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Background Note: France
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
French Republic
Geography
Area: 551,670 sq. km. (220,668 sq. mi.); largest west European
country, about four-fifths the size of Texas.
Cities: Capital--Paris. Major cities--Marseille,
Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nice, Rennes, Lille, Bordeaux.
Terrain: Varied.
Climate: Temperate
People
Nationality: Adjective--French.
Population (Jan 2006 est.): 62.9 million (Including overseas
territories), 61.0 million (Metropolitan).
Annual growth rate (2005 est.): 0.6%.
Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North
African, Sub-Saharan African, Indochinese, and Basque
minorities.
Religion: Roman Catholic 85% (est.), Muslim 10% (est.), Jewish
1%
Language: French.
Education: Years compulsory--10. Literacy--99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--4.2/1,000.
Work force (2005 est.): 27.637 Million: Services--72.8%;
industry and commerce--23.0%; agriculture--3.8%;
undetermined—0.3%.
Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: September 28, 1958.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state); prime
minister (head of government). Legislative--bicameral
Parliament (577-member National Assembly, 319-member Senate).
Judicial--Court of Cassation (civil and criminal law),
Council of State (administrative court), Constitutional Council
(constitutional law).
Subdivisions: 22 administrative regions containing 96
departments (metropolitan France). Four overseas departments
(Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Reunion); five
overseas territories (New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis
and Futuna Islands, and French Southern and Antarctic
Territories); and two special status territories (Mayotte and
St. Pierre and Miquelon).
Political parties: Union for a Popular Majority (UMP--a
synthesis of center-right Gaullist/nationalist and free-market
parties); Union for French Democracy (a fusion of centrist and
pro-European parties); Socialist Party; Communist Party;
National Front; Greens; various minor parties.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Economy
GDP (2005 est.): $2.127 Trillion.
Avg. annual growth rate (2005 est.): 1.2%.
Per capita GDP at PPP (2005 est.): $29,087.
Agriculture: Products--grains (wheat, barley, corn);
wines and spirits; dairy products; sugar beets; oilseeds; meat
and poultry; fruits and vegetables.
Industry: Types--aircraft, electronics, transportation,
textiles, clothing, food processing, chemicals, machinery,
steel.
Trade (est.): Exports (2005 est.)--$443.4 billion
(f.o.b.): automobiles and automobile spare parts, aircraft,
pharmaceuticals, electronic components, wine, electric
components. Imports (2005)--$378.9 billion: crude oil,
automobiles and automobile spare parts, pharmaceuticals, natural
gas, aircraft spare parts, electronics. Major trading
partners--EU and U.S.
Exchange rate: U.S. $1=euro 0.884 in 2003, 0.804 in 2004, 2005,
and 0.784 in Sept. 2006.
PEOPLE
Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade,
travel, and invasion. Three basic European ethnic
stocks--Celtic, Latin, and Teutonic (Frankish)--have blended
over the centuries to make up its present population. France's
birth rate was among the highest in Europe from 1945 until the
late 1960s. Since then, its birth rate has fallen but remains
higher than that of most other west European countries.
Traditionally, France has had a high level of immigration. More
than 1 million Muslims immigrated in the 1960s and early 1970s
from North Africa, especially Algeria. About 85% of the
population is Roman Catholic, 10% Muslim, less than 2%
Protestant, and about 1% Jewish. In 2004, there were over 6
million Muslims, largely of North African descent, living in
France. France is home to both the largest Muslim and Jewish
populations in Europe. |