See also: France portal and Outline of France

Location of Metropolitan France (dark green) in Europe (green & dark grey) in the European Union (green)

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France (UK /frns/; US i/frns/; French: ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: Rpublique franaise ), is a sovereign country in Western Europe that includes overseas regions and territories.[note 13] Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of only three countries (besides Morocco and Spain) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Due to its shape, it is often referred to in French as lHexagone ("The Hexagon"). France is the largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the third-largest in Europe as a whole. With a total population of around 66 million, it is the third most-populous European country. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the nation's largest city and the main cultural and commercial centre. The current Constitution of France, adopted by referendum on 4 October 1958, establishes the country as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people. The nation's ideals are expressed in the foundational Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, one of the world's earliest documents on human rights, which was formulated during the seminal French Revolution of the late 18th century. France has been a major power in Europe since the Late Middle Ages, reaching the height of its influence during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it possessed the second-largest colonial empire of the time, and one of the largest in history. This legacy is reflected in the prevalence of French language, culture, and jurisprudence worldwide. France has produced many influential artists, thinkers, and scientists, and remains a prominent global centre of culture. It hosts the world's fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites, drawing around 83 million foreign tourists annually the most of any country in the world.[6] France remains a major power with significant cultural, economic