The Extreme Points of France

France is a nation whose territory is made up of metropolitan France and various overseas territories and regions. The French Metropolitan region stretches from the English Channel and North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from Rhine to Atlantic Ocean. The French overseas territories include various Islands in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans and the French Guiana. The Gauls occupied the current Metropolitan France during the Iron Age, but the French annexed it in 51 BC. and they occupied it until 476 when Germanic Franks formed the French Kingdom. France’s eighteen integral areas have a combined area of over 248,573 square miles with its largest city being Paris (the capital city). The terrain of the French Metropolitan has flat plains in the western and northern areas and hills on the eastern and southern regions with the Alps being the highest point in the country. Some of the most extreme regions in France include:

4. Northernmost Point in France

Bray-Dune is the northernmost commune in France and mainland Europe. It is one of the Communes of Nord Department which is situated on the France-Belgium border. The nearest Belgium Town is Adikerke. Nord department is on the far northern parts of France. Nord was formed from the western halves of Hainaut and Flanders. It is the most populous department in the country, and the fifth largest French urban town by size right after Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, and Paris. The northernmost point of France is also the westernmost tip of Belgium. Alphonse Bray founded Bray-Dune commune during the nineteenth century and it was previously the Hamlet of Gyvelde. Bray-Dune became an independent municipality in 1883. Bray-Dune has an area of about 3.31 square miles with a population of over 4,688 people by 2009. It was a site for casualties during the Dunkirk evacuation, during the Second World War.

3. Southernmost Point in France

The southernmost point of the French mainland is in Puig de Comanegra which is right on the France-Spain border. Puig de Comanegra is the 5,109.6 feet tall Catalonia Mountain. The southernmost village of France is called Lamanere. It is one of the communes of Pyrenees-Orientales department. Lamanere is in the Arrondissement of Ceret and canton of Le Canigou. Pyrenees-Orientales is the southernmost department of France which is adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea and the northern Spanish frontier. The department also surrounds the enclave of Llivia which means that it has two borders with Spain. Pyrenees-Orientales occupies an area of about 1,589 square miles with a population of approximately 442,000. The southernmost French commune is Bonifacio. Bonifacio is on the southern tip of Corsica Island in the department of Corse-du-Sud. The southernmost point of Metropolitan France is in the Archipelago of Levezzi, which is a collection of reefs and islands on the Strait of Bonifacio. The archipelago occupies a land area of about 12,659acres. The southernmost territory in France is the Iles de Boynes. Iles de Boynes are four islands of the Kerguelen archipelago which is approximately 19miles to the southern side of Presqu’ile Rallier Du Baty. These islands were discovered during the first Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Tremarec expedition. The Kerguelen Islands are part of the French Antarctic and southern lands. The islands have no permanent civilian population, and the only residents found here are the visiting military officers. Another southernmost commune is Saint-Joseph. Saint-Joseph is the southernmost point on the European Union, and it is on the extreme southern parts of Reunion Island.

2. Westernmost Point in France

The westernmost point in France is Pointe de Corsen which is on the western side of Brest in Plouarzel Commune. It is a small piece of land which is sticking out of the Finistere department. Point de Corsen is considered to be the border between the Atlantic Ocean and the canal or Le Manche. Ruscumunoc is the nearest village. Plouarzel is part of Brittany department in northwestern parts of France. Plouarzel is a commune in the department of Finistere and it is on the western point of continental France. Finistere is on the extreme west side of Brittany, and it is the westernmost department of the French Metropolitan and also the most coastal department. Finistere has a 776.71 miles coastline which accounts for over a quarter of the Brittany coastline. Ushant Island is the north-westernmost extreme point of the French Metropolitan. Ushant is at the southwestern parts of the English Channel and is one of the communes of the Finistere department. Pointe-Noire is the westernmost point of Guadeloupe (a Caribbean French overseas department). Pointe-Noire is on the northwestern coast of Basse-Terre Island. Another westernmost point of the French overseas territories is Toloke. Toloke is a small village in Sigave District. It is part of the Wallis and Futuna French territories on the south pacific right between Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Tuvalu.

1. Easternmost Point in France

Lauterbourg is the easternmost commune in the French Metropolitan. It is one of the communes of Bas-Rhin department located in the administrative area of the Grand Est in north-eastern parts of France. Lauterbourg is on the French-German border near the Karlsruhe city, Germany and it lies near the Rhine and Lauter rivers. The Rhine has been of significant economic and historical importance to this region, and it creates the eastern border of the Bas-Rhin department. San-Giuliano is the easternmost commune in the European France. San-Giuliano is one of the municipalities of the Haute-Corse department on the French Corsica Island. San-Giuliano has an area of about 9.24 square miles and a population of over 609 as at 2008. Haute-Corse is bordered by Corse-du-Sud to the south and the Mediterranean Sea on the other three sides, thus making it the easternmost metropolitan in France. Haute-Corse was formed on September 15, 1975, when Corsica was divided into Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse. Sainte-Rose commune is the eastern coast of Reunion department (French Island). Sainte-Rosa is surrounded by Tampon, Saint-Philippe, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Benoit and La Plaine-des-Palmistes. Pointe-des-Cascades is the easternmost part of the Sainte-Rose and the European Union. Hunters Island is the easternmost point of Matthews and Hunters islands, New Caledonia. They are two uninhabited islands on the South Pacific about 190 miles to the east of New Caledonia. France claimed ownership of these islands in 2007 as part of New Caledonia. New Caledonia is a collectivity of France in southwestern parts of the Pacific Ocean and 12,000 miles from Metropolitan France.