The evolutionary state and fundamental parameters of metallic A-F giants

Using Hipparcos parallaxes, we show that the metallic A-F giants found by Hauck (1986) on the basis of their high Delta m_2 index in Geneva photometry are on average more evolved than their non-metallic counterparts. Their mass distribution, rate of binaries and vsini are shown to be incompatible with those of Am stars, so that they cannot be descendants of the latter. They might be former normal stars going through a short metal-rich phase at the very end of their life on the Main Sequence.