France, officially the French Republic, is a unitary semi-presidential republic located mostly in Western Europe, with several overseas regions and territories. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. From its shape, it is often referred to in French as l?Hexagone. France is the largest country in Western Europe and the third-largest in Europe as a whole. It possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military, and political influence in Europe and around the world. France has its main ideals expressed in the 18th-century Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. From the 17th to the early 20th century, France built the second-largest colonial empire of the time, ruling large portions of first North America and India and then Northwest and Central Africa; Madagascar; Indochina and southeast China; and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands. France is a developed country, possessing the world's fifth-largest and Europe's second-largest economy by nominal GDP. It is also the world's ninth-largest by GDP at purchasing power parity. France is the wealthiest nation in Europe ? and the fourth-wealthiest in the world ? in aggregate household wealth. French citizens enjoy a high standard of living, high public education level, and one of the world's longest life expectancies. France has been listed as the world's 'best overall health care' provider by the World Health Organization. It is the most-visited country in the world, receiving 79.5?million foreign tourists annually. France has the world's fifth-largest nominal military budget, as well as (in terms of personnel) the largest military in the EU, the third-largest deployable force in NATO, and the 26th-largest military in the world. France also possesses the third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world ? with around 300 active warheads as of 25?May?2010?(2010-05-25) ? and the world's second-largest diplomatic corps. France is a founding member of the United Nations, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is also a founding and leading member state of the European Union and the largest EU state by area. In 2013, France was listed 20th on the Human Development Index and, in 2010, 24th on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

France

  • Knowledge partner
    Country of registration
    France
    Relation to CTCN
    Network Member
    Sector(s) of expertise
    Agriculture
    Early warning and Environmental assessment
    Renewable energy
    Forestry
    Marine and Fisheries
    Water

    IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (Research Institute for Development) - is a research organization based in France that is working with its partners in the South to address international development issues.

  • Country of registration
    United Kingdom
    Relation to CTCN
    Network Member
    Sector(s) of expertise
    Renewable energy
    Energy efficiency
    Transport
    Industry
    Agriculture
    Forestry
    Waste management

    International Synergies is the world’s leading expert in the application of industrial symbiosis, having implemented many ground-breaking projects over the last decade including the award winning National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) in the UK.  The company has successfully exported