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

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)

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

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

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

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

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)

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

last held 8 May 1988 (next to be held May 1995); results -
Second Ballot Francois MITTERRAND 54%, Jacques CHIRAC 46%

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

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

Ambassador Jacques ANDREANI; Chancery at 4,101
Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20,007; telephone (202) 944-6,000; there are
French Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles,
New Orleans, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Ambassador Walter J. P. CURLEY; Embassy at 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75,382
Paris Cedex 08, Unit 21,551 (mailing address is APO AE 9,777); 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

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

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.

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.)

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

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

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