Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: France
| Location: | 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,0 |
| 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 |
| Terrain: | mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east |
| Size: | 547030 sq. km total (Land area: 545630 sq. km Water area: 1400 sq.km) |
| Population: | 60,876,136 in metropolitan France (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) |
| Government: | republic |
| Capital city: | Paris |
| Legal system: | civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | euro (EUR) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
In 2004, France consumed 11.2 quadrillion Btu of total energy. Nuclear energy was the largest share, representing 39 percent, followed by oil (36 percent), natural gas (16 percent) and hydroelectricity (5 percent). France is the second-largest producer of nuclear power in the world, after the United States, however, nuclear energy is a much larger share of France’s total energy consumption than the United States (8 percent in 2004).
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 73,180 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 1 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Consumption: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 47 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: | 474,200 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 863 million cu m (2004 est.) |
| Imports: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 47 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Reserves: | 158 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.) | 341 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Major fields: |
France - recent news
| 22 Jul 24 |
France: Harmony Energy to build France’s largest battery energy storage system Leading battery storage developer Harmony Energy is set to deliver France’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS)—the Cheviré battery project – using Tesla Megapack technology. The project will mark a significant milestone for the French energy system, being France's first large-scale 2-hour battery. |
| 04 Jul 24 |
France/Türkiye: Nordex Group secures orders for 245 MW from France and Türkiye at the end of June At the end of June 2024, the Nordex Group received orders for 17 projects with a total capacity of 245 MW from its core markets France and Türkiye. |
| 02 Jul 24 |
France: DNV selected for power curve verification at Bay of St. Brieuc offshore wind farm using advanced nacelle lidar technology DNV has been chosen by the Iberdrola Group to perform power curve verification at the Bay of St. Brieuc offshore wind farm, employing advanced nacelle lidar technology. Situated 16 kms off Cap Fréhel in the Bay of St. Brieuc in the Côtes-d’Armor distric, the farm is notable for being the first large-scale offshore wind power installation in Brittany —a region renowned for its strong winds and high tides. |
| 18 Jun 24 |
France: Equinor and GRTgaz sign agreement to develop CO2 transport infrastructure in France Equinor and main French gas transmission operator GRTgaz have signed a project development agreement (PDA) for a CO2 transport system for captured CO2 from industrial emitters in France to safe and permanent storage offshore Norway via the planned CO2 Highway Europe pipeline project. |
| 29 Apr 24 |
France: Ørsted to divest its French onshore business Ørsted has announced the divestment of its French onshore operations to ENGIE as part of a strategic prioritisation of other European markets for onshore renewables. |
France - more news
Other countries in this region
- Afghanistan,
- Albania,
- Armenia,
- Austria,
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Belgium,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Faroe Islands,
- Finland,
- Georgia,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Greenland,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Ireland,
- Italy,
- Kazakhstan,
- Kyrgyzstan,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- Moldova,
- Montenegro,
- Netherlands,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Romania,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Spain,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland,
- Tajikistan,
- Tatarstan,
- Turkey,
- Turkmenistan,
- Ukraine,
- United Kingdom,
- Uzbekistan
