Owing to the number of territories it governs beyond Europe, France has 12 (and for a period of the year 13) time zones. Metropolitan France operates on Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), 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.
The French 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).
The USA and Russia are in second place with 11 time zones, although two of the US zones (UTC-12 for Baker Island and Howland Island in the central Pacific, and UTC+12 for research bases on Antarctica and Wake Island in the Pacific) are unofficial.
UTC refers to Coordinated Universal Time, the global standard. It is often used synonymously with Greenwich Mean Time, and while both GMT and UTC share the same time, GMT is a time zone, while UTC is a time standard.
