FRANCE 



3291 



FRANCE 



found necessary to import Ameri- 

 can vines and graft the famous 

 French varieties on to them. 



Vast quantities of fruit are pro- 

 duced in all parts cherries, pears, 

 apples, plums, and peaches, and 

 in the S. oranges and lemons as 

 well. Chestnuts and walnuts also 

 yield large and profitable crops. 

 Market-gardening is widely carried 

 on, aided by the fertile soil and the 

 high pitch to which intensive 

 methods of culture have been 

 brought ; many families in the 

 smaller towns and in country dis- 

 tricts make a useful addition to 

 their incomes out of small patches 

 of garden-land. 



Forests are well kept up, some by 

 individuals, some by public author- 

 ities. Beeches and horse chestnuts 

 are the trees most common, though 

 in some parts oaks grow well. On 

 the sandy soil of Landes, in the 

 S.W., the fir flourishes. 



These marshy districts are the 

 poorest in the republic, excepting 

 the mountains. The people form a 

 race apart, the Basques, of Spanish 

 origin, with language and customs 

 differing from those of the rest 

 of the population. They are quite 

 unlike the other people of the 

 S., who have more in common 

 with Italians, being dark-haired, 

 dark-skinned, dark-eyed, and of 

 medium height. The northern 

 French are much lighter hi complex- 

 ion. Pure Celts are still to be found 

 in the Cevennes and in the central 

 plateau as well as in Brittany. 

 Climate and Character 



But although they are often 

 classed with the Latins, the French 

 have not, as a nation, the charac- 

 teristics of a Latin race. To 

 a certain degree they are affected 

 by the climate. There is a great 

 deal of difference between the hard 

 winters of the E. provinces and the 

 genial sunshine of the S. The N. 

 is affected by the Atlantic ; it has 

 changeable, often damp, wea,ther ; 

 in the centre, the winters are long 

 and hard, in the W. they are short 

 and mild. Thus the S. and S.W. 

 people are more expansive than the 

 rest ; they are great talkers, quick- 

 tempered, small eaters and sober. 



One feature of the French char- 

 acter is much the same in all 

 parts they are all hard workers 

 and their love of independence 

 makes them thrifty. The small 

 peasant farmers ai\> the closest- 

 fisted; they grudge any expenditure 

 even on their own comfort. French 

 housewives are good managers and 

 can make a little go a long way. 

 And the French woman is her hus- 

 band's adviser and partner, often 

 she understands his business, often 

 she carries on a business herself. In 

 all domestic economy hers is the de- 



ciding voice. The manual labourer's 

 wife does not have to ask him for 

 money; she takes his wages and 

 allows him so much out of them. 

 One result of this is that women 

 have more influence on the national 

 life than hi any other country, and 

 as they are usually more cautious 

 and provident than men, the habit 

 of looking after the pennies has 

 become engrained in the national 

 character. 



TRADE AND INDUSTRY. In in- 

 dustry and commerce, the French 

 are averse from taking large risks. 

 Their inventors are clever, and often 

 take the lead when some fresh de- 

 velopment of manufacture begins, 

 as in the motor-car business and 

 later with aeronautics. But they do 

 not keep their pre-eminence ; they 

 let others who are more enterpris- 

 ing get ahead of them. French 

 work is notable for its high finish 

 and artistic quality. The articles 

 produced for export are mostly 

 luxuries. First among their in- 

 dustries is the fine textile, and 

 the French have a reputation all 

 over the world for fine silks, fine 

 linen, and fine cloths. In metal- 

 work they are famous for things of 

 daily use, for much of their 

 machinery they are dependent 

 upon other countries. This is 

 partly because France had not, 

 until after the Great War, coal and 

 iron near together in large quanti- 

 ties. Around Le Creusot they are 

 found together, and that became 

 one of the principal homes of the 

 iron and steel industry. The 

 normal output of coal is about 

 40,000,000 metric tons a year ; of 

 iron about 20,000,000. No other 

 metals are found in any great bulk. 

 Their technical skill has given the 

 French their reputation. Their 

 jewelry is unrivalled. In china 

 and porcelain they keep up their 

 old reputation ; also in perfumes 

 and women's dress. 



Production of Luxury Wares 



By far their largest export is 

 manufactured silk. Raw silk also 

 figures high up in the list. Wine 

 is, of course, prominent, but it is 

 surprising to find that much more 

 is imported than exported. This 

 is mostly Spanish and Italian wine 

 which, being mixed with French, 

 becomes Burgundy or Medoc. The 

 bulk of coal imported is large. The 

 French coal mines, of which the 

 most productive are in the N., do 

 not yield nearly enough for the 

 manufacturer's needs. In their 

 houses the French burn mostly 

 wood, so the domestic demand is 

 not heavy. 



Soap is manufactured hi vast 

 quantities, hi all degrees of refine- 

 ment. Cheese-making is practised 

 where there is good pasture ; it is 



enough to mention Camembert, 

 Pont L'Eveque, Brie, and Roque- 

 fort. Sugar-making from beets is 

 carried on extensively in the N. In 

 and around Paris are the principal 

 producers of luxury wares, but 

 outside that region there are found 

 many trades attached for some 

 reason to certain localities, such as 

 clock-making at Besanson.women's 

 hat-making and hosiery at Troyes, 

 porcelain at Limoges, tulle at 

 Calais, table-glass at Baccarat, 

 lace at Puy, Valenciennes, and else- 

 where. As in most countries of 

 Europe, the N. is more occupied 

 with manufacture than the S., 

 though Marseilles is an industrial 

 centre as well as a large port, and 

 Lyons has grouped round it pro- 

 bably the largest produce of silk, 

 and has made itself the chief mar- 

 ket for that important product. 

 State Monopolies 



The State enjoys several manu- 

 facturing and industrial monopo* 

 lies. That of tobacco, established 

 by decree of 1810 and reorganized 

 in 1916, is controlled by the ad- 

 ministration of manufactures, 

 which buys all French-grown to- 

 bacco and imports, when possible, 

 the remainder called for. The 

 match monopoly dates from 1889, 

 there being six national factories. 

 Certain explosives, but not dyna- 

 mite or nitro-glycerine, are state 

 products, and the artistic manu- 

 factures of Sevres porcelain, and 

 Gobelin and Beauvais tapestries 

 are famed for a higher quality than 

 are the first-named monopolies. 



The chambers of commerce per- 

 form useful functions in the com- 

 mercial and industrial life of the 

 country. Numbering about 150, 

 they are regulated by the law of 

 1898, advising the central govern- 

 ment on commercial matters 

 through the ministry of commerce, 

 and organizing various commercial 

 services of transport, etc. Since 

 1918 they have been associated in 

 regional groupings, and during the 

 Great War were responsible for the 

 issue of local monetary notes. 

 Another commercial centre of 

 organization is found in the great 

 fairs held at Lyons and Bordeaux, 

 the former one of the most repre- 

 sentative markets of all Europe. 



POPULATION. Notwithstanding 

 its fertile soil and many productive 

 industries, France has a small popu- 

 lation (41,475,523). No state in 

 Europe has increased so little the 

 number of its inhabitants during 

 the past century. For half a cen- 

 tury the population has been about 

 the same. Economists, political 

 thinkers, and religious teachers 

 have all preached the dangers of 

 this, but without effect. The mass 

 of the French people are too 



