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France

France has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1958.

Flag of France
  • EU member
  • Euro area
  • Schengen

Relationship with the EU

  1. 1 January 1958Founding member (EEC Treaty in force)
  2. 26 March 1995Full Schengen membership
  3. 1 January 1999Adopted the euro

Same enlargement wave · Founding members (1958)

Data

GDP per capita in purchasing power standards98

Eurostat, 2025 (provisional). Scale 0 to 260.

Share of the EU population15.3 %

Eurostat, 1 January 2026.

Milestones

  1. 4 April 1949Signs the North Atlantic Treaty as a founding member of NATO. nato.int
  2. 5 May 1949Founding member of the Council of Europe. archive.org
  3. 18 April 1951Signs the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. europa.eu
  4. 25 March 1957Signs the Treaties of Rome (EEC and Euratom). europa.eu
  5. 1 January 1958The EEC and Euratom treaties enter into force: founding member. europa.eu
  6. 1992Referendum on the Maastricht Treaty: 51.1% yes. europarl.europa.eu
  7. 2005Referendum on the Constitutional Treaty: 45.3% yes. europarl.europa.eu

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