Geographical setting.
A. Location. France is the largest country of Europe, France is surrounded by both land and water on all sides. The France Geography gives one a complete idea of the country's unique location and its physical features. | France is located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean on its northern and western sides, | respectively. To the northeast of the country lies Belgium and Luxembourg while to the east we have Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south of France while Spain and Andorra lies to the southwest. Because of its extensive network of modern communications, France is a real hub in Europe. The eastern reaches of the country abut the great industrial and urban area stretching from the mouth of the Rhine to the plains of the Po River. It is also within easy reach of the industrial centre’s of the United Kingdom and the other countries lying on the North Sea. To the south it is an integral part of the Mediterranean arc running from Catalonia to central Italy. | |

B. Climate.
The climate in France varies with the region. There are five reasonably distinct climate areas and Three types of climate may be found within France: oceanic, continental, and Mediterranean.
1. Northern coastal regions have a temperate climate with mild minters and warm but not very hot summers, much like England. Rain is reasonably frequent all year around, and the weather can be very unpredictable.
2. South-west France - Aquitaine and Poitou-Charente - have generally mild winters and warm-hot summers, with substantially less rainfall than the northern part of the country. Thunderstorms are common in the summer.
3. Central / inland France has a more continental climate, with harsher winters and hotter summers, and less rain than the coastal regions. The southern part of the country is again significantly drier and warmer than the northern part.
4. Mediterranean coast - Provence, Languedoc Roussillon - and inland for about 30 km, and Corsica, have a typical Mediterranean climate - hot days in the summer, and winters are generally mild and short. This is the region of France with the most days of sunshine each year. A strong northerly wind, the Mistral, blows through this area, and can cause periods of cold windy weather even in late spring. Thunderstorms are very common in the summer.
5. Mountains - especially in the Alps, but also the Massif central and the Pyrenees, at high altitudes, winters are long and cold with substantial snowfall, that often will not clear from the high roads until very late spring. http://www.francethisway.com/info/france-climate.php
A temperate climate in the north; northeastern areas have a more continental climate with warm summers and colder winters. Rainfall is distributed throughout the year with some snow likely in winter. The Jura Mountains have an alpine climate. Lorraine, sheltered by bordering hills, has a relatively mild climate. Mediterranean climate in the south; mountains are cooler with heavy snow in winter.
The Atlantic influences the climate of the western coastal areas from the Loire to the Basque region where the weather is temperate and relatively mild with rainfall throughout the year. Summers can be very hot and sunny. Inland areas are mild and the French slopes of the Pyrenees are renowned for their sunshine record. A Mediterranean climate exists on the Riviera, and in Provence and Roussillon. Weather in the French Alps is variable. Continental weather is present in Auvergne, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley. Very strong winds (such as the Mistral) can occur throughout the entire region.Three types of climate may be found within France: oceanic, continental, and Mediterranean. The oceanic climate, prevailing in the western parts of the country, is one of small temperature range, ample rainfall, cool summers, and cool but seldom very cold winters. The continental (transition) type of climate, found over much of eastern and central France, adjoining its long common boundary with west-central Europe, is characterized by warmer summers and colder winters than areas farther west; rainfall is ample, and winters tend to be snowy, especially in the higher areas. The Mediterranean climate, widespread throughout the south of France (except in the mountainous southwest), is one of cool winters, hot summers, and limited rainfall. The mean temperature is about 11° C (53° F ) at Paris and 15° C (59° F ) at Nice. In central and southern France, annual rainfall is light to moderate, ranging from about 68 cm (27 in) at Paris to 100 cm (39 in) at Bordeaux. Rainfall is heavy in Brittany, the northern coastal areas, and the mountainous areas, where it reaches more than 112 cm (44 in). Three types of climate may be found within France: oceanic, continental, and Mediterranean. The oceanic climate, prevailing in the western parts of the country, is one of small temperature range, ample rainfall, cool summers, and cool but seldom very cold winters. The continental (transition) type of climate, found over much of eastern and central France, adjoining its long common boundary with west-central Europe, is characterized by warmer summers and colder winters than areas farther west; rainfall is ample, and winters tend to be snowy, especially in the higher areas. The Mediterranean climate, widespread throughout the south of France (except in the mountainous southwest), is one of cool winters, hot summers, and limited rainfall. The mean temperature is about 11° C (53° F ) at Paris and 15° C (59° F ) at Nice. In central and southern France, annual rainfall is light to moderate, ranging from about 68 cm (27 in) at Paris to 100 cm (39 in) at Bordeaux. Rainfall is heavy in Brittany, the northern coastal areas, and the mountainous areas, where it reaches more than 112 cm (44 in).

C. Topography
France topographically is one of the most varied countries of Europe, with elevations ranging from sea level to the highest peak of the continent, Mont Blanc (4,807 m/15,771 ft), on the border with Italy. Much of the country is ringed with mountains. In the northeast is the Ardennes Plateau, which extends into Belgium and Luxembourg; to the east are the Vosges, the high Alps, and the Jura Mountains; and along the Spanish border are the Pyrenees, much like the Alps in ruggedness and height.
The core of France is the Paris Basin, connected in the southwest with the lowland of Aquitaine. Low hills cover much of Brittany and Normandy. The old, worn-down upland of the Massif Central, topped by extinct volcanoes, occupies the south-central area. The valley of the Rhône (813 km/505 mi), with that of its tributary the Saône (480 km/298 mi), provides an excellent passageway from the Paris Basin and eastern France to the Mediterranean.
There are three other main river systems: the Seine (776 km/ 482 mi), draining into the English Channel; the Loire (1,020 km/ 634 mi), which flows through central France to the Atlantic; and the Garonne (575 km/357 mi), which flows across southern France to the Atlantic. | | | France is shaped like a hexagon, and three of its six sides are bounded by water — the English Channel on the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean and Bay of Biscay on the west, and the Mediterranean Sea on the southeast. The remaining sides are mostly mountainous and are shared by seven European neighbors — Belgium and Luxembourg on the northeast; Germany, Switzerland, and Italy on the east; and Spain and tiny Andorra on the south. France's eighth neighbor is Monaco, located on the Mediterranean coast near Nice and entirely surrounded by French territory. The diameter of the hexagon measures close to 1,000 km (620 mi) from each of its six corners to the opposite corner. | | | | | | | | |
France may be divided into two regions by an imaginary line joining Biarritz in the southwest and Luxembourg in the northeast. Broad plains, low hills, and low plateaus predominate north and west of this line, and elevated plateaus and high mountains, including Mont Blanc, the highest point in Europe (except for the Caucasus Mountains), are found south and east of the line. Linking the two types of terrain, as well as providing easy communication with other parts of Europe, are several wide valleys and gaps, including the Belfort Gap, the Saone valley, the upper Rhône valley, the combined Rhône-Saone corridor south of Lyon, and the gaps at Carcassonne and Toulouse.France is sometimes described as a microcosm of Europe because the three major types of European landforms — sedimentary basins and lowlands, worn-down Hercynian mountain blocks, and younger, folded mountain belts — are all well represented in France. The principal sedimentary basin is the Paris Basin, which forms a vast, saucer-shaped lowland, covering about 100,000 sq km (39,000 sq mi) and composed of alternating layers of hard and soft rocks that afford a varied relief. The smaller Aquitaine Basin, also sedimentary, lies southwest of the Paris Basin. Other lowlands include several long, narrow plains that run north-south, including the Alsace Plain west of the Rhine and the Rhône-Saone corridor, and coastal plains, including the Languedoc Plain, along the Mediterranean coast. The basins and plains have fertile soils, notably loam and alluvial deposits, and are excellent for farming.The Hercynian mountain blocks are remnants of ancient mountains formed during the Hercynian orogeny (a mountain-building period during the Carboniferous and Permian periods, 340 to 230 million years ago) and subsequently worn down before being uplifted during the Tertiary Period (65 to 2 million years ago). The principal uplands are the Armorican Massif, the Massif Central, the Vosges, and the Ardennes. The Armorican Massif, located in northwestern France, is composed mainly of low plateaus. The Massif Central is located in south-central France between the Rhône-Saone corridor and the Aquitaine Basin, and consists of plateaus that rise to more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft); the Auvergne Mountains, of volcanic origin, rise from the plateaus of the Massif Central. The Vosges are located in eastern France between the Paris Basin and the Alsace Plain, and reach more than 1,200 m (4,000 ft) in the Ballons d'Alsace. A small portion of the Ardennes, which lie mostly in Belgium and Luxembourg, extends into France. The soils in all the Hercynian uplands are usually thin and developed on underlying granite and crystalline rocks.The two principal mountain chains in France are the Pyrénées, which form the border with Spain, and the Alps, which form most of the border with Switzerland and Italy. The Pyrénées are difficult to cross because of their high altitude — several summits exceed 3,000 m (10,000 ft) — and the absence of low passes. The French Alps, the western end of the European Alpine chain, are also high and rugged, with elevations of 3,500 m (11,500 ft). Unlike the Pyrénées, however, the Alps are broken by several important river valleys, including the Rhône, Isère, and Durance, providing access to Switzerland and Italy. The Jura, a mountain range on the Swiss border, are lower and less rugged components of the Alpine chain.France's coastline is 3,427 km (2,129 mi) long, including 644 km (400 mi) on Corsica. The character of the coastline ranges from sandy and straight, as in Languedoc on the Mediterranean, to deeply indented capes and bays, as in Brittany, the Côte d'Azur, and Corsica. |
VII. Language.

A. Official language(s).
French, the official language, is the first language of 88% of the population. Most of those who speak minority languages also speak French, as the minority languages are given no legal recognition. 3% of the population speak German dialects, predominantly in the eastern provinces of Alsace-Lorraine and Moselle. Flemish is spoken by around 90,000 people in the north-east, which is 0.2% of the French population. Around 1m people near the Italian border, roughly 1.7% of the population, speaksItalian.
Basque is spoken by 0.1% and mainly along the French-Spanish border.
Catalan dialects are spoken in the French Pyrenees by around 260,000 people or 0.4% of the French population.
The Celtic language, Breton, is spoken by 1.2% and mainly in the north-west of France. These three languages have no official status within France.
In the South of France, over 7m speak Occitan dialects, representing 12% of the population of France, but these dialects have no official status. Nor too does Corsu, the dialect of the island of Corsica that is closely related to Tuscan and is spoken by 0.3%.
Arabic, the third largest minority language, is spoken by around 1.7% of the population throughout the country. Other immigrant languages from the former French colonies include Kabyle and Antillean Creole.

B. Spoken versus written language(s).

C. Dialects.
Most French people speak the French language as their mother tongue, but certain languages like Norman, Occitan, Corsican, Basque,French Flemish and Breton remain spoken in certain regions