| abstract | - France (pronounced /ˈfræns/ (File:Speaker Icon.svg listen), File:Loudspeaker.svg French pronunciation(help·info) or /ˈfrɑːns/; French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: fr, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a country located in Western Europe. France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Meuse to the Atlantic Ocean. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Belgium, Germany, Burgundy, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. France is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel. France is the fifth largest country in the European Union by area. France has been a major power for many centuries with strong economic, cultural, military and political influence. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonized much of North America; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands, which it lost after two disastrous defeats in both World Wars. France is a developed country and possesses the seventh largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 81 million foreign tourists annually. France is one of the members of the European Union, and has the third-largest land area of all members. It is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, NATO, OECD, WTO, and the Latin Union. It is one of the four non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, possesses the fourth largest number of nuclear weapons in the world and the second-largest number of nuclear power plants in the European Union.
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