Capital:Paris
Population:60,656,178
Area:547,030 sq km
Climate:generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
Languages:French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Currency:euro (EUR)
Government:republic
Religions:Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
Source: CIA World Factbook 2007
![Carcassonne, France (coming storm [a oliveira] fortified city pont river) - a photo by A.Miguel Oliveira](/photos/210/29/medium/399792-carcassonne-france-river-coming-storm-[a-oliveira]-fortified-city.jpg)
