The Rhine is the longest river that touches French territory, but it does so only marginally in the north-eastern part of the country, for less than 200 kilometers and always along its borders with Germany and for a very short stretch with Switzerland.The Loire is instead the largest river in France with a length of 1,006 kilometers, all in the country, as well as the Seine, the river of Paris, fifth in the ranking; of the 24 rivers longer than 300 km, 2/3 flow entirely in France.
The Rhône is the only French river flowing into the Mediterranean on the list, with its source and first stretch in Switzerland; also the Garonne, the second most important river among those that flow into the Atlantic Ocean, initially flows in another country, Spain.
The hydrographic network of France is overall well articulated and extensive, with important watercourses in every area of the country; there are over 5,000 kilometers of waterways, between rivers and artificial canals created over time in the flattest parts of the territory.
| River | Length (km) | Length (mi) | Mouth | Regions |
| Rhine (1) | 1,320 km | 820 mi | North Sea | Grand Est |
| Loire (2) | 1,006 km | 625 mi | Atlantic Ocean | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val de Loire, Pays de la Loire |
| Meuse (3) | 925 km | 575 mi | North Sea | Grand Est |
| Rhône (4) | 812 km | 505 mi | Mediterranean Sea | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Occitania |
| Seine (5) | 777 km | 483 mi | English Channel | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est, Île-de-France, Normandy |
| Garonne (6) | 647 km | 402 mi | Atlantic Ocean | Occitania, Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Moselle (7) | 545 km | 339 mi | Rhine | Grand Est |
| Marne (8) | 514 km | 319 mi | Seine | Grand Est, Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France |
| Lot | 485 km | 301 mi | Garonne | Occitania, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Dordogne (9) | 483 km | 300 mi | Atlantic Ocean | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitania |
| Saône (10) | 473 km | 294 mi | Rhône | Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Doubs (11) | 458 km | 285 mi | Saône | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté |
| Allier | 421 km | 262 mi | Loire | Occitania, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val de Loire |
| Charente | 381 km | 237 mi | Atlantic Ocean | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Tarn | 380 km | 236 mi | Garonne | Occitania |
| Cher | 365 km | 227 mi | Loire | Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Centre-Val de Loire |
| Vienne | 363 km | 226 mi | Loire | Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Centre-Val de Loire |
| Aisne (12) | 356 km | 221 mi | Oise | Grand Est, Hauts-de-France |
| Scheldt (13) | 355 km | 221 mi | North Sea | Hauts-de-France |
| Oise (14) | 341 km | 212 mi | Seine | Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France |
| Durance (15) | 323 km | 201 mi | Rhône | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Loir (16) | 319 km | 198 mi | Sarthe | Centre-Val de Loire, Pays de la Loire |
| Sarthe (17) | 314 km | 195 mi | Maine | Normandy, Pays de la Loire |
| Adour | 308 km | 191 mi | Atlantic Ocean | Occitania, Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
(1) French section of 184 km; river that never completely enters France, but which first marks the border with Switzerland for a very short stretch of 1.5 kilometers and immediately after that with Germany.
(2) The longest river flowing entirely within French territory; the springs are just under 150 km from the Mediterranean Sea.
(3) It originates and flows in France for the first 486 Km; before finally entering Belgium it marks the border for 2 kilometres.
(4) Source and initial stretch are in Switzerland; the French section is 553 km, with the initial seven serving as the border with Switzerland.
(5) It is the watercourse that flows through the capital and most important city of France, Paris.
(6) It originates and flows in Spain for just over 100 kilometres, before marking the border with France for only 600 meters and continuing in French territory for 522 km; forms a single estuary with the Dordogne about 75 km long, called the Gironde.
(7) Source and first part of 314 km are in France, the rest in Luxembourg, one kilometer of which along the border, and Germany.
(8) It is the main tributary of the Seine, into which it flows just before Paris.
(9) It arises from the confluence of the two torrents Dore and Dogne; north of Bordeaux it forms an estuary in common with the Garonne, 75 km long, the Gironde.
(10) Main right tributary of the Rhone, where it flows into the city of Lyon.
(11) It originates in France, then marks the border with Switzerland for about 50 km, before a stretch entirely in this country, but then returns and continues its course in French territory, for a total of 430 km.
(12) It is a tributary of the Oise despite its greater length, but has a smaller average flow discharge.
(13) It flows in France only for the first 98 km, before entering Belgium north-east of Valenciennes.
(14) The first few kilometers are in Belgium, then after 3 km where it marks the border it enters France for a total of 327 km in the country.
(15) Sources are a couple of kilometers from the border with Italy, near Briançon.
(16) Although it is longer than the Sarthe, it is one of its tributaries due to the lower water discharge.
(17) From the confluence with the Mayenne it takes the name of Maine, a river which after only 12 km enters the Loire.