France is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in western Europe, as well as several overseas regions and territories. A member of the Group of 7 (formerly G8) leading industrialised countries, as of 2014^[update], it is ranked as the world's ninth-largest and the EU's second-largest economy by purchasing power parity.^[1] With 31 of the 500 biggest companies in the world in 2015, France ranks fourth in the Fortune Global 500, ahead of Germany and the UK.^[2] According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), in 2009 France was the world's sixth-largest exporter and the fourth-largest importer of manufactured goods.^[3][4]

French companies have maintained key positions in the insurance and banking industries: Axa is the world's largest insurance company. The leading French banks are BNP Paribas and the Crédit agricole, ranking as the world's largest and sixth-largest banks in 2010^[5] (by assets), while the Société Générale group was ranked the world's eighth-largest in 2009.

For further information on the types of business entities in this country and their abbreviations, see "Business entities in France".

Largest firms

This list shows firms in the Fortune Global 500, which ranks firms by total revenues reported before 31 March 2017.^[6] Only the top five firms (if available) are included as a sample.

Rank	Image	Name	2016 revenues (USD $M)	Employees	Notes
25		Axa	$143,722	97,707	Paris-based multinational insurance firm diversified into investments and other financial services. Notable subsidiaries include Axa UK, Axa Ireland, Axa PPP Healthcare, Axa Bank Europe, Axa Equitable Life Insurance Company (USA), and Ardian.
30		TotalEnergies	$127,925	102,168	Multinational integrated crude oil and natural gas company, including exploration, production, power generation, transportation, refining, marketing, and international oil and product trading.
43		BNP Paribas	$109,026	184,839	International banking group and one of the largest banks in the world. Currently serves more than 30 million customers in four primary domestic markets: France, Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg.
67		Carrefour	$87,112	384,151	French multinational retailer which operates one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world. The firm is headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt.
80		Crédit Agricole	$80,258	70,830	international full-service banking group based on a network of cooperative and mutual banks. The firm has a historical foundation based in farming.

Notable firms

This list includes notable companies with primary headquarters located in the country. The industry and sector follow the Industry Classification Benchmark taxonomy. Organizations which have ceased operations are included and noted as defunct.

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