French language

The overseas departments and regions of France (French: départements et régions d'outre-mer, pronounced [depaʁtəmɑ̃ e ʁeʒjɔ̃ dutʁəmɛʁ]; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as "metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the same status as European France's departments and regions. The French Constitution provides that, in general, French laws and regulations (France's civil code, penal code, administrative law, social laws, and tax laws etc.) apply to French overseas departments and regions the same way as in metropolitan France, but can be adapted as needed to suit the region's particular needs. Hence, the local administrations of French overseas departments and regions cannot themselves pass new laws. On occasion, referendums are undertaken to re-assess the sentiment in local status.

Since March 2011, the five overseas departments and regions of France are:

Metropolitan France (French: France métropolitaine or la Métropole), also known as European France (French: le territoire européen de la France), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" (French: France hexagonale or l'Hexagone), and Corsica. This collective name for the European regions of France is used in everyday life in France but has no administrative meaning, with the exception that only Metropolitan France is part of the Schengen Area. Indeed, the overseas regions have exactly the same administrative status as the metropolitan regions. Metropolitan France comprises mainland France and Corsica, as well as nearby French islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea waters. Its borders have undergone significant changes over the centuries, particularly in the east, but have remained substantially unaltered since 1962.

In contrast, overseas France (France d'outre-mer) is the collective name for all the French departments and territories outside Europe. Metropolitan and overseas France together form the French Republic. Metropolitan France accounts for 82.0% of the land territory, 3.3% of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and 95.9% of the population of the French Republic. Some small parts of France (e.g. Cerdanya) are a part of the Iberian Peninsula.

Guiana Amazonian Park (French: Parc amazonien de Guyane) is the largest national park of France, aiming at protecting part of the Amazonian forest located in French Guiana which covers 41% of the region. It is the largest park in France as well as the largest park in the European Union and one of the largest national parks in the world.

It cannot be accessed from the seashore or by any means other than airplane or pirogue via the Maroni and Oyapock rivers.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID; French: Centre international pour le règlement des différends relatifs aux investissements or CIRDI) is an international arbitration institution established in 1966 for legal dispute resolution and conciliation between international investors and States. ICSID is part of and funded by the World Bank Group, headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is an autonomous, multilateral specialized institution to encourage international flow of investment and mitigate non-commercial risks by a treaty drafted by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's executive directors and signed by member countries. As of May 2016, 153 contracting member states agreed to enforce and uphold arbitral awards in accordance with the ICSID Convention.

The centre performs advisory activities and maintains several publications.

Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: catalans; Spanish: catalanes; Italian: catalani; Sardinian: cadelanos or catalanos) are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autonomous community in Spain and the inhabitants of the Roussillon historical region in Southern France, today the Pyrénées Orientales department, also called Northern Catalonia and Pays Catalan in French.

Some authors also extend the word "Catalans" to include all people from areas in which Catalan is spoken, namely those from Andorra, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, eastern Aragon, and the city of Alghero in Sardinia.

The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia, which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins.

It is also designated through the currency signs Fr. (in German), fr. (in French, Italian, and Romansh), or CHF (in any other language), which stands for Confoederatio Helvetica Franc. These initials also serve as the ISO 4217 currency code, used by banks and financial institutions.

The Central African CFA franc (French: franc CFA or simply franc; ISO code: XAF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency of six independent states in Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. These six countries had a combined population of 55.2 million in 2020, and a combined GDP of over US$100 billion (as of 2021).

CFA originally stood for Colonies françaises d'Afrique ("French colonies of Africa"); following the independence of these states, its name was changed to Communauté financière africaine ("African Financial Community"). The currency is issued by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC; Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC; Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale). The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes but no centime denominations have been issued. The production of CFA franc notes has been carried out at Chamalières by the Bank of France since its creation in 1945.

The West African CFA franc (French: franc CFA or simply franc, ISO 4217 code: XOF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency used by eight independent states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA): Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. These eight countries had a combined population of 105.7 million people in 2014, and a combined GDP of US$128.6 billion as of 2018.

The initialism CFA stands for Communauté Financière Africaine (transl. African Financial Community). The currency is issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO; Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the members of the UEMOA. The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes but no coins or banknotes denominated in centimes have ever been issued. The production of CFA franc notes has been carried out at Chamalières by the Bank of France since its creation in 1945.

Below is a list of towns and cities in Switzerland. Until 2014 municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants were considered to be towns (German: Stadt/Städte, French: ville(s), Italian: città). Since 2014, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) uses a new algorithm (called German: Statistische Städte 2012, or French: Villes statistiques 2012) to define whether a municipality can be called a town or not; it now also depends on its character. Currently, FSO considers 162 municipalities as towns/cities (German: Statistische Städte, French: Villes statistiques) in Switzerland. Further, some municipalities which would fulfill such a definition nevertheless prefer to understand themselves still as a village, or consequently refer to themselves just as municipalities (German: Gemeinde, French: commune, Italian: comune). The Swiss definition of a town differs from the definition of a municipality.

Winterthur (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈvɪntərtuːr]; French: Winterthour [vintəʁtuʁ, vintɛʁ-]) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 140,000 inhabitants. Located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Zurich, Winterthur is a service and high-tech industrial satellite city within Zurich Metropolitan Area.

The official language of Winterthur is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Zurich German. Winterthur is usually abbreviated as Winti in the local dialect and by its inhabitants.