nd the
North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico
Martinique: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North
Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Reunion: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of
Madagascar

Geographic coordinates:

metropolitan France: 46 00 N, 2 00 E
French Guiana: 4 00 N, 53 00 W
Guadeloupe: 16 15 N, 61 35 W
Martinique: 14 40 N, 61 00 W
Reunion: 21 06 S, 55 36 E

Map references:

metropolitan France: Europe
French Guiana: South America
Guadeloupe: Central America and the Caribbean
Martinique: Central America and the Caribbean
Reunion: World

Area:

total: 643,427 sq km; 547,030 sq km (metropolitan France)
land: 640,053 sq km; 545,630 sq km (metropolitan France)
water: 3,374 sq km; 1,400 sq km (metropolitan France)
note: the first numbers include the overseas regions of French
Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion

Area - comparative:

slightly less than the size of Texas

Land boundaries:

metropolitan France - total: 2,889 km
border countries: Andorra 56.6 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km,
Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km,
Switzerland 573 km
French Guiana - total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

Coastline:

total: 4,668 km
metropolitan France: 3,427 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (does not apply to the Mediterranean)
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:

metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but
mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional
strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature
variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds;
moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable
to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool
and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

Terrain:

metropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in
north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in
south, Alps in east
French Guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small
mountains
Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior
mountains; Grand