Wayzata World Factbook 1994/World Factbook - 1994 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1994).iso/pc/text/txtfiles/france.bkg

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#CARD:France:Background Notes
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE BACKGROUND NOTES:  FRANCE

November 1990
Official Name: French Republic

PROFILE
Geography
Area: 551,670 sq. km. (220,668 sq. mi.); largest West European country,
about four-fifths the size of Texas.  Cities: Capital-Paris.   Other
cities-Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nice, Bordeaux. Terrain:
Varied. Climate: Temperate; similar to that of the eastern US.

People
Nationality: Noun-Frenchman(men). Adjective-French.  Population: (1989
est.): 56 million.  Annual growth rate (1989 est.): 0.5%.  Ethnic
groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African,
Indochinese, and Basque minorities.  Religion: Roman Catholic 90%.
Language: French. Education: Years compulsory-10. Literacy-99%.  Health:
Infant mortality rate-8.2/1,000.   Work force (24 million, 1987):
Agriculture-8%. Industry and commerce-45%. Services-47%. Unemployment
rate (1989 est.): 9.4%.

Government
Type: Republic.  Constitution: September 28, 1958.
Branches: Executive-president (chief of state); prime minister (head of
government).  Legislative-bicameral parliament (577-member National
Assembly, 319-member Senate).  Judicial-Court of Cassation (civil and
criminal law), Council of State (administrative court), Constitutional
Council (constitutional law).
Subdivisions: 22 administrative regions containing 95 departments
(metropolitan France).  Five overseas departments (Guadeloupe,
Martinique, French Guiana and Reunion); five overseas territories (New
Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, and French
Southern and Antarctic Territories); and two special status territories
(Mayotte and St. Pierre and Miquelon).
Political parties: Socialist Party (PS), Rally for the Republic
(RPR-Gaullists/Conservatives), Union for French Democracy
(UDF-Center-Right), Parti Republicain (PR-center right), Communist Party
(PCF), National Front (FN), various minor parties.  Suffrage: Universal
over 18.
Defense (1987): 16.1% of central government budget.
Flag: Three vertical stripes of blue, white, and red.

Economy
GDP (1989 est.): $970 billion.  Avg. annual growth rate (1989 est.):
4.5%.  Per capita GDP (1989 est.): $17,320.  Avg. inflation rate (1989
est.): 3.5%.
Natural resources: Coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, forests.
Agriculture: Products-beef, dairy products, cereals, sugar beets,
potatoes, wine grapes.
Industry: Types-steel, machinery, textiles and clothing, chemicals, food
processing, aircraft, electronics, transportation.
Trade (1989 est.): Exports-(f.o.b.) $160 billion: chemicals,
electronics, automobiles, automobile spare parts, machinery, aircraft,
foodstuffs.  Imports-(f.o.b.) $167.8 billion: crude petroleum,
electronics, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, automobile spare parts.
Partners-FRG, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, US, UK, Netherlands, Japan.
Official exchange rate (1989 avg.): ü5.7 =$ 1.

Membership in International Organizations
 UN and most of its specialized and related agencies, including the UN
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
International Labor Organization (ILO), and the World Health
Organization (WHO); NATO; Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD); Western European Union; European Community (EC);
INTELSAT.

PEOPLE
 Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, travel,
and invasion. Three basic European stocks-Celtic, Latin, and Teutonic
(Frankish)-have blended over the centuries to make up its present
population.
 France's birth rate was among the highest in Europe from 1945 until the
late 1960s, when it began to decline. The annual net increase of births
over deaths stood at 250,000-350,000 until 1974. Because of this growth
and immigration, the population increased from 41 million in 1946 to 53
million in 1977. In the past few years, the birth rate has continued to
fall but remains higher than that of most other West European countries.
 Traditionally, France has had a high level of immigration.  Most
resident aliens are southern Europeans (52% of total) and North Africans
(26% of total), the two principal nationalities being Portuguese and
Algerian.
 About 90% of the people are Roman Catholic, less than 2% are
Protestant, and about 1% are Jewish. More than 1 million Muslims
immigrated in the 1960s and early 1970s from North Africa, especially
Algeria.
 Education is free beginning at age 2 and mandatory between ages 6 and
16.  The public education system is highly centralized, with a budget
totaling about 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).  Private education
is primarily Roman Catholic.  Higher education in France, which began
with the founding of the University of Paris in 1150, enrolls about 1
million students in 69 universities in continental France and an
estimated additional 158,000 in special schools, such as the Grandes
Ecoles, technical colleges, and vocational training institutions.
 The French language derives from the vernacular Latin spoken by the
Romans in Gaul, although it includes many Celtic and Germanic words.
French has been an international language for centuries and is a common
second language throughout the world.  It is one of five official
languages at the United Nations.  In Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the
West Indies, French has been a unifying factor, particularly in those
countries where it serves as the only common language among a variety of
indigenous languages and dialects.

Cultural Achievements
 Since the time of the Roman Empire, France's achievements in
literature, the arts, and science have profoundly influenced Western
culture.  In architecture, the Romanesque basilicas, soaring Gothic
cathedrals, the formal gardens of Versailles, the imperial design of
Parisian boulevards and squares, and the modern designs of masters like
Le Corbusier attest to France's continuing influence.
 French painting has spanned the centuries in greatness and includes
such names as Watteau (1684-1721), who depicted the polished, elegant
society of his time; David (1748-1825), the neoclassical artist of the
Revolution and Empire; Delacroix (1798-1863) the romantic; naturalists
and realists Corot (1796-1875), Millet (1814-75), and Courbet (1819-77),
who painted realistic landscapes and scenes from rural life; the
impressionists, including Monet (1840-1926) and Renoir (1841-1919), who
explored light on canvas; and Cezanne (1839-1906), whose ideas about the
treatment of space and dimension are at the base of 20th-century modern
art.  Other famous artists, such as Van Gogh and Picasso, were drawn to
France from other countries.
 In music, Berlioz (1803-69) and Saint-Saens (1835-1921) in the romantic
period were followed by Debussy (1862-1918) and Faure (1845-1924), who
were inspired by the impressionist movement in painting.  In the 19th
century, Bizet (1838-75) wrote the opera Carmen, and Gounod (1818-93)
wrote Faust and Romeo et Juliette. Although born in Poland, Chopin
(1810-49) spent his adult life in Paris.
 France has played a leading role in the advancement of science.
Descartes (1596-1650) contributed to mathematics and to the modern
scientific method; Lavoisier (1743-94) laid the fundamentals of modern
chemistry and physics; Becquerel (1854-1912) and the Curies jointly
discovered radium and the principle of radioactivity; and Pasteur
(1822-95) developed theories of germs and vaccinations.  Several
important French inventors were Daguerre (1789-1851), a theatrical
scenery painter who invented the daguerrotype, an early photograph;
Braille (1809-52), a blind teacher of the blind, after whom the system
of raised lettering enabling the blind to read is named; and Bertillon
(1853-1914), an anthropologist and criminologist who organized the
fingerprint system of identification.  French scientists have won a
number of Nobel Prizes during the 20th century.
 French literature is renowned from the medieval romances of Marie de
France and Chretien de Troyes and the poetry in Old French of Francois
Villon to the 20th century novelists Colette, Proust, Sartre, and Camus.
 Over the intervening centuries, a number of renowned  artists
flourished that included the Renaissance writers Rabelais (fiction),
Ronsard (poetry), and Montaigne (essays); the 17th century classical
dramatists Corneille, Racine, and Moliere; the 18th century philosophers
Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau; the romantics Germain
de Stael, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas (father and son), and Alphonse de
Lamartine; 19th century novelists Stendhal, George Sand, and Balzac;
realist Flaubert; naturalists Zola and Baudelaire; and 19th century
poets Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Valery.
 French filmmakers from Jean Renoir to Francois Truffaut have won
acclaim in recent decades.

HISTORY
 France was one of the earliest countries to progress from feudalism
into the era of the nation-state.  Its monarchs surrounded themselves
with capable ministers, and French armies were among the most
innovative, disciplined, and professional of their day.  During the
reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), France was the preeminent power in
Europe.  But overly ambitious projects and military campaigns of Louis
and his successors led to chronic financial problems in the 18th
century.  Deteriorating economic conditions and popular resentment
against the complicated system of privileges granted the nobility and
clerics were among the principal causes of the French Revolution
(1789-94).
 Although the revolutionaries advocated republican and egalitarian
principles of government, France reverted to forms of absolute rule or
constitutional monarchy four times-the Empire of Napoleon, the
Restoration of Louis XVIII, the reign of Louis-Philippe, and the Second
Empire of Napoleon III.  After the Franco-Prussian War (1870), the Third
Republic was established and lasted until the military defeat of 1940.
 World War I brought great losses of troops and materiel.  In the 1920s,
France established an elaborate system of border defenses (the Maginot
Line) and alliances to offset resurgent German strength.  France was
defeated, however, and occupied in 1940. Following 4 years of occupation
and strife, Allied forces liberated France in 1944.  The nation emerged
exhausted from World War II and faced a series of new problems.
 After a short period of provisional government, initially led by Gen.
Charles de Gaulle, the Fourth Republic was established under a new
constitution with a parliamentary form of government controlled by a
series of coalitions.  The mixed nature of the coalitions and the lack
of agreement on measures for dealing with Indochina and Algeria caused
successive cabinet crises and changes of government.  The government
structure finally collapsed over the Algerian question on May 13, 1958.
A threatened coup led parliament to call on General de Gaulle to head
the government and prevent civil war.  He became prime minister in June
1958 (at the beginning of the Fifth Republic) and was elected president
in December.
 On December 5, 1965, for the first time in the 20th century, the French
people went to the polls to elect a president by direct ballot.  General
de Gaulle defeated Francois Mitterrand with 55% of the vote.
 In April 1969, President de Gaulle's government conducted a national
referendum on the creation of 21 regions with limited political powers.
The government's proposals were defeated (48% in favor, 52% opposed),
and President de Gaulle resigned.  Following de Gaulle were Gaullist
Georges Pompidou (1969-1974), Independent Republican Valery Giscard
d'Estaing (1974-1981), and Socialist Francois Mitterand (1981-present).

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
 The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by public
referendum on September 28, 1958.  It greatly strengthened the authority
of the executive in relation to parliament. Under the constitution, the
president is elected directly for a 7-year term. Presidential
arbitration assures regular functioning of the public powers and the
continuity of the state.  The president names the prime minister,
presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, and concludes
treaties.  The president may submit questions to a national referendum
and can dissolve the National Assembly.  In certain emergency
situations, the president may assume full powers.  The president is thus
the dominant element in the constitutional system.
 Parliament meets in regular session twice annually for a maximum of 3
months on each occasion.  Special sessions are common.  Although
parliamentary powers are diminished from those existing under the Fourth
Republic, the National Assembly can still cause a government to fall if
an absolute majority of the total assembly membership votes to censure.
 The National Assembly is the principal legislative body.  Its deputies
are directly elected to 5-year terms, and all seats are voted on in each
election.  Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 9-year terms,
and one-third of the Senate is renewed every 3 years.  The Senate's
legislative powers are limited; the National Assembly has the last word
in the event of a disagreement between the two houses.  The government
has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of parliament.  The
government also can link its life to any legislative text, and unless a
motion of censure is introduced and voted, the text is considered
adopted without a vote.
 The most distinctive feature of the French judicial system is that it
is divided into two categories-a regular court system and a court system
that deals specifically with legal problems of the French administration
and its relation to the French citizen.   The Constitutional Council
rules on constitutional questions.
 Traditionally, decisionmaking in France has been highly centralized,
with each of France's departments headed by a prefect appointed by the
central government.  In 1982, the national government passed legislation
to decentralize authority by giving a wide range of administrative and
fiscal powers to local elected officials.  In March 1986, regional
councils were directly elected for the first time.
 In the National Assembly (577 seats), the Socialists and their allies
currently hold 271 seats; the Communists, 26.  The center-right
opposition consists of the neo-Gaullist RPR (132 seats), the UDF
coalition (90 seats), and the UDC (Centrists-41 seats).  Sixteen members
of the National Assembly have no parliamentary group affiliation.  The
far-right National Front currently has one deputy.  The cabinet, headed
by Prime Minister Rocard, is composed of 47 ministers,
minister-delegates, and secretaries of state.

ECONOMY
 France is the fourth largest Western industrialized economy.  Its
$970-billion GDP in 1989 was about one-fifth that of the United States.
It has substantial agricultural resources, a diversified modern
industrial system, and a highly skilled labor force.
 For the past 2 years, France has enjoyed an investment and export boom,
enabling its economy to grow at an average rate of  4%.  Keeping

inflation under control has strengthened France's competitiveness
abroad.  Government policy-stressing investment promotion and
maintenance of fiscal and monetary discipline-seeks to ensure the
franc's stability and strength within the European monetary system.
 Areas of concern exist, however, especially unemployment (9.4% in 1989)
and a moderate but stubborn trade deficit.  Over the last 2 years,
500,000 new jobs have been created, and although inflation in 1989 was
3.5%, this is still below the average in the European Community.
 France's highly developed and diversified industrial enterprises
generate about one-third of the GDP and employ about one-third of the
work force.  This distribution is similar to that of other highly
industrialized nations.  The government continues to exert considerable
control over the industrial sector both through planning and regulatory
activities and through direct state ownership.
 The most important areas of industrial production include steel and
related products, aluminum, chemicals, and mechanical and electrical
goods. France has been notably successful in developing dynamic
telecommunications, aerospace, and weapons sectors. With virtually no
domestic oil production, France has banked heavily on development of
nuclear power, which now produces about 80% of the country's electrical
energy.  Nuclear waste is stored onsite at reprocessing facilities,
although there is currently a 1-year moratorium on site work.
Underground storage is under study.
 Compared to the European Community's (EC) average of less than 50%,
only 10%-12% of the French work force is unionized.  Several competing
union confederations include the largest, oldest, and most powerful
union-the communist-dominated General Labor Confederation, the Workers'
Force, and the French Democratic Confederation of Labor.

Trade
 France is the second largest trading nation in Western Europe (after
the Federal Republic of Germany). Trade with the EC countries accounts
for 60% of total French trade.
 US exports to France have grown rapidly in recent years.  Two-way trade
in 1989 totaled nearly $25 billion.  US electronic production and
testing equipment, electronic components, telecommunications, computers
and peripherals, analytical and scientific instrumentation, medical
instruments and supplies, broadcasting equipment, and film programming
and franchising are particularly attractive to French importers.
Principal French exports to the United States are iron and steel,
machinery and electrical equipment, aircraft, beverages, and chemicals.

Agriculture
 A favorable climate, large tracts of fertile land, and the application
of modern technology have combined to make France the leading
agricultural producer in Western Europe.  The EC's common agricultural
policy also has created a large, easily accessible market for French
products.  France is one of the world's leading producers and exporters
of dairy products, wheat, and wine.  Although more land is devoted to
pasture and grain, some of France's best land is planted in wine grapes
in strictly controlled, small regions.  Of France's total land area, 56%
is under cultivation.

Balance of Payments
 In 1988 and 1989, France's trade and current account deficit grew
slowly, while exports, pulled along by stronger demand overseas, grew
more rapidly.  By 1989, the trade deficit was $10.5 billion (on a
balance of payments basis), while the current account deficit was $3.7
billion-0.4% of GDP, a figure that is easily financed and that remains
small by international standards.  French policymakers are nonetheless
quite concerned with trade performance in industrial goods  where a
surplus several years ago had turned, by 1989, to a $13 billion deficit.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
 A charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the
permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its
specialized and related agencies.
 Europe:  France is a leader in Western Europe because of its size,
location, strong economy, membership in European organizations, strong
military posture, and energetic diplomacy.  France generally has worked
to strengthen the global economic and political influence of the
European Community, attaches great importance to its role in common
European defense, and views Franco-German cooperation as the foundation
of efforts to enhance European security.  France is a firm supporter of
the CSCE process and other efforts at regional cooperation.
 Middle East:  France supports Israel's right to exist and the
implementation of Palestinians' political rights.  It believes in the
necessity of a comprehensive Middle Eastern peace settlement that would
include Israel's withdrawal from all occupied territories and the
establishment of a Palestinian homeland.  It believes this can best be
accomplished through an international peace conference and supports
direct involvement of the Palestine Liberation Organization.  France has
been actively engaged in promoting a political settlement and national
reconciliation in Lebanon.  In framing its policy in the Middle East,
France seeks to ensure oil supplies and access to markets.  France  was
among the first nations to oppose Iraqi aggression in Kuwait and sent a
large military force into the region.  As a permanent member of the UN
Security Council, France supported the resolutions calling for Iraq's
withdrawal.
 Africa:  France plays a significant role in Africa, especially in its
former colonies, through extensive aid programs, commercial activities,
military agreements, and cultural leadership. Key advisory positions are
staffed by French nationals in many African countries.  In those former
colonies where the French presence remains important, France contributes
to political, military, and social stability. France sent a large
military force to Chad in August 1983 to assist the government of Chad
resist an invasion by Libyan and Chadian rebel forces.  In early 1986,
France again assisted the Chadian government in resisting armed
incursions by Libyan-backed rebels.
 Despite reluctance to support Chadian President Hussein Habre's
reconquest of the Aozou Strip, France remains committed to supporting
Chadian territorial integrity.
 Asia:  France has extensive commercial relations with Asian countries,
including Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and China.  However, Japanese
competition in automobiles, electronics, and machine tools is a major
economic problem.  France has taken a leading role in efforts to achieve
a settlement to the Cambodian conflict and is seeking to broaden its
influence with Vietnam and Laos. Private French groups play a leading
role in humanitarian assistance to the Afghanistan resistance.
 Latin America:  France and the United States agree on the need for
strengthening democratic institutions in Latin America, despite
differences on certain issues.  There are large Latin American exile
communities in France, notably from Argentina and Chile. French economic
interests in the region are growing but remain only a small portion of
its worldwide economic activities.

DEFENSE
 France is a charter signatory to the North Atlantic Treaty and is a
member of the North Atlantic Council and its subordinate institutions.
Since 1966, it has not participated in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) integrated military structure, although it remains a
member of some alliance military or quasi-military bodies.  In addition,
France maintains liaison missions with the major NATO commands.
 French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national
independence, nuclear deterrence, and military sufficiency.  Its armed
forces are subject to national command, and any decision to cooperate
with its allies is subject to the sovereign decision of the French
president.
 France maintains an army corps in Germany and one corps stationed in
France near its eastern and northern borders.  France also has
reorganized its army.  Five divisions were regrouped into a rapid action
force designed to intervene rapidly in a conflict in Europe or overseas
if necessary.  Its navy is the largest in Western Europe, and its air
force has about 450 aircraft in operational units. France is linked to
its European neighbors through the 1948 Treaty of Brussels and the 1954
Paris accords.  It is an active member of the Western European Union and
has a close bilateral security relationship with Germany based on the
1963 Elysee Treaty.
 France maintains a strategic nuclear triad of manned bombers,
land-based intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and nuclear-powered
ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).  It is modernizing its nuclear
forces, and a seventh SSBN will be launched in the late 1990s.
 France participates in the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament
in Geneva (CCD), the Conference on Security- and Confidence-Building
Measures and Disarmament in Europe (CDE), and the conventional armed
forces in Europe (CFE) negotiations in Vienna.  France is not a
signatory to the Limited Test Ban Treaty and conducts nuclear testing
underground at its South Pacific test site. France has not signed the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but does follow its terms. The French
government has endorsed the Strategic Arms Limitation II Treaty.  The
French strongly support the process of US-Soviet nuclear arms control
and the ABM (anti-ballistic missile) Treaty, but they object to
inclusion of any French nuclear forces in these negotiations and are
wary of any moves toward the denuclearization of Europe.  France does
not wish to take part in negotiations on short-range nuclear forces
(SNF), which are to begin soon.

US-FRENCH RELATIONS
 Relations between the United States and France are active and cordial.
President Mitterrand has met with President Bush on numerous occasions.
Bilateral contact at the cabinet level is frequent.
 France and the United States are allies who share common values and
have parallel policies on most political, economic, and security issues.
Differences are discussed frankly when they develop and have not been
allowed to impair the pattern of close cooperation that characterizes
relations between the two countries.

Principal Government Officials
President-Francois Mitterrand
President of the Senate-Alain Poher
President-Francois Mitterrand
President of the Senate-Alain Poher
President of the National Assembly-Laurent Fabius
Prime Minister-Michel Rocard
Minister of State for Education and Sports-Lionel Jospin
Minister of State for Economy, Finance, and the Budget-Pierre Beregovoy
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs-Roland Dumas
Minister of Justice-Henri Nallet
Minister of Defense-Jean-Pierre Chevenement
Minister of Interior-Pierre Joxe
Minister of Culture, Communication,  Major Projects-Jack Lang
Ambassador to the United States-Jacques Andreani
Ambassador to the United Nations-Pierre-Louis Blanc

 France maintains an embassy in the United States at 4101 Reservoir
Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007, [phone]. Consulates are located
at Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Principal US Officials
Ambassador-Walter J.P. Curley
Deputy Chief of Mission-Mark C. Lissfelt
Minister Counselor for Political Affairs-Miles S. Pendleton
Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs-Janice F. Bay
Financial Attache-T. Whittier Wharthin
Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs-Melvin W. Searls
Counselor for Labor Affairs-John J. Muth
Counselor for Scientific and Technological Affairs-Michael Michaud
Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs-Diane Dillard
Minister Counselor for Administrative Affairs-Bruce W. Clark
Minister Counselor for Public Affairs-Robert J. Korengold
Defense Attache-Rear Adm. Philip Dur, USN

Consular Posts
Consul General, Marseille-R. Susan Wood
Consul General, Bordeaux-Judith M. Heimann
Consul General, Martinique-Raymond G. Robinson
Consul General, Lyon-Ann L. Stanford
Consul General, Strasbourg-Ints Silins

 The US Embassy in France is located at 2 Avenue Gabriel, Paris 8 (tel.
4296-1202). The United States also is represented in Paris by its
mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The G-7 Economic Summit
 President Bush hosted the 16th annual G-7 summit for the leaders of the
major industrialized democracies-Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan,
the United Kingdom, and the United States-and the president of the
European Community, in Houston, Texas, July 9-11.
 The summit was held against the backdrop of movement toward democracy
and freer markets in many parts of the world, including elections in
Eastern Europe and Nicaragua, increasing momentum toward German
unification, and political reforms in the Soviet Union.  The summit
leaders agreed on most international economic and political issues, but
intense discussions were needed on agricultural subsidies in the Uruguay
Round of multilateral trade negotiations, economic assistance to the
Soviet Union, and global warming before consensus could be reached.

Economic Accomplishments
 --  Agreement on progressive reductions in internal and external
support and protection of agriculture and on a framework for conducting
agricultural negotiations in order to conclude  the Uruguay Round by
December 1990.
 --  Request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank,
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to undertake a
study of the Soviet economy, to make recommendations, and to establish
the criteria under which Western economic assistance could effectively
support Soviet reforms by the end of 1990.
 --  Support for aid to Central and Eastern European nations that are
firmly committed to political and economic reform, including freer
markets, and encouragement of foreign private investment in those
countries and improved markets for their exports by means of trade and
investment agreements.
 --  Pledge to begin negotiations, to be completed by 1992, on a global
forest convention to protect the world's forests.

Political Accomplishments
 --  Promotion of democracy throughout the world by assisting in the
drafting of laws, advising in fostering independent media, establishing
training programs, and expanding exchange programs.
 --  Endorsement of the maintenance of an effective international
nuclear nonproliferation system, including adoption of safeguards and
nuclear export control measures, and support for a complete ban on
chemical weapons.


Travel Notes
 Customs: There is no visa requirement for US citizens who travel to
France for short-term visits of 90 days or less for purposes of business
or pleasure.  Travelers who are planning to work, study, or stay longer
than 90 days will still need a visa. No vaccination is required.
Travelers must declare goods carried in hand or in baggage and pass
through customs inspection.
 Clothing: Clothing needs are similar to those in Washington, DC.
 Health: No special precautions are needed. Standards of medical care
are usually acceptable. The American Hospital of Paris is located at 63

Boulevard Victor-Hugo, 9200 Neuilly sur Seine (tel. [phone]).
 Telecommunications: Domestic and international telephone, telegraph,
and cable communications are good. Paris is 6 hours ahead of Eastern
Standard Time.
 Transportation: Rail and bus systems offer good transportation in all
large French cities. Paris has an excellent subway system and local rail
services. Taxis are available at moderate rates in all cities. Good air
and railway service is available to all parts of France and other
European capitals.
 Holidays and closing hours: July 14, Bastille Day, is the national
holiday. Shops and other businesses close from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm daily.
Many businesses close in August

 Published by the United States Department of State --  Bureau of Public
Affairs  -- Office of  Public Communication  --  Washington, DC  --
November 1990   Editor:  Susan Holly
 Department of State Publication 8209
Background Notes Series  --  This material is in the public domain and
may  be reprinted without permission; citation of this source is
appreciated.  For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402. (###)


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