France

FRA · 2024 energy mix · renewables 15.1% · fossil fuels 46.1%

Threat reading 46 of 100, classified HIGH THREAT, HOLDING. 10 events recorded here in the last seven days, 10 in the last thirty.

That number is computed from live feeds and moves. The live monitor is where to read it as of right now.

Where its energy comes from

Nuclear37.4%
Oil31.3%
Gas12.9%
Hydro7.0%
Wind4.6%
Solar2.3%
Coal2.0%
Other renewables1.2%

In 2024, renewables accounted for 15.1% and fossil fuels for 46.1%. On electricity traded with its neighbours, France is a net exporter of electricity.

Sources under one per cent of the mix are left out of the table rather than listed as a row of zeroes. Percentages are shares of a country's primary energy, not of the power it generates.

Recorded history

NOAA's hazard records hold 56 significant earthquakes, 11 tsunamis and 8 significant eruptions in or just off France since 470.

The deadliest was the 8 May 1902 VEI 4 eruption (Pelee, W Indies), which killed 28,000 people.

The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 8.0, on 11 March 1817 (France: Chamonix Valley).

The most recent entry is the 16 June 2023 magnitude 4.8 earthquake (France: Charente-maritime: la Laigne).

Across the entries that record a death toll, 35,396 people died.

DateWhatWhereToll
8 May 1902VEI 4 eruptionPelee, W Indies28,000 dead
1227earthquakeFrance: Lambesc, High Alps, Provence5,000 dead, damage $5 to 25 million
30 August 1902VEI 4 eruptionPelee, W Indies1,500 dead
30 August 1902tsunami (waves to 3 m)Mount Pelee1,500 dead, 1 homes destroyed, damage $1 to 5 million
20 July 1564magnitude 5.8 earthquakeFrance: Corsica, la Bollene-vesubie, Venanson650 dead, damage over $25 million
20 July 1564tsunamiLiguria-cote D'azur650 dead, damage over $25 million
15 February 1644earthquakeFrance: Corsica, Belvedere, Roquebilliere150 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
11 June 1909magnitude 6.2 earthquakeFrance: Vernegues, Charleval, la Roque D'antheron40 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
5 May 1902tsunami (waves to 5 m)Mount Pelee23 dead
5 May 1902VEI 4 eruptionPelee, W Indies23 dead
16 October 1979tsunami (waves to 10 m)French Riviera (Ligurian Sea)9 dead, damage under $1 million
13 February 1991magnitude 3.8 earthquakeFrance9 dead, damage under $1 million
29 April 1897magnitude 6.5 earthquakeGuadeloupe; Antigua; St Kitts6 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
11 March 1817magnitude 8.0 earthquakeFrance: Chamonix Valley4 dead, damage $5 to 25 million
August 1972VEI 2 eruptionFournaise, Piton de la, Indian O-W3 dead
29 November 2007magnitude 7.4 earthquakeMartinique1 dead, $103 million damage
13 August 1967magnitude 5.3 earthquakeFrance: Arette, Lanne, Montory, Aramits, Haux, Sunhar1 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
3 December 1906magnitude 7.9 earthquakeMartinique-
4 August 1885magnitude 6.9 earthquakeBrazil; French Guiana; Suriname; Guyanadamage under $1 million
10 July 1902VEI 4 eruptionPelee, W Indies-
6 June 1902VEI 4 eruptionPelee, W Indies-
20 May 1902VEI 4 eruptionPelee, W Indies20 homes destroyed, damage under $1 million
16 May 1851magnitude 6.0 earthquakeGuadeloupe: Pointe-a-pitredamage under $1 million
14 February 2005magnitude 5.8 earthquakeGuadeloupe-
20 May 1902tsunami (waves to 4 m)Mount Pelee20 homes destroyed, damage under $1 million

These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 75 entries. A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.

Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.

In the last 30 days

The most recent events our feeds placed in France:

What the threat reading is made of

Conflict2
Unrest24
Security20
Spillover from neighbours11
Natural hazard35
Resilience82

Each is 0 to 100. Resilience runs the other way to the rest: a high number is a country better able to absorb a shock, not a country in more trouble.

Other countries tracked

All countries with a page.

Where the data comes from

Energy mix, 2024: Our World in Data, energy dataset (https://github.com/owid/energy-data), compiled by Pablo Rosado, Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu and Max Roser from the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. Licence: Our World in Data's own compilation is CC BY 4.0. The underlying figures stay under their original terms: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, U.S. EIA, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. The percentages shown here and the wording are ours. Threat reading: computed by Rift Web from the feeds listed on the sources page.