An Introduction to France
The Roman province of Gaul became the Frankish Kingdom, with a similar territorial footprint to modern France, as early as the sixth century AD under King Clovis I. In the eighth century, Charlemagne made it the centre of a huge Empire in western and central Europe. See full country profile.Latest Research News from France
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GOVERNMENT: Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
AREA: 674,843 sq km
POPULATION: 65,350,000 (July 2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: French
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The Roman province of Gaul became the Frankish Kingdom, with a similar territorial footprint to modern France, as early as the sixth century AD under King Clovis I. In the eighth century, Charlemagne made it the centre of a huge Empire in western and central Europe.
In the next millennium France fought long-running territorial battles with England and its Angevin kings; then wars of religion against protestant states in the 16th to 18th centuries; conquered most of Europe from the Iberian peninsula to Moscow under its general-Emperor Napoleon; was beaten back by alliances and occupied by its eastern neighbour. It has gained and lost two Empires, but the second in particular has left a string of nations around'the world with common culture and heritage, the francophonie. It has also played a major part in the development of law and administration, political thought, philosophy and science, in Europe and around the world.Today France is the world's most visited country, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually; and one of the twin pillars of the EU and Eurozone - though some see its role as secondary to that of Germany. It enjoys a reputation for good living, traditionally producing the world's finest wines and most awarded cuisine / chefs, but also enjoys high life expectancy and excellent healthcare, recognised by the WHO as one of the world's top systems. And despite the ongoing rivalry with Britain and the joy we feel at beating them at sport, whether football, rugby, or cycling, there is a kind of grudging respect between the two. Deep down. Honest.
GDP: $2.257 trillion (2011 est.); $35,613 per capita
Religions Roman Catholic 83-88%; Muslim 5-10%; Protestant 2%; Jewish 1%; unaffiliated 4%
Currency: Euro
Telephone Code: + 33
MR Association(s):
Institut de Recherches et d'Etudes Publicitaires (IREP)
France is the 4th largest research market in the world, and the 3rd largest in Europe. 80 percent of MR turnover comes from domestic clients and 20 percent from international. According to the ESOMAR Global Prices Study 2012 the country was the 9th most expensive for carrying out research.
Source: ESOMAR
France is one of the world's leading economies the second largest in Europe by nominal GDP, and in 2010 had more companies in the Global Fortune 500 (39) than either Germany or the UK. Despite moves to liberalise and privatise the economy, the government is still heavily involved in French business, and has majority ownership of the railways, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecoms but the country also has around 2.5 million business registered.
Although affected by the slump of 2008, France has appeared to recover relatively quickly, creeping back into growth within a year. Public debt is high, but personal debt low, and its difficult to decide whether France is relatively robust or, as some prophets of doom say, a shadowy figure behind Italy and Spain in the row of potential Euro dominoes. Either way, the socialist victory in recent elections put it back in the limelight as far as economic policy goes: if Franois Hollande sticks to his election promises, France will ditch austerity and try the path of spending its way back to growth, and Europe will hold its breath. As yet, he hasnt rocked the boat much, but its early days.
Exports in 2010 were $508.7 bn - they include machinery, aircraft, plastics and pharmaceuticals and go to countries including Germany (15.9% in 2009), Italy (8.2%), Spain, Belgium and the UK (all between 7 and 8%). Imports of $577.7 bn the same year consisted for the most part of similar commodities, plus crude oil. Key suppliers are Germany (19.4% in 2009), Belgium (11.6%) and Italy, The Netherlands and Spain (6 to 8%).
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