French facts

Want to know who’s who and what’s what in France? Here’s a brief overview of her history, her culture, her great citizens and her vital statistics.

 

THE BASICS

• France is the largest country in Western Europe. Land area: approximately 544,000 square kilometres or 339,751 square miles - slightly bigger than the US state of Texas or, in Australian terms, roughly half the size of South Australia.
• France’s population is around 60 million. More than half of the population live in towns of 50,000+ people.
• Money is the Euro €. We started using the Euro as our currency in 2002.
• France receives 76 million tourists each year - making it world’s most popular tourist destination.
• Nicolas Sarkozy is the President of France. His political party is the centre-right UMP (Union pour un mouvement populaire), which is a little like the Liberal Party in Australia or the Republican Party in the US.

As well as being a tourist destination, France is a major economic power. The industries important to our economy include: transport, telecommunications, agri-foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance, luxury products such as ready-to-wear fashion, perfumes, fine wines and spirits, etc. and, bien sur (of course), tourism!