France

Army, Navy (includes Naval Air), Air Force and Air Defense, National Gendarmerie

exchange rate conversion - $47.7 billion, 2.5% of GDP (1995)

males age 15-49: 14,782,577 males fit for military service: 12,299,651 males reach military age (18) annually: 383,252 (1996 est.)

AM 41, FM 800 (mostly repeaters), shortwave 0

49 million (1993 est.)

highly developed domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (with total of 5 antennas - 2 for Indian Ocean and 3 for Atlantic Ocean), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region); HF radiotelephone communications with more than 20 countries

35 million (1987 est.)

846 (mostly repeaters) note: Eutelsat receive-only TV service

29.3 million (1993 est.) Defense

wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish catch of 850,000 metric tons ranks among world's top 20 countries and is all used domestically

revenues: $220.5 billion expenditures: $249.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $47 billion (1993 budget)

1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

donor: ODA, $7.915 billion (1993)

One of the four West European trillion-dollar economies, the French economy features considerable - albeit diminishing - state control over its capitalistic market system. In running important industrial segments (railways, airlines, electricity, telecommunications), administrating an exceptionally generous social welfare system, and staffing an enormous bureaucracy, the state spends about 55% of GDP. France has substantial agricultural resources and a 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. Largely self-sufficient in agricultural products, France 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. Following stagnation and recession in 1991-93, French GDP expanded 2.4% in 1994 and in 1995. Persistently high unemployment still poses a major problem for the government, as will the need to cut back on welfare benefits and bureaucratic budgets. Paris remains committed to maintaining the franc-deutsche mark parity, which has kept French interest rates high at the expense of jobs. Although the pace of economic and financial integration within the European Union has slowed down, integration will remain a major force in France, shaping the fortunes of the various economic sectors over the next few years.

capacity: 105,250,000 kW production: 447 billion kWh consumption per capita: 6,149 kWh (1993)

French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January 1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992), 5.6421 (1991)

$235.5 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles and clothing partners: Germany 17.1%, Italy 9.3%, Spain 7.1%, Belgium-Luxembourg 8.7%, UK 9.9%, Netherlands 4.6%, US 7.0%, Japan 2.0%, Russia 0.5%

$300 billion (1993 est.)

calendar year

purchasing power parity - $1.173 trillion (1995 est.)

agriculture: 2.4% industry: 26.5% services: 71.1% (1994)

$20,200 (1995 est.)

2.4% (1995 est.)

transshipment point for South American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin

$229.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, iron and steel products partners: Germany 17.8%, Italy 10.1%, US 8.5%, Netherlands 4.9%, Spain 8.8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 9.1%, UK 7.9%, Japan 3.7%, Russia 1.2%

2.6% (1994 est.)

steel, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, mining, textiles, food processing, tourism

1.7% (1995)

24.17 million by occupation: services 61.5%, industry 31.3%, agriculture 7.2% (1987) note: includes Corsica

11.7% (yearend 1995)

total area: 547,030 sq km land area: 545,630 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Colorado note: includes only metropolitan France (which includes Corsica), but excludes the overseas administrative divisions

generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean

3,427 km (mainland 2,783 km, Corsica 644 km)

current issues: some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff natural hazards: flooding international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification, Law of the Sea

46 00 N, 2 00 E

largest West European nation; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral

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); Saint Pierre and Miquelon is focus of maritime boundary dispute between Canada and France; claims Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia

14,850 sq km (1993 est.); note - includes Corsica

total: 2,892.4 km border countries: 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

arable land: 32% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 27% other: 16% note: includes Corsica

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

Europe

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc, potash

mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

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 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)

Paris

28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of EC Maastricht Treaty in 1992; amended to tighten immigration laws 1993

FR

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Francois BUJON DE L'ESTANG chancery: 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-6000 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995) was elected for a seven-year term by direct universal suffrage; election last held 17 May 1995 (next to be held by May 2002); results - Second Ballot Jacques CHIRAC 52.64%, Lionel JOSPIN 47.36% head of government: Prime Minister Alain JUPPE (since 18 May 1995) was appointed by the president cabinet: the Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on the suggestion of the prime minister

[33] (1) 42 66 97 83 consulate(s) general: Marseille, Strasbourg

three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor); the design and colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire, and Luxembourg; the official flag for all French dependent areas

486 (unified by Clovis)

ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, FZ, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Supreme Court of Appeals (Cour de Cassation), judges are appointed by the president from nominations of the High Council of the Judiciary

civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts

bicameral Parliament (Parlement)

conventional long form: French Republic conventional short form: France local long form: Republique Francaise local short form: France

elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (577 total) RPR 247, UDF 213, PS 67, PCF 24, independents 26; note - seating as of 24 September 1995: RPR 247, UDF 208, PS 71, PCF 24, independents 27

National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Communist-controlled labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail - CGT) nearly 2.4 million members (claimed); Socialist-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail - 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)

Rally for the Republic (RPR), Alain JUPPE, president; Union for French Democracy (UDF - coalition of PR, FD, RAD, PSD), Francois LEOTARD; Republican Party (PR), Francois LEOTARD; Democratic Force (FD), Francois BAYROU; Radical (RAD), Andre ROSSINOT; Socialist Party (PS), Lionel JOSPIN; Left Radical Movement (MRG); Communist Party (PCF), Robert HUE; National Front (FN), Jean-Marie LE PEN; The Greens, Dominique VOYNET; Generation Ecology (GE), Brice LALONDE; Citizens Movement (MDC), Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT

elections last held 24 September 1995 (next to be held September 1998; nine-year term, elected by thirds every three years); 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 132, PS 75, PCF 16, other 7

18 years of age; universal

republic

chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela C. HARRIMAN embassy: 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75382 Paris Cedex 08 mailing address: PSC 116, APO AE 09777 telephone: [33] (1) 43-12-22-22

0-14 years: 19.04% (male 5,688,505; female 5,417,355) 15-64 years: 65.62% (male 19,147,369; female 19,120,935) 65 years and over: 15.34% (male 3,589,100; female 5,354,186) (July 1996 est.)

10.82 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

9.27 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities

5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

total population: 77.93 years male: 73.98 years female: 82.11 years (1996 est.)

age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA%

noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) adjective: French

1.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

58,317,450 (July 1996 est.)

0.34% (1996 est.)

Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African workers) 1%, unaffiliated 6%

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

1.49 children born/woman (1996 est.)

total: 460 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 13 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 26 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 91 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 73 with paved runways under 914 m: 179 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 75 (1995 est.) note: includes Corsica

3 (1995 est.)

total: 1,511,200 km paved: 811,200 km (including 7,700 km of expressways) unpaved: 700,000 km (1992 est.) note: includes Corsica

total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,203,086 GRT/1,779,263 DWT ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 5, chemical tanker 5, container 7, liquefied gas tanker 3, oil tanker 16, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 1 note: France also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) (1995 est.)

crude oil 3,059 km; petroleum products 4,487 km; natural gas 24,746 km

Bordeaux, Boulogne, Cherbourg, Dijon, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Lyon, Marseille, Mullhouse, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Saint Nazaire, Saint Malo, Strasbourg

total: 33,891 km standard gauge: 33,524 km 1.435-m gauge; 32,275 km are operated by French National Railways (SNCF); 13,741 km of SNCF routes are electrified and 12,132 km are double- or multiple-tracked narrow gauge: 367 km 1.000-m gauge note: includes Corsica; does not include 33 tourist railroads, totalling 469 km, many being of very narrow gauge (1995)

14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled