France has the most official time zones when its overseas territories are counted.
France spans 12 standard time zones because its territories are scattered across the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern oceans. During part of the year, daylight-saving rules can give France 13 different local times in use, depending on how the count is made.
Metropolitan France uses Central European Time in winter and Central European Summer Time in summer. French territories add locations such as French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Réunion, and Martinique, each positioned in different parts of the world.
Russia is often associated with the time-zone record because it stretches across 11 time zones in one continuous landmass. The United States also has numerous zones when overseas territories are included, but France’s worldwide territorial spread gives it the larger total under the usual count.