République Française

Political Status: Republic under mixed parliamentary-presidential system established by constitution adopted by referendum of September 28, 1958, and instituted on October 4.

Area: 211,207 sq. mi. (547,026 sq. km).

Population: 67,017,483 (2012E—UN); 65,423,023 (2012E—U.S. Census). Area and population figures are for metropolitan France (including Corsica); for overseas departments and other dependent jurisdictions, see Related Territories, below.

Major Urban Centers (2005E): PARIS (2,147,000), Marseilles (797,000), Lyons (473,000), Toulouse (435,000), Nice (338,000), Nantes (277,000), Strasbourg (275,000), Montpellier (249,000), Bordeaux (233,000), Rennes (210,000), Le Havre (186,000), Saint-Étienne (176,000).

Official Language: French.

Monetary Unit: Euro (market rate November 5, 2012: 0.78 euro = $1US).

President: François Hollande (Socialist Party); elected for a five-year term in runoff balloting on May 6, 2012, and inaugurated May 15, succeeding Nicolas SARKOZY (Union for a Popular ...