France is described by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2009) as having a population of 64,057,762 citizens. Its main imports consist of machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, and chemicals. The CIA (2009) states that France imports approximately $833 billion annually from partners such as Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China.
Annually, France exports $761 billion. Its main export partners are Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the United States, and the Netherlands. Main exports include machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, and beverages (CIA, 2009).
The political philosophy of France as described by Michael Sodaro (2004) centers upon French nationalism in which the state and the people's rights are paramount. France has experienced a continued tradition of centralized authority. Even the various republics have maintained the institutions of a unitary state. Democracy is a key element in the French political philosophy but it should be noted that there is a confrontational tendency in various labor-management sectors and in terms of the contrast between leftist and rightist elements in political life. Sodaro (2004) states that there is along history of working class radicalism and disaffection from democratic governments in France.
The government type in France today is a republic with 26 regions or administrative divisions (CIA, 2009). A constitution is normative in France but it has been amended to make the European Union constitutional treaty compatible with the French Constitution.
The French legal system is a civil law system with indigenous concepts. It includes the review of administrative but not of legislative acts. Though a member of the European Union, France has not accepted compulsory International Court...