1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
551,670 km2; 35% cultivated, 26% meadows and pastures, 14% waste, urban, or other, 25% forested
Coastline
3,427 km (includes Corsica, 644 km)
Land boundaries
2,888 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
45% Celtic; remainder Latin, Germanic, Slav, Basque
Labor force
20.5 million (September 1979); 47% services, 35% industry, 9% agriculture, 9% unemployed
Language
French (100% of population); rapidly declining regional patois—Provençal, Breton, Germanic, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish
Literacy
97%
Nationality
noun—Frenchman (men); adjective—French
Organized labor
approximately 17% of labor force, 23% of salaried labor force
Population
54,174,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.4%
Religion
83% Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 1% Muslim (North African workers), 13% unaffiliated
Government
Branches
presidential appointed Prime Minister heads Council of Ministers, which is formally responsible to National Assembly; bicameral legislature—National Assembly (491 members), Senate (304 members) restricted to a delaying action; judiciary independent in principle
Capital
Paris
Communists
600,000 claimed; Communist voters, 4 million in 1981 elections
Elections
National Assembly — every five years, last election June 1981, direct universal suffrage, two ballots; Senate —indirect collegiate system for nine years, renewable by one-third every three years, last election September 1980; President, direct, universal suffrage every seven years, two ballots, last election May 1981 Political parties and leaders: majority coalition—Socialist Party (PS), Lionel Jospin; Communist Party (PCF), Georges Marchais; Left Radical Movement (MRG), Roger-Gérard Schwartzenberg; right opposition—Rally for the Republic (RPR, formerly UDR), Jacques Chirac; Republicans (PR), Jacques Blanc; Center for Social Democrats (CDS), Jean Lecanuet; Radical (RAD), Didier Bariani; Union for French Democracy (federation of PR, CDS, and RAD), Jean Lecanuet Voting strength (first ballot, 1981 election): diverse left, 2.05%; Communist, 16.17%; Socialist, 36.12%; left Radical 1.39%; RPR, 20.8%; UDF, 19.2%; diverse right, 2.8%; other 1.47%
Government leader
President François MITTERRAND
Legal system
civil law system with indigenous concepts; new constitution adopted 1958, amended concerning election of President in 1962; judicial review of administrative but not legislative acts; legal education at over 25 schools of law
Member of
ADB, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ECSC, EEC, EIB, ELDO, EMA, ESRO, EURATOM, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IMF, IOOC, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, NATO (signatory), OAS (observer), OECD, South Pacific Commission, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
National holiday
National Day, 14 July
Official name
French Republic
Other political or pressure groups
Communist-controlled labor union (Confédération Générale du Travail) nearly 2.4 million members (claimed); Socialist-leaning labor union (Confédération Française Democratique du Travail—CFDT) about 800,000 members est.; Independent labor union (Force Ouvrière) about 1,000,000 members est.; Independent white collar union (Confédération Générale des Cadres) 340,000 members (claimed); National Council of French Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Français—CNPF or Patronat)
Political subdivisions
96 metropolitan departments, 21 regional economic districts
Suffrage
universal over age 18; not compulsory
Type
republic, with President having wide powers
Economy
Agriculture
Western Europe's foremost producer; main products—beef, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; self-sufficient for most temperate zone foodstuffs; food shortages—fats and oils, tropical produce; caloric intake, 3,270 calories per day per capita (1969-70)
Aid
donor—(1970-79) bilateral economic aid commitments (ODA and OOF), $24.5 billion
Budget
(1979) expenditures 478 billion francs, revenues 443 billion francs, deficit 35 billion francs
Crude steel
23.4 million metric tons produced (1979), 440 kg per capita
Electric power
74,913,000 kW capacity (1981); 300.150 billion kWh produced (1981), 5,589 kWh per capita
Exports
$98 billion (f.o.b., 1979); principal items—machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles and clothing, chemicals
Fiscal year
calendar year
Fishing
catch 713,620 metric tons (1979); exports (includes shellfish, etc.) $243 million, imports $968 million (1979)
GNP
$535 billion (1979), $10,010 per capita; 63.5% private consumption, 21.2% investment (including government), 13.0% government consumption; 1979 real growth rate, 3.2%; average annual growth rate (1970-79), 3.7%
Imports
$107 billion (c.i.f., 1979); principal items—crude petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel products, foodstuffs, agricultural products
Major industries
steel, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemicals, food processing, metallurgy, aircraft, motor vehicles
Major trade partners
18% West Germany; 11% Italy; 9% Belgium-Luxembourg; 6% US; 7% Franc Zone; 7% UK; 6% Netherlands; 2% Eastern Europe; 2% USSR (1979)
Monetary conversion rate
1 franc=US$0.2352 (1979 average)
Shortages
crude oil, textile fibers, most nonferrous ores, coking coal, fats and oils
Communications
Airfields
465 total, 448 usable; 237 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m, 34 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 123 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
313 major transport aircraft, including 18 leased in and 4 leased out
Highways
1,542,400 km total; 27,500 km national highway; 340,000 km departmental highway; 420,000 km community roads; 750,000 km rural roads; 4,900 km of controlled-access divided "autoroutes"; approx. 861,000 km have bituminous-treated surface or better
Inland waterways
14,912 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled Pipelines: crude oil, 2,253 km; refined products, 4,344 km; natural gas, 22,532 km Ports: 24 major, 20 secondary, 24 minor
Railroads
36,775 km total; French National Railways (SNCF) operates 34,520 km standard gauge (1.435 m); 10,079 km electrified, 15,630 km double or multiple track; 2,255 km of various gauges (1.000 m to 1.440 m), privately owned and operated
Telecommunications
highly developed system provides satisfactory telephone, telegraph, and radio and TV broadcast services; 22.2 million telephones (41.5 per 100 popl.); 55 AM, 423 FM, and 5,676 TV stations; 25 submarine coaxial cables; 2 communication satellite ground stations with total of 6 antennas
Military and Security
Military budget
proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 1982, $22.4 billion; about 18.3% of proposed central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 13,620,000; fit for military service 11,549,000; 428,000 reach military age (18) annually