Country Profile-Part Five

Water Transportation 

France has the largest natural and man-made waterways network in Europe, extending over 8500 km. 

a. Closest major ocean port

Since France is next to the ocean, there are many ocean-size ports. Perhaps the most famous, however, is La Pallice, also known as Grand port maritime de la Rochelle. The area for La Rochelle is 10.98 sq miles.

b. Other ports in country

Nantes, Bordeaux, Cherbourg-Octeville, Le Havre, Bayonne, Boulougne-sur-Mer, Brest, Calais, Dunkerque, Fos-sur-Mer, La Pallice, Lorient, Marseille, Nice, Pairs, Port-la-Nouvelle, Port-Venders, Roscoff, Rouen, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Malo, Sete, strasbourg, and Toulon.

Land Transportation

France has one of the densest networks in the world, with 146 km of road and 6.2 km of rail lines per 100 km^2. This is built as a web with Paris at the center. 

a. Railroad (freight and passenger)

There is a total of 64,900 km of railway in France. However, this railway system is a small portion of total travel, accounting for less than 10% of passenger travel. 

France is known for their high-speed Linges a Grande Vitesse (LGV) lines, which link France's most popular cities, starting with Paris and Lyon. This network has set many world speed record; the most recent being the world speed record for conventional rail trains, which was set on April 3, 2007.

b. Highway and road network

There are 1,000,960  km of roads in France. This consists largely of toll roads. Most of the motorways are operated by private companies. France has the seventh largest highway network in the world, after US, China, Russia, Canada, Spain, and Germany. France is also believed to be the most card dependent country in Europe. 

Air Transportation

There are approximately 478 airports in France, and three heliports. 

a. International airports

Ajaccio – Campo dell'Oro Airport
Bastia – Poretta Airport
Beauvais-Tillé Airport
Bergerac – Bergerac-Roumanière Airport
Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport
Biarritz Airport
Bordeaux – Mérignac Airport
Brest – Brest Bretagne Airport
Carcassonne – Salvaza Airport
Châlons-en-Champagne – Châlons Vatry Airport
Chambéry-Savoie Airport
Dinard – Pleurtuit Airport
Figari Sud-Corse Airport
Grenoble-Isère Airport
Île de Ré Airport
Lille Lesquin Airport
Limoges – Bellegarde Airport
Lyon – Saint-Exupéry Airport
Marseille – Provence Airport
Méditerranée Airport
Mulhouse – Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport
Nantes Atlantique Airport
Nice – Côte d'Azur Airport
Nîmes – Garons Airport
Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport
Paris – Orly Airport
Pau – Uzein Airport
Perpignan – Llabanère Airport
Poitiers – Biard Airport
Rodez – Marcillac Airport
Bouthéon Airport
Strasbourg Airport
Toulon – Hyères Le Palyvestre Airport
Toulouse – Blagnac Airport
Tours Loire Valley Airport

Source: 

Wiki.com