Information from Irene Kraemer, Carthage College, Kenosha, WI.
 

• France is ranked second worldwide in the aeronautical industry.
• France is the only other country that regularly sends satellites and missiles into space.
• In 1990, the TGV broke the world record for speed (320 mph).
• The first VAL (a train without a conductor) was put into service in Lille, France in  1983.  Built by Matra, there is an example of this train at O'Hare Airport, Chicago.
• The Chantiers de l'Atlantique constructs cruise ships.  If you are on a Sovereign of the Seas, a Monarch of the Seas, or a Majesty of the Seas, you are on a French ship.
• The French are involved in the automobile and race car industry.
• France produces 75% of its energy from nuclear power.
• The Smart Card was invented by a Frenchman, Roland Moreno.  France produces 80% of the smart cards in the world.
• France is a leader in the electronic, cable and digital and interactive television industries and in air traffic control equipment.
• France is a leader in artificial intelligence and software.
• 90% of French telephones are digital.  There are more telephones per inhabitants in France than in Japan, Germany or Great Britain.
• France has been involved in high technology projects worldwide:  the Normandy Bridge (largest suspended bridge in the world), the Tunnel under the English Channel, and the renovation of the New York subway system, etc.
• France is a leader in biotechnology and in food preparation.
• France is a leader in pharmacy and medicine (the Pasteur Institute and AIDS) and in medical and hospital supplies.
• France is the fourth largest producer in the world of chemical products (Michelin).
• Air France is the largest airline company in Europe.
• Paris is the fourth largest financial center in the world.