Metropolitan France

Metropolitan France.

The term Metropolitan France (ISO code: FX; French: France métropolitaine) refers to the territory of France situated in Europe. It includes the continental territory, the coastal islands of the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the Mediterranean, and the island of Corsica. It excludes the overseas departments and overseas territories, which, despite being integral parts of the French Republic, are referred to as Overseas France (France d'outre-mer). The French term "metropolitan" is a holdover from the colonial era, in which the France of Europe was associated with its capital and called "the metropolis." In the overseas departments and territories, a person from metropolitan France is sometimes still referred to, in French, as métro, "metropolitan".

As of January 1, 2011, 63,136,180 people lived in metropolitan France, while 2,685,705 lived in overseas France, totaling a total 65 821 885 in the French Republic. Metropolitan France covers 543,940 km², while Overseas France has other 123,722 km².

The term Continental France is sometimes used in France when excluding the island of Corsica from metropolitan France. This concept is wrong since French Guiana is not an island and is located on a continent, South America.

Continental European France is nicknamed l'Hexagone ("the Hexagon"), after the shape of its perimeter.

Statistics

Paris, the capital of the country, is located in metropolitan France.

Metropolitan France covers an area of 543,940 km² (210,020 square miles), while Overseas France covers an area of 119,396 km², for a total of 663,336 km² in the French Republic. (excluding Adélie Land in Antarctica, where effective sovereignty has been suspended since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959). Thus, metropolitan France represents 82.0% of the land territory of the French Republic. At sea, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of metropolitan France covers 333,691 km², while the EEZ of overseas France covers 9,825,538 km², for a total of 10,159,229 km² in the French Republic (excluding claims on the Adélie Land). Thus, metropolitan France represents 3.3% of the EEZ of the French Republic.

According to INSEE, 65,250,000 people lived in metropolitan France as of January 2021, while 2,785,000 lived in overseas France, for a total of 68,035,000 inhabitants in the French Republic, thus metropolitan France represents the 95.9% of the population of the French Republic.^{[citation needed]}

In the second round of the 2017 French presidential election, 35,467,327 French people voted (meaning a 74.56% turnout). 33,883,463 of these (95.53% of total voters) voted in metropolitan France (turnout: 76.26%), 1,003,910 (2.83% of total voters).

The French National Assembly is made up of 577 deputies, of whom 539 (93.4% of the total) are elected in metropolitan France, 27 (4.7% of the total) in Overseas France and 11 (1.9 % of the total) by French citizens residing in foreign countries.