page_title: France
section_title: Climate
hierarchical_section_title: France / Geography / Climate
caption_attribution_description: English: France - Marseille
context_page_description: France, officially the French Republic, is a country consisting of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It borders Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland, Monaco, and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres and a total population of 67.07 million. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice. France, including its overseas territories, has the most time zones of any country, with a total of 12.
  During the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a collection of Celtic tribes.
context_section_description: The French metropolitan territory is relatively large, so the climate is not uniform, giving rise to the following climate nuances:
  • The hot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa) is found along the Gulf of Lion. Summers are hot and dry, while winters are mild and wet. Cities affected by this climate: Arles, Avignon, Fréjus, Hyères, Marseille, Menton, Montpellier, Nice, Perpignan, Toulon.
  • The warm-summer mediterranean climate (Csb) is found in the northern part of Brittany. Summers are warm and dry, while winters are cool and wet. Cities affected by this climate: Belle-Île-en-Mer, Saint-Brieuc.
  • The humid subtropical climate (Cfa) is found in the Garonne and Rhône's inland plains. Summers are hot and wet, while winters are cool and damp. Cities affected by this climate: Albi, Carcassonne, Lyon, Orange, Toulouse, Valence.
  • The oceanic climate (Cfb) is found around the coasts of the Bay of Biscay, and a little bit inland. Summers are pleasantly warm and wet, while winters are cool and damp. Cities affected by this climate: Amiens, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Brest, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Dunkirk, Lille, Nantes, Orléans, Paris, Reims, Tours.
  • The degraded oceanic climate (degraded-Cfb) is found in the interior plains and in the intra-alpine valleys, far from the ocean (or sea). Summers are hot and wet, while winters are cold and gloomy. Cities affected by this climate: Annecy, Besançon, Bourges, Chambéry, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Dijon, Grenoble, Langres, Metz, Mulhouse, Nancy, Strasbourg.
  • The subalpine oceanic climate (Cfc) is found at the foot of all the mountainous regions of France. Summers are short, cool and wet, while winters are moderately cold and damp. No major cities are affected by this climate.
  • The warm-summer mediterranean continental climate (Dsb) is found in all the mountainous regions of southern France between 700 and 1400 meters a.s.l. Summers are pleasantly warm and dry, while winters are very cold and snowy. City affected by this climate: Barcelonnette.
  • The cool-summer mediterranean continental climate (Dsc) is found in all the mountainous regions of southern France between 1400 and 2100 meters a.s.l. Summers are cool, short and dry, while winters are very cold and snowy. Place affected by this climate: Isola 2000.
  • The warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) is found in all the mountainous regions of the Northern half of France between 500 and 1000 meters a.s.l. Summers are pleasantly warm and wet, while winters are very cold and snowy. Cities affected by this climate: Chamonix, Mouthe. In January 1985, in Mouthe, the temperature has dropped under -41 °C.
  • The subalpine climate (Dfc) is found in all the mountainous regions of the northern half of France between 1000 and 2000 meters a.s.l. Summers are cool, short and wet, while winters are very cold and snowy. Places affected by this climate: Cauterets Courchevel, Alpe d'Huez, Les 2 Alpes, Peyragudes, Val-Thorens.
  • The alpine tundra climate (ET) is found in all the mountainous regions of France, generally above 2000 or 2500 meters a.s.l. Summers are chilly and wet, while winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. Mountains affected by this climate: Aiguilles-Rouges, Aravis, the top of Crêt de la neige (rare, altitude 1718 m) and the top of Grand-Ballon (rare, altitude 1423 m).
  • The ice cap climate (EF) is found in all the mountainous regions of France that have a glacier. Summers are cold and wet, while winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. Mountains affected by this climate: Aiguille du midi, Barre des Écrins, Belledonne, Grand-Casse, Mont Blanc (4810 m), Pic du Midi de Bigorre.
  • In the overseas regions, there are three broad types of climate:
  A tropical climate (Am) in most overseas regions including eastern French Guiana: high constant temperature throughout the year with a dry and a wet season.
  An equatorial climate (Af) in western French Guiana: high constant temperature with even precipitation throughout the year.
  A subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), characterized by mild, wet summers and cool, but generally not cold, damp winters. C
caption: Calanques National Park in Bouches-du-Rhône is one of the best known protected areas of France.
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