992 FRANCE 



exceed 20,000. The population of Paris is 2,888,110, as against 2,714,068 in 1901. 

 The movement of population in 1909-11 was as follows: 



1909 . - . 



1910 . . 



1911 . . 



....- 



The death rate per thousand in 1910 was 17.98. The stationary, or relatively declin- 

 ing, population provides a social problem which receives more and more attention from 

 French statesmen and psychologists. One remedy proposed is a bounty on every third 

 child born in a family; another is that only fathers of three children shall be eligible for 

 public employments. In July 1912 the Minister of Finance was empowered to form a 

 commission to inquire into the whole problem from a national, social and fiscal point 

 of view. Fathers of families are preferentially treated already under the Old Age Pen- 

 sion Law (Loi des retraites ouwieres et paysannes; see below). 



Alcoholic excess is still a mischievous social factor, to which the legislature pays 

 insufficient attention. In February 1912 the Chamber of Deputies adjourned a measure 

 adopted by the Senate, restricting the number of shops for the sale of alcoholic liquors. 

 The consumption of alcohol is increasing. The total amount of pure alcohol submitted 

 to the payment of duties in 1909 according to the official returns, was 29,524,132 gallons; 

 in 1910 30,778,748 gallons, and in 1911 34,628,396 gallons. 



Commerce. The following are the latest figures for imports and exports, showing 

 the total trade -.Imports, (1909) 249,800,000, (1910) 286,880,000, (1911) 326,400,000; 

 Exports, (1909) 228,640,000, (1910) 249,280,000, (1911) 246,883,000; Total, (1909) 

 478,440,000, (1910) 536,160,000, (1911) 573,283,000. 



Economic conditions remain about normal; the price of provisions showing, however, 

 a marked upward tendency. In 1909, thanks to satisfactory harvests, the country 

 recovered from the crisis of 1907. In 1910 the harvests were not so good; agriculture 

 suffered from the serious floods; the wheat crop was short, and the vintage poor. The 

 country had to fall back largely on foreign supplies during the winter of 1910-11, and 

 prices rose perceptibly. The drought of July-August 1911 did much damage to the 

 crops; there were serious complaints of the high price of food, and some disturbances 

 ensued in the north and west. These circumstances were no doubt only contributory 

 causes of an economic state of things the real origin of which lay still deeper, in the 

 rise of wages for agricultural labour and in the shortening of hours. In response to 

 public complaints the Caillaux Cabinet could devise nothing better than a scheme 

 authorising municipal bakeries and butchers' shops. An indignant protest from small 

 tradespeople followed and the measure was withdrawn by the Poincare Cabinet. The 

 " dear food " crisis was soon followed further by an acute phase of the housing problem 

 in great cities, especially at Paris, where the rents of small apartments have reached 

 alarming proportions owing to the influx of new arrivals. A Tenants Association 

 ^Federation des locataires) made noisy demonstrations, and the government took measures 

 to allay excitement (see below). Wages have risen perceptibly, on an average 20 per 

 cent to 25 per cent between 1896 and 1911. The Savings Bank Deposits amounted to 

 225,920,000 on the 3ist of December 1910. 



In the mining industry important developments have been in progress, owing to the 

 opening of new fields, notably in the Meurthe-and-Moselle basin (Longwy, Nancy, Briey), 

 estimated to contain about 2,300,000,000 tons, the yield in 1909 having reached 10,670,000 

 tons; the Normandy basin, worked since 1-893, an d yielding about 520,000 tons in 1910; 

 and the Anjou basin, where prospecting has been done. France, wh'ich formerly imported 

 her mineral ore, is now becoming an exporter. Production has increased as follows: 

 (1877) 2,426,000 tons, (1900) 5,448,000 tons, (1909) 11,890,000 tons. 



The use of crossed cheques was introdued by a law passed December 22, 1911. 



By another law passed January 5, 1912, the organisation was authorized, in each maritime 

 port, of a Conseil d' Administration du port a board of control empowered (though not com- 

 pelled) to take over the administration of the port on a broad autonomous basis. 



