Environment of France: France was one of the first countries to create a Ministry of the Environment, in 1971. Although France is one of the most industrialised and developed countries, it is ranked only seventeenth by carbon dioxide emissions, behind such less populous nations as Canada, Saudi Arabia or Australia. This situation results from the French government's decision to invest in nuclear power in 1974 (after the 1973 oil crisis), which now accounts for 78% of France's energy production and explains why France pollutes less than comparable countries. Like all European Union members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020, in comparison the USA agreed to a fall of 4% of its emissions whereas China stated it wanted to "reduce its carbon intensity by 40-45% by the year 2020" (compared with 2005 levels), which means with a GDP growth of 8% yearly an augmentation of 80% to 250% of the Chinese carbon emissions by 2020.

In 2009, the French carbon dioxide emissions per capita level is lower than the Chinese one.

France was even set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted. The carbon tax would have brought in 4.3 billion Euros of revenue per year. However, 6 months later, the plan for a carbon tax was abandoned for various reasons, one being that French companies would have a more difficult time competing with companies in neighboring countries who would not have to pay such steep taxes on carbon dioxide emissions. Instituting a carbon tax was also an unpopular political move for President Sarkozy.

In 2010, a study at Yale and Columbia universities ranked France the most environmentally conscious nation of the G20.

Forests account for 28,27% of the land area of France, that is to say a superficy of 15.9 million of hectares. France is the second most wooded country of the EU. French forests are also ones of the most diversified of Europe, with more than 140 differents varieties of trees. There are 9 national parks and 46 natural parks in France. France wants to convert 20% of its Exclusive Economic Zone in a Marine Protected Area by 2020.

Geography of France: While Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe, France also has a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, the southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica. These territories have varying forms of government ranging from overseas department to overseas collectivity. France's overseas departments and collectivities share land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin).

Metropolitan France covers 547,030 square kilometres (211,209 sq mi), having the largest area among European Union members. France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west. At 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft) above sea level, the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, is situated in the Alps on the border between France and Italy. Metropolitan France also has extensive river systems such as the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhône, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.

France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is 674,843 km² (260,558 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. However, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,637 sq mi), approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the United States (11,351,000 km²/4,382,646 sq mi) and ahead of Australia (8,232,000 km²/3,178,393 sq mi).^[49] The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France. In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool to warm summers. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.

Geography of France

France, officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as L’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is bordered (clockwise starting from the northeast) by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco; with Spain and Andorra to the south. France's overseas departments and collectivities also share land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin). France is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel.

France is a founding member state of the European Union and is the largest one by area. France has been a major power for several centuries with strong economic, cultural, military and political influence in Europe and abroad. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands.

France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is one of the most developed countries and possesses the fifth largest economy by nominal GDP and seventh largest economy by purchasing power parity. France enjoys a high standard of living as well as a high public education level, and has also one of the world's highest life expectancies. It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually. France is a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and possesses the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the world.

French Republic République française (French)
Flag National Emblem (unofficial)
Motto: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity)
Anthem: La Marseillaise
Location of Metropolitan France (dark green) – on the European continent (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union (light green) — [Legend]
Territory of the French Republic in the world (excl. Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended)
Capital (and largest city)		Paris 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E / 48.8567°N 2.35083°E / 48.8567; 2.35083
Official language(s)		French
Regional languages (both official and not official)		[show] Alsatian; Basque; Breton; New Caledonian languages2; Catalan; Corsican; Creoles2; Flemish; Franco-Provençal; Lorrain language; Shimaore dialect (Mayotte)2; Occitan; Oïl languages; Tahitian2[2]
Demonym		French
Government		Unitary semi-presidential republic
-	President	Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP)
-	Prime Minister	François Fillon (UMP)
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper House	Senate
-	Lower House	National Assembly
Formation
-	Traditional date	496 (baptism of Clovis)
-	Western Francia	10 August 843 (Treaty of Verdun)
-	Current constitution	5 October 1958 (5th Republic)
EU accession		25 March 1957
Area
-	Total	674,843 km2 (43rd) 260,558 sq mi
-	Metropolitan France
	- IGN	551,695 km2 (47th) 213,010 sq mi
	- Cadastre	543,965 km2 (47th) 210,026 sq mi
Population
	(1 January 2010 estimate)
-	Total[3]	65,447,374 (20th)
-	Metropolitan France	62,793,432 (22nd)
-	Density[8]	115/km2 (89th) 299/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2009 estimate
-	Total	$2.108 trillion
-	Per capita	$33,678
GDP (nominal)		2009 estimate
-	Total	$2.676 trillion
-	Per capita	$42,747
Gini (2002)		26.7
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.961 (very high) (8th)
Currency		Euro, CFP Franc (EUR, XPF)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.fr[13]
Calling code		331

Tourism in France: France attracted 81.9 million foreign tourists , a 3.8% increase compared to 2006, making it the most popular tourist destination in the world. This 81.9 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Morocco, Spain or Italy in summer.

France offers mountain ranges, coastlines such as in Brittany or along the Mediterranean Sea, cities with a rich cultural heritage, châteaux (castles) like Versailles, and vineyards. Tourism is accountable for 6% of the country's income (4% from French tourists travelling inside France and 2% from foreign tourists), and contributes significantly to the balance of payments.

Paris, the capital city, is the most visited city in the world. Paris attracts tourists with museums such as the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, and attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, and Disneyland Paris.

In the eastern parts of France there are skiing resorts in the Alps. Notable French cities are Avignon with the Popes' palace, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Benoît-du-Sault on the Loire River, Toulouse on the Garonne, Strasbourg on the border with Germany, and the beautiful city of Nantes.

All over France rental accommodations and hotels are available. For example, the English like to spend their summers in the Dordogne valley, the Spanish vacation in Biarritz and St Jean de Luz on the Basque coast, and the Irish often visit Lourdes. Tourists also travel to see the annual cycle race, the Tour de France.

France's Mediterranean beaches on the French Riviera, in Languedoc-Roussillon, or in Corsica, are famous. Away from the mainland tourists are French Polynesia (especially Tahiti), the Caribbean islands Martinique, Guadeloupe and others.

Tourism in France