Although France's old historic provinces were abolished by the Revolution, they remain the country's basic geographic, cultural, and economic divisions. These provinces mirror France's natural geographic regions and, despite modern administrative centralization, retain their striking diversity. The heart of France N of the Loire River is the province of Île-de-France, which occupies the greater part of the Paris basin, a fertile depression drained by the Seine and Marne rivers. The basin is surrounded by the provinces of Champagne and Lorraine in the east; Artois , Picardy, French Flanders (see Nord dept.), and Normandy in the northeast and north; Brittany, Maine , and Anjou in the west; and Touraine , Orléanais , Nivernais , and Burgundy in the south. Further south are Berry and Bourbonnais . Further east, between the Vosges Mts. and the Rhine, is Alsace; S of Alsace, along the Jura, is Franche-Comté.

South-central France is occupied by the rugged mountains of the Massif Central, one of the country's major natural features. It comprises the provinces of Marche , Limousin, Auvergne, and Lyonnais . To the E of the Rhône River, which divides the Massif Central from the Alps, are Savoy , Dauphiné , and Provence . The French Alps have some of the highest peaks in Europe, including Mont Blanc. The Rhône valley widens into a plain near its delta on the Mediterranean; part of the coast of Provence forms the celebrated French Riviera . Languedoc extends from the Cevennes Mts. to the Mediterranean coast W of the Rhône. Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast. The southwestern part of France comprises the small Pyrenean provinces of Roussillon , Foix , Béarn , and French Navarre and the vast provinces of Gascony and Guienne . The last two constitute the great Aquitanian plain, drained by the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, which flow into the Bay of Biscay. The central section of the west coast, between the Gironde estuary and the Loire, is occupied by the provinces of Saintonge , Angoumois , Aunis , and Poitou .

Since 1972 France has been administratively divided into 22 regions, many of which correspond to the nation's historical provinces. These regions are: Alsace , Aquitane, Auvergne , Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne ( Burgundy ), Bretagne ( Brittany ), Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse ( Corsica ), Franche-Comté , Haute-Normandie, Île-de-France , Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin , Lorraine , Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie ( Picardy ), Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and Rhone-Alpes.

France also has a number of overseas departments, territories, and countries which, legally, are part of the French Republic. The overseas departments are Martinique , Guadeloupe , Réunion , and French Guiana . The overseas countries and territories are New Caledonia , French Polynesia , Wallis and Futuna Islands , and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories. Mayotte is a departmental collectivity, and St. Pierre and Miquelon is a territorial collectivity.

France is one of the world's major economic powers. Agriculture plays a larger role than in the economies of most other industrial countries. A large proportion of the value of total agricultural output derives from livestock (especially cattle, hogs, poultry, and sheep). The mountain areas and NW France are the livestock regions. The country's leading crops are wheat, sugar beets, corn, barley, and potatoes, with the most intensive cultivation N of the Loire; the soil in the Central Massif is less fertile. Fruit growing is important in the south. France is among the foremost producers of wine in the world. The best-known vineyards are in Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhône and Loire valleys, and the Bordeaux region. The centers of the wine trade are Bordeaux, Reims , Épernay , Dijon , and Cognac .

France's leading industries produce machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metals, aircraft, electronics equipment, textiles, and foods (especially cheeses). Advanced technology industries are also important. Coal, iron ore, bauxite, and other minerals are mined. Tourism is an important industry, and Paris is famous for its luxury goods. Nuclear energy furnishes 75% of all electricity produced in France. In addition to the Paris area, important industrial cities are, in the northeast, Metz , Strasbourg , Roubaix , and Lille ; in the southeast, Lyons , Saint-Étienne , Clermont-Ferrand , and Grenoble ; in the south, Marseilles , Toulouse , Nice , and Nîmes ; and in the west, Bordeaux and Nantes . Other important cities are Orléans , Tours , Troyes , and Arles .

France has an extensive railway system, the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF). The first of a number of high-speed rail lines (TGVs) was completed in 1983, linking Paris and Lyons. Subsequent lines connected Paris to several other French cities, as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and, via the Channel Tunnel , Great Britain.

The government previously had majority ownership in many commercial banks, some key industries, and various utilities, including the telephone system. There has been recent movement toward privatization, with the government reducing its holdings in many companies, although it still controls energy production, public transportation, and defense industries.

Leading exports are machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, and beverages. Leading imports are machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, and chemicals. Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States are the main trading partners. The chief ports are Rouen , Le Havre , Cherbourg , Brest , Saint-Nazaire , Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulon , Dunkirk , and Marseilles.

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