33^rd Global
Conference of ICSW
Tours, France, June 30th to July 4th

With 550,000 sq. km, France is the largest country in Western Europe (almost one fifth of the total area of the European Union). Plains cover two thirds of the total area. Principal mountain ranges are the Alps (of which the highest peak, Mont Blanc, rising to 4,808 metres, is the highest mountain in Western Europe), Pyrenees, Jura, Ardennes, Massif Central and Vosges. Bordered by four seas (North Sea, Channel, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean), France has 5,500 km of coastline.

Farms and forests cover 48 million hectares, i.e. 82% of the total area of metropolitan France. Nearly 30% of French territory is covered by forests, placing France third in the European Union in terms of land under forest, behind Sweden and Finland.

On 1 January 2006, Metropolitan France had an estimated 63.1 million inhabitants. France thus accounts for more than 12.9% of the European Union’s population. In 2006, life expectancy at birth was 77.2 years for men and 84.1 for women. It has 57 urban areas with over 100,000 inhabitants.

The French Republic comprises:
-Metropolitan France, divided into 22 regions and subdivided into 96 departments
-Four overseas departments (DOM) - Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane (French Guiana) and Réunion
-Seven overseas territories - French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte,Saint Pierre and Miquelon and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Saint-Barthélémy, Saint-Martin
-and one territory with special status: New Caledonia

The Constitution of 4 October 1958 provides the institutional basis for the Fifth Republic.

The President of the Republic, Head of State, is elected for a five-year term by direct universal suffrage. Nicolas Sarkozy became the sixth President of the Fifth Republic on May 6, 2007. He presides over the Council of Ministers, promulgates Acts of Parliament and is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He may dissolve the National Assembly and in an emergency exercise special powers.

Parliament comprises two assemblies:

-the Senate, elected since 2003 for a six-year term, as against a nine-year one before, by indirect universal suffrage, and renewed by half every three years.The last election took place in September 2004.

-the National Assembly (photo), whose members (deputies) are elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. The most recent general election was held inJune 2007.

In addition to providing a check on the Government, the two assemblies draw up and pass legislation. In the case of disagreement on a law the National Assembly makes the final decision.

The national anthem is the Marseillaise. The motto of the French Republic is "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity". In 1789, La Fayette added the colour white, symbolizing royalty, to the red and blue cockade of the Paris National Guard. The tricolour is the official standard of the FrenchRepublic.

In 2007, education spending amounted to €77billion, 28% of the national budget. This represents 6,9% per inhabitant.

France has a total labour force of some 27.6 million. Within this category, 25.1 million are wage and salary earners and 2.5 million, 9.8% of the total labour force, are job seekers (January 2004). 74.5% of men and 63.8% of women are in employment.

The French Social Security system was introduced in 1945. Benefits are financed on a "pay as you go" basis. 65.5% of total social security spending (29.6% of GDP) comes from employers and employees’contributions and 17.4% from taxes, including earmarked taxes such as the CSG (Contribution sociale généralisée - social security contribution levied on virtually all sources of income) or the CRDS (Contribution pour le remboursementde la dette sociale - contribution to the repayment of the social debt) which apply to all income other than that deriving from work. This is virtually the sole source of funding for the Social Security system. Public financing accounts for 13.5% of total resources.

Benefits break down as follows: pensions (44%), health (35.2%), family allowances (9%)and employment aid (unemployment benefit, vocational training and socialintegration) (7.4%).

However,the growing number of pensioners compared to the labour force, combined with medical advances and longer life expectancy, has led to a deficit in the French Social Security system and in 2003 to reform of the pension contribution system.

Health is a major concern of the French: in 2005, they spent €190,5 billion on medical care and goods. 77.15% of this was covered by the social security system, with an increasing proportion being met by households and insurance companies. A major programme of reform was institutedin 2004 to balance the accounts of the health insurance branch of the Social Security system.