France

metropolitan 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

French Guiana:

Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname

Guadeloupe:

Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico

Martinique:

Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Reunion:

Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar

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

metropolitan France:

Europe

French Guiana:

South America

Guadeloupe:

Central America and the Caribbean

Martinique:

Central America and the Caribbean

Reunion:

World

metropolitan France - 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

French Guiana - total:

1,183 km

border countries:

Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

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)

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

metropolitan France:

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

French Guiana:

gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay

total:

33.16 cu km/yr (16%/74%/10%)

per capita:

548 cu m/yr (2000)

metropolitan France:

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

overseas departments:

hurricanes (cyclones), flooding, volcanic activity (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion)

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

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:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2008 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

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

note: applies to metropolitan France only, not to its overseas departments, collectivities, or territories

• 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)

• civil law system with indigenous concepts;
• review of administrative but not legislative acts;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007)

head of government:

Prime Minister Francois FILLON (since 17 May 2007)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president at 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 22 April and 6 May 2007 (next to be held spring 2012);
• prime minister nominated by the National Assembly majority and appointed by the president

election results:

• Nicolas SARKOZY wins the election;
• First Round: percent of vote - Nicolas SARKOZY 31.18%, Segolene ROYAL 25.87%, Francois BAYROU 18.57%, Jean-Marie LE PEN 10.44%, others 13.94%;
• Second Round: SARKOZY 53.1% and ROYAL 46.9%

• bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (331 seats, 305 for metropolitan France, 9 for overseas departments, 5 for dependencies, and 12 for French nationals abroad; members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve six-year terms; one third elected every three years);
• note - between 2006 and 2011, 15 new seats will be added to the Senate for a total of 348 seats - 326 for metropolitan France and overseas departments, 2 for New Caledonia, 2 for Mayotte, 1 for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, 1 for Saint-Barthelemy, 1 for Saint-Martin, 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 elected every three years;
• and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats, 555 for metropolitan France, 15 for overseas departments, 7 for dependencies; 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 in September 2008); National Assembly - last held 10 and 17 June 2007 (next to be held in June 2012)

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - UMP 156, PS 97, UDF (now MoDem) 33, PCF 23, RDSE 15, other 7;
• National Assembly - percent of vote by party - UMP 46.37%, PS 42.25%, miscellaneous left wing parties 2.47%, PCF 2.28%, NC 2.12%, PRG 1.65%, miscellaneous right wing parties 1.17%, the Greens 0.45, other 1.24%;
• seats by party - UMP 313, PS 186, NC 22, miscellaneous left wing parties 15, PCF 15, miscellaneous right wing parties 9, PRG 7, the Greens 4, other 6

• 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

• Democratic Movement or MoDem [Francois BAYROU] (previously Union for French Democracy or UDF);
• Democratic and Social European Rally or RDSE [Pierre LAFFITTE] (mainly Radical Republican and Socialist Parties, and PRG);
• French Communist Party or PCF [Marie-George BUFFET];
• Greens [Cecile DUFLOT];
• Left Radical Party or PRG [Jean-Michel BAYLET] (previously Radical Socialist Party or PRS and the Left Radical Movement or MRG);
• Movement for France or MPF [Philippe DE VILLIERS];
• National Front or FN [Jean-Marie LE PEN];
• New Center or NC [Herve MORIN];
• Rally for France or RPF [Charles PASQUA];
• Republican and Citizen Movement or MRC [Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT and Georges SARRE];
• Socialist Party or PS [Francois HOLLANDE];
• Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Patrick DEVEDJIAN, Jean-Claude GAUDIN, Jean-Pierre RAFFARIN, Pierre MEHAIGNERIE];
• Radical Party [Jean-Louis BORLOO]

• Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail or CFDT, left-leaning labor union with approximately 803,000 members;
• Confederation Generale des Cadres or CGC, independent white-collar union with 196,000 members;
• Confederation Generale du Travail or CGT, historically communist labor union with approximately 700,000 members;
• Confederation Generale du Travail - Force Ouvriere or FO, independent labor union with an estimated 300,000 members;
• Mouvement des Entreprises de France or MEDEF, employers' union with 750,000 companies as members (claimed)

French Guiana:

• conservationists;
• gold mining pressure groups;
• hunting pressure groups

Guadeloupe:

• Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG;
• General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G;
• General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG;
• Movement for an Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI;
• The Socialist Renewal Movement

Martinique:

• Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC;
• Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM;
• Frantz Fanon Circle;
• League of Workers and Peasants;
• Proletarian Action Group or GAP

Reunion:

NA

chief of mission:

Ambassador Pierre VIMONT

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, San Francisco, Washington, DC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Craig R. STAPLETON

embassy:

2 Avenue Gabriel, 75382 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

agriculture:

4.1%

industry:

24.4%

services:

71.5% (1999)

lowest 10%:

3%

highest 10%:

24.8% (2004)

• 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;
• numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and US;
• satellite earth stations - more than 3 (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

overseas departments:

• country codes: French Guiana - 594;
• Guadeloupe - 590;
• Martinique - 596;
• Reunion - 262

total:

29,370 km

standard gauge:

29,203 km 1.435-m gauge (14,778 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

167 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

total:

951,500 km

paved:

951,500 km (metropolitan France; includes 10,950 km of expressways)

note: there are another 5,100 km of roadways in overseas departments (2006)

metropolitan France:

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

French Guiana:

3,760 km (460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft) (2006)

• 17-40 years of age for male or female voluntary military service);
• no conscription;
• 12-month service obligation;
• women serve in noncombat military posts (2005)

males age 16-49:

14,646,427

females age 16-49:

14,379,630 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

12,110,718

females age 16-49:

11,849,988 (2008 est.)

male:

401,379

female:

382,409 (2008 est.)

• 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

metropolitan France:

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

French Guiana:

small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe

Martinique:

transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe