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National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : ST BNOTES FRANCE
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994

AGENCY      : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PROGRAM     : BACKGROUND NOTES
TITLE       : Background Notes - FRANCE

Source key      : ST
Program key     : ST BNOTES
Update sched.   : Occasionally
Data type       : TEXT
End year        : 1992
Date of record  : 19941018
Keywords 3      :
Keywords 3      : | FRANCE

United States Department of State
Bureau of Public Affairs

BACKGROUND NOTES:  FRANCE
RELEASED:  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.):
 5.7 =$ 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. [phone]). 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.
4747-5300).

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.