Country Overview | Key Property Facts

 

Currency:
Euro

Capital:
Paris

Major Cities (by population size):
Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse , Nice, Nantes , Strasbourg , Montpellier , Bordeaux , Lille , Rennes

Geography:
France is located in Western Europe, between Belgium (to the north east), the UK (to the north west ), Spain (to the south west) and Italy (to the south east) as well as Switzerland , Germany and Luxembourg (to the east). To the south is the Mediterranean Sea, to the west, the Atlantic Ocean and to the north is the English Channel . France has a moderate climate with cool winters and mild summers but with warmer average temperatures along the Mediterranean coast. The French landscape is characterised by flat plains and gently rolling hills in north and west with mountains dominating the rest of the country, with the Pyrenees guarding the Spanish border and the Alps lying to the east. France does not suffer badly from natural hazards but some low-lying areas are prone to flooding, there can be avalanches in the mountains, and during hot summers, the Mediterranean can experience drought and forest fires.

Politics:
France has the fifth largest economy in the world and is a leading European nation. But the country is not without its problems . Its heavily centralised economy has left it lagging behind its European neighbours and as a result the French government is now embarking on a programme of privatisation to maintain the competitive edge of French business. But the French government still remains committed to high levels public spending and the country's tax burden remains one of the heaviest in Europe. The global economic slowdown has helped push France 's budget deficit above the eurozone's 3% of GDP limit. At 10%, unemployment is high and has sparked social unrest in recent times.

Economy:

• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (2005 est.)
• GDP (official exchange rate): $2.055 trillion (2005 est.)
• GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.816 trillion (2005 est.)
• GDP (real) growth rate: 1.4% (2005 est.)
• Foreign Direct Investment: 19.6% of GDP (Investment gross fixed, 2005 est.)

France has a highly diversified economy with major industries in machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, textiles, food processing and tourism. An over-regulated labour market and overly intrusive state remain the biggest drags on France 's economy according to The Heritage Foundation. As a result, growth has remained sluggish, unemployment is persistently high (around 9.9% in 2005) and France has violated the EU Stability and Growth Pact's deficit limit for three years on the trot. However, the government has recently introduced labour market reforms to introduce greater flexibility including weakening the rigidity of the 35-hour week. But these radical steps are not politically popular and political unrest may derail further economic progress.

Legal System :
French law is generally perceived to be divided into three different areas – civil law, criminal law and administrative law. Property ownership and acquisition would fall under the umbrella of civil law, the rules of which are set out in the Civil Code. As with all EU member states there is now a degree of deference to EU laws, but the French legal system remains one of the influential and well-established legal systems in the world.

French property law and taxation relating to real estate transactions (other than local real estate and habitation taxation) are standardised throughout the country. However, land use and zoning issues vary locally.

People:
The bulk of the French population is made up of Celtic and Latin ethnic groups but the country also has significant Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese and Basque minorities. French is spoken by the entire population and regional dialects and languages (such as Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque and Flemish) are on the decline. The vast majority of French people are Roman Catholic (83%-88%) but 2% are Protestant, 1% are Jewish, 5-10% are Muslim and 4% are unaffiliated.

Demographics:
France has a population of 60,876,136 (July 2006 est.) with a meagre annual growth rate of 0.35% (2006 est.) based on a slightly higher birth rate (11.99 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)) than death rate (9.14 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)). Net immigration is very low (0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)) and life expectancy at birth is high (79.73 years) reflecting France 's high level of socio-economic development.

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