Economy of France

Introduction.

France is the fifth most important economy in the world today following United States, Chine, Japan and Germany. Its GNP (Gross National Product) per capita is over European Union's.

Government in France participates more than other countries making private enterprises and has given parts of public enterprises to private great owners (Air France's, Renault's, etc.). Also, government controls some sectors like energy, public transport, many great companies, the Army and Industry. French leaders regulate capitals economy consequences by strong economic laws.

French Economy principal sector is Service Sector (75% ), the Secondary Sector (Industry) takes 24% and First Sector (Agriculture, Farming, Fishing...) only takes about the 1% of the total GNP.

Employment in France supposes is 64% of the population.

In the International Market, France is the fifth one for its exporting deal and the sixth for its importing deal.

Economical Sectors in France.

First Sector (Agriculture and animal husbandry)

Agriculture in France supposes the 6% of the total employment, but it is decreasing.

This sector has been modernized since thirty years ago, so its productivity has increased enormously.

Principal crops are cereals´ (wheat and corn) and sugar (brought from overseas territories), also France produces wine, milk products, vegetables, etc. The production surplus is exported abroad (the most, the wine; then, milk products; and the last, vegetables,etc.).

Common Agriculture Politic of the European Unions began in France and it has made many problems since it was created.

Animal husbandry in France grows pigs and sheep, more than 20 millions animals totally.

Secondary Sector (Industry)

French Industry is the fourth one in the world. It is the 40 % of the total employment and 80 % of the exports.

This sector has got much prestigious in all traditional industries, the transport production, clothes´ and food, however, nowadays France successes at technologies industries as space development and air´s and communication, making the 80 % of the whole electronic chips in the world.

Since 1990 to 2000 industries was a very important sector in world economy because of its great production, its continuous progress, its variety and its surplus. Unfortunately, today´s economical crisis has damaged all that, so productivity has reduced and there are many debts to pay.

-Energy production.

France produces the 80% of its energy by nuclear energy ; 10% of energy comes from thermal power plants; and the other 10% comes from hydroelectric plants.

On the other hand, petrol products making needs petrol imports from foreign countries and natural gas demand too.

France has got many renewable energy possibilities (hard winds, sun, hydroelectric´s) ; some enterprises has also invested in solar energy.

-Car production.

Important car enterprises come from France (Peugeot, Citroën and Renault), so there are many other little manufacturers who depends of this industries producing materials, machine, tools, etc. Although the 65% of the French cars production is made abroad and the same average is applied in exports.

-Construction.

Public buildings are the most important ones in this industry. The principal enterprises (Vinci, Eiffage,etc) use modern construction techniques building roads and enormous constructions (Millau´s aqueduct).

Although 60% construction are housing building, there are not important companies dedicated to it, in fact the number little housing enterprises in France are 30.000 ones.

Third Sector (services)

The 75% of the employment in France are in this sector and this is the most important for economical development. The progress in this sector is due to, in part, because of new technologies.

-Trade.

There are more than 660.000 companies in France, the bigger part is composed by little shops, and then, wholesalers and cars repairing.

Minority (quantity of enterprises) trade are big trade companies, who sell the 60% of the food and the 40% of other products. This companies are Carrefour, Auchan, Intermarché, Champion, etc; they has established many shops abroad too and someones has specialized in certain areas (Decathlon, Conforama, Leroy Merlin...) .

-Tourism.

France is the most visited country in the world. Every year 80 millions tourist go there, giving employment to 800.000 people and producing the 6% of the France total money.

Tourism companies are dedicated to accommodation and restoration essentially. There are thousands of hotels, restaurants and travelling agencies.

In Paris, more visited places are first, the Notre-Dame cathedral; the second, Eiffel Tower; and then, Georges Pompidou Center and Louvre Museum.

-Banks.

A half-million people works in banks and it produces the 3% of the total money benefits in France. Principal banks are BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Banque Populaire, CIC, etc.

Banks has developed since 1960 because of the international trading increase, the economical freedom in European Union and bank fusions between French ones and abroad ones.

-International Trade.

France is the fifth exporter in the world, but it has been decreasing since the crisis beginning. Nowadays France trades are more important in Europe and East countries.

Exports and imports has just been explained.

Actual situation in France: economical crisis.

France has resisted the economic crisis in a better way -they have faced it- than the rest of the countries in the Europe Union, except Germany. The proof of that is that they have been growing since 2009 about the 0,4% (except their fell down of -2% in a part of that year).

France politicians have asked their people to be united against the crisis.

Now, French people due the success of some factors : the protection of the government and their capacity as a family to safe their money.

France nuclear reactors need safety

France needs to shore up safety mechanisms in its nuclear reactors to avoid catastrophe in the event of a natural disaster, the head of the French nuclear safety agency has said, although he does not forsee a need to close any facilities.

REUTERS - France needs to upgrade the protection of vital functions in all its nuclear reactors to avoid a disaster in the event of a natural calamity, the head of its nuclear safety agency said, adding there was no need to close any plants.

After Japan's Fukushima disaster in March, France along other European countries decided to carry out safety tests on the country's 58 reactors and its next-generation reactor under construction in northwestern France.

The aim was to test their capacity to resist flooding, earthquakes, power outages, failure of the cooling systems and operational management of accidents.

IRSN, experts on radiation protection and nuclear safety, delivered a 500-page report to nuclear watchdog ASN on Thursday, which will in turn hand over its conclusions, based on the report, to the government at the end of 2011.

"There is a need to add a layer to protect safety mechanisms in reactors that are vital for the protection of the reactor such as cooling functions and electric powering," Jacques Repussard, head of the IRSN, told Reuters in an interview.

"For example, it is necessary that each reactor has at least one protected independent diesel generator positioned out of the way which does not fail even in case of an extremely violent earthquake," he said.

"All reactors have to survive much more violent events than what they were built to resist," he added, citing as possible examples an earthquake that destroys the southern city of Nice or the collapse of all dams at once, triggering massive floods.

France's oldest reactors were built in sets of two so that in case of a problem with one reactor, the resources of the second one, such as personnel and equipment, could be used.

"It was never envisaged that there could be a simultaneous problem in two reactors," he said.

Repussard said he could not tell how much the upgrades would cost EDF, which operates all of France's reactors, and how long they would take.

"We would like to see a work schedule that stretches no longer than a few years, but it will be necessary to carry out the works very quickly on the EPR (reactor) under construction. It's a large-scale industrial plan, which will have to take into account EDF's maintenance planning," he added

Asked whether some reactors would not be strong enough to withstand powerful natural events he said: "All the sites can be protected, so it will be about the economics behind the upgrades."


Source: http://www.france24.com/

Polite terms.

Polite terms

You probably think that French people always do things in the correct way. If you didn't, you were wrong, and right in the inverse case. Anyway, There's something important when you talk to a French monsieur/madame/mademoiselle. In countries like Spain, not to give thanks or not to be pleased for something can be well taken. In France, everybody can look to you like if you were a rally unpolite person.

Education, seen from a scientific point of view, studies and groups a series of social behaviours between individuals after express the appreciation of others, Education can also be defined by a code. It shows the knowledge of some rules wich are learned to respect the rest of individuals. It has two purposes. The first one is make communication easier and let the individuals create a formal relation; the second one, is to show the knowledge of something known as "savoir-vivre" et "savoir-être", sentences which are refered to a correct way of life. These rules have changed a lot over time, and they're often collected by certain authors. These ones classified educational rules in civic treatment and the "savoir-vivre". Civic treatment refers to the use of terms (in the case of French) like "bonjour", "au revoir", "S'il vous plaît"... Its origins arise long before writing, so it's very difficult to know where did they born. Its conservation is due to the following phenoms:

-Conformity, consisting of the thought that if most of people think somethink is right, it's really right. In fact, this is one of the main drivers of educational rules for a long time.

-Principles; Educational rules are principles, not laws, so people don't usually try to change them.

-Education. It's so easy to make children think somethink is right, and they're very receptive so most of them will think it's right for the rest of their lifes.

-Force, a very basic reason. If you don't follow these educational rules, people will think you're a ill-mannered and won't treat you as they'd do who behave as they like.

Let's suppose a case where an individual A is at individual B's home. A Doesn't like B, but still with that he'll try to use terms like "Merci beaucoup" or "Très gentil". He'll even smile. This will create an hipocrisy relationship, something not very possitive. This can also be applied to compliments, which today aren't really honest and are just another way of making relationships.

Education is considered something neccesary and profitable for life in society. However, it makes certain problems related with intolerance.When somebody doesn't say "Bonjour", for example, everybody will think that he/she is a ill-mannered. The absence of a conventional frame of educational rules also makes that a somebody can be ill-mannered or well-mannered, but never neutral. This makes some problems, most of them due to the ignorance of the educational rules in certain area, and they'll be related with the nul success. In fact, if it wasn't like that, rules would have already disappeared.

Another example of what can educational rules derivate in is that they generally show sexism. In France, gallantry is a very important skill. But, apart from its sexual implications, it gives the women the only function of reproduction machines. As a last implication of educational rules, we can see that those rules make individualistic individuals something that implicates the delete of original things and the preferency by odd thing and not by the original ones. Here are some general rules that you should use in France if you don't want to look like an ill-mannered person.

The first advice or way to be polite is to be able of difference between "mademoiselle" and "madame". A "madame" is a lady which has already got married, and a "mademoiselle" a one who hasn't. Feminists want to delete the word "mademoiselle", but when the text was written the word still existed.

The second advice has already been mentioned, and it's about saying "merci" when somebody does something for you, even if you paid for it. When you are telling the person what do you want him/her to do, you'll have to include the particle "S'il vous plaìt".

The third of them, and maybe the most important one, is that you always have to start your chat with a "Bonjour" or saying "Bonjour" if another person started the conversation. At the end of it always include the particle "Au revoir" as the English "See you later".

The fourth one is about how french people are. This is a "general law" and you can apply it in every country. French people have their own way of behaving, and you can't modify it. That includes acts like that French people don't usually smile. Lot's of people thing that this is caused by the rudeness of french people, but that's definitively not true. We can't think like this, because french people aren't at our country and they've got different valors.

The fifth principle about polite terms in France is about leaving money in restaurants. It's something that, for french people, means a lot, and it's about leaving money in the restaurant, something a bit like the Spanish "propina". Leaving some cents usually means an insult, and leaving more means that you were pleased with the service.

The sixth one is about using "vous"(courtesy "you") and not "tu"(nomal "you") if you're talking to people that you don't meet really well, like a boss or a person in the underway. It causes many problems to people who isn't very familiar to the language because "vous" also can mean the normal form of you the 2nd person singular.

The seventh one is about using the rest of the terms in the proper situations; for example, if we think that with behaviour we can disturb another persons, we have to start our request with the particle "Excusez-moi".

The eight one is about the use of "bon nuit" (in the night) and "bon jour" (in the morning).

Welcome to France

The Lights City, the Boheme, the Eiffel Tower, Montmatre, artists, long streets full of history, the most visited one, the hearth of France... Welcome, everybody, here is the city of PARIS.

"La France Vivante" is going to offer you whatever you want to know about Paris and France: their history, their customs, their culture, their characteristics and their news. We would like you to wonder of this special country. Do not go away! France is ready to show you its secrets.

Paris Landmarks

Paris Landmarks

Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower is an iron construction about 324 meters high situated in the “Champ de

Mars” (Mars Field) in the Seine river shore. Constructed in 1889 for the Universal Exposition, today, it is the classic symbol of Paris.

The tower was designed by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel. It has got three stages placed over some great iron and concrete foundations and everyone contain restaurants, shops and viewpoints. Its metal exterior structure is considered today as a typical construction system, however, in nineteenth century, people saw it as an iron absurd monster building.

The history of Eiffel Tower began five years before its construction. Politic interests were participants every Universal Exposition and Paris was the host in 1889´s. While this events was being prepared, two Eiffel´s engineers, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier were studying the idea of a enormous iron tower. At first Eiffel was not very interested in that project, but the final designs made him change his mind. After a hard contest, Koechlin and Nouguier building was chosen to be build for the exposition and Gustave Eiffel spend so much money as he could in it, so Gustave´s merit was not the design of the tower; it was his investment!

Triumphal Arch.





The Triumphal Arch of Paris was built by Napoleon between 1806 and 1836 after Austerlitz battle, when he promised his soldiers to “return home under triumphal arches”.

Its architects were inspired by Tito´s Arch in Rome. It is forty-nine meters high and forty-five meters wide. The arch has got four reliefs which symbolize Triumph, Resistance, Peace and “La Marseillaise”( the French anthem); and it honors the Revolutionaries of 1789, Napoleon military victories and his army generals.

Now, the Triumphal Arch has got a museum inside, that tells its history and construction; and it has got a viewpoint in the top, too.

Montmartre and the “Sacré Coeur”´s (Sacred Hearth) basilica.

Until 1860, Montmartre was a village kwon for its mills and a single commune (the littlest territory division in France), but in that year, Paris annexed it. Since that time, this neighborhood has developed as an artistic and commercial zone. Also, its basilica, “Sacré Coeur” was finished in 1912 to honor the French-Prussian War victims of 1871.

Mid-twentieth century, Montmartre began to be inhabited by artists. The most of all those artists were poor people who lived miserably during the French Bohemia (Picasso, Modigliani, Van Gogh, etc). Now, many street artists send their works to wayfarers and tourists in .the neighborhood.

On the other hand, there is the “Sacré Coeur” basilica, one of the most visited sights in Paris.

It was built copying Byzantine and Roman architectures by believers donations.

Montmartre has been declared as “historic district” in Paris.

Versailles Palace.

Versailles Palace was the royal residence of some French kings since seventeenth century (1661). The palace was (today, too) placed in the municipality that has the same name in “Île-de-France”.

The construction was ordered by the king Louis XIV because he deicded to leave th Louvre in Paris to live far away from the problems of the city in the village of Versailles.The king and his descendants built and remodeled the castle adding rooms (Mirrors´ Room, the Trianon, the War Lounge, etc.), gardens, etc.

After the Revolution in 1789, it was used by other royal dynasties (Bourbon, Orleans,) who governed, by Prussian in 1870 as their Army Headquarters during the siege, by French govern for the Versailles Treaty in First World War end, etc.

Nowadays, the Republic Presidency receive there foreign politicians .

“La Conciergerie” (politic prison)

“La Conciergerie” was built in XIV century, in Middle Ages, and it was originally the King´s Palace until the French court moved to Louvre´s. Then, the castle became a state prison.
“La Conciergerie” is known because the queen Marie Antoinette spent her last days before she was killed in the guillotine during French Revolution, even Robespierre maybe stayed there before his death.. The frightening history of the prison includes the September Slaughter in 1792, when in five days, about two thousands and five hundreds prisoners who stayed there were guillitoned.
Now, the prison is a part of the Paris Justice Palace and it is enjoyed by hundreds of tourists.
“Les Invalides”

“Les Invalides” means “the disabled people”. Its is a valuable building complex constructed in 1676 as a royal residence for military people and soldiers who had been left the army because of their wounds or their age.
“Les Invalides” has got a round mausoleum where Napoleon Tomb rests and tell his victories and achievements . The other rooms are museums like the “Army´s Museum”, the “Freedom Museum” and the “Reliefs and Flats Museum; some religious temples; and the Military Hospital, “L´Hôpital des Invalides”.
“Les Invalides” has got a great architectonic value.


Important Squares (Bastille´s Square and the “Place de la Concorde”).
The Bastille´s Square is the place where the famous politic prison called “Saint Antoine´s Bastille” or , simply, the Bastille, was until it was destroyed during the French Revolution. In this square many protests took place in the past and for some days in 1794, the guillotine was put there. Today, there is no the Bastille in the square, there are a column called “Julius Column”, an Opera and the rests of the prison on the pavement.
The “Place de la Concorde”, the ancient Revolution´s Square was the stage of death during French Revolution. There, the guillotine was put the most and 1200 people were killed. After the Revolution, the “Place de la Concorde” was renamed as its actual name. Nowadays, the square, one of the biggest ones in France has got a great Egyptian monument, the Obelisk of Luxor and two Roman Style Fountains.

Science and arts in France

Science and Arts in France

Science and technology

In France, many great inventors and scientists have been born, as Montgolfier brothers, who invented the hot air balloon; Lavoisier, who develops many progresses in chemistry, designed the actual measure units, etc.; Lumière brothers invented the cinema; and Louis Pasteur, a brilliants chemist who was very important during the fight in the XIX century about origin of life (he defended not spontaneous life creations)..

Arts

Literature

France is the country with more Nobel Prizes in Literature in the whole world (fourteenth). Francophone literature began with two writers Maurice Maeterlinck (from Belgium) and Senghor (from Senegal). And the main French writers has been Victor Hugo (developer of romantic style in France) and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a Second World War war pilot who wrote “Le Petit Prince”.

Painting

Classic French Paint began in the XVII century, with the artists Poussin and Lorrain; the next style, rococo, had got authors like Watteau, Boucher and Fragonard. Romantic style was starred by Delacroix and Géricault. The realistic style (scenery paintings, in general, and works that represented the situation of France in the XIX century) was developed by Millet and Courbet. The really famous painting style, the Impressionism (that wanted to catch the feelings and first emotions that something suggests to you) started with Édouard Manet (“Le soleil levant”). Modern (XX century styles) as was fauvism (strange colors to paint normal things) develops with Matisse, and cubism was starred by Picasso (Spanish) and Braque.

Architecture

The primitive architecture style in France was inherit by Celts (in stones constructions) . The classic Greece and Latin architecture have got some examples like the “Pont du Gard” in Nimes.

More recent style was the Gothic, created in France, captured in the main cathedrals as Reims, Chartres, Amiens, Notre Dame and Strasbourg. The following architecture was the Renaissance style, in Foitainebleau Palace. Now, the Pantheon and the Louvre Palace has got baroque style. Finally modern constructions began to be built after the Eiffel Tower , and the most XX century architect was “Le Corbusier” , who designed many innovate and functional buildings (residences the most) like the famous “Villa Savoy”.

French Gastronomy.

Culture.

French Gastronomy.

French Gastronomy is one of the most important ones in the whole world. Its fame is due to its variety and its refinement. French Cuisine has influenced many other ones abroad, too. Principal ingredients are vegetables, cheese, butter, fruits, meat, fish and other ones) and they often have got a very good quality. In France most famous eating establishments are restaurants and “bistros”. French cuisine has got a sort called “High Cuisine” that develops in luxury restaurants .

In France people have lunch at between 12:00 and 13:00 hours and they have dinner between 20:00 and 21:30 hours.

Now, the principal meals in France are the next ones:

-Breakfast.

Nowadays French breakfast follows European traditional patterns in Latin region. It is not an abundant meal, composed by some hot drink like coffee , chocolate, milk or tea; and some “baguette” toasts with butter and jam (they say “tartine”) or some bakery products (croissants, brioches, cupcakes, Neapolitan biscuits, etc.).

However, French traditional confectionery, it is not extincted. There is Auvernier´s where are cooked a cherries cake called “millards”, a milk bun called “fouasse”and many apple´s sweets; Alsace-Lorraine´s cakes like the “brioche” (a eggs, butter, flour and milk cake) and “Kougelhopf” (an Alsatian cake crown shaped).

However, French people also take this cakes as a dessert.

-Lunch and dinner.

Lunch and dinner are, in France, very similar to Spanish in quantity (more than breakfast). Wine usually accompanies lunch and dinner, changing its color and taste depending of the course. So courses for lunch and dinner are:

The “Apéritif”, the appetizer, composed by some alcoholic drink as wine (wine from Bordeaux or Bergerac, Burgundy´s or from Pyrenees´ are very important ones), cocktails or Champagne (born in the region Champagne-Ardenne), accompanied by some cold food (canapes, red sausage, nuts, olives,etc).

The “hors d´ouvre” or first course. It is composed by light courses: salads, crud vegetables, soups, some cooked pork meats, quiches, pates,etc. In Alsace-Lorraine was invented the Quiche Lorraine (bacon, cheese and ham cake); the region of Aquitaine has got the “foie gras” (duck´s pate), the “garbure” (a thick cabbage soup) ; “la mique” is a vegetables and pork soup from Loire´s Valley; in Rhône-Alpes truffle soup is cooked; Bayonne´s ham; and other important cooked pork meats came from Auvergne or Corsica.

The “Plat de résistance”, main course. Meat and fish are usually served, but rice, legumes and pasta are not excluded.

Let´s start with meat: the most famous meat is the “toumedos” , sirloin with bacon; the “pôt-au-feu”, a meat and vegetables stew; in the North, in Champagne-Ardenne region, celebrate meats are the “Andouillete de Troyes” and “Boudin blanc de Rethel”, two kinds of sausages, the first, the most famous, is a roast pork or beef sausage.I in the West-South of France, in Aquitaine, there is the “Chicken Henry the fourth” the “Poularde” and Bayonne´s ham; and Rhône-Alpes region (East-South) has got grilled poultry (“à la Bresse”) and their hot sausage with almonds and pistachios. And, a little more to the West from Rhône-Alpes, in Auvernier, it is cooked the Wine Cock and a preparation of beef, bacon, onion and wine called the “Tripoux”.

Now, in France, fish cuisine is wonderful because of its variety and their many coast zones. Let´s follow the correct region order starting from the North and continuing to the South: The fish soup called the “Touquet” is typical in the North (Strait of Dover and “Picardie”). Brittany has got oysters, shellfish and “Cotriade” (more fish course). “Pays de la Loire” region cooks more valued oysters and shellfish. Marennes-Oléron Oysters with bread and Echiré butter are famous in Poitou-Charentes region. And, finally, there is Aquitaine´s caviar.

There are more typical courses in France, but, for a main course, fish and meat are the most important ones.

“Fromages” are the French cheese. This course consists in taste some cheese before dessert. French cheese are: “Camembert”, “Roquefort”, “Bleu d´Auvergne”, “Fourme d´Ambert”, “Saint Nectaire”, “Valençay”, “Neufchâtel”, “Epoisses”, “Ossau- Iraty”, “Le Pont d´Evêque”, “le Livarot”,”Cabichou” etc. (Cheese from everywhere in France).

Dessert. Although the typical citizen eat yogurt or fruit for dessert there are many other ones more elaborated: the classic pancakes “Crêpes”, “Nougat” and “Marron glacés” (Rhône-Alpes´s), “Broiche vendeenne”.

Some French cakes.

French seafood.