Capital: Paris
Area: 549,183 km²
Population: 59 million (December 2000 est.)
Ethnic groups: Celtic or Latin origin (91%)
Official language(s): French
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (81%), Protestant (1.7%), Muslim (6.9%), and Jewish (1.3%)
Currency: 1 euro = 100 cents
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
After the 22-year-old teacher Gilbert Cotteau had read about Hermann Gmeiner in a newspaper article in 1953 and in that same year had met him personally in Imst, he established the association "Village d' Enfants SOS de Busigny" in April 1954. In September 1956, in Busigny (Départment Nord), in the presence of Hermann Gmeiner, the foundation was laid for the first SOS Children's Village outside of Austria.
Upon the initiative of Charles Kraemer, a businessman from Strassbourg, Hermann Gmeiner's idea was also realized in Alsace in the 60's. In November 1960 the foundation stone for the SOS Children's Village was laid in Obernai, which to date is run by its own SOS Children's Village Association. In order to also promote the work of SOS Children's Villages outside of France, a separate association was established in 1979, which, united with the main French association in 1997, is today known under the name of "SOS Villages d'Enfants."
In 1994 the French SOS Children's Village Association advocated the establishment of an SOS Children's Village in Tahiti, an island in French Polynesia. In the course of time, an SOS Youth Facility and several Vocational Training Centres were established in France itself in order to better meet the needs of the youths and facilitate their move towards independence and integration into a professional life.
At present there are 13 SOS Children's Villages, one SOS Youth Facility and two SOS Vocational Training Centres in France.