About France: a quick introduction

If you're heading to France and not familiar with the country, here are some useful introductory nuggets of information that you might find useful.

Official name République française

Language French

Motto Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Capital city Paris

Head of State President Emmanuel Macron

Population 68 million

Currency Euro €1 = 100 centimes

Dialling code +33

Time zone Winter UTC +1 Summer UTC +2

Total area 551,000 km2

Highest point Mont Blanc 4808 m

Longest river La Loire 1006 km / 625 mi

 

The regions of France

The mainland is known as Metropolitan France, and is divided into 13 regions, and 96 sub-regions called départements :

 

Main cities of France

Here are the largest settlements of France, each with a population of over 100,000 people:

The larger Paris region (Ile de France) also includes Argenteuil, Boulogne Billancourt, Montreuil and Saint Denis. These have been excluded from the map for clarity.

 

Public holidays

France has 11 official public holidays dotted throughout the year, so it is always worth checking before travelling. The majority of banks close on these days, and most shops run on reduced hours (that's if they open at all).

If a holiday falls on a Sunday, then the following Monday is usually a "rollover" holiday. This doesn't happen if the holiday falls on a Saturday,

Holiday	Date
Jour de l'an - New Year	1 January
Lundi de Pâques - Easter Monday	varies
Fête du travail - Labour Day	1 May
Victoire 1945 - VE Day	8 May
Ascension	varies - 39 days after Easter
Pentecôte	varies - 50 days after Easter
Fête Nationale - National holiday	14 July
Assomption	15 August
Toussaint - All Saints' Day	1 November
Armistice 1918	11 November
Jour de Noël - Christmas	25 December
The Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle departements have an additional two local holidays:
Vendredi saint - Good Friday	varies - 2 days before Easter
Saint Étienne - Boxing Day	26 December