List of mammals of Metropolitan France

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed on the respective IUCN Red Lists published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature: Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species.

They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.

Shrews and solenodons resemble mice, hedgehogs carry spines, gymnures look more like large rats, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight.

They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.