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
| 28 Dec 24 |
France: ENGIE awarded a 250 MW floating offshore wind project in the French Mediterranean Sea ENGIE has been awarded, through Ocean Winds, its 50-50 joint-venture dedicated to offshore activities with EDPR, a 250 MW floating offshore wind project by the French Ministry of Industry and Energy, as part of the AO6 call for tenders. |
| 17 Dec 24 |
France/Spain: DNV advises Elyse Energy in securing €120 million investment for sustainable fuels and low-carbon feedstock projects DNV has successfully conducted a comprehensive technical due diligence to support Elyse Energy, an independent French company specializing in the production of low-carbon molecules, in securing a €120 million investment from Hy24, PGGM, Bpifrance, and Mirova. |
| 25 Nov 24 |
France: TotalEnergies accelerates decarbonization of its platform at La Mède In line with its 2030 ambition to decarbonize the hydrogen used in its European refineries, TotalEnergies has joined forces with Air Liquide to produce renewable hydrogen at La Mède in southeast France. This new project complements the Masshylia project to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis led by TotalEnergies in partnership with ENGIE. |
| 18 Nov 24 |
France: Neoen wins 164 MWp of solar projects in France Neoen, one of the world’s leading producers of exclusively renewable energy, has been awarded 164 MWp of solar and agrisolar projects in the latest call for tenders held by the French government’s Energy Regulation Commission (CRE). |
| 14 Nov 24 |
France: RWE secures two more onshore wind projects at French regulation latest bidding round The French CRE (Commission for the Regulation of Energy) has published the results for the latest onshore wind bidding round (AO 16), for a selected capacity of 755.22 MW at an average price of 87.92 euros/MWh. RWE has emerged as one of the leading recipient, securing contracts for two projects with a combined capacity of 41.3 MW. |
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
