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The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by public referendum on September 28, 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to Parliament. Under the constitution, the president is elected directly for a 7-year term. Presidential arbitration assures regular functioning of the public powers and the continuity of the state. The president names the prime minister, presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, and concludes treaties. |
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The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by public referendum on September 28, 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to Parliament. Under the constitution, the president is elected directly for a 7-year term (5 year from 2002). Presidential arbitration assures regular functioning of the public powers and the continuity of the state. The president names the prime minister, presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, and concludes treaties. |
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The National Assembly is the principal legislative body. Its deputies are directly elected to 5-year terms, and all seats are voted on in each election. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 9-year terms, and one-third of the Senate is renewed every 3 years. The Senate's legislative powers are limited; the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreement between the two houses. The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its life to any legislative text, and unless a motion of censure is introduced and voted, the text is considered adopted without a vote. |
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The National Assembly is the principal legislative body. Its deputies are directly elected to 5-year terms, and all seats are voted on in each election. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 9-year terms, and one-third of the Senate is renewed every 3 years. The Senate's legislative powers are limited; the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreement between the two houses. The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its life to a legislative text he propose, and unless a motion of censure is introduced (24h from proposal) and voted (48h from introduction) (full procedure last at most 72 hours), the text is considered adopted without a vote. |
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Political conditions During his first 2 years in office, President Chirac's prime minister was Alain Juppe, who served contemporaneously as leader of Chirac's neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) Party. Chirac and Juppe benefited from a very large, if rather unruly, majority in the National Assembly (470 out of 577 seats). Mindful that the government might have to take politically costly decisions in advance of the legislative elections planned for spring 1998 in order to ensure France met the Maastricht criteria for the single European currency, Chirac decided in April 1997 to call early elections. The Left, however--led by Socialist Party leader Lionel Jospin, whom Chirac defeated in the 1995 presidential race--unexpectedly won a solid National Assembly majority (319 seats, with 289 required for an absolute majority) in the two rounds of balloting, which took place May 25 and June 1,1997. President Chirac named Jospin prime minister on June 2, and Jospin went on to form a government composed primarily of Socialist ministers, along with some ministers from allied parties of the Left, such as the Communist and the Greens. Jospin stated his support for continued European integration and his intention to keep France on the path of toward Economic and Monetary Union, albeit with greater attention to social concerns. The tradition in periods of "cohabitation" (president of one party, prime minister of another) is for the president to exercise the primary role in foreign and security policy, with the dominant role in domestic policy falling to the prime minister and his government. Jospin stated, however, that he would not a priori leave any domain exclusively to the president. Chirac and Jospin have worked together, for the most part, in the foreign affairs field with representatives of the presidency and the government pursuing a single, agreed French policy. The current "cohabitation" arrangement is the longest-lasting in the history of the Fifth Republic. Presidential and legislative elections will be held in the spring of 2002. |
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Communist-controlled labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail) or CGT, nearly 2.4 million members (claimed); independent labor union or Force Ouvriere, 1 million members (est.); independent white-collar union or Confederation Generale des Cadres, 340,000 members (claimed); National Council of French Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Francais) or CNPF or Patronat; Socialist-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT, about 800,000 members (est.) |
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Communist-controlled labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail) or CGT, nearly 2.4 million members (claimed); independent labor union or Force Ouvriere, 1 million members (est.); independent white-collar union or Confederation Generale des Cadres, 340,000 members (claimed); Union of French Corporations(Mouvement Des Entreprises de France) or MEDEF or Patronat; Socialist-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT, about 800,000 members (est.) |
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