Thanks to its overseas territories, France is the second largest maritime power after the United States. And for good reason: in addition to five overseas departments and regions, the country also has several overseas communities!
New Caledonia
Chief town : Noumea
Number of inhabitants : 272,000
Time difference with mainland France : + 10 hours in winter; + 9 hours in summer
Economy : nickel extraction and transformation
Area : 18,575 km²
Animals : bats, cagous (land bird sometimes used as the emblem of New Caledonia), notous, green pigeons …
Weather : temperate tropical, alternating dry periods and rainy seasons. Maximum temperatures: + 30 ° C from December to February, the cyclone season.
French Polynesia
Chief town : Papeete
Number of inhabitants : 276,000
Time difference with mainland France : – 11 hours in winter; – 12 hours in summer
Economy : pearl oysters, tourism, fishing…
Area : 4,200 km²
Animals : sea turtles, whales and dolphins…
Weather : tropical, oceanic, hot and humid. Lagoon water temperature (body of marine water separated from the rest of the ocean by a coral reef): between 23 and 26 ° C. Hot season: from December to February, between 27 and 35 ° C, it is also the rainy season. From March to November, it is between 21 and 27 ° C.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Chief town : Saint Pierre
Number of inhabitants : 6,000
Time difference with mainland France : – 4 hours in winter and summer
Area : 42 km²
Environment : ponds, plains, beaches …
Animals : seals, whales, dolphins …
Weather : northern ocean, cold with an average of 5 ° C in winter and 16 ° C in summer. Very humid and windy climate
Wallis and futuna
Chief town : Mata Utu
Number of inhabitants : 12,000
Time difference with mainland France : + 12 hours in winter; + 11 hours in summer
Economy : fishing, subsistence farming. Locals eat what they grow: 70% of them do not use money.
Area : 124.2 km²
Animals : lizards, tropical fish…
Weather : equatorial, with two main seasons. The hot and humid season from October to April with an average temperature of 30 ° C and cyclones. The drier and sunnier season from March.
Saint-Barthélemy
Chief town : Gustavia
Number of inhabitants : 9,960
Time difference with mainland France : -5 hours in winter; – 6 hours in summer
Economy : tourism, building and public works
Area : 21 km²
Animals : sea and land turtles, iguanas, rays, whales, hummingbirds, pipiris…
Weather : tropical with small temperature variations. Average air and water temperature: 27 ° C. Two seasons: one dry, Lent and the other more humid, wintering, from May to November, characterized by short showers.
Saint-Martin
Chief town : Marigot
Number of inhabitants : 35,300
Time difference with mainland France : – 5 hours in winter; – 6 hours in summer
Economy : luxury tourism
Area : 86 km²
Animals : terns, gannets, pelicans, herons, iguanas, mongooses, sea turtles…
Weather : oceanic with a dry season from December to May and a wet season, from June to November. Temperature: 24 ° C to 35 ° C, 27 ° C on average.
Clipperton Island or Passion Island
Status : Public maritime domain. Clipperton Island is an atoll (ring-shaped island composed of a barrier reef, one or more islets called motu formed by accumulation of sand) which is attached to French Polynesia.
Number of inhabitants : 0
Environment : coral platform, the island includes at its southeast end a rock of volcanic origin
Animals : Clipperton crabs, masked boobies…
Area : 2 km²
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Chief town : Saint-Pierre, on Reunion Island
Number of inhabitants : 0. There are no permanent residents but many scientists work there.
Area : 439,781 km²
Animals : king penguins, Amsterdam albatrosses, dolphins, whales, sea lions, elephant seals in the islands; penguins, seals, orcas, whales in Adelie Land.
Weather : tropical in the Scattered Islands, polar in the South Pole.
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