Which of these countries has the shortest border with mainland France?

Metropolitan France has borders with 8 countries. It is also known as European France or Mainland France and is the part of France in Europe. Overseas France consists of all the French-administered territories outside the European continent.

Mainland France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland, Monaco and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south.

Germany's border of 278 miles (448 km) with the Grand Est region of France is the shortest. Italy has a border of 320 miles (515 km) with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions of France.

A French line of defence was constructed along the country’s border with Germany during the 1930s and named after the French Minister of War André Maginot. It primarily extended from La Ferté to the Rhine River, though sections also stretched along the Rhine and the Italian frontier. Despite its strength and elaborate design, the line was unable to prevent an invasion by German troops who entered France via Belgium in May 1940.

Switzerland has a border of 356 miles (573 km) with the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France. The border with Spain is 387 miles (623 km) with the French bordering regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie.