France Missions
Capital
Paris (9,060,000, 1990 est.)
System of Government
Multiparty Republic
Area
549,183 Sq Km (212,041 Sq Mi) (about twice the size of Colorado)
Estimated 2000 Population
59,047,000
Geography
France is located in West Europe and the territory includes the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea as well as various other overseas departments and territories. It is bound by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the north and northeast, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the southeast, Spain and Andorra to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. France is mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in the north and west. The remainder is mountainous, with the Pyrenees in the south, and the Alps in east.
Climate
France’s climate ranges from Mediterranean in the south with warm humid winters and hot dry summers, to maritime in the northwest with mild winters and cool summers. In the east a continental climate is dominant with cold winters, long periods of snow and warm summers. Average temperature ranges in Paris are from 34 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 57 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit in July.
People
The French account for around 91% of the population in France. Ethnic minorities include people of Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indo-Chinese and Basque origins.
Vital Statistics
Life Expectancy at Birth: 72.7 years male, 80.9 years female (1990). Infant Mortality Rate: 7.4 per 1,000 live births (1990). HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.44% (1999 est.).
Religions
About 90% of the French are Roman Catholic and 2% Protestant. Muslims account for 3%, mostly North African workers. Only 1% are Jewish. Though historically a Christian nation, most French people are now only nominally Christian, and many of the millions of immigrants from Eastern Europe and North Africa have never heard the Gospel.
Languages
The official language is French. Other languages and dialects spoken are Provencal, Breton, Corsican, German, Dutch and Basque.
History
After World War II France became one of the five great UN powers and played an important part in the Cold War between the communist countries and the western nations. In 1946 the first revolt by a French colony began in Indo-China led by the communist Ho Chi Minh rebels. In 1954 France was forced to withdraw from Indo-China after a humiliating defeat, and it was eventually divided into Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. In the same year a revolution broke out in the French territory of Algeria and President Charles de Gaulle sent troops there, resulting in a full scale civil war. To prevent revolutions in Morocco and Tunisia, France granted them independence in 1956 while other French Colonies in Africa received their independence by 1960. In 1961 President de Gaulle negotiated a ceasefire in Algeria, and that nation gained its independence in 1962. Francois Mitterrand was elected President in 1981, and re-elected in 1988. During 1992 alleged corruption scandals against members of the ruling Socialist Party plagued the government, and in 1993 the Socialist Party lost the general elections with the conservative parties of the right winning the majority of seats. In 1995 Jacques Chirac was elected president. Today France is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the advent of the euro dollar in January 1999.
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