Fifth Republic

The Fifth Republic is the republican mode into force in France since the October 5th 1958, governed by the Constitution of 1958. It succeeded the Fourth Republic founded in 1946.

History

Having been named President of the Council on June 1st 1958, the Général de Gaulle charged a team led by Michel Debré (future Prime Minister) to prepare a project of Constitution, approved massively by Référendum (approximately 80% of yes) on September 28th, 1958, which became the Constitution of October 4th, 1958 often called Constitution of the Fifth Republic .

The Fifth Republic grants a capacity more important than the Fourth to the President of the Republic. Until 2002, the term of the office is 7 years. After this date, the president is elected for 5 years: a Five-year period. It to him is thus conferred the executive power, like the de Gaulle general had already expressed of it the wish during the drafting of the Constitution of the 4th Republic.

The text voted in 1958 introduced an innovation into the mode of election of the President of the Republic, elected before by the meeting of the National Assembly and the Senate. Memory of election hard of 1954, where one had not had less than 13 ballots so that appointed and senators agree on the candidature of Rene Coty, remained in the memories. Also the Constitution entrusted it the responsibility to elect the president of the Republic to a College of approximately: 80,000 Great Electors (appointed, senators, general advisers, mayors and delegated municipal councils). This system was used only once, the December 21st 1958.

A referendum was organized in 1962 by president de Gaulle to again modify the mode of election of the President of the Republic. It introduced the principle of its election to the universal direct suffrage. The first poll of this type was organized in 1965.

This election of the president of the Republic by the universal direct suffrage, coupled with the appearance of the majority fact , deeply will modify the operation of the Institution S: one will see appearing the concepts of “presidentialisation of the capacity” and “Cohabitation”.

Since 1995, France is also marked by a renewal of the social movements. In January 1987, the network of the SNCF had already been paralyzed for one month by a strike of the railwaymen which had then completely overflowed the trade unions. Other categories were mobilized since 1981: the steelmakers (1982 - 1984), workmen of the car (1983), the high-school pupils (1990, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2006), the students (1983, 1986, 1994,1995, 2006), the civils servant (1995), the unemployed (1997 - 1998), without-papers (since 1996), the teachers (1995, 2003)…

Current location

Institutions

Ve République is a semi-presidential mode, with the direction where the executive power collaborates with the legislative power within the framework of a system of separation of the capacities. With the difference in the presidential regime (standard the United States, Brazil) where the two capacities are strictly separated, in France, each capacity has on the other of a means pressure: - the National Assembly can reverse the Government (as it was the case of the Government Pompidou I on October 5th, 1962 following the vote of a Motion of censure); - the President of the Republic can dissolve the National Assembly. It will be noted however that with the difference in other parliamentary modes (type the United Kingdom, Germany), Ve République does not function (in theory only), that when the member of Parliament majorities (majority of the National Assembly) and presidential are identical in a dualistic way, the Prime Minister being, in this case, person in charge also, makes some but not in right, in front of the President of the republic which of sometimes requires him to resign (it was the case for example for Mr. Debré, J. Chaban-Delmas, P. Mauroy, E. Cresson, Mr. Rocard, J. - P. Raffarin).

The election of the President of the Republic by the vote for all confers on this one a considerable political weight. But moreover the Constitution allots to the President of the Republic clean capacities which break with the role which was allotted to him under the III {{E}} republic and the IV {{E}} République, a purely honorary role. Indeed, the Constitution of October 4th, 1958 provides that the President names and puts an end to the functions of the Prime Minister on the presentation by this one of the resignation of the Government (article 8), can organize a referendum (article 11) on a proposal from the Government, can dissolve the National Assembly (article 12) and in certain dramatic circumstances can endorse special capacities (article 16) which create a true mode of being able of temporary exception (6 months), provided are supposed to fill of the conditions envisaged by the texts.

The President of the Republic has a clean decision-making power and the Gouvernement is responsible (and can be reversed) before the Parliament. He was elected for seven years by the Congrès then by the universal direct suffrage since the constitutional reform of 1962. Since the constitutional reform of 2000, the President of the Republic is elected for five years by the universal direct suffrage. It can dissolve the National Assembly and be invested, in the event of crisis, of exceptional capacities. It also appoints the Prime Minister and the ministers (named on a proposal from the Prime Minister) responsible in front of the Parliament. The Government thus made up lays down the interior policy of France and in the event of presidential majority with the capacity applies the orientations of the president of the Republic. In the event of cohabitation, i.e. of presence in majority to the Parliament of a formation whose policy options are opposed to those of the President-in-Office, the Government made up will have as a role to lay down the general policy of the country whereas the President becomes again the referee and the guarantor of the political institutions and for this reason preserves his prerogatives as regards foreign politics and defense. In the event of vacancy of the capacity, the president's functions of the French Republic are provided by the President of the Senate, which arrived in 1969, following the resignation of De Gaulle and in 1974, with died of Pompidou.

The Parliament is consisted of the National Assembly, consisted of 577 deputies elected for five years by the universal direct suffrage, and of the Sénat, currently including/understanding 331 senators (they will be 343 in 2008, 348 in 2011) elected for six years by the indirect suffrage by the " large électeurs" (Deputies, general advisers, regional advisers and delegates of the municipal councils) and renewed per half every three years (since July 2003).

Practice of the capacity since 2007

In 2007, following the success of UMP to the elections presidential and legislative, a program of “rupture” is applied, resulting in a change of some practical presidential. Thus the new president of the Republic affirmed that Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the Republic, and Francois Fillon, Prime Minister, are “interchangeable” S . In addition, the Prime Minister, Francois Fillon, would have written a book in which he would explain the uselessness of the Prime Minister. In this new system, the president writes letters of assignment with the ministers; he wants to speak about sharp voice to a room of the Parliament, which generates sometimes polemics as for the separation of the capacities; he appears quasi-quotidiennement on television, to defend the policy of the Ministers for the government of Francois Fillon and to make Effets of advertisement; in addition, when it is necessary to put an end to a Débat, it announces that the government draws its legitimacy from the presidential election, rather than of the legislative elections.

This shows in fact the great flexibility of the French Constitution.

Political parties

See also: Parties and political movements French

France is a multi-party mode where many political trainings cohabit. The right parties, of the center and left fit in the Republic. The parties of extreme-left reject it and the parties of extreme-right-hand side want to harden it.

The principal parties are:

Extreme left

Workers' struggle: name under which to the Communist Union Internationalist presents itself (UCI). The UCI is resulting from a scission of the IV {{E}} Internationale going back to 1939. It is thus about a party trotskist. Its spokesperson, Arlette Laguiller, collected 1,34% of the voices to the last presidential election (2007).
Communist revolutionary league (LCR): party trotskist affiliated to IVe International. Its militants were excluded from the PCF in 1966. Its spokesperson, Olivier Besancenot, collected 4,08% of the voices to the last presidential election (2007).
Left the workers (Pt): scission trotskist going back to 1952 belonging International to IVe. The supported candidate by Pt in 2007, Gerard Schivardi, collected 0,34% of the voices to the last presidential election.
French Communist party: after having known its hour of glory after the Second world war, it is since 1981 in clear lose speed. Its candidate with the first turn of the presidential election of 2007, Marie-George Buffet obtained 1,93% of the voices.

Left

Socialist party: heir to SFIO, this party in his actual position was gathered by François Mitterrand and claims way progressist and social democrat. Its first current secretary is François Holland. Its candidate during the presidential election 2007 was Ségolène Royal. This one, in the presidential one of 2007, received 25,87% of the voices, arriving 2nd after the candidate UMP Nicolas Sarkozy. It reached to the second turn, and lost there, with 46,94% of the voices, against this last.
Republican movement and citizen: carried out by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, this party is a whole of tendencies which could be described as Republican left.
the Greens: grouping ecologist of left. Its candidate with the presidential election of 2007 was Dominique Voynet, which collected 1,57% of the voices to the first turn.
Radical left party: this movement is resulting from the scission in 1971 of the Parti radical socialist of which part Georges Clémenceau made formerly (president of the Council during the First World War). This formation was also the first to introduce to the presidential election of 2002 a candidate originating in the Guyana, Christiane Taubira.

Center

Union for the French democracy: created by Valery Giscard d'Estaing, this party of the center was carried out until May 2007 by Francois Bayrou. This one collected 18,57% with the first turn of the presidential election of 2007. It transformed into Modem at the evening of the second round of the presidential election of 2007.
democratic Mouvement (or Modem): movement independent created by Francois Bayrou following the presidential election of 2007.
the New Center: created by the members of the UDF having joined the presidential majority, after the first turn of the presidential election of 2007.

Right

Union for a popular movement: created by Jacques Chirac the shortly after her re-election in 2002 starting from the RPR, itself heir to UNR of the General de Gaulle, this party of inspiration gaullist defends of the liberal theses . Its president is Nicolas Sarkozy, which is the President of the Republic since May 16th, 2007 after having gained the turn (31,18% of the voices) and the second turn (53,06% of the voices) of the presidential election of 2007 against the candidate of the PS Ségolène Royal.
Radical party valoisien: the oldest French political party, created in 1901, currently Co-chaired by Andre Rossinot and Jean-Louis Borloo. Party of republican, laic and social inspiration, associated with the UMP, it wants to be to be the social wing about it.

Various Right-hand side

CPNT drive out-fishing-nature and traditions, party defending the rural businesses, hunting, agriculture, fishing. Created in 1989, it is directed by Jean Saint-Jose (candidate with the presidential election in 2002 when he carries out 4,25% of the voices). The CPNT is represented in 2007 per Frederic Nihous who gathers 1,15% of the voices.
Movement for France: party Souverainiste, chaired by Philippe de Villiers, collecting 2,23% of the voices to the first tower of presidential of 2007

Extreme right-hand side

National front: started from extreme right-hand side, carried out by Jean-Marie Le Pen, which receives 10,44% of the voices to the first tower of presidential the 2007.
MNR: party of extreme right-hand side, scission of the precedent, directed by Bruno Mégret.

List presidents of the French Republic

Rene Coty, last president of IVe Republic, remains in exercise until January 8th, 1959.

1. Charles de Gaulle : January 8th, 1959 - April 28th, 1969, first president elected under Ve République, by the indirect vote for all (college of Great Electors), then re-elected in 1965 by the universal direct suffrage.
Interim of Alain Poher (then candidate with the Presidency of the Republic)
2. Georges Pompidou : 1969-1974 (deceased in the course of mandate)
Interim of Alain Poher
3. Valery Giscard d'Estaing : from May 27th, 1974 to May 21st, 1981
4. François Mitterrand : 1981-1995
5. Jacques Chirac : 1995-2007
6. Nicolas Sarkozy : 2007-… (mandate in progress)

Budget of the presidency

The budgetary reforms of the State resulted in making assume by the operational budget of the Elysium of the appropriations which were not before its competence. It is the same principle as for the budgets of the territorial collectivities with the Décentralisation. The loads existed before but the State transfers from it the responsibility with the means necessary to assume it. The modifications in question took place during the presidency of Jacques Chirac.

Note

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