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, 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.