| Departments. | Capital Towns. | Ancient Provinces.[18] |
+------------------------+-------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| AIN | Bourg | Bourgogne (Bresse, Bugey, Valromey, Dombes). |
| AISNE | Laon | Île-de-France; Picardie. |
| ALLIER | Moulins | Bourbonnais. |
| ALPES-MARITIMES | Nice | |
| ARDÈCHE | Privas | Languedoc (Vivarais). |
| ARDENNES | Mézières | Champagne. |
| ARIÈGE | Foix | Foix; Gascogne (Cousérans). |
| AUBE | Troyes | Champagne; Bourgogne. |
| AUDE | Carcassonne | Languedoc. |
| AVEYRON | Rodez | Guienne (Rouergue). |
| BASSES-ALPES | Digne | Provence. |
| BASSES-PYRÉNÉES | Pau | Béarn; Gascogne (Basse-Navarre, Soule, Labourd). |
| BELFORT, TERRITOIRE DE | Belfort | Alsace. |
| BOUCHES-DU-RHÔNE | Marseilles | Provence. |
| CALVADOS | Caen | Normandie (Bessin, Bocage). |
| CANTAL | Aurillac | Auvergne. |
| CHARENTE | Angoulême | Angoumois; Saintonge. |
| CHARENTE-INFÉRIEURE | La Rochelle | Aunis; Saintonge. |
| CHER | Bourges | Berry; Bourbonnais. |
| CORRÈZE | Tulle | Limousin. |
| CÔTE-D'OR | Dijon | Bourgogne (Dijonnais, Auxois). |
| CÔTES-DU-NORD | St Brieuc | Bretagne. |
| CREUSE | Guéret | Marche. |
| DEUX-SÈVRES | Niort | Poitou. |
| DORDOGNE | Périgueux | Guienne (Périgord). |
| DOUBS | Besançon | Franche-Comté; Montbéliard. |
| DRÔME | Valence | Dauphiné. |
| EURE | Évreux | Normandie; Perche. |
| EURE-ET-LOIR | Chartres | Orléanais; Normandie. |
| FINISTÈRE | Quimper | Bretagne. |
| GARD | Nîmes | Languedoc. |
| GERS | Auch | Gascogne (Astarac, Armagnac). |
| GIRONDE | Bordeaux | Guienne (Bordelais, Bazadais). |
| HAUTE-GARONNE | Toulouse | Languedoc; Gascogne (Comminges). |
| HAUTE-LOIRE | Le Puy | Languedoc (Velay); Auvergne; Lyonnais. |
| HAUTE-MARNE | Chaumont | Champagne (Bassigny, Vallage). |
| HAUTES-ALPES | Gap | Dauphiné. |
| HAUTE-SAÔNE | Vesoul | Franche-Comté. |
| HAUTE-SAVOIE | Annecy | |
| HAUTES-PYRÉNÉES | Tarbes | Gascogne. |
| HAUTE-VIENNE | Limoges | Limousin; Marche. |
| HÉRAULT | Montpellier | Languedoc. |
| ILLE-ET-VILAINE | Rennes | Bretagne. |
| INDRE | Châteauroux | Berry. |
| INDRE-ET-LOIRE | Tours | Touraine. |
| ISÈRE | Grenoble | Dauphiné. |
| JURA | Lons-le-Saunier | Franche-Comté. |
| LANDES | Mont-de-Marsan | Gascogne (Landes, Chalosse). |
| LOIRE | St-Étienne | Lyonnais. |
| LOIRE-INFÉRIEURE | Nantes | Bretagne. |
| LOIRET | Orléans | Orléanais (Orléanais proper, Gâtinais, Dunois). |
| LOIR-ET-CHER | Blois | Orléanais. |
| LOT | Cahors | Guienne (Quercy). |
| LOT-ET-GARONNE | Agen | Guienne; Gascogne. |
| LOZÈRE | Mende | Languedoc (Gévaudan). |
| MAINE-ET-LOIRE | Angers | Anjou. |
| MANCHE | St-Lô | Normandie (Cotentin). |
| MARNE | Châlons-sur-Marne | Champagne. |
| MAYENNE | Laval | Maine; Anjou. |
| MEURTHE-ET-MOSELLE | Nancy | Lorraine; Trois-Évêchés. |
| MEUSE | Bar-le-Duc | Lorraine (Barrois, Verdunois). |
| MORBIHAN | Vannes | Bretagne. |
| NIÈVRE | Nevers | Nivernais; Orléanais. |
| NORD | Lille | Flandre; Hainaut. |
| OISE | Beauvais | Île-de-France. |
| ORNE | Alençon | Normandie; Perche. |
| PAS-DE-CALAIS | Arras | Artois; Picardie. |
| PUY-DE-DÔME | Clermont-Ferrand | Auvergne. |
| PYRÉNÉES-ORIENTALES | Perpignan | Roussillon; Languedoc. |
| RHÔNE | Lyon | Lyonnais; Beaujolais. |
| SAÔNE-ET-LOIRE | Mâcon | Bourgogne. |
| SARTHE | Le Mans | Maine; Anjou. |
| SAVOIE | Chambéry | |
| SEINE | Paris | Île-de-France. |
| SEINE-ET-MARNE | Melun | Île-de-France; Champagne. |
| SEINE-ET-OISE | Versailles | Île-de-France. |
| SEINE-INFÉRIEURE | Rouen | Normandie. |
| SOMME | Amiens | Picardie. |
| TARN | Albi | Languedoc (Albigeois). |
| TARN-ET-GARONNE | Montauban | Guienne; Gascogne; Languedoc. | |
| VAR | Draguignan | Provence. |
| VAUCLUSE | Avignon | Comtat; Venaissin; Provence; Principauté d'Orange.|
| VENDÉE | La Roche-sur-Yon | Poitou. |
| VIENNE | Poitiers | Poitou; Touraine. |
| VOSGES | Épinal | Lorraine. |
| YONNE | Auxerre | Bourgogne; Champagne. |
| CORSE (CORSICA) | Ajaccio | Corse. |
+------------------------+-------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
Before 1790 France was divided into thirty-three great and seven small
military governments, often called provinces, which are, however, to
be distinguished from the provinces formed under the feudal system.
The great governments were: Alsace, Saintonge and Angournois, Anjou,
Artois, Aunis, Auvergne, Béarn and Navarre, Berry, Bourbonnais;
Bourgogne (Burgundy), Bretagne (Brittany), Champagne, Dauphiné,
Flandre, Foix, Franche-Comté, Guienne and Gascogne (Gascony),
Île-de-France, Languedoc, Limousin, Lorraine, Lyonnais, Maine, Marche,
Nivernais, Normandie, Orléanais, Picardie, Poitou, Provence,
Roussillon, Touraine and Corse. The eight small governments were:
Paris, Boulogne and Boulonnais, Le Havre, Sedan, Toulois, Pays Messin
and Verdunois and Saumurois.
At the head of each department is a prefect, a political official
nominated by the minister of the interior and appointed by the
president, who acts as general agent of the government and
representative of the central authority. To aid him the prefect has a
general secretary and an advisory body (_conseil de préfecture_), the
members of which are appointed by the president, which has jurisdiction
in certain classes of disputes arising out of administration and must,
in certain cases, be consulted, though the prefect is not compelled to
follow its advice. The prefect supervises the execution of the laws; has
wide authority in regard to policing, public hygiene and relief of
pauper children; has the nomination of various subordinate officials;
and is in correspondence with the subordinate functionaries in his
department, to whom he transmits the orders and instructions of the
government. Although the management of local affairs is in the hands of
the prefect his power with regard to these is checked by a deliberative
body known as the general council (_conseil général_). This council,
which consists for the most part of business and professional men, is
elected by universal suffrage, each canton in the department
contributing one member. The general council controls the departmental
administration of the prefect, and its decisions on points of local
government are usually final. It assigns its quota of taxes
(_contingent_) to each arrondissement, authorizes the sale, purchase or
exchange of departmental property, superintends the management thereof,
authorizes the construction of new roads, railways or canals, and
advises on matters of local interest. Political questions are rigorously
excluded from its deliberations. The general council, when not sitting,
is represented by a permanent delegation (_commission départementale_).
As the prefect in the department, so the sub-prefect in the
arrondissement, though with a more limited power, is the representative
of the central authority. He is assisted, and in some degree controlled,
in his work by the district council (_conseil d'arrondissement_), to
which each canton sends a member, chosen by universal suffrage. As the
arrondissement has neither property nor budget, the principal business
of the council is to allot to each commune its share of the direct taxes
imposed on the arrondissement by the general council.
The canton is purely an administrative division, containing, on an
average, about twelve communes, though some exceptional communes are big
enough to contain more than one canton. It is the seat of a justice of
the peace, and is the electoral unit for the general council and the
district council.
The communes, varying greatly in area and population, are the
administrative units in France. The chief magistrate of the commune is
the mayor (_maire_), who is (1) the agent of the central government and
charged as such with the local promulgation and execution of the general
laws and decrees of the country; (2) the executive head of the
municipality, in which capacity he supervises the police, the revenue
and public works of the commune, and acts as the representative of the
corporation in general. He also acts as registrar of births, deaths and
marriages, and officiates at civil marriages. Mayors are usually
assisted by deputies (_adjoints_). In a commune of 2500 inhabitants or
less there is one deputy; in more populous communes there may be more,
but in no case must the number exceed twelve, except at Lyons, where as
many as seventeen are allowed. Both mayors and deputy mayors are elected
by and from among members of the municipal council for four years. This
body consists, according to the population of the commune, of from 10 to
36 members, elected for four years on the principle of the _scrutin de
liste_ by Frenchmen who have reached the age of twenty-one years and
have a six months' residence qualification.
The local affairs of the commune are decided by the municipal council,
and its decisions become operative after the expiration of a month, save
in matters which involve interests transcending those of the commune. In
such cases the prefect must approve them, and in some cases the sanction
of the general council or even ratification by the president is
necessary. The council also chooses communal delegates to elect
senators; and draws up the list of _répartiteurs_, whose function is to
settle how the commune's share of direct taxes shall be allotted among
the taxpayers. The sub-prefect then selects from this list ten of whom
he approves for the post. The meetings of the council are open to the
public.
_Justice._
The ordinary judicial system of France comprises two classes of courts:
(1) civil and criminal, (2) special, including courts dealing only with
purely commercial cases; in addition there are the administrative
courts, including bodies, the Conseil d'État and the Conseils de
Préfecture, which deal, in their judicial capacity, with cases coming
under the _droit administratif_. Mention may also be made of the
Tribunal des Conflits, a special court whose function it is to decide
which is the competent tribunal when an administration and a judicial
court both claim or refuse to deal with a given case.
Taking the first class of courts, which have both civil and criminal
jurisdiction, the lowest tribunal in the system is that of the _juge de
paix_.
In each canton is a _juge de paix_, who in his capacity as a civil judge
takes cognizance, without appeal, of disputes where the amount sought to
be recovered does not exceed £12 in value. Where the amount exceeds £12
but not £24 an appeal lies from his decision to the court of first
instance. In some particular cases where special promptitude or local
knowledge is necessary, as disputes between hotelkeepers and travellers,
and the like, he has jurisdiction (subject to appeal to the court of
first instance) up to £60. He has also a criminal jurisdiction in
_contraventions_, i.e. breaches of law punishable by a fine not
exceeding 12s. or by imprisonment not exceeding five days. If the
sentence be one of imprisonment or the fine exceeds 4s., appeal lies to
the court of first instance. It is an important function of the _juge de
paix_ to endeavour to reconcile disputants who come before him, and no
suit can be brought before the court of first instance until he has
endeavoured without success to bring the parties to an agreement.
_Tribunaux de première instance_, also called _tribunaux
d'arrondissement_, of which there is one in every arrondissement (with
few exceptions), besides serving as courts of appeal from the _juges de
paix_ have an original jurisdiction in matters civil and criminal. The
court consists of a president, one or more vice-presidents and a
variable number of judges. A _procureur_, or public prosecutor, is also
attached to each court. In civil matters the tribunal takes cognizance
of actions relating to personal property to the value of £60, and
actions relating to land to the value of 60 fr. (£2: 8s.) per annum.
When it deals with matters involving larger sums an appeal lies to the
courts of appeal. In penal cases its jurisdiction extends to all
offences of the class known as _délits_--offences punishable by a more
serious penalty than the "contraventions" dealt with by the _juge de
paix_, but not entailing such heavy penalties as the code applies to
_crimes_, with which the assize courts (see below) deal. When sitting in
its capacity as a criminal court it is known as the _tribunal
correctionnel_. Its judgments are invariably subject in these matters to
appeal before the court of appeal.
There are twenty-six courts of appeal (_cours d'appel_), to each of
which are attached from one to five departments.
Cours d'Appel. Departments depending on them.
PARIS Seine, Aube, Eure-et-Loir, Marne, Seine-et-Marne,
Seine-et-Oise, Yonne.
AGEN . . . . Gers, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne.
AIX . . . . Basses-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var.
AMIENS . . . Aisne, Oise, Somme.
ANGERS . . . Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe.
BASTIA . . . Corse.
BESANÇON . . Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône, Territoire de Belfort.
BORDEAUX . . Charente, Dordogne, Gironde.
BOURGES . . Cher, Indre, Nièvre.
CAEN . . . Calvados, Manche, Orne.
CHAMBÉRY . . Savoie, Haute-Savoie.
DIJON . . . Côte-d'Or, Haute-Marne, Saône-et-Loire.
DOUAI . . . Nord, Pas-de-Calais.
GRENOBLE . . Hautes-Alpes, Drôme, Isère.
LIMOGES . . Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne.
LYONS . . . Ain, Loire, Rhône.
MONTPELLIER Aude, Aveyron, Hérault, Pyrénées-Orientales.
NANCY . . . Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Vosges, Ardennes.
NÎMES . . . Ardèche, Gard, Lozère, Vaucluse.
ORLÉANS . . Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret.
PAU . . . . Landes, Basses-Pyrénées, Hautes-Pyrénées.
POITIERS . . Charente-Inférieure, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne.
RENNES . . . Côtes-du-Nord, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine,
Loire-Inférieure, Morbihan.
RIOM . . . . Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme.
ROUEN . . . Eure, Seine-Inférieure.
TOULOUSE . . Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne.
At the head of each court, which is divided into sections (_chambres_),
is a _premier président_. Each section (_chambre_) consists of a
_président de chambre_ and four judges (_conseillers_).
_Procureurs-généraux_ and _avocats-généraux_ are also attached to the
_parquet_, or permanent official staff, of the courts of appeal. The
principal function of these courts is the hearing of appeals both civil
and criminal from the courts of first instance; only in some few cases
(e.g. discharge of bankrupts) do they exercise an original jurisdiction.
One of the sections is termed the _chambre des mises en accusation_. Its
function is to examine criminal cases and to decide whether they shall
be referred for trial to the lower courts or the _cours d'assises_. It
may also dismiss a case on grounds of insufficient evidence.
The _cours d'assises_ are not separate and permanent tribunals. Every
three months an assize is held in each department, usually at the chief
town, by a _conseiller_, appointed _ad hoc_, of the court of appeal upon
which the department depends. The _cour d'assises_ occupies itself
entirely with offences of the most serious type, classified under the
penal code as _crimes_, in accordance with the severity of the penalties
attached. The president is assisted in his duties by two other
magistrates, who may be chosen either from among the _conseillers_ of
the court of appeal or the presidents or judges of the local court of
first instance. In this court and in this court alone there is always a
jury of twelve. They decide, as in England, on facts only, leaving the
application of the law to the judges. The verdict is given by a simple
majority.
In all criminal prosecutions, other than those coming before the _juge
de paix_, a secret preliminary investigation is made by an official
called a _juge d'instruction_. He may either dismiss the case at once by
an order of "non-lieu," or order it to be tried, when the prosecution is
undertaken by the _procureur_ or _procureur-général_. This process in
some degree corresponds to the manner in which English magistrates
dismiss a case or commit the prisoner to quarter sessions or assizes,
but the powers of the _juge d'instruction_ are more arbitrary and
absolute.
The highest tribunal in France is the _cour de cassation_, sitting at
Paris, and consisting of a first president, three sectional presidents
and forty-five _conseillers_, with a ministerial staff (_parquet_)
consisting of a _procureur-général_ and six advocates-general. It is
divided into three sections: the Chambre des Requêtes, or court of
petitions, the civil court and the criminal court. The _cour de
cassation_ can review the decision of any other tribunal, except
administrative courts. Criminal appeals usually go straight to the
criminal section, while civil appeals are generally taken before the
Chambre des Requêtes, where they undergo a preliminary examination. If
the demand for rehearing is refused such refusal is final; but if it is
granted the case is then heard by the civil chamber, and after argument
_cassation_ (annulment) is granted or refused. The Court of Cassation
does not give the ultimate decision on a case; it pronounces, not on the
question of fact, but on the legal principle at issue, or the competence
of the court giving the original decision. Any decision, even one of a
_cour d'assises_, may be brought before it in the last resort, and may
be _cassé_--annulled. If it pronounces _cassation_ it remits the case to
the hearing of a court of the same order.
Commercial courts (_tribunaux de commerce_) are established in all the
more important commercial towns to decide as expeditiously as possible
disputed points arising out of business transactions. They consist of
judges, chosen, from among the leading merchants, and elected by
_commerçants patentés depuis cinq ans_, i.e. persons who have held the
licence to trade (see FINANCE) for five years and upwards. In the
absence of a _tribunal de commerce_ commercial cases come before the
ordinary _tribunal d'arrondissement_.
In important industrial towns tribunals called _conseils de prud'hommes_
are instituted to deal with disputes between employers and employees,
actions arising out of contracts of apprenticeship and the like. They
are composed of employers and workmen in equal numbers and are
established by decree of the council of state, advised by the minister
of justice. The minister of justice is notified of the necessity for a
_conseil de prud'hommes_ by the prefect, acting on the advice of the
municipal council and the Chamber of Commerce or the Chamber of Arts and
Manufactures. The judges are elected by employers and workmen of a
certain standing. When the amount claimed exceeds £12 appeal lies to the
_tribunaux d'arrondissement_.
_Police._--Broadly, the police of France may be divided into two great
branches--administrative police (_la police administrative_) and
judicial police (_la police judiciaire_), the former having for its
object the maintenance of order, and the latter charged with tracing out
offenders, collecting the proofs, and delivering the presumed offenders
to the tribunals charged by law with their trial and punishment.
Subdivisions may be, and often are, named according to the particular
duties to which they are assigned, as _la police politique_, _police des
moeurs_, _police sanitaire_, &c. The officers of the judicial police
comprise the _juge de paix_ (equivalent to the English police
magistrate), the _maire_, the _commissaire de police_, the _gendarmerie_
and, in rural districts, the _gardes champêtres_ and the _gardes
forestiers_. _Gardiens de la paix_ (sometimes called _sergents de
ville_, _gardes de ville_ or _agents de police_) are not to be
confounded with the gendarmerie, being a branch of the administrative
police and corresponding more or less nearly with the English equivalent
"police constables," which the gendarmerie do not, although both perform
police duty. The gendarmerie, however, differ from the agents or gardes
both in uniform and in the fact that they are for the most part country
patrols. The organization of the Paris police, which is typical of that
in other large towns, may be outlined briefly. The central
administration (_administration centrale_) comprises three classes of
functions which together constitute _la police_. First there is the
office or _cabinet_ of the prefect for the general police (_la police
générale_), with bureaus for various objects, such as the safety of the
president of the republic, the regulation and order of public
ceremonies, theatres, amusements and entertainments, &c.; secondly, the
judicial police (_la police judiciaire_), with numerous bureaus also, in
constant communication with the courts of judicature; thirdly, the
administrative police (_la police administrative_) including bureaus,
which superintend navigation, public carriages, animals, public health,
&c. Concurrently with these divisions there is the municipal police,
which comprises all the agents in enforcing police regulations in the
streets or public thoroughfares, acting under the orders of a chief
(_chef de la police municipale_) with a central bureau. The municipal
police is divided into two principal branches--the service in uniform of
the _agents de police_ and the service out of uniform of _inspecteurs de
police_. In Paris the municipal police are divided among the twenty
arrondissements, which the uniform police patrol (see further PARIS and
POLICE).
_Prisons._--The prisons of France, some of them attached to the ministry
of the interior, are complex in their classification. It is only from
the middle of the 19th century that close attention has been given to
the principle of individual separation. Cellular imprisonment was,
however, partially adopted for persons awaiting trial. Central prisons,
in which prisoners lived and worked in association, had been in
existence from the commencement of the 19th century. These prisons
received all sentenced to short terms of imprisonment, the long-term
convicts going to the _bagnes_ (the great convict prisons at the
arsenals of Rochefort, Brest and Toulon), while in 1851 transportation
to penal colonies was adopted. In 1869 and 1871 commissions were
appointed to inquire into prison discipline, and as a consequence of the
report of the last commission, issued in 1874, the principle of cellular
confinement was put in operation the following year. There were,
however, but few prisons in France adapted for the cellular system, and
the process of reconstruction has been slow. In 1898 the old Paris
prisons of Grande-Roquette, Saint-Pélagie and Mazas were demolished, and
to replace them a large prison with 1500 cells was erected at
Fresnes-lès-Rungis. There are (1) the _maison d'arrêt_, temporary places
of durance in every arrondissement for persons charged with offences,
and those sentenced to more than a year's imprisonment who are awaiting
transfer to a _maison centrale_; (2) the _maison de justice_, often part
and parcel of the former, but only existing in the assize court towns
for the safe custody of those tried or condemned at the assizes; (3)
departmental prisons, or _maisons de correction_, for summary
convictions, or those sentenced to less than a year, or, if provided
with sufficient cells, those amenable to separate confinement; (4)
_maisons centrales_ and _pénitenciers agricoles_, for all sentenced to
imprisonment for more than a year, or to hard labour, or to those
condemned to _travaux forcés_ for offences committed in prison. There
are eleven _maisons centrales_, nine for men (Loos, Clairvaux, Beaulieu,
Poissy, Melun, Fontevrault, Thouars, Riom and Nîmes); two for women
(Rennes and Montpellier). The _pénitenciers agricoles_ only differ from
the _maisons centrales_ in the matter of régime; there are two--at
Castelluccio and at Chiavari (Corsica). There are also reformatory
establishments for juvenile offenders, and _dépôts de sûreté_ for
prisoners who are travelling, at places where there are no other
prisons. For the penal settlements at a distance from France see
DEPORTATION.
_Finance._
At the head of the financial organization of France, and exercising a
general jurisdiction, is the minister of finance, who co-ordinates in
one general budget the separate budgets prepared by his colleagues and
assigns to each ministerial department the sums necessary for its
expenses.
Budget.
The financial year in France begins on the 1st of January, and the
budget of each financial year must be laid on the table of the Chamber
of Deputies in the course of the ordinary session of the preceding year
in time for the discussion upon it to begin in October and be concluded
before the 31st of December. It is then submitted to a special
commission of the Chamber of Deputies, elected for one year, who appoint
a general reporter and one or more special reporters for each of the
ministries. When the Chamber of Deputies has voted the budget it is
submitted to a similar course of procedure in the Senate. When the
budget has passed both chambers it is promulgated by the president under
the title of _Loi des finances_. In the event of its not being voted
before the 31st of December, recourse is had to the system of
"provisional twelfths" (_douzièmes provisoires_), whereby the government
is authorized by parliament to incur expenses for one, two or three
months on the scale of the previous year. The expenditure of the
government has several times been regulated for as long as six months
upon this system.
Taxation.
In each department an official collector (_Trésorier payeur général_)
receives the taxes and public revenue collected therein and accounts
for them to the central authority in Paris. In view of his
responsibilities he has, before appointment, to pay a large deposit to
the treasury. Besides receiving taxes, they pay the creditors of the
state in their departments, conduct all operations affecting
departmental loans, buy and sell government stock (_rentes_) on behalf
of individuals, and conduct certain banking operations. The
_trésorier_ nearly always lives at the chief town of the department,
and is assisted by a _receveur particulier des finances_ in each
arrondissement (except that in which the _trésorier_ himself resides).
From the _receveur_ is demanded a security equal to five times his
total income. The direct taxes are actually collected by
_percepteurs_. In the commune an official known as the _receveur
municipal_ receives all moneys due to it, and, subject to the
authorization of the mayor, makes all payments due from it. In
communes with a revenue of less than £2400 the _percepteur_ fulfils
the functions of _receveur municipal_, but a special official may be
appointed in communes with large incomes.
The direct taxes fall into two classes. (1) _Impôts de répartition_
(apportionment), the amount to be raised being fixed in advance
annually and then apportioned among the departments. They include the
land tax,[19] the personal and habitation tax (_contribution
personnelle-mobilière_), and door and window tax. (2) _Impôts de
quotité_, which are levied directly on the individual, who pays his
quota according to a fixed tariff. These comprise the tax on
buildings[19] and the trade-licence tax (_impôt des patentes_).
Besides these, certain other taxes (_taxes assimilées aux
contributions directes_) are included under the heading of direct
taxation, e.g. the tax on property in mortmain, dues for the
verification of weights and measures, the tax on royalties from mines,
on horses, mules and carriages, on cycles, &c.
_The land tax_ falls upon land not built upon in proportion to its net
yearly revenue. It is collected in accordance with a register of
property (_cadastre_) drawn up for the most part in the first half of
the 19th century, dealing with every piece of property in France, and
giving its extent and value and the name of the owner. The
responsibility of keeping this register accurate and up to date is
divided between the state, the departments and the communes, and
involves a special service and staff of experts. _The building tax_
consists of a levy of 3.20% of the rental value of the property, and
is charged upon the owner.
_The personal and habitation tax_ consists in fact of two different
taxes, one imposing a fixed capitation charge on all citizens alike of
every department, the charge, however, varying according to the
department from 1 fc. 50 c. (1s. 3d.) to 4 fcs. 50 c. (3s. 9d.), the
other levied on every occupier of a furnished house or of apartments
in proportion to its rental value.
_The tax on doors and windows_ is levied in each case according to the
number of apertures, and is fixed with reference to population, the
inhabitants of the more populous paying more than those of the less
populous communes.
_The trade-licence tax_ (_impôt des patentes_) is imposed on every
person carrying on any business whatever; it affects professional men,
bankers and manufacturers, as well as wholesale and retail traders,
and consists of (1) a fixed duty levied not on actual profits but with
reference to the extent of a business or calling as indicated by
number of employés, population of the locality and other
considerations. (2) An assessment on the letting value of the premises
in which a business or profession is carried on.
The administrative staff includes, for the purpose of computing the
individual quotas of the direct taxes, a director assisted by
_contrôleurs_ in each department and subordinate to a central
authority in Paris, the _direction générale des contributions
directes_.
The indirect taxes comprise the charges on registration; stamps;
customs; and a group of taxes specially described as "indirect taxes."
_Registration_ (_enregistrement_) _duties_ are charged on the transfer
of property in the way of business (_à titre onéreux_); on changes in
ownership effected in the way of donation or succession (_à titre
gratuit_), and on a variety of other transactions which must be
registered according to law. The revenue from _stamps_ includes as its
chief items the returns from stamped paper, stamps on goods traffic,
securities and share certificates and receipts and cheques.
The _Direction générale de l'enregistrement, des domaines et du
timbre_, comprising a central department and a director and staff of
agents in each department, combines the administration of state
property (not including forests) with the exaction of registration and
stamp duties.
The Customs (_douane_), at one time only a branch of the
administration of the _contributions indirectes_, were organized in
1869 as a special service. The central office at Paris consists of a
_directeur général_ and two _administrateurs_, nominated by the
president of the republic. These officials form a council of
administration presided over by the minister of finance. The service
in the departments comprises _brigades_, which are actually engaged in
guarding the frontiers, and a clerical staff (_service de bureau_)
entrusted with the collection of the duties. There are twenty-four
districts, each under the control of a _directeur_, assisted by
inspectors, sub-inspectors and other officials. The chief towns of
these districts are Algiers, Bayonne, Besançon, Bordeaux, Boulogne,
Brest, Chambéry, Charleville, Dunkirk, Épinal, La Rochelle, Le Havre,
Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Paris,
Perpignan, Rouen, St-Malo, Valenciennes. There is also an official
performing the functions of a director at Bastia, in Corsica.
The group specially described as indirect taxes includes those on
alcohol, wine, beer, cider and other alcoholic drinks, on passenger
and goods traffic by railway, on licences to distillers,
spirit-sellers, &c., on salt and on sugar of home manufacture. The
collection of these excise duties as well as the sale of matches,
tobacco and gunpowder to retailers, is assigned to a special service
in each department subordinated to a central administration. To the
above taxes must be added the _tax on Stock Exchange transactions_ and
the _tax of 4% on dividends from stocks and shares_ (_other than state
loans_).
Other main sources of revenue are: the _domains and forests_ managed
by the state; _government monopolies_, comprising tobacco, matches,
gunpowder; _posts_, _telegraphs_, _telephones_; and _state_
_railways_. An administrative tribunal called the _cour des comptes_
subjects the accounts of the state's financial agents
(_trésoriers-payeurs_, _receveurs_ of registration fees, of customs,
of indirect taxes, &c.) and of the communes[20] to a close
investigation, and a vote of definitive settlement is finally passed
by parliament. The Cour des Comptes, an ancient tribunal, was
abolished in 1791, and reorganized by Napoleon I. in 1807. It consists
of a president and 110 other officials, assisted by 25 auditors. All
these are nominated for life by the president of the republic. Besides
the accounts of the state and of the communes, those of charitable
institutions[20] and training colleges[20] and a great variety of
other public establishments are scrutinized by the Cour des Comptes.
The following table shows the rapid growth of the state revenue of
France during the period 1875-1905, the figures for the specified
years representing millions of pounds.
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+
| 1875. | 1880. | 1885. | 1890. | 1895. | Average | Average |
| | | | | | 1896-1900.| 1901-1905.|
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+
| 108 | 118 | 122 | 129 | 137 | 144 | 147 |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+
Of the revenue in 1905 (150½ million pounds) the four direct taxes
produced approximately 20 millions. Other principal items of revenue
were: Registration 25 millions, stamps 7½ millions, customs 18
millions, inland revenue on liquors 16½ millions, receipts from the
tobacco monopoly 18 millions, receipts from post office 10½ millions.
Expenditure.
Since 1875 the expenditure of the state has passed through
considerable fluctuations. It reached its maximum in 1883, descended
in 1888 and 1889, and since then has continuously increased. It was
formerly the custom to divide the credits voted for the discharge of
the public services into two heads--the ordinary and extraordinary
budget. The ordinary budget of expenditure was that met entirely by
the produce of the taxes, while the extraordinary budget of
expenditure was that which had to be incurred either in the way of an
immediate loan or in aid of the funds of the floating debt. The policy
adopted after 1890 of incorporating in the ordinary budget the
expenditure on war, marine and public works, each under its own head,
rendered the "extraordinary budget" obsolete, but there are still,
besides the ordinary budget, _budgets annexes_, comprising the credits
voted to certain establishments under state supervision, e.g. the
National Savings Bank, state railways, &c. The growth of the
expenditure of France is shown in the following summary figures, which
represent millions of pounds.
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+
| 1875. | 1880. | 1885. | 1890. | 1895. | Average | Average |
| | | | | | 1896-1900.| 1901-1905.|
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+
| 117 | 135 | 139 | 132 | 137 | 143 | 147 |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+
The chief item of expenditure (which totalled 148 million pounds in
1905) is the service of the public debt, which in 1905 cost 48¼
million pounds sterling. Of the rest of the sum assigned to the
ministry of finance (59¾ millions in all) 8½ millions went in the
expense of collection of revenue. The other ministries with the
largest outgoings were the ministry of war (the expenditure of which
rose from 25½ millions in 1895 to over 30 millions in 1905), the
ministry of marine (10¾ millions in 1895, over 12½ millions in 1905),
the ministry of public works (with an expenditure in 1905 of over 20
millions, 10 millions of which was assigned to posts, telegraphs and
telephones) and the ministry of public instruction, fine arts and
public worship, the expenditure on education having risen from 7½
millions in 1895 to 9½ millions in 1905.
_Public Debt._--The national debt of France is the heaviest of any
country in the world. Its foundation was laid early in the 15th
century, and the continuous wars of succeeding centuries, combined
with the extravagance of the monarchs, as well as deliberate disregard
of financial and economic conditions, increased it at an alarming
rate. The duke of Sully carried out a revision in 1604, and other
attempts were made by Mazarin and Colbert, but the extravagances of
Louis XV. swelled it again heavily. In 1764 the national debt amounted
to 2,360,000,000 livres, and the annual change to 93,000,000 livres. A
consolidation was effected in 1793, but the lavish issue of assignats
(q.v.) destroyed whatever advantage might have accrued, and the debt
was again dealt with by a law of the 9th of Vendémiaire year VI. (27th
of September 1797), the annual interest paid yearly to creditors then
amounting to 40,216,000 francs (£1,600,000). During the Directory a
sum of £250,000 was added to the interest charge, and by 1814 this
annual charge had risen to £2,530,000. This large increase is to be
accounted for by the fact that during the Napoleonic régime the
government steadily refused to issue inconvertible paper currency or
to meet war expenditure by borrowing. The following table shows the
increase of the funded debt since 1814.[21]
+------------------+------------------+-----------------+
| Date. | Nominal Capital | Interest |
| | (Millions of £). | (Millions of £).|
+------------------+------------------+-----------------+
| April 1, 1814 | 50¾ | 2½ |
| April 1, 1830 | 177 | 8 |
| March 1, 1848 | 238¼ | 9¾ |
| January 1, 1852 | 220¾ | 9½ |
| " 1871 | 498¼ | 15½ |
| " 1876 | 796¼ | 30 |
| " 1887 | 986½ | 34¼ |
| " 1895 | 1038¾[22] | 32½ |
| " 1905 | 1037¼ | 31 |
+------------------+------------------+-----------------+
The French debt as constituted in 1905 was made up of funded debt and
floating debt as follows:
_Funded Debt._
Perpetual 3% _rentes_ £888,870,400
Terminable 3% _rentes_ 148,490,400
--------------
Total of funded debt £1,037,360,800
==============
Guarantees to railway companies, &c. (in
capital) £89,724,080
Other debt in capital 46,800,840
-----------
_Floating Debt._
Exchequer bills £9,923,480
Liabilities on behalf of communes and public
establishments, including departmental
services 17,366,520
Deposit and current accounts of Caisse des
dépôts, &c., including savings banks 15,328,840
Caution money of Trésoriers payeurs-généraux 1,431,680
Other liabilities 6,456,200
-----------
Total of floating debt £50,506,720
_Departmental Finances._--Every department has a budget of its own,
which is prepared and presented by the prefect, voted by the
departmental council and approved by decree of the president of the
republic. The ordinary receipts include the revenues from the property
of the department, the produce of _additional centimes_, which are
levied in conjunction with the direct taxes for the maintenance of
both departmental and communal finances, state subventions and
contributions of the communes towards certain branches of poor relief
and to maintenance of roads. The chief expenses of the departments are
the care of pauper children and lunatics, the maintenance of
high-roads and the service of the departmental debt.
_Communal Finances._--The budget of the commune is prepared by the
mayor, voted by the municipal council and approved by the prefect. But
in communes the revenues of which exceed £120,000, the budget is
always submitted to the president of the republic. The ordinary
revenues include the produce of "additional centimes" allocated to
communal purposes, the rents and profits of communal property, sums
produced by municipal taxes and dues, concessions to gas, water and
other companies, and by the _octroi_ (q.v.) or duty on a variety of
articles imported into the commune for local consumption. The
repairing of highways, the upkeep of public buildings, the support of
public education, the remuneration of numerous officials connected
with the collection of state taxes, the keeping of the _cadastre_,
&c., constitute the principal objects of communal expenditure.
Both the departments and the communes have considerable public debts.
The departmental debt in 1904 stood at 24 million pounds, and the
communal debt at 153 million pounds. (R. Tr.)
_Army._
_Recruiting and Strength._--Universal compulsory service was adopted
after the disasters of 1870-1871, though in principle it had been
established by Marshal Niel's reforms a few years before that date. The
most important of the recruiting laws passed since 1870 are those of
1872, 1889 and 1905, the last the "loi de deux ans" which embodies the
last efforts of the French war department to keep pace with the
ever-growing numbers of the German empire. Compulsory service with the
colours is in Germany no longer universal, as there are twice as many
able-bodied men presented by the recruiting commissions as the active
army can absorb. France, with a greatly inferior population, now trains
every man who is physically capable. This law naturally made a deep
impression on military Europe, not merely because the period of colour
service was reduced--Germany had taken this step years before--but
because of the almost entire absence of the usual exemptions. Even
bread-winners are required to serve, the state pensioning their
dependants (75 centimes per diem, up to 10% of the strength) during
their period of service. Dispensations, and also the one-year
voluntariat, which had become a short cut for the so-called
"intellectual class" to employment in the civil service rather than a
means of training reserve officers, were abolished. Every Frenchman
therefore is a member of the army practically or potentially from the
age of twenty to the age of forty-five. Each year there is drawn up in
every commune a list of the young men who attained the age of twenty
during the previous year. These young men are then examined by a
revising body (_Conseil de révision cantonal_) composed of civil and
military officials. Men physically unfit are wholly exempted, and men
who have not, at the time of the examination, attained the required
physical standard are put back for re-examination after an interval. Men
who, otherwise suitable, have some slight infirmity are drafted into the
non-combatant branches. The minimum height for the infantry soldier is
1.54 m., or 5 ft. ½ in., but men of special physique are taken below
this height. In 1904, under the old system of three-years' service with
numerous total and partial exemptions, 324,253 men became liable to
incorporation, of whom 25,432 were rejected as unfit, 55,265 were
admitted as one-year volunteers, 62,160 were put back, 27,825 had
already enlisted with a view to making the army a career, 5257 were
taken for the navy, and thus, with a few extra details and casualties,
the contingent for full service dwindled to 147,549 recruits. In 1906,
326,793 men had to present themselves, 25,348 had already enlisted, 4923
went to the navy, 68,526 were put back, 33,777 found unfit, which,
deducting 3128 details, gives an actual incorporated contingent of
191,091 young men of twenty-one to serve for two full years (in each
case, for the sake of comparison, men put back from former years who
were enrolled are omitted). In theory a two-years' contingent of course
should be half as large again as a three-years' one, but in practice,
France has not men enough for so great an increase. Still the law of
1905 provides a system whereby there is room with the colours for every
available man, and moreover ensures his services. The net gain in the
1906 class is not far short of 50,000, and the proportion of the new
contingent to the old is practically 5:4. The _loi des cadres_ of 1907
introduced many important changes of detail supplementary to the _loi de
deux ans_. Important changes were also made in the provisions and
administration of military law. The active army, then, at a given
moment, say November 1, 1908, is composed of all the young men, not
legally exempted, who have reached the age of twenty in the years 1906
and 1907. It is at the disposal of the minister of war, who can decree
the recall of all men discharged to the reserve the previous year and
all those whose time of service has for any reason been shortened. The
reserves of the active army are composed of those who have served the
legal period in the active army. These are recalled twice, in the eleven
years during which they are members of the reserve, for refresher
courses. The active army and its reserve are not localized, but drawn
from and distributed over the whole of France. The advantages of a
purely territorial system have tempted various War Ministers to apply
it, but the results were not good, owing to the want of uniformity in
the military qualities and the political subordination of the different
districts. One result of this is that mobilization and concentration are
much slower processes than they are in Germany.
The Territorial Army and its reserve (members of which undergo two short
periods of training) are, however, allocated to local service. The
soldier spends six years in the Territorial Army, and six in the reserve
of the Territorial Army. The reserves of the active army and the
Territorial Army and its reserve can only be recalled to active service
in case of emergency and by decree of the head of the state.
The total service rendered by the individual soldier is thus twenty-five
years. He is registered at the age of twenty, is called to the colours
on the 1st of October of the next year, discharged to the active army
reserve on the 30th of September of the second year thereafter, to the
Territorial Army at the same date thirteen complete years after his
incorporation, and finally discharged from the reserve of the
Territorial Army on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his entry into the
active army. On November 1, 1908, then the active army was composed of
the classes registered 1906 and 1907, the reserve of the classes
1895-1905, the Territorial Army of those of 1889-1894 and the
Territorial Army reserve of those of 1883-1888.
In 1906 the peace strength of the army in France was estimated at
532,593 officers and men; in Algeria 54,580; in Tunis 20,320; total
607,493. Deducting vacancies, sick and absent, the effective strength of
the active army in 1906 was 540,563; of the gendarmerie and Garde
Républicaine 24,512; of colonial troops in the colonies 58,568. The full
number of persons liable to be called upon for military service and
engaged in such service is calculated (1908) as 4,800,000, of whom
1,350,000 of the active army and the younger classes of army reserve
would constitute the field armies set on foot at the outbreak of war.
150,000 horses and mules are maintained on a peace footing and 600,000
on a war footing.
_Organization._--The general organization of the French army at home is
based on the system of permanent army corps, the headquarters of which
are as follows: I. Lille, II. Amiens, III. Rouen, IV. Le Mans, V.
Orléans, VI. Châlons-sur-Marne, VII. Besançon, VIII. Bourges, IX. Tours,
X. Rennes, XI. Nantes, XII. Limoges, XIII. Clermont-Ferrand, XIV. Lyons,
XV. Marseilles, XVI. Montpellier, XVII. Toulouse, XVIII. Bordeaux, XIX.
Algiers and XX. Nancy. Each army corps consists in principle of two
infantry divisions, one cavalry brigade, one brigade of horse and field
artillery, one engineer battalion and one squadron of train. But certain
army corps have a special organization. The VI. corps (Châlons) and the
VII. (Besançon) consist of three divisions each, and the XIX. (Algiers)
has three divisions of its own as well as the division occupying Tunis.
In addition to these corps there are eight permanent cavalry divisions
with headquarters at Paris, Lunéville, Meaux, Sedan, Reims, Lyons, Melun
and Dôle. The military government of Paris is independent of the army
corps system and comprises, besides a division of the colonial army
corps (see below), 3½ others detached from the II., III., IV. and V.
corps, as well as the 1st and 3rd cavalry divisions and many smaller
bodies of troops. The military government of Lyons is another
independent and special command; it comprises practically the XIV. army
corps and the 6th cavalry division. The infantry division consists of 2
brigades, each of 2 regiments of 3 or 4 battalions (the 4 battalion
regiments have recently been reduced for the most part to 3), with 1
squadron cavalry and 12 batteries, attached from the corps troops, in
war a proportion of the artillery would, however, be taken back to form
the corps artillery (see ARTILLERY and TACTICS). The cavalry division
consists of 2 or 3 brigades, each of 2 regiments or 8 squadrons, with 2
horse artillery batteries attached. The army corps consists of
headquarters, 2 (or 3) infantry divisions, 1 cavalry brigade, 1
artillery brigade (2 regiments, comprising 21 field and 2 horse
batteries), 1 engineer battalion, &c. In war a group of "Rimailho" heavy
howitzers (see ORDNANCE: _Heavy Field and Light Siege Units_) would be
attached. It is proposed, and accepted in principle, to increase the
number of guns in the army corps by converting the horse batteries in 18
army corps to field batteries, which, with other measures, enables the
number of the latter to be increased to 36 (144 guns).
The organization of the "metropolitan troops" by regiments is (a) 163
regiments of line infantry, some of which are affected to "regional"
duties and do not enter into the composition of their army corps for
war, 31 battalions of _chasseurs à pied_, mostly stationed in the Alps
and the Vosges, 4 regiments of Zouaves, 4 regiments of Algerian
tirailleurs (natives, often called Turcos[23]), 2 foreign legion
regiments, 5 battalions of African light infantry (disciplinary
regiments), &c; (b) 12 regiments of cuirassiers, 32 of dragoons, 21 of
_chasseurs à cheval_, 14 of hussars, 6 of _chasseurs d'Afrique_ and 4 of
Spahis (Algerian natives); (c) 40 regiments of artillery, comprising 445
field batteries, 14 mountain batteries and 52 horse batteries (see,
however, above), 18 battalions of garrison artillery, with in addition
13 companies of artificers, &c.; (d) 6 regiments of engineers forming 22
battalions, and 1 railway regiment; (e) 20 squadrons of train, 27
legions of gendarmerie and the Paris Garde Républicaine, administrative
and medical units.
_Colonial Troops._--These form an expeditionary army corps in France to
which are attached the actual corps of occupation to the various
colonies, part white, part natives. The colonial army corps,
headquarters at Paris, has three divisions, at Paris, Toulon and Brest.
The French colonial (formerly marine) infantry, recruited by voluntary
enlistment, comprises 18 regiments and 5 independent battalions (of
which 12 regiments are at home), 74 batteries of field, fortress and
mountain artillery (of which 32 are at home), with a few cavalry and
engineers, &c., and other services in proportion. The native troops
include 13 regiments and 8 independent battalions. The strength of this
army corps is 28,700 in France and 61,300 in the colonies.
_Command._--The commander-in-chief of all the armed forces is the
president of the Republic, but the practical direction of affairs lies
in the hand of the minister of war, who is assisted by the _Conseil
supérieur de la guerre_, a body of senior generals who have been
selected to be appointed to the higher commands in war. The
vice-president is the destined commander-in-chief of the field armies
and is styled the generalissimo. The chief of staff of the army is also
a member of the council. In war the latter would probably remain at the
ministry of war in Paris, and the generalissimo would have his own chief
of staff. The ministry of war is divided into branches for infantry,
cavalry, &c.--and services for special subjects such as military law,
explosives, health, &c. The general staff (_état major de l'armée_) has
its functions classed as follows: personnel; material and finance; 1st
bureau (organization and mobilization), 2nd (intelligence), 3rd
(military operations and training) and 4th (communications and
transport); and the famous historical section. The president of the
Republic has a military household, and the minister a cabinet, both of
which are occupied chiefly with questions of promotion, patronage and
decorations.
The general staff and also the staff of the corps and divisions are
composed of certificated (_brevetés_) officers who have passed all
through the École de Guerre. In time of peace an officer is attached to
the staff for not more than four years. He must then return to
regimental duty for at least two years.
The officers of the army are obtained partly from the old-established
military schools, partly from the ranks of the non-commissioned
officers, the proportion of the latter being about one-third of the
total number of officers. Artillery and engineer officers come from the
École Polytechnique, infantry and cavalry from the École spéciale
militaire de St-Cyr. Other important training institutions are the staff
college (École supérieure de Guerre) which trains annually 70 to 90
selected captains and lieutenants; the musketry school of Châlons, the
gymnastic school at Joinville-le-Pont and the schools of St Maixent,
Saumur and Versailles for the preparation of non-commissioned officers
for commissions in the infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineers
respectively. The non-commissioned officers are, as usual in universal
service armies, drawn partly from men who voluntarily enlist at a
relatively early age, and partly from men who at the end of their
compulsory period of service are re-engaged. Voluntary enlistments in
the French army are permissible, within certain limits, at the age of
eighteen, and the _engagés_ serve for at least three years. The law
further provides for the re-engagement of men of all ranks, under
conditions varying according to their rank. Such re-engagements are for
one to three years' effective service but may be extended to fifteen.
They date from the time of the legal expiry of each man's compulsory
active service. _Rengagés_ receive a bounty, a higher rate of pay and a
pension at the conclusion of their service. The total number of men who
had re-enlisted stood in 1903 at 8594.
_Armament._--The field artillery is armed with the 75 mm. gun, a
shielded quick-firer (see ORDNANCE: _Field Equipments_, for illustration
and details); this weapon was the forerunner of all modern models of
field gun, and is handled on tactical principles specially adapted for
it, which gives the French field artillery a unique position amongst the
military nations. The infantry, which was the first in Europe to be
armed with the magazine rifle, still carries this, the Lebel, rifle
which dates from 1886. It is believed, however, that a satisfactory type
of automatic rifle (see RIFLE) has been evolved and is now (1908) in
process of manufacture. Details are kept strictly secret. The cavalry
weapons are a straight sword (that of the heavy cavalry is illustrated
in the article SWORD), a bamboo lance and the Lebel carbine.
It is convenient to mention in this place certain institutions attached
to the war department and completing the French military organization.
The Hôtel des Invalides founded by Louis XIV. and Louvois is a house of
refuge for old and infirm soldiers of all grades. The number of the
inmates is decreasing; but the institution is an expensive one. In 1875
the "Invalides" numbered 642, and the hôtel cost the state 1,123,053
francs. The order of the Legion of Honour is treated under KNIGHTHOOD
AND CHIVALRY. The _médaille militaire_ is awarded to private soldiers
and non-commissioned officers who have distinguished themselves or
rendered long and meritorious services. This was introduced in 1852,
carries a yearly pension of 100 frs. and has been granted occasionally
to officers.
_Fortifications._--After 1870 France embarked upon a policy of elaborate
frontier and inner defences, with the object of ensuring, as against an
unexpected German invasion, the time necessary for the effective
development of her military forces, which were then in process of
reorganization. Some information as to the types of fortification
adopted in 1870-1875 will be found in FORTIFICATION AND SIEGECRAFT. The
general lines of the scheme adopted were as follows: On the Meuse, which
forms the principal natural barrier on the side of Lorraine, Verdun
(q.v.) was fortified as a large entrenched camp, and along the river
above this were constructed a series of _forts d'arrêt_ (see MEUSE LINE)
ending in another entrenched camp at Toul (q.v.). From this point a gap
(the _trouée d'Épinal_) was left, so as "in some sort to canalize the
flow of invasion" (General Bonnal), until the upper Moselle was reached
at Épinal (q.v.). Here another entrenched camp was made and from it the
"Moselle line" (q.v.) of _forts d'arrêt_ continues the barrier to
Belfort (q.v.), another large entrenched camp, beyond which a series of
fortifications at Montbéliard and the Lomont range carries the line of
defence to the Swiss border, which in turn is protected by works at
Pontarlier and elsewhere. In rear of these lines Verdun-Toul and
Épinal-Belfort, respectively, lie two large defended areas in which
under certain circumstances the main armies would assemble preparatory
to offensive movements. One of these areas is defined by the three
fortresses, La Fère, Laon and Reims, the other by the triangle,
Langres--Dijon--Besançon. On the side of Belgium the danger of irruption
through neutral territory, which has for many years been foreseen, is
provided against by the fortresses of Lille, Valenciennes and Maubeuge,
but (with a view to tempting the Germans to attack through Luxemburg, as
is stated by German authorities) the frontier between Maubeuge and
Verdun is left practically undefended. The real defence of this region
lies in the field army which would, if the case arose, assemble in the
area La Fère-Reims-Laon. On the Italian frontier the numerous _forts
d'arrêt_ in the mountains are strongly supported by the entrenched camps
of Besançon, Grenoble and Nice. Behind all this huge development of
fixed defences lie the central fortresses of Paris and Lyons. The
defences, of the Spanish frontier consist of the entrenched camps of
Bayonne and Perpignan and the various small _forts d'arrêt_ of the
Pyrenees. Of the coast defences the principal are Toulon, Antibes,
Rochefort, Lorient, Brest, Oléron, La Rochelle, Belle-Isle, Cherbourg,
St-Malo, Havre, Calais, Gravelines and Dunkirk. A number of the older
fortresses, dating for the most part from Louis XIV.'s time, are still
in existence, but are no longer of military importance. Such are Arras,
Longwy, Mézières and Montmédy.
_Navy._
_Central Administration._--The head of the French navy is the Minister
of Marine, who like the other ministers is appointed by decree of the
head of the state, and is usually a civilian. He selects for himself a
staff of civilians (the _cabinet du ministre_), which is divided into
bureaux for the despatch of business. The head of the cabinet prepares
for the consideration of the minister all the business of the navy,
especially questions of general importance. His chief professional
assistant is the _chef d'état-major général_ (chief of the general
staff), a vice-admiral, who is responsible for the organization of the
naval forces, the mobilization and movements of the fleet, &c.
The central organization also comprises a number of departments
(_services_) entrusted with the various branches of naval
administration, such as administration of the active fleet, construction
of ships, arsenals, recruiting, finance, &c. The minister has the
assistance of the _Conseil supérieur de la Marine_, over which he
presides, consisting of three vice-admirals, the chief of staff and some
other members. The _Conseil supérieur_ devotes its attention to all
questions touching the fighting efficiency of the fleet, naval bases and
arsenals and coast defence. Besides the _Conseil supérieur_ the minister
is advised on a very wide range of naval topics (including pay, quarters
and recruiting) by the _Comité consultatif de la Marine_. Advisory
committees are also appointed to deal with special subjects, e.g. the
_commissions de classement_ which attend to questions of promotion in
the various branches of the navy, the naval works council and others.
The French coast is divided into five naval arrondissements, which have
their headquarters at the five naval ports, of which Cherbourg, Brest,
and Toulon are the most important, Lorient and Rochefort being of lesser
degree. All are building and fitting-out yards. Each arrondissement is
divided into sous-arrondissements, having their centres in the great
commercial ports, but this arrangement is purely for the embodiment of
the men of the Inscription Maritime, and has nothing to do with the
dockyards as naval arsenals. In each arrondissement the vice-admiral,
who is naval prefect, is the immediate representative of the minister of
marine, and has full direction and command of the arsenal, which is his
headquarters. He is thus commander-in-chief, as also governor-designate
for time of war, but his authority does not extend to ships belonging to
organized squadrons or divisions. The naval prefect is assisted by a
rear-admiral as chief of the staff (except at Lorient and Rochefort,
where the office is filled by a captain), and a certain number of other
officers, the special functions of the chief of the staff having
relation principally to the efficiency and _personnel_ of the fleet,
while the "major-general," who is usually a rear-admiral, is concerned
chiefly with the _matériel_. There are also directors of stores, of
naval construction, of the medical service, and of the submarine
defences (which are concerned with torpedoes, mines and torpedo-boats),
as well as of naval ordnance and works, The prefect directs the
operations of the arsenal, and is responsible for its efficiency and for
that of the ships which are there in reserve. In regard to the
constitution and maintenance of the naval forces, the administration of
the arsenals is divided into three principal departments, the first
concerned with naval construction, the second with ordnance, including
gun-mountings and small-arms, and the third with the so-called submarine
defences, dealing with all torpedo _matériel_.
The French navy is manned partly by voluntary enlistment, partly by the
transference to the navy of a certain proportion of each year's recruits
for the army, but mainly by a system known as _inscription maritime_.
This system, devised and introduced by Colbert in 1681, has continued,
with various modifications, ever since. All French sailors between the
ages of eighteen and fifty must be enrolled as members of the _armée de
mer_. The term sailor is used in a very wide sense and includes all
persons earning their living by navigation on the sea, or in the
harbours or roadsteads, or on salt lakes or canals within the maritime
domain of the state, or on rivers and canals as far as the tide goes up
or sea-going ships can pass. The inscript usually begins his service at
the age of twenty and passes through a period of obligatory service
lasting seven years, and generally comprising five years of active
service and two years furlough.
Besides the important harbours already referred to, the French fleet has
naval bases at Oran in Algeria, Bizerta in Tunisia, Saigon in Cochin
China and Hongaj in Tongking, Diégo-Suarez in Madagascar, Dakar in
Senegal, Fort de France in Martinique, Nouméa in New Caledonia.
The ordnance department of the navy is carried on by a large detachment
of artillery officers and artificers provided by the war office for this
special duty.
The fleet is divided into the Mediterranean squadron, the Northern
squadron, the Atlantic division, the Far Eastern division, the Pacific
division, the Indian Ocean division, the Cochin China division.
The chief naval school is the _École navale_ at Brest, which is devoted
to the training of officers; the age of admission is from fifteen to
eighteen years, and pupils after completing their course pass a year on
a frigate school. At Paris there is a more advanced school (_École
supérieure de la Marine_) for the supplementary training of officers.
Other schools are the school of naval medicine at Bordeaux with annexes
at Toulon, Brest and Rochefort; schools of torpedoes and mines and of
gunnery at Toulon, &c., &c. The _écoles d'hydrographie_ established at
various ports are for theoretical training for the higher grades of the
merchant service. (See also NAVY.)
The total personnel of the _armée de mer_ in 1909 is given as 56,800
officers and men. As to the number of vessels, which fluctuates from
month to month, little can be said that is wholly accurate at any given
moment, but, very roughly, the French navy in 1909 included 25
battleships, 7 coast defence ironclads, 19 armoured cruisers, 36
protected cruisers, 22 sloops, gunboats, &c., 45 destroyers, 319 torpedo
boats, 71 submersibles and submarines and 8 auxiliary cruisers. It was
stated that, according to proposed arrangements, the principal fighting
elements of the fleet would be, in 1919, 34 battleships, 36 armoured
cruisers, 6 smaller cruisers of modern type, 109 destroyers, 170 torpedo
boats and 171 submersibles and submarines. The budgetary cost of the
navy in 1908 was stated as 312,000,000 fr. (£12,480,000). (C. F. A.)
_Education._
The burden of public instruction in France is shared by the communes,
departments and state, while side by side with the public schools of all
grades are private schools subjected to a state supervision and certain
restrictions. At the head of the whole organization is the minister of
public instruction. He is assisted and advised by the superior council
of public instruction, over which he presides.
France is divided into sixteen _académies_ or educational districts,
having their centres at the seats of the universities. The capitals of
these _académies_, together with the departments included in them, are
tabulated below:
Académies. Departments included in them.
PARIS . . . . . Seine, Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret,
Marne, Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-et-Oise.
AIX . . . . . . Bouches-du-Rhône, Basses-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes,
Corse, Var, Vaucluse.
BESANÇON . . . . Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône, Territoire de
Belfort.
BORDEAUX . . . . Gironde, Dordogne, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne,
Basses-Pyrénées.
CAEN . . . . . . Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne, Sarthe,
Seine-Inférieure.
CHAMBÉRY . . . Savoie, Haute-Savoie.
CLERMONT-FERRAND Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, Cantal, Corrèze, Creuse,
Haute-Loire.
DIJON . . . . . Côte-d'Or, Aube, Haute-Marne, Nièvre, Yonne.
GRENOBLE . . . . Isère, Hautes-Alpes, Ardèche, Drôme.
LILLE . . . . . Nord, Aisne, Ardennes, Pas-de-Calais, Somme.
LYONS . . . . . Rhône, Ain, Loire, Saône-et-Loire.
MONTPELLIER . . Hérault, Aude, Gard, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales.
NANCY . . . . . Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Vosges.
POITIERS . . . . Vienne, Charente, Charente-Inférieure, Indre,
Indre-et-Loire, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Haute-Vienne.
RENNES . . . . . Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes-du-Nord, Finistère,
Loire-Inférieure,
Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Morbihan.
TOULOUSE . . . . Haute-Garonne, Ariège, Aveyron, Gers, Lot,
Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne.
There is also an _académie_ comprising Algeria.
For the administrative organization of education in France see
EDUCATION.
Any person fulfilling certain legal requirements with regard to
capacity, age and character may set up privately an educational
establishment of any grade, but by the law of 1904 all religious
congregations are prohibited from keeping schools of any kind whatever.
_Primary Instruction._--All primary public instruction is free and
compulsory for children of both sexes between the ages of six and
thirteen, but if a child can gain a certificate of primary studies at
the age of eleven or after, he may be excused the rest of the period
demanded by law. A child may receive instruction in a public or
private school or at home. But if the parents wish him to be taught in
a private school they must give notice to the mayor of the commune of
their intention and the school chosen. If educated at home, the child
(after two years of the compulsory period has expired) must undergo a
yearly examination, and if it is unsatisfactory the parents will be
compelled to send him to a public or private school.
Each commune is in theory obliged to maintain at least one public
primary school, but with the approval of the minister, the
departmental council may authorize a commune to combine with other
communes in the upkeep of a school. If the number of inhabitants
exceed 500, the commune must also provide a special school for girls,
unless the Departmental Council authorizes it to substitute a mixed
school. Each department is bound to maintain two primary training
colleges, one for masters, the other for mistresses of primary
schools. There are two higher training colleges of primary instruction
at Fontenay-aux-Roses and St Cloud for the training of mistresses and
masters of training colleges and higher primary schools.
The Laws of 1882 and 1886 "laicized" the schools of this class, the
former suppressing religious instruction, the latter providing that
only laymen should be eligible for masterships. There were also a
great many schools in the control of various religious congregations,
but a law of 1904 required that they should all be suppressed within
ten years from the date of its enactment.
Public primary schools include (1) _écoles maternelles_--infant
schools for children from two to six years old; (2) elementary primary
schools--these are the ordinary schools for children from six to
thirteen; (3) higher primary schools (_écoles primaires supérieures_)
and "supplementary courses"; these admit pupils who have gained the
certificate of primary elementary studies (_certificat d'études
primaires_), offer a more advanced course and prepare for technical
instruction; (4) primary technical schools (_écoles manuelles
d'apprentissage_, _écoles primaires supérieures professionnelles_)
kept by the communes or departments. Primary courses for adults are
instituted by the prefect on the recommendation of the municipal
council and academy inspector.
Persons keeping private primary schools are free with regard to their
methods, programmes and books employed, except that they may not use
books expressly prohibited by the superior council of public
instruction. Before opening a private school the person proposing to
do so must give notice to the mayor, prefect and academy inspector,
and forward his diplomas and other particulars to the latter official.
_Secondary Education._--Secondary education is given by the state in
_lycées_, by the communes in _collèges_ and by private individuals and
associations in private secondary schools. It is not compulsory, nor
is it entirely gratuitous, but the fees are small and the state offers
a great many scholarships, by means of which a clever child can pay
for its own instruction. Cost of tuition (simply) ranges from £2 to
£16 a year. The lycées also take boarders--the cost of boarding
ranging from £22 to £52 a year. A lycée is founded in a town by decree
of the president of the republic, with the advice of the superior
council of public instruction. The municipality has to pay the cost of
building, furnishing and upkeep. At the head of the lycée is the
principal (_proviseur_), an official nominated by the minister, and
assisted by a teaching staff of professors and _chargés de cours_ or
teachers of somewhat lower standing. To become professor in a lycée it
is necessary to pass an examination known as the "_agrégation_,"
candidates for which must be licentiates of a faculty (or have passed
through the _École normale supérieure_).
The system of studies--reorganized in 1902--embraces a full
curriculum of seven years, which is divided into two periods. The
first lasts four years, and at the end of this the pupil may obtain
(after examination) the "certificate of secondary studies." During the
second period the pupil has a choice of four courses: (1) Latin and
Greek; (2) Latin and sciences; (3) Latin and modern languages; (4)
sciences and modern languages. At the end of this period he presents
himself for a degree called the _Baccalauréat de l'enseignement
secondaire_. This is granted (after two examinations) by the faculties
of letters and sciences jointly (see below), and in most cases it is
necessary for a student to hold this general degree before he may be
enrolled in a particular faculty of a university and proceed to a
Baccalauréat in a particular subject, such as law, theology or
medicine.
The collèges, though of a lower grade, are in most respects similar to
the lycées, but they are financed by the communes: the professors may
have certain less important qualifications in lieu of the
"_agrégation_." Private secondary schools are subjected to state
inspection. The teachers must not belong to any congregation, and must
have a diploma of aptitude for teaching and the degree of
"_licencié_." The establishment of lycées for girls was first
attempted in 1880. They give an education similar to that offered in
the lycées for boys--with certain modifications--in a curriculum of
five or six years. There is a training-college for teachers in
secondary schools for girls at Sèvres.
_Higher education_ is given by the state in the universities, and in
special higher schools; and, since the law of 1875 established the
freedom of higher education, by private individuals and bodies in
private schools and "faculties" (_facultés libres_). The law of 1880
reserved to the state "faculties" the right to confer degrees, and the
law of 1896 established various universities each containing one or
more faculties. There are five kinds of faculties: medicine, letters,
science, law and Protestant theology. The faculties of letters and
sciences, besides granting the _Baccalauréat de l'enseignement
secondaire_, confer the degrees of licentiate and doctor (_la Licence,
le Doctorat_). The faculties of medicine confer the degree of doctor
of medicine. The faculties of theology confer the degrees of bachelor,
licentiate and doctor of theology. The faculties of law confer the
same degrees in law and also grant "certificates of capacity," which
enable the holder to practise as an _avoué_; a _licence_ is necessary
for the profession of barrister. Students of the private faculties
have to be examined by and take their degrees from the state
faculties. There are 2 faculties of Protestant theology (Paris and
Montauban); 12 faculties of law (Paris, Aix, Bordeaux, Caen, Grenoble,
Lille, Lyons, Montpellier, Nancy, Poitiers, Rennes, Toulouse); 3
faculties of medicine (Paris, Montpellier and Nancy), and 4 joint
faculties of medicine and pharmacy (Bordeaux, Lille, Lyons, Toulouse);
15 faculties of sciences (Paris, Besançon, Bordeaux, Caen, Clermont,
Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nancy,
Poitiers, Rennes, Toulouse); 15 faculties of letters (at the same
towns, substituting Aix for Marseilles). The private faculties are at
Paris (the Catholic Institute with a faculty of law); Angers (law,
science and letters); Lille (law, medicine and pharmacy, science,
letters); Lyons (law, science, letters); Marseilles (law); Toulouse
(Catholic Institute with faculties of theology and letters). The work
of the faculties of medicine and pharmacy is in some measure shared by
the _écoles supérieures de pharmacie_ (Paris, Montpellier, Nancy),
which grant the highest degrees in pharmacy, and by the _écoles de
plein exercice de médecine et de pharmacie_ (Marseilles, Rennes and
Nantes) and the more numerous _écoles préparatoires de médecine et de
pharmacie_; there are also _écoles préparatoires à l'enseignement
supérieur des sciences et des lettres_ at Chambéry, Rouen and Nantes.
Besides the faculties there are a number of institutions, both
state-supported and private, giving higher instruction of various
special kinds. In the first class must be mentioned the Collège de
France, founded 1530, giving courses of highest study of all sorts,
the Museum of Natural History, the École des Chartes (palaeography and
archives), the School of Modern Oriental Languages, the École Pratique
des Hautes Études (scientific research), &c. All these institutions
are in Paris. The most important free institution in this class is the
École des Sciences Politiques, which prepares pupils for the civil
services and teaches a great number of political subjects, connected
with France and foreign countries, not included in the state
programmes.
Commercial and technical instruction is given in various institutions
comprising national establishments such as the _écoles nationales
professionnelles_ of Armentières, Vierzon, Voiron and Nantes for the
education of working men; the more advanced _écoles d'arts et métiers_
of Châlons, Angers, Aix, Lille and Cluny; and the Central School of
Arts and Manufactures at Paris; schools depending on the communes and
state in combination, e.g. the _écoles pratiques de commerce et
d'industrie_ for the training of clerks and workmen; private schools
controlled by the state, such as the _écoles supérieures de commerce_;
certain municipal schools, such as the Industrial Institute of Lille;
and private establishments, e.g. the school of watch-making at Paris.
At Paris the École Supérieure des Mines and the École des Ponts et
Chaussées are controlled by the minister of public works, the École
des Beaux-Arts, the École des Arts Décoratifs and the Conservatoire
National de Musique et de Déclamation by the under-secretary for fine
arts, and other schools mentioned elsewhere are attached to several
of the ministries. In the provinces there are national schools of fine
art and of music and other establishments and free subventioned
schools.
In addition to the educational work done by the state, communes and
private individuals, there exist in France a good many societies which
disseminate instruction by giving courses of lectures and holding
classes both for children and adults. Examples of such bodies are the
Society for Elementary Instruction, the Polytechnic Association, the
Philotechnic Association and the French Union of the Young at Paris;
the Philomathic Society of Bordeaux; the Popular Education Society at
Havre; the Rhône Society of Professional Instruction at Lyons; the
Industrial Society of Amiens and others.
The highest institution of learning is the _Institut de France_,
founded and kept up by the French government on behalf of science and
literature, and composed of five academies: the _Académie française_,
the _Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres_, the _Académie des
Sciences_, the _Académie des Beaux-Arts_ and the _Académie des
Sciences Morales et Politiques_ (see ACADEMIES). The _Académie de
Médecine_ is a separate body.
_Poor Relief_ (_Assistance publique_).--In France the pauper, _as such_,
has no legal claim to help from the community, which however, is bound
to provide for destitute children (see FOUNDLING HOSPITALS) and pauper
lunatics (both these being under the care of the department), aged and
infirm people without resources and victims of incurable illness, and to
furnish medical assistance gratuitously to those without resources who
are afflicted with curable illness. The funds for these purposes are
provided by the department, the commune and the central authority.
There are four main types of public benevolent institutions, all of
which are communal in character: (1) The _hôpital_, for maternity
cases and cases of curable illness; (2) the _hospice_, where the aged
poor, cases of incurable malady, orphans, foundlings and other
children without means of support, and in some cases lunatics, are
received; (3) the _bureau de bienfaisance_, charged with the provision
of out-door relief (_secours à domicile_) in money or in kind, to the
aged poor or those who, though capable of working, are prevented from
doing so by illness or strikes; (4) the _bureau d'assistance_, which
dispenses free medical treatment to the destitute.
These institutions are under the supervision of a branch of the
ministry of the interior. The hospices and hôpitaux and the bureaux de
bienfaisance, the foundation of which is optional for the commune, are
managed by committees consisting of the mayor of the municipality and
six members, two elected by the municipal council and four nominated
by the prefect. The members of these committees are unpaid, and have
no concern with ways and means which are in the hands of a paid
treasurer (_receveur_). The bureaux de bienfaisance in the larger
centres are aided by unpaid workers (_commissaires_ or _dames de
charité_), and in the big towns by paid inquiry officers. _Bureaux
d'assistance_ exist in every commune, and are managed by the combined
committees of the hospices and the bureaux de bienfaisance or by one
of these in municipalities, where only one of those institutions
exists.
No poor-rate is levied in France. Funds for hôpitals, hospices and
bureaux de bienfaisance comprise:
1. A 10% surtax on the fees of admission to places of public
amusement.
2. A proportion of the sums payable in return for concessions of
land in municipal cemeteries.