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Political Data
Key Officials
Head of State:	President Jacques Chirac (RPR) (since May 1995)
Head of Government:	Prime Minister Lionel Jospin (PS) (since June 1997)
Minister of Economy, Finance & Industry:	Dominique Strauss-Kahn (PS)
Minister of Foreign Affairs:	Hubert Vedrine (PS)
Minister of Trade:	Jacques Dondoux (PS)
Central Bank Governor:	Jean-Claude Trichet
Minister of Town and Country Planning & Environment:	Dominique Voynet (Verts)
Minister of Justice:	Elisabeth Guigou (PS)
Minister of Employment & Solidarity:	Martine Aubry (PS)
Minister of Defence:	Alin Richard (PS)
Sherpa:	Jean-David Levitte
Sous-Sherpa:	Dominique Perraud
Political Director:	Jacques Blot

Note: PS: Partie Socialiste. RPR: Rassemblement pour la Republique. Verts: Verts.

Government
Cabinet:	Council of Ministers appointed by the President on the suggestion of the Prime Minister
Legislative Branch:	Bicameral Parliament, which consists of the Senate (321 seats) and the National Assembly (577 seats).
Political Party(s) forming the Government:	PS: Partie Socialiste. PCF: Partie Communiste Francais. Verts
Opposition Parties:	RPR: Rassemblement pour la Republique. UDF: Union pour la democratie francaise. PRS: Partie radical socialiste. MDC: Mouvement des citoyens. FN: Front national
National Elections:	President elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; Prime Minister appointed by the president.
Date of last election: (National Assembly)	May 25-June 1, 1997
Date of next election: (National Assembly)	2002
Public Opinion/Approval Rating:	As of April 24, 1998, public approval ratings were as follow: Lionel Jospin: 6% very satisfied, 43% satisfied Jacques Chirac: 5% very satisfied, 39% satisfied

Economic Data
GDP (1997 est.):	(1996) FF 7 870.1 bln (1997 1st quarter) FF 7983.6 bln (1997 2nd quarter) FF 8109.2 bln (1997 3rd quarter) FF 8192.8 bln (1997 estimated) FF 8112.6 bln Source: IMF
Population (July 1997):	58,609,285
GDP per Capita:	FF 138,418
Economic growth rate:	(3 months*) +3.1% change at annual rate (1 year/1997 4th quarter) +3.2% Source: The Economist
Inflation:	(3 months*) +0.1% change at annual rate (1 year/Mar. 1998) +0.8% change at annual rate Source: The Economist *Average of latest 3 months compared with average of previous 3 months, at annual rate
Unemployment rate:	(Feb. 1998) 12.1%
Interest Rate:	Banks prime (22 April 1998): 6.55% per annum
Exchange rate:	[French Francs per US dollar / Market Rate - Period Average] (1996) 5.1155 (1997) 5.8367 (Jan. 1998) 6.0836 (Feb. 1998) 6.0843 (22 April 1998 - The Economist) 6.01
Current account surplus (latest 12 months):	(Jan. 1998) +39.2 US$ bln
Trade Surplus (latest 12 months):	US$31.2 bn
Foreign Direct Investment (1996):	US$168 bn
Budget Deficit (1997):	3.02% of GDP
Government Debt (1997):	58% of GDP
Foreign aid as % of GDP:	0.55 (ODA % of GNP) - 1st among G7 countries
Total export value (1997):	Ffr 1,616.6 Bn
3 major exports (1996):	Investment goods: US$79.70 bn. (27.4%) Non-durable consumer goods: US$44.53 bn. (15.3%) Chemicals: US$43.77 bn. (15.0%)
Main destination of exports (1996):	Germany: 17.1% UK: 9.3% Italy: 9.2%
3 major imports (1996):	Investment goods: US$68.95 (25.0%) Chemicals: US$43.39 (15.7%) Non-durable consumer goods: US$43.14 (15.7%)
Main origins of imports (1996):	Germany: 17.4% Italy: 10.1% BLEU: 8.4%

Note: all conversions of US$ into Ffr at exchange rate of 5.82 Ffr per US$.

Prepared by Rob Bacinski, Jocelyn Neron, Litza Smirnakis, and Christiane West, University of Toronto G8 Research Group, May 1998.

	This Information System is provided by the University of Toronto Library and the G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto.
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