competition. France's leaders remain
committed to a capitalism in which they maintain social equity by
means of laws, tax policies, and social spending that reduce income
disparity and the impact of free markets on public health and
welfare. The government in 2006 focused on introducing measures that
attempt to boost employment through increased labor market
flexibility; however, the population has remained opposed to labor
reforms, hampering the government's ability to revitalize the
economy. The tax burden remains one of the highest in Europe (nearly
50% of GDP in 2005). The lingering economic slowdown and inflexible
budget items probably pushed the budget deficit above the eurozone's
3%-of-GDP limit in 2006; unemployment hovers near 9%.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.871 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.154 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.3% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$30,100 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 20.6%
services: 77.2% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
27.88 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 24.4%
services: 71.5% (1999)

Unemployment rate:
9.1% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
6.5% (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32.7 (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
20% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.15 trillion
expenditures: $1.211 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2006 est.)

Public debt:
64.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

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

Industries:
machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft,
electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
1.5% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
540.6 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 8.2%
hydro: 14%
nuclear: 77.1%
other: 0.7% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
440.6 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
68.6 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
6.5 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
77,690 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
1