Background: 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.

Geographic coordinates
Metropolitan france: 46 00 N, 2 00 E
French guiana: 4 00 N, 53 00 W
Guadeloupe: 16 15 N, 61 35 W
Martinique: 14 40 N, 61 00 W
Reunion: 21 06 S, 55 36 E

Area
Total: 643,427 km²; 547,030 km² (metropolitan France)
Land: 640,053 km²; 545,630 km² (metropolitan France)
Water: 3,374 km²; 1,400 km² (metropolitan France)
Note: the first numbers include the overseas regions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion
Comparative: slightly less than the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Metropolitan france total: 2,889 km
Border countries: (0) Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km
French guiana total: 1,183 km
Saint martin total: 10.2 km

Coastline
Total: 4,668 km
Metropolitan france: 3,427 km

Maritime claims
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

Climate
Metropolitan france: 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
French guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

Terrain
Metropolitan france: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east
French guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin
Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
Extremes highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

Natural resources: coal iron ore bauxite zinc uranium antimony arsenic potash feldspar fluorospar gypsum timber fish

Land use
Arable land: 33.46%
Permanent crops: 2.03%
Other: 64.51% (2005)

Irrigated land: 26,000 km² (2003)

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

Geography
Note: largest West European nation

Population: 60,876,136 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 0.35% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: 6.5% (2000)

Nationality
Noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
Adjective: French

Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic Slavic North African Indochinese Basque minorities

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

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

Age structure
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.)

Median age
Total: 39.1 years
Male: 37.6 years
Female: 40.7 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.35% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 11.99 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 9.14 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.66 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 est.)

Environment
Current issues: some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes agricultural runoff
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1 male/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male/female
Total population: 0.95 male/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.21 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4.71 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.69 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.73 years
Male: 76.1 years
Female: 83.54 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 120,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: less than 1000 (2003 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2003 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: French Republic
Conventional short form: France
Local long form: Republique francaise
Local short form: France

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Paris
Geographic coordinates: 48 52 N, 2 20 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions
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)

Dependent areas
Note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

Independence: 486 (unified by Clovis)

National holiday: Fete de la Federation 14 July (1790); note - although often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day the celebration actually commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 July 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are Fete Nationale (National Holiday) and quatorze juillet (14th of July)

Constitution: 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

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995)
Head of government: Prime Minister Dominique DE VILLEPIN (since 31 May 2005)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the suggestion of the prime minister
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (changed from seven-year term in October 2000); election last held 21 April and 5 May 2002 (next to be held, first round April 2006, second round May 2006); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly majority and appointed by the president
Election results: Jacques CHIRAC reelected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Jacques CHIRAC (RPR) 81.96%, Jean-Marie LE PEN (FN) 18.04%

Legislative branch
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 2006)
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

Judicial branch: 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

Political parties and leaders: Citizen and Republican Movement or MRC [Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT]; Democratic and European Social Rally or RDSE (mainly Radical Republican and Socialist Parties and PRG) [Jacques PELLETIER]; French Communist Party or PCF [Marie-George BUFFET]; Greens [Yan WEHRLING national secretary]; Left Radical Party or PRG (previously Radical Socialist Party or PRS and the Left Radical Movement or MRG) [Jean-Michel BAYLET]; Movement for France or MPF [Philippe DE VILLIERS]; National Front or FN [Jean-Marie LE PEN]; Rally for France or RPF [Charles PASQUA]; Socialist Party or PS [Francois HOLLANDE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Francois BAYROU]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Nicolas SARKOZY]

International organization participation: ABEDA ACCT AfDB Arctic Council (observer) AsDB Australia Group BDEAC BIS BSEC (observer) CBSS (observer) CE CERN EAPC EBRD EIB EMU ESA EU FAO FZ G- 5 G- 7 G- 8 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO InOC Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU MIGA MINURSO MINUSTAH MONUC NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OIF OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PIF (partner) SECI (observer) SPC UN UN Security Council UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNITAR UNMEE UNMIL UNMOVIC UNOCI UNOMIG UNRWA UNTSO UPU WADB (nonregional) WCL WCO WEU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jean-David LEVITTE
In the us chancery: 4,101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 944-6,000
In the us fax: [1] (202) 944-6,166
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Craig R. STAPLETON
From the us embassy: 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75,382 Paris Cedex 08
From the us mailing address: PSC 116, APO AE 9,777
From the us telephone: [33] (1) 43-12-22-22
From the us fax: [33] (1) 42 66 97 83
From the us consulates general: Marseille, Strasbourg

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side) white and red; known as the 'Le drapeau tricolore' (French Tricolor) the origin of the flag dates to 1790 and the French Revolution; the design and/or colors are similar to a number of other flags including those of Belgium Chad Ireland Cote d'Ivoire Luxembourg and Netherlands; the official flag for all French dependent areas

Economy overview: 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%.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $1.794 trillion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 1.2% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $29,600 (2005 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.2%
Industry: 21.4%
Services: 76.4% (2005 est.)

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

Industries: machinery chemicals automobiles metallurgy aircraft electronics; textiles food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 0.2% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 27.72 million (2005 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 4.1%
By occupation industry: 24.4%
By occupation services: 71.5% (1999)

Unemployment rate: 9.9% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line: 6.5% (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.8%
Highest 10: 25.1% (1995)

Distribution of family income gini index: 32.7 (1995)

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

Public debt: 66.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.7% (2005 est.)

Current account balance: $-38.78 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $443.4 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transportation equipment aircraft plastics chemicals pharmaceutical products iron and steel beverages
Partners: Germany 14.7% Spain 9.6% Italy 8.7% UK 8.3% US 7.2% Belgium 7.1% (2005)

Imports: $473.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment vehicles crude oil aircraft plastics chemicals
Partners: Germany 18.9% Belgium 10.7% Italy 8.2% Spain 7% Netherlands 6.5% UK 5.9% US 5.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $74.36 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $2.826 trillion (30 June 2005)

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005) 0.8054 (2004) 0.886 (2003) 1.0626 (2002) 1.1175 (2001)

Electricity
Production: 536.9 billion kWh (2003)
Consumption: 433.3 billion kWh (2003)
Exports: 72.2 billion kWh (2003)
Imports: 6.2 billion kWh (2003)

Natural gas
Production: 1.566 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 43.74 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Exports: 1.725 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 40.26 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 14.33 billion m³ (1 January 2002)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 35.7 million (2005)
Mobile cellular: 48.058 million (2005)

Telephone system
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

Internet
Country code: .fr
Hosts: 3,148,379 (2006)
Users: 29.521 million (2006)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 2.6% FY06 (2005 est.)

Airports: 477 (2006)
With paved runways total: 292
With paved runways over 3047 m: 13
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 28
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 96
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 81
With paved runways under 914 m: 74 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 185
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 73
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 108 (2006)

Heliports: 3 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 14,588 km; oil 3,024 km; refined products 4,889 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 29,085 km

Disputes international: 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

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for and consumer of South American cocaine Southwest Asian heroin and European synthetics