France, officially the French Republic , is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various overseas islands and territories located in other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. French people often refer to Metropolitan France as L’Hexagonebecauseofthegeometricshapeofitsterritory.France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. Due to its overseas departments, France also shares land borders with Brazil and Suriname , and the Netherlands Antilles. France is also linked to the United Kingdom by theChannelTunnel,whichpassesunderneaththeEnglishChannel.Franceisaunitarysemi-presidential republic. Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France was the world's foremost power from the latter half of the 17th century until the early 19th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, France built one of the largest colonial empires of the time, stretching across West Africa and Southeast Asia, prominently influencing the cultures and politics of the regions. France is a developed country, with the sixth or eighth largest economy in the world. It is the most visited country in the world, receiving over 79 million foreign tourists annually. France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. France is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; it is also an acknowledged nuclear power.