France for Kids: Facts and Activities

The Geography of France for kids

The location of France

France is situated in Western Europe and is a founding member of the European Union.

This position between the north and the south of Europe has made France important throughout history as a crossroads of international trade and cultures. That is why France is sometimes referred to as the "crossroads of Europe".

France is one of Europe’s largest countries, after Russia and the Ukraine.

The country consists of:

• Metropolitan France (la Métropole) which covers 551,500 square kilometres (212,935 sq mi), and
  
• The French overseas regions (départements et territoires d'Outre-Mer) which are located across the world (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion Island, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna…)

France's total land area covers 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi), that is 0.45% of the total land area on Earth.

The borders of France

France is shaped like a hexagon, that is a six-sided figure. 

• Three of these six sides border the sea.
• The other three sides border on land.

Due to its hexagonal shape, Metropolitan France is often referred to as l'Hexagone.

France shares borders with five countries and two micro-states:

• Spain, 
• Andorra, 
• Monaco, 
• Italy, 
• Switzerland, 
• Germany,
• Luxembourg, and 
• Belgium.

The English Channel separates France from the United Kingdom.

The seas around France

France is surrounded by one ocean and three seas:

• the Atlantic Ocean (l'Océan Atlantique)
• the English Channel (la Manche)
• the North Sea (la Mer du Nord)
• the Mediterranean Sea (la Mer Méditerranée)

The rivers of France

France is criss-crossed by an important water system that includes 5 main rivers.

• la Garonne (575 km / 357 mi). It empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
• la Loire (1012 km / 628 mi). It empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
• le Rhône (813 km / 505 mi). It empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
• le Rhin [Rhine] (1230 km / 764 mi). It empties into the North Sea.
• la Seine (776 km / 482 mi). It empties into the English Channel.
  

The French make a distinction between ‘un fleuve’ (a river that flows into the sea) and ‘une rivière’ (a river that flows into another river).

There are many other rivers in France, many of them rising in mountainous regions (Alps, Massif Central, Vosges, Jura and Pyrenees).

(click on the toggle for more info!)

The relief of France

France is known for its wide variety of natural landscapes: 

• cliffs with sandy coastlines,
• plains (Parisian Basin, Aquitaine Basin),
• rolling hills,
• plateaus, and
• mountain ranges.

France covers several mountain ranges:

• the Alps (culminate at Mont Blanc: 4809 m / 15,777 ft)
• the Ardennes (Signal de Botrange*: 694 m / 2277 ft)
• the Jura (Crêt de la Neige: 1720 m / 5643 ft)
• the Massif Central (Puy de Sancy: 1885 m / 6184 ft)
• the Pyrenees (Aneto**: 3404 m / 11168 ft)
• the Vosges (Grand Ballon: 1424 m / 4672 ft)
• and the mountainous island of Corsica (Monte Cinto: 2706 m / 8878 ft)

* in Belgium - ** in Spain

The climate of France

Did you know that Paris is situated as far north as Newfoundland and Vancouver? However the climate of France is rather mild as the European country does not have the extremes of temperature characteristic of some parts of North America. This is largely due to the long Atlantic seacoasts that are warmed by the Gulf Stream, and the Mediterranean sea, a large body of warm water.

France is located in a land area with a temperate climate. However, the country's territory is largely open to the seas and the ocean to the west, while to the east it is linked to the European continent.

The French climate is subject to oceanic, continental and Mediterranean influences.

• The west of the country is dominated by an oceanic climate (heavy rainfall, cool summers and mild winters).
  
• Inland, the climate is semi-oceanic and semi-continental. Rainfall decreases, the summer is hot and the winter cold.
  
• In the south-east and in Corsica, the Mediterranean climate prevails. It is characterised by mild temperatures in winter and a very hot summer. Precipitation can be very heavy in autumn, but is almost non-existent in summer.
  
• Finally, the French Mountains are subject to a climate dictated by altitude. Rainfall increases and temperatures decrease according to the degree of exposure to the winds.
  

Thus, in summer, the sunny south-east attracts millions of holidaymakers, while in winter, they go skiing in the snowy mountains.

On a map, the five climatic nuances of France can be delineated. They are:

• the oceanic climate,
  
• the semi-oceanic climate,
  
• the semi-continental climate,
  
• the Mediterranean climate, and
  
• the mountain climate

The population of France

The French population is 67.8 million which makes it the second most populous country of the EU after Germany.

The capital of France is Paris.

The population of Greater Paris is about 10,734,000.

Other main cities are:

• Lyon - Pop. 1,652,000
• Marseille - Pop. 1,588,000
• Lille - Pop. 1,041,000
• Toulouse - Pop. 958,000
• Nice - Pop. 944,000
• Bordeaux - 917,000
• Nantes - 642,000
• Toulon - 573,000
• Grenoble - 510,000

(population including the suburbs)

The administration of France

For administrative purposes, Metropolitan France is divided into 13 régions, 97 départements and 34,839 communes.

The regions of France

Metropolitan France is divided into 13 administrative regions.

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These regions should not be confused with the historic provinces such as:

The French départements

The 13 administrative regions of France are in turn divided into 96 départements (excluding the overseas territories).
The departments were created in 1790 during the French Revolution to replace the old provinces of the kingdom of France. In an attempt to forget historical or cultural names attached to the former provinces, most of them were named after physical geographical features such as:

• rivers: Ain, Drôme, Gers, Meuse, Oise, Tarn, Yonne
• mount or mountains: Ardennes, Cantal, Jura, Vosges
• coasts, gulfs or seas: Côtes d’Armor, Manche, Morbihan
• islands: Corse du Sud, Haute-Corse, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion
• forests: Landes, Yvelines
• geographic situation: Finistère, Nord
• cities: Paris, Pas-de-Calais, Territoire de Belfort, Seine-Saint-Denis
• poetry: Côte d'Or

Some départements were added after the French Revolution and bear old provinces names: Alpes de Haute-Provence, Savoie, Haute-Savoie.

The départements are sorted in alphabetical number. Each département have its own number which is widely used to designate locations.
The first two figures are used in French postcode. For example: 

• 01000 is the postcode for Bourg-en-Bresse, the préfecture (head city) of the Ain département [01]
• 88000 is the postcode for Epinal, the préfecture (head city) of the Vosges département [88].

The numbers of the départements are featured on vehicle registration plates which reveals to anyone where they originate.
Some département numbers are well-known by the French, such as:

• 13 - Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille, Aix-en-Provence)
  
• 2A and 2B - respectively Corse du Sud and Haute-Corse (Ajaccio, Bastia)
  
• 59 - Nord (Lille)
  
• 69 - Rhône (Lyon)
  
• 75 - Paris
  
• 78 - Yvelines (Versailles)

Each département has a préfecture or capital. For instance, the préfecture of Loiret [45] is Orléans.

➡︎ Download the French départements chart here...

The communes

The départements are divided into communes.

Created at the French Revolution, they replace the old parishes (la paroisse).

On the 1st January 2020, France totalled 34,839 communes.

The commune is the basic unit of local administration. It elects its own municipal council (le conseil municipal) and mayor (le/la maire) for a 6-year term. The mayor acts as the principal administrator of the commune. The mayor and its staff work at the municipal hall (la mairie).

The communes vary widely in population and area :

• The most populous commune of France is Paris (2,206,388 inhabitants).
• There are 7 communes with zero resident which are all located near Verdun in the Meuse. These villages were destroyed during the Battle of Verdun in WWI.
• The commune with the largest area is Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône) with 758,93 km2 (293 sq mi).
• The commune with the smallest area is Castelmoron-d’Albret (Gironde) with 0,0376 km2 (8.75 acres).

To sum up!

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