Administrative organization :
The French Republic includes the metropolis (divided in 22 regions and 96 departments), as well as 4 overseas departments (OSD): Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, la Reunion.
It adds to themselves 4 overseas territories (OST): French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, the southern lands and the French Antarctic and the territorial collectivises of particular statue: Mayotte and Saint-Pierre-Et-Miquelon.

Surface : 550 000 km2 :
It’s the most extended country in the occidental Europe (nearly the 1/5 of the surface of the European Union), disposing a large naval area (an exclusive economic area, extending across 11 million km2).

Relief
-The Plains: 2/3 of the total surface.
-Main mountainous massifs: the Alps (of witch Mont-Blanc is the highest peak in the occidental Europe- 4807 meters), the Pyrenees, the Jura, the Ardennes, the Central Massif and the Vosges.
-Costal beaches: France has 5500 km of coastal beaches; it open’s on 4 maritime spaces (the North Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean Sea).


Environment
The agricultural and forest production’s areas cover a surface of 48 millions of hectares, either 82% of the metropolitan territory.
The forest massif represents it selves 26% of the territory and constitute the third massif of the European Union after those of Sweden and Finland. The surface of the French forest progressed of 35% since 1945 and doubled in 200 years.
While one counts 136 species of trees in France, what is exceptional for a European country, the number of huge animals goes crescent: in 20 years, the population of deer doubled and the roebucks tripled.
In order to protect and to enhance the natural heritage of France, the state created:
7 national parks
132 natural reserves
463 biotopes protective zones
As well as 389 sites protected by the Conservatory of the Coastline;
To adds to themselves 35 regional natural parks covering more than 7% of the territory.
22, 11 billions of euro (145 billions of francs) are consecrated for the protection of the environment, either 378 euro per inhabitant (2 480 francs). The management of the worn-out waters and garbage represents the 3/4 of the total expense.
In the international level, France left to many treaties and conventions, of which those elaborate by the United Nations on the climate, biodiversity and the desertification