Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France is the part of the French Republic located in Europe, including Corsica and excluding its overseas territories and departments.
France: A sovereign republic in Western Europe with territories in the Americas, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific. Metropolitan France is the European part of this wider republic.
French colonial empire: The overseas empire assembled by France from the sixteenth century through the twentieth century. The empire’s legacy shaped the distinction between metropolitan France and overseas France.
Departments of France: Administrative divisions of the French Republic, including departments in Europe and overseas. Metropolitan departments are counted separately from overseas departments in many official figures.
Overseas France: The French territories located outside Europe, including overseas departments, regions, and collectivities. Overseas France complements metropolitan France in descriptions of the republic’s territory.
Corsica: A Mediterranean island and territorial collectivity of France. Corsica is included in metropolitan France despite being separated from the mainland.
French decolonization: The process by which France relinquished colonial rule, especially after the Second World War. Decolonization changed which overseas lands remained part of the French Republic.
Regions of France: The main subnational administrative divisions of France. Regional statistics often distinguish metropolitan regions from overseas regions.
Hexagon (France): A common nickname for mainland France, based on the mainland’s roughly six-sided outline. The nickname usually excludes Corsica, whereas metropolitan France includes it.
French overseas departments and regions: French territories outside Europe that have department and regional status within the French Republic. These territories belong to France but are excluded from metropolitan France.
French Algeria: The territory of Algeria under French rule from 1830 until independence in 1962. Algeria was once treated as part of metropolitan France, unlike today’s overseas territories.