  - Fruits and wine making
  - Dairying and livestock
  - Agribusiness
  - Forestry
  - Fishing
- Resources and power
  - Minerals
  - Energy
- Manufacturing
  - Industrial trends
  - Branches of manufacturing
- Finance
  - Banking and insurance
  - The stock exchange
  - Foreign investment
- Trade
- Services
  - Civil service
  - Tourism
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
  - Roads
  - Railroads
  - Waterways
  - Air transport
  - Telecommunications
Government and society
- Government
  - The constitutional framework
    - The genesis of the 1958 constitution
    - The dual executive system
    - The role of the president
    - Parliamentary composition and functions
    - The role of referenda
    - The role of the Constitutional Council
  - Regional and local government
    - The régions
    - The départements
    - The communes
    - The overseas territories
- Justice
  - The judiciary
  - Administrative courts
- Political process
- Security
  - Armed forces
  - Police services
- Health and welfare
  - Social security and health
  - Housing
  - Wages and the cost of living
- Education
  - Primary and secondary education
  - Higher education
  - Other features
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
  - Literature
  - The fine arts
    - Painting and sculpture
    - Music
    - Dance
    - Architecture
    - Photography
  - The cinema
- Cultural institutions
  - Administrative bodies
  - Museums and monuments
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
  - Television and radio
  - The press
History
- Gaul
  - Geographic-historical scope
  - The people
  - The Roman conquest
    - Gaul under the high empire (c. 50 bce–c. 250 ce)
    - Gaul under the late Roman Empire (c. 250–c. 400)
  - The end of Roman Gaul (c. 400–c. 500)
- Merovingian and Carolingian age
  - Origins
    - Early Frankish period
    - Gaul and Germany at the end of the 5th century
  - The Merovingians
    - Clovis and the unification of Gaul
      Frankish expansion
      The conversion of Clovis
    - The sons of Clovis
      The conquest of Burgundy
      The conquest of southern Germany
    - The grandsons of Clovis
      The shrinking of the frontiers and peripheral areas
      The parceling of the kingdom
    - The failure of reunification (613–714)
      Chlotar II and Dagobert I
      The hegemony of Neustria
      Austrasian hegemony and the rise of the Pippinids
  - The Carolingians
    - Charles Martel and Pippin III
      Charles Martel
      Pippin III
    - Charlemagne
      The conquests
      The restoration of the empire
    - Louis I
    - The partitioning of the Carolingian empire
      The Treaty of Verdun
      The kingdoms created at Verdun
  - The Frankish world
    - Society
      Germans and Gallo-Romans
      Social classes
      Diffusion of political power
    - Institutions
      Kingship
      The central government
      Local institutions
      The development of institutions in the Carolingian age
    - Economic life
      Trade
      Frankish fiscal law
    - The church
      Institutions
      Monasticism
      Education
      Religious discipline and piety
      The influence of the church on society and legislation
    - Merovingian literature and arts
    - Carolingian literature and arts
- The emergence of France
  - French society in the early Middle Ages
  - The political history of France (c. 850–1180)
    - Principalities north of the Loire
    - The principalities of the south
    - The monarchy
    - Economy, society, and culture in the Middle Ages (c. 900–1300)
      Economic expansion
      Urban prosperity
      Rural society
    - Religious and cultural life
      The age of cathedrals and Scholasticism
      Culture and learning
- France, 1180 to c. 1490
  - France from 1180 to 1328
    - The kings and the royal government
      Philip Augustus
      Louis VIII
      Louis IX
      Later Capetians
    - Foreign relations
  - The period of the Hundred Years’ War
    - The kings and the war, 1328–1429
      Philip VI
      John the Good
      Charles V
      Charles VI
      Charles VII
    - Recovery and reunification, 1429–83
      Governmental reforms
      Military reforms
      Regrowth of the French monarchy
    - Economy, society, and culture in the 14th and 15th centuries
      Economic distress
      The cities
      The church
      Culture and art
- France, 1490–1715
  - France in the 16th century
    - Military and financial organization
    - The growth of a professional bureaucracy
    - The age of the Reformation
    - The Wars of Religion
    - Political ideology
  - France in the early 17th century
    - Henry IV
    - Louis XIII
    - The Fronde
  - The age of Louis XIV
    - The development of central government
    - Louis’s religious policy
    - Absolutism of Louis
    - Foreign affairs
  - French culture in the 17th century
- France, 1715–89
  - The social and political heritage
    - The social order of the ancien régime
    - Monarchy and church
    - Commitment to modernization
  - Continuity and change
    - Agricultural patterns
    - Industrial production
    - Commerce
    - Cities
  - Cultural transformation
    - The Enlightenment
    - The influence of Montesquieu and Rousseau
  - The political response
    - The historical debate
    - Foreign policy and financial crisis
    - Domestic policy and reform efforts
    - Tax reform
    - Parlements
    - King and parlements
  - The causes of the French Revolution
- The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789–1815
  - The destruction of the ancien régime
    - The convergence of revolutions, 1789
      The juridical revolution
      Parisian revolt
      Peasant insurgencies
      The abolition of feudalism
    - The new regime
      Restructuring France
      Sale of national lands
    - Seeds of discord
      Religious tensions
      Political tensions
  - The First French Republic
    - The second revolution
    - A republic in crisis
    - Girondins and Montagnards
    - The Reign of Terror
    - The Jacobin dictatorship
    - The Army of the Republic
    - The Thermidorian Reaction
    - The Directory
      Sister republics
      Alienation and coups
  - The Napoleonic era
    - The Consulate
    - Loss of political freedom
    - Society in Napoleonic France
      Religious policy
      Napoleonic nobility
      The civil code
    - Campaigns and conquests, 1797–1807
    - The Grand Empire
    - The Continental System
    - Conscription
  - Napoleon and the Revolution
- France, 1815–1940
  - The restoration and constitutional monarchy
    - Constitutionalism and reaction, 1815–30
      Louis XVIII, 1815–24
      Charles X, 1824–30
    - The revolution of 1830
    - The July Monarchy
  - The Second Republic and Second Empire
    - The revolution of 1848
    - The Second Republic, 1848–52
    - The Second Empire, 1852–70
      The authoritarian years
      The liberal years
      The Franco-German War
  - The Third Republic
    - The Commune of Paris
    - The formative years (1871–1905)
      Attempts at a restoration
      The constitution of the Third Republic
      Republican factions
      Opportunist control
      The Dreyfus Affair
      Foreign policy
    - The prewar years
    - World War I
    - The interwar years
      German reparations
      Financial crisis
      Collective security
      Internal conflict on the left
      The Great Depression and political crises
      German aggressions
    - Society and culture under the Third Republic
      Economy
      Cultural and scientific attainments
- France since 1940
  - Wartime France
    - The Vichy government
    - The Resistance
    - Liberation
  - The Fourth Republic
    - Constitution of the Fourth Republic
    - Political and social changes
    - Colonial independence movements
  - The Fifth Republic
  - France after de Gaulle
  - France under a Socialist presidency
    - Mitterrand’s first term
    - Mitterrand’s second term
  - France under conservative presidencies
    - The Chirac administration
    - The Sarkozy administration
  - The euro-zone crisis and the Socialist resurgence
    - The 2012 presidential campaign
    - The Hollande administration
    - The Macron presidency
  - Society since 1940
  - The cultural scene
Major rulers of France

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

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France: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Israeli allies unleash strong rhetoric over Gaza, but actions so far are limited • May 21, 2025, 1:21 PM ET (AP)

The navigator is blind and the driver's in pain, but they're racing though France, busting barriers • May 21, 2025, 4:50 AM ET (AP)

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Facts

Also Known As	French Republic • République Française
Head Of Government	Prime minister: François Bayrou
Capital	Paris
Population	(2025 est.) 66,607,000
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 0.878 euro
Head Of State	President: Emmanuel Macron
Form Of Government	republic with two legislative houses (Parliament; Senate [348], National Assembly [577])
Official Language	French
Official Religion	none
Official Name	République Française (French Republic)
Total Area (Sq Km)	543,941
Total Area (Sq Mi)	210,016
Monetary Unit	euro (€)
Population Rank	(2025) 22
Population Projection 2030	68,379,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 317.2
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 122.5
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2018) 80.4% • Rural: (2018) 19.6%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2023) 80 years • Female: (2023) 85.8 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2000–2004) 99% • Female: (2000–2004) 99%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 3,085,397
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 45,180

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