Territory of France

The largest state in Western Europe with a total area of ​​545 thousand square meters. km. Has possessions in the Caribbean:

Martinique and Guadeloupe, as well as Reunion Island (east of Madagascar). The area, taking into account these territories, is 640.05 thousand square meters. km. The western and northern regions of France are plains; in the center and east, medium-low mountains; in the southeast, the Alps; and in the southwest, the Pyrenees.

Population of France

The population without overseas departments is 62 million people (2008), with dependent territories - 64.05 million people. France is characterized by: high birth rate and high life expectancy. According to IN SEE experts, according to these indicators, France may become a leader among other countries of the European Union. The average life expectancy is 80.98 years (men - 77.79 years, women - 84.33 years) (as of 2009). France is a country of mass immigration, especially the number of emigrants from the former French colonies in Africa. The French make up about 90% of the total population, but the outlying areas are inhabited by ethnic groups that differ in language and culture (in particular, the Bretons - 1.5 million people). The predominant religion is Catholicism (84% of the population).

State structure of France

A presidential republic, the head of state and executive power is the president, who is elected for a term of five years. In consultation with Parliament, he appoints the Prime Minister and members of the government. Parliament consists of two chambers: the National Assembly and the Senate.

Administrative-territorial division of France

22 regions and 96 administrative divisions. The capital is Paris. Other major cities: Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Toulon.

GDP volume, economic growth rates and other statistical indicators

France is a member of many international economic organizations: the UN (since 1945), the IMF and the World Bank (since 1947), NATO (1949-1966), the OECD (since 1961), the EU (since 1957). ), G7 (since 1975), EBRD (since 1990), WTO (since 1995).

French Fiscal Sphere

More than half of the national income is redistributed through the budget (20% in 1913). Tax collections account for over 44% of the country's GDP. According to this indicator, the country occupies one of the leading places in the EU (along with Sweden). The tax burden increased in the 1990s and exceeds the EU average. The standard VAT rate is 19.6%. The standard corporate tax rate is 33.3%, but there are incentives for small businesses. The income tax is very high, especially its top rates. In 2008, the highest rate was reduced from 60% to 50%.

The French economy is characterized by the following features:

• state budget deficit;
• high public debt;
• foreign trade deficit;
• the French labor market is not flexible, and the unemployment rate is one of the highest compared to other EU countries;
• the level of taxation of French companies and social contributions is considered one of the highest in Europe;
• highly developed banking sector;
• an effective mechanism for the distribution of financial flows and, as a result, the insignificant scale of the shadow economy;
• high level strikes.

On the agenda of the government and legislators is a whole package of measures covering socio-economic, legal, political and international issues.

The core of the planned reforms will be a set of financial and tax measures aimed at implementing the main slogan of N. Sarkozy's program: "Work more - get more." The following measures should “rehabilitate work” and improve the purchasing power of the French:

• Exemption from taxation of overtime work (according to statistics, 37% of employees in France work overtime).
• Deduction from the taxable base of amounts paid on loans taken for the purchase of housing.
• Reduction or complete abolition (in the case of inheritance within the family) of inheritance tax.
• Reducing the tax on large fortunes in the case of investing in small enterprises.
• Cancellation of taxes for working students.
• Expanding earning opportunities for working pensioners.
• Limiting the practice of so-called golden parachutes - "financial gifts" to the leading managers of large companies upon retirement.
• Cancellation of the practice of advance payment of taxes on enterprises.

One of the most difficult reforms planned by the government in the near future promises to be the adoption of a law on the so-called minimum services in the public sector in the event of a strike. We are talking mainly about public transport workers (metro, buses, suburban trains), whose strikes more than once led to the complete disorganization of the transport system of large cities, creating extreme inconvenience for their residents. The new law is expected to require strikers to provide minimum transport services, notify the authorities two days before a strike begins, and hold a secret ballot to continue the strike eight days after it begins.

But, according to experts, the tasks of achieving a "new economic growth" as well as reducing public debt to less than 60% of GDP, reaching a deficit-free budget by 2012 and complying with the EU "stability pact" may be difficult to implement.

Foreign economic relations of France

Countries importing products from France: Germany - 14.9%, Spain - 9.3%, Italy - 8.9%, UK - 8.1% (2007).

Countries exporting products to France: Germany - 18.9%, Belgium - 11.4%, Italy - 8.4%, Spain - 7.1% (2007).

The volume of exports in 2008 amounted to 761 billion dollars, the volume of imports - 838 billion dollars.

Main export positions in 2006

In 2010, the volume of exports amounted to 508.7 billion dollars, and the volume of imports - 577.7 billion dollars.

France is known as an exporter of means of transport (cars, aircraft, ships), electrical products, steel and aluminum, fabrics and clothing, grain and wine, meat and milk.

France buys primarily oil and gas, coal, non-ferrous metals, cellulose, wool, as well as cotton, coffee, cocoa and other products. Agriculture southern countries.

France's largest trading partner is Germany, with which it has had a chronic deficit in recent years. In addition to European countries, the share of the United States is large in imports.

France's trade balance is strong, with exports exceeding imports, but imports are growing faster than exports. The share of exports in GDP in 2010 was 23.5%. France is the world's fourth largest exporter and importer of goods. Commodity exports in 2010 amounted to 307 billion dollars - 5.7 of world exports; commodity imports - 287.2 billion dollars - 5.2 of world imports. As for services, the total volume of their exports in 2010 exceeded 78.6 billion dollars (6.1% of the world), and imports - 62.8 billion dollars (4.9%).

Approximately 1/7 of its national product is exported. Industry accounts for about 4/5 of the national export of goods and services.

The export specialization of France is significantly inferior to other large countries. So, in general engineering, only one production belongs to a high level of specialization (jet engines) and a number to a moderate one (pumps, steam engines, nuclear reactors, rotary electric power plants, refrigerators, heating equipment, agricultural machinery).

Many French companies treat the EU market as their own. Over 60 percent of exports go to EU countries. This is the largest share among the four leading countries in Western Europe. France's main trading partner in the region is Germany, which accounts for 16 percent of exports and 20 percent of imports. In second place is Italy (12 percent). Among other countries, the United States is an important trading partner (6.1 percent of exports).

The commodity structure of the country's exports is dominated by transport engineering (cars, aircraft, helicopters, locomotives), weapons, equipment for nuclear power plants, space technology, electrical engineering, steel and aluminum, fabrics and clothing. Thanks to the successful development of nuclear power, France ranks first in the region among electricity exporters. At the same time, the share of goods of increased and high technology in the country's exports is lower than in the exports of the United States, Japan and Germany. In terms of the value of exports of agricultural products and food products, France is second only to the United States. It is a world leader in the export of spirits, grains, dairy products, sugar, etc. and at the same time a major buyer of cheap wines from the Mediterranean countries.

France's export volume is shown in the figure below.

France's imports (21 percent of GDP) exceed 50 percent of the output of such important branches of modern industry as basic chemistry, the production of electrical and electronic equipment; about 60 percent of imports are investment goods. Huge oil imports - main reason trade deficit.

Coffee, cocoa, tea and other products of tropical agriculture are also imported.

Many French products are of high quality and novelty, but not all of them can withstand the competition of foreign products even in the domestic market, so about 1/3 of the goods sold in the country are imported.

France's import volume is shown in the figure below.

As E.P. Ostrovskaya notes in the book “The French Economy in the Post-Industrial World”, due to the general lag in the development of the economic system, changes in the structure of foreign trade exchange began in France later than in other developed countries, but they happened very quickly. During the 60s and early 70s, France was able to overcome such negative aspects as the lag in the share of exports in GDP (two times less than that of the EU leaders), and the unsatisfactory structure of exports (machinery and equipment - less than one fifth), double the rate of export growth.

Trade in goods

At the moment, France is one of the major participants in world trade, 6th in the world in terms of exports and 5th in imports.

Export

In 2010, total French exports amounted to $456.8 million: Commodity structure of French exports:

Finished goods 57.8%:

Machinery, equipment (especially for the aircraft industry) and vehicles 42,3%

Consumer goods 15.5% including pharmaceutical goods (features of French statistics that classify them as consumer goods). The share of the textile and footwear industry is also large.

Semi-finished products 24.8%, especially products of the chemical industry

1. Raw materials and fuel 5.9%

The main commodity specialization of French exports is cars 14.5% and agricultural products 11.6%, medicines and cosmetics 10.2%, aircraft and aerospace industry products 7.3%. In general, the structure of the French sector is quite consistent with the normal for a developed country, but is characterized by an extremely high share of the agro-industrial complex.

France's key export trading partners are Germany (14.3%), Italy (8.7%), Spain (8.3%), England (7.8%), Belgium (7.6%), USA (5.8%).

Import

Total French imports in 2010 amounted to $532.2 billion, which is a decline from the 2008 level ($692 billion).

Commodity structure of imports:

Machinery and equipment

Automotive and aircraft products

Raw oil

Products of the chemical industry

Key import partners are Germany (17.9%), Belgium (11.7%), Italy (8.3%), Spain (6.9%), the Netherlands (6.8%), England (5.1%), USA (4.3%).

Trade in services

In terms of trade in services, France currently ranks third in the world in terms of exports, behind the US and the UK. If we consider the structure of the French trade in servants, the main place here is occupied by tourism (in 2006 37.6% of all exports of services), about 80 million tourists visit France annually. Also important areas for the export of services are: transport (23.8%), and business or corporate services (23.7%). Exceptionally low is the indicator of information services, only 1%, with 3.4% on average in the EU. It is important to note that despite the generally good position in the export of services, France lags behind in the most innovative areas, and the most widely represented in the structure of exports are traditional services with low value added that do not require highly skilled labor and innovation.

Export and import of capital

France has traditionally been one of the world's leading exporters of capital. According to the Bank of France, total French investments abroad in 2009 amounted to 105.9 billion euros. Of the total French FDI, the EU-27 countries accounted for 77.5% (82.1 billion euros) in 2009, of which the EU-16 countries accounted for 50.4%, and the remaining EU countries accounted for 27.1%. Other developed countries accounted for 9.9% (the most attractive were the US, Japan and Switzerland). Other countries (countries with economies in transition, developing and underdeveloped countries) respectively accounted for 12.6% (of which Brazil, China and India were in priority).

France attracted $57.4 billion in foreign direct investment in 2010, up 22% from 2009. But the position of France in terms of attractiveness to foreign investors is still sporting, despite a number of positive factors such as a large market, excellent transport and communications infrastructure and financial system. First of all, socio-economic factors, peculiarities of labor legislation, and the lag in the development of innovative industries, high taxes, and shortcomings in the organization of R&D prevent France from becoming more attractive to foreign investors.

The economy of France is the seventh among the countries of the world in terms of nominal gross product and the ninth, if considered in Europe, it is in third place. If we look briefly at France's exports and imports, then the trade balance is 1.17 trillion US dollars. The balance is negative. France exports and imports mainly to such countries as Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands.

Main macroeconomic indicators

France is a member of many international organizations. These include, for example, the EU, the WTO and the OECD. The headquarters of the latter is located in Paris. The main industry in the national economy of France is chemical industry. It helps in the development of other areas and makes a significant contribution to the economic growth of the country. Tourism is also an important industry.

France's nominal value in 2016 was $2.5 trillion. This is the sixth indicator among all countries of the world. In 2015, it grew by 1.2%. For the third quarter of 2016 - by 0.2%. GDP per capita is 38 thousand US dollars. If we consider the gross product by sector, then the main industry is the service sector. It is responsible for 79.8% of GDP and gives only 1.9% of the gross product, industry - 18.3%. This indicates that France is already a fully post-industrial society. 7.7% of the population is below the poverty line. About 30 million French people are of working age. Of these, 71.8% work in the service sector, 24.3% in industry, and 3.8% in agriculture. average salary is 2900-3300 euros, after taxes - 2200-2500.

The main industries are machine, automobile and aircraft building, chemical, metallurgy, textile, food industry and tourism. France's exports and imports total $1.17 trillion. The main trading partners are such EU countries as Germany, Belgium and Italy. France's exports and imports include machinery and equipment, crude oil, aircraft, pharmaceutical and chemical products. The country's external debt is about 6 trillion US dollars.

Foreign economic relations of France

As already mentioned, the main trading partners of France are the countries of the European Union. Germany, Belgium and Italy are in first place in terms of both exports and imports. France's external economic relations also include Spain, Great Britain, the USA, the Netherlands, and China.

Consider France's export partners. Germany accounts for 16.7% of the total, Belgium 7.5%, Italy 7.5%, Spain 6.9%, UK 6.9%, US 5.6% , to the Netherlands - 4.3%. And now let's move on to import partners. Germany accounts for 19.5% of the total, 11.3% for Belgium, 7.6% for Italy, 7.4% for the Netherlands, 6.6% for Spain, 5.1% for the UK , 4.9% - to China.

Main exports and imports of France

France exports machinery and equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, and alcoholic beverages. These are the main export items from the country. French imports are also represented by machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics and chemical products.

The balance was 4.4 billion euros in November 2016. This is the smallest deficit since August. Exports grew by 5.3%, while imports only by 2.8%. If we consider the period from 1970 to 2016, then the average balance was -1091.03 million euros. That is, France often recorded the highest rate in October 1997. Then the balance was positive and amounted to 2674 million euros. The largest deficit occurred in February 2012. Then the deficit was -7040 million euros.

Export

In November 2016, the value of goods exported from the country increased to 38.811 billion euros. If we consider the period from 1970 to 2016, then the average export volume is 18398.37 million. The highest rate was recorded in June 2015. Then the export was equal to 39.896 billion. The lowest - in May 1970. Then the volume of exports was 1.166 billion euros.

The main articles are machinery and equipment, aircraft, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, various alcoholic beverages.

Import

In November 2016, the value of goods imported into the country reached 43.188 billion euros. And now consider the export and import of France for the period from 1970 to 2016. The value of goods imported into the country averaged 19.489 billion euros. The lowest rate was recorded in May 1970. Then imports amounted to only 1.152 billion euros. The highest rate was recorded in August 2012. Then it was 44.471 billion euros. As in exports, machinery and equipment occupy a significant place in imports. France also depends on the import of crude oil.

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TEST

on the topic "Foreign economic activity of Russia and France"

Introduction

The year 2010, by decision of the leadership of the two countries, was declared a "cross year" of France in Russia and Russia in France. This event, which at first glance seems to be routine, is in fact significant, a milestone and, perhaps, even going beyond the scope of only bilateral relations. Firstly, both the format of the “Cross Year” itself (this has never happened before in our relations) and its content are unprecedented: it is planned to hold about 400 different events covering the fields of culture, science, economics, politics, sports and humanitarian exchanges - in a word , the entire spectrum of relations between the two countries. Secondly, the scale of this event demonstrates the special level of relations between our countries. It is due to almost three hundred years of official diplomatic relations, the memory of the military-political alliance at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the joint struggle against Nazism in World War II, respect for the independent status of France on the world stage in the post-war decades, associated with the policies of Charles de Gaulle . The special warmth of our relations is determined primarily by rich cultural and humanitarian ties. Russian people are fascinated by the "soft power" of France, its history, architecture and painting, literature, the very French way of life. In turn, many French people feel sympathy and genuine interest in the "huge and cold-snowy country", the mysterious "Slavic soul" and Russian culture.

The purpose of holding a “cross year” is to give a new impetus to the Franco-Russian partnership, to bring it to an even higher level, which, due to the importance and relative weight of our countries, will affect the state of both European and world politics.

This paper will consider the foreign economic activity of Russia and France

1. Foreign economic relations between Russia and France

tourism foreign economic relations state

Foreign trade plays a huge role in the French economy. France is known as an exporter of means of transport (cars, aircraft, ships), electrical products, steel and aluminum, fabrics and clothing, grain and wine, meat and milk. France buys primarily oil and gas, coal, non-ferrous metals, cellulose, wool, as well as cotton, coffee, cocoa and other agricultural products of the southern countries.

In addition to European countries, the share of the United States is large in imports. In world trade, France is in fourth place. Arms exports play a significant role, especially to African and Arab countries. France's main trading partner is Germany. Products of the chemical industry, foodstuffs, machinery and vehicles account for about 5.5% of French exports to Germany.

France supplies to our country mainly equipment for industrial enterprises, in particular chemical and machine-building plants, as well as machine tools and machines, pipes and rolled steel, chemical products, textiles, clothing, footwear.

In the international arena, France stands for détente and political independence. At the same time, it is pursuing a neo-colonialist policy towards a number of developing countries and does not always take a constructive position in solving important international problems, for example, on questions of disarmament and military detente. France, a member of NATO, maintains political and military cooperation with this bloc.

2. The development trend of Russian-French relations in 90- eyears

Relations with France invariably occupy one of the main places in the system of Russia's foreign policy priorities in the European direction.

France was one of the first Western countries to conclude scientific and technical agreements with our country, compensatory deals, an agreement on industrial cooperation, to agree on long-term cooperation programs, to provide medium-term and long-term bank loans, subsidized and guaranteed by the states. It was then that the first mixed intergovernmental commissions were created in order to ensure bilateral cooperation agreements. In this regard, one cannot fail to recall such major projects as: the construction of turnkey production complexes in the USSR by the largest French company Renault, the supply of natural gas from Urengoy, equivalent in cost to the supply of the necessary equipment, the organization of exports to France of metallurgical equipment for the first stage complex in Fosse-sur-Mer, the installation of the most powerful hydraulic press in Western Europe in the city of Issoire, etc. However, all these examples of cooperation date back to the 70s. In the 80s and even more so in the 90s. there were practically none.

Of particular importance in mutual relations is the Treaty of Friendship between Russia and France, as well as the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between Russia and the EU, signed in 1994 on the island of Corfu. They define the contractual and legal basis for cooperation, both economic and financial, as well as the conditions for cooperation with Russia in the context of its gradual integration into the EU economic space.

Official visit of B.N. Yeltsin to France February 5-7, 1992 opened a new page in Russian-French relations. The main result of the visit was the signing of the Treaty between Russia and France, which confirmed the desire of both parties to develop "relationships of consent based on trust, solidarity and cooperation." During this period, the contractual and legal base of bilateral relations was replenished with 65 agreements and protocols affecting various areas Russian-French cooperation. In October-November 2000, the official visit of the President Russian Federation V.V. Putin to France. The agreements reached during the Russian-French summit made it possible for our relations to return the role of an important factor in world politics and created the necessary prerequisites for intensifying bilateral cooperation in all major areas.

J. Chirac. During the conversations V.V. Putin and J. Chirac continued the constructive Russian-French dialogue on topical aspects of bilateral and international relations.

Regular meetings are held at the level of foreign ministers of the two countries. The last official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France to Russia took place in September 2000, in April 2001 I.S. Ivanov paid a visit to Paris.

In international affairs, there is a conceptual closeness or coincidence of the approaches of Russia and France to the key issues of our time. It is based on the commitment of the two countries to a multipolar structure of the world system, which excludes the undivided domination of one superpower, the desire to ensure strategic stability, and above all its main foundation - the ABM Treaty.

Russia and France stand for ensuring and maintaining peace on the basis of international law and the universal principles of the UN, the prerogatives of the Security Council, in which Russia and France play an important role as permanent members. They advocate giving the processes of globalization a manageable, regulated character in the interests of using the growing interdependence of countries for the benefit of all peoples. The two countries are engaged in an extensive dialogue on regional issues, on which their positions often coincide.

The French leadership supports the ongoing political and socio-economic reforms in Russia and provides our country with financial, economic and technical assistance.

France is one of the ten most important trading partners of Russia, although the potential of bilateral economic ties is not fully used. Trade turnover in 2000 increased by 26% and amounted to 3.1 billion dollars (export - 1.9 billion dollars, import - 1.2 billion dollars). Thus, the positive trade balance for Russia amounted to 700 million dollars. In terms of the volume of direct accumulated investments - 230 million dollars - France still occupies the eighth place among the investor countries operating in the Russian market, although in the first half of 2000 there was an upward trend in this indicator. The most promising areas of bilateral cooperation are space, aircraft construction, nuclear energy, communications, automotive and oil industries, agro-industrial complex, construction, etc.

Among the examples of the successful work of French companies in Russia are the commercial launches of satellites by the mixed Russian-French company Starsem using the Russian carrier Soyuz, the development of the Kharyaga oil field in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug by the TotalFinaElf company, the creation of dairy products factories by the Danone company , organization in Voronezh region agricultural production by the Dreyfus company, etc.

Scientific and technical cooperation covers a wide range of areas, covering almost all areas of science and technology. Relations are developing in the field of fundamental sciences, especially in physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, as well as in applied areas - aerospace, energy, new materials, oceanology, informatics and computer technology, scientific and technical information, etc.

Russian-French cooperation in space exploration is stable. On February 20, 1999, another joint launch to the Mir orbital station was carried out. French cosmonaut Jean-Pierre Haignere spent 189 days at the station. Preparations for the next joint flight began.

In recent years, there has been a trend towards expanding cooperation between law enforcement agencies. In October 1999, the Minister of the Interior of France visited Russia. At the same time, the Minister of Justice of France was in Moscow in connection with the G8 meeting on the problems of transnational organized crime. Contacts between the highest courts (the State Council of France, the Supreme Court of Arbitration, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court of Russia) are becoming more regular.

Inter-parliamentary exchanges are steadily developing. In May 1998, at the invitation of the French side, the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation E.S. Stroev, in March 2000 he again visited France to participate in the Forum of the Senates of the World. Cooperation is fruitful within the framework of the Grand Russian-French Inter-Parliamentary Commission, headed by the chairmen of the lower chambers of both parliaments. In connection with its sixth meeting in October 2000, President of the National Assembly of France R. Forny visited Russia. As planned, the next session of the Commission will be held on November 27-28 this year. in Paris.

The main governing body that determines the strategy and directions for the development of relations between the two countries in trade, economic, scientific, technical, social and other fields is the Russian-French commission on bilateral cooperation at the level of heads of government, established in February 1996. The last (sixth) meeting of the Commission was held on December 18, 2000 in Paris during the visit of the Chairman of the Russian Government M.M. Kasyanov with the participation of key ministers responsible for the entire range of economic, scientific and technical cooperation. This meeting of the Commission confirmed France's increased interest in developing all-round cooperation with Russia and made it possible to specify the agreements reached within the framework of the Russian-French summit in October 2000.

3. Economic ties between France and Russia

AT Russian export to France, the main positions are oil, oil products and natural gas. However, the decrease in oil production in Russia led to a sharp reduction in its supplies to France, and, accordingly, a reduction in total exports, since these supplies were not compensated by other products. As for the supply of cars, they account for less than 1% in the cost structure of Russian exports to France. Their insignificant volume is explained by the narrowness of the range, weak competitiveness and low quality of production.

At the same time, there has been some progress in Russian exports of tableware, cotton fabrics and yarn, fabrics made from artificial fibers. Import from Russia to France of bed linen and towels, linen fabrics and products from them is allowed.

Russia's imports from France are dominated by machinery and equipment (more than 4%), foodstuffs (67%), ferrous metallurgy products. France buys raw materials and semi-finished products for the production of consumer goods, as well as shoes, clothing, and perfumes. Despite the fact that French business circles have an interest in expanding industrial, economic and commercial relations with Russia, they, however, seem to be less interested in creating joint ventures or in developing exchanges than German, British or Italian partners. This trend continues despite the spectacularly sensational initiatives of Pierre Cardin to open dozens of factories and ateliers in Russia for tailoring ready-made dresses, the development of Russian oil fields by the French oil group Total, and the opening of representative offices of the largest French banks in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Another area of ​​bilateral cooperation is scientific and technical ties and contacts. The most active cooperation is carried out in such areas as nuclear energy, space exploration, telecommunications, medicine, a number of areas of applied and fundamental sciences, oil, gas, chemical industry, transport, and agro-industrial complex. Contacts are maintained at the level of RAS institutes and organizations of the National Center scientific research France.

The existing interest of a number of French firms and organizations in expanding foreign economic relations with Russia, as well as the favorable development of political relations, give grounds to consider France as a promising partner.

4. Political interactionRussia and France

Speaking about political cooperation between our countries on present stage, experts often characterize it as a "privileged partnership". There are many reasons for such an assessment.

Indeed, on most "hot" issues in world politics - be it the Iranian "nuclear dossier", the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the war in Iraq, the situation in Afghanistan or Chad - our positions are close or coincide. True, there are disagreements. For example, in Kosovo.

On the whole, Moscow shares the commitment of Paris to the idea of ​​a multipolar or, better, multilateral world, in which no country, no matter how powerful militarily and economically, is given the right to impose its own rules and principles on other states. This view has become even more justified in the context of the global financial crisis.

Cooperation between our states is developing productively and in international organizations, including such an important one as the UN. Both countries believe that the UN, as the most representative and non-alternative international organization, should continue to fulfill the mission of the main regulator of international relations, which does not exclude reforming this organization, the need for which is long overdue. In particular, France is promoting the idea of ​​expanding the number of permanent members of the UN Security Council, believing that the billionth population of Africa, as well as South America should have representatives there. At the traditional meeting of ambassadors held in Paris at the end of August 2009, the French leader, in particular, noted that the activities of the UN Security Council were built taking into account the balance of power in the world in 1945, and today the status of some countries does not correspond to their real weight in world politics. (In general, while welcoming the French idea of ​​expanding the permanent membership of the UN Security Council, one cannot help but wonder: how can one representative, for example, of the "black continent" express the sometimes completely opposite interests of African states?

In many ways, if not in all positions, the interests of Moscow and Paris coincide in matters of reforming the global financial architecture. Here it is appropriate to recall that it was N. Sarkozy who came up with the idea of ​​holding G20 summits, which unites the most economically strong states, which account for more than 85% of world GDP. Two meetings (in November 2008 in Washington and April 2009 in London) can be generally regarded as the transformation of the G8 into the G20 in practice. The proposals of the Russian delegation, prepared for the London summit, were in many respects similar to the positions outlined by President Sarkozy. The neo-Gaullist leader categorically insisted on the adoption of specific binding decisions, such as reforming the IMF and the World Bank, strengthening control over the activities of financial institutions and improving the work of rating agencies, eliminating "financial havens" and regulating the work of hedge funds.

A priority place in Russian-French relations is occupied by the topic of European and world security, including the problems of countering new threats and challenges - such as terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, and financial crimes. For more effective interaction in this key area, by decision of the two presidents in 2002, a special Russian-French Security Council was created with the participation of the ministers of foreign affairs and defense of both countries. It meets on a regular basis twice a year (the last meeting took place in Moscow in November 2009).

France's positions in matters of European security and relations with Russia were concretized in the hot pursuit of the South Caucasian crisis. They were expressed most concentratedly by President Sarkozy in his speeches at the conference on world politics in Evian (October 2008) and at the annual conference on security issues in Munich in February 2009. Thus, the French leader supported the initiative of President D.A. Medvedev about a "new security pact" and offered to hold relevant negotiations within the OSCE format, though stipulating a number of conditions. Among them: the inclusion in the agenda of issues of democracy and human rights (this, according to Sarkozy, is not a desire to "give lessons of democracy to Russia", but simply the principled position of Europe); participation in the dialogue between Russia and Europe "of our American friends and allies"; finally, the rejection of the policy of spheres of influence in the post-Soviet space (the near abroad, according to Sarkozy, should become a sphere of cooperation, not rivalry).

Today, France is forced to build political relations with Russia with an eye on its partners in the European Union. The rapid expansion of the EU and the unification of Germany have weakened the position of France in this regional organization. At heart, Paris was clearly not enthusiastic about the changes that had taken place, although they officially recognized them as a “major success”. The entire foreign policy line of Gaullism was built taking into account the bipolar world. Its collapse has set before the country the difficult task of adapting to new realities in Europe and the world as a whole, especially in the context of globalization processes. The priority foreign policy task of Paris is to maintain and restore its influence in the EU. Hence the inevitability of the search for new allies in addition to the "Franco-German locomotive" of European integration, the return to NATO. In a word, with all understanding of the importance of establishing good relations with Russia, France is largely "hobbled" in its policy.

As for France, the main thing is that it refused to accept the American geopolitical scenario, which provided for the prospective inclusion of Ukraine, Georgia, and eventually Belarus in the EU and NATO, which would finally oust Russia from the post-Soviet space. Of course, such a position is due not so much to friendly feelings towards Russia as to pragmatic considerations. The fact is that France does not think of its future outside the European project. But successful development Europe-27 can hardly be imagined under the conditions of a new split in the continent, with Russia isolated and squeezed into a corner. This is well understood by the French leadership, despite the obvious Atlantic tilt that emerged after the sixth president of the Fifth Republic came to power. It is no coincidence that President Sarkozy has repeatedly stressed that a confrontation with Russia would be madness. Moreover, in his opinion, there is simply no threat from today's Russia, overloaded with its internal problems. Only some of our former colleagues in the “socialist camp”, who suffer from a complex of political inferiority and historical insults, believe in such a threat. Not for nothing in the EU itself they were nicknamed "the new knights of the cold war." Besides, N. Sarkozy reasonably asks, what is the point of Russia to conflict with its main buyers of hydrocarbons?

Europe simply has no other way but to develop the widest possible cooperation with Russia. For its part, Russia also has no historical prospects outside of Europe. Mentally and civilizationally, we identify ourselves with Europe, although we consider ourselves a special part of it. Moreover, Russia can be seen as a natural addition to Western Europe. It would be simply foolish not to share our potentials. Europe's chances of becoming the world's pole of power without cooperation with us are significantly reduced. It seems that the French leadership, despite the critical (if not anti-Russian) sentiments among the representatives of the French elites, is fully aware of this conclusion. And therefore, it unambiguously chooses a course for strategic partnership with Russia. This is how the words of French Prime Minister Fr. Fillon, as he said at the opening of the 14th session of the intergovernmental Franco-Russian seminar at the end of November 2009: "Our goal is to build, over time, together with Russia, a single space based on complete freedom of movement of people, goods, capital and services." This goal is 100% consistent with Russian expectations.

5. Tourism

An important source of income for the countries of Russia and France is foreign tourism. Russian tourists are attracted to France by historical and natural sights - ancient castles and churches, resorts of the Cote d'Azur, the Bay of Biscay, the healing waters of the Massif Central, winter sports bases in the Alps, museums in Paris. The country has more than 15 thousand hotels for tourists, many tourist centers and campsites. High level of service. 0.5 million people are employed in serving tourists. Mostly tourists come from Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, USA.

Many overseas departments and territories are tourist centers, but there are many places worth visiting in France: Paris, Ile-de-France and Côte d'Azur remain in the first place among the favorite tourist routes. More and more people are discovering regions such as Rhone-Alpes, Languedoc-Roussillon, Brittany, Auvergne, Loire Pays, Basque Land.

For visitors, France is no longer just a country of bistros, petanque (ball game) and berets. It attracts by combining the traditional (famous monuments, cuisine and vineyards) with modernity (TGV - high-speed train, Futuroscope - park-museum in Poitiers, Disneyland in Paris, Channel Tunnel).

Tourism in France is developing and will continue to develop in the future. Many Russians annually visit this amazing country and its capital. The trip to France is the most The best way see if she really is that beautiful.

Conclusion

France has traditionally been one of Russia's most important business partners. Today, when the Russian economy is on the rise, it is more beneficial for us than ever to expand closer cooperation. French investments, technologies, the ability to work in a competitive economy, coupled with Russian labor and natural resources, scientific and industrial potential, can serve as an impetus for more intensive development of the economies of both countries. Among the countries of Europe - the main trading partners of the Russian Federation - France occupies the 7th place in terms of trade, yielding to Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland and Finland (data from Russian statistics). Russia, along with a number of Latin American and South Asian countries, is included in the list of states that are priorities for French trade and economic relations

The main task of the Russian and French authorities is to ensure a favorable legislative and administrative climate for the development business activity. Many important steps have been taken in this direction in recent years. Representatives of French business circles, for example, could appreciate the simplification of taxation in our country. French entrepreneurs are interested in all the initiatives of the Russian government aimed at stimulating foreign investment.

List of sources used

1. Foreign economic activity: Textbook / Yu.M. Rostovsky, V.Yu. Grechkov. - M.: Economist, 2004. - 574 p.

2. Foreign economic activity: Textbook for students. Institutions Prof. education / B.M. Smitienko, V.K. Pospelov, S.V. Karpova and others; Ed. B.M. Smitienko, V.K. Pospelov. - 3rd ed., erased. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 2006. - 304 p.

3. Competitiveness: Russia and the world. 1992-2015/R.A. Fatkhutdinov _ M .: CJSC Publishing House Economics, 2005-606 p.

4. Lenon. JD, Smith H., Cockerell N., Trew D Tourism management. The best experience of the activities of national organizations and tourism agencies., M: LLC "IDT Group", 2008. - 272 p.

5. Russian-French trade and economic relations // Money. - 2006. - 2.

6. Russia - France. // Access mode: http://www.mid.ru

7. Trade and economic relations between Russia and France. // Access mode: http://www.mid.ru

8. Trade mission of the Russian Federation in France. // Access mode: http://www.torgpredstvo.ru

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