About-France.com A visitor's guide to France
About France.com - the France travel portal .   A website about France and life in France
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Map of France
Map of France

Accommodation in France
Gites and holiday cottages
Bed and breakfast in France
Rural campsites in France
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La Baguette

  Baguettes - France's emblematic bread

Old Nice

   The old town at Nice



France for Dutch visitors:

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France key data: essential facts and figures

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Key data for France, with selected international comparisons

Definition
: Technically speaking, "France" includes a number of overseas departments and territories (known in french as the DOM-TOMs). This guide is concerned with Metropolitan France, which means continental France, together with the offshore islands, including Corsica.

France is a republic; the head of the executive is the President, currently Nicolas Sarkozy. The President determines policy with the aid of his Council of Ministers. Ministers cannot sit in parliament, and if elected members of parliament (députés) are appointed minister, they have to hand over parliamentary duties to their deputies. The lower and principal house of parliament is the Assemblée nationale, or national assembly; the second chamber is the Senate. Députés are elected by universal suffrage, in general elections that take place every five years. Senators are elected by "grand electors", who are mostly other local elected representatives.

Surface area:  547,030 sq km, of which 545,630 sq km of land and 1,400 sq km of rivers and lakes.
This is about double the surface area of the United Kingdom, and just over four times the surface area of England.

Population: 60,876,136 total estimated population of  Metropolitan France, mid 2007
This is just a few thousand more than the population of the United Kingdom.

Population density: 110 people per sq km
This is just less than the EU average of 112 /km², and less than half the density of the UK (246 p/km²)

Per capita GDP for France: 2007  27,800 €
Compare to: Ireland 35,700 €, Belgium 30,200 €, UK 29,400 €,  Germany 28,200 €,
Spain 25,400 €, Portugal 18,200 €.  Source: Eurostat, April 2007.

The French economy:
Economic growth 2007:

France:  +2%
Compare to: Ireland +5% , Belgium +2.2%, UK +2.9%,  Germany +1.8% ,
Spain + 3.8%, Portugal +1.8% .  European union average: +2.8%    Source: IMF estimates, 2007

Inflation 2007:
France:  + 1.7 %
Compare to: Ireland +2.5% , Belgium +1.9%, UK +2.3%,  Germany +2.0 % ,
Spain + 2.6 %, Portugal +2.5 % .  European union average: +2.2%  Source: IMF estimates, 2007

Unemployment:
France:  8.6 % (and falling)
Compare to: Ireland +4% , Belgium 7.2%, UK +5.4%,  Germany 8.8 % ,
Spain + 8.0 %, Portugal +7.9 % .  European union average: +6.9%  Source: Eurostat, for June 2007.

Employment by sector:
France: Agriculture: 4.1%,  industry: 24.4%,  services: 71.5% (1999)
Compare with :
U.K.: Agriculture: 1.4%,  industry: 18.2%, services: 80.4%  (2006) . Source: CIA world factbook.

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