Credit Management July and August 2020

COUNTRY FOCUS
France is our
nearest neighbour
but still a mystery to
many.
FRENCH
EXCHANGE
WHEN characterising
a nation such as
France it’s ever so
tempting to think of
a Gauloises cigarette,
Napoleon and the
Eiffel Tower. But of course, as with so
many other nations around the world,
France is much more than the stereotypes
that are applied to it.
With a history that extends beyond the
Iron Age and a name that descends from
the Latin word for country of the Franks
– Francia – the country now comprises 18
regions, five of which are overseas. Some
65 million live in the country as most
think of it – Metropolitan France – while
two million live in the other five regions
elsewhere across the globe.
COUNTRY DEMOGRAPHIC
France has the largest landmass in
Western Europe – 549,970 sq.km – and
it’s relatively sparsely populated with
8,496 sq.m per capita compared to the UK
(3,686), the Netherlands (1,992) and Macau
(42). Not unsurprisingly, the capital, Paris,
is the largest population centre with 12.5
million, followed at some distance by Lyon
(2.3 million), Marseilles (1.75 million) and
Toulouse (1.3 million). At the bottom of the
list of metropolitan areas (aires urbaines)
come Tours (492,722), Clemont-Ferrand
(479,096) and Nancy (435,336).
Demographically speaking, France
has, according to 2017 data, a reasonably
even distribution of its population among
the sexes and the five-year age bands up
to age 70 with around four million (male
and female) in each. From there upwards,
naturally, the bandings shrink to look
more pyramidal. If there is a ‘bulge’ it’s
between 45-54 - for both male and female.
France has for some time been a
country of immigration with a wide
pool of feeder countries. To illustrate
this, according to 2016 data, Algeria and
Morocco provided the greatest number
of immigrants (by birth) – 807,500 and
755,400 respectively, followed by Portugal
(622,000) and Italy (286,400). At the other
end of the spectrum, Cameroon provided
82,100, DR Congo 81,700 and Serbia just
78,000. Overall, the lists notes 20 different
nations. By extension, while French is the
lingua franca, other languages are very
important to consider.
The country is predominantly Catholic
with around 65 percent of the population
identifying as Christian. Islam comes a
faint second with around eight percent
of the population identifying as such.
However, more than one quarter of the
population do not adhere to any particular
belief.
But despite the level of religious
affiliation, France is a secular society and
there is no official state religion. Further,
French law bans the use of religious
symbols in all government institutions
and public schools – a view generally
supported by general society.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
France’s economy is well developed and is
placed 6th in the world according to the
UN (2017) and World Bank (2018) but 7th
by the IMF. Each gives France a different
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / July & August 2020 / PAGE 33 continues on page 34 >