France

One of the Lascaux paintings: a horse – approximately 17,000 BC. Lascaux is famous for its "exceptionally detailed depictions of humans and animals".
Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar during the Battle of Alesia. The Gallic defeat in the Gallic Wars secured the Roman conquest of the country.
The Maison Carrée was a temple of the Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day Nîmes) and is one of the best-preserved vestiges of the Roman Empire.
Frankish expansion from 481 to 870
With Clovis's conversion to Catholicism in 498, the Frankish monarchy, elective and secular until then, became hereditary and of divine right.
Joan of Arc led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), which paved the way for the final victory.
Metropolitan France territorial evolution from 985 to 1947
The Château de Chenonceau, nowadays part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in the early 16th century.
Louis XIV, the "Sun King", was the absolute monarch of France and made France the leading European power.
Ouverture des États généraux à Versailles, 5 mai 1789 by Auguste Couder
The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 was the most emblematic event of the French Revolution.
Le Serment du Jeu de paume by Jacques-Louis David, 1791
Napoleon, Emperor of the French, built a vast empire across Europe. His conquests spread the ideals of the French Revolution across much of the continent, such as popular sovereignty, equality before the law, republicanism and administrative reorganisation while his legal reforms had a major impact worldwide. Nationalism, especially in Germany, emerged in reaction against him.
Animated map of the growth and decline of the French colonial empire
French Poilus posing with their war-torn flag in 1917, during World War I
Charles de Gaulle took an active part in many major events of the 20th century: a hero of World War I, leader of the Free French during World War II, he then became President, where he facilitated decolonisation, maintained France as a major power and overcame the revolt of May 1968.
The May 68 protests, a massive social movement, would ultimately led to many social changes, such as the right to abortion, women empowerment as well as the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Republican marches were organised across France after the January 2015 attacks perpetrated by Islamist terrorists; they became the largest public rallies in French history.
A relief map of Metropolitan France, showing cities with over 100,000 inhabitants
Mont Blanc, the highest summit in Western Europe, marks the border with Italy.
Geological formations near Roussillon, Vaucluse
Reed bed on the Gironde estuary, the largest estuary in Western Europe
Köppen climate classification map of Metropolitan France
Marine (blue), regional (green) and national (red) parks in France (2019)
The lands making up the French Republic, shown at the same geographic scale
Official logo of the French Republic
The National Assembly is the lower house of the French Parliament.
The basic principles that the French Republic must respect are found in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
88 states and governments are part of La Francophonie, which promotes values of democracy, multilingualism and cultural diversity. France has been a key member of this global organisation since its inception in 1970.
The European Parliament in Strasbourg, near the border with (Germany). France is a founding member of all EU institutions.
Examples of France's military. Clockwise from top left: nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle; a Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft; French Chasseurs Alpins patrolling the valleys of Kapisa province in Afghanistan; a Leclerc tank
La Défense (as seen from the Eiffel Tower) was in 2017 ranked by Ernst & Young as the leading Central business district in continental Europe, and the fourth in the world.
Composition of the French economy (GDP) in 2016 by expenditure type
Champagne is from the Champagne region in Northeast France.
The Eiffel Tower is the world's most-visited paid monument, an icon of both Paris and France.
The Château de Marqueyssac, featuring a French formal garden, is one of the Remarkable Gardens of France.
Belleville Nuclear Power Plant. France derives most of its electricity from nuclear power, the highest percentage in the world.
A TGV Duplex crossing the Cize–Bolozon viaduct. The train can reach a maximum speed of 360 km/h.
Air France is one of the biggest airlines in the world.
France is in 2020 the biggest national financial contributor to the European Space Agency, which conceived the Ariane rocket family, launched from French Guiana (Ariane 5 pictured).
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble
Population density in France by arrondissement. The main urban areas are visible, notably the Paris (centre-north), Lille (north), Marseille (southeast) and Lyon (centre-southeast) urban areas.
Notre-Dame de Reims is the Roman Catholic cathedral where the Kings of France were crowned until 1825.
The Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, a teaching hospital in Paris, is one of Europe's largest hospitals.
The École normale supérieure (ENS) in Paris, established in the end of the 18th century, produces more Nobel Prize laureates per capita than any other institution in the world.
Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People (1830) portrays the July Revolution using the stylistic views of Romanticism. Since Liberty is part of the motto "Liberté, égalité, fraternité", as the French put it, this painting has become the primary symbol of the French Republic.
The Louvre Museum, widely recognised as one of the finest art museums in the world, was in 2019 both the largest and the most-visited museum in the world.
Claude Monet, founder of the Impressionist movement
Le Penseur by Auguste Rodin (1902), Musée Rodin, Paris
Saint Louis's Sainte-Chapelle represents the French impact on religious architecture.
Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, an example of French baroque architecture
The Capitole de Toulouse hosts Toulouse City Hall.
French literary figures. Clockwise from top left: Molière is the most played author in the Comédie-Française; Victor Hugo is one of the most important French novelist and poet; 19th-century poet, writer and translator Charles Baudelaire; 20th-century philosopher and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre
René Descartes, founder of modern Western philosophy
Claude Debussy
Serge Gainsbourg, one of the world's most influential popular musicians
Daft Punk, pioneers of the French house movement
A Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival, one of the "Big Three" film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival
Louis de Funès, often called "France's favourite actor", has played over 130 roles in film and over 100 on stage.
Chanel's headquarters on Place Vendôme, Paris
The Parisian headquarters of Agence France-Presse, one of the world's oldest and leading news agencies
Le Figaro was founded in 1826; many of France's most prominent authors have written in its columns over the decades, and it is still considered a newspaper of record.
Admittance of Germaine Tillion, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Pierre Brossolette and Jean Zay at the Pantheon, a mausoleum for distinguished French people, in 2015
Sculpture of Marianne, a common national personification of the French Republic
French wines are usually made to accompany French cuisine.
Some French cheeses with fruits
Starting in 1903, the Tour de France is the oldest and most prestigious of Grands Tours, and the world's most famous cycling race.
Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic Games
Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in a 2004 UEFA poll.

Transcontinental country spanning Western Europe and overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

- France

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French Guiana

Overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas.

Overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas.

View from Salvation Islands
Map of northern South America showing the extent of the Guyanas region
Following the Portuguese conquest of French Guiana in 1809, João Severiano Maciel da Costa served as its only governor until 1817.
French Guiana, c. 1930
Geographic map of French Guiana in 2009. Note: this map does not show the international Oyapock River Bridge which connects Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock (France) and Oiapoque (Brazil) and has been open to car traffic since March 2017. The new asphalted road between Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Apatou, which was completed in 2010, does not appear on the map either.
Köppen climate classification of French Guiana
Ile du Diable seen from Ile Royale
Guiana Amazonian Park
The grey-winged trumpeter, a species of bird commonly found in the region
An Ariane 5 rocket being processed at the Guiana Space Centre; the launch site is estimated to account for as much as 16% of French Guiana's GDP
Carnival of Kourou
Fresh market of Hmong Cacao village
Daily life in the Wayana village of Antecume Pata
Cayenne Cathedral. Most inhabitants of French Guiana are Catholic.
Map of the European Union in the world with overseas countries and territories and outermost regions, as of 2019
Cayenne City Hall
Oyapock River Bridge
The Railway section of the Tiger Camp. Saint-Laurent to Saint-Jean-du-Maroni Railway (Prison Administration circa 1905).
Cayenne Airport
An Agglo bus, public transport, in the city of Cayenne, French Guiana
Headquarters of the 9th Marine Infantry Regiment (9e RIMa) in Cayenne
French Guiana Prefecture Building, in Cayenne
Subprefecture of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Thémire house, Creole style, in Cayenne
Group parades during the Great Night Parade of Cayenne
Horses of air and light at the Big Parade of the Litoral, in Kourou
Touloulous in Cayenne streets in 2007
Atipa in coconut milk, typical dish of Guiana cuisine
Countess (cake)
Bottle of Belle Cabresse 50°(rhum agricole)
Georges-Chaumet Stadium, French Guiana
Kevin Séraphin, ex NBA player

With a land area of 83534 km2, French Guiana is the second-largest region of France (more than one-seventh the size of Metropolitan France) and the largest outermost region within the European Union.

North Sea

Ocean currents mainly entering via the north entrance exiting along Norwegian coast
• Localization of the tide-gauges listed • Tide times after Bergen (negative = before) • The three amphidromic centers • Coasts: marshes = green mudflats = greenish blue lagoons = bright blue dunes = yellow sea dikes= purple moraines near the coast= light brown rock-based coasts = greyish brown
The German North Sea coast
The Afsluitdijk (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands
Zuid-Beveland, North Sea flood of 1953
Pacific oysters, blue mussels and cockles in the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands
European seagull on the coast of North Sea
A female bottlenose dolphin with her young in Moray Firth, Scotland
Phytoplankton bloom in the North Sea
Painting of the Four Days' Battle of 1666 by Willem van de Velde the Younger
German cruiser SMS Blücher sinks in the Battle of Dogger Bank on 25 January 1915.
The exclusive economic zones in the North Sea
Oil platform Statfjord A with the flotel Polymarine
A trawler in Nordstrand, Germany
Unpolished amber stones, in varying hues
The beach in Scheveningen, Netherlands in c. 1900
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Map showing hypothetical extent of Doggerland (c. 8,000 BC), which provided a land bridge between Great Britain and continental Europe
North Sea from De Koog, Texel island
The North Sea between {{ma|34}} and {{ma|28}}, as Central Europe became dry land
thumb|A 1482 recreation of a map from Ptolemy's Geography showing the "Oceanus Germanicus"
thumb|Edmond Halley's solar eclipse 1715 map showing The German Sea

The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Belgium

Country in Northwestern Europe.

Country in Northwestern Europe.

Gallia Belgica at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 54 BCE
The Burgundian State of Charles the Bold in the 15th century
Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830, Gustaf Wappers, 1834
Cheering crowds greet British troops entering Brussels, 4 September 1944
Relief map of Belgium
Chart illustrating the federal government construction of Belgium
The Belgian Federal Parliament in Brussels, one of six different governments of the country
Regions:
A proportional representation of Belgium exports, 2019
Steelmaking along the Meuse at Ougrée, near Liège
Port of Zeebrugge
Gerardus Mercator
Population density in Belgium by arrondissement.
Brussels, the capital city and largest metropolitan area of Belgium
Bilingual signs in Brussels
National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg, Brussels
Interior of the Great Synagogue of Brussels
The Great Mosque of Brussels
University Hospital of Antwerp
The Central Library of the KU Leuven University
The Ghent Altarpiece: The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (interior view), painted 1432 by van Eyck
Jacques Brel
The Gilles of Binche, in costume, wearing wax masks
Moules-frites or mosselen met friet is a representative dish of Belgium.
Eddy Merckx, regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time

The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest.

Luxembourg

Landlocked country in Western Europe.

Landlocked country in Western Europe.

Text page from the Codex Aureus of Echternach, an important surviving codex, was produced in the Abbey of Echternach in the 11th century.
Charles IV, the 14th-century Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg
Historic map (undated) of Luxembourg City's fortifications
The three partitions of Luxembourg
Frontier with Alsace-Lorraine from 1871 to 1918
The Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg City, the official residence of the grand duke of Luxembourg
The Hall of the Chamber of Deputies, the meeting place of the Luxembourgish national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies, in Luxembourg City
The Court of Justice of the European Union, seated in Luxembourg City
Luxembourgish soldiers on parade during National Day, Grand Duke Day, 23 June
The largest towns are Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Dudelange, and Differdange.
Typical Luxembourg countryside near Alscheid
View of the Grund along Alzette river in the historical heart of Luxembourg City
Luxembourg is part of the Schengen Area, the EU single market, and the Eurozone (dark blue).
Graphical depiction of Luxembourg's product exports in 2019
Luxembourg's international airline Luxair is based at Luxembourg Airport, the country's only international airport.
Signs in front of the Centre Drosbach on the Cloche d'or, in the city of Luxembourg
Population density in Luxembourg by communes. The main urban area, Luxembourg City, is located in the south-center of the country
Coin of the former Luxembourg franc in two of the country's three languages: French (obverse, left) and Luxembourgish (reverse, right)
Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg City
The University of Luxembourg is the only university based in the country.
The University of Luxembourg campus Belval
Edward Steichen, photographer and painter
Charly Gaul won three Grand Tours in his cycling career.
Judd mat Gaardebounen, served with boiled potatoes and Diekirch beer

It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south.

Overseas France

Flag of the Minister of Overseas France
frameless

Overseas France (France d'outre-mer) consists of thirteen French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonization.

Andorra

Roc de les Bruixes prehistorical sanctuary in Canillo (detail)
Charlemagne instructing his son, Louis the Pious
1978 monument commemorating the 700th anniversary of the Paréages, located outside Casa de la Vall in the capital city of Andorra la Vella
Manor house of the Rossell family in Ordino, Casa Rossell, built in 1611. The family also owned the largest ironwork forges in Andorra as Farga Rossell and Farga del Serrat.
Guillem d'Areny-Plandolit led the New Reform of 1866.
Boris Skossyreff, briefly self-proclaimed King of Andorra in 1934
Enthronement as Co-Prince in 1942 of Bishop Ramón Iglesias (centre). The local comite was led by Francesc Cairat (left), the First General Syndic with the longest regencie, from 1936 to 1960.
Co-Prince Charles de Gaulle in the streets of Sant Julià de Lòria in Andorra, October 1967
Streets of the city centre of Andorra la Vella in 1986. From the same year until 1989 Andorra normalized the economic treaties with the EEC.
Foreign Minister of Andorra Gilbert Saboya meeting Austrian foreign minister Sebastian Kurz at the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2014
Casa de la Vall, the historical and ceremonial Andorran Parliament
The New Parliament of Andorra, headquarters of the General Council since 2011, next to Casa de la Vall
The centre of government in Andorra la Vella
The embassy of Andorra in Brussels
National Police patrolling the central area of the capital city
Map of Andorra with its seven parishes labelled
Topographic map of Andorra
A proportional representation of Andorra exports, 2019
The town of Encamp, as seen from the Vall dels Cortals
Andorra–La Seu d'Urgell Airport, located 12 km away from Andorra, in Montferrer i Castellbò (Catalonia, Eastern Spain)
A train at Latour-de-Carol (La Tor de Querol), one of the two stations serving Andorra. Andorra has no railways, although the line connecting Latour-de-Carol and Toulouse, which in turn connects to France's TGVs at Toulouse, runs within 2 km of the Andorran border.
RTVA, the public service television and radio broadcaster in Andorra
Andorra Telecom, the national telecom company in Andorra
Andorran flag on a balcony, Ordino
Folk costume (Le val d'Andorre)
Grandalla flower, the national symbol
View of Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Altar of Sant Romà de Vila
Santa Coloma d'Andorra
The athletes from Andorra at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics
Laure Soulié, Olympic biathlete
Laurent Recouderc serving at the 2010 French Open
2015 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships in Vallnord, La Massana
Volta als Ports d'Andorra, the national road cycling tour
Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella

Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a sovereign landlocked microstate on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south.

Switzerland

Landlocked country at the confluence of Western, Central and Southern Europe.

Landlocked country at the confluence of Western, Central and Southern Europe.

Founded in 44 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, Augusta Raurica (near Basel) was the first Roman settlement on the Rhine and is now among the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland.
The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 (dark green) to the sixteenth century (light green) and its associates (blue). In the other colours shown are the subject territories.
The 1291 Bundesbrief (federal charter)
The Act of Mediation was Napoleon's attempt at a compromise between the Ancien Régime and a Republic.
The first Federal Palace in Bern (1857). One of the three cantons presiding over the Tagsatzung (former legislative and executive council), Bern was chosen as the permanent seat of federal legislative and executive institutions in 1848, in part because of its closeness to the French-speaking area.
Inauguration in 1882 of the Gotthard Rail Tunnel connecting the southern canton of Ticino, the longest in the world at the time
General Ulrich Wille, appointed commander-in-chief of the Swiss Army for the duration of World War I
In 2003, by granting the Swiss People's Party a second seat in the governing cabinet, the Parliament altered the coalition that had dominated Swiss politics since 1959.
Physical map of Switzerland (in German)
Köppen–Geiger climate classification map for Switzerland
The Swiss Federal Council in 2022 with President Ignazio Cassis (bottom) standing on an abstract, reduced railway lines map and positioned at their respective political origins
The Federal Palace, seat of the Federal Assembly and the Federal Council
The Landsgemeinde is an old form of direct democracy, still in practice in two cantons.
The colour-reversed Swiss flag became the symbol of the Red Cross Movement, founded in 1863 by Henry Dunant.
A Swiss Air Force F/A-18 Hornet at Axalp Air Show
Swiss-built Mowag Eagles of the Land Forces
The Old City of Bern
A proportional representation of Switzerland exports, 2019
The city of Basel (Roche Tower) is the capital of the country's pharmaceutical industry, which accounts for around 38% of Swiss exports worldwide.
The Greater Zürich area, home to 1.5 million inhabitants and 150,000 companies, is one of the most important economic centres in the world.
The University of Basel is Switzerland's oldest university (1460).
Some Swiss scientists who played a key role in their discipline (clockwise): Leonhard Euler (mathematics) Louis Agassiz (glaciology) Auguste Piccard (aeronautics) Albert Einstein (physics)
The LHC tunnel. CERN is the world's largest laboratory and also the birthplace of the World Wide Web.
Members of the European Free Trade Association (green) participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area.
Switzerland has the tallest dams in Europe, among which the Mauvoisin Dam, in the Alps. Hydroelectricity is the most important domestic source of energy in the country.
Entrance of the new Lötschberg Base Tunnel, the third-longest railway tunnel in the world, under the old Lötschberg railway line. It was the first completed tunnel of the greater project NRLA.
Population density in Switzerland (2019)
Percentage of foreigners in Switzerland (2019)
Urbanisation in the Rhone Valley (outskirts of Sion)
Alphorn concert in Vals
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was not only a writer but also an influential philosopher of the eighteenth century.
Ski area over the glaciers of Saas-Fee
Roger Federer has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, making him among the most successful men's tennis players ever.
Fondue is melted cheese, into which bread is dipped

Switzerland is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.

Monaco

Sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Monoecus in Roman Liguria in Italy, around 1st century BC
Rainier I of Grimaldi, victor of the naval battle at Zierikzee and first sovereign Grimaldi ruler of Monaco
Monaco (as part of the Republic of Genoa) in 1494
Map of the French annexation in 1860
The Mayor of Monaco announcing concessions, ending the absolute monarchy of Prince Albert I in 1910
The marriage of actress Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier III brought media attention to the principality.
View of Monaco in 2016
Panoramic view of Monaco from the Tête de Chien (Dog's Head) high rock promontory
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Palace guards in Monaco
Satellite view of Monaco, with the France–Monaco border shown in yellow
Panoramic view of La Condamine and Monte Carlo
In the centre is La Condamine. At the right with the smaller harbour is Fontvieille, with The Rock (the old town, fortress, and Palace) jutting out between the two harbours. At the left are the high-rise buildings of La Rousse/Saint Roman.
Enlargeable, detailed map of Monaco
Wards of Monaco
Land reclamation in Monaco since 1861
Temperature change in Monaco since 1901 in the context of global warming
Fontvieille and its new harbour
Monte Carlo Casino
1978 Monégasque franc coin with an effigy of Rainier III
Street sign in French and Monégasque in Monaco-Ville.
Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate
Sainte-Dévote Chapel
Formation lap for the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix
Stade Louis II, home of AS Monaco FC
A view of the 2011 Monaco Porsche Supercup. Motor racing is very popular, with one course encompassing almost the whole country.
Panoramic view of Monaco City and the port of Fontvieille
Seaside façade of the Salle Garnier, home of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Oceanographic Museum
Lycée Albert Premier of Monaco
Monaco's flag and its coat of arms
The Rock of Monaco in 1890
Embassy of Monaco, Paris, France

It is bordered by France to the north, east and west.

Édouard Balladur's proposal

Regions of France

Édouard Balladur's proposal
Manuel Valls's proposal A
Manuel Valls's proposal B
President François Hollande's proposal
Regions as instituted by the National Assembly in 2014

France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (régions, singular région ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collectivities, which have a semi-autonomous status).

Map of Saint Martin

Saint Martin (island)

Island in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 300 km east of Puerto Rico.

Island in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 300 km east of Puerto Rico.

Map of Saint Martin
Flags flying in Marigot harbour, Saint-Martin
Crossing from St. Martin to Sint Maarten, dedicated in 2008
Enlargeable, detailed map of Saint Martin
Extensive damage to buildings in Sint Maarten on 7 September 2017, hours after Hurricane Irma made landfall on the island.
Air France Airbus A340 landing at Princess Juliana International Airport
Sign warning people that standing too close to the airport fence on Maho Beach can be dangerous
Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten, Dutch side
Philipsburg and the Great Bay
Marigot, Saint Martin, French side
Phillipsburg

The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60:40 between the French Republic (53 km2) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (34 km2), but the Dutch part is more populated than the French part.