the Fourth Week of Advent
Click here to join the effort!
Bible Encyclopedias
France
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or ~
1 Physlcal Divisions) ~f Scare. I:5,70o,00o 1818 / WIg/it English Miles 9 ,P~4.o5? I.
Land bolow 600 /.it......... ... - -
Laud b.tueesn 600 1500/oct C
Land botanic 1500 S000f..t.... 0 ~q, ~
Land aba,. 8000/act ., ~i~u ~ a ~s R.da1aSe1n~ C
t4 0e.rnseoe2~.,s~, a t~d.,oH~ Rouen ~u Cii 08118! ISlands 1 O.~
2 M pS$~ ~
do ~ ~, St -~~: ~ ~
~ pall ________ / - 010 ~ boor.,.
s %- ~
0 ~ 8~9fl~ .0
48 ecailli ...s, ~ orow ~ ~ - 01 M818 a 6- 8, ,,
tth.h,th. N i_a aog..
- gr,~irC ~ a ~ 1. daftoi,me,,t48,Q
a -.
.dY.o~ C - Been,,0
. n~
a a$~ % c~
- -~ ~ a y ~ / -1 0 9
4b 1.0.
.dOij,-a,, 5.
~~q ~,
Pla.d.llse,. -~ ~ ________
- - ~5 r00 p.90 -=- -
B go. s.~0~
C 8 0 a y ~ ~ BI~
4 U_,o ~ per19ii~
c~ I? 00g,. $
m c.,.,r., b~ ,.~ PrIf~
C C
44 Fi ~1,,.y t___ so __________
10 ________
- oJo _.i 55
~ .,c~:_ ~ ti~ p I
- - ~ n~_1 - ~ -~
5 -;
A4 B C Meridian ci of Greenwich D
several peaks over 10,000 ft. within French territory; the highest elevation therein, the Vignemale, in the centre of the range, reaches 10,820 ft. On the north their most noteworthy offshoots are, in the centre, the plateau of Lannemezan from which rivers radiate fanwise to join the Adour and Garonne; and in the east the Corbire. On the south-eastern frontier the French Alps, which include Mont Blanc (15,800 ft.), and, more to the south, other summits over 11,000 ft. in height, cover Savoy and most of Dauphin and Provence, that is to say, nearly the whole of France to the south and east of the Rhne. North of that river the parallel chains of the Jura form an arc of a circle with its convexity towards the north-west. In the southern and most elevated portion of the range there are several summits exceeding 5500 ft. Separated from the Jura by the defile of Belfort (Troue de Belfort) the Vosges extend northward parallel to the course of the Rhine. Their culminating points in French territory, the Ballon dAlsace and the Hdhneck in the southern portion of the chain, reach 4100 ft. and 4480 ft. The Vosges are buttressed on the west by the Faucilles, which curve southwards to meet the plateau of Langres, and by the plateaus of Haute- 20 E 4 F 6 G
7 ~O ~ - 50
~5~ :. f~, Bru sels -
o FIU~..LP so li ~ I
54 ~O.
O a~ ~ 7~- -~
~ 9 fh~4o~5 ~- ~ ar T~ ~ ~
~e ~ co page ~ ~
5,, ~ ,l0i ,a,d 30 ~- ~ ~ ~
~ ~e ~ ~- 2
ranoe .4 ~ .
lie e - ,,~-- ~
Paris --~---
- B __/_
~ J -~-~ - ~-
$ - 111 5 0 ~au Alias -~ 48
a_ - ~
Orleans ,~ ~ -
a, =:~~, - ~
~. --- ~-- -~e~ -
,8 - - a~-= ~=-~-- -
____ 0 = ~ - /
Q&O~L
-as I
~--= -
i~r/
~ - - I a. -_-- Nice .6.Oga. Marseilles - ~ du Li0~, lien ORyOtCO
C.8~o, MEDITERRANEAN SEA
c~rreno E F Longitude Easi 6 of Greenwich C
Inory WnIko,,s.
Marne, united to the Ardennes on the north-eastern frontier by the wooded highlands of Argonne.
Seaboard.The shore of the Mediterranean encircling the Gulf of the Lion (Golfe du Lion) from Cape Cerbera to Martigues is lowlying and unbroken, and characterized chiefly by lagoons separated from the sea by sand-dunes. The coast, constantly encroaching on the sea by reason of the alluvium washed down by the rivers of the Pyrenees and Cvennes, is without important harbours saving that of Cette, itself continually invaded by the sand. East of Martigues the coast is rocky and of greater altitude~and is broken by pro jectirig capes (Couronne, Croisette, Sici, the peninsula of Giens and Cape Antibes), and by deep gulfs forming secure roadsteads such as those of Marseilles, which has the chief port in France, Toulon, with its great naval harbour, and Hyres, to which may be added the Gulf of St Tropez.
Along the Atlantic coast from the mouth of the Adour to the estuary of the Gironde there stretches a monotonous line of sanddunes bordered by lagoons on the land side, but towards the sea harbourless and unbroken save for the Bay of Arcachon. To the north as far as the rocky point of St Gildas, sheltering the mouth of~he Loire, the shore, often occupied by salt marshes (marshes of Poitou and Brittany), is low-lying and hollowed by deep bays sheltered by large islands, those of Olron and Re lying opposite the ports of Rochefort and La Rochelle, while Noirmoutier closes the Bay of Bourgneuf.
Beyond the Loire estuary, on the north shore of which is the port of St Nazaire, the peninsula of Brittany projects into the ocean and here begins the most rugged, wild and broken portion of the French seaboard; the chief of innumerable indentations are, on the south the Gulf of Morbihan, which opens into a bay protected to the west by ,the narrow peninsula of Quiberon, the Bay of Lorient with the po~t of Lorient, and the Bay of Concarneau; on the west the dangerous Bay of Audierne and the Bay of Douarnenez separated from the spacious roadstead of Brest, with its important naval port, by the peninsula of Crozon, and forming with it a great indentation sheiterdhy Cape St Mathieu on the north and by Cape Raz on the south; On the north, opening into the English Channel, the Morlaix roads, the Bay of St Brieuc, the estuary of the Rance, with the port of St Malo and the Bay of St Michel. Numerous small archipelagoes and islands, of which the chief are Belle Tie, Groix and Ushant, fringe the Breton coast.- North of the Bay of St Michel the peninsula of Cotentin, terminating in the promontories of Hague and Barfleur, juts north into the English Channel and closes the bay of the Seine on the -west. Cherbourg, its chid harbour, lies on the northern shore between the two promontories. The great port of Le Havre stands at the mouth of the Seine estuary, which opens into the bay of,the Seine on the east. North of that point a line of high cliffs, in which occur the ports of Fcamp and Dieppe, stretches nearly to the sandy estuary of the Somme. North of that river the coast is low-lying and bordered by sand-lunes, to which succeed on the Strait of Dover the cliffs in the neighborhood of the port of Boulogne and the marshes and sand-dunes of Flanders, with the ports of Calais and Dunkirk, the latter the principal French port on the NOrth Sea.
To the maritime ports mentIoned above must be added the river pcsrts of Bayonne (on the Adour), Bordeaux (on the Garonne), Nantes (on the Loire), Rouen (on the Seine). On the whole, however, France is inadequately provided with natural harbours; her long tract of coast washed by the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay has sqarcely three or four good seaports, and those on the southern shore of the Channel form a striking contrast to the spacious maritime inlets on theEnglish side.
Rivers.The greater part of the surface of France is divided between four principal and several secondary basins.
The basin of the Rhne, with an area (in France) of about 35,000 sq. rn, covers eastern France from the Mediterranean to the Vosges, from the Cvennes and the Plateau de Langres to the crests of the Jura and the Alps. Alone among French rivers, the Rhne, itself Alpine in character in its upper course, is partly fed by Alpine rivers (the Arve, the Isre and the Durance) which have their floodsin spring at the melting of the snow, and are maintained by glacierwater in summer. The Rhne, the source of which is in Mont St Gothard, in Switzerland, enters France by the narrow defile of LEcluse, and has a somewhat meandering course, first flowing south, then north-west, and then west as far as Lyons, whence it runs straight south till it reaches the Mediterranean, into which it discharges itself by two principal branches, which form the delta or island of the Camargue. The Am, the, Sane (which rises in the Faucilles and in the lower part of its course skirting the regions of Bresse and Dombes, receives the Doubs and joins the Rhone at Lyons), the Ardche and the Gard are the affluents on the right; on the left it is joined by the Arve, the Isre, the Drme and the Durance. The small independent river, the Var, drains that portion of the Alps which fringes the Mediterranean.
The basin of the Garonne occupies south-western France with the exception of the tracts covered by the secondary basins of the Adour, the Aude, the Hrault, the Orb and other smaller rivers, and the lowlying plain of the Landes, which is watered by numerous coast rivers, notably by the Leyre. Its area is nearly 33,000 sq. m., and extends from the Pyrenees to the uplands of Saintonge, Prigord and Limousin. The Garonne rises in the valley of Aran (Spanish Pyrenees), enters France near Bagnres-de-Luchon, has first a north-west course, then bends to the north-east, and soon resumes its first direction. Joining the Atlantic between Royan and the Pointe de Grave, opposite the tower of Cordouan. In the lower part of its course, from the Bec-dAnibez, where it receives the Dordogne, it becomes considerably wider, and takes the name of Gironde. The principal affluents are the AriCge, the Tarn with the Aveyron and the Agout, the Lot and the Dordogne, which descends from Mont Dore-lesBains, and joins the Garonne at Bec-dAmbez, to form the Gironde. All these affluents are on the right, and with the exception of the Arige, which descends from the eastern Pyrcnees, rise in the mountaitis of Auvergne and the southern Cvennes, their sources often lying close to those of the rivers of the Loire and Rhone basins. The Neste, a Py1-enean torrent, and the Save, the Gers and the Baise, ~sig -i the plateau of Lannemezan, are the principal left-hand tributaries of the Garonne. North of the basin of,the Garonne an area of over 3800 sq. m. is watered by the secondary system of the Charente, which descends from ChCronnac (Haute-Vienne), traverses Angoulme and falls into the Atlantic near Rochefort. Farther to the north a number of small rivers, the chief of which is the Svre Niortaise, drain the coast region to the south of the plateau of Gtine.
The basin of the Loire, with an area of about 47,000 sq. m., includes a great part of central and western France or nearly a quarter of the whole country. The Loire rises in Mont Gerbier de Jonc, in the range of the Vivarais mountains, flows due north to Nevers, then turns to the north-west as far as Orleans, in the neighborhood of which it separates the marshy region of the Sologne (~.v.) on the south from the wheat-growing region of Beauce and the Gtinais on the north. Below Orleans it takes its course towards the south-west, and lastly from Saumtir runs west, till it reaches the Atlantic between Paimbceuf and St Nazaire. On the right the Loire receives the waters of the Furens, the Arroux, the Nivre, the Maine (formed by the Mayenne and the Sarthe with its affluent the Loir), and the Erdre, which joins the Loire at Nantes; on the left, the Allier (which receives the Dore and the Sioule), the Loiret, the Cher, the Indre, the Vienne with its affluent the Creuse, the Thouet, and the Svre-Nantaise. The peninsula of Brittany and the coasts of Normandy on both sides of the Seine estuary are watered b numerous independent streams., Amongst these the Vilaine, whic passes Rennes and Redon, waters, with its tributaries, an area of 4200 sq. m. The Orne, which rises in the hills of Normandy and falls into the Channel below Caen, is of considerably less importance.
The basin of the Seine, though its area of a little over 30,000 sq. m. is smaller than that of any of the other main systems, comprises the finest network of navigable rivers in the country. It is by far the most important basin of northern France, those of the Somme and Scheldt in the north-west together covering less than 5000 sq. in., those of the Meuse and the Rhine in the north-east less than 7000 sq. m. The Seine descends from the Langres plateau, flows northwest down to Mry, turns to the west, resumes its north-westerly direction at Montereau, passes through Paris and Rouen and discharges itself into the Channel between Le Havre and Honfleur. Its affluents are, on the right, the Aube; the Marne, which joins the Seine at Charenton near Paris; the Oise, which has its source in Belgium and is enlarged by the Aisne; and the Epte; on the left the Yonne, the Loing, the Essonne, the Eure and the RUle.
Lakes.France has very few lakes. The Lake of Geneva, which forms 32 m. of the frontier, belongs to Switzerland. The most important French lake is that of Grand-Lieu, between Nantes and Pairnbceuf (Loire-Infrieure), which presents a surface of 17,300 acres. There may also be mentioned the lakes of Bourget and Annecy (both in Savoy), St Point (Jura), Paladru (Isre) and Nantua (Am). The marshy districts of Sologne, Brenne, Landes and Dombes still contain large undrained tracts. The coasts present a number of maritime inlets, forming inland bays, which communicate with the sea by channels of greater or less width. Some of these are on the south-west coast, in the Landes, as Carcans, Lacanau, Biscarosse, Cazau, Sanguinet; but more are to be found in the south and south-east, in Languedoc and Provence, as Leucate, Sigean, Thau, Vaccars, Berre, &c. Their want of depth prevents them from serving as roadsteads for shipping, and they are useful chiefly for fishing or for the manufacture of bay-salt.
Climate.The north and north-west of France bear a great resemblance, both in temperature and produce, to the south of England, rain occurring frequently, and the country being consequently suited for pasture. in the interior the rains are less frequent, but when they occur are far mpre heavy, so that there is much less difference in the annual rainfall there as compared with the rest of the country than in the number of rainy days. The annual rainfall for the whole of France averages about 32 in. The precipitation is greatest on the Atlantic seaboard and in the elevated regions of the interior. It attains over 60 in. in the basin of the Adour (7f in. at the western extremity of the Pyrenees), and nearly as much in the Vosges, Morvan, Cvennes and parts of the central plateau. The zone of level country extending from Reims and Troyes to Angers and Poitiers, with the exception of the Loire valley and the Brie, receives less than 24 in. of rain annually (Paris about 23 in.), as also does the Mediterranean coast west of Marseilles. The prevailing winds, mild and humid, are west winds from the Atlantic; continental climatic influence makes itself felt in the east wind, which is frequent in winter and in the east of France, while the mistral, a violent wind from the north-west, is characteristic of the Mediterranean region. The local climates of France may be grouped under the following seven designations: (I) Sequan climate, characterizing the Seine basin and northern France, with a mean temperature of 500 F., the winters being cold, the summers mild; (2) Breton climate, with a mean temperature of 51-8 F., the winters being mild, the summers temperate, it is characterized by, west and south-west winds and frequent fine rains; (3) Girondin climate (characterizing Bordeaux, Agen, Pau, &c.), having a mean of 53.6 F., with mild winters and hot summers, the prevailing wind is from the north-west, the average rainfall about 28 in.; (4) Auvergne climate, comprising the Cvennes, central plateau, Clermont, Lirnoges anti Rodez, mean temperature 51.8 F., with cold winters and hot summers; (5) Vosges climate (comprehending Epinal, Mzires and Nancy), having a mean of 48.2 F., with long and severe winters and hot and rainy summers; (6) Rhne climate (experienced by Lyons, Chalon, Macon, Grenoble) mean temperature 5I~8 F., with cold and wet winters and hot summers, the prevailing winds are north and south; (7) Mediterranean climate, ruling at Valence, NImes, Nice and Marseilles, mean temperature, 57.5 F., with mild winters and hot and almost rainless summers.
Flora and Fauna.The flora of southern France and the Mediterranean is distinct from that of the rest of the country, which does not differ in vegetation from western Europe generally. Evergreens predominate in the south, where grow subtropical plants such as the myrtle, arbutus, laurel, holm-oak, olive and fig; varieties of the same kind are also found on the Atlantic coast (as far north as the Cotentin), where the humidity and mildness of the climate favor their growth. The orange, date-palm and eucalyptus have been acclimatized on the coast of Provence and the Riviera. Other trees of southern France are the cork-oak and the Aleppo and maritime pines. In north and central Franee the chief trees are the oak, the beech, rare south of the Loire, and the hornbeam; less important varieties are the birch, poplar, ash, elm and walnut. The chestnut covers considerable areas in Prigord, Limousin and Beam; resinotis trees (firs, pines, larches, &c.) form fine forests in the Vosges and The indigenous fauna include the bear, now very rare but still found in the Alps and Pyrenees, the wolf, harbouring chiefly in the Cvennes and Vosges, but in continually decreasing areas; the fox, marten, badger, weasel, otter, the beaver in the extreme south of the Rhne valley, and in the Alps the marmot; the red deer and roe deer are preserved in many of the forests, and the wild boar is found in several districts; the chamois and wild goat survive in the Pyrenees and Alps. Flares, rabbits and squirrels are common. Among birds of prey may be mentioned the eagle and various species of hawk, and among game-birds the partridge and pheasant. The reptiles include the ringed-snake, slow-worm, viper and liz~rd. (R. Ta.)
Geology.Many years ago it was pointed out by Elie de Beaumont and Dufrnoy that the Jurassic rocks of France form upon the map an incomplete figure of 8. Within the northern circle of the 8 lie the Mesozoic and Tertiary beds of the Paris basin, dipping inwards; within the southern circle lie the ancient rocks of the Central Plateau, from which the later beds dip outwards. Outside the northern circle lie on the west the folded Palaeozoic rocks of Brittany. and on the north the Palaeozoic massif of the Ardennes. Outside the southern circle lie on the west the Mesozoic and Tertiary beds of the basin of the Garonne, with the Pyrenees beyond, and on the east the Mesozoic and Tertiary beds of the valley of the Rhne, with the Alps beyond.
In the geological history of France there have been two great periods of folding since Archean times. The first of these occurred towards the close of the Palaeozoic era, when a great mountain system was raised in the north running approximately from E. toW., and another chain arose in the south, running from S.W. to N.E. Of the former the remnants are now seen in Brittany and the Ardennes; of the latter the Cvennes and the Montagne Noire are the last traces visible on the surface. The second great folding took place in Tertiary times, and to it was due the final elevation of the J ura and the Western Alps and of the Pyrenees. No great mountain chain was ever raised by a single effort, and folding went on to some extent in other periods besides those mentioned. There were, moreover, other and broader oscillations which raised or lowered extensive areas withbut much crumpling of the strata, and to these are due some of the most important breaks in the geological series.
The oldest rocks, the gneisses and schists of the Archean period, form nearly the whole of the Central Plateau, and are also exposed in the axes of the folds in Brittany. The Central Plateau has probably been a land mass ever since this period, but the rest of the country was flooded by the Palaeozoic sea. The earlier deposits of that sea now rise to the surface in Brittany, the Ardennes, the Montagne Noire and the Cvennes, and in all these regions they arc intensely folded. Towards the close of the Palaeozoic era France had become a part of a great continent; in the north the Coal Measures of the Boulonnais and the Nord were laid down in direct connection with those of Belgium and England, while in the Central Plateau the Coal Measures were deposited in isolated and scattered basins. The Permian and Triassic deposits were also, for the most part, of continental origin; but with the formation of the Rhaetic beds the sea again began to spread, and throughout the greater part of the J ueassic period it covered nearly the whole of the country except the Central Plateau, Brittany and the Ardennes. Towards the end of the period, however, during the deposition of the Portlandian beds, the sea again retreated, and in the early part of the Cretaceous period was limited (in France) to the catchment basins of the Sane and Rhnein the Paris basin the contemporaneous deposits were chiefly estuarine and were confined to the northern and eastern rim. Beginning with the Aptian and Albian the sea again gradually spread over the country and attained its maximum in the early part of the Senonian epoch, when once more the ancient massifs of the Central Plateau, Brittany and the Ardennes, alone rose above the waves. There was still, however, a well-marked difference between the deoosits of the northern and the southern narts of Franre. the former consisting of chalk, as in England, and the latter of sandstones and limestones with Hippurites. During the later part of the Cretaceous period the sea gradually retreated and left the whole country dry.
During the Tertiary period arms of the sea spread into France in the Paris basin from the north, in the basins of the Loire and the Garonne from the west, and in the Rhne area from the south. The changes, however, were too numerous and complex to be dealt with here.
In France, as in Great Britain, volcanic eruptions occurred during several of the Palaeozoic periods, but during the Mesozoic era the // /
a CHANNEL -
~,l4GLlS
.p* ___________
- --
BISCAY ________ -____
,, -
I_,~gIkh M,ies / - -
9 5P ~ / / /
.///
-. - ~- MEDITERRANEAN
//// / $EA
ri r.-i- ~
L_J Quaternary ~ rrias,sic Siluro-Can,brian ~ Tertiary Perm,an A,cha.u.. M.t~~mo,pio Cretacou, Carbonhferous 1~I~] Plutonic Rocl~,
Jurassic Oeuonian Volcanic Rock, country was free from outbursts, except in the regions of the Alps and Pyrenees. In Tertiary times the Central Plateau was the theatre of great volcanic activity from the Miocene ,to the Pleistocene periods, and many of the volcanoes remain as nearly perfect cones to the present day. The rocks are mainly basalts and andesites, together with trachytes and phonolites, and some of the basaltic flows are of enormous extent.
On the geology of France see the classic Explication de la carte goloique de La France (Paris, vol. i. 1841, vol. ii.. 1848), by Dufrnoy and Elie de Beaumont; a more modern account, with full references, is given by A. de Lapparent, Trait de gologie (Paris, 1906).
(J. A. H.)
Population.
The French nation is formed of many different elements. Eberian influence in the south-west, Ligurian on the shores of the Mediterranean, Germanic immigrations from east of the Rhine and Scandinavian immigrations in the north-west have tended to produce ethnographical diversities which ease of intercommunication and other modern conditions have failed to obliterate. The so-called Celtic type, exemplified by individuals of rather less than average height, brown-haired and brachycephalic, is the fundamental element in the nation and peoples the region between the Seine and the Garonne; in southern France a different type, dolichocephalic, short and with black hair and eyes, predominates. The tall, fair and blue-eyed individuals who are found to the north-east of the Seine and in Normandy appear to be nearer in race to the Scandinavian and Germanic invaders; a tall and darker type with long faces and aquiline noses occurs in some parts of Franche-Co1nt and Champagne, the Vosges and the Perche. From the Celts has been derived the gay, brilliant and adventurous temperament easily moved to extremes of er,thiisi~cm snd t-lenrpgcg-,n whwh combined with logical and organizing faculties of a high order, the heritage from the Latin domination, and with the industry, frugality and love of the soil natural in an agricultural people go to make up the national character. The Bretons, who most nearly represent the Celts, and the Basques, who inhabit parts of the western versant of the Pyrenees, have preserved their distinctive languages and customs, and are ethnically the most interesting sections of the nation; the Flemings of French Flanders where Flemish is still spoken are also racially distinct. The immigration of Belgians into the northern departments and of Italians into those of the south-east exercise a constant modifying influence on the local populations.
During the I9th century the population of France increased to a less extent than that of any other The follc country (except Ireland) for which definite data exist, departmen and 1906:
and during the last twenty years of that period it ________
was little more than stationary. The following table exhibits the rate of increase as indicated by the Del censuses from 1876 to 1906. Population. ______
1876. ... 36,905,788 Am ~88i. ... 37,672,048 Aisne 1886. .. .38,218,903 Allier 1891. .. 38,342,948 Alpes-Ma 1896. ... 38,517,975 Ardche I901. .. - 38,961,945 Ardennes 1906. ... 39,252,245 Arige Thus the rate of increase during the decade 1891 Aube 1901 was .16%, whereas during the same period the Aude -
Aveyron population of England increased 1 ~o8%. The birth- Basses-Al rate markedly decreased during the 19th century; Basses-Py despite an increase of population between 1801 and Belfort, 1
1901 amounting to 40%, the number of births in Bouches-.
Calvados the former was 904,000, as against 857,000 in the Cantal latter year, the diminution being acconipanied by Charente a decrease in the annual number of deaths. In Charentethe following table the decrease in births and deaths Cher -
Corrze for the decennial periods during the thirty years Corse (Cc ending 1900 are compared. Cte-dOt Births Cfites-du Creuse i87i188o. -.. 935,000 or 254 per 1000 Deux-Sv 1881-1890. -. - 909,000 23~9 Dordogne I8911900 -.. - 853,000 ,, 222 Doubs Deaths. Drflme 1871-1880. - - 87o,~oo or 23.7 per 1000 Eure 1881-1890. - - - 841,700 ,, 22I ,, Eure-et-L
1891-1900 - -. - 829,000 ,, 21.5 Finistre Gard About two-thirds of the French departments, corn- Gers prising a large proportion of those situated in Gironde mountainous districts and in the basin of the Garonne, Haute-Ga where the birth-rate is especially feeble, show a Haute-Lo Haute-Mi decrease in population. Those which show an in- Hautes-A crease usually possess large centres of industry and are Haute-Sa already thickly populated, e.g. Seine and Pas-de-Calais. Haute-Sa In most departments the principal cause of decrease Hautes-P~
Haute-Vui of population is the attraction of great centres. The Hrault average density of population in France is about 190 Ille-et-Vil to the square mile, the tendency being for the large Indre towns to increase at the expense of the small towns Indre-et-I as well as the rural communities. In 1901 ~7% of the Isre J ura population lived in centres containing more than 2000 Landes inhabitants, whereas in 1861 the proportion was 28%. Loir-et-CI Besides the industrial districts the most thickly Loire -
Loire-Infi populated regions include the coast of the depart- Loiret ment of Seine-Infrieure and Brittany, the wine-grow- Lot -
ing region of the Bordelais and the Riviera.1 Lot-et-Ga In 1907 deaths were superior in number to births by Lozre nearly 20,000. Maine-et populated and the three most sparsely populated depart- Marne ments in France: Mayenne Meurthe Inhabitants to the Square Mile. Meuse Seine - - 20,803 I Basses-Alpes -. 42 Morbihar Nord - - 850 Hautes-Alpes. N~~vre Rhne - - - 778 I Lozre. ... 64 Nord In the quinquennial period 1901-1905, out of the total number of births the number of illegitimate births to every Iooo inhabitants was 2~0, as compared with 2I in the four preceding periods of like duration.
In 1906 the number of foreigners in France was 1,009,415
as compared with 1,027,491 in 1896 and 1,115,214 in 1886.
The departments with the largest population of foreigners were Nord (191,678), in which there is a large proportion of Belgians; Bouches-du-Rhne (123,497), Alpes-Maritimes (93,554), Var (~7,4~5), Italians being numerous in these three departments; Seine (153,647), Meurthe-et-Moselle(44, 595), Pasde-Calais (21,436) and Ardennes (21,401).
wing table gives the area in square miles of each of the eighty-seven :s with its population according to the census returns of 1886, 1896
Area Population.
artments. ~ m q. i886.1896.1906.
- - 2,249 364,408 351,569 345,856
-. - - 2,867 555,925 541,613 534,495
- - - 2,849 424,582 424,378 417,961
ntimes - - 1,442 238,057 265,I55 334,007
- - - 2,145 375,472 363,501 347,140
-. - 2,028 332,759 318,865 317,505
- 1,893 237,619 219,641 205,684
- 2,326 257,374 251,435 243,670
-. - - 2,448 332,080 310,513 308,327
- 3,386 415,826 389,464 377,299
)es.. 2,698 129,494 ff8,142 113,126
rnes. - 2,977 432,999 423,572 426,817
erritoire de - 235 79,758 88,047 95,421
u-Rhne - - 2,026 604,857 673,820 765,918
- 2,197 437,267 417,176 403,431
2,231 241,742 234,382 228,690
-.. - 2,305 366,408 356,236 351,733
Infrieure - 2,791 462,803 453,455 453,793
-. 2,819 355,349 347,725 343,484
- -. - 2,273 326,494 322,393 317,430
rsica) - - 3,367 278,501 290,168 29I,I60
-. .. 3,392 381,574 368,168 357,959
~ord. - 2,786 628,256 616,074 611,506
-.. - 2,164 284,942 279,366 274,094
res.. - 2,337 353,766 346,694 339,466
- 3,561 492,205 464,822 447,052
- 2,030 310,963 302,046 298,438
-~.. 2,533 314,615 303,491 297,270
2,330 358,829 340,652 330,140
Dir -. - 2,293 283,719 280,469 273,823
-.. 2,713 707,820 739,648 795,103
-. .. 2,270 417,099 416,036 421,166
2,428 274,391 250,472 231,088
- -.. 4,140 775,845 809,902 823,925
ronne - - 2,458 481,169 459,377 442,065
re.. - 1,931 320,063 316,699 314,770
roe.. - 2,415 247,781 232,057 221,724
pes -. - 2,178 122,924 113,229 107,498
~ne -. - 2,075, 290,954 272,891 263,890
oie - - - 1,775 275,018 265872 260,617
rnes. - 1,750 234,825 218,973 209,397
one -. - 2,144 363,182 375,724 385,732
- - - 2,403 439,044 469,684 482,799
Line -. - 2,699 621,384 622,039 611,805
- -.. 2,666 296,147 289,206 290,216
oire.. - 2,377 340,921 337,064 337,916
-.. 3,179 581,680 568,933 562,315
- 1,951 281,292 266,143 257,725
- - 3,615 302,266 292,884 293,397
er.. - 2,479 279,214 278,153 276,019
-.. 1,853 603,384 625,336 643,943
rieure.. 2,694 643,884 646,172 666,748
-. .. 2,629 374,875 371,019 364,999
-. .. 2,017 271,514 240,403 216,611
ronne. - 2,079 307,437 286,377 274,610
-. .. 1,999 141,264 132,151 128,016
Loire.. 2,706 527,680 514,870 513,490
-. - 2,475 520,865 500,052 487,443
-.. 3,167 429,494 439,577 434,157
-.. 2,012 340,063 321,187 305,457
t-Moselle. - 2,038 431,693 466,417 517,508
409 291,971 290,384 280,220
2,738 535,256 552,028 573,152
- 2,659 347,645 333,899 313,972
-.. - 2,229 1,670,184 1,811,868 1,895,861
Population.
Departments. Area, __________ __________
sq. m. 1886., 1896.
Oise 2,272 403,146 404,511
Orne 2,372 367,248 339,162
Pas-de-Calais.. 2,606 853,526 906,249
Puy-de-Dme - -. 3,094 570,964 555,078
Pyrnes-Orientales 1,599 211,187 208,387
Rhne - - - 1,104 772,912 839,329
Sane-et-Loire. - 3,330 625,885 621,237
Sarthe.. -. 2,410 436,111 425,077
Savoie. - - 2,389 267,428 259,790
Seine 185 2,961,089 3,340,514
Seine-Infrieure 2,448 833,386 837,824
Seine-et-Marne - 2,289 355,136 359,044
Seine-et-Oise - - 2,184 618,089 669,098
Somme. - -. 2,423 548,982 543,279
Tarn 2,231 358,757 339,827
Tarn-et-Garonne - 1,440 214,046 200,390
Var 2,325 283,689 309,191
Vaucluse. .. 1,381 241,787 236,313
Vende. .. 2,708 434,808 441,735
Vienne.. .,. 2,719 342,785 338,114
Vosges.. -. 2,279 413,707 421,412
Yonne -.. 2,880 355,364 332,656
Total - - 207,076 38,218,903 38,517,975 3
The French census uses the commune as the basis of its returns, and employs the following classifications in respect to communal population: (I) Total communal population. (2) Population compt~e a part, which includes soldiers and sailors, inmates of prisons, asylums, schools, members of religious communities, and workmen temporarily engaged in public works. (3) Total municipal population, i.e. communal population minus the population compie a part. (4) Population municipale agglomre au chef-lieu de la commune, which embraces the urban population as opposed to the rural population. The following tables, showing the growth of the largest towns in France, are drawn up on the basis of the fourth classification, which is used throughout this work in the articles on French towns, except where otherwise stated.
In 1906 there were in France twelve towns with a population of over 100,000 inhabitants. Their growth or decrease from 1886 to 1906 is shown in the following table:
1886.1896.1906.
Paris - - 2,294,108 2,481,223 2,711,931
Lyons. - - 344,124 398,867 430,186
Marseilles - - 249,938 332,515 421,116
Bordeaux - 225,281 239,806 237,707
Lille.. 143,135 160,723 196,624
St Etienne - 103,229 120,300 130,940
Le Havre. - 109,199 117,009 129,403
Toulouse - 123,040 124,187 125,856
Roubaix - - 89,781 113,899 119,955
Nantes - - - 110,638 107,137 118,244
Rouen - - - 100,043 106,825 111,402
Reims - - 91,130 99,001 102,800
In the same years the following eighteen towns, now numbering from 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, each had:
1886.1896.1906.
Nice - - - 61,464 69,140 99,556
Nancy - - - 69,463 83,668 98,302
Toulon - - - 53,941 70,843 87,997
Amiens - - 68,177 74,808 78,407
Limoges - - 56,699 64,718 75,906
Angers. - 65,152 69,484 73,585
Brest - - - 59,352 64,144 71,163
Nimes - - - 62,198 66,905 70,708
Montpellier 45,930 62,717 65,983
Dijon. - 50,684 58,355 65,516
Tourcoing - 41,183 55,705 62,694
Rennes - - - 52,614 57,249 62,024
Tours - - - 51,467 56,706 61,507
Calais - - - 52,839 50,818 59,623
Grenoble - - 43,260 50,084 58,641
Orleans 51,208 56,915 57,544
Le Mans - 46,991 49,665 54,907
Troyes - 44,864 50,676 51,228
Of the population in 1901, 18,916,889 were males and 19,533,899 females, an excess of females over males of I 6 617,010, i~e. 1.6% or about 508 females to every 492
________ males. In 1881 the proportion was 501 females to every 10 0 499 males, since when the disparity has been slightly 4 ~ more marked at every census. Below is a list of the 315,993 departments in which the number of women to every 012 460
535 419 thousand men was (I) greatest and (2) least.
213 171 (1) (2)
858 907 Creuse - -. - 1131 Belfort 886
613 377 Ctes-du-Nord - - 1117 Basses-Alpes -. - 893
421 470 Seine 1103 Var 894
253 297 Calvados.. -. ff00 Meuse 905
- ,848,618 Cantal 1098 Hautes-Alpes - - - 908
863 879 Seine-Infrieure.. 1084 Meurthe-et-Moselle - 918
361,939 Basses-PyrCnes.. 1080 Haute-Savoie. - - 947
749,753 Departments from which the adult males emigrate 532,567 regularly either to sea or to seek employment in towns 330,533 tend to fall under the first head, those in which large 188,553 bodies of troops are stationed under the second.
324,638 The annual number of emigrants from France is small.
239,178 The Basques of Basses-PyrnCes go in considerable 442,777 numbers to the Argentine Republic, the inhabitants of 333,621 Basses Alpes to Mexico and the United States, and 429,812 there are important French colonies in Algeria and 315,199 Tunisia.
The following table shows the distribution of the active ~,252,245 population of France according to their occupations in 1901.
Occupation. Males. Females. Total.
Forestry and agriculture 5,517,617 2,658,952 8,176,569
Manufacturing industries 3,695,213 2,124,642 5,819,855
Trade 1,132,621 689,999 1,822,620
Domestic service - - - 223,861 791,176 1,015,037
Transport 617,849 212,794 830,643
Public service. - - - 1,157,835 139,734 1,297,569
Liberal professions - - 226,561 173,278 399,839
Mining, quarries - - - 261,320 5,031 266,351
Fishing 63,372 4,400 67,772
Up,classed 14,316 4,504 18,820
Grand Total. -_- 12,910,565 6,804,5,0 19,715,075
Religion.
Great alterations were made with regard to religious matters in France by a law of December 1905, supplemented by a law of January 1907 (see below, Law and Institutions). Before that time three religions (cultes) were recognized and supported by the state-the Roman Catholic, the Protestant (subdivided into the Reformed and Lutheran) and the Hebrew. In Algeria the Mahommedan religion received similar recognition. By the law of 1905 all the churches ceased to be recognized or supported by the state and became entirely separated therefrom, while the adherents of all creeds were permitted to form associations for public worship (associations cultuelles), upon which the expenses of maintenance were from that time to devolve. The state, the departments, and the communes were thus relieved from the payment of salaries and grants to religious bodies, an item of expenditure which amounted in the last year of the old system to 1,101,000 paid by the state and 302,200 contributed by the departments and communes. Before these alterations the relations between the state and the Roman Catholic communion, by far the largest and most important in France, were chiefly regulated by the provisions of the Concordat of 1801, concluded between the first consul, Bonaparte, and Pope Pius VII. and by other measures passed in 1802.
France is divided into provinces and dioceses as follows:
Archbishoprics. Bishoprics.
PARIs. - - Chartres, Meaux, Orleans, Blois, Versailles.
Aix.. - Marseilles, Frjus, Digne, Gap, Nice, Ajaccio.
ALBI. .. Rodez, Cahors, Mende, Perpignan.
Aucii.. - Aire, Tarbes, Bayonne.
AVIGNON - - Nimes, Valence, Viviers, Montpellier.
BESANON - - Verdun, Bellay, St Die, Nancy.
BORDEAUX - Agen, Angoulme, Poitiers, Prigueux, La Rochelle, Luon.
BOURGE5 - - Clermont, Limoges, Le Puy, Tulle, St Flour.
CAMBRAI -. Arras.
CHAMBERY - Annecy, Tarentaise, St Jean-de-Maurienne.
Lvnw~ A,,i-,,n I ,,no-r~ ~ ci- ~ G,-nnohlp, Archbishoprics. Bishoprics.
REIMS. -. Soissons, Chlons-sur-Marne, Beauvais, Amiens.
RENNES. - Quimper, Vannes, St Brieuc.
ROUEN - - - Bayeux, Evreux, Sees, Coutances.
SENS - - - Troyes, Nevers, Moulins.
TouLousE - Montauban, Pamiers, Carcassonne.
TOURS - - - Le Mans, Angers, Nantes, Laval.
The dioceses are divided into parishes each under a parish priest known as a cur or desservant (incumbent). The bishops and archbishops, formerly nominated by the government and canonically confirmed by the pope, are now chosen by the latter. The appointment of cures rested with the bishops and had to be confirmed by the government, but this confirmation is now dispensed with. The archbishops used to receive an annual salary of 600 each and the bishops 400.
The archbishops and bishops are assisted by vicars-general (at salaries previously ranging from 100 to ~18o), and to each cathedral is attached a chapter of canons. A cure, in addition to his regular salary, received fees for baptisms, marriages, funerals and special masses, and had the benefit of a free house called a presbytre. The total personnel of state-paid Roman Catholic clergy amounted in 1903 to 36,169. The Roman priests are drawn from the seminaries, established by the church for the education of young men intending to join its ranks, and divided into lower and higher seminaries (grands et petits sminaires), the latter giving the same class of instruction as the tyces.
The number of Protestants may be estimated at about 600,000 and the Jews at about 70,000. The greatest number of Jews is to be found at Paris, Lyons and Bordeaux, while the departments of the centre and of the south along the range of the Cvennes, where Calvinism flourishes, are the principal Protestant localities, Nimes being the most important centre. Considerable sprinklings of Protestants are also to be found in the two Charentes, in Dauphin, in Paris and in Franche-Comt. The two Protestant bodies used to cost the state about 60,000 a year and the Jewish Church about 6000.
Both Protestant churches have a parochial organization and a presbyterian form of church government. In the Reformed Church (far the more numerous of the two bodies) each parish has a council of presbyters, consisting of the pastor and lay-members elected by the congregation. Several ____________________
parishes form a consistorial circum- Aven scription, which has a consistorial (Thou council consisting of the council of presbyters of the chief town of the i8861~
circumscription, the pastor and one delegate of the council of presbyters Wheat. ... 17,00,
from each parish and other elected Meslin. ... ~ members. There are 103 circum- Rye.. - - 3,88~ scriptions (including Algeria), which Barley. .. - 2,3o~ are grouped into 21 provincial synods Oats. .. 9,50 composed of a pastor and lay dde- Buckwheat - 1,48 gate from each consistory. All the Maize - - - 1,39 more important questions of church discipline and all decisions regulating the doctrine and practice of the church are dealt with by the synods. At the head of the whole organization is a General Synod, sitting at Paris. The organization of the Lutheran Church (Eglise de la confession dAugsburg) is broadly similar. Its consistories are grouped into two special synods, one at Paris and one at Montbliard (for the department of Doubs and Haute-Sane and the territory of Belfort, where the churches of this denomination are principally situated). It also has a general synodcomposed of 2 inspectors,i 5 pastors elected by the synod of Paris, and 6 by that of Montbliard, 22 laymen and a delegate of the theological faculty at Pariswhich holds periodical meetings and is represented in its relations with the government by a permanent executive commission.
The Jewish parishes, called synagogues, are grouped into departmental consistories (Paris, Bordeaux, Nancy, Marseilles, Bayonne, Lille, Vesoul, Besancon and three in Algeria). Each synagogue is served by a rabbi assisted by an officiating minister, and in each consistory is a grand rabbi. At Paris is the central consistory, controlled by the government and presided over by the supreme grand rabbi.
Agriculture.
Of the population of France some 17,000,000 depend upon agriculture for their livelihood, though only about 6,500,000 are engaged in work on the land. The cultivable land of the country occupies some 195,000 s~. m. or about 94% of the total area; of this 171,000 sq. m. are cultivated. There are besides 12,300 sq. m. of uncultivable area covered by lakes, rivers, towns, &c. Only the roughest estimate is possible as to the sizes of holdings, but in general terms it may be said that about 3 million persons are proprietors of holdings under 25 acres in extent amounting to between 15 and 20% of the cultivated area, the rest being owned by some 750,000 proprietors, of whom 150,000 possess half the area in holdings averaging 400 acres in extent. About 80% of holdings (amounting to about 6o% of the cultivated area) are cultivated by the proprietor; of the rest approximately 13% are let on lease and 7% are worked on the system known as mtayage (q.v.).
The capital value of land, which greatly decreased during the last twenty years of the i9th century, is estimated at 3,120,000,000, and that of stock, buildings, implements, &c., at 340,000,000. The value per acre of land, which exceeds 48 in the departments of Seine, Rhne and those fringing the north-west coast from Nord to Manche inclusive, is on the average about 29, though it drops to 16 and less in Morbihan, Landes, Basses-Pyrnes, and parts of the Alps and the central plateau.
While wheat and wine constitute the staples of French agriculture, its distinguishing characteristic is the variety of its products. Cereals occupy about one-third of the cultivated area. For the production of wheat, in respect of which France is self-supporting, French Flanders, the Seine basin, notably the Beauce and the Brie, and the regions bordering on the lower course of the Loire and the upper course of the Garonne, are the chief areas. Rye, on the other hand, one of the least valuable of the cereals, is grown chiefly in the poor agricultural territories of the central plateau and western Brittany. Buckwheat is cultivated mainly in Brittany. Oats and barley are generally cultivated, the former more especially in the Parisian region, the latter in Mayenne and one or two of the neighboring departments. Meslin, a mixture of wheat and rye, is produced in the great majority of French departments, but to a marked extent in the basin of the Sarthe. Maize covers considerable areas in Landes, Basses-Pyrnes and other south-western departments.
ge Acreage Average Production Average Yield ands of Acres). (Thousands of Bushels). per Acre (Bushels).
95.1896-1905 . f886f895.1896-1905.1886-1895.1896-1905 .
- 16,580 294,564 317,707 17.3 I9~1
491 12,193 8,826 16.9 17O
3,439 64,651 56,612 I6~6 16.4
1,887 47,197 41,066 20~4 2I~0
9,601 240,082 253,799 25.2 26.4
- 1,392, 26,345 23,136 I77 166
1,330 25,723 24,459 18.4 18.4
Forage Crops.The mangold-wurzel, occupying four times the acreage of swedes and turnips, is by far the chief root-crop in France. It is grown largely in the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais and in those of the Seine basin, the southern limit of its cultivation being roughly a line drawn from Bordeaux to Lyons. The average area occupied by it in the years from 1896 to 1905 was 1,043,000 acres, the total average production being 262,364,000 cwt. and the average production per acre f 03/4 tons. Clover, lucerne and sainfoin make up the bulk of artificial pasturage, while vetches, crimson clover and cabbage are the other chief forage crops.
Vegetables.Potatoes are not a special product of any region, though grown in great quantities in the Bresse and the Vosges. Early potatoes and other vegetables (primeurs) are largely cultivated in the districts bordering the English Channel. Market-gardenin is an important industry in the regions round Paris, Amiens an Angers, as it is round Toulouse, Montauban,Avignon and in southern France generally. The market-gardeners of Paris and its vicinity have a high reputation for skill in the forcing of early vegetables under glass.
Potatoes: Decennial Averages.
Average Yield Acreage. Total Yield per Acre (Ions). (Tons).
1886-1895 3,690,000 11,150,000 3.02
1896-1905 3,735,000 11,594,000 3.1
Industrial Plants.s T he manufacture of sugar from beetroot, owing to the increased~use of sugar, became highly important during Cultures -industriellesUnder this head the French group beetroot, hemp, flax and other plants, the products of which pass through some process of manufacture before they reach the consu mer.
the latter half of the 19th century, the industry both of cultivation and manufacture being concentrated in the northern departments of Aisne, Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme and Oise, the first named supplying nearly a quarter of the whole amount produced in France.
Flax and hemp showed a decreasing acreage from 1881 onwards. Flax is cultivated chiefly in the northern departments of Nord, Seine- Infrieure, Pas-de-Calais, Ctes-du-Nord, hemp in Sarthe, Morbihan and Maine-ct-Loire.
Colsa, grown chiefly in the lower basin of the Seine (SeineInfrieure and Eure), is the most important of the oil-producing plants, all of which show a diminishing acreage. The three principal regions for the production of tobacco are the basin of the Garonne (Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Lot and Gironde), the basin of the Isre (Isre and Savoie) and the department of Pas-de-Calais. The state controls its cultivation, which is allowed only in a limited number of departments. Hops cover only about 7000 acres, being almost confined to the departments of Nord, Cte dOr and Meurthe-etMoselle.
Decennial Averages i8pz 905.
Average Yield Acreage. Production per Acre (Tons). (Tons).
Sugar beet. - 672,000 6,868,000 Io~2
Hemp.. - 64,856 18,451 i ~28 i Flax. - - 57,893 17,857 i .301
Colza.. 102,454 47,697 ~46
Tobacco. - 41,564 22,453.54
Vineyards (see WINE).The vine grows generally in France, except in the extreme north and in Normandy and Brittany. The great wine-producing regions are:
I. The country fringing the Mediterranean coast and including Hrault (240,822,000 gals. in 1905), and Aude (i 17,483,000 gals. in 1905), the most productive departments in France in this respect.
2. The department of Gironde (95,559,000 gals. in 1905), whence come Mdoc and the other wines for which Bordeaux is the market.
3. The lower valley of the Loire, including Touraine and Anjou, and the district of Saumur.
4. lhe valley of the Rhne.
5. The Burgundian region, including Cte dOr and the valley of the Sane (Beaujolais, Mconnais).
6. The Champagne.
7. The Charente region, the grapes of which furnish brandy, as do those of Armagnac (department of Gers).
The decennial averages for the years 1896-1905 were as follows:
Acreage of productive vines.. 4,056,725
Total production in gallons.. 1,o~2,622,00o Average production in gallons per acre.. 260
FruitFruit-growing is general all over France, which, apart from bananas and pine-apples, produces in the open air all the ordinary species of fruit which its inhabitants consume. Some of these may be specially mentioned. The cider apple, which ranks first in importance, is produced in those districts where cider is the habitual drink, that is to say, ___________________________________ chiefly in the region north-west of a line drawn from Paris to the Cattle.
mouth of the Loire. The average Other annual production of cider dur- Cows. Kinds ing the years 1896 to 1905 was ______________________
304,884,000 gallons. Dessert apples 1885 6,414,487 6,690 483 13
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
lower Loire, the valley of which abounds in orchards wherein many varieties of fruit flourish and in nursery-gardens. The hilly regions of Limousin, Prigord and the Cvennes are the home of the chestnut, which in some places is still a staple food; walnuts grow on the lower levels of the central plateau and in lower Dauphin and Provence, figs and almonds in Provence, oranges and citrons on the Mediterranean coast, apricots in central France, the olive in Provcnce and the lower valleys of the Rhneand Durancc. Truffles arc found under Silk Cocoons. 1891-1895.1896-1900.1901-1905.
Annual average pro-n duction over quln- L 19 c87 000 17,696,000 16,566 000
quennial periods in lb.
the oaks of Perigord, Comtat-Venaissin and lower Dauphin. The mulberry grows in the valleys of the Rhne and its tributaries, the lsre, the Drme, the Ardche, the Gard and the Durance, and also along the coast of the Mediterranean. Silk-worm rearing, which is encouraged by state grants, is carried on in the valleys mentioned and on the Mediterranean coast east of Marseilles. The numbers of growers decreased from 139,000 in 1891 to 124,000 in 1905. The decrease in the annual average production of cocoons is shown in the preceding table.
Snails are reared in some parts of the country as an article of food, those of Burgundy being specially esteemed.
Stock-raisIngFrom this point of view the soil of France may be divided into four categories:
I. The rich pastoral regions where dairy-farming and the fattening of cattle are carried on with most success, viz. (a) Normandy, Perche, Cotentin and maritime Flanders, where horses are bred in great numbers; (b) the strip of coast between the Gironde and the mouth of the Loire; (c) the Morvan including the Nivernais and the Charolais, from which the famous Charolais breed of oxen takes its name; (d) the central region of the central plateau including the districts of Cantal and Aubrac, the home of the famous beef-breeds of Salers and Aubrac.1 The famous pre-sal sheep are also reared in the Vende and Cotentin.
2. The poorer grazing lands on the upper levels of the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura and Vosges, the Landes, the more outlying regions of the central plateau, southern Brittany, Sologne, Berry, ChampagnePouilleuse, the Crau and the Carnargue, these districts being given over for the most part to sheep-raising.
3. The plain of Toulouse, which with the rest of south-western France produces good draught oxen, the Parisian basin, the plains of the north to the east of the maritime region, the lower valley of the Rhflne and tile Bresse, where there is little or no natural pasturage, and forage is grown from seed.
4. West, west-central and eastern France outside these areas, where meadows are predominant and both dairying and fattening are general. Included therein are the dairying and horse-raising district of northern Brittany and the dairying regions of Jura and Savoy.
In the industrial regions of northern France cattle are stall-fed with the waste products of the beet-sugar factories, oil-works and distilleries. Swine, bred all over France, are more numerous in Brittany, Anjou (whence comes the well-known breed of Craon), Poitou, Burgundy, the west and north of the central plateau and Beam. Upper Poitou and the zone of south-western France to the north of the Pyrenees are the chief regions for the breeding of mules. Asses are reared in Beam, Corsica, Upper Poitou, the Limousin, Berry and other central regions. Goats are kept in the mountainous regions (Auvergne, Provence, Corsica). The best poultry come from the Bresse, the district of Houdan (Seine-et-Oise), the district of Le Mans and Crveccuur (Calvados).
- The prs naturels (meadows) and herbages (unmown pastures) of France, i.e. the grass-land of superior quality as distinguished from paturages et pacages, which signifies pasture of poorer quality, incteased in area between 1895 and 1905 as is shown bel0w:
1895 (Acres). 1905 (Acres).
PrCs naturels. - 10,852,000 11,715,000
Herbages. .. 2,822,000 3,022,000
The following table shows the number of live stock in the country at intervals of ten years since 1885.
Sheep and Lambs Pigs. Horses. Mules. Asses.
Iotal.
104,970 22,616,547 5,881,088 2,911,392 238,620 387,227
233,828 2I,163,767 6,306,019 2,812,447 211,479 357,778
315,552 17,783,209 7,558,779 3,169,224 198,865 365,181
Agricultural Organizalion.In France the interests of agriculture are entrusted to a special ministry, comprising the following divisions: (1) forests, (2) breeding-studs (haras); (3) agriculture, a department which supervises agricultural instruction and the distribution of grants and premiums; (4) agricultural improvements, draining, irrigation, &c.; (5) an intelligence department which prepares statistics, issues information as to prices and markets, &c. The minister is assisted by a superior council of agriculture, the members of which, numbering a hundred, include senators, deputies and prominent agriculturists. The ministry employs inspectors, whose duty it is to visit the different parts of the country and to report on their respective position and wants. The reports which they furnish help to determine the distribution of the moneys dispensed by the state in the form of siibventions to agriculturar l The chief breeds of horses are the Boulonnais (heavy draught). the Percheron (light and heavy draught), the Anglo-Norman (light draught and heavy cavalry)and the Tarbais of the weStern Pyrenees (saddle horses and light cavalry). Of cattle besides the breeds named the Norman (beef and milk), the Limousin (beef), the Mont bfiard, the Bazadais, the Flamand, the Breton and tile larthenais breeds may be mentioned, societies and in many other ways. The chief type of agricultural society is the cornice agricole, an association for the discussion of agricultural problems and the organization of provincial shows. There are besides several thousands of local syndicates, engaged in the purchase of materials and sale of produce on the most advantageous terms for their members, credit banks and mutual insurance societies (see Co-OPERATION). Three societies demand special mention: the Union centrale des agriculteurs de France, to which the above syndicates are affiliated; the Sociit nationale dagriculture, whose mission is to further agricultural progress and to supply the government with information on everything appertaining thereto and the Socit des agriculteurs de France.
Among a variety of premiums awarded by the state are those for the best cultivated estates and for irrigation works, and to the owners of the best stallions and brood-mares. Haras or stallion stables containing in all over 3000 horses are established in twentytwo central towns, and annually send stallions, which are at the disposal of private individuals in return for a small fee, to various stations throughout the country. Other institutions belonging to the state are the national sheep-fold of Rambouillet (Seine-et-Oise) and the cow-house of Vieux-Pin (Orne) for the breeding of Durham cows. Four different grades of institution for agricultural instruction are under state direction: (I) farm-schools and schools of apprenticeship in dairying, &c., to which the age of admission is from 14 to 16 years; (2) practical schools, to which boys of from 13 to 18 years of age are admitted. These number forty-eight, and are intended for sons of farmers Of good position; (3) national schools, which are established at Grignon (Seine-et-Oise), Rennes and Montpellier, candidates for which must be 17 years of age; (4) the National Agronomic Institute at Paris, which is intended for the training of estate agents, professors, &c. There are also departmental chairs of agriculture, the holders of which give instruction in training-colleges and elsewhere and advise farmers.
Forests.In relation to its total extent, France presents D ai but a very limited area of forest land, amounting to only ep 36,700 sq. m. or about 18% of the entire surface of the country. Included under the denomination of forest N rd are landssurfaces boisieswhich are bush rather than T rrito forest. The most wooded parts of France are the mountains Loire and plateaus of the east and of the north-east, comprising Seine the pine-forests of the Vosges and Jura (including the beau- Bouch~e tiful Forest of Chaux), the Forest of Haye, the Forest of Rhne Ardennes, the Forest of Argonne, &c.; the Landes, where M rth replanting with maritime pines has transformed large areas Ardenn of marsh into forest; and the departments of Var and Vos as Arige. The Central Mountains and the Morvan also have Pa ~leconsiderable belts of wood. In the Parisian region there Seine-li are the Forests of Fontainebleau (66 sq. In.), of Compibgne (56 sq. m.), of Rambouillet, of Villers-Cotterets, &c. The Forest of Orleans, the largest in France, covers about 145 sq. m. The Alps and Pyrenees are in large part deforested, but reafforestation with a view to minimizing the effects of avalanches and sudden floods is continually in progress.
Of the forests of the country approximately one-third belongs to the state, communes and public institutions. The rest belongs to private owners who are, however, subject to certain restrictions. The Department of Waters i and Forests (Administration des Eaux et Forts) forms a branch of the min istry of agriculture. It is adminis- Groups.
tered by a director-general, who has his headquarters at Paris, assisted by three administrators who are charged with the working of the forests, Nord and Pas-de- 3 Valei questions of rights and law, finance Calais.. - Le B
and plantation works. The estab lishment consists of 32 conserVators, I St E
each at the head of a district corn-. j Com prising one or more departments, 200 oire -.) Ste I
inspectors, 215 sub-inspectors and L Roar about 300 gardes ginraux. These __________________
officials form the higher grade of the Alai~
service (agents). There are besides Gard. .. - l Aub several thousand forest-rangers and (Le ?
other ernploys (prposs). The de- ____________________
partment is supplied with officials of ~ Dcci the higher class from the National Bourgogne and J La C School of Waters and Forests at Nivernais. - 1 Bert Nancy, founded in 1824.. t Sinc Industries. ~ Aubi Tarn and Aveyron ~ R d In France, as in other countries, L ~
the development of machinery, with surveillance over river-fishing, Bourbonnais ~LAt pisciculture and the amelioration of La ~
pasture.
whether run by steam, water-power or other motive forces, has played a great part in the promotion of industry; the increase in the amount of steam horse-power employed in industrial establishments is, to a certain degree, an index to the activity of the country as regards manufactures.
The appended table shows the progress made since 1850 with regard to steam power. Railway and marine locomotives are not included.
No. of No. of Total Years. Establishments. Steam-Engines. Horse- Power.
1852 6,543 6,080 76,000
1861 14,153 15,805 191,000
1871 22,192 26,146 316,000
1881 35,712 44,010 576,000
1891 46,828 58,967 916,000
1901 58,151 75,866 1,907,730
1905 61,112 79,203 2,232,263
With the exception of Loire, Bouches-du-Rhbne and Rhne, the chief industrial departments of France are to be found in the north and north-east of the country. In 1901 and 1896 those in which the working inhabitants of both sexes were engaged in industry as opposed to agriculture to the extent of 50% (approximately) or over, nufnbered eleven, viz.:
Percentage engaged Total Working Industrial in Industry.
tments. Population Population (1901). (1901). 1901.1896.
-. - 848,306 544,177 64.15 63.45
re de Belfort 40,703 24,470 60.10 58.77
- - 292,808 167,693 57.27 54.73
- - 2,071,344 1,143,809 55.22 53.54
- -du-Rhne - 341,823 187,801 54.94 51.00
- - - 449,121 243,571 54.23 54~78
e-et-Moselle 215,5o1 115,214 53~46 50.19
Is.. 139,270 73,250 52.60 52.42
208,142 107,547 51.67 51.05
alais. 404,153 200,402 49.58 46.55
ifbrieure - 428,591 206,612 48.21 4985
The department of Seine, comprising Paris and its suburbs, which has the largest manufacturing population, is largely occupied with the manufacture of dress, millinery and articles of luxury (perfumery, &c.), but it plays the leading part in almost every great branch of industry with the exception of Average Production (Thousands of Basins. Departments. Metric Tons)
1901-1905.
ciennes Nord, Pas-de-Calais ~ 20 96
)ulonnais Pas-de-Calais 5
ienne and Rive-de-Gier Loire nunay Isbre 3 601
oy lArgentibre Rhbne .nais Loire Gard, Arc~bche)
nas Ardche 1,954
igan Gard)
~e Nivre hapelle-sous-Dun Sabne-.et-Loire L 1 881
Allier Cbte-dOr n Aveyron 1
laux and Albi Tarn 1,770
z Aveyron j ~rdoux Lot inentry and Doyet Allier oi Puy-de-Dme mance Allier ueune Allier spinning and weaving. The typically industrial region of France is the department of Nord, the seat of the woollen industry, but also prominently concerned in other textile industries, in metal working, and in a variety of other manufactures, fuel for which is supplied by its coal-fields. The following sketch of the manufacturing industry of France takes account chiefly of those of its branches which are capable in some degree of localization. Many of the great industries of the country, e.g. tanning, brick-making, the manufacture of garments, &c., are evenly distributed throughout it, and are to be found in or near all larger centres of population.
Coal.The principal mines of France are coal and iron mines. The production of coal and lignite averaging 33,465,000 metric tons in the years 1901-1905 represents about 73% of the total consumption of the country; the surplus is supplied from Great Britain, Belgium and Germany. The preceding table shows the average output of the chief coal-groups for the years 1901-1905 inclusive. The Flemish coal-basin, employing over 100,000 hands, produces 60% of the coal mined in France.
French lignite comes for the most part from the department of BOuches-du-Rhne (near Fuveau).
The development of French coal and lignite mining in the i9th century, together with records of prices, which rose considerably at the end of the period, is set forth in the table below:
Average Yearly Average Price Production per Ton at Years. (Thousands of Pit Mouth Metric Tons). (Francs).
1821-1830 1,495 10.23
1831-1840 2,571 9.83
1841-1850 4,078.5 9.69
1851I 860 6,857 11.45
1861-1870 11,831 i1~61
1871-1880 16,774 1434
1881-1890 21,542 11.55
1891-1900 29,190 11.96
1901-1903 33,465 14.18
Iron.The iron-mines of France are more numerous than its coalmines, but they do not yield a sufficient quantity of ore for the needs of the metallurgical industries of the country; as will be seen in the table below the production of iron in France gradually increased during the 19th century; on the other hand, a decline in prices operated against a correspondingly marked increase in its annual value.
Average Annual Production Price per Years. (Thousands of Metric Ton Metric Tons). (Francs).
1841-1850 1247 6.76
1851-1860 2414.5 5.51
1861f 870 3035 4.87
1871-1880 2514 539
1881-1890 2934 3.99
1891-1900 4206 3.37
1901-1905 6072 3.72
The department of Meurthe-et-Moselle (basins of Nancy and Longwy-Briey) furnished 84% of the total output during the quinquennial period 1901-1905, may be reckoned as one of the principal iron-producing regions of the world. The other chief producers were Pyrnes-Orientales, Calvados, Haute-Marne (Vassy) and Saneet-Loire (Mazenay and Change).
Other OresThe mining of zinc the chief deposits of which are at Malines (Gard), Les Bormettes ~Var) and Planioles (Lot), and of lead, produced especially at Chaliac (Ardche), ranks next in importance to that of iron. Iron-pyrites come almost entirely from Department. Chief Centre Seine -. -
Nord Lille, Anzin, Denain, Douai, I
Loire Rive-de-Gier, Firminy, StEtie Meurthe-et-Moselle -. Pont--Mousson, Frouard, Lor Ardennes Charleville, Nouzon Sain-Bel (Rhne), manganese chiefly from Ariege and Sane-et. Loire, antimony from the departments of Mayenne, Haute-Loire and Cantal. Copper and mispickel are mined only in small quantities. The table below gives the average production of zinc, argentiferous lead, iron-pyrites and other ores during the quinquennial period 1901f 905.
Production (Thousands of Value ~
Metric Tons).
Zinc -. 60.3 206,912
Lead - - - 18.5 100,424
Iron-pyrites - 297.2 170,312
Other ores - 36O 68,376
Salt, &c.Rock-salt is worked chiefly in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle,which produces more than half the average annual product of salt. For the years I8961905-this was 1,010,000 tons, including both rock- and sea-salt. The salt-marshes of the Mediterranean coast, especially the Etang de Berre and those of LoireInfrieure, are the principal sources of sea-salt. Sulphur is obtained near Apt (Vaucluse) and in a few other localities of south-eastern France; bituminous schist near Autun (Sane-et-Loire) and Buxires (Allier). The most extensive peat-workings are in the valleys of the Somme; asphalt comes from Seyssel (Am) and Puyde-Dme.
The mineral springs of France are numerous, of varied character and much frequented. Leading resorts are: in the Pyrenean region, Amlie-les-Bains, Bagnres-de-Luchon, Bagnres-de-Bigorre, Bareges, Cauterets, Eaux-Bonnes, Eaux-Chaudes and Dax; in the Central Plateau, Mont-Dore, La Bourboule, Bourbon lArchambault, Vichy, Royat, Chaudes-Aigues, Vals, Lamalon; in the Alps, Aix-les-Bains and Evian; in the Vosges and Faucilles, Plombires, Luxeuil, Contrexville, Vittel, Martigny and Bourbonne-les-Bains. Outside these main groups St Amand-les-Eaux and Foyes-les-Eaux may be mentioned.
Qiuirry-Products.Quarries of various descriptions are numerous all over France. Slate is obtained in large quantities from the departments of Maine-ct-Loire (Angers), Ardennes (Fumay) and Mayenne (Renaz). Stone-quarrying is specially active in the departments round Paris, Seine-et-Oise employing more persons in this occupation than any other department. The environs of Creil (Oise) and Chteau-Landon (Seine-et-Marne) are noted for their freestone (pierre de taille), which is also abundant at Euville and Lrouville in Meuse; the production of plaster is particularly important in the environs of Paris, of kaolin of fine quality at Yrieix (1-Jaute-Vienne), of hydraulic lime in Ardche (Le Teil), of lime phosphates in the department of Somme, of marble in the departments of HauteGaronne (St Beat), Hautes-Pyrnes (Campan, Sarrancolin), Isre and Pas-de-Calais, and of cement in Pas-de-Calais (vicinity of Boulogne) and Isre (Grenoble). Paving-stone is supplied in large quantities by Seine-et-Oise, and brick-clay is worked chiefly in Nord, Seine and Pas-de-Calais. The products of the quarries of France for the five years 1901-1905 averaged 9,311,000 per annum in value, of which building material brought in over two-thirds.
Metallurgy.The average production and value of iron and steel manufactured in France in the last four decades of the I 9th century is shown below Cast Iron. Wroughi Iron and SteeL
Product Product Years. (Thousinds ue, (Thousands ~ a ue of Metric OUsaji i of Metric ousan S
Tons). Tons). ~ -
1861-1870 1191.5 5012 844 8,654
1871-1880 1391 5783 1058.5 11,776
1881-1890 1796 5119 1376 11,488
f8911900 2267 5762, i686 i~,54o 1903 2841 7334 1896 15,389
Taking the number of hands engaged in the industry as a basis of comparison, the most important departments as regards iron and steel working in 1901 were:
Hands engaged in Production of Hands engaged in Engineering;. Production of Material and Pig-Iron and Steel. Manufactured Goods.
- - - 600 102,500
lautmont, Maubeuge 14,000 45,000
the, St Chamond 9,500 17,500
gwy, Nancy 16,500 6,500
800 23,000
- ilogrammes or 2204 lb.
Rhflne (Lyons), Saflne-et-Loire (Le Creusot, Chalon-sur-Sane) and Loire-Infrieure (Basse-Indre, Indret, Coueron, Trignac) also play a considerable part in this industry.
The chief centres for the manufacture of cutlery are Chfittelerault (Vienne), Langres (Haute-Marne) and Thiers (Puy-de-Dme); for that of arms St Etienne, Tulle and Chttelerault; for that of watches and clocks, Besancon (Doubs) and Montbliard (Doubs); for that of optical and mathematical instruments Paris, Morez (Jura) and St Claude (Jura); for that of locksmiths ware the region of Vimeu (Pas-de-Calais).
There are important zinc works at Auby and St Amand (Nord) and Viviez (Aveyron) and Noyelles-Godault (Pas-de-Calais); there are lead works at the latter place, and others of greater irirportance at Couron (Loire-Infrieure). Copper is smelted in Ardennes and Pas-de-Calais. The production of these metals, which are by far the most important after iron and steel, increased steadily during the period I89oI9o~, and reached its highest point in 1905, details for which year are given below:
Zinc. Lead.~j Copper.1
Production (in metric tons) 43,200 24,100 7,600
Value 1,083,000 386,000 526,000
WoolIn 1901, 161,000 persons were engaged in the spinning and other preparatory processes and in the weaving of wool. The woollen industry is carried on most extensively in the department of Nord (Roubaix, Tourcoing, Fourmies). Of second rank are Reims and Sedan in the Champagne group; Elbeuf, Louviers and Rouen in Normandy; and Mazamet (Tarn).
Cotton.In 1901, 166,000 persons were employed in the spinning and weaving of cotton, French cotton goods being distinguished chiefly for the originality of their design. The cotton industry is distributed in three principal groups. The longest established is that of Normandy, having its centres at Rouen, Havre, Evreux, Falaise and Flers. Another group in the north of France has its centres at Lille, Tourcoing, Roubaix, St Quentin and Amiens. That of the Vosges, which has experienced a great extension since the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, comprises Epinal, St Die, Remiremont and Belfort. Other groups of less importance are situated in the Lyonnais (Roanne and Tarare) and Mayenne (Laval and Mayenne).
Silk.The silk industry occupied f34,000 hands in 1901. The silk fabrics of France hold the first place, particularly the more expensive kinds The industry is concentrated in the departments bordering the river Rhne, the chief centres being Lyons (Rhne), Voiron (Isre), St Etienne and St Chamond (~~oire) (the two latter being especially noted for their ribbons and trimmings) and Annonay (Ardche) and other places in the departments of Am, Gard and Drme.
Flax, Hemp, Jute, &c.The preparation and spinning of these materials and the manufacture of nets and rope, together with the weaving of linen and other fabrics, give occupation to 112,000 persons chiefly in the departments of Nord (Lille, Armentires, Dunkirk), Somme (Amiens) and Maine-et-Loire (Angers, Cholet).
Hosiery, the manufacture of which employs 55,000 hands, has its chief centre in Aube (Troyes). The production of lace and guipure, occupying 112,000 persons, is carried on mainly in the towns and villages of Haute-Loire and in Vosges (Mirecourt), Rhne (Lyons), Pas-de-Calais (Calais) and Paris.
Leather.Tanning and leather-dressing are widely spread industries, and the same may be said of the manufacture of boots and shoes, though these trades employ more hands in the department of Seine than elsewhere; in the manufacture of gloves Isre (Grenoble) and Aveyron (Millau) hold the first place amongst French departments.
Sugar.The manufacture of sugar is carried on in the departments of the north, in which the cultivation of beetroot is general Aisne, Nord, Somme, Pas-de-Calais, Oise and Seine-et-Marne, the three first being by far the largest producers. The increase in production in the last twenty years of the 19th century is indicated in the following table: Average Annual Years. Annual Average of Production in Men employed. Metric Tons.
1881-1891 43,108 415,786
1891-1901 42,841 696,038
1901-1906 43,061 820,553
AlcohoLThe distillation of alcohol is in the hands of three classes of persons. (1) Professional distillers (bouilleurs et distillateurs de profession); (2) private distillers (bouilieurs de cru) under state control~ (3) small private distillers, not under state control, but giving notice to the state that they distil. The two last classes number over 400,000 (1903), but the quantity of alcohol distilled by them is small. Beetroot, molasses and grain are the chief sources of spirit. The department of Nord produces by far the greatest quantity, its average annual output in the decade 1895-1904
being 13,117,000 gallons, or about 26% of the average annual production of France during the same period (49,945,000 gallons).
Aisne, Pas-de-Calais and Somme rank next to Nord.
Glass is manufactured in the departments of Nord (Aniche, &c.), Seine, Loire (Rive-de-Gier) and Meurthe-et-Moselle, Baccarat in the latter department being famous for its table-glass. Limoges is the chief centre for the manufacture of porcelain, and the artistic products of the national porcelain factory of Svres have a world. wide reputation.
The manufacture of paper and cardboard is largely carried on In Isre (Voiron), Seine-et-Oise (Essonnes), Vosges (Epinal) and of the finer sorts of paper in Charente (Angoulenie). That of oil, candles and soap has its chief centre at Marseilles. Brewing and malting are localized chiefly in Nord. There are well-known chemical works at Dombasle (close to Nancy) and Chauny (Aisne) and in Rhhne.
Occupations.The following table, which shows the approximate numbers of persons engaged in the various manufacturing industries of France, who number in all about 5,820,000, indicates their relative importance from the point of view of employment:
Occupation. 1901.1866.
Baking 163,500. -
Milling 99,400
Charcuterie 39,600
Other alimentary industries - - 161,500 - -
Alimentary industries: total -. 464,000 308,000
Gas-works 26,000 -.
Tobacco factories 16,000
Oil-works jo,ooo Other chemical 1 industries 58,000 - -
Chemical industries: total - - - 110,000 49,000
Rubber factories 9,000 2 000
Paper factories 61,000 S ~
Typographic and lithographic printing 76,000 j - -
Other branches of book production - 23,000 - -
Book production: total - - - 99,000 38,000
Spinning and weaving - - - - 892,000 1,072,000
Clothing, millinery and making up of fabrics generally - - - - - - 1,484,000)
_____________________________ ________- ~.
Basket work, straw goods, feathers 39,000
Leather and skin 338,000 286,000
Joinery 153,000 - - -
Builders carpentering 94,900. -
Wheelwrights work 82,700
Cooperage 46,600
Wooden shoes 52,400 -.
Other wood industries - - 280,400 - -
Wood industries: total - 710,000 671,000
Metallurgy and metal working 783,000 345,000
Goldsmiths and jewellers work 35,000 55,000
Stone-working 56,000 12,000
Construction, building, decorating 572,000 443,000
Glass manufacture 43,000 -.
Tiles 29,000 - -
Porcelain and faIence 27,000 - -
Bricks 17,000 - -
Other kiln industries - - - 45,000 - -
Kiln industries: total 161 000 110,000
Some 9000 individuals were engaged in unclassified industries.
Fisheries.The fishing population of France is most numerous in the Breton departments of Finisire, Cfltes-du-Nord and Morbihan and in Pas-de-Calais. Dunkirk, Gravelines, Boulogne and Paimpol send considerable fleets to the Icelandic cod-fisheries, and St Malo, Fcainp, Granville and Cancale to those of Newfoundland. The Dogger Bank is frequented by numbers of French fishing-boats.
1 Includes manufactories of glue, tallow, soap, perfumery, fertilizers, soda, &c.
Besides the above, Boulogne, the most important fishing port in the country, Calais, Dieppe, Concarneau, Douarnenez, Les Sables dOlonne, La Rochelle, Marennes and Arcachon are leading ports for the herring, sardine, mackerel and other coast-fisheries of the ocean, while Cette, Agde and other Mediterranean ports are engaged in the tunny and anchovy fisheries. Sardine preserving is an important industry at Nantes and other places on the west coast. Oysters are reared chiefly at Marennes, which is the chief French market for them, and at Arcachon, Vannes, Olron, Auray, Cancale and Courseulles. The total value of the produce of fisheries increased from 4,537,000 in 1892 to f5,259,000 in 1902. In 1902 the number of men employed in the home fisheries was 144,000 and the number of vessels 25,481 (tonnage 127,000); in the deep-sea fisheries 10,500 men and 450 vessels (tonnage 51,000) were employed.
Communications.
l~oads.Admirab1e highways known as routes nationales and kept up at the expense of the state radiate from Paris to the great towns of France. Averaging 524 ft. in breadth, they covered in 1905 a distance of nearly 24,000 m. The cole des Fonts et Chausses at Paris is maintained by the government for the training of the engineers for the construction and upkeep of roads and bridges. Each department controls and maintains the routes dpartementales, usually good macadamized roads connecting the chief places within its limits and extending in 1903 over 9700 m. The routes nationales and the routes dpartementales come under the category of la grande voirie and are under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works. The urban and rural district roads, covering a much greater mileage and classed as la petite voirie, are maintained chiefly by the communes under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior.
Waterways.1The waterways of France, 7543 m. in length, of which canals cover 3031 m., are also classed under la grande voirie; they are the property of the state, and for the most part are free of tolls. They are divided into two classes. Those of the first class, which comprise rather less than half the entire system, have a minimum depth of 64 ft., with locks 126 ft. long and 17 ft. wide;- those of the second class are of smaller dimensions. Water traffic, which is chiefly in heavy merchandise, as coal, building materials, and agriculture and food produce, more than doubled in volume between 1881 and 1905. The canal and river system attains its greatest utility in the north, northeast and north-centre of the country; traffic is thickest along the Seine below Paris; along the rivers and small canals of the rich departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais and along the Oise and the canal of St Quentin whereby they communicate with Paris; along the canal from the Marne to the Rhine and the succession of waterways which unite it with the Oise; along the Canal de lEst (departments of Meuse and Ardennes); and along the waterways uniting Paris with the Sane at Chalon (Seine, Canal du Loing, Canal de Briare, Lateral canal of the Loire and Canal du Centre) and along the Sane between Chalon and Lyons.
In point of length the following are the principal canals:
Miles.
Est (uniting Meuse with Moselle and Saflne).. 270
From Nantes to Brest 225
Berry (uniting Montlucon with the canalized Cher and the Loire canal) 163
Midi (Toulouse to Mediterranean via Bziers); see CANAL 175
Burgundy (uniting the Yonne and Saflne) -. 151
Lateral canal of Loire 137
From Marne to Rhine (on French territory) 131
Lateral canal of Garonne 133
Rhfine to Rhine (on French territory). 119
Nivernais (uniting Loire and Yonne). ... III
Canal de Ia Somme 97
Centre (uniting Sane and Loire). ... 8I
Canal de lOurcq 67
Ardennes (uniting Aisne and Canal de lEst) -. 62
From Rhflne to Cette 77
Canal de Ia Haute Marne 60
St Quentin (uniting Scheldt with Sonsme and Cisc) 58
1 See the Guide officiel de la navigation in~rieure issued by the ministry of public works (Paris, 1903).
The chief navigable rivers are:
Total First Class nvigated Navigability.
Miles. Miles.
Seine 339 293
Aisne - 37 37
Marne - 114 114
Oise 99 ~5
Yonne.. - 67 53
Rhne. - 309 30
Sane - 234 234
Adour - 72 21
Garonne -. 289 96
Dordogne 167 26
Loire 452 35
Charente. - f 06 16
Vilaine -. 91 31
Escaut (in France) - 39 39
Scarpe - - 41 41
Lys 45 45
Aa 18 18
Railways.The first important line in France, from Paris to Rouen, was constructed through the instrumentality of Sir Edward Blount (1809-1905), an English banker in Paris, who was afterwards for thirty years chairman of the Ouest railway. After the rejection in 1838 of the governments proposals for the construction of seven trunk lines to be worked by the state, he obtained a concession for that piece of line on the terms that the French treasury would advance one-third of the capital at 3% if he would raise the remaining two-thirds, half in France and half in England. The contract for building the railway was put in the hands of Thomas Brassey; English navvies were largely employed on the work, and a number of English engine-drivers were employed when traffic was begun in 1843. A law passed In. 1842 laid the foundation of the plan under which the railways have since been developed, and mapped out nine main lines, running from Paris to the frontiers and from the Mediterranean to the Rhine and to the Atlantic coast. Under it the cost of the necessary land was to be found as to one-third by the state and as to the residue locally, but this arrangement proved unworkable and was abandoned in 1845, when it was settled that the state should provide the land and construct the earthworks and stations, the various companies which obtained concessions being left to make the permanent way, provide rolling stock and work the lines for certain periods. Construction proceeded under this law, but not with very satisfactory results, and new arrangements had to be made between 1852 and 1857, when the railways were concentrated in the hands of six great companies, the Nord, the Est, the Ouest, the Paris-Lyon-Mditerrane, the Orleans and the Midi. Each of these companies was allotted a definite sphere of influence, and was granted a concession for ninety-nine years from its date of formation, the concessions thus terminating at various dates between 1950 and 1960. In return for the privileges granted them the companies undertook the construction out of their own unaided resources of 1500 m. of subsidiary lines, but the railway expenditure of the country at this period was so large that in a few yearsthey found it impossible to raise the capital they required. In these circumstances the state agreed to guarantee the interest on the capital, the sums it paid in this way being regarded as advances to be reimbursed in the future with interest at 4%. This measure proved successful and the projected lines were completed. But demands for more lines were constantly arising, and the existing companies, in view of their financial position, were disinclined to undertake their construction. The government therefore found itself obliged to inaugurate a system of direct subventions, not only to the old large companies, but also to new small ones, to encourage the development of branch and local lines, and local authorities were also empowered to contribute a portion of the required capital. The result came to be that many small lines were begun by companies that had not the means to complete them, and again the state had to come to the rescue. In 1878 it agreed to spend 20,000,000 in purchasing and completing a number of these lines, some of which were handed over to the great companies, while others were retained in the hands of the government, forming the system known as the Chemins de Fer de lEtat. Next year a large programme of railway expansion was adopted, at an estimated cost to the state of 14o,000,000, and from 1880 to 1882 nearly 40,000,000 was expended and some 18cc m. of line constructed. Then there was a change in the financial situation, and it became difficult to find the money required. In these circumstances the conventions of 1883 were concluded, and the great companies partially relieved the government of its obligations by agreeing to contribute a certain proportion of the cost of the new lines and to provide the rolling stock for working them. In former cases when the railways had had recourse to state aid, it was the state whose contributions were fixed, while the railways were left to find the residue; but on this occasion the position was reversed. The state further guaranteed a minimum rate of interest on the capital invest~1, and this guarantee, which by the convention of 1859 had applied to new lines only, was now extended to cover both old and new lines, the receipts and expenditure from both kinds being lumped together. As before, the sums paid out in respect of guaranteed dividend were to be regarded as advances which were to be paid back to the state out of the profits made, when these permitted, and when the advances were wiped out, the profits, after payment of a certain dividend, were to be divided between the state and the railway, two-thirds going to the former and one-third to the latter. All the companies, except the Nord, have at one time or another had to take advantage of the guarantee, and the fact that the Ouest had been one of the most persistent and heavy borrowers in this respect was one of the reasons that induced the government to take it over as from the 1st of January 1909. By the 1859 conventions the state railway system obtained an entry into Paris by means of running powers over the Ouest from Chartres, and its position was further improved by the exchange of certain lines with the Orleans company.
The great railway systems of France are as follows:
I. The Nord, which serves the rich mining, industrial and farming districts of Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Aisne and Somme, connecting with the Belgian railways at several points. Its main lines run from Paris to Calais, via Creil, Amiens and Boulogne, from Paris to Lille, via Creil and Arras, and from Paris to Maubeuge via Creil, Tergnier and St Quentin.
2. The Ouest-Etat, a combination of the West and state systems. The former traversed Normandy in every directionand connected Paris with thetowns of Brittany. Its chief lines ran from Paris:to Le Havre via Mantes and Rouen, to Dieppe via Rouen, to Cherbourg, to Granyule and to Brest. The state railways served a large portion of western France, their chief lines being from Nantes via La Rochelle to Bordeaux, and from Bordeauxvia Saintes, Niort and Saumur to Chartres.
3. The Est, running from Paris via Chlons and Nancy to Avricourt (for Strassburg), via Troyes and Langres to Belfort and on via Basel to the Saint Gotthard, and via Reims and Mezires to Longwy.
4. The Orleans, running from Paris to Orleans, and thence serving Bordeaux via Tours, Poitiers and Angoulflme, Nantes via Tours and Angers, and Montauban and Toulouse via Vierzon and Limoges.
5. The Paris-Lyon-MditerranCe, connecting Paris with Marseilles via Moret, Laroche, Dijon, Macon and Lyons, and with NImes via Moret, Nevers and Clermont-Ferrand. It establishes communication hetwee1f France and Switzerland and Italy via Macon and Culoz (for the Mt. Cenis Tunnel) and via Dijon and Pontarlier (for the Simplon), and also has a direct line along the Mediterranean coast from Marseilles to Genoa via Toulon and Nice.
6. The Midi (Southern) has lines radiating from Toulouse to Bordeaux via Agen, to Bayonne via Tarbes and Pau, and to Cette via Carcassonne, Narbonne and Bziers. From Bordeaux there is also a direct line to Bayonne and Irun (for Madrid), and at the other end of the Pyrenees a line leads from Narbonne to Perpignan and Barcelona.
The following table, referring to lines of general interest, indicates the development of railways after 1885: ___________
Receipts in Expenses in Passengers Goods carried Year. Mileage. Thousands Thousands cix!ied (xooo Meiric of. of. (1000S). Tons).
1885 18,650 42,324 23,308 214,451 75,192
i89o 20,800 46,145 24,239 241,119 92,506
i895 22,650 50,542 27,363 348,852 IoO,834
1900 23,818 60,674 32,966 453,193 126,830
1904 24,755 60,589 31,477 433,913 130,144
Narrow gauge and normal gauge railways of local interest covered 3905 m. in 1904.
Commerce.
After entering on a rgime of free trade in 1860 France gradually reverted towards protection; this system triumphed in the Customs Law of 1892, which imposed more or less considerable duties on importsa law associated with the name of M. Mline. While raising the taxes both on agricultural products and manufactured goods, this law introduced, between France and all the powers trading with her, relations different from those in the past. It left the government free either to apply to foreign countries the general tariff or to enter into negotiations with them for the application, under certain conditions, of a minimum tariff. The policy of protection was further accentuated by raising the impost on corn from 5 to 7 francs per hectolitre (23/4 bushels). This system, however, which is opposed by a powerful party, I has at various times undergone modifications. On the one hand it became necessary, in face of an inadequate harvest, to suspend in 1898 the application of the law on the import of corn. On the other hand, in order to check the decline of exports and neutralize the harmful effects of a prolonged customs war, a commercial treaty was in 1896 concluded with Switzerland, carrying with it a reduction, in respect of certain articles, of the imposts which had been fixed by the law of 1892. An accord was likewise in 1898 effected with Italy, which since 1886 had been in a state of economic rupture with France, and in July 1899 an accord was concluded with the United States of America. Almost all other countries, moreover, share in the benefit of the minimum tariff, and profit by the modifications it may successively undergo.
Being in the main a self-supporting country France carries on most of her trade within her own borders, and ranks below _________ commerce, in Millions of Pounds Sterling.
General Special Imports. Exports. Total, imports. Exports. Total.
1876-1880 2IO~f I75~3 385.4 I7I~7 135.1 306.8
1881-1885 224.1 1778 401.9 183.4 135.3 318.7
1886-1890 208~2 f79.4 387.6 1688 I376 306.4
1891-1895 205.9 178.6 384~5 163.0 1338 296.8
1896-1900 237.8 2oI~o 438.8 171.9 150.8 322.7
1901-1905 2333 227.5 460.8 182-8 I747 3575
Great Britain, Germany and the United States in volume of exterior trade. The latter is subdivided into general commerce, which includes all goods entering or leaving the country, and special commerce whirls includes imports for home use and exports of home produce. The above table shows the developments of French trade during the years from 1876 to 1905 by means of quinquennial averages. A permanent body (the commission permanente des valeurs) fixes the average prices of the Imporis. Exports.
Value Per cent Value Per cent (Thousands of -r~t~t (Thousands of Total of J~), Value, of Q, Value.
Articles of Food 1886-1890 58,856 34.9 30,830 22.4
1891-1895 50,774 30.9 28,287 2I~I
I~96f900 42,488 24.9 27,838 18.6
1901-1905 33,631 18.4 28,716 16.5
Raw Materials i 1886-1890 85,778 50.8 33,848 24.6
1891-1895 88,211 54.3 32,557 24.4
1896-1900 101,727 59.2 40,060 266
1901-1905 116,580 63.8 47,385 27.1
Manufactu red Articles 2
1886-1890 24,125 I4~3 72,9I7 53.0
1891-1895 24,054 14.8 72,906 545
1896-1900 27,330 I5~9 82,270 54~8
1901-1905 32,554 17.8 98,582 56.4
I Includes horses, mules and asses.
2 Except certain manufactures which come under the category of articles of food.
articles in the customs list; this value is estimated at the end of the year in accordance with the variations that have taken place and is applied provisionally to the following year.
Amongst imports raw materials (wool, cotton and silk, coal, oilseeds, timber, &c.) hold the first place, articles of food (cereals, wine, coffee, &c.) and manufactured goods (especially machinery) ranking next. Amongst exports manufactured goods (silk, cotton and woollen goods, fancy wares, apparel, &c.) come before raw materials and articles of food (wine and dairy products bought chiefly by England).
Divided into these classes the imports and exports (special trade) for quinquennial periods from 1886 to 1905 averaged as shown in the preceding table.
The decline both in imports and in exports of articles of food, which is the most noteworthy fact exhibited in the preceding table, was due to the almost prohibitive tax in the Customs Law of 1892, upon agricultural products.
The average value of the principal articles of import and export (special trade) over quinquennial periods following 1890 is shown in the two tables below.
Principal Imports (Thousands of).
f89f1895.1896-1900.1901-1905.
Coal, coke, &c 7,018 9,883 10,539
Coffee 6,106 4,553 3,717
Cotton, raw -. - - 7,446 7,722 11,987
Flax 2,346 2,435 3,173
Fruitandseeds(oleaginous) 7,175 6,207 8,464
Hides and skins, raw - - 6,141 5,261 6,369
Machinery 2,181 3,632 4,614
Silk, raw 9,488 IO,39f 11,765
Timber 6,054 6,284 6,760
Wheat 10,352 5,276 1,995
Wine 9,972 10,454 5,167
Wool, raw 13,372 16,750 16,395
Principal Exports (Thousands of).
1891-1895. f896f900.1901-1905 .
Apparel 4,726 4,513 5,079
Brandy and other spirits 2,402 1,931 1,678
Butter 2,789 2,783 2,618
Cotton manufactures -.. 4,233 5,874 7,965
Haberdashery i~, - 5,830 6,039 6,599
Hides, raw 2,839 3,494 4,813
Hides, tanned or curried 4,037 4,321 4,753
Iron and steel, manufac tures of.. 2,849 4,201
Millinery 1,957 3,308 4,951
Motor cars and vehicles - - 160 2,147
Paper and manufactures of 2,095 2,145 2,551
Silk, raw, thrown, waste and cocoons - - - 4,738 4,807 6,090
Silk and waste silk, manu factures of.. -. 9,769 10,443 II,46~
Wine 8,824 9,050 9,139
Wool, raw 5,003 7,813 9,159
Wool, manufactures of 11,998 10,190 8,459
The following were the countries sending the largest quantities of goods (special trade) to France (during the same periods as in previous table). -
Trade with Principal Countries. Imports (Thousands of).
1891-1895.1896-1900.1901-1905.
Germany 13,178 13,904 17,363
Belgium 15,438 13,113 13,057
United Kingdom - - 20,697 22,132 22,725
Spain 10,294 10,560 6,5252
United States - 15,577 18,491 59,334
Argentine Republic .. 7,119 10,009 10,094
Other countries importing largely into France are Russia, Algeria and British India, whose imports in each case averagedover~9,ooo,ooo in value in the period 1901-1905; China (average value 7,000,000); and Italy (average value 6,ooo,000).
The following are the principal countries receiving the exports of France (special trade), with values for the same periods.
i Includes small fancy wares, toys, also wooden wares and furniture, brushes, &c.
Decrease largely due to Spanish-American War (1898),(1898),
Trade with Principal Countries. Exports (Thousands of).
1891f 895 1896-1900 -1901-1905
Germany 13,712 16,285 21,021
Belgium 19,857, 22,135 24,542
United Kingdom - - - 39,310 45,203 49,156
United States - - 9,337 9,497 50,411
Algeria 7,872 9,434 11,652
The other chief customers of France were Switzerland and Italy, whose imports from France averaged in 1901-1905 nearly 10,000,000 and over 7,200,000 respectively in value. In the same period Spain received exports from France averaging 4,700,000.
The trade of France was divided between foreign countries and her colonies in the following proportions (imports and exports combined). ____________________ ____________________
General Trade., Special Trade.
Foreign c I Foreign C 1
Countries. o omes. Countries. o onies.
1891-1895 92.00 800 90.89 9.11
1896-1900 9I~f8 8~82 8,9.86 Io~I4
1901-1905 90.41 9,59 88.78 ff22
The respective shares of the leading customs in the tfade of the country is approximately shown in the following table, which gives the value of their exports and imports (general trade) in 1905 in millions sterling.
Marseilles. .. 88.8 Boulogne -. 17.5
Le Havre.. 79.5 Calais 14.1
Paris 42~8 Dieppe. .. 3.5
Dunkirk -.. 34~8 Rouen 11.3
Bordeaux -.. 27.4 Belfort-Petit-Croix 10.7
In the same year the other chief customs in order of importance were Tourcoing, Jetimont, Cette, St Nazaire and Avricourt.
The chief local bodies concerned with commerce and industry are the chambres de commerce and the chambres consultatives darts et manufactures, the members of which are elected from their own number by the traders and industrialists of a certain standing. They are established in the chief towns, and their principal function is to advi.~e the government on measures for improving and facilitating commerce and industry within their circumscription. See also BANKS AND BANKING; SAVINGS BANKS; POST AND POSTAL SERVICE.
Shipping.The following table thhows the increase in tonnage of sailing and steam shipping engaged in foreign trade entered and cleared at the ports of France over quinquennial periods from 1890.
Entered. Cleared.
French. Foreign. French. Foreign.
1891-1895 4,277,967 9,947,893 4,521,928 IO,091,000
1896I900 4,665,268 12,037,571 5,005,563 12,103,358
1901-1905 4,782,101 14,744,626 5,503,463 14,823,217
The increase of the French mercantile marine (which is fifth in importance in the world) over the same period is traced in the following table. Vessels of 2 net tons and upwards are enumerated.
Sailing. Steam. Total.
Number Number Number of Tonnage. of Tonnage. of Tnnage.
I Vessels. Vessels. Vessels.
1 1891-1895 14,183 402,982 1182 502,363 15,365 905,345
1896-1900 14,327 437,468 1231 504,674 15,558 942,142
~~,~oI_I905 14,867642,562 1388 617,536 16,255 I,260~o98
At the beginning of 1908 the total was 17,193 (tonnage, 1,402,647); of these 13,601 (tonnage, 81,833) were vessels of less than 20 tons, while 502 (tonnage, 1,014,506) were over 800 tons.
The increase in the tonnage of sailing vessels, which in other countries tends to decline, was due to the bounties voted by parliament to its merchant sailing fleet with the view of increasing the number of skilled seamen. The prosperity of the French shipping trade is hampered ,by the costliness of shipbuilding and by the scarcity of outward-bound cargo. Shipping has been fostered by paying bounties for vessels constructed in France and sailing under the French flag, and by reserving the coasting trade, traffic between France and Algeria, &c., to French vessels. Despite these monopolies, three-fourths of the shipping in French ports is foreign, and France is without shipping companies comparable in importance to those of other great maritime nations. The three chief companies are the Messageries Maritimes (Marseilles and Bordeaux), the Corn pagnie Gnrale Transatlan~ique (Le Havre, St Nazaire and Marseilles) antI the Chargeurs Runis (Le Havre).
Government and Administration.
Central Government.The principles upon which the French constitution is based are representative government (by two chambers), manhood suffrage, responsibility of ministers and irresponsibility of the head of the state. Alterations or modifications of the constitution can only be effected by the National Assembly, consisting of both chambers sitting together id hoc. The legislative power resides in these two chambersthe Senate and the Chamber of Deputies; the executive is vested in the president of the republic and the ministers. The members of both chambers owe their election to universal suffrage; but the Senate is not elected directly by the people and the Chamber of Deputies is.
The Chamber of Deputies, consisting of 584 members, is elected by the scrutin darrondissement (each elector voting for one deputy) for a term of four years, the conditions of election being as follows: Each arrondissement sends one deputy if its population does not exceed 100,000, and an additional deputy for every additional 100,000 inhabitants or fraction of that number. Every citizen of twenty-one years of age, unless subject to some legal disability, such as actual engagement in military service, bankruptcy or condemnation to certain punishments, has a vote, provided that he can prove a residence of six months duration in any one town or commune. A deputy must be a French citizen, not under twenty-five years old. Each candidate must make, at least five days before the elections, a declaration setting forth in what constituency he intends to stand. He may only stand for one, and all votes given for him in any other than that specified in the declaration are void. To secure election a candidate must at the first voting poll an absolute majority and a number of votes equal to one-fourth of the number of electors. If a second poll is necessary a relative majority is sufficient.
The Senate (see below, Law and Institutions) is composed of 300 members who must be French citizens at least forty years of age. They are elected by the scrutin de lisle for a period of nine years, and one-third of the body retires every three years. The department which is to elect a senator when a vacancy occurs is settled by lot.
Both senators and deputies receive a salary of 600 per annum. No member of a family that has reigned in France is eligible for either chamber.
Bills may be proposed either by ministers (in the name of the president of the republic), or by private members, and may be initiated in either chamber, but money-bills must be submitted in the first place to the Chamber of Deputies. Every bill is first examined by a committee, a member of which is chosen to report on it to the chamber, after which it must go through two readings (dilibrations), before it is presented to the other chamber. Either house may pass a vote of no confidence in the government, and in practice the government resigns in face of ~he passing of such a vote by the deputies, but not if it is passed by the Senate only. The chambers usually assemble in January each year, and the ordinary session lasts not less than five months; usually it continues till July. There is an extraordinary session from October till Christmas.
The president (see below, Law and Institutions) is elected for Departments. Capital Towns.
Af N Bourg AISNE Laon ALLIER Moulins .
ALPES-MARITIMES. - Nice ARD~cHE Privas ARDENNES Mzires .
ARI*GE Foix AUBE Troyes .
AUDE Carcassonne AvEYRON - Rodez - - -
1 The administration of posts, telegraphs and telephones is assigr works.
2 The province or provinces named are those out of which the de seven years, by a majority of votes, by the Senate and Chamber of Deputies sitting together as the National Assembly. Any French citizen may be chosen president, no fixed age being required. The only exception to this rule is that no member of a royal family which has once reigned in France can be elected. The president receives 1,200,000 francs (~48,ooo) a year, half as salary, half for travelling expenses and the charges incumbent upon the official representative of the country. Both the chambers are summoned by the president, who has the power of dissolving the Chamber of Deputies with the assent of the Senate. When a change of Government occurs the president chooses a prominent parliamentarian as premier and president of the council. This personage, who himself holds a portfolio, nominates the other ministers, his choice being subject to the ratification of the chief of the state. The ministerial council (conseil des ministres) is presided over by the president of the republic; less formal meetings (conseils de cabinet) under the presidency of the premier, or even of some other minister, are also held.
The ministers, whether members of parliament or not, have the right to sit in both chambers and can address the house whenever they choose, though a minister may only vote in the chamber of which he happens to be a member. There are twelve ministriesi comprising those of justice; finance; war; the interior; marine; colonies; public instruction and fine arts; foreign affairs; commerce and industry; agriculture; public works; and labor and public thrift. Individual ministers are responsible for all acts done in connection with their own dpartments, and the body of ministers collectively is responsible for the general policy of the government.
The council of state (conseil detat) is the principal council of the head of the state and his ministers, who consult it on various legislative problems, more particularly on questions of administration. It is divided for despatch of business into four sections, each of which corresponds to a group of two or three ministerial departments, and is composed of (1) 32 councillors en service ordinaire (comprising a vice-president and sectional presidents), and 19 councillors en service extraordinaire, i.e. government officials who are deputed to watch the interests of the ministerial departments to which they belong, and in mat ter~ not concerned with those departments have a merely consultative position; (2) 32 maitres des requtes; (3) 40 auditors.
The presidency of the council of state belongs ex officio to the minister of justice.
The theory of droit administratif lays down the principle that an agent of the government cannot be prosecuted or sued for acts relating to his administrative functions before the ordinary tribunals. Consequently there is a special system of administrative jurisdiction for the trial of le contentieux administratif or disputes in which the administration is concerned. The council of state is the highest administrative tribunal, and includes a special Section du contentieux to deal with judicial work of this nature.
Local Government.France is divided into 86 administrative departments (including Corsica) or 87 if the Territory of Belfort, a remnant of the Haut Rhin department, be included. These departments are subdivided into 362 arrondissements. 2911 cantons and 36,222 communes.
Ancient Provinces.1
- Bourgogne (Bresse, Bugey, Vairomey, Dombes).
- Ile-de-France; Picardie. Bourbonnais.
Languedoc (Vivarais).
Champagne.
Foix; Gascogne (Cousbrans).
- Champagne; Bourgogne.
Languedoc.
- Guienne (Rouergue).
Led to the ministry of commerce and industry or to that of public artment was chiefly formed.
Departments. Capital Towns.
BASSE5-ALPES Digne .
BASSES-PYRfiNiES. - - - Pau BELFORT, TERRITOI RE DE.. Belfort .
BoucnEs-DU-RI1NE. .. Marseilles CALvADO5 Caen CANTAL Aurillac .
CHARENTE Angoulme CHARENTE-INFfiRIEURE.. La Rochelle CIIER. Bourges .
CORR~ZE Tulle .
CTE-DOR Dijon .
CTE5DUN0RD t Brieuc .
CREUSE uret .
DEUX-ShvRES. .. .. Niort .
DORDOGNE Prigueux Doues Besancon .
D ROME Valence .
EURE. Evreux .
EURE-ET-LOIR. ... Chartres .
FINIST~RE Quimper .
GARD imes .
GERS. Auch GIRONDE Bordeaux .
HAUTE-GARONNE. .. - Toulouse .
HAUTE-LOIRE Le Puy .
HAUTE-MA RNE. .. - Chaumont HAUTEs-ALPEs. .. - Gap HAUTE-SAONE Vesoul .
HAUTE-SA VOlE. .. - Annecy HAUTES-PYRfiNfiES. .. Tarbes .
HAUTE-VIENNE. ... Limoges .
H~RAULT Montpellier ILLE-ET-VILAINE. ... Rennes .
INDRE Chteauroux INDRE-ET-LOIRE. .. - Tours - -
ISERE Grenoble - -, -
JURA. Lons-le-Saunier LANDES Mont-de-Marsan LOIRE St-Etienne.. -
LO1RE-INFfiRIEURE. ... Nantes .
LOIRET Orleans .
LOIR-ET-CHER Blois LoT Cahors .
LOT-ET-GARONNE. .. - Agen LOZ~RE Mende .
MAINE-ET-LOIRE. .. - Angers. -
MANCFIE St-LO. -
MAitNE. Chlons-sur-Marne MAYENNE Laval MEURTHE-ET-MOSELLE - Nancy .
MEUSE Bar-le-Duc M0RBIHAN Vannes .
NI~VRE Nevess .
N0RD Lille OlsE Beauvais .
ORNE. Alenon -
PAS-DE-CALAIS. .. - Arras .
PuY-DE-D0ME Clermont-Ferrand PYR~N~Es-ORfENTALEs.. - Perpignan -
RH0NE Lyon .
SAONE-ET-L0IRE -.. - Macon -
SARTHE Le Mans .
SAVOIE hambry SEINE Paris .
SEINE-Er-MARNE. - Melun .
SEINE-ET-Of SE. - Versailles .
SEINE-INFfiRIEURE. .. - Rouen -
SOMME Amiens .
TARN Albi TARN-ET-GARONNE. .. - Montauban VAR Draguignan -
VAUcLUSE ~vignon -
VENDfiE La Roche-sur-Yon VIENNE Poitiers - - -
VOSGES Epinal - - -
YONNE Auxerre - - -
Coltsa (CoRSIcA). - - - Ajaccio - - -
Before I790 France was divided into thirty-three great and seven small military governments, often called provinces, which are, however, to be distinguished from the provinces formed under the feudal system. The great governments were: Alsace, Saintonge and Angoumois, Anjou, Artois, Aunis, Auvergne, Beam and Navarre, Berry, Bourbonnais, Bourgogne (Burgundy), Bretagne (Brittany),, Champagne, DauphinC, Flandre, Foix, Franche-Comt, Guienne and Gascogne (Gascony), Ile-de-France, Languedoc, Limousin, Lorraine, Lyonnais. Maine. Marche, Nivernais. Normandie. Orlanais. Picardie.
Ancient Provinces.
Provence.
- Beam; Gascogne (Basse-Navarre, Soule, Labord).
- Alsace.
Provence.
Normandie (Bessin, Bocage).
Auvergne.
Angoumois; Saintonge.
Aunis; Saintonge.
Berry; Bourbonnais.
Limousin.
Bourgogne (Dijonnais, Auxois).
Bretagne.
- Marche.
- Poitou.
- Guienne (Prigord).
- Franche-Comt; Montbliard.
- DauphinC.
Normandie; Perche.
Orlanais; Normandie.
Bretagne.
Languedoc.
Gascogne (Astarac, Armagnac).
Guienne (Bordelais, Bazadais).
Languedoc; Gascogne (Comminges).
Languedoc (Vclay); Auvergne; Lyonnais.
Champagne (Bassigny, Vallage).
Dauphin.
- Franche-Comt.
Gascogne.
- Limousin; Marche.
- Languedoc.
- Bretagne.
- Berry.
- - Touraine.
- Dauphin.
- Franche-Comt.
- Gascogne (Landes, Chalosse).
- Lyonnais.
. Bretagne.
- Orlanais (Orlanais proper, Gtinais, Dunois).
- Orlanais.
- Guienne (Quercy).
- Guienne; Gascogne.
Languedoc (Gvaudan).
Anjou.
- Normandie (Cotentin).
. Champagne.
- Maine; Anjou.
- Lorraine; Trois-Evchs.
- Lorraine (Barrois, Verdunois).
- Bretagne.
- Nivernais; OrlCanais.
- Flandre; Hainaut.
- Ile-de-France.
- Normandie; Perche.
- Artois; Picardie.
- Auvergne.
- Roussillon; Languedoc.
- Lyonnais; Beaujolais.
- Bourgogne.
- Maine; Anjou.
- Ile-de-France.
- Ile-de-France; Champagne.
- Ile-de-France.
- Normandie.
- Picardie.
- Languedoc (Albigeois).
Guienne; Gascogne; Languedoc.
- Provence.
- Comtat; Venaissin; Provence; Principaut dOrange.
Poitou.
Poitou; Touraine.
Lorraine.
- Bourgogne; Champagne.
- Corse.
Poitou, Provmce, Roussillon, Touraine and Corse. The eight small ~ovemnments were: Paris, Boulogne and Boulonnais, Le Havre, Sedan, Toulois, Pays Messin and Verdunois and Saumurois.
At the head of each department is a prefect, a political official nominated by the minister of the interior and appointed by the president, who acts as general agent of the government and renresentative of the central authority. To aid him the orefect has a general secretary and an advisory body (conseil de prfecture), the members of which are appointed by the president, which has jurisdiction in certain classes of disputes arising out of administration and must, in certain cases, be consulted, though ~he prefect is not compelled to follow its advice. The prefect supervises the execution of the laws; has wide authority in regard to policing, public hygiene and relief of pauper children; has the nomination of various subordinate officials; and is in correspondence with the subordinate functionaries in his department, to whom he transmits the orders and instructions of the government. Although the management of local affairs is in the hands of the prefect his power with regard to these is checked by a deliberative body known as the general council (conseil general). This council, which consists for the most part of business and professional men, is elected by universal suffrage, each canton in the department contributing one member. The general council controls the departmental administration of the prefect, and its decisions on points of local government are usually final. It assigns its quota of taxes (contingent) to each arrondissement, authorizes the sale, purchase or exchange of departmental property, superintends the management thereof, authorizes the construction of new roads, railways or canals, and advises on matters of local interest. Political questions are rigorously excluded from its deliberations. The general council, when not sitting, is represented by a permanent delegation (commission departementale).
As the prefect in the department, so the sub-prefect in the arrondissement, though with a more limited power, is the representative of the central authority. He is assisted, and in some degree controlled, in his work by the district council (conseil darrondissement), to which each canton sends a member, chosen by universal suffrage. As the arrondissement has neither property nor budget, the principal business of the council is to allot to each commune its share of the direct taxes imposed on the arrondissement by the general council.
The canton is purely an administrative division, containing~ on an average, about twelve communes, though some exceptional communes are big enough to contain more than one canton. It is the seat of a justice of the peace, and is the electoral unit for the general council and the district council.
The communes, varying greatly in area and population, are the administrative units in France. The chief magistrate of the commune is the mayor (tnaire), who is (I) the agent of the central government and charged as such with the local promulgation and execution of the general laws and decrees of the country; (2) the executive head of the municipality, in which capacity he supervises the police, the revenue and public works of the commune, and acts as the representative of the corporation in general. He also acts as registrar of births, deaths and marriages, and officiates at civil marriages. Mayors are usually assisted by deputies (adjoints). In a commune of 2500 inhabitants or less there is one deputy; in more populous communes there may be more, but in no case must the number exceed twelve, except at Lyons, where as many as seventeen are allowed. Both mayors and deputy mayors are elected by and from among members of the municipal council for four years. This body consists, according to the population of the commune, of from 10 to 36 members, elected for four years on the principle of the scrutin de liste by Frenchmen who have reached the age of twenty-one years and have a six months residence qualification.
The local affairs of the commune are decided by the municipal council, and its decisions become operative after the expiration of a month, save in matters which involve interests transcending those of the commune. In such cases the prefect must approve them, and in some cases the sanction of the general council or even ratification by the president is necessary. The council also chooses communal delegates to elect senators; and draws up the list of repartiteurs, whose function is to settle how the communes share of direct taxes shall be allotted among the taxpayers. The sub-prefect then selects from this list ten of whom he approves for the post. The meetings of the council are open to the public.
Justice.
The ordinary judicial system of France comprises two classes of courts: (I) civil and criminal, (2) special, including courts dealing only with purely commercial cases; in addition there are the administrative courts, including bodies, the Conseil dEtat and the Conseils de Prefecture, which dGal, in their judicial capacity, with cases coming under the droit administratif. Mention may also be made of the Tribunal des Conflits, a special court whose function it is to decide which is the competent tribunal when an administration and a judicial court both claim or refuse to deal with a given case.
Taking the first class of courts, which have both civil and criminal jurisdiction, the lowest tribunal in the system is that of the juge de paix.
In each canton is a juge de paix, who in his capacity as a civil judge takes cognizance, without appeal, of disputes where the amount sought to be recovered does not exceed 12 in value. Where the amount exceeds 12 but not 24 an appeal lies from his decision to the court of first instance. In some particular cases where special promptitude or local knowledge is necessary, as disputes between hotelkeepers and travellers, and the like, he has jurisdiction (subject to appeal to the court of first instance) up to 60. He has also a criminal jurisdiction in conlraventions, i.e. breaches of law punishable by a fine not exceeding 12S. or by imprisonment not exceeding five days. If the sentence be one of imprisonment or the fine exceeds 4s., appeal lies to the court of first instance. It is an important function of the juge de paix to endeavour to reconcile disputants who come before him, and no suit can be brought before the court of first instance until he has endeavoured without success to bring the parties to an agreement.
Tribunaux de premiere instance, also called tribunaux darrondissement, of which there is one in every arrondissement (with few exceptions), besides serving as courts of appeal from the juges de paix have an original jurisdiction in matters civil and criminal. The court consists of a president, one or more vice-presidents and a variable number of judges. A procureur, or public prosecutor, is also attached to each court. In civil matters the tribunal takes cognizance of actions relating to personal property to the value of 60, and actions relating to land to the value of 60 fr. (~2: 8s.) per annum. When it deals with matters involving larger sums an appeal lies to the courts of appeal. In penal cases its jurisdiction extends to all offences of the class known as dClitsoffences punishable by a more serious penalty than the contraventions dealt with by the juge de paix, but not entailing such heavy penalties as the code applies to crimes, with which the assize courts (see below) deal. When sitting in its capacity as a criminal court it is known as the tribunal correctionnel. Its judgments are invariably subject in these matters to appeal before the court of appeal.
There are twenty-six courts of appeal (cours dappel), to each of which are attached from one to five departments.
Coors dAppel. Departments depending on them.
PARIS - - Seine, Aube, Eure-et-Loir, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise, Yonne.
AGEN - - - Gers, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne.
Aix - - - Basses-Alpes, AlpesMaritimes, Bouches-du-Rh6ne, Var.
AMIENS - - Aisne, Oise, Somme.
ANGERS Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe.
BASTIA - - Corse.
BESANON - Doubs, Jura, Haute-Sabne, Territoire de Belfort.
BORDEAUX - Charente, Dordogne, Gironde.
BOURGES - - Cher, Indre, Nivre.
CAEN - - Calvados, Manche, Orne.
CHAMOERY - Savoie, Haute-Savoie.
DIJoN -.. Cfite-dOr, Haute-Marne, Sane-et-Loire.
DotrAl.. - Nord, Pas-de-Calais.
GRENOBLE - Hautes-Alpes, Drme, Isbre.
LIM0GES.. Corrze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne.
LYONS - - - Am, Loire, Rhflne.
MONTPELLIER Aude, Aveyron, Hrault, Pyrbnbcs-Orientales.
NANcY - - Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Vosges, Ardennes.
NIMES -,, Ardche, Gard, Lozbrc, Vaucluce.
Cours dAppel. Departments depending on them.
ORLEANS.. Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret.
PAU -.. Landes, Basses-Pyrnes, Hautes-Pyrnbes.
Poiiiaas.. Charente-Infbrieure, Deux-Svres, Vendbe, Vienne.
RENNES -. Ctes-du-Nord, Finistbre, Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire Inlrieure, Morbihan.
RIoM -. - Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dme.
ROtJEN. -. Eure, Seine-Infrieure.
TouLousE -. Arige, Haute-Garonne, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne.
At the head of each court, which is divided into sections (chambres), is a premier prt~sident. Each section (chambre) consists of a prsident de chambre and four judges (conseillers). Procureurs-gnraux and avocats-gnraux are also attached to the parquet, or permanent official staff, of the courts of appeal. The principal function of these courts is the hearing of appeals both civil and criminal from the courts of first instance; only in. some few cases (e.g. discharge of bankrupts) do they exercise an original jurisdiction. One of the sections is termed the chambre des mises en accusation. Its function is to examine criminal cases and to decide whether they shall be referred for trial to the lower courts or the cours dassises. It may also dismiss a case on grounds of insufficient evidence.
The cours dassises are not separate and permanent tribunals. Every three months an assize is held in each department,, usually at the chief town, by a conseiller, appointed ad hoc, of,the court of appeal upon which the department depends. The cour dassises occupies itself entirely with offences of the most serious type, classified under the penal code as crimes, in accordance with the severity of the penalties attached. The president is assisted in his duties by two other magistrates, who may be chosen either from among the conseillers of the court of appeal or the presidents or judges of the local court of first instance. In this court and in this court alone there is always a jury of twelve. They decide, as in England, on facts only, leaving the application of the law to the judges. The verdict is given by a simple majority.
In all criminal prosecutions, other than those coming before the juge de pair, a secret preliminary investigation is made by an official called a juge dinstruction. He may either dismiss the case at once by an order of non-lieu, or order it to be tried, when the prosecution is undertaken. by the procureur or procureur-general. This process in some degree corresponds to the manner in. which English magistrates dismiss a case or commit the prisoner to quatter sessions or assizes, but the powers of the juge dmnstruction are more arbitrary and absolute.
The highest tribunal in France is the cour de cassation, sitting at Paris, and consisting of a first president, three, sectional presidents and forty-five conseillers, with a ministerial staff (parquet) consisting of a procureur-general and six advocatesgeneral. It is divided into three sections: the Chambre des Requtes, or court of petitions, the civil court and the criminal court. The cour de cassation can review the decision of any other tribunal, except administrative courts. Criminal appeals usually go straight to the criminal section, while civil appeals are generally taken before the Chambre des Requtes, where they undergo a preliminary examination. If the demand for rehearing is refused such refusal is final; but if it is granted the case is then heard by the civil chamber, and after argument cessation (annulment) is granted or refused. The Court of Cassation does not give the ultimate decision on a case; it pronounces, not on the question of fact, but on the legal principle at issue, or the competence of the court giving the original decision. Any decision, even one of a cour dassises, may be brought before it in the last resort, and may be cassannulled. If it pronounces cessation it remits the case to the hearing of a court of the same order.
Commercial courts (tribuaux de commerce) are established in all the more important commercial towns to decide as expediti~usly as possible disputed points arising out of business transactions. They consist of judges, chosen, from among the leading merchants, and elected by comnzer(an.ts patentis depuzs cinq ens, i.e. persons who have held the licence to trade (sec FINANCE) for five years and upwards. In the absence of a tribunal de commerce commercial cases come before the ordinary tribunal darrondissement.
In important industrial towns tribunals called conseils de prudhommes are instituted to deal with disputes &tween employers and employees, actions arising out of contracts of apprenticeship and the like. They are composed of employers and workmen in equal numbers and are established by decree of the council of state, advised by the minister of justice. The minister of justice is notified of the necessity for a conseil de prudhommes by the prefect, acting on the advice of the municipal council and the Chamber of Commerce or the Chamber of Arts and Manufactures. The judges are elected by employers and workmen of a certain standing. When the, amount claimed exceeds ~ 12 appeal lies to the tribunaux darrondissement.
Police.Broadly, the police of France may be divided into two great branchesadministrative police (la police administrative) and judicial police (la police judic-iaire), the former having for its object the maintenance of order, and the latter charged with tracing out offenders, collecting the proofs, and delivering the presumed offenders to the tribunals charged by law with their trial and punishment. Subdivisions may be, and often are, named according to the particular duties to which they are assigned, as la police politique, police des mceurs, police sanitaire, &c. The officers of the judicial police comprise the juge de paix (equivalent to the English police magistrate), the maire, the commissaire de police, the gendarmerie and, in rural districts, the gardes champtres and the gardes forestiers. Gardiens de la pair (sometimes called sergents de yule, gardes de yule or agents de police) are not to be confounded with the gendarmerie, being a branch of the administrative police and corresponding more or less nearly with the English equivalent police constables, which the gendarmerie do not, although both perform police duty. The gendarmerie, however, differ from the agents or gardes both in uniform and in the fact that they are for the most part country patrols. The organization of the Paris police, which is typical of that in other large towns, may be outlined briefly. The central administration (administration centrale) comprises three classes of functions which together constitute Ia police. First there is the office or cabinet of the prefect for the general police (la police gnrale), with bureaus for various objects, such as the safety of the president of the republic, the regulation and order of public ceremonies, theatres, amusements and entertainments, &c.; secondly, the judicial police (la police judiciaire), with numerous bureaus also, in constant communication with the courts of judicature; thirdly, the administrative police (la police administrative) including bureaus, which superintend navigation, public carriages, animals, public health, &c. Concurrently with these divisions there is the municipal police, which comprises all the agents in enforcing police regulations in the streets or public thoroughfares, acting under the orders of a chief (chef de la police municipale) with a central bureau. The municipal police is divided into two principal branchesthe service in uniform of the agents de police and the service out of uniform of ins pecteurs de police. In Paris the municipal police are divided among the twenty arrondissements, which the uniform police patrol (see further PARIS and POLICE).
Prisons.The prisons of France, some of them attached to the ministry of the interior, are complex in their classification. It is only from the middle of the I9th century that close attention has been. given to the principle of individual separation. Cellular imprisonment was, however, partially adopted for persons awaiting trial., Central prisons, in which prisoners lived and worked in association, had been in existence from the commencement of the i9th century. These prisons received all sentenced to short terms of imprisonment, the long-term convicts going to the bagnes (the great convict prisons at the arsenals of Rochefort, Brest and Toulon), while in 1851 transportation to penal colonies was adopted. In 1869 and 1871 commissions were appointed to inquire into prison discipline, and as a consequence of the report of the last commission, issued in 1874, the principle of cellular confinement was put in operation the following year. There were, however, but few prisons in France adapted for the cellular system, and the process of reconstruction has been slow, In 1898 the old Paris prisons of Grande-Roquette, Saint-Plagie and Mazas were demolished, and to replace them a large prison with 1500 cells was erected at Fresnes-ls-Rungis. There are (I) the maison darrlt, temporary places of durance in every arrondissement for persons charged with offences, and those sentenced to more than a years imprisonment who are awaiting transfer to a maison centrale; (2) the maison de justice, often part and parcel of the former, but only existing in the assize court towns for the safe custody of those tried or condemned at the assizes; (3) departmental prisons, or inaisons de correction, for summary convictions, or those sentenced to less than a year, or, if provided with sufficient cells, those amenable to separate confinement; (4) maisons centrales and pnitenciers agricoles, for all sentenced to imprisonment for more than a year, or to hard labor, or to those condemned to travaux forces for offences committed in prison. There are eleven maisons centrales, nine for men (Loos, Clairvaux, Beaulieu, Poissy, Melun, Fontevrault, Thouars, Riom and Nimes); two for women (Rennes and, Montpellier). The penitenciers agricoles only differ from the maisons centrales in the matter of rgime; there are twoat Castelluccio and at Chiavari (Corsica). There are also reformatory establishments for juvenile offenders, and ddpDts de stireU for prisoners who are travelling, at places where there are no other prisons. For the penal settlements at a distance from France see DEPORTATION.
Finance.
At the head of the financial organization of France, and exercising a general jurisdiction, is the minister of finance, who co-ordinates in one general budget the separate budgets prepared by his colleagues and assigns to each ministerial department the sums necessary for its expenses.
The financial year in France begins on the 1st of January, and the budget of each financial year must be laid on the table Budget of the Chamber of Deputies in the course of the ordinary session of the preceding year in time for the discussion upon it to begin in October and be concluded before the 31st of December. It is then submitted to a special commission of the Chamber of Deputies, elected for one year, who appoint a general reporter and one or more special reporters for each of the ministries. When the Chamber of Deputies has voted the budget it is submitted to a similar course of procedure in the Senate. When the budget has passed both chambers it is promulgated by the president under the title of Loi des finances. In the event of its not being voted before the 31st of December, recourse is had to the system of provisional twelfths (douzimes provisaires), whereby the government is authorized by parliament to incur expenses for one, two or three months on the scale of the previous year. The expenditure of the government has several times been regulated for as long as six months upon this system.
In each department an official collector (Trsorier payeur genral) receives the taxes and public revenue collected therein and accounts for them to the central authority in Paris. In view of his Taxation, responsibilities he has, before appointment, to pay a large deposit to the treasury. Besides receiving taxes, they pay the creditors of the state in their departments, conduct all operations affecting departmental loans, buy and sell government stock (rentes) on behalf of individuals, and conduct certain banking operations. The Irsorier nearly always lives at the chief town of the department, and is assisted by a receveur particulier des finances in each arrondissement (except that in which the trsorier himself resides). From the receveur is demanded a security equal to five times his total income. The direct taxes are actually collected by percepteurs. In the commune an official known as the receveur municipal receives all moneys due to it, and, subject to the authorization of the mayor, makes all payments due from it. In communes with a revenue of less than ~2400 the percepteur fulfils the functions of receveur municipal, but a special official may be appointed in communes with large incomes.
The direct taxes fall into two classes. (I) Impo~ts iie repartition (apportionment), the amount to be raised being fixed in advance annually and then apportioned among the departments. They include the land tax,1 the personal and habitation tax (contribution personnelle-mobihre), and door and window tax. (2) Impts de quotite, which are levied directly on the individual, who pays his quota according to a~ fixed tariff. These comprise the tax on buildrngsf and the trade-licence tax (impt des patentes). Besides these, certain other taxes (taxes assimilies aux contributions direcles) are included under the heading of direct taxation, e.g. the tax on property in mortmain, dues for the verification of weights and measures, the tax on royalties from mines, on horses, mules and carriages, on cycles, &c.
The land tax falls upon land not built upon in proportion to its net yearly revenue. It is collected in accordance with a register of property (cadastre) drawn up for the most part in the first half of the 19th century, dealing with every piece of property in France, and giving its extent and value and the name of the owner. The responsibility of keeping this register accurate and up to date is divided between the state, the departments and the communes, and involves a special service and staff of experts~ The building tax consists of a levy of 3.20% of the rental value of the property, and is charged upon the owner.
The personal and habitation tax consists in fact of two different taxes, one imposing a fixed capitation charge on all citizens alike of every department, the charge, however, varying according to the department from I fc. 50 c. (Is. 3d.) to 4 fcs. 50 c. (3s. 9d.), the other levied on every occupier of a furnished house or of apartments in proportion to its rental value.
The tax on doors and windows is levied in each case according to the number of apertures, and is fixed with refetence to population, the inhabitants of the more populous paying more than those of the less populous communes.
The trade-licence tax (impt des patentes) is imposed on every person carrying on any business whatever; it affects professional men, bankers and manufacturers, as well as wholesale and retail traders, and consists of (I) a fixed duty levied not on actual profits but with reference to the extent of a business or calling as indicated by number of employbs, population of the locality and other considerations. (2) An assessment on the letting value of the premises in which a business or profession is carried on.
The administrative staff includes, for the purpose of computing the individual quotas of the direct taxes, a director assisted by contrleurs in each department and subordinate to a central authority in Paris, the direction gnrale des contributions directes.
The indirect taxes comprise the charges on registration; stamps; customs; and a group of taxes specially described as indirect taxes. -
Regist?ation (enregistrement) duties are charged on the transfer of property in the way of business (fi titre onreux); on changes in ownership effected in the way of donation or succession (a litre gratuit), and 011 a variety of other transactions which must be registered according to law. The revenue from stamps includes as its chief items the returns from stamped paper, stamps on goods traffic, securities and share certificates and receipts and cheques..
The Direction gnrale de lenregistrement, des domasnes et du timbre, comprising a central department and a director and staff of agents in each department, combines the administration of state property (not including forests) with the exaction of registration and stamp duties.
The Customs(douane), at one time only a branch of the administration of the contributions indirectes, were organized in 1869 as a special service. The central office at Paris consists of a directeur gnral and two administrateurs, nominated by the president of the republic. These officials form a council of administration presided over by the minister of finance. The service in the departments comprises brigades, which are actually engaged in guarding the frontiers, and a clerical staff (service de bureau) entrusted with the collection of the duties. There are twenty-four districts, each under the control of a directeur, assisted by inspeciors, sub-inspectors and other officials. The chief towns of these districts are Algiers,, Bayonne, Besancon, Bordeaux, Boulogne, Brest, Chambry, Charleville, Dunkirk, ~pinal, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpllier, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Perpignan,Rouen, St-Malo,Valenciennes. There is also an official performing the functions of a director at Bastia, in Corsica.
The group specially described as indirect taxes includes those on alcohol, wine, beer, cider and other alcoholic drinks, on passenger and goods traffic by railway, on licences to distillers, spirit-sellers, &c., on salt and on sugar of home manufacture. The collection of these excise duties as well as the sale of matches, tobacco and gunpowder to retailers, is assigned to a special service in each department subordinated to a central administration. To,the above taxes must be added the tax on Stock Exchange transactions and the tax of 4% on dividends from stocks and shares (other than state loans).
Other main sources of revenue are: the domains and forests managed by the state; government monopolies, comprising tobacco, matches, gunpowder; posts, telegraphs, telephones; and state f The tax on land (pro prils non Mties) and that on buildings (pro prietes bhties) are included under the head of contribution foncihre.
railways. An administrative tribunal called the cour des corn ptes subjects the accounts of the states financial agents (trsorierspayeurs, receveurs of registration fees, of customs, of indirect taxes, &c.) and of the communesi to a close investigation, and a vote of definitive settlement is finally passed by parliament. The Cour des Comptes, an ancient tribunal, was abolished in 1791, and reorganized by Napoleon I. in 1807. It consists of a president and 110 other officials, assisted by 25 auditors. All these are nominated for life by the president of the republic. Besides the accounts of the state and of the communes, those of charitable institutionsi and training collegesi and a great variety of other public establishments are scrutinized by the Cour des Comptes.
The following table shows the rapid growth of the state revenue of France during the period 1875-1905, the figures for the specified years representing millions of pounds. -
1875.1880.1885.8!J 1895.1r6_Ji 1901-1905.
I081118 122 129 137 144 147
Of the revenue in 1905 (1503/4 million pounds) the four direct taxes produced approximately 20 millions. Other principal items of revenue were: Registration 25 millions, stamps 74 millions, customs 18 millions, inland revenue on liquors 164 millions, receipts from the tobacco monopoly 18 millions, receipts from post office 104 millions.
Since 1875 the expenditure of the state has passed through considerable fluctuations- It reached its maximum in 1883, descended E dl- in 1888 and 1889, and since then has continuously inxpeft creased. It was formerly the custom to divide the credits ~ voted for the discharge of the public services into two headsthe ordinary and extraordinary budget. The ordinary budget of expenditure was that met entirely by the produce of the taxes, while the extraordinary budget of expenditure was that which had to be incurred either in the way of an immediate loan or in aid of the funds of the floating debt. The policy adopted after 1890 of incorporating in the ordinary budget the expenditure on war, marine and public works, each under its own head, rendered the extraordinary budget obsolete, but there are still, besides the ordinary budget, budgets annexes, comprising the credits voted to certain establishments under state supervision, e.g. the National Savings Bank, state railways, &c. The growth of the expenditure~ of France is shown in the following summary figures, which represent millions of pounds.
1875.] 1880.1885.1890.1895. ~ 1~
117 135 139 132 137 143 147
The chief item of expenditure (which totalled 148 million pounds in 1905) is the service of the public debt, which in 1905 cost 483/4 million pounds sterling. Of the rest of the sum assigned to the ministry of finance (593/4 millions in all) 81/2 millions went in the expense of collection of revenue. The other ministries with the largest outgoings were the ministry of war (the expenditure of which rose from 254 millions in 1895 to over 30 millions in 1995), the ministry of marine (103/4 millions in 1895, over 123/4 millionsin 1905), the ministry of public works (with an expenditure in 1905 of over 20 millions, 10 millions of which was assigned to posts, telegraphs and telephones) and the ministry of public instruction, fine arts and public worship, the expenditure on education having risen from 73/4 millions in 1895 to 93/4 millions in 1905.
Public Debt.The national debt of France is the heaviest of any country in the world., Its foundation was laid early in the 15th century, and the continuous wars of succeeding centuries, combined with the extravagance of the monarchs, as well as deliberate disregard of financial and economic conditions, increased it at an alarming rate. The duke of Sully carried out a revision in 1604, and other attempts were made by Mazarin and Colbert, but the extravagarces of Louis XV. swelled it again heavily. In 1764 the national debt amounted to 2,360,000,000 livres, and the annual change to 93,000,000 livres. A consolidation was effected in 1793, but the lavish issue of assignats destroyed whatever advantage might have accrued, and the debt was again dealt with by a law of the pth of Vendmiaire year VI: (27th of September 1797), the annual interest paid yearly to creditors then amounting to 40,216000 francs (~i,6oo,ooo). During the Direct&ry a sum of 250,000 was added to the interest charge, and by 1814 this annual charge had risen to 2,5~0,00o. This large increase is to be accounted for by the fact that during the Napoleonic rgime the government steadily refused to issue inconvertible paper currency or to meet war expenditure by borrowing. The following table shows the increase of the funded debt since 1814.2
i With revenues of over 1200.
2 For a history of the French debt, see C. F. Bastable, Public Finance (1903).
D Nominal Capital lnterest ate. (Millions of). (Millions of).
April I, 1814. .. 503/4 24
April I, 1830. .. 177 8
March 1, 1848. .. 2383/4 93/4
January 1, 1852 -.. 2203/4 93/4
,, 1871 ... 4983/4 153/4
f876 .. 7963/4 30
7887 ... 9863/4 343/4
,, 1895 ... I0383/4~ 324
I905 10373/4 31
The French debt as constituted in 1905 was made up of funded debt and floating debt as follows:
Funded Debt.
Perpetual 3% rentes 888,870,400
Terminable 3% rentes 148,490,400
Total of funded debt 1,037,360,800
Guarantees to railway companies, &c. (in capital) 89,724,080
Other debt in capital 46,800,840
Floating Debt.
Exchequer bills 9,923,480
Liabilities on behalf of communes and public establishments, including departmental services 17,366,520
Deposit and current accounts of Caisse des dpts, &c., including savings banks 15,328,840
Caution money of Trsoriers payeurs-gnraux 1,431,680
Other liabilities 6,456,200
Total of floating debt. .. - 50,506,720
Departmental Finances.Every department has a budget of its own, which is prepared and presented by the prefect, voted by the departmental council and approved by decree of the president of the republic. The ordinary receipts include the revenues from the property of the department, the produce of additional centirnes, which are levied in conjunction with the direct taxes for the maintenance of both departmental and communal finances, state subventions and contributions of the communes towards certain branches of poor relief and to maintenance of roads. The chief expenses of the departments are the care of pauper children and lunatics, the maintenance of high-roads and the service of the departmental debt.
Communal Finances.The budget of the commune is prepared by the mayor, voted by the municipal council and approved by the prefect. But in communes the revenues of which exceed 120,000, the budget is always submitted to the president of the republic. The ordinary revenues include the produce of additional centimes allocated to communal purposes, the rents and profits of communal property, sums produced by municipal taxes and dues, concessions to gas, water and other companies, and by the octroi or duty on a variety of articles imported into the commune for local consumption. The repairing of highways, the upkeep of public buildings,the support of public education, the remuneration of numerous officials connected with the collection of state taxes, the keeping of the cadastre, &c., constitute the principal objects of communal expenditure.
Both the departments and the communes have considerable public debts. The departmental debt in 1904 stood at 24 million pounds, and the communal debt at 153 million pounds. (R. TR.)
Army.
Recruiting and Strength.EJniversal compulsory service was adopted after the disasters of 1870-1871, though in principle it had been established by Marshal Niels reforms a few years before that date. The most important of the recruiting laws passed since 1870 are those of 1872, 1889 and 1905, the last the loi de deux ans which embodies the last efforts of the French war department to keep pace with the ever-growing numbers of the German empire. Compulsory service with the colors is in Germany no longer universal, as there are twice as many able-bodied men presented by the recruiting commissions as the active army can absorb. France, with a greatly inferior population, now trains every man who is physically capable. This law naturally made a deep impression on military Europe, not merely because the period of color service was reducedGermany had taken this step years beforebut because of the almost entire absence of the usual exemptions.
I In 1894 the rentes then standing at 43/4% were reduced to 33/4%, and in 1902 to 3%. -
Even bread-winners are required to serve, the state pensioning their dependants (75 centimes per diem, up to 10% of the strength) during their period of service. Dispensations, and also the one-year voluntariat, which had become a short cut for the so-called intellectual class to employment in the civil service rather than a means of training reserve officers, were abolished. Every Frenchman therefore is a member of the army practically or potentially from the age of twenty to the age of forty-five. Each year there is drawn up in every commune a list of the young men who attained the age of twenty during the previous year. These young men are then examined by a revising body (Conseil de revision cantonal) composed of civil and military officials. Men physically unfit are wholly exempted, and men who have not, at the tinie of the examination, attained the required physical standard are put back for re-examination after an interval. Men who, otherwise suitable, have some slight infirmity are drafted into the non-combatant branches. The minimum height for the infantry soldier is I~54 m., or 5 ft. ~ in., but men of special physique are taken below this height. In 1904, under the old system of three-years service with numerous total and partial exemptions, 324,253 men became liable to incorporation, of whom 25,432 were rejected as unfit, 55,265 were admitted as one-year volunteers, 62,160 were put back, 27,825 had already enlisted with a view to making the army a career, 5257 were taken for the navy, and thus, with a few extra details and casualties, the contingent for full service dwindled to 147,549 recruits. In 1906, 326,793 men had to present themselves, 25,348 had already enlisted, 4923 went to the navy, 68,526 were put back, 33,~77 found unfit, which, deducting 3128 details, gives an actual incorporated contingent of 191,091 young men of twenty-one to serve for two full years (in each case, for the sake of comparison, men put back from former years who were enrolled are omitted). In theory a two-years contingent of course should be half as large again as a three-years one, but in practice, France has not men enough for so great an increase. Still the law of 1905 provides a system whereby there is room with the colors for every available man, and moreover ensures his services. The net gain in the 1906 class is not far short of 5o,00o, and the proportion of the new contingent to the old is practically 5:4. The loi des cadres of 1907 introduced many important changes of detail supplementary to the loi de deux ans. Important changes were also made in the provisions and administration of military law. The active army, then, at a given moment, say November 1, 1908, is composed of all the young men, not legally exempted, who have reached the age of twenty in the years 1906 and 1907. It is at the disposal of the minister of war, who can decree the recall of all men discharged to the reserve the previous year and all those whose time of service has for any reason been shortened. The reserves of the active army are composed of those who have served the legal period in the active army. These are recalled twice, in the eleven years during which they are members of the reserve, for refresher courses. The active army and its reserve are not localized, but drawn from and distributed over the whole of France. The advantages of a purely territorial system have tempted various War Ministers to apply it, but the results were not good, owing to the want of uniformity in the military qualities and the political subordination of the different districts. One result of this is that mobilization and concentration are much slower processes than they are in Germany.
The Territorial Army and its reserve (members of which undergo two short periods of training) are, however, allocated to local service. The soldier spends six years in the Territorial Army, and six in the reserve of the Territorial Army. The reserves of the active army and the Territorial Army and its reserve can only be recalled to active service in case of emergency and by decree of the head of the state.
The total service rendered by the individual soldier is thus twenty-five years. He is registered at the age of twenty, is called to the colors on the 1st of October of the next year, discharged to the active army reserve on the 3oth of September of the second year thereafter, to the Territorial Army at the same date thirteen complete years after his incorporation, and finally discharged from the reserve of the Territorial Army on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his entry into the active army. On November I, 1908, then the active army was composed of the classes registered 1906 and 1907, the reserve of the classes 1895I905, the Territorial Army of those of 1889-1894 and the Territorial Army reserve of those of 1883-1888.
In 1906 the peace strength of the army in France was estimated at 532,593 officers and men; in Algeria 54,580; in Tunis 20,320; total 607,493. Deducting vacancies, sick and absent, the effective strength of the active army in 1906 was 540,563; of the gendarmerie and Garde Rpublicaine 24,512; of colonial troops in the colonies 58,568. The full number of persons liable to be called upon for military service and engaged in such service is calculated (1908) as 4,800,000, of whom 1,350,000 of the active army and the younger classes of army reserve would constitute the field armies set on foot at the outbreak of war. 15o,ooo horses and mules are maintained on a peace footing and oo,ooo on a war footing.
Organization.The general organization of the French army at home is based on the system of permanent army corps, the headquarters of which are as follows: I. Lille, II. Amiens, III. Rouen, IV. Le Mans, V. Orleans, VI. Chlons-sur-Marne, VII. Besancon, VIII. Bourges, 1X. Tours, X. Rennes, XI.
Nantes, XII. Limoges, XIII. Clermont-Ferrand, XIV. Lyons, XV. Marseilles, XVI. Montpellier, XVII. Toulouse, XVIII. Bordeaux, XIX. Algiers and XX. Nancy. Each army corps consists in principle of two infantry divisions, one cavalry brigade, one brigade of horse and field artillery, one engineer battalion and one squadron of train. But certain army corps have a special organization. The VI. corps (Chlons) and the VII. (Besancon) consist of three divisions each, and the XIX. (Algiers) has three divisions of its own as well as the division occupying Tunis. In addition to these corps there are eight permanent cavalry divisions with headquarters at Paris, Lunyule, Meaux, Sedan, Reims, Lyons, Melun and Dole. The military government of Paris is independent of the army corps system and comprises, besides a division of the colonial army corps (see below), 3~ others detached from the II., III., IV. and V. corps, as well as the 1st and 3rd cavalry divisions and many smaller bodies of troops. The military government of Lyons is another independent and special command; it comprises practically the XIV. army corps and the 6th cavalry division. The infantry division consists of 2 brigades, each of 2 regiments of 3 or 4 battalions (the 4 battalion regiments have recently been reduced for the most part to 3), with I squadron cavalry and 12 batteries, attached from the corps troops, in war a proportion of the artillery would, however, be taken back to form the corps artillery (see ARTILLERY and TACTICS). The cavalry division consists of 2 or 3 brigades, each of 2 regiments or 8 squadrons, with 2 horse artillery batteries attached. The army corps consists of headquarters, 2 (or 3) infantry divisions, 1 cavalry i~igade, I artillery brigade (2 regiments, comprising 21 field and 2 horse batteries), I engineer battalion, &c. In war a group of Rimailho heavy howitzers (see ORDNANCE:
Heavy Field and Light Siege Units) would be attached. It i~ proposed, and accepted in principle, to increase the number of guns in the army corps by converting the horse batteries in 18 army corps to field batteries, which, with other measures, enables the number of the latter to be increased to 36 (144 guns).
The organization of the metropolitan troops by regiments is (a) 163 regiments of line infantry, some of which are affected to regional duties and do not enter into the composition of their army corps for war, 31 battalions of chasseurs a pied, mostly stationed in the Alps and the Vosges, 4 regiments of Zouaves, 4 regiments of Algerian tirailleurs (natives, often called Turcosi), i foreign legion regiments, 5 battalions of African light infantry (disciplinary regiments), &c.; (b) 12
i Algerian native troops are recruited by voluntary enlistment. But in 1908, owing to the prevailing want of trained soldiers in France, it was proposed to set free the white troops in Algeria by applying the principles of universal service to the natives, as in Tunis.
regiments of cuirassiers, 32 of dragoons, 21 of chasseurs a cheval, 14 of hussars, 6 of chsseurs dAfrigue and ~. of Spahis (Algerian natives); (c) 40 regiments of artillery, comprising 445 field batteries,. I4 mountain batteries and 52 horse batteries (see, however, above), 18 battalions of garrison artillery, with in addition 13 companies of artificers, &c.; (d) 6. regiments of engineers forming 22 battalions, and I railway regiment; (e) 20 squadrons of traiii, 27 legions of gendarmerie and the. Paris Garde Rpublicaine,administrative and medical units.
Colonial Troops.These form an expeditionary army corps in France to which are attached the actual corps of occupation to the various colonies, part white, part natives. The colonial army corps, headquarters at Paris, has three divisions, at Paris, Toulon and Brest.
The French colonial (formerly marine) infantry, recruited by voluntary enlistment, comprises 18 regiments and 5 independent battalions (of which 12 regiments are at home), 74 batteries of field, fortress and mountain artillery (of which 32 are at home), with a few cavalry and engineers, &c., and other services in proportion. The nati-ve troops include 13 regiments and 8 independent battalions. The strength of this army corps is 28,700 in France and 61,300 in the colonies.
Command .The commander~in-chief of all the armed forces is the president of the Republic, but the practical direction of affairs lies in the hand of the minister of war, who is assisted by the Conseil supirieur de la guerre, a body of senior generals who have been selected to be appointed to the higher commands in war. The vice-president is the destined commander-in-chief of the field armies and is styled the generalissimo. The chief of staff of the army is also a member of the council. In war the latter would probably remain at the ministry of war in Paris, and the generalissimo would have his own chief of staff. The ministry of war is divided into branches for infantry, cavalry, &c.and services for special subjects such as military law, explosives, health, &c. The general staff (stat major de larme) has its functions classed as follows: personnel; material and finance; 1st bureau (organization and mobilization), 2nd (intelligence), 3rd (military operations and training) and 4th (communications and transport); and the famous historical section. The president of the Republic has a military household, and the minister a cabinet, both of which are occupied chiefly with questions of promotion, patronage and decorations.
The general staff and also the staff of the corps and divisions are composed of_certificated (breveUs) officers who have passed all through the Ecole de Guerre. In time of peace an officer is attached to the staff for not more than four years. He must then return to regimental duty for at least two years.
The officers of the army are obtained partly from the oldestablished military schools, partly from the ranks of the noncommissioned officers, the proportion of the latter being about one-third of the total number of officers. Artillery and engineer officers come from the Ecole Polytechnique, infantry and cavalry from the Ecole spciale militaire de St-Cyr. Other important training institutions are the staff college (cole suprieure de Guerre) which trains annually 70 to 90 selected captains and lieutenants; the musketry school of Chlons, the gymnastic school at Joinville-le-Pont and the schools of St Maixent, Saumur and Versailles for the preparation. of non-commissioned officers for commissions in the infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineers respectively. The non-commissioned officers are, as usual in universal service armies, drawn partly from men who voluntarily enlist at a relatively early age, and partly from men who at the end of their compulsory period of service are re-engaged. Voluntary enlistments in the French army are permissible, within certain limits, at the age of eighteen, and the engages serve for at least three years. The law further provides for the re-engagement of men of all ranks, under conditions varying according to their rank. Such re-engagements are for one to three years effective service but may be extended to fifteen. They date from the time of the legal expiry of each mans cornptilsory active service. Rengags receive a bounty, a ~iigher rate of pay and a pension at the conclusion of their service.
The total number of men who had re-enlisted stood in 1903 at 8594.
Arm&menl.The field artillery is armed with the 75 mm. gun, a shielded quick-firer (see ORDNANCE: Field Equipments, for illustration and details); this weapon was the forerunner of all modern models of field gun, and is handled on tactical principles specially adapted for it, which gives the French field artillery a unique position amongst the military nations. The infantry, which wasthe first in Europe to be armed with the magazine rifle, still carries this, the Lebel, rifle which dates from 1886. It is believed, however, that a satisfactory type of automatic rifle (see RIFLE) has been evolved and is now (1908) in process of manufacture. Details are kept strictly secret. The cavalry weapons are a straight sword (that of the heavy cavalry is illustrated in the article SWORD), a bamboo lance and the Lebel carbine.
It is convenient, to mention in this place certain institutions attached to the war department and completing the French military organization. The Hotel des Invalides founded by Louis XIV. and Louvois is a house of refuge for old and inflim soldiers of all grades. The number of the inmates is decreasing; but the institution is an expensive one. In 1875 the Invalides numbered 642, and the hOtel cost the state 1,123,053 francs. The order of the Legion of Honor is treated under KNIGHTHOOD AND CHIVALRY. The medaille militaire is awarded to private soldiers and non-commissioned officers who have distinguished themselves or rendered long and meritorious services. This was introduced in 1852, carries a yearly pension of ioo frs. and has been granted occasionally to officers, Forlifications.After 1870 France embarked upon a policy of elaborate frontier and inner defences, with the object of ensuring, as against an unexpected German invasion, the time necessary for the effective development of her military forces, which were then in process of reorganization. Some information as to the types of fortification adopted in. 1870-1875 will be found in FORTIFICATION AND SIEGECRAFT. The general lines of the scheme adopted were. as follows; On the Meuse, which forms the principal natural barrier on the side of Lorraine Verdun (q.v.) was fortified as a large entrenched camp, and along the river above this were constructed a series of forts darrft (see MEUSE LINE) ending in another entrenched camp at Toul, (qv.). From this point a gap (the troue dEpinal) was left, so as in some sort to canalize the flow of invasion (General Bonnal), until the upper Moselle was reached at Epinal (q.v.). Here another entrenched camp was made and from it the Moselle line (qv.) of forts darrit continues the barrier to Belfort (q.v.), another large entrenched camp, beyond which a series of fortifications at Montbliard and the Lomont range carries the line of defence to the Swiss border, which in turn is protected by works at Pontarlier and elsewhere. In rear of these lines VerdunToul and Epinal-Belfort, respectively, lie two large defended areas in which under certain circumstances the main armies would assemble preparatory to offensive movements. One of these areas is defined by the three fortresses, La Fre, Laon and Reims, the other by the triangle, LangresDijonBesancon. On the side of Belgium the danger of irruption through neutral territory, which has for many years been foreseen, is provided against by the fortresses of Lille, Valenciennes and Maubeuge, but (with a view to tempting the Germans to attack through Luxemburg, as is stated by German authorities) the frontier between Maubeuge and Verdun is left practically undefended. The real defence of this region lies in the field army which would, if the case arose, assemble in the area La Fre-Reims-Laon. On the Italian frontier the numerous forts darrt in the mountains are strongly supported by the entrenched camps of Besanon, Grenoble and Nice. Behind all this huge development of fixed defences lie the central fortresses of Paris and Lyons. The defences, of the Spanish frontier consist of the entrenched camps of Bayonne and Perpignan and the various small forts darrt of the Pyrenees. Of the coast defences the principal are Toulon, Antibes, Rochefort, Lorient, Brest, Olron, La Rochelle, BelleIsle, Cherbourg,St-Malo, Havre, Calais, Gravelines and Dunkirk A number of the older fortresses, dating for the most part from Louis XIV.s time, are still in existence, but are no longer of military importance. Such are Arras, Longwy, Mzires and Montmdy.
Navy.
Central Administration.The head of the French navy is the Minister of Marine, who like the other ministers is appointed by decree of the head of the state, and is usually a civilian. He selects for himself a staff of civilians (the cab-met du ministre), which is divided into bureaux for the despatch of business. The head of the cabinet prepares for the consideration of the minister all the business of the navy, especially questions of general importance. His chief professional assistant is the chef detat-major general (chief of the general staff), a vice-admiral, who is responsible for the organization of the naval forces, the mobilization and movements of the fleet, &c.
The central organization also comprises a number of departments (services) entrusted with the various branches of naval administration, such as administration of the active fleet, construction of ships, arsenals, recruiting, finance, &c. The minister has the assistance of the Conseil suprieur de Ia Marine, over which he presides, consisting of three vice-admirals, the chief of staff and some other members. The Conseil .suprieur devotes its attention to all questions touching the fighting efficiency of the fleet, naval bases and arsenals and- coast defence. Besides the Conseil superiezr the minister is advised on a very wide range of naval topics (including pay, quarters and recruiting) by the Comite consultatif de la Marine. Advisory committees are also appointed to deal with special subjects, e.g. the commissions de classemeni which attend to questions of promotion in the various branches of the navy, the naval works council and others.
The French coast is divided into five naval arrondissements, which have their headquarters at th.e five naval ports, of which Cherbourg, Brest, and Toulon. are the most important, Lorient and Rochefort being of lesser degree. All are building and fitting-out yards. Each arrondissement is divided into sousarrondissements, having their centres in the great commercial ports, but this arrangement is purely for the embodiment of the men of the Inscription Maritime, and has nothing to do with the dockyards as naval arsenals. In each arrondissement the vice-admiral, who is naval prefect, is the immediate representative of the minister of marine, and has full direction and command of the arsenal, which is his headquarters. He is thus commander-in-chief, as also governor-designate for time of war, but his authority does not extend to ships belonging to organized squadrons or divisions. The naval prefect is assisted by a rearadmiral as chief of the staff (except at Lorient and Rochefort, where the office is filled by a captain), and a certain number of other officers, the special functions of the chief of the staff having relation principally to the efficien.cy and personnel of the fleet, while the major-general, who is usually a rear-admiral, is concerned chiefly with the materiel. There are also directors of stores, of naval construction, of the medical service, and of the submarine defences (which are concerned with torpedoes, mines and torpedo-boats), as well as of naval ordnance and works, The prefect directs the operations of the arsenal, and is responsible for its efficiency and for that of the ships which are there in reserve. In regard to the constitution and maintenance of the naval forces, the administration of the arsenals is divided into three principal departments, the first concerned with naval construction, the second with ordnance, including gun-mountings and small-arms, and the third with the so-called submarine defences, dealing with all torpedo materiel.
The French navy is manned partly by voluntary enlistment, partly by the transference to the navy of a certain proportion of each years recruits for the army, but mainly by a system known as inscription maritime. This system, devised and introduced by Colbert in I68I~ has continued, with various modifications, ever since. All French sailors between the ages of eighteen and fifty must be enrolled as members of the armte de me,. The term sailor is used in a very wide sense and includes all persons earning their living by navigation on the sea, or in the harbours or roadsteads, or on salt lakes or canals within the maritime domain of the state, or on rivers and canals as far as the tide goes up or sea-going ships can pass. The inscript usually begins his service at the age of twenty and passes through a period of obligatory service lasting seven years, and generally comprising five years of active service and two years furlough.
Besides the important harbours already referred to, the French fleet has naval bases at Oran in Algeria, Bizerta in Tunisia, Saigon in Cochin China and Hongaj in Tongking, DiegoSuarez in Madagascar, Dakar in Senegal, Fort de France in Martinique, Nouma in New Caledonia.
The ordnance department of the navy is carried on by a large detachment of artillery officers and artificers provided by the war office for this special duty.
The fleet is divided into the Mediterranean squadron, the Northern squadron, the Atlantic division, the Far Eastern division, the Pacific division, the Indian Ocean division, the Cochin China division. -
The chief naval school is the Ecole navale at Brest, which is devoted to the training of officers; the age of admission is from fifteen to eighteen years, and pupils after completing their course pass a year on a frigate school. At Paris there is a more advanced school (Ecole superieure de la Marine) for the supplementary training of officers. Other schools are the school of naval medicine at Bordeaux with annexes at Toulon, Brest and Rochefort; schools of torpedoes and mines and of gunnery at Toulon, &c., &c. The coles dhydro graphic established at various ports are for theoretical training for the higher grades of the merchant service. (See also NAVY.)
The total personnel of the armee de mer in 1909 Is given as 56,800 officers and men. As to the number of vessels, which fluctuates from month to month, little can be said that is wholly accurate at any given moment, but, very roughly, the French navy in 1909 included 25 battleships, 7 coast defence ironclads, 19 armoured cruisers, 36 protected cruisers, 22 s1oops, gunboats, &c., 45 destroyers, 319 torpedo boats, 71 submersibles and submarines and 8 auxiliary cruisers. It was stated that, according to proposed arrangements, the~ principal fighting elements of the fleet would be, in 1919, 34 battleships, 36 armoured cruisers, 6 smaller cruisers of modern type, 109 destroyers, 170 torpedo boats and 171 submersibles and submarines. The budgetary cost of the navy in 1908 was stated, as 312,000,000 fr.
(~I2,48o,ooo). (C. F. A.)
Education.
The burden of public instructIon in France is shared by the communes, departments and state, while side by side with the public schools of all grades ~re private schools subjected to a state supervision and certain restrictions. At the head of the whole organization is the minister of public instruction. He is assisted and advised by the superior council of public instruction, over which he presides.
France is divided into sixteen academies or educational districts, having their centres at the seats of the universities. The capitals of these academies, together with the departments included in them, are tabulated below:
Academies Departments included in them.
PARIS.. - Seine, Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Marne, Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise.
Aix Bouches-du-Rhbne, Basses-Alpes,Alpes-Mari times, Corse, Var, Vaucluse.
BESANON.. Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saflne, Territoire de Belfort.
BORDEAUX. - Gironde, Dordogne, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Basses- PyrnCes.
CAEN alvados, Eure, Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Seine Infrieure.
CifAMB~RY.. - Savoie, Haute-Savoie.
CLERM0NT-FERRAND Puy-de- Dome, Allier, Cantal, Corrze, Creuse, Haute-Loire.
DIJoN. - -. - COte-dOr,Aube, Haute-Marne,Nivre,Yonne.
GRENOBLE -. - Isre, Hautes-Alpes, Ardche, DrOme.
LILLF Nord, Aisne, Ardennes, Pas-de-Calais, Somme.
LYoNs. .. RhOne, Aiii, Loire, Sa1ie-et-Loire.
Academies. Departments included in them.
MONTPELLIER.. Hrault, Aude, Gard, Lozre, Pyrnhes Orientales.
NANCY. ... Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Vosges.
P0ITIER5. .. Vienne, Charente, Charente-Infrieure, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Deux-Svres, Vende, Haute Vienne.
RENNES. ... Ille-et-Vilaine, Ctes-du-Nord, Finistre,Loire Infrieure, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Mor bihan.
TOULOUSE. -. Haute-Garonne, Arihge, Aveyron, Gers, Lot, Hautes-Pyrnes, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne.
There is also an acadmie comprising Algeria.
For the administrative organization of education in France see EDUCATION.
Any person fulfilling certain legal requirements with regard to capacity, age and character may set up privately an educational establishment of any grade, but by the law of 1904 all religious congregations are prohibited from keeping schools of any kind whatever.
Primary Inslruction.All primary public instruction is free and compulsory for children of both sexes between the ages of six and thirteen, but if a child can gain a certificate of primary studies at the age of eleven or after, he may be excused the rest of the period demanded by law. A child may receive instruction in a public or private school or at home. But if the parents wish him to be taught in a private school they must give notice to the mayor of the commune of their intention and the school chosen. If educated at home, the child (after two years of the compulsory period has expired) must undergo a yearly examination, and if it is unsatisfactory the parents will be compelled to send him to a public or private school.
Each commune is in theory obliged to maintain at least one public primary school, but with the approval of the niinister, the departmental council may authorize a commune to combine with other communes in the upkeep of a school. If the number of inhabitants exceed 500, the commune must also provide a special school for girls, unless the Departmental Council authorizes it to substitute a mixed school. Each department is bound to maintain two primary training colleges, one for masters, the other for mistresses of primary schools. There are two higher training colleges of primary instruction at Fontenay-aux-Roses and St Cloud for the training of mistresses and masters of training colleges and higher primary schools.
The Laws of 1882 and 1886 laicized the schools of this class, the former suppressing religious instruction, the latter providing that only laymen should be eligible for masterships. There were also a great many schools in the control of various religious congregations, but a law of 1904 required that they should all be suppressed within ten years from the date of its enactment.
Public primary schools include (1) icoles maternellesinfant schools for children from two to six years old; (2) elementary primary schoolsthese are the ordinary schools for children from six to thirteen; (3) higher primary schools (coles primaires suprieures) and supplementary courses; these admit pupils who have gained the certificate of primary elementary studies (cerlificat diludes primaires), offer a more advanced course and prepare for technical instruction; (4) primary technical schools (coles manuelles dapprenlissage, coles primaires suprleures professionnelles) kept by the communes or departments. Primary courses for adults are instituted by the prefect on the recommendation of the municipal council and academy inspector.
Persons keeping private primary schools are free with regard to their methods, programmes and books employed, except that they may not use books expressly prohibited by the superior council of public instruction. Before opening a private school the person proposing to do so must give notice to the mayor, prefect and academy rnspector, and forward his diplomas and other particulars to the latter official.
Secondary Education.Secondary education is given by the state in lyces, by the communes in colleges and by private individuals and associations in private secondary schools. It is not compulsory, nor is it entirely gratuitous, but the fees are small and the state offers a great many scholarships, by means of which a clever child can pay for its own instruction. Cost of tuition (simply) ranges from f2 to ff6 a year. The lyces also take boardersthe cost of boarding ranging from f22 to f52 a year. A lyce is founded in a town by decree of the president of the republic, with the advice of the superior council of public instruction. The municipality has to pay the Cost of building, furnishing and upkeep. At the head of the lyce is the principal (proviseur), an official nominated by the minister, and assisted by a teaching staff of professors and charges de cours or teachers of somewhat lower standing. To become professor in a lyce it is necessary to pass an examination known as the agrgation, candidates for which must be licentiates of a faculty (or have passed through the cole normale suprieurc).
The system of studies-reorganized in 1902embraces a full curriculum of seven years, which is divided into two periods. The first lasts four years, and at the end of this the pupil may obtain (after examination) the certificate of secondary studies. During the second period the pupil has a choice of four courses: (1) Latin and Greek; (2) Latin and sciences; (3) Latin and modern languages; (4) sciences and modern languages. At the end of this period he presents himself for a degree called the Baccalaurat de tenseignement secondaire. This is granted (after two examinations) by the faculties of letters and sciences jointly (see below), and in most cases it is necessary for a student to hold this general degree before he may be enrolled in a particular faculty of a university and proceed to a Baccalaurat in a particular subject, such as law, theology or medicine.
The colleges, though of a lower grade, are in most respects similar to the lyces, but they are financed by the communes: the professors may have certain less important qualifications in lieu of the agrgation. Private secondary schools are subjected to state inspection. The teachers must not belong to any congregation, and must have a diploma of aptitude for teaching and the degree of licenci. The establishment of lyces for girls was first attempted in 1880. They give an education similar to that offered in the lyces for boys with certain modificationsin a curriculum of five or six years. There is a training-college for teachers in secondary schools for girls at Svres.
Higher education is given by the state in the universities, and in special higher schools; and, since the law of 1875 established the freedom of higher education, by private individuals and bodies in private schools and faculties (facultis libres). The law of 1880 reserved to the state faculties the right to confer degrees, and the law of 1896 established various universities each containing one or more faculties. There are five kinds of faculties: medicine, letters, science, law and Protestant theology. The faculties of letters and sciences, besides granting the Baccalaurat de lenseignement secondaire, confer the degrees of licentiate and doctor (la Licence, le Doctoral). The faculties of medicine confer the degree of doctor of medicine. The faculties of theology confer the degrees of bachelor, lice~itiate and doctor of theology. The faculties of law confer the same degrees in law and also grant certificates of capacity, which enable the holder to practise as an avou; a licence is necessary for the profession of barrister. Students of the private faculties have to be examined by and take their degrees from the state faculties. There are 2 faculties of Protestant theology (Paris and Montauban); 12 faculties of law (Paris, Aix, Bordeaux, Caen, Grenoble, Lille, Lyons, Montpellier, Nancy, Poitiers, Rennes, Toulouse); 3 faculties of medicine (Paris, Montpellier and Nancy), and 4 joint faculties of medicine and pharmacy (Bordeaux, Lille, Lyons, Toulouse); 15 faculties of sciences (Paris, Besancon, Bor~ deaux, Caen, Clermont, Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nancy, Poitiers, Rennes, Toulouse); 15 faculties of letters (at the same towns, substituting Aix for Marseilles). The private faculties are at Paris (the Catholic Institute with a faculty of law); Angers (law, science and letters); Lille (law, medicine and pharmacy, science, letters); Lyons (law, science, letters); Marseilles (law); Toulouse (Catholic Institute with faculties of theology and letters). The work of the faculties of medicine and pharmacy is in some measure shared by the icoles su~irieures de pharmacie (Paris, Montpellier, Nancy), which grant the highest degrees in pharmacy, and by the icoles de p1cm exercice de mdecine et de pharmacie (Marseilles, Rennes and Nantes) and the more numerous coles preparaloires de mdecine et de pharmacie; there are also coles preparatolres a lenseignement supirieur des sciences ci des lettres at Chambry, Rouen and Nantes.
Besides the faculties there are a number of institutions, both state-supported and private, giving higher instruction of various special kinds. In the first class must be mentioned the College de France, founded 1530, giying courseje of highest study of all sorts, the Museum of Natural History, the Ecole des Chartes (palaeography and archives), the School of Modern Oriental Languages, the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (scientific research), &c. All these institutions are in Paris. The most important free institution in this class is the cole des Sciences Politiques, which prepares pupils for the civil services and teaches a great number of political subjects, connected with France and foreign countries, not included in the state programmes.
Commercial and technical instruction is given in various institutions comprising national establishments such as the icoles nalionales professionnelles of Armentires, Vierzon, Voiron and Nantes for the education of working men; the more advanced coles darts et mtiers of Chlons, Angers, Aix, Lille and Cluny; and the Central School of Arts and Manufactures at Paris; schools depending on the communes and state in combination, e.g. the coles pratiques de commerce et dindustrie for the training of clerks and workmen; private schools controlled by the state, such as the coles supirieures de commerce; certain municipal schools, such as the Industrial Institute of Lille; and private establishments, e.g. the school of watch-making at Paris. At Paris the cole Suprieure des Mines and the cole des Fonts et Chausses are controlled by the minister of public, works, the cole des Beaux-Arts, the cole des Arts Dcoratifs and the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Dclamation by the unr,ler-secretary for fine arts. and other schools mentioned elsewhere are attached to several of the ministries. In the provinces there are national schools of fine art and of music and other establishments and free subventioned schools.
In addition to the educational work done by the state, communes and private individuals, there exist in France a good many societies which disseminate instruction by giving courses of lectures and holding classes both for children and adults. Examples of such bodies are the Society for Elementary Instruction the Polytechnic Association, the Philotechnic Association and the French Union of the Young at Paris; the Philomathic Society of Bordeaux; the Popular Education Society at Havre; the Rhone Society of Pro-, fessional Instruction at Lyons; the Industrial Society of Amiens and others.
The highest institution of learning is the Instilut de France, founded and kept up by the French government on behalf of science and literature, and composed of five academies: the Col A cadimie francaise, the A cadimie des Inscriptions et Betles-Lettres, the Academie des Sciences, the Acadimie des Beaux-Arts In Asia and the Acadimie des Sciences Morales Establishments in It el Poliliques (see ACADEMIES). The In Indo-China A cadimie de Midecine is a separate body. Annam Cambodia Poor Relief (Assistance publique).In Cochin-China.
France the pauper, as such, has no legal Tongking claim to help from the community, which Laos. - -
Kwang-Chow-Wan however, is bound to providefor destitute children (see FOUNDLING HOSPITALS) Total in As and pauper lunatics (both these being under the care of the department), aged In Africa and the mdi Algeria and infirm people without resources and Algerian Sahara victims of incurable illness, and to furnish Tunisia medical assistance gratuitously to those West Africa without resources who are afflicted with Senegal.. -
curable illness. The funds for these Upper Senegal andr Sahara)
purposes are provided by the department, Guinea the commune and the central authority. Ivory Coast Dahomey.
There are four main types of public Congo (French Equate benevolent institutions, all of which are Gabun communal in character: (I) The hpilal, Mid. Congo for maternity cases and cases of curable Ubangi-Chad illness; (2) the hospice, where the aged Madagascar poor, cases of incurable malady, orphans, Nossi-be Island foundlings and other children without Ste Marie Island means of support, and in some cases Comoro Islands lunatics, are received; (3) the bureau de Somali Coast bien-faisance, charged with the provision 9f Reunion out-door relief (secours a domicile) in money st Paul 1 or in kind, to the aged poor or those who, Amsterdam though capable of working, are prevented Kerguelen. from doing so by illness or strikes; (4)
the bureau dasszstance, which dispenses Total in Aft free medical treatment to the destitute.
These institutions are under the super- In America-vision of a branch of the ministry of the Guiana interior. The hospices and hpitaux and Guadeloupe the bureaux de bienfaisance, the founda- Martinique tion of which is optional for the commune, St Pierre and Miquel are managed by committees consisting of the mayor of the municipality and six Total in Am members, two elected by the municipal council and four nominated by the prefect. In Oceania The members of these committees are un- New Caledonia and [N;S]paid, and have no concern with ways and Establishments in 00 means which are in the hands of a paid treasurer (receveur). The bureaux de bien- Total in 0cc faisance in the larger centres are aided by unpaid workers (commissaires or dames de charit), and in the big towns by paid inquiry officers. Bureaux dassistance exist in every commune, and are managed by the combined committees of the hospices and the bureaux de bienfaisance or by one of these in municipalities, where only one of those institutions exists.
No poor-rate is levied in France. Funds for hbpitals, hospices and bureaux de bienfaisance comprise:
1. A 10% surtax on the fees of admission to places of public amusement.
2. A proportion of the sums payable in return for concessions of land in municipal cemeteries.
3. Profits of the communal Monts de Piht (pawn-shops).
4. Donations, bequests and the product of collections in churches.
5. The product of certain fines.
6. Subventions from the departments and communes.
7. Income from endowments. (R. TR.)
Colonies. -
In the extent and importance of her colonial dominion France is second only to Great Britain. The following table gives the name, area and population of each colony and protectorate as well as the date of acquisition or establishment of a protectorate. It should be noted that the figures for area and population are, as a rule, only estimates, but in most instances they probably approximate closely to accuracy. Detailed notices of the separate countries will be found under their several heads:
)ny Af Area in sq. m. Population.
dia 1683I 750 200 273,000
1883 60,000 6,000,000
1863 65,000 1,500,000
1862 22,000 3,000,000
1883 46,000 6,000,000
1893 100,000 600,000
, 1898 325 189,000
a 293,525 17,562,000
in Ocean 1830-1847 185,000 5,231,850
1872-1890 760,000
1881 51,000 2,000,000
1626 74,000 1,800,000
riger (including part of 1880 1,580,000 4,000,000
1848 107,000 2,500,000
1842 I29,000 2,000,000
1863-1894 40,000 1,000,000
rial Africa)
1839) 376,000
1882 ~ 700,000 259,000
1885-1899) 3,015,000
1885-1896)
1840 ~ 228,000 2,664,000
1750)
1843f 886 760 82,000
1862-1884 12,000 50,000
1643 965 173,315
82 3)
1 9 19 ~. uninhabited 1893 1,400)
ca and Indian Ocean. 3,869,147 25,151,165
1626 51,000 30,000
1634 619 182,112
1635 380 182,024
in. ... 1635 92 6,500
frica.. ... 52,092 400,636
ependencies.. 1854-1887 7,500 72,000
ania. ... 1841-1881 1,641 34,300
inia. ... 9,141 106,300
Grand Total. - 4,223,905 43,220,101
It will be seen that nearly all the colonies and protectorates lie within the tropics. The only countries in which there is a considerable white population are Algeria, Tunisia and New Caledonia. The year of acquisition in the table, when one date only is given, indicates the period when the country or some part of it first fell under French influence, and does not imply continuous possession since.
GovernmentThe principle underlying the administration of the French possessions overseas, from the earliest days until the close of the Ioth century, was that of domination and assimilation, notwithstanding that after the loss of Canada and the sale of Louisiana France ceased to hold any considerable colony in which Europeans could settle in large numbers. With the vast extension of the colonial empire in tropical countries in the last quarter of the 19th century the evils of the system of assimilation, involving also intense centralization, became obvious. This, coupled with the realization of the fact that the value to France of her colonies was mainly commercial,, led at length to the abandonment of the attempt to impose on a great number of diverse peoples, some possessing (as in Indo-China and parts of West Africa) ancient and highly complex civilizations, French laws, habits of mind, tastes and manners. For the policy Of assimilation there was substituted the policy of association, which had for aim the development of the colonies and protectorates upon natural, I.e. national, lines. Existing civilizations were respected, a considerable degree of autonomy was granted, and every effort made to raise the moral and economic status of the natives. The first step taken in this direction was in 1900 when a law was passed which laid down that the colonies were to provide for their own civil expenditure. This law was followed by further measures tending to decentralization and the protection of the native races.
The system of administration bears nevertheless many marks of the assimilation era. None of the French possessions is self-governing in the manner of the chief British colonies. Several colonies, however, elect members of the French legislature, in which body is the power of fixing the form of government and the laws of each colony or protectorate. In default of legislation the necessary measures are taken by decree of the head of the state; these decrees having the force of law. A partial exception to this rule is found in Algeria, where all laws in force in France before the conquest of the country are also (in theory, not in practice) in force in Algeria. In all colonies Europeans preserve the political rights they held in France, and these rights have been extended, in whole or in part, to various classes of natives. Where these rights have not been conferred, native races are subjects and not citizens. To this rule Tunisia presents an exception, Tunisians retaining their nationality and laws.
In addition to Algeria, which sends three senators and six deputies to Paris and is treated in many respects not as a colony but as part of France, the colonies represented in the legislature are: Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion (each electing one senator and two deputies), French India (one senator and one deputy),Guiana, Senegal and Cochin-China (one deputy each). The franchise in the three first-named colonies is enjoyed by all classes of inhabitants, white, negro and mulatto, who are all French citizens. In India the franchise is exercised without distinction of color or nationality; in Senegal the electors are the inhabitants (black and white) of the communes which have been given full powers. In Guiana and Cochin-China the franchise is restricted to citizens, in which category the natives (in those colonies) are not included.1 The inhabitants of Tahiti though accorded French citizenship have not been allotted a representative in parliament. The colonial representatives enjoy equal rights with those elected for constituencies in France.
The oversight of all the colonies and protectorates save Algeria and Tunisia is confided to a minister of the colonies (law of March 20, 1894)1 whose powers correspond to those exercised in France by the minister of the interior. The colonial army is nevertheless attached (law of 1900) to the ministry of war. The colonial minister is assisted by a number of organizations of which the most important is the superior council of the colonies (created by decree in 1883), an advisory body which inclUdes the senators and deputies elected by the colonies, and delegates elected by the universal suffrage of all citizens in the colonies and protectorates which do not return members to parliament. To the ministry appertains the duty of fixing the duties on foreign produce in those colonies which have not been,,by law,, subjected to the same tariff as in France. (Nearly all the colonies save those 199,055, of whom 106,695 exercised their suffrage.
2 In the case of Madagascar by decree ,of the 11th of December 1895.
of West Africa and the Congo have been, with certain modificatiOns, placed under the French tariff.) The budget of all colonies not possessing a council general (see below) must also be approved by the minister. Each colony and protectorate, including Algeria, has a separate budget. As provided by the law of 1900 all local charges are borne by the colonies-supplemented at need by grants in aidbut the military expenses are borne by the state. In all the colonies the judicature has been rendered independent of the executive.
The colonies are divisible into two classes, (I) those possessing considerable powers of local self-government, (2) those in which the local government is autocratic. To this second class may be added the protectorates (and some colonies) where the native form of government is maintained under the supervision of French officials.
Class (I) includes the American colonies, Reunion, French India, Senegal. Cochin-China and New Caledonia. In these colonies the system of assimilation was carried to great lengths. At the head of the administration is a governor under whom is a secretary-general, who replaces him at need. The governor is aided by a privy council, an advisory body to which the governor nominates a minority of unofficial members, and a council general, to which is confided the control of local affairs, including the voting of the budget. The councils general are elected by universal suffrage of all citizens and those who, though not citizens, have been granted the political franchise. In CochinChina. in place of a council general, there is a colonial council which fulfils the functions of a council general.
In the second class of colonies the governor, sometimes assisted by a privy council, on which non-official members find seats, sometimes simply by a council of administration, is responsible only to the minister of the colonies. In Indo-China, West Africa, French Congo and Madagascar, the colonies and protectorates are grouped under governors-general, and to these high officials extensive powers have been granted by presidential decree. The colonies under the governor-general of West Africa are ruled by lieutenant-governors with restricted powers, the budget of each colony being fixed by the governor-general, who is assisted by an advisory government council comprising representatives of all the colonies under his control. In Indo~ China the governor-general has under his authority thelieutenantgovernor of the colony, of Cochin-China, and the residents superior at the courts of the kings of Cambodia and Annam and in Tongking (nominally a viceroyalty of Annam). There is a superior council for the whole of Indo-China on which the natives and the European commercial community are represented, while in Cochin-China a privy council, and in the protectorates a council of the protectorate, assists in the work of administration. In each of the governments general there is a financial controller with extensive powers who corresponds directly with the metropolitan authorities (decree of March 22, 1907)., Details and local differences hi form of government will be found under the headings of the various colonies and protectorates.
~Colonial Finance.The cost of the extra-European possessions, other than Algeria and Tunisia, to the state is shown in the expenses of the colonial ministry. In the budget of 1885 these expenses were put at 1,380,000; in 1895 they had increased to 3,200,000 and in 1900 to 5,100,000. In 1905 they were placed at 4,431,000. Fully three-fourths of the state contributions is expenditure on military necessities; in addition there are subventions to various colonies and to colonial railways and cables, and the expenditure on the penitentiary establishments; an item not properly chargeable to the colonies. In return the state receives the produce of convict labor in Guiana and New Caledonia. Save for the small item of military expenditure Tunisia is no charge to the French exchequer. The similar expenses of Algeria borne by the state are not separately shown, but are estimated at 2,000,000.
The colonial budgets totalled in 1907 some 16,760,000, being divisible into six categories: Algeria 4,120,000; Tunisia 3,640,000; Indo-China3 about 5,000,ooo; West Africa 1,600,000; Madagascar 960,000; all other colonies combined 1,440,000.
1 The Indo-China budget is reckoned in piastres, a silver coin of fluctuating value (is. Iod. to 2S.). The budget of 1907 balanced at 50,000,000 piastres.
The authorized colonial loans, omitting Algeria and Tunisia, during the period 1884f 904 amounted to 19,200,000, the sums paid for interest and sinking funds on loans varying from 600,000 to 800,000 a year. The amount of French capital invested in French colonies and protectorates, including Algeria and Tunisia, was estimated in 1905 at Li 20,000,000, French capital invested in foreign countries at the same date being estimated at ten times that amount (see Ques. Dip. et Cot., February I6, 1905).
Commerce.The value of the external trade of the French possessions, exclusive of Algeria and Tunisia, increased in the ten years 1896-1905 from 18,784,060 to 34,957,479. In the last-named year the commerce of Algeria amounted to 24,506,020 and that of Tunisia to 5,969,248, making a grand total for French colonial trade in 1905 of 65,432,746 The figures were made up as follows:
Imports. Exports. Total.
Algeria.. - 15,355,500 9~ 150,520 24,506,020
Tunisia. .. 3,638,185 2,331,063 5,969,248
Indo-China - - 10,182,411 6,750,306 16,932,717
West Africa.. 3,874,698 2,248,317 6,123,015
Madagascar.. 1,247,936 914,024 2,161,960
All other colonies - 4,258,134 5,481,652 9,739,786
Total 38,556,864 26,875,882 65,432,746
Over three-fourths of the trade of Algeria and Tunisia is with France and other French possessions. In the other colonies and protectorates more than half the trade is with foreign countries. The foreign countries trading most largely with the French colonies are, in the order named, British colonies and Great Britain, China and Japan, the United States and Germany. The value of the trade with British colonies and Great Britain in 1905 was over 7,200,000. (F. R. C.)
BIBL100RAPHY.P. Joanne, Diciionnalre gographique et administrative de la France (8 vols., Paris, 1890-1905); C. Brossard, La France et ses colonies (6 vols., Paris, 1900-1906); 0. Reclus, Le Plus Beau Royaume sous le ciel (Paris, 1899); Vidal de La Blache, La France. Tableau gographzque (Paris, 1908); V. E. ArdouinDumazet, Voyage en France (Paris, 1894); H. Havard, La France artistique et monumentale (6 vols, Paris, 1892-1895); A. Lebon and P. Pelet, France as it is, tr. Mrs ii. Arnold (London, 1888); articles on Local Government in France in the Stock Exchange Official Intelligence Annuals (London, I908 and 1909); M. Block, Dictionnaire de ladministration franfaise, the articles in which contain full bibliographies (2 vols., Paris, 1905); E. Levasseur, La France et ses colonies (i Vols., Paris, 1890); M. Fallex and A. Mairey, La France et s2s colonies au debut du XX~ sIcle, which has numerous biblio.graphies (Paris, 1909); J. du Plessis de Grendan, Giographie agricole de la France et du monde (Paris, 1903); F. de St Genis, La Fropriiti rurale en France (Paris, 1902); H. Baudrillart, Les Populations agricoles de Ia France (3 vols., Paris, 1885-1893); J. E. C. Bodley, France (London, 1899); A. Girault, Principes de cot onisation et de ligislation coloniele (3 vols., Paris, 1907-1908); Les Colonies franchises, an encyclopaedia edited by M. Petit (2 vols., Paris, 1902). Official statistical works: A nnuaire statistique de la France (a summary of the statistical publications of the government), Slatistique agricole annue,lle, Statislique de lindustrie minerale et des appareils de vapeur, Tableau genera~l dii commerce et de la navigation, Reports on the various colonies issued annually by the British Foreign Office, &c. Guide Books: Karl Baedeker, Northern France, Southern France; P. Joanne, Nord, Champagne et Ardenne; Normandie; and other volumes dealing with every region of the country.
These files are public domain.
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'France'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/f/france.html. 1910.
