France

The little powerhouse that is France is home to the most romantic city in the world, Paris. Its area is slightly less than the size of Texas at 643,701 sq km. Other major cities in the country are Marseille-Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Lille, and Cannes which is famous for the film festival. French is the official language, and its neighbors include Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. The United States has quite a few less neighbors at 2, which are Canada and Mexico.
France is easily navigable by water as all natural waterways crisscross the country. The Loire River is 625 miles long, beginning in the southeastern part of France and flows into the Bay of Biscay. While the Loire is the longest, the Rhone is the ‘biggest river in France in terms of depth and volume’ (USA Today, Travel Tips). The Seine River comes in third, but is largest as far as popularity and name recognition go. It is home to many places tourists frequent. France is also surrounded by many well-known bodies of water including the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and the Mediterranean Sea. The populations of France and the United States differ tremendously. An estimated 62,814,233 people call France their home while an estimated 313,847,465 people live in America. The French are principally Celtic and Latin, Slavic, North Africa, and Indochinese and Americans are white, black, Asian, Amerindian and Alaska native, native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander (The World Factbook). Here in the US we have a Constitution-based republic and France operates with a similar system. Their current president is Francois Hallande and the Prime Minister is Jean-Marc Ayrault. The Council of Ministers, much like our presidential cabinet, is appointed by the President at the Prime Minister’s direction and the Prime Minister is appointed by the President himself. The French presidential term lasts for five years whereas in the states the term limit is four. Both countries have a literacy rate of 99%.
The French economy is very diversified. Air France, France Telecom, Renault and Thales are large privatized companies (The World Factbook). The government maintains a strong presence, mainly in the areas of power, public transport, and defense industries. Tourism is huge for France with at least 79 million foreign tourists per year. They are the most visited country in the world. The US on the other hand, “has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world” (The World Factbook). Businesses enjoy greater flexibility in most decisions. Similarly, capitalism is dominate in both places with it comes to maintaining social equality. Exports in France are $657 billion, mainly through agricultural products, machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmacy products, iron and steel and beverages. In contrast the US they exported and estimated $1.612 trillion in 2012 through agricultural products, organic chemicals, and goods including aircraft and computers. Imports are compared at $2.357 trillion for the US in ag products, industrial supplies, and capital and consumer goods. France imported an estimated $658.9 billion in machinery and equipment, vehicles, and crude oil. France is one of the main exporters of luxury products such as airplanes and agricultural products. The United States exports electrical equipment, fabricated metal products, and goods including medical equipment which make up its main products. GDP for France is $2.253 trillion and GDP per capita is $35,500. In the US GDP is $15.66 trillion and GDP per capital is $49,800. Inflation rate in the US is at 2% while in France it is a little higher at 2.3%. Lastly, the unemployment rate in the US is reported at $ 8.2% and France’s is at 9.8%.