France

Airports

472 total, 460 usable; 251 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m; 36 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 136 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

195 major transport aircraft (1989 est.)

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

Merchant marine

128 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,222,539 GRT/5,117,091 DWT; includes 6 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo, 18 container, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 30 roll-on/roll-off, 34 petroleum tanker, 8 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 2 specialized tanker, 11 bulk, 1 refrigerated cargo; note - France also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) and French Polynesia

Pipelines

crude oil 3,059 km; petroleum 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

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

Telecommunications

highly developed; extensive cable and radio relay networks; large-scale introduction of optical-fiber systems; satellite systems for domestic traffic; 39,200,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 41 AM, 800 (mostly repeaters) FM, 846 (mostly repeaters) TV; 24 submarine coaxial cables; 2 INTELSAT earth stations (with total of 5 antennas - 2 for the Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 3 for the Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT); HF radio communications with more than 20 countries; INMARSAT service; EUTELSAT TV service

Branches

Army, Navy (including Naval Air), Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $33.1 billion, 3.4% of GDP (1991)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 14,599,636; 12,225,969 fit for military service; 411,211 reach military age (18) annually

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

Budget

revenues $229.8 billion; expenditures $246.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $36 billion (1992 budget)

Currency

French franc (plural - francs); 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.1 billion

Electricity

109,972,000 kW capacity; 399,318 million kWh produced, 7,200 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.3801 (January 1992), 5.6421 (1991), 5.4453 (1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987)

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.)

External debt

$59.3 billion (December 1987)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power equivalent - $1,033.7 billion, per capita $18,300; real growth rate 1.4% (1991 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.)

Industrial production

growth rate 1.2% (1990); accounts for 26% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.3% (1991 est.)

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.

Unemployment rate

9.8% (end 1991)

Climate

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

Coastline

3,427 km; mainland 2,783 km, Corsica 644 km

Comparative area

slightly more than twice the size of Colorado

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)

Environment

most of large urban areas and industrial centers in Rhone, Garonne, Seine, or Loire River basins; occasional warm tropical wind known as mistral

Land area

545,630 km2; includes Corsica and the rest of metropolitan France, but excludes the overseas administrative divisions

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

Land use

arable land 32%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 23%; forest and woodland 27%; other 16%; includes irrigated 2%

Maritime claims

Contiguous zone: 12-24 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

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

Note

largest West European nation

Terrain

mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east

Total area

547,030 km2

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)

Capital

Paris

Communists

700,000 claimed but probably closer to 150,000; Communist voters, 2.8 million in 1988 election

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

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

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 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

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

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

Independence

unified by Clovis in 486, First Republic proclaimed in 1792

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)

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

Long-form name

French Republic

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

National holiday

Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

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)

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

Type

republic

Birth rate

13 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

24,170,000; services 61.5%, industry 31.3%, agriculture 7.3% (1987)

Languages

French (100% of population); rapidly declining regional dialects (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Life expectancy at birth

74 years male, 82 years female (1992)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun - Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women); adjective - French

Net migration rate

1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

20% of labor force (est.)

Population

57,287,258 (July 1992), growth rate 0.5% (1992)

Religions

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

Total fertility rate

1.8 children born/woman (1992)