Five Minutes in France

By: The Delegation of FranceFebruary 29, 2008

Mock United Nations

Geographic InformationCapital- ParisLand Area- 640,053 square kilometersSome Bordering Countries – Germany, Italy, SpainTerrain- flat plains, gently rolling hills, mountains

Imports- oil, machinery, plastics and chemicalsExports- iron, steel and pharmaceutical productsGNP- 2177 billion dollarsGDP- 1423 billion dollars

Economic Information

PeopleReligion- Roman

Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim

Ethnic groups- Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North Africa, Indochinese, Basque minorities

Political and Foreign InformationMain Political Parties- Citizen and Republican Movement, Democratic and European, French Communist Allies- Germany and Saudi ArabiaMany disagreements with Great Britain and U.S.A.

Nicolas Sarkozy

Brief History1944-1945 France liberated1946-1958 Fourth Republic experiences political instability1958- De Gaulle returns to power and founds fifth republic1974-1981- Oil crisis followed by recession1981-Socialist president elected and death penalty abolished

De Gaulle

1997- Signing of the Amsterdam Treaty

2002- Supported toppling of Taliban-regime in Afghanistan

2003- Refused to support invasion of Iraq

2007-Nicolas Sarkozy elected

Brief History (continued)

Domestic Issues

Unemployment problemsFrench youth protesting new labor lawFrance has more babies out of wedlock than any other European country

TraditionAt weddings bottles of Champagne are beheaded by a special-made saberA puppet show is held on Christmas Eve and children’s shoes are filled with candyBastille Day is celebrated on July 14th with fireworks and paradesBastille Day

Resolution 1

Drug trafficking is a major problemMany countries use French ports to ship illegal drugs to other countriesThe drug trafficking threatens the health and safety of not only French citizens but citizens of other countries as well

Proportion of acute drug-related deaths occurring under the age of 25 years in 2002

Resolution 2

Madagascar claims French territories in the Mozambique River Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa, Bassas da India and Tromelin are a few of the scattered islands involved in the dispute.

ClosingClosing

France is against the trafficking of drugs and urges other countries to feel the same. Also, France feels that Madagascar should give back France’s rightful territory

The End