Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier parliamentary democracies. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy.

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

46 00 N, 2 00 E

total: 547,030 sq km
land: 545,630 sq km
water: 1,400 sq km
note: includes only metropolitan France; excludes the overseas administrative divisions

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

3,427 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (does not apply to the Mediterranean)
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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

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

coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorospar, gypsum, timber, fish

arable land: 33.46%
permanent crops: 2.03%
other: 64.51% (2005)

26,000 sq km (2003)

flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean

some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff

largest West European nation

60,876,136 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 18.3% (male 5,704,152/female 5,427,213)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 19,886,228/female 19,860,506)
65 years and over: 16.4% (male 4,103,883/female 5,894,154) (2006 est.)

total: 39.1 years
male: 37.6 years
female: 40.7 years (2006 est.)

0.35% (2006 est.)

11.99 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

9.14 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 4.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 79.73 years
male: 76.1 years
female: 83.54 years (2006 est.)

1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.4% (2003 est.)

120,000 (2003 est.)

less than 1,000 (2003 est.)

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

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

Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%

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

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

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

republic

Paris

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, Miquelon)

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

486 (unified by Clovis)

Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

adopted by referendum 28 September 1958, effective 4 October 1958; amended concerning election of president in 1962; amended to comply with provisions of 1992 EC Maastricht Treaty, 1996 Amsterdam Treaty, 2000 Treaty of Nice; amended to tighten immigration laws in 1993; amended in 2000 to change the seven-year presidential term to a five-year term

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

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Parliament or Parliament 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); note - between 2004 and 2010, 25 new seats will be added to the Senate for a total of 346 seats - 326 for metropolitan France and overseas departments, 2 for New Caledonia, 2 for Mayotte, 1 for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, 3 for overseas territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad; starting in 2008, members will be indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve six-year terms, with one-half the seats being renewed every three years; and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a single-member majority system to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held September 2008); National Assembly - last held 8-16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 156, PS 97, UDF 33, PCF 23, RDSE 15, other 7; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 355, PS 140, UDF 29, PCF 21, Left Radical Party 7, Greens 3, other 22

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

France is in the midst of 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. It retains controlling stakes in several leading firms, including Air France, France Telecom, Renault, and Thales, and is dominant in some sectors, particularly 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 and reform the pension system. In addition, it is focusing on the problems of the high cost of labor and labor market inflexibility resulting from the 35-hour workweek and restrictions on lay-offs. The tax burden remains one of the highest in Europe (nearly 50% of GDP in 2005). The lingering economic slowdown and inflexible budget items have pushed the budget deficit above the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP limit; unemployment stands at 10%.

$1.822 trillion (2005 est.)

$2.068 trillion (2005 est.)

1.6% (2005 est.)

$30,000 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 2.5%
industry: 21.4%
services: 76.1% (2005 est.)

27.72 million (2005 est.)

agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 24.4%
services: 71.5% (1999)

10% (2005 est.)

6.5% (2000)

lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1995)

32.7 (1995)

1.9% (2005 est.)

19.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $1.06 trillion
expenditures: $1.144 trillion; including capital expenditures of $23 billion (2005 est.)

66.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish

machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism

0.3% (2005 est.)

536.9 billion kWh (2003)

433.3 billion kWh (2003)

72.2 billion kWh (2003)

6.2 billion kWh (2003)

76,300 bbl/day (2003 est.)

2.06 million bbl/day (2003 est.)

409,600 bbl/day (2001)

2.281 million bbl/day (2001)

144.3 million bbl (1 January 2002)

1.566 billion cu m (2003 est.)

43.74 billion cu m (2003 est.)

1.725 billion cu m (2001 est.)

40.26 billion cu m (2001 est.)

14.33 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

-$30.11 billion (2005 est.)

$443.4 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages

Germany 15%, Spain 9.5%, UK 9.4%, Italy 9%, Belgium 7.2%, US 6.7% (2004)

$473.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals

Germany 19.2%, Belgium 9.9%, Italy 8.8%, Spain 7.4%, UK 7%, Netherlands 6.7%, US 5% (2004)

$77.35 billion (2004 est.)

$2.826 trillion (30 June 2005)

ODA, $5.4 billion (2002)

euro (EUR)
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

calendar year

33,870,200 (2004)

44,551,800 (2004)

general assessment: highly developed
domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system
international: country code - 33; 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

AM 41, FM about 3,500 (this figure is an approximation and includes many repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998)

584 (plus 9,676 repeaters) (1995)

.fr

2,922,040 (2005)

26,214,174 (2005)

479 (2005)

total: 288
over 3,047 m: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 28
1,524 to 2,437 m: 96
914 to 1,523 m: 82
under 914 m: 69 (2005)

total: 191
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 72
under 914 m: 116 (2005)

3 (2005)

gas 14,232 km; oil 3,024 km; refined products 4,889 km (2004)

total: 29,519 km
standard gauge: 29,352 km 1.435-m gauge (14,481 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 167 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)

total: 891,290 km
paved: 891,290 km (including 10,390 km of expressways) (2003)

8,500 km (1,686 km accessible to craft of 3,000 metric tons) (2000)

total: 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,050,735 GRT/600,979 DWT
by type: cargo 4, chemical tanker 6, container 1, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 29, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 4 (Sweden 3, Turkey 1)
registered in other countries: 151 (Australia 3, The Bahamas 28, Belgium 2, Bermuda 1, Cambodia 1, Cameroon 1, Canada 1, Republic of the Congo 1, French Polynesia 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 45, Gibraltar 1, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 1, Isle of Man 2, Italy 3, South Korea 12, Liberia 3, Luxembourg 9, Malta 8, Mexico 1, Morocco 1, Panama 8, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8, UK 3, Wallis and Futuna 4) (2005)

Bordeaux, Calais, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg

Army (includes Marines, Foreign Legion, Army Light Aviation), Navy (includes naval air), Air Force (includes Air Defense), National Gendarmerie

Madagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of New Caledonia

transshipment point for and consumer of South American cocaine, Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics