French Government

Conventional long form: French Republic

Conventional short form: France

local long form: République Française

local short form: France

Government: Republic

Capital: Paris

Administrative divisions: 22 regions (regions, singular - region), Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie Bourgogne Brittany Centre Champagne-Ardenne Corsica Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie Ile-de-France, Languedoc - RoussillonLimousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes.

Note: Metropolitan France, Corsica is divided into 22 regions (including the "territorial collective" or racing and is) divided into 96 departments, see separate entries for the overseas departments (French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) and the overseas territorial collectivities (Mayotte, Saint Pierre andMiquelon).

dependent areas: Bassas da India, Clipperton Iceland, Europe, Iceland, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Iceland, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna.

Note: the U.S. does not recognize claims to Antarctica.

Independence: 486 (unified by Clovis)

National holiday: Bastille Day, July 14 (1789)

Constitution: September 28, 1958, as amended in connection with the election of the President in 1962, as amended to comply withProvisions of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 Treaty of Amsterdam in 1996, amended the Treaty of Nice in 2000 to attract to the immigration laws 1993

Legal system: civil law, with indigenous concepts; review of administrative acts, but not legislative acts.

Suffrage: 18 years, universal.

Elections: President by popular vote for a period of five years (changed from seven-year term in 2001), elected in the last election on April 21 and May 5, 2002 (next to be held, first round NA April 2007second round NA May 2007), prime minister appointed by the majority of National Assembly and the President.

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or the Senate (321 seats - 296 for metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad, College members indirectly elected by an election for a nine-year terms, elected by thirds every three years) and the National Assembly or AssembliesStates Nationale (577 seats are elected by a majority vote with one member elected for five years).

Judiciary: Supreme Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the President of the High Council of Justice has appointed the Constitutional Court or the Constitutional Court, three members by the President, three appointed by the President of the Assembly meeting national, and three appointed by the President ofSenate of the State or the State Council.

Political parties and leaders: Citizens Movement or MDC [Jean-Pierre Chevènement], Communist, Republican and a citizen or CRC (mainly PCF) [LEADER NA]; Democratic Rally and the European Social Fund or rdes (mainly RAD and PRG) [LEADER NA] French Communist Party or PCF [Robert Hue]; Generation Ecology [Brice Lalonde], independent environmental movement or MEI [Antoine Waechter] Left Radical Party or PRG (formerly Radical Socialist Party or PRS and theRadical leftist movement, or MRG) [Jean-Michel Baylet] Liberal-Christian Right [Charles Millon] Liberal Democracy or DL (originally Republican Party or PR) [Alain Madelin], Movement for France or MPF [Philippe de Villiers ] Movement of Reformers [] SOISSON Jean-Pierre; Front National or FN [Jean-Marie Le Pen] National Republican Movement [Bruno Megret] People's Party for French Democracy or Ppdf [Herve de Charette] Radical Party or RP [Francois Loos] Rally for France or RPF[Charles EASTER] Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michelle Alliot-Marie], Republicans and Independents or RI (mainly DL) [LEADER NA] for the Socialist Party or PS [Francois Hollande] The Greens [Dominique Voynet] The Union French Democracy or UDF (coalition of DL, CDS, UDF, RP, and other parties) [Francois BAYROU] Union for the
presidential majority or UMP (including RPR, DL and some RPF UDF) [Alain Juppe], Union of the Centre or UDC [leader NA].

Political pressure groups and leaders:Communist-controlled trade union (Confederation Generale du Travail) or CGT, nearly 2.4 million members required (); independent union or Force Ouvriere, 1 million members (approximately) independent white-collar union or Confederation Generale des Cadres, 340,000 members (allegedly), the Movement of French companies (Mouvement des entrprises de France) or MEDEF observing - the names are used for convenience of the National Council of French Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Francais) or CNPF or;Socialists reject union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT, estimated about 800,000 members ().

International organization participation: ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA , ESCAP, EU, FAO, FZ, G-5, G-7, G-10 IBRD, IDB, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat INOC, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO,MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO 's UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC.