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; 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; mainland 2,783 km, Corsica 644 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
12-24 nm
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
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
:France People
Population:
57,287,258 (July 1992), growth rate 0.5% (1992)
Birth rate:
13 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
74 years male, 82 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women); adjective - French
Ethnic divisions:
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, and
Basque minorities
Religions:
Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African workers)
1%, unaffiliated 6%
Languages:
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.)
:France 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)
Independence:
unified by Clovis in 486, First Republic proclaimed in 1792
Constitution:
28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962
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
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:
Constitutional Court (Cour Constitutionnelle)
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Pierre BEREGOVOY (since 2 April 1992)
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 GALLAND; Socialist Party (PS),
Laurent FABIUS; Left Radical Movement (MRG), Emile ZUCCARELLI; Communist
Party (PCF), Georges MARCHAIS; National Front (FN), Jean-Marie LE PEN
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
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 272, RPR 127, UDF 91, UDC 40, PCF 26, independents 21
:France Government
President:
last held 8 May 1988 (next to be held May 1995); results - Second Ballot
Francois MITTERRAND 54%, Jacques CHIRAC 46%
Elections:
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 91, UDF 143 (PR 52, CDS 68, RAD 23), PS 66, PCF 16, independents
2, unknown 3
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, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CCC, CDB, CE,
CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, 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, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, 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, Unit 21551 (mailing address is APO AE 09777); telephone [33] (1)
42-96-12-02 or 42-61-80-75; FAX [33] (1) 42-66-97-83; there are US
Consulates General in Bordeaux, 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
:France 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 expanding at a rapid 3.8% pace during
the period 1988-89, the economy slowed down in 1990, with growth of 1.5% in
1990 and 1.4% in 1991; growth in 1992 is expected to be about 2%. The
economy has had difficulty generating enough jobs for new entrants into the
labor force, resulting in a high unemployment rate, which rose to almost 10%
in 1991. The steadily advancing economic integration within the European
Community is a major force affecting the fortunes of the various economic
sectors.
GDP:
purchasing power equivalent - $1,033.7 billion, per capita $18,300; real
growth rate 1.4% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.3% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9.8% (end 1991)
Budget:
revenues $229.8 billion; expenditures $246.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $36 billion (1992 budget)
Exports:
$209.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities:
machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, agricultural
products, iron and steel products, textiles and clothing
partners:
FRG 17.3%, Italy 11.4%, UK 9.2%, Spain 10.3%, Netherlands 9.0%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 9.4%, US 6.1%, Japan 1.9%, former USSR 0.7% (1989 est.)
Imports:
$232.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, iron
and steel products
partners:
FRG 18.9%, Italy 11.6%, Belgium-Luxembourg 8.8%, Netherlands 8.6%, US 8.0%,
Spain 7.9%, UK 7.2%, Japan 4.0%, former USSR 1.4% (1989 est.)
External debt:
$59.3 billion (December 1987)
Industrial production:
growth rate 1.2% (1990); accounts for 26% of GDP
Electricity:
109,972,000 kW capacity; 399,318 million kWh produced, 7,200 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
steel, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics,
mining, textiles, food processing, and tourism
Agriculture:
accounts for 4% of GDP (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
:France Economy