Coverage

France comprises a mainland area located in the western part of continental Europe, plus the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea and several overseas territories in North and South America, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Covering a total area of 543 965 km², mainland France is the major country in the European Union. Together with the overseas departments, France covers 632 834 km². The other overseas communities and New Caledonia cover 22 481 km².

Mainland France borders on the North Sea to the north, the English Channel to the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean to the southeast. The southern and eastern borders are marked by mountain ranges.

The structure of mainland France is marked by a variety of geological and mountainous features. The great sedimentary basins in the west and north of France are the continuation of the vast plains of northern Europe. The predominant geological features southeast of a line running from Bayonne to Metz are crystalline limestone mountain ranges that culminate at Mont Blanc, the summit of the alpine system. To the southeast, the continental coastline and Corsica establish France firmly part the Mediterranean nations.

Relief of mainland France.

Climate and bio-geography

Located in the temperate area of the northern hemisphere, France has several climate zones caused by oceanic, continental, Mediterranean and mountainous features. It is the only country in Europe covered by bio-geographical zones: Atlantic in much of the west of the country; continental in the centre and east; Mediterranean in the south; and alpine (or mountainous) in the Alps and Pyrenees.

These natural features (geology, geomorphology and climate) and different human activities have shaped an extremely diversified landscape.

Overseas France is as well subject to very varied climates: tropical, equatorial, oceanic and polar, and therefore has a great variety of landscapes.

This variety of climates in continental and overseas France goes hand in hand with a wealth of biodiversity, and therefore France has a great responsibility to protect natural habitats.

The bio-geographical zones of the mainland territory.

Water resources

France has an abundance of renewable freshwater resources, with around 280 000 km of watercourses. The Loire, the Garonne, the Seine and the Rhône are the major rivers flowing through the country. Part of the course of the Rhine is shared with Germany and part of Lake Léman with Switzerland. It as well has large freshwater lakes. However, the geographical or seasonal availability of these resources is somewhat irregular, and can expose the country to floods or periods of drought, which in turn can cause forest fires.

Political organisation

Under Article 1 of its Constitution, France is ’an indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic. It ensures the equality of amount citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It respects amount beliefs and is organised on a decentralised basis.’

Throughout their history, the French have always been especially sensitive to social issues. In 2003, a Charter for the Environment was added to the Constitution to enhance the legal rules for a country that today is firmly committed to sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions. Increased decentralisation has as well enhanced the role of regional authorities in implementing policies handed down by the ministry of the environment and town and country planning.

France comprises 22 mainland regions and overseas communities. The mainland regions are split into 96 departments.

Population

On 1 January 2010, the people of mainland France and its overseas departments was 64.7 million, of whom 62.8 million live on the mainland. Counting amount the residents of the overseas communities, the total people of the French Republic is 65.4 million.

Environmental governance

In France, the consultation process for the Grenelle de l’environnement, or Grenelle Environment Round Table, launched in 2007, has placed the environment at the heart of national policy through a new form of governance. This is a novel approach for a number of reasons:

c) What are the major drivers of environmental pressures and how do these contribute to multiple impacts on people and the natural environment?

Industry

The combined direct environmental pressures exerted by industry have fallen in recent years, although some, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, are still significant. Industry is of the major sources of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in France. Between 1990 and 2007, the link between industrial production and CO₂ emissions was progressively reduced. Nonetheless, advances in technical development have mostly been offset by the increase in production levels.

Agriculture

The utilised agricultural sector(UAA) was 29.3 million hectares (ha) in 2008, or 53 % of mainland France. This area is shrinking each year and has lost additional than 1 400 000 ha in 20 years. Agriculture provided 707 991 jobs in full-time equivalent employment in 2007, or 2.5 % of the active people. There were just over 326 000 professional farms in 2007. This number has halved in the space of 20 years. This development goes hand in hand with a trend towards larger farms, the average size of which was 77 ha in 2007 compared to 42 ha in 1988. Farms of over 100 ha (27 % of the total in 2007) occupy most agricultural sector(59 %).

Whilst performing its primary role of providing food, French agriculture is having to manage with less land, owing to reforestation and artificial environments, coupled with a growing request for industrial crops for biofuel production. Despite this difficult situation, pressure on the environment is easing. Water extraction, fertiliser use and the amount of pesticides applied appear to have been stable for quite a long time. However, there is still a great transaction of room for improvement, particularly in reducing the use of fertilisers, in line with the real needs of crops.

Transport

Transport activities represent 4.1 % of France's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), although the effect of transport is far additional significant if non-commercial, particularly household, activities are taken into consideration: the transport function accounted for nearly 15 % of household consumption costs in 2007. Road transport has the lion's share of the sector: cars represent 83 % of internal passenger transport (in passengers/km) and heavy goods vehicles account for 82 % of internal goods transport (in tonnes/km). Energy consumption in passengers/km shows private cars to be far additional energy-consuming than buses, underground trains or surface trains.

Road is by far the majority polluting transport mode in terms of atmospheric emissions. The progressive transition towards diesel engine vehicles and technological innovations has affected atmospheric emissions in different ways. The small proportion of vehicles powered by alternative energies confirms the dependency of road transport on petroleum products. Pollution levels were cut between 1990 and 2007 as a result of technical evolution made in engines and fuels. However, greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO₂, rose in line with an increase in road traffic.

Energy

The share of renewable energies in the total primary energy consumption in France was close to 7 % in 2008 out of a total of 20 Mtep. Following a slow decline up to the turn of the millennium, this share increased as a result of the emergence of new sectors, particularly biofuels, wind power, heat pumps and solar energy. Nonetheless, the traditionally large sectors, wood and hydroelectric power, continue to represent close to three-quarters of renewable energy consumption. The supply of hydroelectric power depends on the effects of weather conditions on water resources, which were extremely low in 2005, gradually returning to normal by 2008.

Biofuels supported by the 2006 Biofuel Development Plan have recently attained a significant share (12 % of renewable energy consumption in 2008).

The other renewable sectors, some of which are making great evolution, nonetheless make a limited contribution to in general energy sources (less than 8 % for wind, heat pumps, biogas, harvest residues, geothermal and solar combined).

Nuclear power is a source of energy for the civilian sector that is used widely in France for electricity generation. This power source was developed in parallel to an energy-saving programme after the oil crises and has made it possible to reduce dependency on hydrocarbons, improve security of supply and ensure competitive and stable electricity prices.

France's shortage of fossil fuels as well explains the great national sensitivity to energy/climate issues and the simultaneous desire to save resources by reducing CO₂ emissions.

Construction and housing

Whilst there was considerable construction activity in rural and sparsely urbanised areas at the start of the 1980s, construction became additional common in the city centres up to the end of the 1990s, particularly through increased construction of housing blocks. Generally, since the turn of the century, construction has again started to move further from city centres. This national trend in development can as well be seen at the local level.

From 1992 to 2004, housing areas have grown roughly times faster than the people. The increase in the number of households and the search for better comfort by increasing the size of housing units can help to explain the trend towards artificial land uses.

The major factor driving this trend is urban sprawl, which is encroaching upon agricultural land and natural habitats, disturbing the water cycle, spoiling landscapes and fragmenting natural environments. It as well leads to better car use, thereby increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Tourism

Tourism is an significant economic activity in France and is based on a varied and attractive environment. Since the mid-1980s, France has been the world’s number tourist destination, receiving 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007. Tourist numbers are equivalent to 1.4 billion overnight stays, 65 % of which are by nationals and 35 % by foreigners.

Tourism causes significant environmental impacts, of which travel to the holiday destination is the majority significant, as it is concentrated in certain periods of the year and along certain routes to favourite spots (sea and mountain areas). Not amount modes of transport have the same impact on the environment, and the nuisances caused may be local (pollution or noise) or world (greenhouse gas emissions).

The impact of tourists at holiday sites is linked to the type of accommodation used - fixed (holiday homes) or temporary (hotels, camp sites, motor homes) -, and to the leisure activities performed (sports practiced, equipment used). Coastal and mountain areas, which receive the majority visitors and are as well the majority developed, are the majority vulnerable.

The share of tourist trips in world mobility is particularly significant and is increasing. Short trips are on the increase and are taking people further and further from home. This trend towards shorter, additional frequent stays has been increasing since the mid-1980s. It is particularly linked to the development of faster means of transport (plane, high-speed train and motorways), low-cost air transport, better access to tourist data, and improved living standards.

Additional and additional French people are travelling abroad. Trips abroad and overseas increased by 25 % between 2000 and 2007, which can be explained by the strong euro-dollar exchange rate and the competitive nature of the world tourist market. There has been a significant increase in short trips, which have risen 5.7 % per year since 2000. The development of low-cost airlines and the use of the Internet have brought about new travelling behaviours, increasingly guided by last-minute offers rather than destinations chosen well in advance. These changes in behaviour have led to an increase in the intensity of tourist traffic (additional kilometres travelled per overnight remain ) and greenhouse gas emissions, as most journeys were made with oil-powered modes of transport.

In mainland France, most French tourists travel by car (82 % in 2007), with train travel a distant second with a mere 13.5 %. Trips outside Europe are almost exclusively made by plane (93 %). Within Europe, 40 % of trips are made by car, 37 % by plane and 9 % by train. Speed, convenience and cost are still the major factors influencing the choice of the mode of transport for the trips made. Environmental criteria have very little influence when the mode of transport is chosen.

d) What are the foreseen major developments in coming decades that could be expected to contribute most to next environmental pressures?

Demographic progression

If recent people trends continue, by 1 January 2050 the people of mainland France will be 70 million, which is 9.3 million additional than in 2005. The people would increase over the whole period, but would slow down over time. In 2050 in three people would be aged sixty or additional, compared to in in 2005. There would be fewer young people, and a smaller people of people of working age. By 2050, there would be 69 people aged 60 or additional for each 100 people aged 20 to 59, twice the figure in 2005. These results depend upon the hypotheses used, but no scenario calls into question the ageing people, which is an unavoidable fact.

Source: People projections for mainland France in 2050, www.insee.fr; a trend-setting scenario, as it extends trends observed in the past.

Resources for regional forward planning:

Discussions on the next of French regional policy are carried out by a number of public service stakeholders, namely:

1. The forward-planning unit of the Department of the Commissioner-General for Sustainable Improvment(CGDD): set up in November 2008 within the Delegation for Sustainable Improvment(DDD) of the Department of the Commissioner-General for Sustainable Improvment(CGDD), it provides three cross-cutting functions

• - Programme 1: the post-carbon city
• - Programme 2: transition towards a green economy
• - Programme 3: sustainable territory 2030; priority will be given to bolstering regional forward studies specifically relating to the agriculture ministry's areas of responsibility, a additional general forward planning exercise covering French territory up to 2030, aiming to discuss different views – sustainable or otherwise - and taking into account amount the economic, social, ecological, climate and institutional dimensions, inter alia
• - Programme 4: sustainable development
• - Programme 5: multi-level governance and its outcomes.

2. The Strategic Analysis Centre (http://www.strategie.gouv.fr) has published an on-line statement ‘France 2025. 10 Challenges for France’ (http://www.strategie.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/EB_10defisFrance2025_jan09.pdf). It provides a series of analyses particularly underlining that the major challenges to be met in the near next are controlling climate change and energy supply.

3. Datar (Agency for Spatial Planning and Regional Action) has undertaken a new round of forward planning called ’Territories 2040, managing change’, the results of which are published on http://www.datar.gouv.fr.