This region consists of the southern part of France. The definition of its limits is not clear. Generally it consisted of the regions that borders Spain, the Mediterranean Sea and Italy. Even if only some of those French regions are located on the Mediterranean Sea, the whole of southern France is generally considered to have a bigger mediterranean influence than the northern part. They include: The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ...
Linguistically these regions could be defined by the opposition of the "langue d'oïl" (northern France), versus "langue d'oc" (called Occitan), which was spoken in the southern regions. The problem is that it is now a historical concept since Occitan is not spoken or used as a first language anymore. Capital Bordeaux Area 41,309 km² Regional President Alain Rousset ( PS) (since 1998) Population - 2004 estimate - 1999 census - Density (Ranked 6th) 3,049,000 2,908,359 74/km² (2004) Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Départements Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne Pyrénées-Atlantiques Aquitaine... Capital Toulouse Area 45,348 km² Regional President Martin Malvy ( PS) (since 1998) Population - 2004 estimate - 1999 census - Density (Ranked 8th) 2,687,000 2,551,687 59/km² (2004) Arrondissements 22 Cantons 293 Communes 3,020 Départements Ariège Aveyron Gers Haute-Garonne Hautes-Pyrénées Lot Tarn Tarn-et-Garonne... Capital Montpellier Area 27,376 km² Regional President Georges Frêche ( PS) (since 2004) Population - 2004 estimate - 1999 census - Density (Ranked 10th) 2,458,000 2,295,648 90/km² (2004) Arrondissements 14 Cantons 186 Communes 1,545 Départements Aude Gard Hérault Lozère Pyrénées-Orientales... Capital Marseilles Area 31,400 km² Regional President Michel Vauzelle ( PS) (since 1998) Population - 2004 estimate - 1999 census - Density (Ranked 3rd) 4,666,000 4,506,151 149/km² (2004) Arrondissements 18 Cantons 237 Communes 963 Départements Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-Maritimes Bouches-du-Rhône Hautes-Alpes... The langue doïl language family in linguistics comprises Romance languages originating in territories now occupied by northern France, part of Belgium and the Channel Islands. ... OC redirects here. ...
Metropolitan France possesses a large variety of landscapes, ranging from coastal plains in the north and west, where France borders the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, to the Pyrenees mountains in the south-west and the Alps in the south-east, the latter containing the highest point in western Europe, Mont Blanc at 4810 m.
France has 26 régions: 21 of these are in the continental part of metropolitan France, one is Corse on the island of Corsica (although strictly speaking Corse is in fact a "territorial collectivity", not a région, but is referred to as a région in common speech), 4 are overseas.
In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding immigration) was responsible for almost all the natural growth in European population: the population of the European Union increased by 216,000 inhabitants (without immigration), of which 211,000 was the increase in France's population alone, and 5,000 was the increase in all the other countries of the EU combined.
France was one of the earliest countries to progress from feudalism to the nation-state.
France deployed additional military forces to Cote dIvoire in 2002 and to Central African Republic in 2003 to address crises in both countries and, with EU partners, led an international military operation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003.
France is an active participant in the major supplier regimes designed to restrict transfer of technologies that could lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for chemical and biological weapons), the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Missile Technology Control Regime.
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