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
| 11 Sep 25 |
France: Ocean Winds celebrates the successful installation of the first foundation at the Dieppe – Le Tréport offshore wind farm Ocean Winds, the international offshore wind energy company created by EDP Renewables and ENGIE, celebrates today a new milestone in the construction of the Dieppe – Le Tréport offshore wind farm (EMDT) with the successful installation of its first turbine foundation (jacket). |
| 01 Sep 25 |
France: RWE has commissioned 83 megawatts of wind and solar capacity in France Over the summer, RWE commissioned four new wind farms and one solar plant with a total installed capacity of 83 megawatts (MW) in France. |
| 14 Aug 25 |
France: Harmony Energy energises France’s largest battery energy storage project in Nantes Harmony Energy, a leading European developer of battery energy storage systems (BESS), has successfully energised the Cheviré battery project – now the largest of its kind in France. |
| 23 Jun 25 |
France: Europe’s largest floating solar power plant inaugurated in France by Q ENERGY and Velto Renewables Europe's largest floating solar park, 'Les Ilots Blandin', has been officially inaugurated by Q ENERGY and Velto Renewables in the municipality of Perthes in the Haute-Marne region of France. |
| 18 Jun 25 |
Paris Air Show: TotalEnergies signs a deal with Quatra to secure feedstock for its biorefineries TotalEnergies and Quatra, the European market leader in the collection and recycling of used cooking oil, have signed a 15-year agreement beginning in 2026, for the supply of 60,000 tons a year of European used cooking oil to TotalEnergies’ biorefineries. This deal contributes to secure the feedstock to produce biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). |
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
