France Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

metropolitan France: 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 the mistral

French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation

Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average

Mayotte: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)

Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

Land use

agricultural land: 52.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 33.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 17.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 29.2% (2018 est.)

other: 18.1% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 81.8% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.67% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 10.46 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

methane emissions: 55.99 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 33.399 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 7,434,617 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 22.3% (2015 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Geneva (shared with Switzerland) - 580 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

Rhin (Rhine)  (shared with Switzerland [s], Germany, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km;  Loire - 1,012 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Loire (115,282 sq km), Seine (78,919 sq km), Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km), (Adriatic Sea) Po (76,997 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Rhone (100,543 sq km)

Major aquifers

Paris Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 5.31 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 17.78 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 3.18 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

211 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Geoparks

total global geoparks and regional networks: 7

global geoparks and regional networks: Beaujolais; Causses du Quersey; Chablais; Haute-Provence; Luberon;  Massif des Bauges;  Monts d'Ardèche (2023)