Organized labor:
20% of labor force (est.)

:France Government

Long-form name:
French Republic
Type:
republic
Capital:
Paris
Administrative divisions:
metropolitan France - 22 regions (regions, singular - region); Alsace,
Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre,
Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France,
Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais,
Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur,
Rhone-Alpes; note - the 22 regions are subdivided into 96 departments; see
separate entries for the overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe,
Martinique, Reunion) and the territorial collectivities (Mayotte, Saint
Pierre and Miquelon)
Independence:
unified by Clovis in 486, First Republic proclaimed in 1792
Constitution:
28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962
Dependent areas:
Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Polynesia, French
Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, New
Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna
note:
the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not
legislative acts
National holiday:
Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of an upper house or Senate
(Senat) and a lower house or National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court (Cour Constitutionnelle)
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Pierre BEREGOVOY (since 2 April 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
Rally for the Republic (RPR, formerly UDR), Jacques CHIRAC; Union for French
Democracy (UDF, federation of PR, CDS, and RAD), Valery Giscard d'ESTAING;
Republican Party (PR), Gerard LONGUET; Center for Social Democrats (CDS),
Pierre MEHAIGNERIE; Radical (RAD), Yves GALLAND; Socialist Party (PS),
Laurent FABIUS; Left Radical Movement (MRG), Emile ZUCCARELLI; Communist
Party (PCF), Georges MARCHAIS; National Front (FN), Jean-Marie LE PEN
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections