Children in France

frane flag



France is a country that prides itself on its culture. It is known worldwide for its gourmet cooking, famous museums, and historical landmarks. But what France takes the most pride in is its children. This site aims to show how important children are to the people of France by providing information on childcare programs, education, and family life.  By investing so much in their children, France ensures a future generation of well educated, "cultured" citizens.
Overview of France

France is slightly larger in size than California, making it one of the largest countries in Europe.  The number of ethnic minorities has been increasing over the years.  Now 92% of the people are French, 3% North African, 2% German, 1% Breton, and 2% other.  World Wars I and II cost France much of its empire, wealth, and manpower.  However it was able to pull through and has now became one of the leading counties in Europe and one of the most modern countries in the world.  

Children in France are well taken care of by the government.  All children are offered excellent childcare in a safe envrionment.  Not only does the government offer public childcare, it also makes sure that families receive enough money to raise their children.  The majority of children are in good health, thanks to the high immunization records, and do not suffer from poverty.  The infant mortality rate is also very low.  The French consider the family, culture, and arts to be very important.  France even enacted laws to restrict the broadcast of English speaking movies and songs and the use of English vocabulary in general to protect their cultural identity.

France, when compared with other countries in education spending, ranks in the middle, behind countries such as Sweden and Denmark, but ahead of Italy and Japan. The State funds about two-thirds of the education system by paying teachers and giving various forms of financial assistance. The central government has power when it comes to describing and applying education policy and national education programs. It also controls what teachers are hired and their training and salaries. Because the education system was too uniform, France has been in a process of decentralization for the last 10 years in order to bring greater diversity and more flexible organization.

map of france

population
 59,765,983
population under 14
 18.5%
infant mortality rate
 4.41/ 1000
fertility rate
 1.74 children born/woman
literacy rate
 99% age 15+
    The above statistics and map were obtained from CIA World Fact Book website.

References:
Central Intelligence Agency. 2002. "The CIA World Factbook 2002. "France." Retrieved November 12, 2002.
(http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/fr.html )

Discover France! "Education in France" Retrieved December 6, 2002.
(http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Education/DF_education.shtml)

France.com. "A Profile of France Modern Life." Retrieved November 12, 2002.
(http://www.france.com/culture/today4.html)
    The purpose of this web site is to provide web users with information on the social status of children in France. This site was designed by Jill Ulicny, Kacie Hovell,and Clare Harpham as part of a collaborative web project for the first year writing seminar Children and Society, at Tulane University taught by Professor April Brayfield.
We want to emphasize our limitations in research. This site was created as a collabrative web project in a college freshman writing course. Therefore the information we provide is not necessary professional, because we are not professional researchers. Also our research time was limited to two months. We used the research and opinions of others combined with our own in order to best describe the lives of children in France. We hope, nevertheless, that you find our site enjoyable and informative.
We would like to send a special thanks to our consultant, Professor Anne McCall, for her helpful suggestions and to Professor April Brayfield for her continued patience and assistance with our project.
Updated December 13, 2002