This page is one
of the annex pages of www.understandfrance.org, the foremost
site on Franco-American intercultural differences. It contains
documents, facts and figures illustrating the content of some
of its pages. |
Facts
& figures |
This page contains
Facts and Figures about France and the French. Some are significant,
other less so....
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(credit) |
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The political and administrative
organization of France
Level |
Name and approx. US equivalent |
Number |
Head |
Competences |
Elected by citizens |
Levy
specific taxes? |
1 |
"commune"
(= city?) |
>36,000 |
"maire" (= mayor?) |
Everything
close to citizens : urban and local infrastructures, building
permits, primary schools, the "commune" owns churches
and primary schools, .... |
Yes
("élections municipales" every 6 years) |
Yes |
2 |
"intercommunalité" |
>10,000 |
"président" |
Called
"communautés de communes" or "communautés
d'agglomération" or "syndicat intercommmunal"
= an association of "communes" to operate a common
specific utility or infrastructure (sanitation, urban transport,...)
or to represent a group of "communes" on a large scope
of competences (typically for big cities with their suburbs) |
No
(elected by "communes")
|
Yes |
3 |
"pays" |
around
800 |
"président
du pays de..." |
Optional
: a group of "communes" which share a common image
and common development projects, for instance |
No
(elected by "communes")
|
No |
4 |
"département"
(= (roughly) US county?) |
100 |
"président
du Conseil Général" |
Local
roads, junior high schools, social policy (for instance RMI),
etc... |
Yes
("élections cantonales" evey 6 years) |
Yes |
5 |
"region"
(= (roughly) US state?) |
13 (since 2015) |
"président
du Conseil Régional" |
Economic
policy, regional trains, high schools, regional parks, etc... |
Yes
("élections régionales" every 5 years) |
Yes |
6 |
nation |
1
(thankfully) |
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"président
de la République" |
5
years mandate |
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6 |
nation |
approx. 600
"circonscriptions" |
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"députés"
(=representatives?) ; the "Chambre des Députés"
is the French Parliament |
5 years mandate |
Yes ! |
6 |
nation |
approx. 300
elected at "départemental" level |
the president
of the senate replaces the president of France in case of death |
"sénateurs"
(=senators? with less power than their US counterparts) ; the
"Sénat" must approve laws voted by "députés"
but it cannot veto them |
elected for
6 years by elected officials of levels 1, 4 and 5 |
No |
7 |
Europe |
around 80
French members |
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"députés
européens" ; see page on European
institution |
5 years mandate |
No |
More about the geography
of France
Miscellaneous
economic figures...
- What are
taxes used for ?
Desmurget compares the
situation of two women with two children, Molly in Atlanta, Caroline
in Lyon. They make the same salary $3,000 a month. Here goes
the comparison :
Source : Michel DESMURGET, Mad in USA : les ravages du
" modèle américain ", Milo, 2008
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Molly (in
the USA) |
Caroline
(in France) |
Salary/month |
$3,000 |
$3,000 |
What's left
after taxes |
$1,830 |
$1,030 |
+ from State
for 2 children (Allocation Familiales) |
0 |
$200° |
+ help for
rent (allocation logement) |
0 |
$200° |
+ help for
using public transport |
0 |
$30 |
Health insurance
(more
about health in France) |
$550 |
0 |
Public school |
0 |
0 |
Children kept at school
after class till 6 pm (more about education in France) |
$650 |
0 |
What's left every month |
$630 |
$1,460 |
Salary when sick |
0 |
full salary |
Pension
at age 65 |
$1,160 |
$1,825 |
° estimate |
- Prices :
Comparatives figures on the cost of living in majors world cities
for equivalent products (source : International Mercer Consulting
2003)
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Prices in Euro
Oct.2003 and rank
|
Monthy Rent 3 rooms apt
(i.e.one bedroom)
|
Haircut +brushing |
Mens's suits |
Concert (two seats) |
A caddie of 39 food products (source UBS) |
Average hotel room |
Paris (#23) |
2 300 |
68 |
590 |
110 |
422 |
197 |
London (#7) |
2 907 |
65 |
400 |
94 |
360 |
218 |
Berlin (#58) |
1 700 |
45 |
415 |
126 |
335 |
137 |
Roma (#41) |
1 650 |
47 |
420 |
50 |
|
239 |
New York (#10) |
3 623 |
59 |
633 |
136 |
|
212 |
Tokyo (#1) |
5 832 |
58 |
678 |
148 |
|
238 |
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Social security :
Health Expenses by source of financing in 2000 (Source : OECD).
See more on social
security.
Paid by... |
USA |
France |
Germany |
Italy |
Spain |
Netherl. |
patient |
15 |
10 |
11 |
20 |
24 |
9 |
private insurance |
41 |
14 |
14 |
5 |
5 |
28 |
public funds |
44 |
76 |
75 |
75 |
71 |
63 |
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Most frequent
names of streets in France (2008) :
1.Charles
de Gaulle
2. Louis Pasteur
3. Victor Hugo
4. Jean
Jaurès
5.Leon Gambetta
6. Jules
Ferry
7.Lamartine
8. Georges Clemenceau
9. Emile Zola |
10. Voltaire
11. Aristide Briand
12. Carnot
13. Anatole France
14. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
15. Roger Salengro
16. Jean
Monnet
17. Leon Blum
18. Mendès-France
19. François Mitterand
20. Adolphe Thiers |
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- Smoking : average number
of cigarettes/year (source : WHO, quoted by l'Express 14/3/2005)
Country |
Cigarettes/year |
Restricted for advertising |
Restricted in public places |
Country |
Cigarettes/year |
Restricted for advertising |
Restricted in public places |
Greece |
2 541 |
N |
partly |
Germany |
1 553 |
N |
partly |
Spain |
2 464 |
N |
N |
Belgium |
1 533 |
Y |
partly |
Netherlands |
2 402 |
Y |
N |
Denmark |
1 525 |
Y |
N |
Hungary |
2 151 |
Y |
partly |
Czech Rep. |
1 491 |
partly |
partly |
Poland |
1 934 |
partly |
partly |
France |
1 303 |
Y |
totally (as of Jan 1, 2008) |
Ireland |
1 815 |
Y |
Y |
UK |
1 108 |
Y |
N |
Italy |
1 741 |
partly |
Y |
Finland |
920 |
partly |
partly |
Portugal |
1 632 |
partly |
N |
Sweden |
902 |
Y |
partly |
To related pages : more
facts & figure, figures on Europe, etc... |
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Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books :
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..)
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