Climate: France is a country with three climates.

The climate with the smallest range is the oceanic climate characterised by cool summers and winters though winters may get very cold and ample rainfall. Eastern and central France mostly has continental climate with ample rainfall, warm summers and cold, mostly snowy winters. Southern France with its Mediterranean climate experiences limited rainfall, hot summers and cool winters. Economy: France has the world's fifth largest economy by nominal figures and the ninth largest economy by figures !t has the second largest economy in Europe "behind its main economic partner #ermany$ in nominal figures, based on the dynamic industrial structure of the French economy. %E&'is head(uartered in aris, France. France's economy entered the recession of the late )***s later and left it earlier than most comparable economies, only enduring four+(uarters of contraction. ,etween -anuary and March )*.., France's #' growth had been stronger than expected at *./0, one of the best figures in Europe but shrun1 between 2pril and -une )*.. decreasing by 3*..0. !n )*.., the #' surprisingly grew at ..450, below #ermany at )./0 but more than the 67 that grew by *.80. Tourism in France The Eiffel Tower, aris France attracted 49 million foreign tourists in )*.), ma1ing it the most popular tourist destination in the world.:.; !t is third in income from tourism due to briefer visits. )*0 more tourists spent less than half as much as they did in the 6nited States.:);

France has 9< sites inscribed in 6=ES&%'s >orld ?eritage @ist and features cities of high cultural interest " aris being the foremost, but also Toulouse, Strasbourg,,ordeaux, @yon, and others$, beaches and seaside resorts, s1i resorts, and rural regions that many enAoy for their beauty and tran(uillity "green tourism$. Small and pictures(ue French villages of (uality heritage "such as &ollonges+la+Bouge or@ocronan$ are promoted through the association @es lus ,eaux Cillages de France"litt. DThe Most ,eautiful Cillages of FranceD$. The DBemar1able #ardensD label is a list of the over two hundred gardens classified by the French Ministry of &ulture. This label is intended to protect and promote remar1able gardens and par1s. !n )*.), travel and tourism directly contributed E6B<<.< billion to French #' , 9*0 of which comes from international visitors and <*0 from domestic tourism spending. The total contribution of travel and tourism represents /.<0 of #' and supports )./ million Aobs ".*./0 of employment$ in the country.:Tourism contributes significantly to the balance of payments. Rail transport in France is mostly operated by S=&F, the French national railway company. France has the second largest European railway networ1, with a total of )/,/*. 1ilometers of railway.:E; ?owever, the railway system is a small portion of total travel, accounting for less than .*0 of passenger travel. Since ./4., the S=&F has operated the T#C service, a high+speed rail networ1 which has been consistently expanded in subse(uent years. France is a member of the !nternational 6nion of Bailways "6!&$. The 6!& &ountry &ode for France is 4<.