Remittances can be defined as the monies migrants workers send back to their native countries, usually with friends or family members as the recipients. With over 200 million people living and working outside their homelands, regular transferences of even small amounts of money (and in some cases, of course, highly significant amounts) adds up to stunning monetary figures. Official statistics compiled by the World Bank put the total flow of global remittances at US$300 billion in the year 2006, with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) estimating an even more impressive US$401 billion.
 Remittance services in France are widely available, as it is a large, profitable, and growing business. In recent years, immigration has accounted for about one quarter of France’s population growth. Although figures differ slightly from source to source, many expert organizations have listed France as the top remittance destination (i.e., recipient) country in the world in terms of gross figures (USD$12.6 billion in 2006, constituting 0.5% of France’s GDP). France is also in the top 10 of sending countries, having been the remittance source point for over USD$4 billion in 2006. Contributing to these huge figures are the fact that the Algeria-France “immigration corridor” (i.e., the flow of emigrants from Third World to First World countries) is listed as the 6th largest or most active immigration corridor in the world. In addition, France is also listed as the 6th most popular emigration destination in the world when considering all source-countries combined. Other sources list France as the 3rd most population destination country in the world for immigrants. Foreign immigrants, in fact, make up approximately 10% of the French population—translating to roughly 650,000 people. In addition, because European Union countries allow free immigration between member nations, many immigrants who have become citizens of other EU nations may legally work in France. Many of these workers, of course, continue to support families in their home countries, or have other personal or professional reasons for regularly transferring monies overseas.
Another aspect of France’s geographic and demographic composition that makes it ripe for remittance activity is the nation’s split between mainland European-France and the large number of French territories and holdings around the world. For example, while 62 million of France’s 64.5 million citizens live in “metropolitan France”, nearly 2.5 million live in the French overseas departments and territories. In general, French laws and regulations generally apply in these territories (civil and penal codes, administrative law, social laws, tax laws, and most banking laws). However, specific laws and regulations have in some cases been adapted to territory-specific needs. Main overseas departments are:
Guadeloupe
Martinique
French Guiana
Réunion
Less well known are some of France’s overseas collectives, which include:
French Polynesia
Saint Martin
Saint Barthélemy
Mayotte
Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and
Wallis and Futuna
Much financial remittance activity takes place between mainland France and these territories, and although telecommunications are not advanced in many of the smaller locales, access to brick-and-mortar banking structures may be even scarcer. Branches of major banks are available in most larger cites in the territories, where customers, again, have limited access to convenient banking services. The largest cities within the French overseas territories (in terms of total population) are:
Pointe-à-Pitre–Les Abymes (Guadeloupe): population 171,773
Saint-Denis (Réunion): population 158,139
Nouméa (New Caledonia): population 146,245
Fort-de-France (Martinique): population 134,727
Saint-Pierre (Réunion): population 129,238
Papeete (French Polynesia): population 127,635
Saint-Paul (Réunion): population 87,712
Cayenne (French Guiana): population 66,149
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