The surprising country that spans the most time zones in the world
The country with the most time zones in the world is surprisingly just a short hop across the English Channel and renowned for its wines.
When its overseas territories are included, France has a total of 12 time zones and if you include the Republic’s territory in Antarctica then the number rises to 13.
This compares to Russia, which has 11 time zones, even though as a land mass it is by far the largest country in the world, covering more than 17 million square kilometres.
Owing to the number of territories it governs beyond Europe, France has 12 time zones, though this number rises to 13 during a certain period of the year.
Metropolitan France has Central European Summer Time, while its dependencies range from Tahiti Time (UTC-10) in French Polynesia to Wallis & Futuna Time (UTC+12) in the South Pacific. When Daylight Saving Time is observed in Saint Pierre & Miquelon, this takes the total to 13, according to Guinness World Records.
READ MORE: EU ‘superstate’ warning with treaty changes set to make members ‘vassals’
The time zones are: Tahiti Time (UTC-10), Marquesas Time (UTC-9.30), Gambier Time (UTC-9), Easter Island Standard Time (UTC-8), Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-4), French Guiana Time (UTC-3), Pierre & Miquelon Daylight Time (UTC-2), Central European Time (UTC+1), Eastern Africa Time (UTC+3), Réunion Time (UTC+4), French Southern and Antarctic Time (UTC+5), New Caledonia Time (UTC+11) and Wallis & Futuna Time (UTC+12).
UTC is used to refer to Coordinated Universal Time, which is the global standard often used synonymously with Greenwich Mean Time.
While both GMT and UTC share the same time, GMT is a time zone, while UTC acts as a time standard.
There are 13 territories outside Europe which are administered by France, mostly remnants of the country’s empire.
Don’t miss…
Lord Cameron takes just seconds to rip into Boris Johnson in maiden speech[REPORT]
‘I will love you forever’ Heartbreaking tributes paid to four boys found dead[LATEST]
Disturbing footage shows bloody Argentina fans beaten by police as Messi fumes[REVEALED]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Britain has one standard time zone, but once its overseas territories and crown dependencies are included, this figure rises to nine.
This was not always the case as England and Scotland had different time zones in the late 1840s as the adoption of GMT took time to spread across the country.
People north of the border woke up to GMT for the first time on January 30, 1848, after the rest of Britain had more or less made the switch in September 1847, according to The Scotsman.
There are 24 times zones spanning the globe, with not all demarcated with straight lines as some fit the boundaries of certain countries.
Source: Read Full Article