France is in Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel,
between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Italy and Spain. With a total of 2,889 km land boundaries and 3,427 km coastline,
France shares borders with;
Andorra 56.6 km,
Belgium 620 km,
Germany 451 km,
Italy 488 km,
Luxembourg 73 km,
Monaco 4.4 km,
Spain 623 km, and
Switzerland 573 km.
Statistics
Area: 547,030 km² (land: 545,630 km² water: 1,400 km²)
Population: 60,424,213 (July 2004)
Capital: Paris
Language: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Religion: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
Climate: 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