France

F

1

Energy

France is endowed with few natural energy resources. Coal was the primary fuel of the Industrial Revolution, and the modest coalfields of northern France provided much of the energy for France’s early industrial expansion. With the rapid spread of the internal-combustion engine in the 20th century, petroleum surpassed coal as a primary energy source. With very little of its own petroleum reserves, France had to import the vast majority of its petroleum supplies. By the early 1970s France was importing about three-quarters of its energy, much of it petroleum.

An oil crisis in 1973 demonstrated the danger of France’s dependence on foreign oil, and the French government undertook new initiatives to develop alternative energy sources. Much of this effort centered on an ambitious program to generate electricity through nuclear energy. France also diversified the types and sources of imported energy and promoted energy conservation. These programs significantly reduced France’s dependence on external energy sources. By 1998 slightly more than half the energy used in France was produced domestically.

France generated 78 percent of its electricity in nuclear power plants in 2003; only Lithuania is more dependent on atomic power. France is the world’s second largest producer of nuclear electricity, after the United States. Today there are 19 nuclear power generation sites in France, as well as one of the world's largest uranium enrichment plants (uranium is a fuel for nuclear reactors). The development of nuclear power in France has raised relatively few popular protests. Not all nuclear power projects have met with success, however. In southeastern France a 13-year-old fast-breeder reactor, a type of nuclear reactor that produces nuclear fuels, was permanently closed in 1998. The plant, located near Grenoble, was shut down following technical problems, safety concerns, and opposition from environmental groups.

The remainder of France’s electricity output is generated by hydroelectric facilities (see Waterpower) and by thermal installations using coal, petroleum products, or natural gas. In 1966 France opened a tidal power plant on the Rance River in Brittany to harness the tremendous power of the ocean tides. France produces more electricity than it uses and is a major exporter of electricity to neighboring countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, and Switzerland.

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Coal production and use in France declined significantly in the late 20th century. Coal production peaked in 1958 at 58 million metric tons. By 2003, due in part to declining coal reserves and rising extraction costs, France produced just 1.7 million metric tons. During the same year France imported three-quarters of its coal supplies. Declining coal production was accompanied by declining consumption, as industries and households turned to other energy sources. By 1998 coal accounted for just 6.4 percent of the energy consumed in France.

Indigenous supplies of petroleum, located in a series of wells in southwestern France and the Paris Basin, are extremely limited. France is therefore a major importer of petroleum. In 1998 France imported 98 percent of the petroleum it consumed. Since the early 1970s the importance of petroleum as an energy source has declined steadily, from 67 percent of all energy used in 1973 to 40 percent in 1998. The sources of imported petroleum have also changed. In the 1970s France imported nearly three-quarters its petroleum from the Middle East. Today, France supplements its Middle East imports with large shipments of petroleum from the North Sea, Africa, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Major petroleum refineries in France are located near Marseille, Le Havre, and Rouen.

Domestic reserves of natural gas are also small. An important supply of natural gas was discovered in southwestern France in 1951, but it is likely to be exhausted within the first two decades of the 21st century. In 1998 France imported 94 percent of the natural gas it consumed. Natural gas has become an increasingly important energy source.

F

2

Transportation

France enjoys one of the most highly developed transportation systems in the world. France has the densest road network in Europe and an extensive network of railways and navigable waterways. Its major airports are among the world’s busiest. Paris has long been at the center of the French transportation system, with the nation’s chief land, water, and air routes radiating from the capital. In recent decades major road transportation projects have focused on bypassing Paris and improving connections between large provincial cities.

France’s road network has grown increasingly important since World War II: Today it carries three-quarters of the nation’s freight and more than four-fifths of all passenger traffic. In 2003 France had 891,290 km (553,822 mi) of roads, including thousands of kilometers of limited-access autoroutes, or superhighways. Compared to other countries in western Europe, France was slow to develop its superhighway network. In 1960 the network amounted to just 174 km (108 mi); by 1965, it had grown only to 650 km (400 mi). Then, in 1970, the government began promoting motorway construction by granting concessions to private enterprises, which financed their projects by charging tolls. The superhighway network grew to 6,000 km (3,700 mi) in 1985 and to 8,600 km (5,300 mi) by 1997.

Railway construction in France began in the early 19th century; by the end of the century many of the main lines of the nation’s railway network were in place. Most railway lines radiated out from Paris, which served as the nation’s transportation hub. Legislation nationalizing French railroads was passed in 1937. Independent railway companies and the existing state-controlled railways joined together in the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (French National Railways, or SNCF), with the state owning a controlling share. The railway network reached its peak length of 42,000 km (26,000 mi) in 1932. Railways declined sharply in importance in the decades after World War II. Rail’s share of domestic freight traffic fell from 62 percent in 1958 to 16 percent in 1997. Today, France has 29,000 km (18,000 mi) of railroad track in use, two-fifths of which is electrified.

Rail passenger traffic remains important in France. The development of the high-speed TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) has led to the construction of several new lines and increased the rate of rail passenger traffic. TGV can travel at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph) on specially built track, but the trains must travel much slower on conventional track. The first TGV line, completed in 1981, linked Paris with Lyon. A second line linked Paris with Nantes and Bordeaux and entered service in 1989. A third line linked Paris with Lille and was completed in 1993. In 1994 freight and passenger train service commenced through the English Channel Tunnel (nicknamed the “Chunnel”), connecting Calais, France, and Dover, England. Today, high-speed rail lines link Paris and other major French cities to many destinations outside of France, including cities in England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. TGV lines have proved so successful they have largely replaced passenger air travel between connected cities. Using the TGV, passengers can travel between Brussels and Paris in just 90 minutes.

France has 8,500 km (5,300 mi) of navigable rivers and canals, the longest system in Europe. Many of the canals linking navigable rivers were built in the 19th century, and few are suitable for large vessels. Inland water transport of freight has declined in recent decades as faster and less expensive alternatives have become available. By the mid-1990s, inland waters accounted for just 2 percent of all freight traffic, down from 10 percent in 1958.

France possesses a number of large maritime ports, including Marseille and Le Havre, two of the largest ports in Europe. Other major ports are Dunkerque, Calais, Nantes, Rouen, and Bordeaux. Marseille, Le Havre, and Rouen serve as entry points for large amounts of imported petroleum. Calais is the nation’s major passenger port, handling a significant volume of English Channel traffic.

The principal international airports of France are located near Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Strasbourg, and Toulouse. The two major airports near Paris, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly, handled 64 million passengers in 1998, making Paris one of the world’s busiest cities for air travel. Paris is also one of the leading airfreight centers in Europe. The most important airline operating in France is Air France, a part of Air France-KLM Group, the world’s largest airline group. Nationalized in 1933, Air France was partially privatized in 1999, and in 2003 Air France merged with The Netherlands-based KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) to form a new company called Air France-KLM. The French government retained a minority ownership share in the Air France subsidiary.

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3

Communications

France has a large and diverse communications system. The French government plays an important role in the provision of key communications services, including postal, telephone, and radio and television services. The free press has a long history in France. Many national and regional newspapers and magazines enjoy wide circulation and are important sources of information for France’s population. Most are privately owned and are not linked to political parties.

During most of the 20th century, mail, telephone, and telegraph services were managed by the same public agency. In 1991 mail and telecommunications were separated from each other and given to newly created, state-owned enterprises. Mail service was assigned to La Poste and telecommunications to France Télécom.

La Poste is one of the largest mail carriers within the European Union (EU), operating postal services in France, in several of the nation’s overseas departments and territories, and in Andorra and Monaco. In addition to delivering mail, La Poste offers retail banking and courier services. These services, which include savings and checking accounts, comprise an important part of La Poste’s revenues.

France enjoys a technologically advanced telecommunications system. France introduced the Minitel, a forerunner of the Internet, in the early 1980s. It consists of a video display terminal connected to a telecommunications network (Teletel) and is offered to telephone subscribers instead of a directory. The Minitel evolved over the years to offer news, booking services for travel, and mail order and other services. By 1999 France Télécom had distributed an estimated 9 million Minitel terminals to subscribers across France, most of them in private households. Minitel terminals remain widely used in France as they permit online access to useful services without the need for an Internet-linked personal computer. Today, Minitel services are also available on the Internet.

France Télécom formerly held a monopoly on telecommunications across France. During the 1990s France stepped up the deregulation of its telecommunications sector in response to directives from the European Union, and France Télécom was partially privatized in 1997. Today France Télécom is pursuing expansion into other European markets, and its subsidiaries provide Internet services, mobile telephone services, and other telecommunications services.

Radio and television services are provided by independent, publicly financed organizations, as well as by private commercial operators. All television broadcasting is monitored by an independent regulatory commission, the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA). Until the early 1980s French television consisted of three public broadcasting networks. The system was largely financed by an annual tax levied on owners of television sets. The creation of private television was authorized in 1984, and TF1—one of the state’s three broadcast networks—was privatized in 1987. Today, there are more than 100 broadcasters of televised programs, including free broadcasting networks, pay broadcasting networks, cable operators, and satellite channels. Major radio stations include the public radio networks Radio France and Radio France Internationale and the commercial stations Europe 1, RTL, and NRJ.

The press in France is well established and free from government control and censorship. Newspapers reflect a wide range of political viewpoints. Eight daily newspapers had a circulation of 300,000 or more, including four in Paris. The major Paris dailies are Le Figaro, Le Parisien, L’Equipe, Le Monde, and France-Soir. The major provincial dailies are Ouest-France in Rennes, Le Dauphiné Libéré in Grenoble, Sud-Ouest in Bordeaux, and La Voix du Nord in Lille. The country’s leading periodicals include Sélection du Reader’s Digest, Modes et Travaux, Nous Deux, L’Express, Paris-Match, and Marie-Claire. The leading arts magazine is Art et Décoration and the main business periodical is L’Expansion.

William James Adams contributed the Economy section of this article.

VI

Government

A

Overview

France is a presidential republic with a centralized national government. France’s current system of government, known as the Fifth Republic, is based on a constitution that was adopted by popular referendum in 1958. This constitution significantly enlarged presidential powers and curtailed the authority of parliament. The president, elected by direct popular vote, is head of state. This official appoints the prime minister, who is head of government. The French parliament consists of two chambers: the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly is more powerful than the Senate, although both chambers share legislative authority. The Constitutional Council, established by the 1958 constitution, has authority to supervise elections and referenda and to decide constitutional questions.

Until the French Revolution of 1789, France was a monarchy, governed by famous kings such as Henry IV and Louis XIV. The revolution abolished the monarchy but failed to establish a durable democracy. Power fell to Napoleon Bonaparte, and he eventually created an empire. Upon Bonaparte’s military defeat in 1815, the countries arrayed against him restored the French monarchy. The revolution of 1848 abolished the monarchy once again, and in 1852 Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, established a new empire. This regime crumbled in 1870 when Napoleon III was taken prisoner by Germany during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).

Democracy returned to France under the Third Republic, a system of government formally established by the constitution of 1875. A president, elected by a two-chambered parliament, replaced the emperor, and a cabinet responsible to the parliament exercised legislative powers. Governing during the Third Republic often proved challenging: Parliamentary coalitions shifted continually between elections, and cabinets fell frequently. The Third Republic survived until 1940, when German troops occupied France during World War II and an authoritarian collaborationist regime was established at Vichy.

In 1946, after the war ended, French voters approved the constitution of the Fourth Republic. The new constitution included several revisions intended to ensure a stable government, but it did not resolve the nation’s recurrent cabinet crises. France had 26 different governments during the Fourth Republic’s 12-year existence. In 1958 an insurrection in Algeria, then under French control, created fear of a coup d'état in France itself. General Charles de Gaulle, a French resistance leader during World War II, was invited to form a new government and draft a new constitution. De Gaulle favored a presidential system with a strong, stable executive at the center of power. His constitution was overwhelmingly approved by popular referendum and established the legal basis of the Fifth Republic. De Gaulle took office as the first president of the Fifth Republic.

B

The Constitution

The constitution of the Fifth Republic took effect on October 4, 1958. It created a hybrid form of republican government based on elements of both presidential and parliamentary systems. The constitution trimmed the authority of parliament and vested the president with crucial powers, including the right to dissolve the National Assembly and to choose the prime minister. Yet the prime minister retained significant authority as head of the Council of Ministers (commonly called the government) and leader of the majority party or coalition of parties in the National Assembly.

According to the constitution, national sovereignty belongs to the people. Under the principle of universal suffrage, the constitution gives the people the right to exercise their political will in periodic elections and referenda. All French citizens who have reached the age of voting eligibility, and who have not been deprived of their civil rights, are entitled to vote. Citizens can be deprived of civil rights temporarily, or permanently, if they are convicted of certain crimes. Women gained the right to vote in 1944. The Fifth Republic’s age of voting eligibility, initially set at 21, was lowered to 18 in 1974.

As a requirement of its membership in the European Union (EU), the French parliament approved a constitutional amendment allowing citizens of EU member countries who are residents in France to vote in elections for seats on France’s municipal councils. The same group may also vote to fill France’s seats in the European Parliament, the representative assembly of the EU. Citizens of any EU country can be elected to a French municipal council or to a French seat in the European Parliament, but they may not serve as mayors or as assistant mayors.

Constitutional amendments may be proposed by the president, at the request of the government, or by the members of parliament. Amendments are adopted after they win approval by both chambers of parliament and by a subsequent popular referendum, or merely by approval of three-fifths of parliament.