FRANCE
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 547,030 km2; land area: 545,630 km2; includes Corsica
and the rest of metropolitan France, but excludes the overseas
administrative divisions
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Colorado
Land boundaries: 2,892.4 km total; Andorra 60 km, Belgium 620 km,
Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km,
Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km
Coastline: 3,427 km (includes Corsica, 644 km)
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12-24 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Canada (Saint Pierre and
Miquelon); Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso
Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims
Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; Seychelles claims Tromelin
Island; Suriname claims part of French Guiana; Mexico claims Clipperton
Island; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land)
Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters
and hot summers along the Mediterranean
Terrain: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and
west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in
east
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc,
potash
Land use: arable land 32%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures
23%; forest and woodland 27%; other 16%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment: most of large urban areas and industrial centers in
Rhone, Garonne, Seine, or Loire River basins; occasional warm tropical
wind known as mistral
Note: largest West European nation
PEOPLE
Population: 56,595,587 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 82 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women);
adjective--French
Ethnic divisions: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North
African, Indochinese, and Basque minorities
Religion: Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%,
Muslim (North African workers) 1%, unaffiliated 6%
Language: French (100% of population); rapidly declining regional
dialects (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque,
Flemish)
Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980 est.)
Labor force: 24,170,000; services 61.5%, industry 31.3%,
agriculture 7.3% (1987)
Organized labor: 20% of labor force (est.)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: French Republic
Type: republic
Capital: Paris
Administrative divisions: metropolitan France--22 regions
(regions, singular--region); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne,
Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse,
Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon,
Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais,
Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes,
Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes;
note--the 22 regions are subdivided into 96 departments; see separate
entries for the overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe,
Martinique, Reunion) and the territorial collectivities (Mayotte,
Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
Dependent areas: Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island,
French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands,
Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna;
note--the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Independence: unified by Clovis in 486, First Republic proclaimed
in 1792
Constitution: 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of
president in 1962
Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of
administrative but not legislative acts
National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of an
upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or National Assembly
(Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch: Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May
1981);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Edith CRESSON (since 15 May
1991)
Political parties and leaders:
Rally for the Republic (RPR, formerly UDR), Jacques CHIRAC;
Union for French Democracy (UDF, federation of PR, CDS, and RAD),
Valery Giscard d'ESTAING;
Republican Party (PR), Gerard LONGUET;
Center for Social Democrats (CDS), Pierre MEHAIGNERIE;
Radical (RAD), Yves GALLARD;
Socialist Party (PS), Pierre MAUROY;
Left Radical Movement (MRG), Yves COLLIN;
Communist Party (PCF), Georges MARCHAIS;
National Front (FN), Jean-Marie LE PEN
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 8 May 1988 (next to be held May 1995);
results--Second Ballot Francois MITTERRAND 54%, Jacques CHIRAC 46%;
Senate--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September
1992); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(321 total; 296 metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments
and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad) RPR 93,
UDF 143 (PR 53, CDS 65, RAD 25), PS 64, PCF 16, independents 2,
unknown 3;
National Assembly--last held 5 and 12 June 1988 (next to be held
June 1993);
results--Second Ballot PS-MRG 48.7%, RPR 23.1%, UDF 21%, PCF 3.4%,
other 3.8%;
seats--(577 total) PS 275, RPR 132, UDF 90, UDC 40, PCF 25, independents
15
Communists: 700,000 claimed but probably closer to 150,000;
Communist voters, 2.8 million in 1988 election
Other political or pressure groups: Communist-controlled labor
union (Confederation Generale du Travail) nearly 2.4 million
members (claimed); Socialist-leaning labor union (Confederation
Francaise Democratique du Travail or CFDT) about 800,000 members
est.; independent labor union (Force Ouvriere) 1 million members
(est.); independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale
des Cadres) 340,000 members (claimed); National Council of French
Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Francais--CNPF or Patronat)
Member of: ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BDEAC,
BIS, CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECA (associate),
ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, FZ, GATT, G-5, G-7, G-10, IABD, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS,
NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNRWA, UN Security Council, UN Trusteeship Council,
UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jacques ANDREANI; Chancery at
4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 944-6000;
there are French Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston,
Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan
(Puerto Rico);
US--Ambassador Walter J. P. CURLEY; Embassy at 2 Avenue
Gabriel, 75382 Paris Cedex 08 (mailing address is APO New York 09777);
telephone 33 (1) 42-96-12-02 or 42-61-80-75; there are US Consulates
General in Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, and Strasbourg
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and
red; known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor); the design and
colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including those
of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Ivory Coast, and Luxembourg; the official flag
for all French dependent areas
ECONOMY
Overview: One of the world's most developed economies, France
has substantial agricultural resources and a highly diversified modern
industrial sector. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of
modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make it the leading
agricultural producer in Western Europe. France is largely
self-sufficient in agricultural products and is a major exporter of
wheat and dairy products. The industrial sector generates about
one-quarter of GDP, and the growing services sector has become crucial
to the economy. After sluggish growth during the period 1982-87, the
economy expanded at a rapid 3.8% pace in 1988-89. The economy
slowed down in 1990, with growth of 2.0% expected in 1991.
The economy has had difficulty generating enough jobs for new
entrants into the labor force, resulting in a high unemployment rate,
which probably will rise to around 10% during the slowdown.
The steadily advancing economic integration within the European
Community is a major force affecting the fortunes of the various economic
sectors.
GDP: $873.5 billion, per capita $15,500; real growth rate 2.8%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9% (1990)
Budget: revenues $207.6 billion; expenditures $224.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $34 billion (1990 est.)
Exports: $181.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals,
foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles and
clothing;
partners--FRG 16%, Italy 12.1%, UK 9.5%, Spain 9.5%,
Netherlands 9.2%, Belgium-Luxembourg 8.9%, US 6.6%, Japan 1.9%,
USSR 1.0% (1989 est.)
Imports: $201.6 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural
products, chemicals, iron and steel products;
partners--FRG 19.4%, Italy 11.6%, Belgium-Luxembourg 9.2%,
Netherlands 8.6%, US 7.6%, Spain 7.4%, UK 7.1%, Japan 4.1%,
USSR 1.4% (1989 est.)
External debt: $59.3 billion (December 1987)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.7% (1989); accounts
for 26% of GDP
Electricity: 109,972,000 kW capacity; 403,570 million kWh produced,
7,210 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: steel, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy,
aircraft, electronics, mining, textiles, food processing, and tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GNP (including fishing and
forestry); one of the world's top five wheat producers; other principal
products--beef, dairy products, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine
grapes; self-sufficient for most temperate-zone foods; shortages include
fats and oils and tropical produce, but overall net exporter of farm
products; fish catch of 850,000 metric tons ranks among world's top
20 countries and is all used domestically
Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.1
billion
Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100
centimes
Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.8 (May 1991),
5.4453 (1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261
(1986), 8.9852 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: French National Railways (SNCF) operates 34,568 km
1.435-meter standard gauge; 11,674 km electrified, 15,132 km double or
multiple track; 2,138 km of various gauges (1.000-meter to 1.440-meter),
privately owned and operated
Highways: 1,551,400 km total; 33,400 km national highway;
347,000 km departmental highway; 421,000 km community roads; 750,000 km
rural roads; 5,401 km of controlled-access divided autoroutes; about
803,000 km paved
Inland waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled
Pipelines: crude oil, 3,059 km; refined products, 4,487 km; natural
gas, 24,746 km
Ports: maritime--Bordeaux, Boulogne, Brest, Cherbourg, Dunkerque,
Fos-Sur-Mer, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen, Sete, Toulon;
inland--42
Merchant marine: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,141,276
GRT/5,006,695 DWT; includes 8 short-sea passenger, 15 cargo, 18
container, 2 multifunction large-load carrier, 29 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
34 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8 chemical tanker,
6 liquefied gas, 2 specialized tanker, 11 bulk; note--France also
maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen
Islands (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) and French Polynesia
Civil air: 195 (1989 est.)
Airports: 470 total, 460 usable; 246 with permanent-surface
runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m; 34 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
136 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: highly developed system provides satisfactory
telephone, telegraph, radio and TV broadcast services; 39,200,000
telephones; stations--40 AM, 138 (777 relays) FM, 216 (8,902 relays) TV;
25 submarine coaxial cables; communication satellite earth stations
operating in INTELSAT, 3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, EUTELSAT,
MARISAT, and domestic systems
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy (including Naval Air), Air Force, National
Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 14,366,492; 12,077,706 fit for
military service; 395,128 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $29.7 billion, 3.6% of GDP (1990)