France is the largest
west-European country covering an area of 341,993 sq miles (551,602 sq kms) and with a
population of 60.4 million people; it represents 16 per cent of the total population of the European Union (EU). It has become more multicultural with an estimated 14 million French citizens with at least one immigrant
parent or grandparent. The French population is composed of 92% French, 3%
North African, 2% German, 1% Breton, and the last 2% account for Provencal,
Catalan and Basque peoples.
French is the official language of France. Nineteen per cent of all Europeans speak French. However, about 50 per cent of the French population speaks a second language.
The country has many regional dialects. Breton is spoken by some people in Brittany, Basque and Catalan in the south, Flemish in the north. Alsacian, Provenç al, and Corsican are also spoken in other
areas.
France bordered in the north by the English Channel (La Manche), the northeast by Belgium and
Luxembourg, the east by Germany, Switzerland and Italy, the south by the Mediterranean,
the southwest by Spain and Andorra, and the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It boasts one of the most extensively developed High-Speed train network that offers easy access to all its cities and neighboring countries.