Mont St. Michel.

Escragnolles Photograph © by Alo

France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and which also comprises various overseas islands and territories located in other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean.

France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. In some of its overseas departments, France also shares land borders with Brazil, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. France is also linked to the United Kingdom via the Channel Tunnel, which passes under the English Channel.

France is the most popular international tourist destination in the world, receiving over 75 million foreign tourists annually. The name France originates from the Franks, a Germanic tribe that occupied the region after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.