France, authoritatively the French Republic, is a nation whose domain comprises of metropolitan France in Western Europe and a few abroad locales and regions. The metropolitan region of France stretches out from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is circumscribed by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany toward the upper east, Switzerland and Italy toward the east, and Andorra and Spain toward the south. The abroad domains remember French Guiana for South America and a few islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian seas. The nation's 18 basic districts (five of which are arranged abroad) length a consolidated zone of 643,801 square kilometers (248,573 sq mi) and a complete populace of 67.02 million (starting at July 2019). France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the nation's biggest city and fundamental social and business focus. Other major urban territories incorporate Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice. France, including its abroad regions, has the most number of time zones of any nation, with an aggregate of 12.

During the Iron Age, what is presently metropolitan France was possessed by the Gauls, a Celtic people. Rome attached the territory in 51 BC, holding it until the appearance of Germanic Franks in 476, who framed the Kingdom of Francia. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 apportioned Francia into East Francia, Middle Francia and West Francia. West Francia, which turned into the Kingdom of France in 987, developed as a significant European power in the Late Middle Ages, following its triumph in the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). During the Renaissance, French culture thrived and a worldwide provincial realm was built up, which by the twentieth century would turn into the second biggest on the planet. The sixteenth century was commanded by strict common wars among Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). France turned into Europe's predominant social, political, and military power in the seventeenth century under Louis XIV. In the late eighteenth century, the French Revolution ousted the outright government, setting up one of present day history's soonest republics and drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which communicates the country's goals right up 'til today.

In the nineteenth century, Napoleon took control and set up the First French Empire. His resulting Napoleonic Wars (1803–15) molded the course of mainland Europe. Following the breakdown of the Empire, France persevered through a turbulent progression of governments coming full circle with the foundation of the French Third Republic in 1870. France was a significant member in World War I, from which it developed triumphant, and was one of the Allies in World War II, however went under occupation by the Axis controls in 1940. Following freedom in 1944, a Fourth Republic was built up and later disintegrated throughout the Algerian War. The Fifth Republic, drove by Charles de Gaulle, was shaped in 1958 and remains today. Algeria and about the various settlements got free during the 1960s, with most holding close financial and military associations with France.

France has for some time been a worldwide focus of craftsmanship, science, and reasoning. It has the world's fourth-biggest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the main vacationer goal, accepting around 83 million remote guests yearly. France is a created nation with the world's 6th biggest economy by ostensible GDP, and tenth-biggest by buying power equality. Regarding total family unit riches, it positions fourth on the planet. France performs well in worldwide rankings of instruction, social insurance, future, and human improvement. France is viewed as an incredible power in worldwide issues, being one of the five lasting individuals from the United Nations Security Council with the ability to veto and an authority atomic weapon state. It is a main part condition of the European Union and the Eurozone, and an individual from the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization for Economic Co-activity and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and La Francophonie.