THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area (not including overseas
territories): 547,030 sq km (land:
545,630 sq km; water: 1,400 sq km)
Population: 61.2 million
Capital City: Paris
Language(s): French
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 90%,
Protestants 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim
(primarily North African) 3%,
Unaffiliated 4%
Currency: euro (EUR)
Major political parties: Union pour un
mouvement populaire (UMP) – centre
right coalition, Parti socialiste (PS) –
Socialist Party, Parti communiste
français (PCF) – French Communist
Party, Union pour la démocratie
française (UDF) – Union for French
Democracy, Les Verts – The Greens,
Rassemblement pour la France (RPF)
– Rally for France, Democratie
Liberale (DL) – Liberal Democrats,
Parti Radical de Gauche (PRG) –
Radical Party of the Left, Mouvement
des Citoyens (MDC) – Citizens
Movement.
GEOGRAPHY
Location: Western Europe, bordering
the Bay of Biscay and English Channel,
between Belgium and Spain, southeast
of the UK; bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and
Spain.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
For History timeline visit FCO
Website
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic economic facts
GDP: US$1.786 trillion (euro 1.523
trillion)
GDP per head:$29,188 (euro 24,886)
Annual Growth: 1.5%-2% (projected for
2003)
Inflation: 2% (January 2003)
Major Industries: Aerospace,
automotive, pharmaceuticals, industrial
machinery, food and drink, tourism
Major trading partners: US and
European markets
Trade Partners UK country profile:
France
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Britain and France work closely
together in many international
organisations. As Permanent Members
of the UN Security Council, we
co-operate on issues such as Africa,
the Balkans, Iraq, India/Pakistan,
Afghanistan and the fight against
terrorism. We are major participants in
UN peacekeeping operations. Britain
and France also work closely together
on foreign policy issues within the EU,
notably the Middle East Peace Process
and former Yugoslavia, where we have
taken the lead in Europe on crisis
management. At the St Malo Summit in
December 1998 we agreed to intensify
co-operation on Africa and Defence
(ESDP). This commitment was
reinforced at the Cahors Summit in
February 2001. Initiatives have included
joint visits by Foreign Ministers to
Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire (March 1999)
and Central Africa (January 2002),
and by Development Ministers to
Sierra Leone and Guinea (April 2001),
and the first UK-French Heads of
Mission conference on Africa. At the
most recent bilateral summit on 4
February 2003 in Le Touquet, both
countries re-affirmed their strong
commitment to Africa. The Foreign
Secretary and De Villepin agreed to
make another joint visit to Africa in
2003. The next UK/French Summit will
be held on 24 November 2003 in the
UK.
Defence
Co-operation on the European Defence
Initiative has been a key element of
intensifying Franco-British relations. A
Joint Declaration on European Defence
was issued at St Malo in December
1998. This reflects our shared aims of
a stronger, swifter, more coherent
voice in international foreign policy
backed up by strengthened European
military capabilities, to enable Europe
to respond better to security
challenges.
Progress since then has been good.
The EU's defence structures are now
up and running. Britain and France are
also working together closely to
improve European military capabilities
through the EU's "Headline Goal". This
commits the EU, by 2003, to being able
to deploy at short notice and maintain
for at least a year, up to 60,000
troops, including the necessary
logistical support. This Headline Goal
will provide the capabilities necessary
to underpin the development of a
European Defence identity and to
improve Europe's contribution to
NATO.
At Copenhagen in December 2002 the
EU and our NATO allies agreed to set
up a true strategic partnership in
crisis management, enabling the EU to
access NATO's planning, assets and
capabilities. The first ESDP military
operation in Macedonia took place in
March 2003, with the EU possibly
taking over from NATO in Bosnia in
early 2004. Britain and France are
actively promoting restructuring of
European aerospace and defence
industries. Both countries are also
harmonising their peacekeeping
policies.
Our close co-operation in the field, as
in Kosovo, Bosnia and Macedonia, builds
on the many bilateral programmes that
are under way. All three British
services take part in bilateral
exercises with the French each year.
There is a healthy exchange
programme of personnel and units,
including the twinning arrangement
established in 1999 between every
British regiment and a French
counterpart. There is also good
cooperation in defence equipment. A
UK initiative to broaden further the
level of overall bilateral activity was
launched in July 2000.
At Le Touquet on 4 February 2003,
Britain and France agreed to take
European Defence to a new stage in
three areas which correspond to
today's challenges: the EU's role in
crisis management; the solidarity of its
Member States in the face of threats
which affect their common security;
and the effective strengthening of
their military capabilities.
We agreed initiatives to modernise and
develop Europe's security and
defence capability:
the first EU military crisis management
operations in the Balkans;
a new approach to our common
security interests;
ambitious proposals to develop military
capabilities across the EU;
a new era in co-operation between the
UK and France on aircraft carriers.
On practical bilateral cooperation, we
signed a Letter of Intent on naval
cooperation providing for closer
operational coordination, particularly of
our aircraft carriers.
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