France has the greatest number of time zones when its overseas territories are included.
French territory spans 12 standard time zones, and a seasonal daylight-saving adjustment can bring the total to 13 local times during part of the year. Metropolitan France uses Central European Time and Central European Summer Time.
The country’s overseas regions and collectivities are scattered across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. French Polynesia, Réunion, New Caledonia, Martinique and French Guiana all contribute to France’s unusually broad geographic spread.
Russia is often thought to hold the record because it stretches across 11 time zones in one continuous landmass. That is correct for a single contiguous countrywide territory, but France ranks first when overseas possessions are counted.