France has a surface area of 550,000 km2, which makes it the largest country in Western Europe - bigger than Spain, Germany and Sweden. It lies on the western edge of the continent of Europe and shares borders with six neighbouring countries: Belgium and Luxembourg to the north; Germany and Switzerland to the east; Italy to the south-east; and Spain to the south-west.

This geographical position gives France two salient advantages. On the one hand, partly due to its excellent communications network, it is a sort of crossroads at the heart of the European Union: linked to the east with the vast industrial and urban area stretching from the mouth of the Rhine to the plains of the Po River; to the north-west, it is within easy reach of the industrial centres of the United Kingdom and to the south it forms an integral part of the Mediterranean arc running from Catalonia to central Italy. The French coastline provides access by sea to Northern Europe, America and Africa via the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, which are amongst the world’s busiest waters. Mainland France is compact and forms a hexagon of which no side is longer than 1,000 km. Within these boundaries, France has exceptionally varied scenery. This, together with its rich cultural heritage, helps make it popular with tourists. 
 

West of a diagonal line from Bayonne to Sedan, France is relatively low-lying, with altitudes mostly below 200 m. The plains and plateaux of the Paris basin and the Aquitaine basin cover most of this area. Although there are no high mountains, the landscapes are strikingly varied, partly because they have been formed in quite different ways. Some coastal plains, such as those in Flanders, emerged from the sea as tides and rivers left deposits. The low plains of Beauce, Brie and Picardy were created by sedimentation: they were formed by limestone and clay being deposited on the sea-bed during the Mesozoic Era and Tertiary Period. There are also lush alluvial plains like those of the Seine and Loire rivers. The land rises around the rim of the Paris basin. To the north lie the Ardennes, an ancient Hercynian massif worn down by a long period of erosion; to the north-east is the Lorraine versant of the Vosges; to the south, the Massif Central; and to the west the Massif Armoricain. The pattern is repeated around the Aquitaine basin, which is bordered by the Massif Central to the east and the Pyrenees to the south.  

The relief of the south-eastern half of the country is more undulating. There are medium-altitude mountains ranging from 500 to 1,700 m, of which some are ancient Hercynian massifs. This is the case of the Vosges and the Massif Central, which were thrown outwards at the time of uplifting of the Alpine ranges. They have rounded peaks and steep-sided valleys which make access extremely difficult. The Massif Central also contains many extinct volcanoes, such as the Cantal and the Puy-de-Dôme. Other ancient massifs which are less extensive, such as the Maures and the Estérel with their ravines carved out by Mediterranean downpours, have more impressive scenery, even though their peaks reach no higher than 900 m. The Jura is also medium-altitude, but it is a comparatively recent massif which was formed in the Tertiary Period. It is made up of folds of sedimentary rock containing large amounts of limestone and is more dramatic, with alternating mountains and valleys and some breathtakingly high peaks. Many of the rock-folds are crossed by narrow transverse valleys called cluses, which make communications easier than is usual in mountain areas. This medium-altitude mountain scenery is also found in the northern and southern Pre-Alps, where the mountains often reach heights of over 2,000 m. More violent folding and greater erosion have resulted in steep slopes which in places make the mountains look higher.

France’s high mountains are found especially in the central Alps and Pyrenees. Both ranges began to form over 50 million years ago, in the Tertiary Period, in the zone where the crustal plates supporting Europe and Africa collided. The tops of these mountain ranges, which extend beyond France’s borders, reach high altitudes - Mont Blanc, in the Alps, rises to 4,807 m and Vignemale, in the French Pyrenees, to 3,298 m (though Aneto, in the Spanish Pyrenees, is higher at 3,404 m). The scenery is majestic, largely as a result of glacial erosion - craggy summits, jagged rows of peaks and deep U-shaped valleys. In the south-eastern part of the country, all these mountains, be they ancient or more recent, leave little room for plains. The plains that are there are follow the coastlines as, for example, in the Languedoc and eastern Corsica, or stretch between mountains, as in the Saône and Rhône valleys.

France is drained by four major rivers, which provide focal points for industrial and urban development. The Loire (1,012 km long) and the Garonne (575 km) flow somewhat unevenly and are therefore unsuitable for modern river transport, but their estuaries shelter thriving ports like Nantes-Saint-Nazaire and Bordeaux. The other rivers, which flow more evenly and have been provided with the requisite structures on and around them, are important waterways. These are the Seine (776 km), which has made Rouen and Le Havre the major ports serving the Paris basin, and the Rhône (522 km in France) which is well maintained between Lyon and the sea. In addition, the Rhine, which forms the border between France and Germany for a distance of 190 km, is one of the most important navigable waterways in the world.  

The same degree of diversity is found along the coasts, of which France has 5,500 km, with extremely varied scenery. Along the Channel, in the regions of Artois, Picardy and Upper Normandy, the coastline is made up of steep, often vertical cliffs. These are cut into by estuaries such as those of the Somme and the Seine and are being eroded by the force of the sea. Rocky coasts, which fringe the ancient massifs and the younger mountains, have a more complex history. The sea has sculpted them into bays and promontories, sometimes bordered by islets, as in Brittany, Provence and western Corsica. This has produced a jagged coastline which has provided harbours for ports but requires consummate navigation skills. Sandy beaches are found along the edges of plains and plateaux in Flanders, Les Landes, the Languedoc and eastern Corsica. Although popular with tourists, these make it difficult to build harbours. Lastly, marshy coastlines such as the Camargue and Poitevin areas, which were historically unsuitable for human habitation, can now be visited by tourists and are often part of nature reserves.  

 

 

A European crossroads

France is situated on the rounded isthmus which separates the Mediterranean from the Channel and the Atlantic in Western Europe, and links the Iberian peninsula to the rest of the continent. Consequently, throughout history, the Paris basin has played - and still plays - a critically important role because of its size and ease of access, high-quality agricultural land and two great rivers, the Seine and the Loire. Here is the cradle of the French nation, the domain of kings, the nucleus to which the other provinces were added, the Republic's foremost region. It is dominated by Paris, one of the greatest cities and most important urban regions in Europe and the world: 2,116,000 people live in inner Paris and 10,925,000 in the Ile de France region. There are also a whole host of towns on the basin's periphery including Caen, Rouen, Le Havre, Amiens, Rheims, Orléans and Tours. National traffic between all these towns, dominated by Paris, is increased by the heavy European traffic travelling through the region between the United Kingdom, Benelux, Germany and, further south, Italy and the Iberian peninsula.

Moreover, France has two major trade routes which make her one of the most important crossroads in Western Europe, at all events the most extensive one and the least easy for international traffic to bypass. To the east, lie the cities of Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg, Lyon, Grenoble, Saint-Etienne and Marseille, and the great north-south axis formed by the valleys of the Rhine and Moselle, and Saône and Rhône - all now well connected by motorways and high-speed trains (or TGV) railway lines. Similarly, to the south, the Mediterranean coast, together with the Garonne valley and Aquitaine basin, link such cities as Nice, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse and Bordeaux. It is now in these towns and metropolises, and the Paris region, that the bulk of the population and industry and tertiary activities are concentrated, rather than in the former industrial basins founded on coal, steel and textiles, such as Lorraine and Nord-Pas de Calais. Three great conurbations each have around a million inhabitants: Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing, within reach of Belgium and Britain; Lyon - the most important communications crossroads and economic centre after Paris, close to Switzerland and Italy; and Aix-Marseille, the gateway to the Mediterranean.

To the west of the country on the Armorican massif and its fringes, and above all in central France in the Massif Central and the area immediately surrounding it, there is greater isolation and there are fewer large towns: Rennes, Brest, Poitiers, Nantes, Limoges and Clermont-Ferrand. Here the rural influence is strongest and the area is dotted with small and medium-sized towns. 

Climate 

France is located between latitudes 41° and 52° North, on the western edge of the Eurasian continent, and so lies within the northern temperate zone. It is generally subjected to west winds bringing in air from the sea which result in a mild coastal and inland climate. But in winter, continental anticyclones sometimes cause cold winds like the bise (a keen, dry north or north-east wind) to sweep through France. All in all, a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate.

In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic, with a high level of rainfall brought in by Atlantic depressions, often in the form of light showers, and spread evenly over the year. This climate typically results in mild winters, particularly in the south, and cool summers. The weather is often changeable, with cloudy skies, rain and sunny spells following in swift succession.

As we move inland, the climate becomes more extreme. In Alsace and Lorraine, the weather takes on continental characteristics, with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less plentiful rainfall. In the south-west, the oceanic climate produces hotter summers and more autumn sunshine.  

The Mediterranean climate prevails in the south-east and Corsica, giving clear skies, hot dry summers and mild winters. This area often receives more than 2,500 hours of sunshine per year. Rainfall comes mainly in spring and autumn, often in the form of heavy showers which accelerate the process of erosion and sometimes cause terrible flooding. There are strong winds such as the mistral, which sweeps down the Rhône valley, or the tramontana which blows over the Languedoc. Frosts and snow are unusual on the coastal plains but the climate soon becomes colder in the mountains of the hinterland. The Mediterranean climate is suitable for fragile crops such as grapevines and other fruit, and perhaps most favourable of all for summer tourism, especially since the sea can be as warm as 23° or 25°C in summer off the Mediterranean coasts.

Lastly, higher areas have a mountain climate, with cooler temperatures and more plentiful rainfall. In high mountain areas, the number of days when temperatures are below freezing may be over 150 per year and the mantle of snow may last for up to six months. Because the climate varies with altitude, there are different bands of vegetation. Broad-leaved trees gradually give way to conifers, which in turn are replaced by low-growing alpine plants above 2,000 m. But there are considerable differences between the slopes, according to which way they face. Adrets (south-facing slopes) are most suitable for building villages and growing crops, whilst ubacs (north-facing slopes) often remain wooded.