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
| 19 Mar 26 |
Grandpuits Zero-crude Platform: TotalEnergies starts production at France’s first Advanced Plastics Recycling Plant TotalEnergies has launched France’s first advanced plastics recycling plant, with an annual capacity of 15,000 tons, at its Grandpuits site southeast of Paris. This start-up marks another step in the conversion of the refinery into a zero-crude platform. |
| 10 Mar 26 |
France: Plenitude and Methagora sign a 15-year partnership for the sourcing of biomethane in France Plenitude and Methagora, a biomethane solutions developer and gas supplier, have signed an agreement covering the sourcing in France of 50 GWh of biomethane per year over a 15-year period, in line with the French legislation concerning the Biomethane Production Certificates (BPC) scheme. Under the agreement, Methagora will sell Plenitude biomethane sourced from a range of agricultural areas in France. |
| 19 Feb 26 |
France: Vattenfall signs agreement to divest French sales business to Alterna énergie Vattenfall has signed an agreement with Alterna énergie to transfer its French electricity and gas sales business. Alterna énergie is an established French electricity and gas supplier with around 20 years of experience. |
| 27 Jan 26 |
France: TotalEnergies to supply 800 GWh of renewable electricity to paper manufacturer SWM over 10 years TotalEnergies and SWM, a major player in the paper industry, announce the signing of a contract for the supply of renewable electricity with a constant delivery profile (Clean Firm Power) to SWM’s three plants in France. |
| 21 Jan 26 |
France: VSB France brings 32.4 MW of wind capacity online With the commissioning of the Eoliennes de Tortebesse wind farm in the French département of Puy-de-Dôme, VSB France has reached an important milestone in the further expansion of onshore wind energy in Europe. |
France - more news
Other countries in this region
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