Country
Countries A-Z
France
French Republic
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: 64,668,000 (2016E—UN); 66,836,154 (2016E—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 (2014E): PARIS (2,249,975), Marseille (850,636), Lyon (491,268), Toulouse (447,340), Nice (344,064), Nantes (287,845), Strasbourg (272,222), Montpellier (264,538), Bordeaux (239,399), Lille (227,533), Rennes (211,373), Reims (182,592), Le Havre (172,074), Saint-Étienne (172,023).
Official Language: French.
Monetary Unit: Euro (market rate October 1, 2016: 0.89 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 ...