| Country name | conventional long form: French Republic conventional short form: France local long form: Republique francaise local short form: France etymology: name derives from the Latin "Francia" meaning "Land of the Franks"; the Franks were a group of Germanic tribes located along the middle and lower Rhine River in the 3rd century A.D. who merged with Gallic-Roman populations in succeeding centuries and to whom they passed on their name |
| Government type | semi-presidential republic |
| Capital | name: Paris geographic coordinates: 48 52 N, 2 20 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: applies to metropolitan France only; for its overseas regions the time difference is UTC-4 for Guadeloupe and Martinique, UTC-3 for French Guiana, UTC+3 for Mayotte, and UTC+4 for Reunion etymology: name derives from the Parisii, a Celtic tribe that inhabited the area from the 3rd century B.C., but who were conquered by the Romans in the 1st century B.C.; the Celtic settlement became the Roman town of Lutetia Parisiorum (Lutetia of the Parisii); over subsequent centuries it became Parisium and then just Paris |
| Administrative divisions | 18 regions (regions, singular - region); Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte (Burgundy-Free County), Bretagne (Brittany), Centre-Val de Loire (Center-Loire Valley), Corse (Corsica), Grand Est (Grand East), Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Hauts-de-France (Upper France), Ile-de-France, Martinique, Mayotte, Normandie (Normandy), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (New Aquitaine), Occitanie (Occitania), Pays de la Loire (Lands of the Loire), Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Reunion note: France is divided into 13 metropolitan regions (including the "collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and 5 overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion) and is subdivided into 96 metropolitan departments and 5 overseas departments (which are the same as the overseas regions) |
| Dependent areas | Clipperton Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna note: the US Government does not recognize claims to Antarctica; New Caledonia has been considered a "sui generis" collectivity of France since 1998, a unique status falling between that of an independent country and a French overseas department |
| Independence | no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship); 10 August 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 14 July 1789 (French monarchy overthrown); 22 September 1792 (First French Republic founded); 4 October 1958 (Fifth French Republic established) |
| National holiday | Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1790); note - although often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, the celebration actually commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 July 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are Fete Nationale (National Holiday) and quatorze juillet (14th of July) |
| Constitution | history: many previous; latest effective 4 October 1958 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic (upon recommendation of the prime minister and Parliament) or by Parliament; proposals submitted by Parliament members require passage by both houses followed by approval in a referendum; passage of proposals submitted by the government can bypass a referendum if submitted by the president to Parliament and passed by at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament’s National Assembly; amended many times, last in 2008; note - in May 2018, the prime minister submitted a bill to the National Assembly to amend several provisions of the constitution |
| Legal system | civil law; review of administrative but not legislative acts |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of France dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017) head of government: Prime Minister Jean CASTEX (since 3 July 2020) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president at the suggestion of the prime minister elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 23 April with a runoff on 7 May 2017 (next to be held in April 2022); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Emmanuel MACRON elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Emmanuel MACRON (EM) 24.%, Marine LE PEN (FN) 21.3%, Francois FILLON (LR) 20.%, Jean-Luc MELENCHON (FI) 19.6%, Benoit HAMON (PS) 6.4%, other 8.7%; percent of vote in second round - MACRON 66.1%, LE PEN 33.9% |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of: Senate or Senat (348 seats - 328 for metropolitan France and overseas departments and regions of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Reunion, and Mayotte, 2 for New Caledonia, 2 for French Polynesia, 1 for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, 1 for Saint-Barthelemy, 1 for Saint-Martin, 1 for Wallis and Futuna, and 12 for French nationals abroad; members indirectly elected by departmental electoral colleges using absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for departments with 1-3 members and proportional representation vote in departments with 4 or more members; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years) National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats - 556 for metropolitan France, 10 for overseas departments, and 11 for citizens abroad; members directly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms) elections: Senate - last held on 24 September 2017 (next to be held on 24 September 2020) National Assembly - last held on 11 and 18 June 2017 (next to be held in June 2022) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by political caucus (party or group of parties) - LR 144, PS 73, UC 51. LREM 23, RDSE 22, CRCE 16, RTLI 13, other 6; composition - men 246, women 102, percent of women 29.3% National Assembly - percent of vote by party first round - LREM 28.2%, LR 15.8%. FN 13.2%, FI 11%, PS 7.4%, other 24.4%; percent of vote by party second round - LREM 43.1%, LR 22.2%, FN 8.8%, MoDEM 6.1%, PS 5.7%. FI 4.9%, other 9.2%; seats by political caucus (party or group of parties) - LREM 306, LR 104, MoDEM 46, UDI/Agir 29, PS 29, UDI 18, FI 17, Liberties and Territories 16, PCF 16, other 14; composition - men 349, women 228, percent of women 39.5%; note - total Parliament percent of women 35.7% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (consists of the court president, 6 divisional presiding judges, 120 trial judges, and 70 deputy judges organized into 6 divisions - 3 civil, 1 commercial, 1 labor, and 1 criminal); Constitutional Council (consists of 9 members) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the president of the republic from nominations from the High Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the Court of Cassation and 15 appointed members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 3 appointed by the president of the republic and 3 each by the National Assembly and Senate presidents; members serve 9-year, non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years subordinate courts: appellate courts or Cour d'Appel; regional courts or Tribunal de Grande Instance; first instance courts or Tribunal d'instance; administrative courts note: in April 2021, the French Government submitted a bill on judicial reform to Parliament |
| Political parties and leaders | Presidential majority Parties [Edouard PHILIPPE] Democratic Movement or MoDem [Francois BAYROU] La Republique en Marche! or LREM [Richard FERRAND] Movement of Progressives or MDP Robert HUE] Parliamentary right Parties [Francois BAROIN] Hunting, Fishing, Nature and Tradition or CPNT [Eddie PUYJAION] The Republicans or LR [Annie GENEVARD] Union of Democrats and Independents or UDI [Jean-Christophe CAMBADELIS] Parliamentary left Parties [Bernard CAZENEUVE] Sociatlist Party or PS [Jean-Christophe CAMBADEMAND] Radical Party of the Left or PRG [Sylvia PINEL] Citizen and Republican Movement or MRC [Jean-Luc LAURENT] Martinican Progressive Party or PPM [Aiem CESAIRE] Debout la France or DLF [Nicolas DUPONT-AIGNAN] Ecology Democracy Solidarity or EDS [Paula FORTEZA, Matthieu ORPHELIN (splinter party formed in May 2020 by defectors of LREM) Europe Ecologists - the Greens or EELV [David CORMAND] French Communist Party or PCF [Pierre LAURENT] La France Insoumise or FI [Jean-Luc MELENCHONLIS] National Front or FN [Marine LE PEN] |
| International organization participation | ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, FZ, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNRWA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Philippe Noel Marie Marc ETIENNE (since 8 July 2019) chancery: 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 944-6166 email address and website: info@ambafrance-us.org https://franceintheus.org/ consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Brian AGGELER (since 20 January 2021); note - also accredited to Monaco embassy: 2 avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris mailing address: 9200 Paris Place, Washington DC 20521-9200 telephone: [33] (1) 43-12-22-22, [33] (1) 42-66-97-83 FAX: [33] (1) 42-66-97-83 email address and website: Citizeninfo@state.gov https://fr.usembassy.gov/ consulate(s) general: Marseille, Strasbourg consulate(s): Bordeaux, Lyon, Rennes |
| Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the "Le drapeau tricolore" (French Tricolor), the origin of the flag dates to 1790 and the French Revolution when the "ancient French color" of white was combined with the blue and red colors of the Parisian militia; the official flag for all French dependent areas note: for the first four years, 1790-94, the order of colors was reversed, red-white-blue, instead of the current blue-white-red; the design and/or colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Netherlands |
| National symbol(s) | Gallic rooster, fleur-de-lis, Marianne (female personification); national colors: blue, white, red |
| National anthem | name: "La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille) lyrics/music: Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle note: adopted 1795, restored 1870; originally known as "Chant de Guerre pour l'Armee du Rhin" (War Song for the Army of the Rhine), the National Guard of Marseille made the song famous by singing it while marching into Paris in 1792 during the French Revolutionary Wars |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
