Country profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in France
France has catalogued 53 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 99th of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M5.2.
France ranks 99th of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 3 M4+ events a year alongside 0 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900.
- 53
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 0
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M5.2
- Strongest
- ~3
- M4+ per year
The verdict
France is below the global median in catalogued seismic activity, with 53 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 0 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 5.2.
- N/A
- no yearly breakdown available
- N/A
- average recorded event depth
- 0%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.3 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Dominica sits immediately above at 55 events and Sudan sits immediately below at 52.
ComCat magnitude tape
Event tape FRANCE · France M4+ · 99th/187
France · 53 M4+ · max M5.2 · 0 M6+
- PHOTO 53
- BUSY 99th/187
- SHAL M5.2
- PCT 0
- VS-PEER near Dominica
- COMCAT Sep 14, 2024
Stamps derive from this country's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Reading earthquake data → · All country catalog rows → · Countries ranked →
Where France sits in the catalog
Rank 99th of 187 tracked countries (47th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Dominica sits immediately above at 55 events and Sudan sits immediately below at 52.
France's M4+ count vs. every tracked country
Total catalogued M4+ events since 2005, USGS ComCat
53 Top 53% higher than 47% of 187 countries
Each bar is a 500-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) · 2005-present
0 of 53 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.
Other countries in this catalog sample
A France-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A second France-keyed shuffle of countries with a recorded max magnitude.
Showing 6 of 186 countries with a recorded max magnitude.
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.