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Main article: Geography of France While the main territory of France (la métropole) is located in Western Europe, France is also constituted from territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the western and southern Indian Ocean, the northern and southern Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica (sovereignty claims in Antarctica are not recognised by most countries, see Antarctic Treaty).
Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea, and from the Rhine River to the Atlantic Ocean; it is bordered by the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. The French Republic also shares land borders overseas with Brazil, Suriname, and the Netherlands.
France possesses a large variety of landscapes, ranging from coastal plains in the north and west, where France borders the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, to the mountain ranges in the south (the Pyrenees) and the southeast (the Alps), of which the latter contains the highest point of Europe, the Mont Blanc at 4810 m.
In between are found other elevated regions such as the Massif Central or the Vosges mountains and extensive river basins such as those of the Loire River, the Rhone River, the Garonne and Seine.
Due to its numerous overseas departments and territories scattered on all oceans of the planet, France possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 kmē (4,260,000 sq. miles), just behind the EEZ of the United States (11,351,000 kmē / 4,383,000 sq. miles), but ahead of the EEZ of Australia (8,232,000 kmē / 3,178,000 sq. miles). According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would be 10,084,201 kmē (3,893,532 sq. miles), behind the United States (12,174,629 kmē / 4,700,651 sq. miles), but ahead of Australia (8,980,568 kmē / 3,467,416 sq. miles) and Russia (7,566,673 kmē / 2,921,508 sq. miles).
The EEZ of France covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, whereas the land area of the French Republic is only 0.45% of the total land area of the Earth.
Main article: Economy of France
The economy of France, a highly diversified market economy with now only a handful of state-owned companies, is among the most developed ones, with large input of high technologies. It ranked as the fifth-largest in the world in 2003, behind the United States, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
According to the WTO, in 2003 France was the fifth-largest exporter in merchandise trade in the world (behind the United States, Germany, Japan, and China, but ahead of the United Kingdom), and the fourth-largest importer (behind the United States, Germany, and China, but ahead of the United Kingdom and of Japan).
According to the OECD in 2003 France hosts the largest percentage of foreigner international investments ahead United States and Belgium and is also so far the most energy independent Western country thanks to its nuclear energy production apparatus that makes France also the minor producer of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialised countries in the world. Accordingly, the standards of living in France are very high.
France's economy combines extensive private enterprise with substantial, but declining, government intervention (see dirigisme). Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe and, even after the loss of Algeria in the 1960s, the French economy remains one of the most important and influential economies in the world. France also has a leading aerospace industry and is the only European power to have its own national space centre.
With over 77 million tourists a year, far ahead Spain (51.7 million) and United States (41.9 million) France is ranked as the major tourist destination in the world, featuring cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts and rural regions that many enjoy for their calm.
The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunication firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Telecom, Air France, as well as the insurance, banking, and defence industries.
France joined 10 other EU members to launch the euro on January 1 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc in early 2002.
Since the end of WWII the government made efforts to integrate more and more with Germany, both economically and politically. Today the two countries form what is often referred to as the "core" countries in favour of greater integration of the European Union.
See also: List of French companies
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