hinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft,
electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 497.26 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 9.69%

hydro: 14.39%

nuclear: 75.43%

other: 0.49% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 398.752 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 68.7 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 5 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine
grapes; beef, dairy products; fish

Exports: $325 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: machinery and transportation equipment,
aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and
steel, beverages

Exports - partners: EU 63% (Germany 16%, UK 10%, Spain 9%, Italy 9%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 8%), US 8% (1999)

Imports: $320 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil,
aircraft, plastics, chemicals

Imports - partners: EU 62% (Germany 16%, Belgium-Luxembourg 11%,
Italy 9%, UK 8%), US 7% (2000 est.)

Debt - external: $106 billion (1998)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $6.3 billion (1997)

Currency: French franc (FRF); euro (EUR)

note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common
currency that is now being used by financial institutions in France
at a fixed rate of 6.55957 French francs per euro and will replace
the local currency for all transactions in 2002

Currency code: FRF; EUR

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854
(2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.65 (January
1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

France Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 34.86 million (yearend 1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 11.078 million (yearend 1998)

Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed

domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive
introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system

international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (with total of
5 antennas - 2 for Indian Ocean and 3 for Atlantic Ocean), NA
Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region); HF radiotelephone
communications with more than 20 countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 41, FM about 3,500 (this figure is an
approximation and includes many repeaters), short