AREA: 547,030 km2

CAPITAL: Paris

TIME ZONE: UTC +1

LANGUAGE: French (official)

TELEPHONE CODE: 0033

INTERNET TLD: .fr

REGIONS: 
France is divided into 22 administrative regions, which themselves can be grouped into seven cultural regions:
Île-de-France - The region surrounding the French capital, Paris
Northern France (Nord-Pas de Calais, Picardy, Normandy)
Northeastern France (Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté)
Great West (Brittany, Pays de la Loire)
Central France (Centre-Val de Loire, Poitou-Charentes, Burgundy, Limousin, Auvergne)
Southwestern France (Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrenees)
Southeastern France (Rhône-Alpes, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Corsica)

CLIMATE:
A lot of variety, but temperate winters and mild summers on most of the territory, and especially in Paris. Mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean and in the southwest (the latter has lots of rain in winter). Mild winters (with lots of rain) and cool summers in the northwest (Brittany). Cool to cold winters and hot summer along the German border (Alsace). Along the Rhône Valley, occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral. Cold winters with lots of the snow in the Mountainous regions: Alps, Pyrenees, Auvergne.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:
January 1 - New Year's Day
May 1 – Labour Day
May 8 – Victory in Europe Day
July 14 – Bastille Day
August 15 - Assumption of the Virgin Mary
November 1 – All Saints’ Day
November 11 – Armistice Day
December 25 - Christmas Day
December 26 – St Stephen’s Day

The following are also public holidays that do not occur on the same date every year: 
Good Friday
Easter Sunday & Easter Monday
Ascension Day
Whit Monday

SOURCES:
http://wikitravel.org/en/France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France