France is the largest member state of the European Union by area.
Metropolitan France covers roughly 551,500 square kilometres, putting it ahead of Spain, Sweden, and Germany among EU countries. France’s position becomes even more pronounced when its overseas departments and regions are included: territories such as French Guiana, Réunion, and Guadeloupe are legally part of the French Republic, although some have special arrangements under EU law.
This question can cause confusion because “France” may mean metropolitan France in Europe or the entire French Republic. Either measurement still leaves France as the largest EU member state. Spain is the next-largest EU country by area when its European and island territories are counted, but it remains smaller than metropolitan France.
France’s size also reflects its unusual geography. It stretches from the North Sea and Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean and Pyrenees, while its overseas territories extend France into South America, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific. The United Kingdom is sometimes remembered in older lists, but it left the EU on 31 January 2020.