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PROFILE OFFICIAL NAME: Geography People Government Economy PEOPLE Education is free, beginning at age 2, and mandatory between ages 6 and 16.
The public education system is highly centralized. Private education is
primarily Roman Catholic. Higher education in France began with the founding of
the University of Paris in 1150. It now consists of 69 universities and special
schools, such as the Grandes Ecoles, technical colleges, and vocational training
institutions.
The French language derives from the vernacular Latin spoken by the Romans in
Gaul, although it includes many Celtic and Germanic words. French has been an
international language for centuries and is a common second language throughout
the world. It is one of five official languages at the United Nations. In
Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the West Indies, French has been a unifying
factor, particularly in those countries where it serves as the only common
language among a variety of indigenous languages and dialects.
HISTORY During the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), France was the dominant power in
Europe. But overly ambitious projects and military campaigns of Louis and his
successors led to chronic financial
problems in the 18th century. Deteriorating economic conditions
and popular resentment against the complicated system of privileges granted the
nobility and clerics were among the principal causes of the French Revolution
(1789-94).
Although the revolutionaries advocated republican and egalitarian principles
of government, France reverted to forms of absolute rule or constitutional
monarchy four times--the Empire of Napoleon, the Restoration of Louis XVIII, the
reign of Louis-Philippe, and the Second Empire of Napoleon III. After the
Franco-Prussian War (1870), the Third Republic was established and lasted until
the military defeat of 1940.
World War I (1914-18) brought great losses of troops and materiel. In the
1920s, France established an elaborate system of border defenses (the Maginot
Line) and alliances to offset resurgent German strength. France was defeated
early in World War II, however, and occupied in June 1940. The German victory
left the French groping for a new policy and new leadership suited to the
circumstances. On July 10, 1940, the Vichy government was established. Its
senior leaders acquiesced in the plunder of French resources, as well as the
sending of French forced labor to Germany; in doing so, they claimed they hoped
to preserve at least some small amount of French sovereignty.
The German occupation proved quite costly, however, as a full one-half of
France's public sector revenue was appropriated by Germany. After 4 years of
occupation and strife, Allied forces liberated France in 1944. A bitter legacy
carries over to the present day.
France emerged from World War II to face a series of new problems. After a
short period of provisional government initially led by Gen. Charles de Gaulle,
the Fourth Republic was set up by a new constitution and established as a
parliamentary form of government controlled by a series of coalitions. The mixed
nature of the coalitions and a consequent lack of agreement on measures for
dealing with Indochina and Algeria caused successive cabinet crises and changes
of government.
Finally, on May 13, 1958, the government structure collapsed as a result of
the tremendous opposing pressures generated in the divisive Algerian issue. A
threatened coup led the Parliament to call on General de Gaulle to head the
government and prevent civil war. He became prime minister in June 1958 (at the
beginning of the Fifth Republic) and was elected president in December of that
year.
Seven years later, in an occasion marking the first time in the 20th century
that the people of France went to the polls to elect a president by direct
ballot, de Gaulle won re-election with a 55% share of the vote, defeating
Francois Mitterrand. In April 1969, President de Gaulle's government conducted a
national referendum on the creation of 21 regions with limited political powers.
The government's proposals were defeated, and de Gaulle subsequently resigned.
Succeeding him as president of France have been Gaullist Georges Pompidou
(1969-74), Independent Republican Valery Giscard d'Estaing (1974-81), Socialist
Francois Mitterrand (1981-95), and neo-Gaullist Jacques Chirac (elected in
spring 1995).
While France continues to revere its rich history and independence, French
leaders are increasingly tying the future of France to the continued development
of the European Union. During President Mitterrand's tenure, he stressed the
importance of European integration and advocated the ratification of the
Maastricht Treaty on European economic and political union, which France's
electorate narrowly approved in September 1992.
Current President Jacques Chirac assumed office May 17, 1995, after a
campaign focused on the need to combat France's stubbornly high unemployment
rate. The center of domestic attention soon shifted, however, to the economic
reform and belt-tightening measures required for France to meet the criteria for
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) laid out by the Maastricht Treaty. In late
1995, France experienced its worst labor unrest in at least a decade, as
employees protested government cutbacks. On the foreign and security policy
front, Chirac took a more assertive approach to protecting French peacekeepers
in the former Yugoslavia and helped promote the peace accords negotiated in
Dayton and signed in Paris in December 1995. The French have been one of the
strongest supporters of NATO and EU policy in Kosovo and the Balkans.
GOVERNMENT The president may submit questions to a national referendum and can dissolve
the National Assembly. In certain emergency situations, the president may assume
full powers. Besides the president, the other main component of France's
executive branch is the cabinet. Headed by a prime minister, who is the nominal
head of government, the cabinet is composed of a varying number of ministers,
ministers-delegates, and secretaries of state. Parliament meets for one 9-month
session each year. Under special circumstances an additional session can be
called by the president. Although parliamentary powers are diminished from those
existing under the Fourth Republic, the National Assembly can still cause a
government to fall if an absolute majority of the total Assembly membership
votes to censure.
The National Assembly is the principal legislative body. Its deputies are
directly elected to 5-year terms, and all seats are voted on in each election.
Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 9-year terms, and one-third of
the Senate is renewed every 3 years. The Senate's legislative powers are
limited; the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreement
between the two houses. The government has a strong influence in shaping the
agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its life to any legislative
text, and unless a motion of censure is introduced and voted, the text is
considered adopted without a vote.
The most distinctive feature of the French judicial system is that it is
divided into the Constitutional Council and the Council of State. The
Constitutional Council examines legislation and decides whether it conforms to
the constitution. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, it considers only legislation
that is referred to it by Parliament, the prime minister, or the president;
moreover, it considers legislation before it is promulgated. The Council of
State has a separate function from the Constitutional Council and provides
recourse to individual citizens who have claims against the administration.
Traditionally, decisionmaking in France has been highly centralized, with
each of France's departments headed by a prefect appointed by the central
government. In 1982, the national government passed legislation to decentralize
authority by giving a wide range of administrative and fiscal powers to local
elected officials. In March 1986, regional councils were directly elected for
the first time, and the process of decentralization continues, albeit at a slow
pace.
Principal Government Officials France maintains an embassy in the U.S. at 4101 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington,
DC 20007 (tel. 202-944-6000).
POLITICAL CONDITIONS The tradition in periods of "cohabitation" (president of one party,
prime minister of another) is for the president to exercise the primary role in
foreign and security policy, with the dominant role in domestic policy falling
to the prime minister and his government. Jospin stated, however, that he would
not a priori leave any domain exclusively to the president.
Chirac and Jospin have worked together, for the most part, in the foreign
affairs field with representatives of the presidency and the government pursuing
a single, agreed French policy. The current "cohabitation" arrangement
is the longest-lasting in the history of the Fifth Republic. Presidential and
legislative elections will be held in the spring of 2002.
ECONOMY Government economic policy aims to promote investment and domestic growth in
a stable fiscal and monetary environment. Creating jobs and reducing the high
unemployment rate has been a top priority. The Government of France has
successfully reduced a double-digit unemployment rate in excess of 10% to 8%-9%,
recently. France joined 10 other European Union countries in adopting the euro
as its currency in January 1999. Henceforth, monetary policy will be set by the
European Central Bank in Frankfurt.
Despite significant reform and privatization over the past 15 years, the
government continues to control a large share of economic activity: Government
spending, at 53% of GDP in 2000, is the highest in the G-7. Regulation of labor
and product markets is pervasive. The government continues to own shares in
corporations in a range of sectors, including banking, energy production and
distribution, automobiles, transportation, and telecommunications.
Legislation passed in 1998 shortened the legal workweek from 39 to 35 hours
effective January 1, 2000. A key objective of the legislation is to encourage
job creation, for which significant new subsidies will be made available. It is
difficult to assess the impact of workweek reduction on growth and jobs since
many of the key economic parameters, such as the impact on labor costs and
company's ability to reorganize work schedules, will depend on the outcome of
labor-management negotiations which should extend through 2000 and beyond.
France has been very successful in developing dynamic telecommunications,
aerospace, and weapons sectors. With virtually no domestic oil production,
France has relied heavily on the development of nuclear power, which now
accounts for about 80% of the country's electricity production. Nuclear waste is
stored on site at reprocessing facilities.
Membership in France's labor unions accounts for less than 10% of the private
sector workforce and is concentrated in the manufacturing, transportation, and
heavy industry sectors. Most unions are affiliated with one of the competing
national federations, the largest and most powerful of which are the
communist-dominated General Labor Confederation, the Workers' Force, and the
French Democratic Confederation of Labor.
Trade In 1998, U.S.-France trade totaled about $47 billion--goods only. According
to French trade data, U.S. exports accounted for 8.7%--about $25 billion--of
France's total imports. U.S. industrial chemicals, aircraft and engines,
electronic components, telecommunications, computer software, computers and
peripherals, analytical and scientific instrumentation, medical instruments and
supplies, broadcasting equipment, and programming and franchising are
particularly attractive to French importers.
Principal French exports to the United States are aircraft and engines,
beverages, electrical equipment, chemicals, cosmetics, and luxury products.
France is the ninth-largest trading partner of the U.S.
Agriculture France is the world's second-largest agricultural producer, after the United
States. However, the destination of 70% of its exports are other EU member
states. Wheat, beef, pork, poultry, and dairy products are the principal
exports. The United States, although the second-largest exporter to France,
faces stiff competition from domestic production, other EU member states, and
other third countries. U.S. agricultural exports to France, totaling some $600
million annually, consist primarily of soybeans and products, feeds and fodders,
seafood, and consumer oriented products, especially snack foods and nuts. French
exports to the United States are mainly cheese, processed products and wine.
They amount to more than $900 million annually.
FOREIGN RELATIONS Europe Middle East Africa Asia Latin America Security Issues Outside of NATO, France has actively and heavily participated in recent
peacekeeping/coalition efforts in Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans,
often taking the lead in these operations. France has undertaken a major
restructuring to develop a professional military which will be smaller, more
rapidly deployable and better tailored for operations outside of mainland
France. Key elements of the restructuring include reducing personnel, bases, and
headquarters and rationalizing equipment and the armament industry. French
active-duty military at the beginning of 2001 numbered approximately 446,000, of
which nearly 35,000 were assigned outside of metropolitan France.
France places a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. It
supported the indefinite extension of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1995.
After conducting a final series of six nuclear tests, the French signed the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. France has implemented a moratorium on
the production, export, and use of anti-personnel landmines and supports
negotiations leading toward a universal ban. The French are key players in the
adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe to the new
strategic environment.
France is an active participant in the major supplier regimes designed to
restrict transfer of technologies that could lead to proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for chemical
and biological weapons), and the Missile Technology Control Regime. France has
signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention.
U.S.-FRENCH RELATIONS Principal U.S. Embassy Officials Consuls General The U.S. embassy in France is located at 2 Avenue Gabriel, Paris 8 (tel. [33]
(1) 4312-2222). The United States also is represented in Paris by its mission to
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000. Passport information can be obtained by calling the National Passport Information Center's automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648). It also is available on the internet. Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800. Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication). U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency. |
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