france

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Esperanto

Territory of the French Republic in the world (excl. Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended)

Capital (and largest city) Paris 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E / 48.8567°N 2.35083°E Official language(s) French Regional languages (both official and not official) Alsatian; Basque; Breton; New Caledonian languages; Catalan; Corsican; Creoles; Flemish; Franco-Provençal; Lorrain language; Shimaore dialect (Mayotte); Occitan; Oïl languages; Tahitian Ethnic groups ~85% French (included ~15% people with at least one ancestor from other European countries), ~15% other (Arab, Berber, Black, Asian, Multiracial...) Demonym French Government Unitary semi-presidential republic - President Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) - Prime Minister François Fillon (UMP) Legislature Parliament - Upper House Senate - Lower House National Assembly Formation - Traditional date 496 (baptism of Clovis) - Western Francia 10 August 843 (Treaty of Verdun) - Current constitution 5 October 1958 (5th Republic) EU accession 25 March 1957 Area - Total 674,843 km (43rd) 260,558 sq mi - Metropolitan France - IGN 551,695 km (47th) 213,010 sq mi - Cadastre 543,965 km (47th) 210,026 sq mi Population (1 January 2010 estimate) - Total 65,447,374 (20th) - Metropolitan France 62,793,432 (22nd) - Density 115/km (89th) 299/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2009 estimate - Total $2.108 trillion - Per capita $33,678 GDP (nominal) 2009 estimate - Total $2.676 trillion - Per capita $42,747 Gini (2008) 32.7 HDI (2007) ▲ 0.961 (very high) (8th) Currency Euro, CFP Franc (EUR, XPF) Time zone CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) Drives on the right Internet TLD .fr Calling code 33 The overseas regions and collectivities form part of the French telephone numbering plan, but have their own country calling codes: Guadeloupe +590; Martinique +596; French Guiana +594, Réunion and Mayotte +262; Saint Pierre et Miquelon +508. The overseas territories are not part of the French telephone numbering plan; their country calling codes are: New Caledonia +687, French Polynesia +689; Wallis and Futuna +681 Spoken mainly in overseas territories

France ( / ˈ f r æ n t s / frantss or / ˈ f r ɑː n t s / frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as L’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is bordered (clockwise starting from the northeast) by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco; with Spain and Andorra to the south. France is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel.

France is a founding member state of the European Union and is the largest one by area. France has been a major power for several centuries with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and in the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands.

France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is one of the most developed countries and possesses the fifth largest economy by nominal GDP and seventh largest economy by purchasing power parity. France enjoys a high standard of living as well as a high public education level, and has also one of the world's highest life expectancies. It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually. France is a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and possesses the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the world.