As is the case in most countries, in France there are four group types into which surveyors are organised:
- Professional associations (PA).
- Trade associations (TA).
- Learned societies (LS).
- Umbrella organisations. (UA)
(For an explanation of these terms refer to the Glossary)
These are mainly the following:
OGE Ordre des Géometres-Experts (PA)
AFT Association Francaise de Topographie (LS)
AFIGEO Association Francaise pour l'Information Géographique (LS)
CNIG Conseil National de l'Information Géographique (UA)
3.1.1 FIG Member organisation
Comité Francais de représentation aupres de la FIG (UA).
This has a five members board, three from Ordre des Géometres-Experts (OGE) (PA), one from Association Francaise de Topographie (AFT) (LS), and one from Association Francaise pour l'Information Géographique (AFIGEO) (LS))
3.1.2 Other related Associations
O G E (Ordre des Géometres-Experts) is a professional association (PA) which counts around 2100 members. Membership is only possible for surveyors graduated by government (Diplômé Par Le Gouvernement (DPLG)), or for engineers graduated by ESGT (Ecole Supérieure des Géometres et Topographes), ENSAIS (Ecole Nationale des Arts et Industries de Strasbourg), all of them within the Ministere de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, or ESTP (Ecole Spéciale des Travaux Publics, private), after 3 years of professional practice under OGE control. (See diagram A3), and for persons whose "formation" is in conformance with the 89/48 European Directive.
A F T (Association Francaise de Topographie) counts around 800 members (including 300 members of OGE). Most of the other members have a position in administrations (Institut Géographique National (IGN), Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM), Cadastre, etc.). Membership is not restricted.
A F I G E O is a subsidiary of the Conseil National de l'Information Géographique (CNIG), an inter-ministerial permanent commission in charge of all aspects of geographic information, including the definition of standards. CNIG is the only official link between all French administrations and companies working for or with geographic information.
C S N P P (Chambre Syndicale Nationale des Photogrammetres Privés) is the association of private photogrammetrists. They represent a very large proportion of all the private sector, and operate around 50 photogrammetric plotters (mainly analytical).
F N G E (Fédération Nationale des Géometres-Experts) is a trade association with about 1500 members, all of whom are Géometres-Experts supporting their Federation on a voluntary basis.
G E R A R (Syndicat National des Géometres-Experts Remembreurs et Aménageurs Ruraux) is a learned society dealing with rural matters and land reallocation problems or remembrements.
S Y G A M (Sydicat National des Géometres-Experts Urbanistes et Aménageurs) is a trade association dealing with the management of urban property and related matters. 
3.2 The professional situation in France
(Ref. C3)
In France, the "Géometres-Experts" are all members of the OGE (Ordre des Géometres-Experts ) in pursuance of the May 1946 law modified at June 28th, 1994. Their first charge is the definition of property and all activities related with this work.
Outside the monopolistic domain, the "Géometres-Experts" compete with non OGE registered professionals (for instance for pure topographic surveys, for high precision metrology, for photogrammetry etc.) and sometimes with administrations.
In GIS, the "Géometres-Experts" have good expertise with 30% of this market.
The Ordre des Géometres-Experts is formed of around 1900 companies, amounting to a total number of around 9000 people. Only a few tens of these companies employ more than 20 people.
The total annual activity is close to 3.5 billion of Francs, with more than 50% in the monopolistic domain.
Since 1994 Ordre des Géometres-Experts members are allowed to perform "transactions immobilieres" as a complementary activity (no more than 25% for each company). Within OGE and more generally the whole private sector, except perhaps hydrography (only a very few companies have hydrographic activity), all branches of surveying are represented.
Surveying Companies may now work everywhere in the country, may have subsidiaries, and due to the 90's crisis many have formed conglomerates of larger size, sometimes with a narrower spectrum of activities, allowing for an improvement by specialisation. In GIS, the main difficulties arise from a lack of trained people or availability of computers within local administrations.
The Cadastre (Ministere des Finances) has for a long time subcontracted surveys to Ordre des Géometres-Experts members, but now performs most of its work alone. There are two different regulations in France, due to historical reasons:
In Alsace and Lorraine, German regulations have been conserved, the "Livre Foncier" is a tax register, but also a legal protection of the land property.
In other parts of France, Cadastre is only a tax register, but is often considered as a free access large scale (1/500 to 1/2000) base map for GIS, despite its unfavourable specifications (precision, no altimetry, no survey of public lands).
A large movement started at the end of the 80's for the numerisation of cadastre maps, in which a certification is provided by the Cadastre administration and a copyright is allowed if very detailed specifications are respected.
The IGN (Institut Géographique National) (2000 employees, Ministere de l'Equipement) has charge of all the national cartography (from 1/25 000 to 1/1 000 000 scale) and national networks of levelling and geodesy (including detail orders). Since 10 years IGN has started several national data bases : BDCarto (6 layers, precision 10 metres, now complete), BDTopo (around 200 layers, precision 1.5 metres, 6% is completed and regularly updated), Georoute (road data base, precision 10 metres), BDZ (DTM from 50 metre steps, complete since 1985).
The SHOM (Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine) is in charge of all hydrographic surveys and maps for at least all the very large maritime domain of France.
In the private sector and outside the basic surveyor activity, we note the presence of important companies for medium scale road cartography (Michelin) and for GIS (e.g. Apic Systems, Clemessy, etc.)
The CNIG now is working hard on official standards on which to set up quality levels.
3.3 Higher education
(Refs. A3, B3)
3.3.1 Courses of study
An important change in this sector is just completed now, related to the extinction of the Institut de Topométrie in 1993, and the new policy concerning the education of OGE surveyors, for whom is required now basically an engineer graduation from ESGT, ESTP or ENSAIS (in France, engineer degree is 5 years after baccalaureate) followed by 2 years of practical training. (Other marginal possibilities exist, at least in an intermediate period and for a few years, and all legal texts are not yet published, see Fig. 1).
In ESGT, ESTP or ENSAIS, students may receive some educational grants (as in any French University) provided their parents have limited resources. In ENSG (see below), they are paid as civil servants.
ESGT selects 80 students: around 40 graduated BTS (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur in Topography, among 200 candidates from 12 colleges), and 40 from DEUG (mathematics and physics, the end of second year of University) or from CPGE (Classes Péparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles d'Ingénieurs) in the colleges (among 400 candidates). Scolarship includes 7 trimesters of theoretical formation, two 10 week stages of practice during summer time, and the 5,5 months end of course training work (Travaux de Fin d'Etudes (TFE)).The TFE is performed in companies or laboratories, and is an applied research work. Most of the lectures are given by professional surveyors, specialists of specific aspects. Other lecturers are professors, associate professors or assistants selected on university criterium.
ESTP and ENSAIS have both a small section of surveyors engineers (25 to 30 students each). ESTP has 8 trimesters of academic work and TFE of 3 months, ENSAIS proposes TFE that may last up to one year. ESTP selects only students from CPGE and has its own CPGE too. ENSAIS also selects mainly CPGE students, but also about 10 BTS (Topographic sections) students.
IGN has its own engineers formation (Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques (ENSG)), where 10 to 20 students are selected each year among CPGE as civil servants, and paid as well. After their education (formation) (3 years) they must serve within IGN.
3.3.2 Specialist Studies
The Cadastre also has its own formation in Toulouse, does not deliver any specific qualification on graduation, but provides short training (3 months to 1 year) in Topography, GIS, Photogrammetry, etc. for people who are already civil servants of the Ministere des Finances.
In Orléans University, a 2 years formation delivers a "Maîtrise de Sciences et Techniques" (MST, Baccalaureate 4 years) of Cartography and GIS for 15 students per year.
In Paris, the University in collaboration with IGN delivers three DEA (Diplôme d'Etude
Approfondies, duration one year, Baccalaureate + 5 years, necessary for PhD inscription), one in Astronomy/Geodesy (15 people), one in GIS/Cartography (20 people), and one in remote sensing :
"Méthodes Physiques en Télédetection" (20 people).
In ESGT a special initial formation was set up in 1992 for photogrammetrists, in order to provide educated people to companies that up to this date had to take their specialists from the IGN staff, which was a source of conflict. This training is performed in 18 months, half in ESGT and half in companies. A maximum of 6 people are educated every year. The equipment includes 4 analytical plotters, 4 opto-mechanical numeric ones, and two purely opto-mechanical ones.
3.4 Continuous Professional Development
In France there is no systematic obligation concerning CPD. CPD expenses are generally covered at least partially by the FAFPL, a governmental organisation that collects specific taxes for that.
The OGE promotes regularly some technical sessions concerning informatisation, GIS, evolution of juridical aspects of the profession, etc.
On another hand, the ENSG and IGN sometimes organise public sessions about very technical aspects (GIS, GPS, Image processing, etc. but no more than twice a year, with an attendance of 10-20 people).
The AFT organises every 2 years a 2 days cycle of technical conferences, centred mainly on research and new technical applications of geodesy, topography, photogrammetry, remote sensing, in France and some neighbouring countries.
3.5 Research
The main professional research pole, up to now, has been within the laboratories of IGN (image processing, GIS, instrumentation, geodesy), with a total close to 40 researchers. But this research is not within an University framework, and thus has not the common specifications of academic research (publications, attendance to symposiums, availability of PhD, etc.). ESGT is now starting a new research activity, taking benefit of the improvement of its permanent staff and of the TFE of the students.
Various research administrations (CNES (French space agency), IGN, Paris Observatory, IERS, etc.) have set up in common the "Groupe de Recherches en Géodésie Spatiale" (GRGS), a strong research group in geodesy.
Many Universities in France have developed formations and research programs concerning Geography, including GIS (Orléans, Angers, Besancon, Lyon, Metz, Nancy, Rouen, Tours, Brest, Paris, Avignon, Bordeaux, Caen, Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Poitiers, Montpellier).
3.6 Publications
- "Géometre", managed by OGE, 11 issues/year, 13 Rue Léon-Cogniet, 75008 PARIS France
- BIP, managed by OGE, 4 issues/year, distributed only to OGE members, 13 Rue Léon-Cogniet, 75008 PARIS France
- "XYZ", 4 issues/year, managed by AFT 136 bis Rue de Grenelle, 75700 PARIS France
- "GEOTOP", 4 issues/year, managed by the union of ESGT engineers BP 741, 75121 PARIS
- Cedex 03 France
- Bulletin d'Informations de l'IGN, 4 issues/year, 136 bis Rue de Grenelle, 75700 PARIS France
- Bulletin SHOM `The Société Francaise de Photogrammétrie et de Télédetection, 136 bis Rue de Grenelle, 75700 PARIS France, edits his Bulletin.
3.7 References
Special issue of "Géometre" No 8/9 Aout-Septembre 1992, presenting the educational system in France for surveyors.
"Resultats de L'enquete relative aux moyens annuels consacrés a l'information géographique en France". Unpublished report of the CNIG in the 1990's.
3.8 Useful addresses
OGE
Ordre des Géometres-Experts
40 Av. Hoche
75008 PARIS
Ecole Nationale du Cadastre
100 Rue du Cdt Joël-le-Goff
31 080 Toulouse
Dept de Geographie
Faculté de Lettres
MST Maîtrise de Sciences et Techniques
Rue de Tours
45 072 Orléans Cedex
IGN
Institut Géographique National France
136 bis Rue de Grenelle
75700 PARIS
ESGT
Ecole Supérieure des Géometres et Topographes
18 Allée Jean Rostand
91025 EVRY Cedex
AFT
Association Francaise de Topographie
136 bis Rue de Grenelle
75700 PARIS
ESTP
Ecole Spéciale des Travaux Publics
57 Bd Saint-Germain
75240 PARIS Cedex 05
CNIG
Conseil National de l'Information Géographique
136 bis Rue de Grenelle
75700 PARIS
ENSAIS
Ecole Nationale des Arts et Industries de Strasbourg
24 Bd de la Victoire
67084 Strasbourg Cedex
AFIGEO
Association Francaise pour l'Information Géographique
136 bis Rue de Grenelle
75700 PARIS
ENSG
École Nationale des Sciences
Géographiques
2 Av Pasteur BP 68
94 160 Saint Mandé
Chambre Syndicale des Photogrammetres Privés
40 Av. Hoche
75 008 PARIS
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