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Geography
Location:
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel,
between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean
Sea, between Italy and Spain
Geographic
coordinates: 46 00 N, 2 00 E
Map
references: Europe
Area:
total: 547,030 sq km
land: 545,630 sq km
note: includes only metropolitan France; excludes the overseas administrative
divisions
water: 1,400 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Colorado
Land
boundaries:
total: 2,889 km
border countries: Andorra 56.6 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
Maritime
claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM (does not apply to the Mediterranean)
Climate:
generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot
summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly
wind known as mistral
Terrain:
mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder
is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m
Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, potash, timber, fish
Land use:
arable land: 33.3%
permanent crops: 2.11%
other: 64.59% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
20,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural
hazards:
flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires
in south near the Mediterranean
Environment - current issues:
some forest damage from acid rain (major forest damage occurred
as a result of severe December 1999 windstorm); air pollution from
industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes,
agricultural runoff
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur
85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography
- note:
Largest West European nation
Government
Country
name:
Conventional long form: French Republic
Conventional short form: France
Local long form: Republique Francaise
Local short form: France
Government
type:
Republic
Capital:
Paris
Administrative
divisions:
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: metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including
the "territorial collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and
is subdivided into 96 departments; see separate entries for the
overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion)
and the overseas 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:
486 (unified by Clovis)
National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Constitution:
28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962,
amended to comply with provisions of EC Maastricht Treaty in 1992,
Amsterdam Treaty in 1996, Treaty of Nice in 2000; amended to tighten
immigration laws 1993
Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative
but not legislative acts
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Pierre RAFFARIN (since 7
May 2002)
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(changed from seven-year term in 2001); election last held 21 April
and 5 May 2002 (next to be held, first round NA April 2007, second
round NA May 2007); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly
majority and appointed by the president
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
on the suggestion of the prime minister
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat
(321 seats - 296 for metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments
and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad; members are
indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve nine-year terms;
elected by thirds every three years) and the National Assembly or
Assemblee Nationale (577 seats; members are elected by popular vote
under a single-member majoritarian system to serve five-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats
by party - RPR 83, PS 68, UDC 37, DL 35, RDES 16, PCF 16, other
66; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - UMP 355, PS 140, UDF 29, PCF 21, Radical Party 7, The Greens
3, other 22
Elections: Senate - last held 23 September 2001 (next to
be held NA September 2004); National Assembly - last held 8-16 June
2002 (next to be held NA June 2007)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (judges are appointed
by the president from nominations of the High Council of the Judiciary);
Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (three members
appointed by the president, three appointed by the president of
the National Assembly, and three appointed by the president of the
Senate); Council of State or Conseil d'Etat
Political
parties and leaders:
Citizen adn Republican Movement or MCR [Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT];
Democratic and European Social Rally or RDES (mainly RAD and PRG)
[leader NA]; Forum of Social Republicans or FRS (offshoot from UMP)
[Christine BOUTIN]; French Communist Party or PCF [Marie-George
BUFFET]; Generation Ecology [France GAMERRE]; Hunting, Fishing,
Nature, and Tradition or CPNT [Jean SAINT-JOSSE]; Independent Ecological
Movement or MEI [Antoine WAECHTER]; Left Radical Party or PRG (previously
Radical Socialist Party or PRS and the Left Radical Movement or
MRG) [Jean-Michel BAYLET]; Liberal-Christian Right [Charles MILLON];
Liberal Democracy or DL (originally Republican Party or PR) [Alain
MADELIN]; Movement for France or MPF [Philippe DE VILLIERS]; National
Front or FN [Jean-Marie LE PEN]; National Republican Movement or
MNR [Bruno MEGRET]; Radical Party or RP [Francois LOOS]; Rally for
France or RPF [Charles PASQUA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michelle
ALLIOT-MARIE]; Revolutionary Communists' League or LCR [Alain KRIVINE];
Socialist Party or PS [Francois HOLLANDE]; The Greens [Gilles LEMAIRE,
national secretary]; Union for French Democracy or UDF (coalition
of DL, CDS, UDF, RP, and other parties) [Francois BAYROU]; Union
for a Popular Movement or UMP (including RPR, DL, and a part of
UDF) [Alain JUPPE]; Union of the Center or UDC [leader NA]
Political
pressure groups and leaders:
historically-Communist labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail)
or CGT, approximately 700,000 members (claimed); left-leaning labor
union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT,
approximately 865,000 members (claimed, of which 810,000 are actively
employed); independent labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail
- Force Ouvriere) or FO, 300,000 members (est.); independent white-collar
union (Confederation Generale des Cadres) or CGC, 196,000 members
(claimed); employers' union (Mouvement des Entreprises de France)
or MEDEF, 750,000 companies as members (claimed)
International
organization participation:
ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional),
CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA,
ESCAP, EU, FAO, FZ, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM
(guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA,
SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA,
UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Flag
description:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red;
known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor); the design and/or colors
are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium,
Chad, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire, Luxembourg, and Netherlands; the official
flag for all French dependent areas
Economy
Economy
- overview:
France is in the midst of a gradual transition, from a well-to-do
modern economy that has featured extensive government ownership
and intervention to one that relies more on market mechanisms. The
government has partially or fully privatized many large companies,
banks, and insurers, but still retains large stakes in several leading
firms, including Air France, France Telecom, and Renault, and remains
dominant in some sectors, particularly the power, public transport,
and defense industries. The telecommunications sector is gradually
being opened to competition. France's leaders remain committed to
a capitalism in which they maintain social equity by means of laws,
tax policies, and social spending that reduce income disparity and
the impact of free markets on public health and welfare. The government
has lowered income taxes and introduced measures to boost employment
but has done little to reform an overly expensive pension system,
rigid labor market, and restrictive bureaucracy which discourage
hiring and make the tax burden one of the highest in Europe. In
addition to the tax burden, the reduction of the workweek to 35
hours has drawn criticism for lowering the competitiveness of French
businesses. The current economic slowdown has thrown the government's
goal of balancing the budget by 2004 off track.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.54 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.1% (2002 est.)
GDP
- per capita:
purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2002 est.)
GDP
- composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 26%
services: 71% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.8% (2002 est.)
Labor
force:
26.6 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
services 71%, industry 25%, agriculture 4% (1997)
Unemployment rate:
9.1% (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $210 billion
expenditures: $240 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 est.)
Industries:
machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics;
textiles, food processing; tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
-0.3% (2002)
Electricity - production:
513.92 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 10%
hydro: 13%
other: 1% (2000)
nuclear: 77%
Electricity - consumption:
408.51 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports:
73.172 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports:
3.737 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture
- products:
wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy
products; fish
Exports:
$307.8 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals,
pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
Exports - partners:
EU 61.3% (Germany 14.7%, UK 9.8%, Spain 9.6%, Italy 8.8%), US 8.7%
(2001)
Imports:
$303.7 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics,
chemicals
Imports - partners:
EU 58.6% (Germany 16.7%, Benelux 7.0%, Italy 9.1%, UK 7.5%), US
8.9% (2001)
Debt
- external:
$106 billion (1998)
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $6.3 billion (1997) (1997)
Currency:
euro (EUR); French franc (FRF)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced
the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions
of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole
currency for everyday transactions within the member countries.
Currency
code:
EUR; FRF
Exchange
rates:
euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854
(2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.65 (January
1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997)
Fiscal
year:
calendar year
(figures
reproduced from The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
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