ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the extent and rapid diffusion of Geographic information systems (GIS) in local government in France. In order to understand the current situation of the state of GIS diffusion in French local government it is necessary to briefly go over the major stages of digital geographic information diffusion and to run through their implications in today's market. The results of this survey showed that it was necessary to redefine the data products because most respondents, including many local government users, considered the specifications for the 1:2000 scale plan too restrictive. However, there are still many obstacles to the effective diffusion of geographic information processing in France and one of these obstacles is the notably slow development of standardized, digital data bases. The major reference data base projects were started in the early 1980s but only recently the progress made in their implementation has allowed wider GIS diffusion.
