France

Economy:
GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.11 trillion (Source: The Word Factbook)
GDP – per capita (PPP): $32,800 (Source: The Word Factbook)
Population: 64,057,792 (Source: The Source Factbook)

Language: French
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Internet Penetration
1.65 million domain names registered (Source: Europe Registry)
42.9 million users online (Source: The Word Factbook)

Paid Search Engines in France:
Google
Microsoft
Groupe Pages Jaunes
Yahoo
Voila
Groupe Spir Communication

About France:
France was one of the first countries in Europe to rise from feudalism and install a working system of governance, where even its early monarchs were surrounded by capable ministers and astute military generals.
The French people’s early advances in political affairs, military warfare and diplomacy made France one of the most influential countries not only in Europe, but also in Africa and Asia, where it established colonies.

Angered by the extravagance and privileges enjoyed by nobles and clerics, workers and peasants rose in arms in what has since been known in history as the French Revolution of 1789 to 1794. The popular revolution upstaged the French monarchy, but gave rise to power struggles that saw the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, who proclaimed the French Second Empire.
Despite a vast colonial empire, France’s internal bickerings made it an easy prey to occupation forces in World War I and II. After the Second World War, French leaders reasserted the country’s colonial powers over their overseas territories, but failed to regain their control over Indochina in Southeast Asia after a bitter war with the Vietnamese.
France had also wanted to keep Algeria in Africa, but the threat of another civil war forced then President Charles de Gaulle to negotiate with Albanian leaders and grant them independence in 1962.

With extreme forms of nationalism threatening to divide Europe shortly after World War II, France reconciled with former war enemy Germany to plant the seed of what was to become the European Union, an economic and political alliance of 27 major economies in Europe. In 1957, France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Luxembourg signed the Treaties of Rome, establishing the European Community which laid the groundwork for the federation of Europe.

France is a leading member of the G8, composed of the world’s leading economies. It has a GDP of $2.11 trillion, ranked 8th in the world. Its GDP per capita of $32,800 is at par with its equally rich neighbors, including Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

In 2009, the World Trade Organization (WTO) described France as world’s sixth largest exporter of manufactured goods. It received foreign direct investments in the amount of $117.9 billion, behind Luxembourg and the United States, but above the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. As direct investors, French companies infused $220 billion into the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) to rank as the second most significant investor in the global economy after the United States.

France is in the midst of privatization efforts to reduce extensive government ownership and to allow its economy to revolve around free market enterprise. The government has sold its stakes in many large companies, including banks, airlines, and car manufacturing. However, it intends to keep a strong presence in some vital industries, specifically power, public transport, and defense.

The country’s storied past, immortalized in classical architecture and historical landmarks, makes it the most visited country in the world, generating a third of its income from tourism. While other EU economies were largely affected by the recent global financial crisis, France managed to sustain its economic growth because of more resilient consumers and programmed government spending.

The government likewise passed a $35 billion stimulus plan in February 2009 to generate more economic activities and offer tax breaks for small businesses. It moved to create a $25 billion strategic investment fund to protect French companies from foreign takeovers, while a $52 billion plan is on standby for strategic investments in science and technology.

Not everyone is happy though. According to critics, France’s tax burden is already one of the highest in Europe, at nearly 50% of GDP. The proposed measures will require funding that translates into high taxes for its citizens.