Skiing at Chamonix in the département of Haute-Savoie, France.© Peter Miller/Photo Researchers
Labour and taxation
Structural changes in the economy have helped transform the French labour force. Since the 1960s there has been a growing transfer from blue- to white-collar occupations, particularly as jobs in management, the professions, and administration have greatly increased. This change has been accompanied by a marked rise in female employment, so that almost half of all jobs are now held by women. A significant increase in part-time work and employment on fixed-term contracts has also taken place for both sexes. Firms have favoured this development because of the greater flexibility it offers, as have employees themselves, seeking freer, less-formalized working arrangements. The trend has also been encouraged by short-term government measures to reduce unemployment.
Such changes away from standard jobs have also contributed to the weakened position of trade unions in France: as little as a tenth of French workers belong to a union. Traditional support from blue-collar workers has also been eroded by heavy job losses in industries such as steel, shipbuilding, and vehicles. The main trade unions are the General Confederation of Labour, Force Ouvrière (literally “workforce”), and French Democratic Confederation of Labour. With the exception of those in 1968, major nationwide strikes have been relatively infrequent in France. Employers, for their own part, are grouped together within the Movement for French Enterprises (Mouvement des Entreprises de France), which in 1998 replaced the National Council of French Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Français). This organization represents all firms in negotiations with the government, state administrative services, and unions. Transportation and telecommunications
The transportation sector includes such dynamic companies as the National Society of French Railways (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français), the state-owned railways operator, and Air France, the national airline. Closely allied are manufacturers of transport equipment and the civil engineering concerns responsible for constructing new infrastructure. Generally, France benefits from a dense and diversified transport network, limited only by its still excessive focus upon the capital city. For land-based movements the road network has become increasingly important. For example, a vast majority of all freight traffic, in terms of the volume and distance of goods moved, goes by road. This dominance has been achieved at the expense of railways and inland waterways. Roads
Traffic on the highways has more than doubled since 1970, and about one-fifth of vehicles are commercial. An extensive road system totaling about 600,000 miles (965,000 km) has been developed to deal with increasingly heavy traffic conditions. However, only a small proportion of this network consists of main trunk roads (the routes nationales) and motorways. Construction on the latter began much later than in neighbouring countries, and it was not until the mid-1960s that a major development program was under way. To speed progress, building concessions were granted to private and semiprivate companies, which, in return for their investment, were authorized to levy tolls. Since that period the major radial routes from the capital have been completed, as well as embryonic regional networks focusing on large urban centres, such as Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille. Traffic is heavily concentrated on the main north-south axis between these cities. In extending the system, emphasis has been placed on improving international links and developing national routes that avoid Paris, as between Calais and Dijon, as well as Bordeaux and Clermont-Ferrand. Numerous rural roads and lanes supplement the main system, as do new bridges, such as the Millau Bridge in the Tarn valley, which opened in 2004 as the world’s highest road bridge (343 metres [1,125 feet]). Railroads
By the end of the 19th century, the present rail network was largely in place, dominated by the main lines radiating from Paris. Since World War II many little-used rural sections have been closed. In contrast, since the early 1980s certain new lines have been opened in conjunction with the introduction of high-speed passenger trains (trains à grande vitesse; TGV) between Paris and a number of provincial cities. Southeastern France was the first area to be provided with such services, reflecting the already high density of traffic between Paris, Lyon, and the Mediterranean coast. New lines are also in operation to western and northern France, with longer-term plans to serve eastern regions. International service also exists to Geneva, Lausanne, and Brussels, as well as to London, by means of the Channel Tunnel, which opened in 1994 after six years of construction. It is used for passenger and freight trains as well as for transporting cars and commercial vehicles. By the end of the 20th century, the Eurostar passenger trains linked Paris to London in three hours and carried more than nine million travelers annually. In France the TGV network alone accounts for more than one-half of passenger miles and has attracted many new customers to the railways. Generally, however, fewer than one-fifth of passenger movements in France were accounted for by rail services, with traffic heavily concentrated along the main, electrified radial routes from the capital, particularly in the direction of southeastern France. Freight traffic has declined, partly because of fallen demand for products such as coal, iron, and oil, traditionally carried by rail, and partly because of intense competition from road haulers. Like passenger traffic, freight movements are concentrated along the main radial routes, as well as along the lines linking the industrial centres of northern and northeastern France.
A high-speed TGV (train à grande vitesse) traversing the Burgundy région between Tournous and Mâcon, France.Riviere—Rapho/Photo Researchers
Within an increasing number of urban areas, investment has been made in new underground rail and tram systems in an effort to reduce congestion on the roads and related problems of pollution. Provincial cities such as Lyon, Marseille, Lille, and Toulouse now boast metro networks, while a growing number of other cities (such as Lille, Nantes, Strasbourg, and Grenoble) are served by tramways, a solution increasingly favoured because of its comparatively lower cost. However, this has not stopped further substantial investment in the Paris Métro or the high-speed regional system (Réseau Express Régional; RER). Lines have been extended farther into the suburbs, and major new capacity has been added in central Paris. Waterways
Despite the presence of major rivers such as the Seine, Rhine, and Rhône, inland waterways carry little freight. Although they are still used to transport goods such as construction materials and agricultural and oil products, their role has progressively declined in the face of cheaper and faster alternatives. Traffic has also been lost because of the reduced inland movement of heavy raw materials and fuel products and an inefficiently organized industry with too many small-barge operators. The uneven and disjointed pattern of the waterways further restricts use. Less than a third of the commercial waterway system is of European standard gauge; moreover, the principal river and canal systems remain unconnected for the passage of large barges, so that no truly national or international network exists.