France in both World Wars

In the game of alliances , France entered the war earlier this month of August 1914 against the Germany , alongside the United Kingdom and Russia . The First World War , which is 1.4 million French casualties and causes widespread destruction in the north-east, was concluded on November 11, 1918 for the Triple Entente . Besides the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, the conditions of peace that Paris wants to impose in Berlin at the Versailles Treaty are particularly harsh: France has indeed do pay the damages of war than it accused of being solely responsible .

After several years of reconstruction , the difficulty in France regain its economic strength before the war . It will nevertheless be affected long after most other powers in the crisis of the 30s . But if this crisis is late, it is durable and deep. Economic difficulties added a regime crisis, despite the hopes raised by the coming to power in 1936 the Popular Front . In the end, when France declared 3 September 1939 the war to Nazi Germany , she came out just the worst crisis ever for the Third Republic .

During the Second World War, the French territory was divided between an "occupied area" north and a "free zone" south, which was added to other areas of smaller size to special status.

After eight months without fighting (the " Phony War "), the Wehrmacht invaded May 10, 1940 north-east of France, Marshal Philippe Ptain requested an armistice on June 22 . The latter gets the full power on July 10 , signing the end of the Third Republic and the birth of the Vichy regime , who leads a conservative, traditionalist and anti-Semitic and works with the Third Reich , despite the action of the resistance to inside and the outside of the country . The Allied landings of June 6, 1944 in Normandy, the death knell of the Vichy regime and the beginning of the liberation of Europe . In total, this conflict has killed fewer soldiers than the previous , but civilian casualties are numerous - at least 75,000 Jews settled on French territory were killed during the Holocaust ^, - and the political and psychological wounds slow to heal .

France since the Liberation

A renewal period begins in France . If General de Gaulle , leader of Free France , can prevent the adoption of a constitution similar to that of the Third Republic , the postwar period saw the creation of Social Security and the vote given to women . The Fourth Republic chose the Western camp in the Cold War , which opens at that time, initiate the decolonization of Asia and Africa and participated in the beginning of European construction . France, began at the same time a period of strong economic growth, the economist John Fourastie called " Thirty Glorious ^, .

June ^1, 1958, during a political crisis linked to the war in Algeria , General de Gaulle was inaugurated as President of the Council by the National Assembly with a mission to give the Republic a new Constitution: the Fifth Republic give the president wider powers to parliament . De Gaulle continued and completed the decolonization of Africa, and affirms the independence of France face the United States . But the student and social crisis of 1968 highlights the backwardness of a regime that seems disconnected from the aspirations of his time, despite the resignation of General de Gaulle in 1969, the Gaullist remains in power for five more years, under the figure of President Georges Pompidou .

In 1974 opened the post-Gaullist, with the arrival of a person from the center, Valery Giscard d'Estaing , as President . While France between gradually in the crisis of the 70s, the early years of his term were marked by several laws actant changes in French society, such as the Veil law , which legalizes the voluntary interruption of pregnancy (abortion) , or lowered from 21 to 18 years of age of majority . But the real turning point came in 1981, when Socialist President, Francois Mitterrand , was elected . Faced with the worsening economic situation, it tries at first a political stimulus , while adopting measures symbolically strong as the abolition of the death penalty . If Francois Mitterrand was reelected in 1988, France experienced between 1986 and 1988 and between 1993 and 1995 two periods of " cohabitation ", in a hitherto unpublished when the President is not the same party as his government and that offers a new reading institution . This situation occurs again between 1997 and 2002 , albeit reversed, after a right-wing president, Jacques Chirac , was elected in 1995 and parliamentary elections led the Socialist Lionel Jospin at the head of government . France adopts the same time the single European currency .

The 2002 presidential election was marked by a surprise election, with the elimination of Lionel Jospin in the first round in favor of Jean-Marie Le Pen , candidate of the far right . Jacques Chirac is reelected then logically , and governments Raffarin and de Villepin are marked by the opposition of France to the war in Iraq , the "no" to the referendum on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and urban riots of November 2005 . If Nicolas Sarkozy , President from 2007, belongs to the same party as his predecessor, his policy is intended to "break . The government "openness" that Franois Fillon form with figures from not only the right but also the center and the left , however, must cope with the economic crisis came in 2008-2009 U.S. .

Policy & Administration

France is a liberal democracy , whose government as a republic. The foundations of the current political and administrative organization of France were set in 1958 by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic. According to Article I of this constitution, "France is an indivisible, secular , democratic and social. " Since 2003, the same article also states that "his organization is decentralized. "

Government organization

The organization of power in France is defined by the 1958 constitution , amended several times , the role of each institution, however, is defined as the practice followed since 1958 that the text of the Constitution . France has an original political system by the wide discretion available to both Parliament and the President of the Republic, which has led to talk of constitutional "presidentialization parliamentary system" and " semi-presidential "or even "parliamentary system bireprsentatif .

The legislative power belongs to Parliament, consists of two chambers, the National Assembly and Senate . The National Assembly, lower house of Parliament, is composed of 577 deputies in 2010 , elected for five years by universal suffrage direct FPTP two towers in districts cut within departments . The National Assembly has the last word in case of prolonged disagreement with the Senate on passage of a law . The latter is formed in 2010 of 343 senators elected for six years by 150 000 electoral votes (mostly elected officials) and is therefore considered less representative than the National Assembly .

The executive power belongs primarily to the President of the Republic , elected for five years by direct universal suffrage by FPTP two towers . The President of the Republic is the Head of State and the army chief, he promulgated laws and can dissolve the National Assembly . He appoints the Prime Minister and, on this proposal, members of the government . The government can be overthrown by a motion of censure passed by the National Assembly . When the parliamentary majority and the President are not the same political party, a new reading of the institutions was created - it is called coexistence .

The judiciary , meanwhile, is separated from the other two, although the President of the Republic has a right of grace . It is itself divided between an administrative order , which is the highest court in the State Council , and a judiciary , whose highest court is the Court of Cassation . French law, tradition, Roman-civil law states that any accused person, before being sentenced, is presumed innocent , and that a case can be retried on appeal at the request of either party ^, .

The conformity of laws with the Constitution, the regularity of elections and, more generally, respect for institutions is controlled by the Constitutional Council .

Chart of the institutions of the Fifth Republic.

Territorial division and decentralization

Map of regions of France.
Click on a region to read the article about it.

Metropolitan France is divided into many local authorities , three levels, the commune , the department and the region. These local authorities are at the same time the administrative districts in which the state intervenes through its services decentralized. Municipalities, numbering 36,570 in France on ¹ January 2009 , which elects a mayor both local government officer and state official in the town . Since the 1990s, cooperation between municipalities has been strengthened by the emergence of public institutions of intercommunal cooperation , whose role is increasing . Departments, created during the French Revolution , are currently number 96 in metropolitan France where they are headed by a General Council , whose members are elected from districts , the state y being represented by a Prefect . As for the 22 metropolitan areas, whose existence is more recent , they are led by a regional council , and the state is represented by a regional prefect . In addition to these local authorities other territorial divisions of France , such as Canton , the district and more recently the country , but they do not have elected officers .

Compared to its European neighbors, France has long been marked by a strong centralization policy, local governments have relatively weak powers . However, this situation has changed considerably since the early 1980s, first in 1982-1983 with the laws Defferre , then in 2002-2004 under the Raffarin government . In 2010, the powers of local governments are numerous and relate in particular to schools, transportation, economic development and social action . However, the superposition of multiple levels and often blurred the boundary between the responsibilities of various local authorities is the source of debate on the future of decentralization, which the Fillon government looked between 2008 and 2010 .

Metropolitan France and overseas (blue)

France overseas

French territories outside Europe, which correspond to former French colonies remained, for their part are subject to administrative and legal systems very different from each other . These territories, whose economic situation is generally worse than that of the metropolis, benefiting from numerous state aid .

La Guadeloupe , the French Guiana , the Martinique , the meeting and from 2011 Mayotte are both departments and regions overseas , status similar to metropolitan departments and regions, although French law may lay down specific provisions concerning . These departments are part of the outermost regions of the EU , and are subject to European legislation .

In contrast, the other French territories overseas are not part of the European Union , although their inhabitants have European citizenship . This first of the six communities overseas , very different status, the French Polynesia , St. Barthelemy , St. Martin , Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Mayotte until 2011 ^, . Although the State will retain certain exclusive privileges, they are largely subject to specific legislation and benefit from the special legislative . The New Caledonia , meanwhile, is a local authority sui generis , self very thorough, and a referendum on independence should be organized between 2014 and 2019 . Finally, the French Southern and Antarctic and Clipperton Island , which n'accueillent no permanent resident, are managed directly by the State or its representative ^, .

Diagram showing the percentage of votes obtained by each political current in the first round of every presidential election from 1965 to 2007 ^, .

Communist, extreme left Socialist left various Environmentalists Centrists Right Far Right Miscellaneous

Political trends, parties and elections

While not comparable to the U.S. system, the French political system, including the simple majority vote prevails during the presidential elections and legislation , tends to a bipolar or a tripolarisation political life . Therefore, there since the beginning of the Fifth Republic a trend toward consolidation of parties with frequent flashbacks , and the hearing of the major parties is declining in favor of small groups . The French political landscape has undergone three major changes since the 1980s: the collapse of the hearing of the French Communist Party , the progressive decline of the centrist electorate and the rising vote for non-parliamentary parties, including at the extreme right . These last two developments, however, were partly contradicted in recent polls. Moreover, the abstention relates to a number of increasingly high voter .

Since the 1990s, the two main French parties are the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) - Rally for the Republic (RPR) before 2002 - and the Socialist Party (PS) . The Union for a Popular Movement party is right and center-right , a member of the European People's Party. It is in 2010 the largest party represented in national political institutions, since the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, 56% of MPs and 40% of Senators are members. The Socialist Party is a leftist and center-left , member of Party of European Socialists. Many other parties involved in political life of France's most important are the National Front (FN, far right), the Democratic Movement (Modem, center), the New Center (center right), the French Communist Party ( left), the Radical Left Party (center left) and the Greens (environmentalists) ^, .

Nicolas Sarkozy , current President of the Republic.

Current leaders

Since the 2007 presidential election , Nicolas Sarkozy , former president of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), is President of the Republic. Following the victory of the UMP in the parliamentary elections of 2007 , he appointed Francois Fillon Prime Minister. The latter is the head of a government which has 31 members to 14 November 2010, including 11 women and two state ministers , Alain Juppe and Michele Alliot-Marie .

Public Finance

In France, compulsory levies accounted for 44.4% of GDP in 2006 , the sixth highest rate among the member countries of the OECD , and this rate tends to increase . The social contributions represent almost 38% of the total, ten points more than the average for OECD countries , in contrast, France is the developed countries where income taxes and corporate represents the lowest share of total tax burden .

Despite the high rate of tax burden, government expenditures exceed significantly, totaling 53.9% of GDP in 2006 . Therefore, the deficit is high, reaching 2.7% of GDP in 2007 and even 7.9% in 2009 due to economic conditions . The public debt of France , meanwhile, reached 1 457.4 billion euros at end 2009, representing 75.8% of GDP , against 20.7% in 1980 . France is still obliged to meet the criteria of the Stability and Growth in the euro area , which limits budget deficits to 3% of GDP and public debt to 60% of GDP .

Sources , details .

Social Protection

Since its inception in 1945 , the Social Security system is at the heart of the French social protection, although the State, local authorities and mutuals have an important role . The maintenance of social protection schemes which had certain professions before 1945 explains the great complexity of the system , which has no fewer than 120 basic schemes and 1200 supplemental . The general scheme of Social Security, which has by far the largest number of adherents , is divided into four parts corresponding to four major risks, illness, industrial accidents and occupational diseases, old age, and family . If this social protection only concerned initially that the active people, it has gradually extended to the entire workforce as inactive in many areas, for example during the creation of universal health coverage (CMU) in 1999 . In addition, in the late 1990s, six million people dependent on social minimum .

Social benefits are largely financed by payroll taxes paid by the assets (65.5% of the total in 2005 ), but also - and increasingly - State and local governments . In 2005, expenditure on social protection - in the broadest sense of the term - accounted for nearly 30% of GDP and over 45% of adjusted disposable income of households . Despite efforts by successive governments to master social spending , they are rapidly increasing , mainly because of increased health expenditure of households and aging population - the ratio of active to inactive over 60, who was 3 in 1970, is expected to reach 2.07 in 2010 and 1.36 in 2050 in France, according to Insee . Social spending alone explain almost all the rise in public spending (as a percentage of GDP) since 1960 , and Social Security in 2009 shows a deficit of 23.5 billion euros .

Defense

France is one of five countries who are legally recognized as "states with nuclear weapons" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons . The French Army, along with that of the United Kingdom , one of the most financially endowed in Europe . The France devotes 2.5% of GDP (ie a budget of 39 billion euros in 2010 ), where its European counterparts (excluding the United Kingdom and Greece) spend 1.5% of GDP average .

French forces involved in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Military forces are divided into four main armies: the Army , the Navy , the Air Force and the Gendarmerie Nationale .

Since 1996, the Army has become the art and military service reduced to one day call for defense preparation mixed . With a capacity of about 350 000 men , it is deployed worldwide in theaters intervention such as Afghanistan , the Lebanon , the Chad , the Ivory Coast and Kosovo but also under international treaties to Djibouti , in Senegal and Gabon , not to mention the troops positioned in France overseas . It also mobilizes more than 1,000 men under the Vigipirate .

Membership in international organizations

France is a founding member of the European Union , the Schengen area and the euro area. It is also one of the five permanent members of Security Council UN. She is also a member of many international organizations such as the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) , the World Trade Organization (WTO) , the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) , the G8 , the G20 or the International Organization of la Francophonie.

Since 1945, regardless of the ruling majority, Europe is a major focus of French foreign policy. Two of the seven Fathers of Europe , Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman , French are ^, , one of the goals was to avoid another world war by facilitating the reconciliation between France and Germany . Nevertheless, the position of France and the French vis--vis Europe was often ambiguous: the rejection by the National Assembly of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community in 1954 than by referendum of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in 2005 , beating the French to stop construction of Europe have been numerous.

Since the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, the areas in which the EU has exclusive competence are becoming more numerous . Much of the law applicable in France in 2010 is of European origin , especially since European law takes precedence over national law ^, . France, average power, can not weigh on the world stage in many areas thanks to the European Union . The unification of the European market and the introduction of a single currency in 1999 led to profound changes in the French economy , whose character is beneficial debate ^, . France is the first beneficiary of the Common Agricultural Policy , which is half the budget of the European Union .

Foreign Policy and Diplomacy

Since the presidency of General de Gaulle (1958-1969) , the foreign policy of France is characterized by a desire for independence, particularly vis--vis the United States , which resulted in the developed by France of nuclear weapons and the withdrawal of France from the integrated command of NATO from 1966 to 2009 . France is for the years 1960 to early 2000 as an ally a href = "Civilisation_islamique" title = "Islamic Civilization"> Arab-Muslim critique vis--vis the policy of the State of Israel , with currently 156 embassies and 97 consulates across five continents .

France is leading an active assistance to developing countries , especially in Africa ^, . The ODA represents 0.39% of GNI French in 2007 , one of the highest rates in Western Europe .

Republican Symbols

The logo of the French government adopted in 1999.

According to the constitution of the Fifth Republic, France has several emblems, dating mainly from the French Revolution. The flag of France is made up of three vertical bands of equal width, blue, white and red . The national anthem La Marseillaise , a song composed by Rouget de Lisle during the French Revolution and sometimes been criticized for the violence of his text . Finally, the French Republic's motto is the three words " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity .

In addition, several unofficial symbols exist to represent France. In particular, the bust of Marianne , a woman wearing a Phrygian cap , adorns town halls, and his face is shown on postage stamps and French sides of euro cents ^, .

Since 1999, the French government has a logo reminiscent of the flag and currency of the country and the figure of Marianne.

Population and Society

Demography

Evolution of the population of metropolitan France since 1801, compared to the German and British (base 100 = 1800 or 1801) .

The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said the number of inhabitants in France to about 65.4 million on ¹ January 2010 , of which approximately 64.7 million for the city and departments overseas, and 62.8 million for the metropolis alone . About 1% of the world population lives on French soil so . A national census was generally organized at regular intervals since 1801, but since January 2004, the census is conducted every year in municipalities with 10,000 inhabitants or more, excluding communities overseas, and every five years elsewhere .

After being relatively low in ^nineteenth and early ^twentieth century - France has experienced a demographic transition quick and marked - the French population growth is now one of the strongest in Europe , combining a higher birth rate than the European average (821 000 births in 2009 against 536,000 deaths ) and net migration positive (about 71 000 individuals in 2009): the population of France has thus increased from 0.54 % in 2009 .

In addition, the pyramid seen from the beginning of the XXI ^century structure evolve. The share of older population increases, due both to the increase in life expectancy (France enjoys one of the longest life expectancies in the world ) and the arrival Aging of the generation of baby boomers - a phenomenon known as the baby boomer retirement. The proportion of over 60 years in the French population has increased from 17 to 22% between 1980 and 2009 should exceed one-third in 2050 according to INSEE .

Immigration, visible minorities and foreign population

According to demographer Michele Tribalat , 14 million people (one quarter of the French population) in 1999 had at least one parent or grandparent immigrated . Noiriel Gerard estimated in 2002 that proportion to about one third if one goes back to the great grand parents .

In 2010, France welcomed 6.7 million immigrants (born outside the foreign country) or 11% of the population . It ranks sixth worldwide, behind the U.S. (42.8 million), Russia (12.3), Germany (9.1), Saudi Arabia (7.3), Canada ( 7.2) but ahead on the other hand the United Kingdom (6.5) and Spain (6.4). The children of immigrants, descendants of one or two immigrants, accounted in 2008, 6.5 million, or 11% of the population as well. Three million of them had both parents immigrants . Immigrants are mainly from the European Union (34%) of the Maghreb (30%), Asia (14%, one third of Turkey ) and SSA (11%) .

Immigrants receive lower incomes than one-third on average than non-immigrant and are twice as likely not to graduate and three times more likely to live below the poverty line . However, equal social status, their education and income are similar to those of French nationals born in France .

Populations of immigrant origin, and those who belong to visible minorities , are often victims of discrimination in France . Faced with integration challenges faced by immigrant populations, a minor part of the population turns to the communalism and religious fundamentalism . However, there has been some convergence of lifestyles of immigrants and the French long .

Family, Sexuality and Gender

France is in 2009 the most fertile country in Europe after Iceland and Ireland , with a fertility of women born in 1959 of 2.12 children and a total fertility of 1.99 children per woman (1.98 in France) .

The changes experienced by the family in France between the 1960s and 2000s are many and profound. Births are in most cases necessary, due to the development of contraception and abortion - over 200 000 abortions are performed each year in France . A growing proportion of couples prefer to marriage the common-law or the Civil Solidarity Pact (PACS) , a more flexible union contract that marriage . As for divorce , their number was multiplied by 3.2 between the early 1970s and late 2000s .

As to the different forms of altersexualit , they are generally accepted in France, even though the law often precedes attitudes in tolerance vis--vis sexual minorities ^, . Issues of adoption and marriage of homosexual couples are regularly debated in France .

If the place of women in French society has changed dramatically during the twentieth ^century, promoted at the end of the century by many laws against discrimination they suffer, France in 2009 is far from gender equality . For a full-time employment, women earn wages in 2008 averaged 19% less than men, and pure wage discrimination would be 6 to 7% according to the Department of Employment ^, . As to decision-making, women little access: they run only 8% of companies with more than 200 employees , and represent only 18.5% of deputies elected in 2007 and 13.1% of advisors elected general in 2008 .

Languages

The French is the language spoken overwhelmingly in France and is officially "the language of the Republic" since the Constitutional Act of 1992 . France leads a language policy in force for French . Apart from French, in 1999 there would seventy-five other languages spoken in France with multiple regional languages , languages of immigrant and dialects spoken in overseas departments and territories , according to a report by the linguist Bernard Cerquiglini .

Religions

Since the law of December 9, 1905 , the strict separation of church law of the State in France. "The Republic does not recognize, pay or subsidize any cult . Religion should be confined to the private sphere and the limits of this religion are discussed, for example about the French law on religious symbols in public schools in 2003-2004 .

France, "eldest daughter of the Church , is a former Catholic country, but where the weight of the church has declined considerably. Between 51 and 64% of the population is baptized in 2006 in a poll CSA , but a large proportion of the population said agnostic or atheist. In addition, other religions are present in smaller proportions, such as Judaism since antiquity, Protestantism since the Reformation and Islam in France since the arrival of immigrants from the Maghreb and the Middle East in the twentieth ^century. In principle, the French state forbids a religious census, only estimates, imprecise and difficult to achieve, can stand the weight of each denomination in France, and the development of atheism and the Agnosticism :

Beyond these values, the declining influence of religion is a major aspect of the evolution of French society in ^nineteenth and ^twentieth centuries. Nearly 80% of men and 70% of women who call themselves Catholic home never attend religious services . Even among the most fervent Catholics, obedience to the precepts of the Church is declining: 31% of assiduous practitioners who had children between 1995 and 2004 have had out of wedlock .

Education

Organization of French higher education.

Organization of French secondary education.

In France, education is compulsory from six to sixteen, and public school is secular and free . If the training and remuneration of teachers, and the choice of programs is the responsibility of the State, managing primary and secondary schools is the responsibility of local authorities ^, .

Primary education is conducted in two phases. The kindergarten , which hosts the very young child's goal is their awakening, their socialization and the development of basic tools that are language and number . Then, around age six, children are greeted by the elementary school , whose primary goals are learning reading, writing and arithmetic, and civics .

The secondary education takes place also in two cycles. The first is exempted to the college and leads the national certificate . The second is taught in high school and ends with final exams and national: the Bachelor ( professional , technical or general ) and the certificate of professional competence ( CAPA in the agricultural education ) .

The French higher education is unusual to hold together the universities and the system of Grandes Ecoles , where competition between usually at the end of the preparatory classes . The higher education for higher technician certificate and preparatory classes for grandes coles are taught in high schools or in private institutions. The High schools are often seen as both more powerful and more elitist than universities.

Moreover, nearly 17% of students in primary and secondary education are enrolled in private schools , most partnership contracts with the state and often confessional.

France has experienced since the liberation of a considerable expansion of schooling. In 1936, less than 3% of an age group obtained a bachelor's degree, this percentage increased to 30% in 1985 and 60% in 1995 . However, this democratization of education does not eliminate social inequalities: 25% of workers' children born between 1974 and 1978 are graduates of higher education, against 77% of children of managers . These inequalities are even greater in larger schools: only 2.9% of students admitted to the Ecole Nationale d'Administration in 2008 had a parent worker .

According to PISA comparison of national education systems, the results of the French educational system is declining relative to other Member States of the OECD , but this pessimism is not universal . Despite prevention plans, the illiteracy affects 3.1 million people, or 9% of the population aged 18-65 years who were educated in France .

Health

Main article: French healthcare system.

The French health system is largely financed by the health branch of social security. The number of doctors per 1000 inhabitants was 3.22 in 2008, one of the highest rates in the world . The French men and women also benefit from the life expectancies of the world's longest , although the rate of premature mortality (before 65) is high . Health expenditures per capita were 4,719 per year in 2008 , which places France over its large European neighbors, but below the Swiss , the Norway of Denmark , of Luxembourg , and the United States. From 1950 to 2006, the expenditure devoted to health care and medical goods increased from 2.5 to 8.8% of GDP .

Nevertheless, the health of people in France is not perfect in all areas. Despite the drop in wine consumption since the 1960s , the French remain the second largest consumer of alcohol in Western Europe after the Irish . 29% of 18-75 years smoked daily in 2005 despite intense campaigns against the tobacco . As for illicit drugs is the most consumed cannabis : 39% of men aged 18 to 25 years would have consumed in 2005, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction .

In addition, France is a country in Europe who knows the most depressive disorders . France is the biggest consumer of antidepressants in Europe , and one of the European countries where the rate of suicide is highest .

Media

Main articles: France Presse , Radio France , France Television and Internet in France.

In France, the law of 29 July 1881 which instituted and simultaneously framed the freedom of the press .

If the regional press, weekly themes and sell well in France ^, , the national daily press general information is not disseminated outside the capital. Therefore, the top five titles in this category ( Le Figaro , Le Monde , in France today , Libration and La Croix ) met only sell less than one million copies each day , when the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun in alone sells more than 14 million .

Since 1981 and the legalization of "Free Radio , "the public radio stations run by Radio France are facing competition from private stations, often owned by large media groups . Therefore, the top four radio stations in total audience in November-December 2009 ( RTL , NRJ , France Inter and Europe 1 ), only the third is public. Similarly, since the appearance of the first private television channel ( Canal + ) in 1984 , hundreds of private television channels have emerged, distributed by the radio channel , by cable , by satellite and more recently by television (DTT). The three main channels are TF1 , France 2 and France 3 , the latter two groups belonging to the group France Televisions.

As for the network access the Internet , it did not really democratized the early 2000s . In December 2009, 65% of French people aged 11 and older were Internet users .

Between 2002 and 2009, France has moved from 11 ^th to 43 ^th place in the ranking of press freedom in the world of Reporters Without Borders .

Tennis player Amelie Mauresmo was in 2004 and 2006 the world number one ranking as the WTA.

Sports

Main article: Sport in France.

Sport in France is characterized by an old sporting tradition and a wide variety of disciplines practiced at high level. France has a role in the organization of modern sport and his record since the late twentieth ^century, in fact one of the best nations in the world in many sports. For 2010, France is fifth of the world rankings issued by Havas Sports & Entertainment which recognizes more than 1500 sporting events .

The football is the most popular sport, with more than 2.3 million members (including 97% men) , increased in popularity by the double victory of France during the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000. The tennis , the riding , the martial arts , the basketball , the handball and golf are also very practical, not to mention the rugby and bowls , mostly in the south . In addition, nearly seven million French people practicing skiing every winter, usually outside of any sports organization . As for the fencing and cycling / A>, these are fields in which France is the most successful (respectively 44 and 41 Olympic titles after the Vancouver Games in 2010 . In 2008, 42% of French people took part in a demonstration , against 25% in 1981 . Compared to other developed countries, France is often seen as a country where demonstrations and strikes are frequent ^, .

But this time participation in protest events do not lead away from it by a significant commitment in political parties . The rate of unionization (8%), it is the weakest of the rich countries, even if it is more important in the public sector . In contrast, the French are very involved in community life: 14 million volunteers are members of more than one million associations , with the status accorded by the Act of ¹ July 1901 ^, .

Image of France and French

In many countries, the arrogance is considered one of the first characteristics of the French ^{, ,} . The French are often seen as arrogant, rude, self-satisfied, speaking foreign languages poorly and lacking openness ^, , especially when traveling abroad . In contrast, foreigners often envy the French their "lifestyle" and their cultural heritage, natural and gourmet . According to a survey conducted in 1988 in nine industrialized countries , 29% of respondents consider the French "talkative," 27% "self-satisfied" and 14% "cold, remote, . Regarding the qualities of the French, 48% of respondents said they were "sympathetic", 40% smart, 38% "friendly" and 35% "resourceful .

As for France, it is viewed (including the United States and Germany ) as a middle power, the attitude often hypocritical ^, , whose desire for a major role on the world stage is moved, if not ridiculous . Moreover, France appears as a country in perpetual crisis, and the role of government in the economy plot leaders of other wealthy countries . In Africa and the Middle East , African and Arab policy of France won, but is countered by suspicions of neocolonialism and appeasement of regimes and politicians' friends ^, .

Economy

Main article: Economy of France and Economic History of France.

The economic organization of France is like capitalist with a relatively strong state intervention since the end of the Second World War , although it is questioned since the 1980s . The French economy is mainly an economy of services ^, .

Income population and human development

Related article: Poverty in France.

Revenues of the French and their purchasing power increased during the entire ^twentieth century and the 2000s , but unevenly, which increases economic inequality between households . On average, full-time employees of the private sector have touched, in 2007, 29 279 euros gross, or 1,997 euros net per month, against 31,266 euros gross, or 2,182 euros net per month for officers of the Public . Revenues for the heritage represented only 9% of primary income gross household income, but this share varies widely across households .

In 2007, 7.2% of French people had incomes below 50% of the income median ( poverty line defined by France) , although half of them then have a job , often part time and based on minimum wage growth (SMIC). The minimum wage for 3.4 million people in July 2008 and is equivalent to 8.86 euros gross per hour in 2010 ). 200 to 300 000 people are homeless in 2009, mainly in Paris and in major cities .

In 2007, the HDI of France was 0.961, which places France at eighth in the world . However, the same year, France was in the twelfth largest country of the European Union for the GDP per capita in U.S. dollars at current exchange rates, while it ranked seventh in 1987, down mainly due to weak growth of French GDP .

Changes in the unemployment rate in France (as defined in International Labour Office) between 1975 and 2009.

Employment

Main article: Labour market in France and Unemployment in France.

If France has experienced during the war boom a situation close to the full employment - during 1960 alone, the French economy had created 1.6 million jobs - it has faced since the late 1970 to a situation of unemployment high despite fluctuations that had raised hopes for the return of full employment . In the third quarter of 2009, 9.5% of the French labor force is unemployed within the meaning of the International Labour Office . Unemployment particularly affects young, less educated, foreigners, and to a lesser extent, women ^, . The long-term unemployed represent one third of all unemployed are those for which rehabilitation is often the most difficult .

The employment situation in France is also marked by deep structural changes in terms of status and sector of activity. The wage system has become the main form of employment in France, representing 89.5% of jobs in 2008 . 5.7 million people, or one in five active, employed in late 2007 in the Public Service . Especially, the shift away from manufacturing employment: agriculture accounts for more since the late 1970s less than 2% of jobs , and the share of industry has been halved between 1978 and 2007, 28 to 14% of jobs , making France a postindustrial economy .

Major industries

A crop of corn pne , near Paris.

Main articles: Major industries in France , in France Primary sector , Secondary sector in France and Tertiary Sector in France.

Despite maintaining a high level of agriculture and industry, the French economy is now predominantly a service economy. The service sector gradually become autonomous and become the main engine of economic growth .

Agriculture and Agri-Food

France has known, like other industrialized countries, the phenomena of rural-urban migration and declining agricultural employment , and remains more important than in other Western European countries: agriculture employed 3% of assets in 2006, against 2.5% in Germany and 1.3% in the United Kingdom . French agriculture has been considerably modernized and mechanized in the second half of the twentieth ^century , in particular through the Common Agricultural Policy .

France has 520,000 farms of 51 hectares on average in 2006 , making it the first European agricultural power . Regional specialization of France by type of production is increasing , and French agricultural products are often protected by appellations of origin , defining a local farm . France is the largest producer of wine in the world, despite the recent wine competition from "new worlds "it is also among the world's leading producers of cereals , of sugar , in dairy and beef . Over 80% of exported products were processed by a leading food chains in the world . However, in the 2000s, the French agriculture is facing difficulties related to overproduction in the pollution it generates income and very uneven between operators . Similarly, the fishing seems to be a sector in crisis .

Industry

France is a leading global industrial powers . Despite the service sector of the French economy, industrial enterprises accounted for 71.4% of GDP and 79% of French exports in 2006 . Its industry is characterized by contrasting trends: in addition to modern and dynamic industries, which make France a world leader in many areas ( automotive , aeronautics , aerospace , food processing , electronics , nuclear power , pharmaceuticals , cosmetics , luxury ...) , many traditional industries ( mining , textile , wood , footwear , shipbuilding , steel ...) saw their numbers and their sales fall , forcing entire regions ( North Pas-de-Calais and Lorraine in particular) to a painful conversion . At the industrial decentralization in the 1960s, which enabled the development of many towns in the west and south of the country was followed by a period of weak growth in industrial production , due sometimes by offshoring to countries with low labor cost . But if production is more often abroad, French companies continue to dominate in many areas . Some occupy first place in the world market in their field (eg Areva in building nuclear power plants , Danone in dairy products , L'Oreal in cosmetics or Michelin in tires ).

The nuclear plant at Nogent-sur-Seine made by EDF.

Energy

Main article: Energy in France.

After the complete disappearance of the French production of coal in 2005 , the oil , the gas and especially the electricity are the main energy consumed in France . If France does not produce more crude oil only marginally , the thirteen refineries located in the territory can satisfy over 90% of national demand . The French group Total , which has concessions in the world, is the sixth global company and the fifth sector . The share of gas in the French energy consumption has risen sharply since the 1970s , but it is 97% of imported gas, including Russia , to Algeria and the North Sea . By contrast, France produces more electricity than it consumes , thanks to 59 nuclear reactors (the second park in the world after the U.S. fleet) that produced in 2008 more 76% of the country's electricity , but whose environmental record is debated . As for renewables , their share in the French electricity production increases in 2008 and amounted to more than 13% , thanks largely to hydropower.

Trade and Crafts

Since the 1970s, commerce was disrupted by the arrival of supermarkets , which accounts for two thirds of expenditure on food of the French in 2008 . Consequently, many small businesses have disappeared, even though there will in 2009 to a tentative recovery, especially in inner cities . The power of a few large companies in the supermarket - Carrefour is the second such group global industry - allows them to impose a certain extent, low prices to producers .

Despite competition from industrial enterprises, the craft 's side managed to retain an important place in the French economy .

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in France.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, one of the most visited monuments pay in the world.

France is the country most visited by foreign tourists world , but only the third country in the world for international tourism receipts ^, . The tourism sector was in 2005 894 000 direct jobs and at least as many indirect jobs . Over 1.3 billion overnight stays were made by tourists in France in 2007 , part of which 3.178 million in the second homes of the country . The reasons for this are varied tourism: it is at once a cultural tourism (including Paris ) , bathing (especially on the Cote d'Azur ), natural , business (Paris is the world's top destination for this type of tourism ), leisure ( Disneyland Paris is by far the amusement park's busiest in Europe ) and sports winter (in the northern Alps including ). The sights are paying the most frequented in the majority located in Ile-de-France (Disneyland Paris, Muse du Louvre , Eiffel Tower , Versailles ...) ; few sites in the provinces still attract many tourism, such as chateaux of the Loire , the Mont-Saint-Michel or Futoroscope Park .

Search

Main article: Scientific Research in France.

France spends an average share of high GDP on research and development (2.02% in 2009 ), but these expenses are funded more by the public sector (41% in 2008 ) and devoted to basic research than in other EU countries and certainly in the OECD. If the French research has led to many discoveries and has been rewarded many times (see below), the number of patents filed by French companies is relatively low , especially since relations between the private companies and public research are often considered poor .

Most researchers working in public research centers such as CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research). Since 2002, most of these research centers are organized into networks with universities and enterprises to form clusters (71 in 2007 ).

Finance and insurance

The French banking sector has long been characterized by its low concentration, farm and regulations framed by the large share of public sector but this has changed in the 1990s and 2000. French banks BNP Paribas , Societe Generale and Credit Agricole are placed respectively in the fourth, ninth and tenth places in the global sector in 2009 . Sector insurance also occupies an important place in the French economy, AXA is the first European insurance company .

The Paris stock exchange , a subsidiary of Euronext since 2000 , is the official market for shares in France. The index CAC 40 , which includes over 40 actions among the most traded, representing a total capitalization of over 1 000 billion euros in late 2009 .

France's position in the global economy

In 2009, France is the fifth largest economy by nominal GDP or the ninth to purchasing power parity . France is in 2010 the fourth country in the world by the number of companies listed among the Global 500 .

The French economy is highly extroverted , especially vis--vis its European partners (65% of French exports ). This is partly due to exhaustion or lack of energy and mineral resources of the country, which forced him to import , and the relatively small size of this country. But it also reflects the importance of exports. A study by auditing firm KPMG published in 2006, "France offers overall implementation costs lower than its large European neighbors, not only on energy, transportation and real estate, but also on hand workforce . With a global market share of about 8%, France is the second largest exporter of food products produced locally, particularly through exports of alcohols .

Nevertheless, the foreign trade of France has major problems. Since 2004 , France has a deficit in its trade balance , more and more accentuated (- 75.4 billion in 2009 ), a situation which is partly explained by the high level of the euro against the dollar . Between 1990 and 2006, the market share of France in World merchandise exports rose from 6.3 to 4.1% , and France is no longer in 2009 than the fifth largest importer and the sixth largest exporter World . According to Eurostat, the degradation of French foreign trade is partly due to an increase in hourly labor costs .

Cultural Heritage

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The Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles , a masterpiece of baroque architecture of the seventeenth ^century.

Architectural Heritage

France has a rich architectural heritage, witnessed a long history and civilizational encounter between different traits. Of the 731 cultural properties ^, . The French architectural heritage includes both buildings of religious architecture (the Abbey of Fontenay , for example), political (the chateaux of the Loire ), industrial (the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans ), military (the fortified towns by Vauban ) and urban (the Place Stanislas in Nancy ). It includes examples of architecture of all periods of Roman architecture (the Pont du Gard ) in post-war architecture (the city of Le Havre ), through masterpieces Romanesque architecture (the abbey of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe ), Gothic (the Cathedral of Amiens ) and classical (the Canal du Midi ). In France, buildings of historical interest can be registered or listed historic monument , which provide protection of the state.

Artistic heritage and cultural events

Main articles: French Painting , Sculpture French , French literature , French music and French cinema.

If artistic productions are attested in the area corresponding to modern France since prehistoric times , we can speak of "French art" before the start of the ^second millennium AD, the time when a State and nation begin to form . From that time the French Beaux-Arts will be largely similar to those of the rest of Western Europe saw a succession of Roman art to a ^eleventh and ^twelfth centuries and art Gothic ^twelfth to ^fifteenth centuries , and the celebration of the power of the French monarchy , a "privileged space" (A. Chastel) and the representation of the sacred are among the favorite themes an art mainly controlled by the political or religious. The Renaissance and the development of classicism in the ^seventeenth century and neoclassicism in the eighteenth ^century were the expression of both a research agenda and pageantry and influences and ancient Italian ; it also emerge in the modern era of individual figures of artists, painters such as Poussin , La Tour , Watteau , Fragonard , Greuze , David , Gros and Ingres , the sculptors or Girardon , Coysevox , Puget and Houdon . The ^nineteenth and ^twentieth centuries , France plays a major role in mainstream Western art and revolution: Romanticism ( Delacroix ), Realism ( Courbet ), impressionism ( Monet , Renoir , Manet ) and neo-impressionism ( Van Gogh , Cezanne , Gauguin ), Fauvism ( Matisse , Vlaminck ) Cubism ( Braque , Picasso ) or surrealism ( Duchamp ) are French artists among their main representatives ^, . Augustus Rodin , meanwhile, revolutionized sculpture in the late nineteenth ^century .

Nicolas Poussin , The Inspiration of the Poet, c. 1629-1630, Muse du Louvre , Paris.

Jacques-Louis David , The Death of Marat, 1793, Royal Museums of Fine Arts , Brussels.

Claude Monet , Nympheas, 1916, Marmottan Museum , Paris.

Auguste Rodin , The Thinker, 1902, Muse Rodin , Paris.

Unlike many countries that are embodied in a great figure as a writer, French literature has many figures of the importance and fame roughly equivalent . It would be futile to attempt to do list, but include the medieval poets Chrtien de Troyes and Villon , in the sixteenth ^century, the novelist Rabelais , essayist Montaigne and poets Du Bellay and Ronsard mark the Renaissance . In the seventeenth ^century, playwrights Corneille , Racine and Molire , poet Boileau , the fabulist La Fontaine and the unclassifiable Pascal endeavor to maintain or restore order by reason , in the eighteenth ^century, Enlightenment writers Voltaire , Diderot and Rousseau , novelists Prvost , Laclos and Sade and playwrights Marivaux and Beaumarchais criticize the society of their time while addressing topics previously prohibited . In the nineteenth ^century, the novel is experiencing a peak with Stendhal , Balzac , Hugo , Dumas , Flaubert and Zola , but other genres are not left behind, as evidenced by the memoirist Chateaubriand and poets Lamartine , Musset , Baudelaire , Vigny , Rimbaud and Mallarme . In the twentieth ^century, the lack of perspective makes it more difficult to grasp the major figures, we can nevertheless cite the poets Apollinaire , Eluard , Aragon , Char and Prvert , novelists Proust , Gide , Cline , Sartre , Camus and Sarraute , and playwrights Giraudoux , Cocteau , Beckett and Ionesco .

Divided between the Middle Ages a religious art inspired by Gregorian chant and secular song of the troubadours and minstrels , French music reaches a certain height from the classical era, with composers such as Lully and Charpentier in the seventeenth ^century , Rameau in the eighteenth ^century,Berlioz , Gounod and Bizet in the ^nineteenth century, or Debussy in the twentieth ^century - many of these artists compose operas . From the early twentieth ^century, the music known as "popular" took off , mixing genres peculiar to France ( French song ) for imported types ( rock and rap in particular), and allowing stars such as Claude Francois , Johnny Hallyday , Sheila , Michel Sardou and Jean-Jacques Goldman to sell tens of millions of records.

Downhill steps French film actors of The Class , winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2008.

The cinema was invented in 1895 at Lyon by the Lumire brothers , remains an important activity in France despite competition Hollywood : France in 2005 is the sixth largest producer and the first European producer of feature films . French films, mostly shot from the 1980s to comedy and art films, produced in the 2000s some films to the worldwide success as The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain or March of the Emperor ^, . The International Film Festival , held annually in Cannes , is the most high-profile cultural event in the world .

Attached to the idea of a " cultural exception ", France protects its culture, including through quotas of French films on TV and French music on the radio .

A long scientific tradition

France has since the Middle Ages a knowledge hub and major discoveries. The University of Paris , founded in 1200, was from its inception until the present day one of the largest of the West . On ¹ September 2010, 56 French and French were awarded a Nobel Prize ^, and eleven were granted Fields Medal .

In the seventeenth ^century,Ren Descartes defines a method to acquire scientific knowledge, while Blaise Pascal became famous for his work on probability and fluid mechanics. The ^eighteenth century was marked by the work of biologist Buffon and the chemist Lavoisier , while Diderot and D'Alembert published the Encyclopedia. In the nineteenth ^century,Augustin Fresnel was the founder of the optical modern Sadi Carnot laid the foundations of thermodynamics , and Louis Pasteur was a pioneer in microbiology. In the twentieth ^century include the mathematician and physicist Henri Poincare , physicists Henri Becquerel , Pierre and Marie Curie , still famous for their work on radioactivity , the physicist Paul Langevin or virologist Luc Montagnier , co-discoverer of the virus AIDS.

A slice of Roquefort , one of the most famous French cheeses.

Gastronomy

Main article: French cuisine.

French cuisine is renowned, particularly thanks to its many wine ( champagne , wines of Bordeaux or Burgundy, etc..) and cheeses ( Roquefort , camembert etc..) ^, , and through it to haute cuisine practice since the eighteenth ^century . Nevertheless, the French cuisine is extremely varied, and consists mainly of regional specialties who conquered the entire territory , such as sauerkraut from Alsace, the quiche Lorraine , the rillettes Touraine, the foie gras of Perigord, the cassoulet Languedoc the Tapenade Provencal or dumplings Lyon. In addition, real culinary boundaries emerge in the country between north using the butter and shallots and a south preferring the oil and garlic ^, , and between regions cooking earth (the Perigord for example) and others at the kitchen resolutely turned towards the sea ( Provence ) . However, these boundaries tend to disappear today, due to the junction of lifestyles and a growing global food .

The "gourmet meal of the French" was recorded November 16, 2010 to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO .

International cultural influence

Main articles: Language Policy of France , Francophonie and French Culture.

Since the Middle Ages and until the 2000s, France has a decisive role in the artistic, cultural, intellectual and policy of many countries . In particular, many of its former colonies in 2010 using its language , its law , its institutions, policies, or its tax system . The cultural policy since the mid-twentieth ^century a major aspect of foreign policy of France .

Map of the Francophone world.
language administrative language language of culture

Francophone minorities.

The global cultural influence of France passes including the French , the language of the elite European diplomacy until the early twentieth ^century . French, spoken by some 159 million speakers (25 million speak it as a foreign language) ^, is one of the two working languages of the United Nations and its agencies, one of three main working languages of the European Commission and the African Union. France is a founding member of the International Organization of la Francophonie , which brings together 70 countries in 2010 and promotes the French language and the democratic values and human rights .

The cultural presence of France abroad is maintained not only by its diplomatic representations, but also by the extensive network of the French Alliance and by over 400 French schools abroad . In addition, France is behind the creation of media with an international, such as radio RFI or television TV5 and France 24 .

Supplements

Notes

1. Of which 543 965 in metropolitan France. The 432 000 km ² of the Adelie Land affected by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, which led to the freezing of territorial claims on the continent, are excluded from this calculation.
2. 63.1 million people live in France and 1.9 million in the departments overseas. With 795 000 inhabitants of communities overseas ( French Polynesia , New Caledonia , Mayotte , Saint Pierre and Miquelon , Wallis and Futuna Islands , St. Martin and St. Barthelemy ), the population of all French territories reached 65.8 million.
3. This value is for all France, Metropolitan as overseas. The population density in France is 115 inhabitants / km.
4. CFP Franc in the Pacific region:
   1 000 XPF = 8.38 euros exactly of EUR 1 119.3317 XPF about (official source EOM)
5. . gp , . mq , . gf , . re , . am , . yt , . tf , . wf , . mp and . nc for communities overseas, as well . eu (shared with other countries European Union).
6. A portion of the border between France and Germany is still in the Rhine.
7. speaking populations reside in Belgium and Switzerland.
8. The sovereignty of France over the territory, contested by Australia , is further limited by the terms of the Treaty on Antarctica.
9. The Paris urban area had in 1999 11 174 743 inhabitants, against 1,648,216 for the urban area of Lyon. In comparison, Rome is the third largest urban area of Italy and has 1.75 times fewer inhabitants than the first Milan , Berlin has a population comparable to those of Frankfurt , Munich , Stuttgart and Hamburg , Barcelona is close to Madrid in terms of urban area.
10. These values are for 2007, and correspond to the share of road transport in total passenger and goods that year, respectively, in passenger-km and ton-km.
11. Airbus is the result of cooperation between France and its neighboring German, Spanish and British.
12. From the late ninth ^century, kings were elected by the nobles of the kingdom and are no longer systematically Carolingian.
13. This value is derived from contemporary chronicles of Jean Froissart. But according to recent work on some provinces of the kingdom, the population of these provinces have been divided by two or threefold between 1315 and 1450, the fever being the main factor of this demographic decline.
14. Behind the apparent absolutism, the power of Louis XIV is still limited by the multiple franchises, privileges and freedoms Canadians have achieved over the past centuries many regional or local political entities.
15. Napoleon is at the origin of the creation of the Banque de France , the schools , and chambers of commerce , the courts of appeal , the Legion of Honor or the prefectures. Also under his reign that will be adopted on the French Civil Code.
16. 238 000 French soldiers were killed during the Second World War, as History: The world of 1939 to the Present (textbook terminal), Nathan, 1998.
17. Jacob Robinson gives the number of 83,000 Jews exterminated in France or from French territory (Jacob Robinson, Encyclopaedia Judaica, quoted by Leon Poliakov, History of Antisemitism, Vol 2, Seuil, 1993, p. 527 ).
18. The term "semi-presidential system" is due to Maurice Duverger , that of "parliamentary system bireprsentatif" to Marie-Anne Cohendet.
19. However, this right of appeal exists in cases where the dispute or the submissions of the complainant are considered small. The cassation appeal is still possible. See related article Jurisdictional (France).
20. However, it should add to this list the case of certain entities to the special status. The Territorial Collectivity of Corsica has a special status, distinct from the regions. As for the three largest communities in the country ( Paris , Marseille and Lyon ), they are divided into municipal districts , in which a borough council is elected, but the borough council has only limited powers and generally subject to the agreement of the council.
21. ^{a and b} In 2009, the inhabitants of Mayotte voted by referendum for the dpartements of their community , whose status was already close to that of the departments.
22. In 1965 and 1974, the Communist Party did not present a candidate for president. Moreover, Edouard Balladur , a dissident RPR invested by the UDF during the 1995 presidential election , is recorded in the voices of the center.
23. Between 1974 and 2002, the first round of each election, the vote share obtained by the first three candidates combined has declined steadily, from almost 91% in 1974 to just under 53% in 20 02. However, this has been contradicted by the 2007 presidential election: the first three candidates received more than 75% of the votes cast, a result which is explained in part by fear of the voters not to see, as in 2002 The candidate of either major party to qualify for the second round.
24. Since 2009, the Greens are associated with other Green parties in the electoral alliance Ecology Europe.
25. The left diagram represents the main taxes as percentage of state tax revenue in 2007. The right diagram represents the share of French GDP accruing to governments and social security tax and after transfers. IR = Income tax for individuals ; CSG = generalized social contribution , IS = Income tax , VAT = value added tax ; TIPP = domestic tax on petroleum products.
26. That is to say, including social benefits in the strict sense, the benefits of social services (access to free or discounted admission to public transport links for welfare recipients, seniors and youth children, etc.) and tax benefits (including the application of the family quotient in the calculation of income tax), but without taking into account the costs of health insurance.
27. An early withdrawal of French forces from Senegal is announced.
28. In 2008, 41 aid and 49% of overseas staff of the French Development Agency concerned SSA. Of the seven main countries benefiting from funds from AFD (South Africa, China, Senegal, Morocco, Indonesia, Egypt and Tunisia), five are African and three are former French colonies.
29. France has many other informal symbols, including the cockerel , the hexagon, the associated capitalized "RF" or the figure of Joan of Arc.
30. The CIA World Factbook estimated at 80.97 years, which places France at eighth in the world ( source ).
31. According to a survey of SOS Homophobia in 2004, two thirds of the homosexuals have been subjected to rude remarks.
32. This difference corresponds to pure wage comparisons to industry, experience, qualification, diploma, family situation and passed into the working world equivalents.
33. The municipalities manage kindergartens and elementary schools, departments and colleges manage the regions schools.
34. According to OJD, the regional daily Ouest France has sold over 762,000 copies daily, the weekly Mag TV to over 6 million copies and the sports daily L'quipe to over 303 000 copies ( with only a general edition).
35. It was in Paris that met the first Olympic Congress in 1894 , under the direction of French Pierre de Coubertin , who decided to restore the Olympic Games.
36. "The Great Nations of Sport
37. Sofres survey for Le Figaro Magazine, conducted in spring 1988 in Quebec, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, the United States, Japan and the USSR. Respondents could give multiple answers. The values shown here are averages of values recorded in the states or provinces mentioned, weighted by their demographic weight.
38. 13.2% and 60% of median income (poverty line defined by the European Union)
39. The gap between men and women in terms of unemployment tends to unwind. In late 2008, 8.8% of working women were unemployed, against 7.6% of men.
40. The low importance of tourism revenues over the number of tourists in France due to the length of stay, often short: indeed, it is overwhelmingly of European tourists (who often come for a weekend) or in the case of tourists from outside Europe, they often visit several European countries in the same trip.
41. By including so-called mixed sites, the interest of both natural and cultural heritage.
42. Tied with Germany and the People's Republic of China , and behind the Italy and Spain.
43. In many films, behind India , the Nigeria , the United States , the Japan and China.
44. romantic comedy Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain , directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and released in 2001 , garnered 23,115,858 entries abroad at 31 December 2009.
45. The documentary The March of the Penguins , directed by Luc Jacquet and released in 2005 , garnered 19,962,345 entries abroad at 31 December 2009.
46. Of which one has received twice ( Marie Curie ). This figure includes the only French winner of the Prize of the Bank of Sweden in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , commonly called the Nobel Prize in economics.
47. These values only apply to people actually speaking French (and not those living in a francophone country without speaking the language) and are estimates by the International Organization of la Francophonie.

Codes

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France has for codes:

• LF, according to the list of prefixes ICAO airport codes ;
• F according to the list of international codes of plates ;
• FR, according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (country codes list), alpha-2 code;
• FRA, according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (list of country codes), code alpha-3;
• FRA, according to the list of country codes IOC ;
• . Com, according to the list of Internet TLDs ( top level domain );
• FR, according to the list of country codes used by NATO , alpha-2 code;
• FRA, according to the list of country codes used by NATO , code alpha-3.

Bibliography

See article: Bibliography on France.

External Links

• Official Portal of France
• National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies
• Category France directory dmoz

References

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40. p.145.
41. p.147-149.
42. p.150-152.
43. p.153-154.
44. p.175.
45. p.184-186.
46. p.187-188.
47. p.193-198.
48. p.201-202, and 231.
49. p.206-208.
50. p.214-215.
51. p.209-214.
52. p.207-209 and 212-213.
53. p.211.
54. p.212-213.
55. p.232-233.
56. p. 233.
57. p.219-225.
58. p.234-237.
59. p.238-242.
60. p.242-243.
61. p.243-246.
62. p.245-248.
63. p.250-257.
64. p.255-258.
65. p.259.
66. p.267-269.
67. p.269-270.
68. P.270-274.
69. p.278.
70. p. 279.
71. p. 282.
72. p. 282-285.
73. p.286-290.
74. page 290-294.
75. p.294-298.
76. p.319.
77. p. 295-299.
78. p.322-323.
79. ^{a and b} p.325.
80. p.325-329.
81. p.333.
82. p. 335-336.
83. p.336-342.
84. ^{a and b} p.344-345.
85. p. 345.
86. p. 345-347.
87. p.346-351.
88. p.378-380.
89. p. 351-357.
90. p.358-363.
91. p.363-368.
92. p. 368-369.
93. p.369-370.
94. p.372.
95. p.373.
96. p.373-375.
97. p.375.

• Andr Chastel, Introduction to the history of French art, Flammarion, coll. "Arts Champs, Paris, 1993, 226 p. ( ISBN 978-2-0812-1746-1 )

1. p.26.
2. p.88-95.
3. p.19-28.
4. p.96-100.

• Raymond Dumay (preface by Jean-Claude Pirotte) In French cuisine, La Table Ronde, al. "Little Vermilion, Paris, 2009, 211 p. ( ISBN 978-2710331377 )

1. p.53 and 62.
2. p.160-161.
3. p.119.
4. p.111.
5. p.163-167.

• William Thomas, The French economy in the twenty-first ^century, Economica, Paris, 2000, 528 p. ( ISBN 2-7178-4132-6 )

1. ^{a , b and c} p.408.
2. ^{a and b} p.411.
3. p.409.
4. P.452-455.

• Louis Maurin (preface by Denis Clerc), Deciphering the French company, La Dcouverte , Paris, 2009, 368 p. ( ISBN 978-2-7071-5413-2 )

1. p.266.
2. p. 265.
3. p.17-18.
4. p.26-27.
5. p.84.
6. ^{a , b and c} p. 81.
7. p. 80-83.
8. p. 88-89.
9. p. 87.
10. p. 83.
11. p.48-50.
12. p.50.
13. p.288-289.
14. p.44-45.
15. p.57.
16. Lara Muller "The pay gap between men and women. Persistent disparities "in the First Information, Ministry of Labour, ^No. 44.5, October 2008 , Cited p.63-64.
17. ^{a and b} p.66.
18. P. 323.
19. P. 324.
20. ^{a and b} p.116.
21. p.123.
22. p.125.
23. p.118-119.
24. p.274.
25. ^{a , b and c} p.276.
26. ^{a and b} p.275.
27. ^{a and b} French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Drugs, key figures, 2007 , Quoted p.280-281.
28. ^{a and b} p.277.
29. ^{a and b} p.333.
30. ^{a and b} p. 335.
31. ^{a , b , c and d} p.144.
32. p.148.

• Grard Mermet, Francoscopie 2010, Larousse , coll. "Tests and documents", Paris, 2009, 544 p. ( a href = "Sp% C3% A9cial: Ouvrages_de_r% C3% A9f% C3% A9rence/9782035845382" class = "mw-internal-magiclink isbn"> ISBN 978-2 - 03-584538-2)

1. p.58-62.
2. page 290.
3. p.339-340.
4. p.321.
5. p. 342.
6. p.344.
7. p. 326.
8. p.346.
9. OECD, quoted p. 341.
10. ^{a , b and c} p.291-292.
11. p.291-293.

• Pactet Pierre, French institutions, Presses Universitaires de France , coll. "What do I know? "Paris, 1998 ^(1st ed. 1976), 128 p. ( ISBN 2-13-045632-4 )

1. ^{a and b} p.13.
2. ^{a and b} p.21.
3. p.22.
4. ^{a and b} p.23.
5. p.22-23.
6. p.14.
7. p.15.
8. p.16-19.
9. p.19-20.
10. P.100-103.
11. p.26-27.
12. p.88.
13. p.90.
14. p.91-93.
15. ^{a and b} p.84.
16. p.85.
17. ^{a and b} p.86.
18. p.87.
19. p.88.
20. p.79-80.
21. p.50-53.
22. p.54.
23. p.57.
24. p.72.
25. p.78-79.
26. p.76.

• Jean-Robert Pitte, France, Armand Colin, coll. "Cursus", Paris, 2009, 224 p. ( ISBN 978-2-200-35189-2 )

1. ^{a , b and c} p.206-207.
2. p.58.
3. ^{a and b} p.191-192.
4. ^{a and b} p.194-195.

• Collective, France, Michelin, et al. "Green Guide", Clermont-Ferrand, 2003, 528 p. ( ISBN 2-06-100706-6 )

1. p.80.
2. p.81-83.
3. p.84-88.
4. ^{a , b , c , d , e , f , g and h} The names mentioned in the article are all cited in pages 85 to 95.
5. p.89-90.
6. p.90.
7. p.92.

• Collective, The state of France - 2009-2010 Edition, La Dcouverte, Paris, 2009, 448 p. ( ISBN 978-2-7071-5796-6 )

1. ^{a and b} p.310.
2. ^{a and b} p.309.
3. ^{a and b} p.215-216.
4. p.217.
5. parties listed here are those whose analysis is detailed in pages 217 to 224.

• Site of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE)

1. (en) demographics Review , 2010
2. Enrolment in higher education
3. Top 30 Urban Areas
4. Communes of France's most populated
5. Precincts regions on 1 January 2009.
6. Public Finance
7. The public debt amounted to 1 457.4 billion euros
8. demographic balance 2009
9. General trend in the demographic, France
10. The population census in brief.
11. Population record 2009 - Changes in demographics, all France
12. Annual census surveys 2004 and 2005 - Nearly 5 million immigrants in mid-2004
13. Births and Fertility in France
14. Elective abortion
15. Minimum wage (SMIC)
16. Unemployment stalled in the third quarter of 2009
17. Staff and contract type by age
18. ^{a , b and c} production and consumption of electricity
19. Distribution of dwellings by category and dwelling type

• Other

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4. ^{a , b and c} (in) France on The CIA World Factbook. Accessed September 15, 2010. See article List of countries by area.
5. France wants to increase its maritime lefigaro.fr on 21 August 2006. Accessed February 25, 2010
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8. Your questions on climate on cnrs.fr, April 2, 2010
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12. The values for rainfall, sunshine and snow in France (including Corsica) are from The Encyclopedia of Amsterdam-cities of France , see "climate" of the database for each city. The values of average temperature in January and July in France and all the values for overseas and non-French cities, are from the Climate Database Site levoyageur.net. For large cities, the values may vary slightly depending on the weather station in question (for example, the central city or the airport).
13. French Institute for the Environment, The Environment in France, La Dcouverte, Paris, 1998 ( ISBN 2-7071-2894-5 ), p. 110
14. ^{a and b} French Institute of the Environment, op.cit., p.365-367.
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25. An extensive network of rff.fr, 2009. Accessed January 24, 2010
26. Clive Lamming, Cambridge trains and railway, Larousse, Paris, 2005 [ detail editions ], p. 72-81
27. John Tricoire, A Century in 14 metro lines, La Vie du Rail, Paris, 2004 [ detail editions ], p. 17 and 28
28. Union of French airports, " Traffic Statistics 2008 "on www.aeroport.fr. Accessed February 15, 2010
29. (en) International Air Transport Association, " Scheduled Passenger - Kilometres Flown "on iata.org, 2008. Accessed February 25, 2010
30. ^{a and b} (en) World port rankings in 2007 , 2007. Accessed February 25, 2010
31. ^{a and b} dating Figures Lascaux on lascaux.culture.fr. Accessed January 12, 2010
32. Bartolom Bennassar and Jean Jacquart, the 16 ^th century, Armand Colin, coll. "U", Paris, 2002 ( ISBN 978-2-200-25275-5 ), p. 240-244 .
33. Bartolom Bennassar and Jean Jacquart, op. cit., p.179-184.
34. Bartolom Bennassar and Jean Jacquart, op. cit., p.83-85.
35. Bartolom Bennassar and Jean Jacquart, op. cit., p.296-305.
36. Pierre Milza, From Versailles to Berlin. 1919-1945, Armand Colin, coll. "U", Paris, 2003 ( ISBN 2-200-01683-2 ), p. 167 .
37. Pierre Milza, op. cit., p.168-176.
38. Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of European Jewry, vol. III, Gallimard, coll. "Folio", 2006, p. 2273
39. Fourastie John , The Thirty Glorious Years: Or the invisible revolution from 1946 to 1975, Fayard, Paris, 1979, 300 p.
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46. ^{a and b} (in) Patrice de Beer, " Nicolas Sarkozy, rupture and opening "on opendemocracy.net, July 31, 2007. Accessed January 11, 2010
47. Collection of texts on the economic crisis of 2008-2009
48. The member assembly on-nationale.fr. Accessed February 27, 2010
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50. institutions on elysee.fr. Accessed February 27, 2010
51. Article 17 of the Constitution of 4 October 1958 on Lgifrance. Accessed September 18, 2010
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58. AP " Overseas: 200 to 250 million euros of state aid "on nouvelobs.com, March 5, 2009. Accessed February 28, 2010
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60. Regional policy and outermost regions on ec.europa.eu. Accessed February 28, 2010
61. The EU's relations with the Overseas Territories (OCT) on ec.europa.eu. Accessed February 28, 2010
62. What is the status of communities overseas? on life-publique.fr. Accessed February 28, 2010
63. ^{a and b} What is the New Caledonia and TAFF? on life-publique.fr. Accessed February 28, 2010
64. Secretary of State for Overseas, " Clipperton "on senat.fr, 2009. Accessed February 28, 2010
65. The presidential elections under the Fifth Republic, the highlights of French politics on laDocumentationFranaise.fr. Accessed March ^1, 2010
66. Cautrs Bruno, " Abstention "on scienceshumaines.com. Accessed March 2, 2010
67. Grard Grunberg and Florence Haegel, France to bipartisanship? : The presidentialization the PS and the UMP, Presses de Sciences Po, al. "New debates," 2007 ( ISBN 978-2-7246-1010-9 )
68. ^{a and b} Political Parties on lepolitique.com. Accessed March 2, 2010
69. Composition and strength of the political groups on assembly-nationale.fr. Accessed March 2, 2010
70. List of senators by political groups on senat.fr. Accessed March 2, 2010
71. Composition of the new Government on gouvernement.fr, November 14, 2010. Accessed November 16, 2010
72. The deficit of France is 7.9% of GDP in 2009 on lemonde.fr, January 20, 2010. Accessed March 5, 2010
73. * [pdf] Project Finance Act 2009 - Report on tax and their evolution, Appendix 3: List of taxes and compulsory levies incorporation in 2007 on performance-publique.gouv.fr. Accessed February 22, 2010
74. [pdf] accounts for Social Security on security-sociale.fr, October 2009, p. 8. Accessed March 5, 2010
75. The French Papers, " The Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (April 24 to May 19, 2000, New York) "on ladocumentationfrancaise.fr. Accessed March 3, 2010
76. ^{a and b} abbr style = "font-family: monospace; font-weight: bold; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 0; cursor: help;" title = "Document in Portable Document Format (PDF) files" > [pdf] Treaty Organization North Atlantic, " Compendium NATO-Russia economic and financial data concerning the defense "on nato.int, December 8, 2005, p. 7. Accessed March 3, 2010
77. [pdf] Department of Defence, " Defence Budget - 10 key measures and key figures for 2010 "on defense.gouv.fr. Accessed March 3, 2010
78. ^{a and b} Department of Defense, " Military Personnel "on defense.gouv.fr, 2006. Accessed March 3, 2010
79. Department of Defense, " Day of Appeal defense preparation (JAPD) "on defense.gouv.fr. Accessed March 3, 2010
80. [pdf] Map of French forces deployed in external operations on defense.gouv.fr, February 2010. Accessed March 3, 2010
81. Forces presence on defense.gouv.fr. Accessed March 3, 2010
82. Forces sovereignty on defense.gouv.fr. Accessed March 3, 2010
83. Vigipirate on defense.gouv.fr. Accessed March 3, 2010
84. Paul F. Smets (Eds.) Ryckewaert and Mathieu (ed.), The Fathers of Europe: fifty years later, perspectives on the European commitment, Emile Bruylant, coll. "Bibliothque de la Fondation Paul-Henri Spaak, Brussels, 2001 ( ISBN 978-2802714439 )
85. Bossuat Gerard, The founders of the United Europe, Belin, coll. "sup Belin, Paris, 2001, 286 p. ( ISBN 978-2701129624 )
86. From the Treaty of Rome in the draft European Constitutional Treaty: the contribution of treaties on ladocumentationfrancaise.fr. Accessed March 10, 2010
87. Philippe Buton, " The EDC, The Dreyfus Affair of the Fourth Republic? "on cairn.info, Twentieth Century. History Review , April 2004, p. 43-59. Accessed March 10, 2010
88. (en) "Europe's Single Market Under Threat", The Economist, line Charlemagne, November 12, 2009
89. The Common Agricultural Policy, CAP on touteleurope.fr. Accessed March 10, 2010
90. ^{a and b} Isabelle Lasserre, " When Mitterrand already negotiated the return to NATO "on lefigaro.fr, March 10, 2009. Accessed March 10, 2010
91. Freddy Eytan, France, Israel and the Arabs: the double play?, Picollec, Paris, 2004, 560 p. ( ISBN 978-2864772118 )
92. ^{a and b} Department of Foreign Affairs, " Embassies and Consulates "on diplomatie.gouv.fr. Accessed February 28, 2010
93. [pdf] French Development Agency , " Annual Report 2008 ". Accessed March 10, 2010
94. [pdf] OECD, net official development assistance in 2007 "on oecd.org. Accessed March 10, 2010
95. ^{a , b and c} of Article 2 of the 1958 Constitution on Wikisource. Accessed February 27, 2010
96. Should we change the Marseillaise? - Records of the INA , TV news France 3 (19/20) of 13 July 1990 ina.fr. Accessed February 27, 2010
97. Marianne on elysee.fr. Accessed February 27, 2010
98. • France: Jacques Dupaquier, History of the French population, Paris, PUF, 1988, and Evolution of the population of metropolitan France on insee.fr. Accessed January 31, 2010
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99. (en) World POPClock projection on U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed ¹ February 2010
100. Gerard Noiriel , Atlas of immigration in France (2002), ed. Otherwise, 2002 11
101. Immigrants represent 11% of the French population , TF1, Alexandra Guillet, November 24, 2010, source: INED.
102. Being born in France to one immigrant parent , Insee Premire, No. 1287, March 2010, Catherine and Bertrand Borel Lhommeau, INSEE
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104. The Constitutional Act of June 25, 1992
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107. Act of 9 December 1905 concerning the separation of church and state on fr.wikisource.org. Accessed February 23, 2010
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110. CSA survey conducted in October 2006 on a representative sample of over 2000 people
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118. College on education.gouv.fr. Accessed February 22, 2010
119. The school on education.gouv.fr. Accessed February 22, 2010
120. ^{a and b} Higher education on education.gouv.fr. Accessed February 22, 2010
121. The private schools on education.gouv.fr. Accessed February 22, 2010
122. " France is paralyzed by his poor academic performance ", Le Monde, 04/12/2007, Catherine and Marie de Verges Rollot
123. National Agency for the fight against illiteracy, figures to inform decisions
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133. Rene Trgout, " Connecting to the Internet in French households 'on senat.fr. Accessed February 24, 2010
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135. Top 2009 World rsf.org on. Accessed September 20, 2010
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137. 1: football on linternaute.com, September 2008. Accessed February 24, 2010
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139. 19: skiing on linternaute.com, September 2008. Accessed February 24, 2010
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159. See for example the site of the network Sortir du nuclaire
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176. These singers, listed in chronological order of birth, are the top five sales records in France between 1955 and 2009, according to The Artist of 1955 sales by the end of 2009 on infodisc.fr. Accessed June ^1, 2010
177. UNESCO, " Cinema: Production of feature films "on stats.uis.unesco.org. Accessed June ^1, 2010
178. [pdf] French films abroad: Results of 2009 and the decade on unifrance.org, p. 10. Accessed June ^1, 2010
179. (en) Macha Sery, " The most publicized cultural event in the world ", Le Monde , 2007. Accessed June ^1, 2010
180. Serge Regourd, cultural exception, PUF, Paris 2004
181. Thuilier Andr, History of the University of Paris and the Sorbonne, New Library of France, Paris, 1994
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183. (en) International Mathematical Union, " List of Fields medalists "on mathunion.org. Accessed ¹ September 2010
184. (en) Top 10 Most Tasty Cuisines in the World on trifter.com. Accessed June 14, 2010
185. (en) Dave Emery, " Top 10 Most Tasty Cuisines in the World "on hotelclub.com. Accessed June 14, 2010
186. a href = "http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/media-services/single-view/news/forty_six_new_elements_added_to_representative_list_of_the_intangible_cultural_heritage/La" class = "external text" rel = "nofollow"> Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity proclaimed 46 new items.
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188. International Organization of la Francophonie, " Who are we? "on francophonie.org. Accessed June 12, 2010
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190. Mission, shares how to aefe.fr. Accessed June 12, 2010
191. TV5, France 24, RFI: What future for Broadcast French overseas? on francaisdumonde.com. Accessed June 12, 2010

Countries of Europe
The 27 Member States of the European Union	Germany Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Denmark Spain Estonia Finland France Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania UK Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Czech Republic
States identified as candidates for the European Union	Croatia Iceland Macedonia Montenegro Turkey
The four Member States of the European Free Trade	Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Switzerland
8 Member States of the Free Trade Agreement Central European	Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia Macedonia Moldova Montenegro Kosovo Serbia
Other European states (or countries part of which is on the European continent )	Andorra Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia Kazakhstan Monaco Russia San Marino Ukraine Vatican
States not recognized by the international community (or the sovereignty issue): Abkhazia Northern Cyprus Nagorno-Karabakh Kosovo South Ossetia Transnistria

Group of Eight (G8)
Member States	Germany Canada U.S. France Italy Japan UK Russia

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Member States	Germany Australia Austria Belgium Canada Chile South Korea Denmark Spain Estonia U.S. Finland France Greece Hungary Ireland Iceland Israel Italy Japan Luxembourg Mexico Norway New Zealand Netherlands Poland Portugal UK Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Czech Republic Turkey

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Member States

South Africa Albania Germany Angola Antigua and Barbuda Saudi Arabia Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Burma Bolivia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chile China Cyprus British Community Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa South Korea Costa Rica Cte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Denmark Djibouti Dominican Republic Dominique Egypt UAE Ecuador Spain Estonia U.S. Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Maurice Solomon Islands India Indonesia Ireland Iceland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Kuwait Latvia Lesotho Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia Madagascar Malaysia Malawi Maldives Mali Malta Morocco Mauritania Mexico Moldova Mongolia Mozambique Namibia Nepal Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway New Zealand Oman Uganda Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Netherlands Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania UK Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Salvador Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Suriname Swaziland Tanzania Taiwan Chad Czech Republic Thailand Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam Zambia Zimbabwe

Treaty Organization's (NATO)
States armed forces members	Albania Germany Belgium Bulgaria Canada Croatia Denmark Spain Estonia USA France Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Norway Netherlands Poland Portugal Czech Republic Romania United Kingdom Slovakia Slovenia Turkey

Security Council UN
Functioning of the Security Council	Presidency of UN Security Right of veto in the Security Council UN
Composition of the Security Council	Permanent members China U.S. France United Kingdom Russia Term ends: 31 December 2011 Bosnia-Herzegovina Brazil Gabon Lebanon Nigeria Term ends: 31 December 2012 Germany India Colombia Portugal South Africa
Security Council resolutions	List of resolutions of the Security Council UN

International Organization of la Francophonie
Member Governments	Albania Andorra Armenia Belgium (and the French Community of Belgium ) Benin Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada (and New Brunswick , Quebec ) Cape Verde Central African Republic Cyprus Comoros Republic Congo Republic of Congo Cte d'Ivoire Djibouti Dominique Egypt France Ghana Gabon Greece Guinea Guinea-Bissau a href = "% C3% Guin A9e_% C3% A9quatoriale" title = "Equatorial Guinea"> Equatorial Guinea Haiti Laos Lebanon Luxembourg Macedonia (FYROM) Madagascar Mali Mauritania Maurice Morocco Moldova Monaco Niger Romania Rwanda Saint Lucia Sao Tome and Principe Senegal Seychelles Switzerland Chad Togo Tunisia Vanuatu Vietnam
Government Observer	Austria Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia UAE Estonia Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Montenegro Mozambique Poland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Dominican Republic Czech Republic Thailand Ukraine

• France portal
• Portal European Union

The version of the October 29, 2010 This article has been recognized as "quality item, that is to say that it meets quality standards for style, clarity, relevance, citation of sources and illustration.

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