FRANCE 



2300 



FRANCE 



ERATURE, in their alphabetical places in this 

 volume. 



Religion. By far the larger part of the in- 

 habitants of France belong to the Roman 

 Catholic Church nearly 37,000,000, it is esti- 

 mated; there are about 600,000 Protestants 

 and 70,000 Jews. Previous to 1906 the state 

 paid toward the support of all the Churches, 

 the total amount expended annually being ap- 

 proximately $10,000,000; but in that year the 

 relations between Church and State were sev- 

 ered, and each Church was thrown on its own 

 resources. All beliefs are tolerated by the 

 government. 



Government. France is a republic, and is 

 governed by a constitution which in the main 

 dates from 1875. This constitution is not a 

 single document, like that of the United States, 

 but a series of laws and amendments, and it 

 has not as its central motive the securing of 

 the liberties of the people. 



The executive head of the government, the 

 President, is chosen not by popular vote, but 

 by the two houses of Parliament. His term of 

 office is seven years; he may be reflected, but 

 no President has served two full terms. He 

 has a council of ministers, in theory appointed 

 by himself, but in reality by the leader of the 

 majority in the lower house, and these minis- 

 ters are responsible to the National Assembly, 

 and go out of office when their measures are 

 defeated. Thus the system is much more like 

 that of Great Britain than of the United States. 

 The number of ministers, each of whom pre- 

 sides over a department, varies from time to 

 time. 



The National Assembly consists of two 

 houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Depu- 

 ties. The powers of these two bodies are ap- 

 proximately equal, except that only the lower 

 house may originate revenue measures, in this 

 respect following the example of the United 

 States. The Senate comprises 300 members, 

 chosen by electoral colleges composed of cer- 

 tain officials of the various departments, or 

 states, into which the country is divided. The 

 term of senators is nine years, and one-third 

 of the terms expires every three years. Mem- 

 bers of the Chamber of Deputies are cnosen 

 by universal suffrage, and hold office for four 

 years. Their number varies, but in 1914 it was 

 597. 



The judicial department consists of a series 

 of courts,, of which the highest is the Court 

 of Cassation, at Paris, with its president, three 

 presidents of sections, and forty-five judges. 



Below this are twenty-six courts of appeal, 

 which try cases from the district or arrondisse- 

 ments courts, these in turn being engaged with 

 cases from the lower canton courts. Police 

 courts may try without jury any case which 

 does not involve a heavier sentence than five 

 years' imprisonment. 



Local Government. For local administra- 

 tion purposes France is divided into eighty- 

 seven departments, at the head of each of 

 which is a prefect, appointed by the President 

 of the republic and assisted by an elected gen- 

 eral council. Below the departments are the 

 arrondissements, 362 in number, each with a 

 subprefect at its head; and below the arron- 

 dissements are the cantons. The smallest units 

 for local government are the communes, of 

 which there are about twelve to each canton. 

 Each commune has an elected municipal coun- 

 cil, and a mayor chosen by that body. A 

 commune may be a part of a large town, a 

 single smaller town, or several little villages. 

 The most characteristic feature of local gov- 

 ernment in France is its direct dependence on 

 the central or national government. 



Colonies. The French colonies have an area 

 vastly greater than that of the home country, 

 and a population considerably larger. The fol- 

 lowing table gives statistics for them in the 

 years before the war, some of the figures being 

 but estimates, especially as regards population 

 statistics : 



The government of most of these colonies 

 is not self-supporting, and the home govern- 

 ment, which retains control of many matters 

 in the colonies, must also contribute toward 

 their revenue. Some, as Algeria, for instance, 

 have changed in this respect and are now prof- 

 itable possessions. 



National Defense. See ARMY; NAVY. 



