Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Canada (Saint Pierre and
Miquelon); Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso
Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims
Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; Seychelles claims Tromelin
Island; Suriname claims part of French Guiana; Mexico claims Clipperton
Island; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land)
_#_Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean
_#_Terrain: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east
_#_Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc, potash
_#_Land use: arable land 32%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 23%; forest and woodland 27%; other 16%; includes irrigated 2%
_#_Environment: most of large urban areas and industrial centers in Rhone, Garonne, Seine, or Loire River basins; occasional warm tropical wind known as mistral
_#_Note: largest West European nation
_*People #_Population: 56,595,587 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1991)