It's simple. I lived in France for 2 years and like the other posters said they do have a smaller population. But, consider aslo their government is more centeralized, there is little privitazation in the telcom industry and (this is the big one) they have the minitel http://www.minitel.fr/ system already in place. Granted is sucks, you have to pay for it and there is a huge gap between the haves and have-nots (just like in the US) but having a portal to the govt through a system that is already in most urban, Franch homes is not that much of a streach.
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It's simple. I lived in France for 2 years and like the other posters said they do have a smaller population. But, consider aslo their government is more centeralized, there is little privitazation in the telcom industry and (this is the big one) they have the minitel http://www.minitel.fr/ system already in place. Granted is sucks, you have to pay for it and there is a huge gap between the haves and have-nots (just like in the US) but having a portal to the govt through a system that is already in most urban, Franch homes is not that much of a streach.