continentaux

Continentaux is a French adjective and noun meaning “continental.” The masculine plural is continentaux and the feminine continentales. It designates something belonging to a continent or related to the mainland of a country. In common usage it is often employed to distinguish the continental part from islands or overseas territories.

In discussions about France, la France continentale or la France métropolitaine refers to metropolitan France—the European part of the country—contrasted with overseas departments and territories (outre-mer). As a noun, continentaux can refer to inhabitants of the continental part, though more common terms today include métropolitains or Français métropolitains. The exact choice may vary by region and context, and the word can be seen as somewhat formal or specialized.

Beyond national usage, continentaux generally appears in geographic, administrative, or sociopolitical contexts to denote things tied to a continent rather than to a maritime region. Etymology: from continent + -al; related forms include continental and continentale.