Literary and Scientific Institutions.—Among the literary and scientific institutions of F. the first is l'institut de France (q.v.). The museum of natural history, knOwn formerly as the jardin du roi, is one of the finest in the world. The bureau des longitudes and the observatoire, at Paris and Marseilles, have occupied the first rank among scientific institutions since their foundation. These establishments are all main tained at the cost of the state. Paris.possesses several libraries belonging to and sup ported by the state, but freely opened to the public. The most important of all is that now known as la bibliotheque rationale. See LIBRARIES. There are 338 public libraries in the provinces, to all of which access is afforded in the most liberal spirit. F. is rich in public galleries of painting, statuary, and articles of vertu. The expenses of secondary and primary education, literary and scientific institutions, national archives, etc., are charged in the budget for 1876 at 38,220,000 francs.
Theaters.—The theater, like all other public institutions, is under the surveillance of the state, which charges the annual budget for the maintenance of theatrical companies; nearly 7 millions of francs being inscribed on the budget of 1876 for the support of thea ters, the fine arts, etc.
Charitable Institutions.—F. is rich in institutions of charity, many of which are rem nants of the old system of church relief; but the creches, of which there are several hun dreds, and which are, in fact, free nurseries, are a modern form of charity, which origi nated (in 1844) with M. Marbeau at Paris. The public hospitals and infirmaries are maintained by special endowments, a percentage on the receipts at theaters and other places of amusement, and by subsidies from the government and local communes. Pub lic charities for the relief of paupers derive their resources either from departmental or municipal funds, and are administered by the bureaux de beinfaisance, by the depots de Inendicite, and by numerous other local institutions; besides which, the state contributes between 8 and 9 millionS of francs (for 1876, 8,485,810 francs) for charitable purposes.
Taxation, Finances.—The public revenues are obtained in F. from direct and indirect taxation, and comprised in the budget, voted by the national assembly, under the heads of ordinary resources and special resources; the former including direct and indirect taxes, from stamps, the produce of forests, telegraphs, Algeria, etc. ; and the latter, departmental funds, special imposts, etc. The following table shows the finan
cial report of the public receipts and expenditure for different years from 1815 to 1876: Public .Debt.--In 1814, the date of the restoration, the interest of the debt was 63 mil lion francs; under the Bourbons it rose to 200 millions; and from 1830 to 1848, Louis Philippe increased it to 244 millions. During the three years of the second republic, 5 millions were paid off; but the second empire (1852-69) added nearly 120 millions to the annual burden. The increase of the debt during the empire arose from a succession of loans raised by borrowing directly from the mass of small capitalists, without the inter-, vention of large banking-houses. The amount of the national debt of F. is very variously given according to what is included under that head; but if we take the funded debt bearing rentes or interest, the amount of such rentes in Jan., 1870, before the war, ist stated at 358 million francs = about £14,000,000, representing a capital of 11,500 mil lion francs, or £460,000,000. The loans and other obligations incurred to meet the expenses of the war of 1870-71, including the indemnity of 5 milliards of francs to Ger many, nearly doubled this sum. The total expenditure arising from the war and the' foreign occupation has been finally stated at 9,820 millions of francs; yet in spite of this enormous strain on the exchequer, the national wealth of F. has increased since the war. In 1876, provision had to be made for paying, as annual interest of the total debt, over 1150 millions of francs. This was calculated to correspond to a capital sum of 23,403 millions (nearly 231- milliards) of francs.
The continual deficits from the close of the first empire in 1815 to the close of the' second empire in 1870, have been covered by loans, bearing interest or rentes at the rate of 3, 4, 41, and 5 per cent. The budgets voted annually by the representatives of the nation have almost invariably shown a small assumed surplus; while the compte defini sif for the corresponding period, when published some years afterwards, has without exception exhibited a large deficit. The actual state of accounts with regard to national income and expenditure is not published till after the lapse of six or seven years; so that in 1877 the most recent final account (budget .re,gle) was that for the year 1869. The following table shows the rate at which the deficits have increased since 1814: Amount of Deficits.