European sustainable development rural actor database
- Language:
- French
- Currency:
-
Euro
- Area:
- 550,000.00
- Population:
- 62.70
- Density:
- 114.00
- GIP:
- 1710
- GIP per cap.:
- 27,272.00
- Political regime:
- Republic
- Head of State:
- M. Nicolas Sarkozy (Union For a Popular Movement – UMP)
- Head of governement:
- M. François Fillon (Union For a Popular Movement – UMP)
- Eutropean Union Membership:
- Founder member
- National anthem:
- La Marseillaise
Administrative organization
Form of State : Unitarian State.
The State holds legislative power in all areas.
Interesting ministries:
- Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and Land Planning. Minister of State : Jean-Louis Borloo. This super-minitry is organised around four main themes : ecology and sustainable development, housing and transport, energy, and land use.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Minister : M. Michel Barnier. DG « Forestry and rural affairs ».
|
Administrative units
|
Name
|
Number
|
Competences
|
|
NUTS 1
|
Z.E.A.T
+ DOM
|
9
|
|
|
NUTS 2
|
Regions
+ DOM
|
26
|
Economic development
Land planning
Transport
Education, job training programmes and culture
Secondary schools construction and maintenance
Health
Management of European Structural Funds
|
|
NUTS 3
|
Departments
+ DOM
|
100
|
Social and health action
Urban planning and equipement
Education, culture
Economic development
Environment
|
|
LAU 1
|
|
|
|
|
LAU 2
|
Communes
|
36.378
|
Registry office
Electoral functions
Town planning
Environment
Economic development
Maintenance of the municipal roads
Public order
Education
Social action
Culture
|
Total public expenditure: € 919.7 billions = 53.8% GDP.
Sub-national public expenditure: € 187.5 billions = 11% GDP = 20.4% total public expenditure.
Rural life
Utilized agricultural area: 53.9% total area, i.e. about 296,450 km2.
Rural population: 23.3% total population.
Labour force in agriculture: 943,000 Annual Work Units (AWU).
Unemployment rate by degree of urbanization: unavailable data.
Employment rate by degree of urbanization: unavailable data.
Youth unemployment ratio by degree of urbanization: unavailable data.
Share of organic area in total utilised agricultural area: 2%.
Sustainability
The French National Strategy for SD was adopted on the 3rd of June 2003 for a period of five years. It establishes a framework for Government initiatives in the field of SD and in all other policy fields. The strategy is focused on the three dimensions of sustainable development and explicitly includes culture as a fourth dimension. It is build around six so called strategic axis and ten action programmes. Each strategic axis focuses on the role of a specific class of actor:
- Citizens as actors for SD (information and education):
- Territories : urban environment, rural envrionment
- Economic activities, producers and consumers
- Energy, transport and agriculture
- Prevention of risks, pollution and other environmental and health problems
- The Government
Local Agendas 21 are also present on the French territory.
On a national level, each Minister is responsible for the implementation and follow-up of the actions in the Plan that fall under his or her authority. It will also be interesting to follow the work of the new Ministry of Ecology, and Sustainable Développement and Land Use.
Environmental protection expenditure in the public sector: 0.3 % of GDP, i.e. 67 € per capita.
Government expenditure on environment protection, in % of GDP: 1.3%.
Government expenditure on environment protection, in % of total government expenditure: 2.5%.
Area protected under the Habitats Directive as a percentage of total area: 6.9%.