បារាំង: ភូមិសាស្ត្រ

ភូមិសាស្ត្រ 

thumb|upright=1.5|center|A relief map of Metropolitan France, showing cities with over 100,000 inhabitants.

Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41° and 51° N, and longitudes 6° W and 10° E, on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the northern temperate zone.

From northeast to southwest, France shares borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Spain and Andorra. France also borders Suriname to its west and Brazil to its east and south, by way of the overseas region of French Guiana, which is considered an integral part of the Republic.

Corsica and the French mainland form Metropolitan France; Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, and Mayotte form, with French Guiana, the overseas regions. These two integral groupings, along with several overseas collectivities and one territory, comprise the French Republic.

The European territory of France covers , the largest among European Union members.France on Europa Official Site France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west.

At  above sea level, the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, is situated in the Alps on the border between France and Italy. France also has extensive river systems such as the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast.

France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land), is , 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. France possesses the second largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world, Méditerranée : la France prend le contrôle en créant une zone économique exclusive  covering , approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, just behind the US ().According to a different calculation cited by the Pew Research Center, the EEZ of France would be , still behind the US (), and still ahead of Australia () and Russia ().

 Climate 
The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France. In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool to warm summers. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months.

 បរិស្ថាន 

thumb|Regional (green) and National (pink) natural parks in France. Indicated in green and purple colour respectively.

France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971.Protection of the Environment  on the Official Site of the French Ambassy in Canada  Although France is one of the most industrialised countries, it is ranked only seventeenth by carbon dioxide emissions, behind less populous nations such as Canada or Australia. This situation results from the France's decision to invest in nuclear power in 1974 after the 1973 oil crisis, which now accounts for 75% of France's electricity production and explains why France pollutes less than comparable countries. CO2 : la France mois pollueuse grâce au nucléaire L'énergie nucléaire en France  – Ambassade française en Chine

Like all European Union members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020, in comparison the US agreed to a cut of 4% of its emissions. Les quatres enjeux de Copenhague – La Croix In 2009, French carbon dioxide emissions per capita was lower than the Chinese.

France was set to impose a carbon tax in 2009 at 17 Euros per tonne of carbon emitted. The carbon tax would have brought in 4 billion Euros of revenue per year. But the tax was abandoned for various reasons, including that French companies would have difficulty competing with companies in neighbouring countries that would not have to pay such steep taxes on carbon emissions. Instituting a carbon tax was an unpopular political move for President Sarkozy.

In 2010, a study at Yale and Columbia universities ranked France the seventh most environmentally conscious country in the world. La France au 7ème rang mondial pour l'environnement. Le Monde. 30 May 2010

Forests account for 28% of the land area of France.Evolution of the French forest from 1984 to 1996 – French National Forest Inventory French forests are some of the most diversified of Europe, with more than 140 differents varieties of trees. Une situation privilégiée en France et en Europe – Papier, bois et forêt There are nine national parksParks, Reserves, and Other Protected Areas in France – The portal about parks in Italy and 46 natural parks in France. Fédération des parcs naturels régionaux de France  France wants to convert 20% of its Exclusive Economic Zone to a Marine Protected Area by 2020. La France veut créer une Zone Économique Exclusive en Méditérannée – Actu-Environnement