France

• 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

• 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

• 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

0-14 years:

18.5% (male 5,724,185; female 5,446,716)

15-64 years:

65.1% (male 19,698,497; female 19,663,776)

65 years and over:

16.4% (male 4,049,970; female 5,841,069) (2004 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:

0.69 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

noun:

Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)

adjective:

French

conventional long form:

French Republic

conventional short form:

France

local long form:

Republique Francaise

local short form:

France

• 28 September 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

chief of state:

President Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995)

head of government:

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre RAFFARIN (since 7 May 2002)

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 2007, second round May 2007);
• 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%

• bicameral Parliament or Parlement 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 now 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;
• 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 majoritarian system to serve five-year terms)

elections:

Senate - last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held September 2007); 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, 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

• Citizen and Republican Movement or MCR [Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT];
• Democratic and European Social Rally or RDSE (mainly RAD. and PRG) [Jacques PELLETIER];
• French Communist Party or PCF [Marie-George BUFFET];
• 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];
• Rally for France or RPF [Charles PASQUA];
• Socialist Party or PS [Francois HOLLANDE];
• Greens [Gilles LEMAIRE, Francine BAVAY, Jean DESESSARD, Christophe PORQUIER, Maud LELIEVRE];
• Union for French Democracy or UDF [Francois BAYROU];
• Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including RPR, DL, and a part of UDF) [Nicolas SARKOZY]

• historically-Communist labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail) or CGT, approximately 700,000 members (claimed);
• left-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT, approximately 889,000 members (claimed);
• independent labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail - Force Ouvriere) or FO, 300,000 members (est.);
• independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale des Cadres) or CGC, 196,000 members (claimed);
• employers' union (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) or MEDEF, 750,000 companies as members (claimed)

ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (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, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jean-David LEVITTE

chancery:

4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 944-6000

FAX:

[1] (202) 944-6166

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Howard H. LEACH

embassy:

2 Avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris Cedex 08

mailing address:

PSC 116, APO AE 09777

telephone:

[33] (1) 43-12-22-22

FAX:

[33] (1) 42 66 97 83

consulate(s) general:

Marseille, Strasbourg

• 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

lowest 10%:

2.8%

highest 10%:

25.1% (1995)

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

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

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

total:

32,175 km

standard gauge:

32,008 km 1.435-m gauge (14,320 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

167 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

total:

894,000 km

paved:

894,000 km (including 11,500 km of expressways)

unpaved:

0 km (2000)

total:

32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 703,639 GRT/889,705 DWT

by type:

cargo 3, chemical tanker 6, container 2, liquefied gas 4, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 4

foreign-owned:

Germany 1, Monaco 2, New Caledonia 1, Sweden 5

registered in other countries:

118 (2004 est.)

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