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
| 13 Sep 26 |
France: TotalEnergies becomes the sole owner of the Grandpuits Advanced Plastics Recycling Plant As part of the restructuring of Plastic Energy's shareholding, TotalEnergies agreed to acquire from the new shareholder Plastic Energy's 35% interest in the Grandpuits advanced recycling plant, in which TotalEnergies already held a 65% interest. The plant is now wholly owned by TotalEnergies. |
| 31 Aug 26 |
Aramco enhances its global partnership ecosystem through collaboration with French companies Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has announced agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a potential combined value of more than $3.7 billion with French companies. |
| 04 Aug 26 |
France: Envision Energy and Kallista Energy deliver 386 MWh energy storage project to accelerate Future Energy System in France Envision Energy, a global leader in green technology, has deepened its collaboration with European renewable energy producer Kallista Energy, to deliver the 193 MW / 386 MWh Neuilly-en-Thelle battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Hauts-de-France. Construction commenced in early July 2026, with commercial operation expected before spring 2028. |
| 27 Jul 26 |
TotalEnergies SE appeals the 25 June 2026 judgment in the duty of vigilance climate case Following deliberation by its Board of Directors, TotalEnergies has decided to appeal the judgment rendered on 25 June 2026 by the Paris Judicial Court in the proceedings brought by certain associations under the French duty of vigilance law. |
| 24 Jul 26 |
France: BW Ideol and NGE join forces in the Mediterranean BW Ideol, a leader in floating offshore wind and designer of the Damping Pool® concrete floating foundation, and NGE, France's 4th largest construction group, have announced the signing of an exclusive partnership agreement covering the Mediterranean floating wind market. |
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
