ABSTRACT
France has coastlines on the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel (La Manche) and the Mediterranean Sea; its land area is 550,000 square kilometres (212,200 square miles). There were 40 million inhabitants in France in 1945 and 56 million in 1990 (including 25 million in the workforce). In 1945, 30 per cent of the popula tion was under the age of 19. In 1990, more than 12 per cent of the population was over 65 and 10 per cent were living alone. Between 1950 and 1970, the purchasing power of the average French salary doubled; between 1970 and 1980, workers’ salaries increased by 50 per cent. In 1959, the cultural consumption of a household was 5 per cent of the average budget. In 1990, it was 8 per cent.
