The French Republic

Republique Française

The French Republic is situated in western Europe. The country borders Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland in the east, Monaco and Italy in the southeast and Spain and Andorra in the southwest. France borders the North and Mediterranean seas, Pas de Calais and La Manche straits and the Bay of Biscay. The western and northern areas of the country are plains, with the central and eastern ones featuring medium-height mountains of the French Massif Central, Vosges and Jura. The southwestern border is made up by the Pyrenees and the southeastern one by the Alps, the highest mountains in western Europe. 

The country occupies an area of 551,600 km2.

The population is 60.2 million as of 2004.

The capital of France is Paris.

The country’s administrative divisions are 95 departments, including a special political unit of Corsica with the greater local government authority in economy, social policies and culture, 22 regions, communes. There is also division into 37 historic provinces.
There are five overseas departments – French Guiana, Guadeloupe Island, Martinique, Reunion, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and four overseas territories – French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna islands.

The state language is French.

The currency is the euro (1 euro = 100 eurocents).

The political system is a republic.

The Fifth Republic’s Constitution is in effect. It was approved by referendum on September 28, 1958 in France and its overseas departments.

The head of state is the president elected by general direct vote for a five-year term of office. The president nominates the prime minister and individual ministers.
The current president of the French Republic is Jacques Chirac elected on April 21 and May 5, 2002. He assumed office on May 16, 2002. Jacques Chirac also had been elected in 1995.

The legislative authority is vested in two houses of parliament – the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly has 491 seats and the Senate – 321. National Assembly deputies are elected by general direct vote for a five-year term in office. The Senate election is general but not direct, with the senators elected by an electoral college comprising National Assembly deputies, department council delegates and municipal council delegates. Voting is proportional in large entities and majority in smaller ones. In case none of the candidates under the majority arrangement secures a majority vote, a second round is held. Senators are elected for a nine-year term of office. A third of the Senate is renewed every three years.
A partial election to the Senate took place on September 26, 2004 against the background of the reform of the upper house of the French parliament. The senator’s term of office reduces from nine to six years and the age requirement drops from 35 to 30 years. The number of the senators increases from 321 to 331. The reform is to complete by 2010.

The chairman of the Senate is elected for three years. The current Senate chairman is Christian Ponslet.
The National Assembly was elected on June 9 and 16, 2002.

The chairman of the National Assembly is Jean-Louis Debré.

The executive authority is vested in the Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was appointed on May 31, 2005.
The prime minister and his government report to parliament. Under the Constitution, a minister cannot be dual-hatted as a member of parliament. Top ministers are nominated by the prime minister or the president and approved by the government.

The judicial authority is vested in courts of two types. The first type is constituted by civil and criminal courts that are divided into the ordinary and specialized ones, e.g. commercial, social security and juvenile ones, military tribunals, etc. There are four hierarchic levels, including minor courts, courts of highest resort, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Review. The other type consists of administrative courts that also divide into ordinary and specialized ones, e.g. budget and financial discipline courts, higher education courts, etc. There are three levels of administrative courts – the first, second (Court of Appeal) and third (State Council) courts. There are courts outside the two types, e.g. the Conflict Court that judges on conflicts about the jurisdiction between courts of the above two types, the Constitutional Council in its capacity of a judiciary body, the High Court of Justice and the Court of Justice of the Republic.

The state holiday is July 14, Bastille Day, celebrated since 1789.

The principal economic indices are as follows:
The economic growth in 2005 is estimated at 2.0%-2.5%. The economic growth in the first quarter of 2005 totaled 0.2% compared with the forecasted 0.4%. It equaled 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2004. The annual economic growth rate increased to 2.3%.
The consumer goods prices in France grew by 2.1% in 2004.
In 2004, there was a foreign trade deficit of 7.77 billion euros compared with the 1.69 billion euro surplus in 2003.
In 2004, French exports increased by 5.6% to 341 billion euros, with imports climbing by 8.6% to 349 billion euros.
As of early 2005, the French unemployment rate has hit a five-year high, having amounted to 10.2%. The 2004 unemployment rate was 9.6% of the nation’s gainfully occupied population.

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