Overseas Territories
France is not just a European country — it extends across all oceans and continents thanks to its Territoires d'Outre-Mer. These overseas territories are full-fledged parts of the French Republic: the Euro is used, French (and Creole) is spoken, and French law and EU regulations apply.
The Overseas Departments (DROM)
- Guadeloupe (Caribbean) — butterfly-shaped twin island with volcano (La Soufrière, 1,467 m), tropical forest, dream beaches, and Creole cuisine. The national park is a UNESCO biosphere reserve
- Martinique (Caribbean) — the "Island of Flowers" with Mont Pelée (1,397 m, whose eruption in 1902 wiped out the city of Saint-Pierre), rum distilleries, and black volcanic beaches
- French Guiana (South America) — 97% tropical rainforest, home to the European spaceport Kourou, from where Ariane rockets are launched. One of the most biodiverse areas on Earth
- Réunion (Indian Ocean) — volcanic island with the most active volcano in the Indian Ocean (Piton de la Fournaise), spectacular calderas (Cirques), coral reefs, and a mix of African, Indian, Chinese, and European influences
- Mayotte (Indian Ocean) — the youngest region of France (2011), with the largest lagoon in the world and unique marine fauna (humpback whales, turtles, dolphins)
Other Territories
- New Caledonia (Pacific) — the largest coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef, endemic animal and plant species, Melanesian Kanak culture
- French Polynesia (Pacific) — 118 islands, including Tahiti, Bora Bora, and the Marquesas. Turquoise lagoons, overwater bungalows that inspired Gauguin
- Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (North Atlantic) — tiny French outpost off Newfoundland, the last remnant of New France
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) — uninhabited research stations in the sub-Antarctic and a sector of Antarctica
Thanks to the overseas territories, France possesses the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world — after the USA. France is, territorially speaking, a global country.
