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 hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier more purely parliamentary administrations. 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.

slightly less than the size of Texas

189 cu km (2005)

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

largest West European nation

0.525% (2010 est.)

12.43 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

8.65 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

1.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

1.97 children born/woman (2010 est.)

0.4% (2007 est.)

140,000 (2007 est.)

1,600 (2007 est.)

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

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

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

5.7% of GDP (2005)

republic

26 regions (regions, singular - region); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandy), Bourgogne (Burgundy), Bretagne (Brittany), Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse (Corsica), Franche-Comte, Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy), Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Martinique, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Reunion, Rhone-Alpes

Clipperton Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Wallis and Futuna

486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)

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)

adopted by referendum 28 September 1958; effective 4 October 1958; amended many times

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

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (343 seats; 321 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; members 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 elected by popular vote under a single-member majority system to serve five-year terms)

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

Communist, Republican and Citizen or CRC; Democratic and Social European Rally or RDSE [Yvon COLLIN] (mainly Radical Republican and Socialist Parties, and PRG); Democratic Movement or MoDem [Francois BAYROU] (previously Union for French Democracy or UDF); French Communist Party or PCF [Marie-George BUFFET]; Greens [Cecile DUFLOT]; Left Party or PG [Jean-Luc MELENCHON]; 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 Anticapitalist Party or NPA [Olivier BESANCENOT]; New Center or NC [Herve MORIN]; Radical Party [Jean-Louis BORLOO]; Rally for France or RPF [Charles PASQUA]; Republican and Citizen Movement or MRC [Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT and Georges SARRE]; Socialist Party or PS [Martine AUBRY]; Union Centrist-UDF or UC-UDF [Michel MERCIER]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Xavier BERTRAND]; Worker's Struggle or LO [Nathalie ARTHAUD]

Confederation francaise democratique du travail or CFDT, left-leaning labor union with approximately 803,000 members; Confederation francaise de l'encadrement - Confederation generale des cadres or CFE-CGC, independent white-collar union with 196,000 members; Confederation francaise des travailleurs chretiens of CFTC, independent labor union founded by Catholic workers that claims 132,000 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)

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, FZ, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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 official flag for all French dependent areas

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, and has ceded stakes in such leading firms as Air France, France Telecom, Renault, and Thales. It maintains a strong presence in some sectors, particularly power, public transport, and defense industries. With at least 75 million foreign tourists per year, France is the most visited country in the world and maintains the third largest income in the world from tourism. 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. France has weathered the global economic crisis better than most other big EU economies because of more resilient consumer and government spending, and lower exposure to the downturn in global demand. Nonetheless, France's real GDP contracted 2.2% in 2009, while the unemployment rate increased from 7.4% in 2008 to nearly 10%. In response to the economic crisis the government passed a $35 billion stimulus plan in February 2009 centered on investment in infrastructure and tax breaks for small businesses. Paris also created a $25 billion strategic investment fund to protect French companies from foreign takeovers, and President Nicolas SARKOZY proposed a $52 billion plan for strategic investments in science and technology. These various stimulus and investment measures are contributing to a deterioration of France's public finances. France's tax burden remains one of the highest in Europe - at nearly 50% of GDP. The government budget deficit rose sharply from 3.4% of GDP in 2008 to over 8% of GDP in 2009, topping the 3% euro-zone ceiling in both years. SARKOZY is expected to seek passage of some structural reforms - notably to the pension system and government bureaucracy - which have the potential to cut public expenditures, while he may delay additional, more costly, reforms.

$2.11 trillion (2009 est.)

$2.158 trillion (2008 est.)

$2.151 trillion (2007 est.)

$2.666 trillion (2009 est.)

-2.2% (2009 est.)

0.3% (2008 est.)

2.3% (2007 est.)

$32,800 (2009 est.)

$33,700 (2008 est.)

$33,800 (2007 est.)

27.99 million (2009 est.)

9.7% (2009 est.)

7.4% (2008 est.)

6.2% (2004)

32.7 (2008)

32.7 (1995)

20.8% of GDP (2009 est.)

79.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

68.1% of GDP (2008 est.)

0.1% (2009 est.)

2.8% (2008 est.)

3% (31 December 2008)

5% (31 December 2007)

8.13% (31 December 2008)

$NA

$NA

$4.102 trillion (31 December 2008)

$3.397 trillion (31 December 2007)

$NA (31 December 2008)

$2.771 trillion (31 December 2007)

$2.429 trillion (31 December 2006)

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

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

-9% (2009 est.)

535.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)

447.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)

58.69 billion kWh (2008 est.)

10.68 billion kWh (2008 est.)

70,800 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1.986 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

554,100 bbl/day (2008 est.)

2.346 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

103.3 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

920 million cu m (2008 est.)

49.27 billion cu m (2008 est.)

1 billion cu m (2008 est.)

49.35 billion cu m (2008 est.)

6.937 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$43.67 billion (2009 est.)

-$52.91 billion (2008 est.)

$456.8 billion (2009 est.)

$601.9 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages

Germany 14.4%, Italy 8.7%, Spain 8.3%, UK 7.8%, Belgium 7.6%, US 5.8%, Netherlands 4.1% (2008)

$532.2 billion (2009 est.)

$692 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals

Germany 17.8%, Belgium 11.7%, Italy 8.2%, Spain 6.8%, Netherlands 6.8%, UK 5.1%, US 4.3% (2008)

$NA (31 December 2009 est.)

$102.9 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$5.021 trillion (30 June 2009)

$4.935 trillion (31 December 2008)

$1.202 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.147 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)

$1.759 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.624 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7338 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005)

35.909 million; 35.0 million (metropolitan France) (2008)

59.259 million; 57.972 million (metropolitan France) (2008)

AM 41, FM about 3,500 (this figure is an approximation and includes many repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998)

584 (plus 9,676 repeaters) (1995)

metropolitan France - .fr; French Guiana - .gf; Guadeloupe - .gp; Martinique - .mq; Reunion - .re

14.327 million; 14.314 million (metropolitan France) (2009)

42.912 million; 42.315 million (metropolitan France) (2008)

475 (2009)

1 (2009)

gas 14,688 km; oil 2,943 km; refined products 5,080 km (2009)

Bordeaux, Calais, Dunkerque, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg

Army (Armee de Terre; includes Marines, Foreign Legion, Army Light Aviation), Navy (Marine Nationale, includes Naval Air, Maritime Gendarmerie (Coast Guard)), Air Force (Armee de l'Air (AdlA), includes Air Defense), National Gendarmerie (2010)

17-40 years of age for male or female voluntary military service; no conscription; 12-month service obligation; women serve in noncombat military posts (2008)

2.6% of GDP (2005 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