National Flower: Lily

National Motto: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

National Bird: Gallic Rooster

National Anthem

no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship);

10 August 843
(Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire);

14 July 1789
French monarchy overthrown);

22 September 1792
(First French Republic founded);

4 October 1958
(Fifth French Republic established)

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Paris Orly Airport

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport

Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport

Marseille Provence Airport

Toulouse Blagnac Airport

Basel-Mulhouse International Airport

Bordeaux - Mérignac Airport

Nantes Atlantique Airport

Beauvais-Tillé Airport

Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport

Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport

Roland Garros Airport

Faa'a International Airport

Strasbourg Airport

Montpellier Airport

Ajaccio - Campo dell'Oro Airport

French Republic
République française

Paris

65 million (July 2011 est.)

total area:
643,801 sq km;
551,500 sq km (metropolitan France)
land:
640,427 sq km;
549,970 sq km (metropolitan France)
water:
3,374 sq km;
1,530 sq km (metropolitan France)

Metropolitan France - Total: 2,889 km
Andorra - 56.6 km
Belgium - 620 km
Germany - 451 km
Italy - 488 km
Luxembourg - 73 km
Monaco - 4.4 km
Spain - 623 km
Switzerland 573 km
French Guiana - Total: 1,183 km
Brazil - 673 km
Suriname 510 km

Alsace
Aquitaine
Auvergne
Basse-Normandie
Bourgogne
Brittany
Centre
Champagne-Ardenne
Corsica (Corse)
Franche-Comté
Haute-Normandie
Île-de-France
Languedoc-Roussillon
Limousin
Lorraine
Midi-Pyrénées
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Pays de la Loire
Picardie
Poitou-Charentes
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Rhône-Alpes

Paris
Marseille
Lyon
Toulouse
Rennes

French

Parliament
Upper House - Senate
Lower House - National Assembly

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$33,100 (2010 est.)

Roman Catholic

metropolitan France:
generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean;
occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
French Guiana:
tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique:
subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity;
rainy season (June to October);
vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Mayotte:
tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May);
dry season is cooler (May to November)
Reunion:
tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation;
cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

Loire River
Rhone River
Seine River
Dordogne River
Garonne River

Ladoga
Onega
Peipus

Fete de la Federation: 14 July (1790)