Science and Technology

• # France will be the site of the world's first nuclear fusion reactor, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
• # Seven of France's top ten exports to the U.S. are industrial or high technology products.
• # France is the fourth largest producer of automobiles in the world (Renault, Peugeot, Citroën) and the third largest exporter.
• # France is fourth in research among countries of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (after Japan, Germany, and the US).
• # France is a major world research center in the field of high energy physics.
• # The French are a world leader in medical research: the AIDS virus was first isolated by French doctors.
• # The French are a leader in medical genetics (the Human Genome Project is located in Paris).
• # The French are the world's third manufacturers of electronics equipment.
• # European leader in aerospace (Aérospatiale, Arianespace, Airbus...).
• # Most commercial satellites are put into space on French Ariane rockets.
• # The fastest train (TGV) is French.
• # The smart card was used on a large-scale basis in France.
• # The ocean liner Queen Mary II was built in France.
• # France is the world's third military power (after the US and Russia), and has the world's second largest defense industry (i.e. exocet missiles, radar technology.)
• # The French have nearly 15,000 troups on peace-keeping duties in 15 countries including Afghanistan, the Balkans, and the Ivory Coast.
• # France is the world's second largest builder and exporter of civilian and military aircraft and helicopters (Airbus is the world's second largest fleet of commercial airliners, and many of the US Coast Guard helicopters are made by Aérospatiale in Toulouse.)
• # France has one of the most advanced systems of telecommunications in the world. Fiber optics were invented in France.