- French Fifth Republic
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French Republic République française
Flag National emblem Motto: Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, equality, brotherhood) Anthem: La Marseillaise 
Territory of the French Republic in the world
(excl. Antarctica where sovereignty is suspended)Capital Paris Government Unitary semi-presidential republic Currency Euro, CFP Franc ISO 3166 code FR The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958.[1] The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system. It is France's third-longest-enduring political regime, after the pre-Revolutionary Ancien Régime and the Third Republic.
Contents
Origins
The trigger for the collapse of the French Fourth Republic was the Algiers crisis of 1958. France was still a colonial power, although conflict and revolt had begun the process of decolonisation. French West Africa, French Indochina, and French Algeria still sent representatives to the French parliament under systems of limited suffrage in the French Union. Algeria in particular, despite being the colony with the largest French population, saw rising pressure for separation from the Metropole. The situation was complicated by those in Algeria, such as white settlers, who wanted to stay part of France, so the Algerian War became not just a separatist movement but had elements of a civil war. Further complications came when a section of the French army rebelled and openly backed the "Algérie française" movement to defeat separation. Charles de Gaulle, who had retired from politics a decade before, placed himself in the midst of the crisis, calling on the nation to suspend the government and create a new constitutional system. De Gaulle was carried to power by the inability of the parliament to choose a government, popular protest, and the last parliament of the Fourth Republic voting for their dissolution and the convening of a constitutional convention. Algeria became independent on 5 July 1962.
The Fourth Republic suffered from little political consensus, a weak executive, and governments forming and falling in quick succession since the Second World War. With no party or coalition able to sustain a parliamentary majority, Prime Ministers found themselves unable to risk their political position with unpopular reforms. De Gaulle and his supporters proposed a system of strong executive presidents elected for seven-year terms. The President under the proposed constitution would have executive powers to run the country in consultation with a prime minister whom he would appoint. On 1 June 1958, Charles de Gaulle was appointed head of the government;[2] on 3 June 1958, a constitutional law empowered the new government to draft a new Constitution of France,[1] and another law granted Charles de Gaulle and his cabinet the power to rule by decree for up to 6 months, except on certain matters related to the basic rights of citizens (criminal law, etc.).[3] These plans were approved by 85.14% by 9 million voters to 8 million, with another 8 million abstaining.[4][dubious ] of those who voted in the referendum of 28 September 1958.[5] The new constitution was signed into law on 4 October 1958.[6] Since each new constitution establishes a new republic, France moved from the Fourth to the Fifth Republic.
The new constitution contained transitional clauses (articles 90–92) extending the period of rule by decree until the new institutions were operating. René Coty stayed president of the Republic until the new president was proclaimed. On 21 December 1958 Charles de Gaulle was elected President of France by an electoral college.[7] The provisional constitutional commission, acting in lieu of the Constitutional Council, proclaimed the results of the election on 9 January 1959. The new president began his office on that date, appointing Michel Debré as prime minister.
Evolution
The president was initially elected by an electoral college, but in 1962 de Gaulle proposed that the president be directly elected by the citizens in a referendum. Although the method and intents of de Gaulle in that referendum were contested by most political groups except for the Gaullists, the change was approved by the French electorate.[8] The Constitutional Council declined to rule on the constitutionality of the referendum.[9]
The president is now elected every five years, changed from seven by a constitutional referendum in 2000, to reduce the probability of cohabitation due to former differences in the length of terms for the National Assembly and Presidency. The first round is open to all candidates and will establish a president if any candidate gets an overall majority. If there is no winner in the first round, the two candidates with the greatest number of votes go to a second round.
Two major changes occurred in the 1970s regarding constitutional checks and balances.[10] Traditionally, France operated according to parliamentary supremacy: no authority was empowered to rule on whether statutes passed by Parliament respected the constitutional rights of the citizens.[11] In 1971, the Constitutional Council, arguing that the preamble of the Constitution referenced the rights defined in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the preamble of the 1946 Constitution, concluded that statutes must respect these rights and declared partially unconstitutional a statute because it violated freedom of association.[12] However, only the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, and the President of each house of Parliament could ask for a constitutional review before a statute was signed into law, which greatly hindered efforts to get such a review if all these personalities happened to be from the same political side, which was the case at the time. In 1974, a constitutional amendment widened this possibility to 60 members of the National Assembly or 60 members of the Senate.[13] From that date, the opposition has been able to have controversial new statutes examined for constitutionality.[14]
Fifth Republic: Presidents
Gaullists are in blue, Socialists in pink, centrists in teal.
President Lived from to Party Charles de Gaulle 1890–1970 8 January 1959 28 April 1969 (resigned) UNR then UDR Alain Poher 1909–1996 28 April 1969 15 June 1969 (interim) PDM Georges Pompidou 1911–1974 15 June 1969 2 April 1974 (died in office) UDR Alain Poher 1909–1996 2 April 1974 19 May 1974 (interim) PDM Valéry Giscard d'Estaing 1926– 19 May 1974 21 May 1981 UDF François Mitterrand 1916–1996 21 May 1981 17 May 1995 Socialist Jacques Chirac 1932– 17 May 1995 16 May 2007 RPR then UMP Nicolas Sarkozy 1955– 16 May 2007 Incumbent UMP Fifth Republic: Prime ministers
Prime Ministers
Name Term start Term end Political Party Michel Debré 8 January 1959 14 April 1962 Union for the New Republic Georges Pompidou 14 April 1962 10 July 1968 Union for the New Republic Maurice Couve de Murville 10 July 1968 20 June 1969 Union of Democrats for the Republic Jacques Chaban-Delmas 20 June 1969 5 April 1973 Union of Democrats for the Republic Pierre Messmer 5 April 1973 27 May 1974 Union of Democrats for the Republic Jacques Chirac (1st time) 27 May 1974 26 August 1976 Union of Democrats for the Republic Raymond Barre 26 August 1976 21 May 1981 Union for French Democracy Pierre Mauroy 21 May 1981 17 July 1984 Socialist Party Laurent Fabius 17 July 1984 20 March 1986 Socialist Party Jacques Chirac (2nd time) 20 March 1986 10 May 1988 Rally for the Republic Michel Rocard 10 May 1988 15 May 1991 Socialist Party Édith Cresson 15 May 1991 2 April 1992 Socialist Party Pierre Bérégovoy 2 April 1992 29 March 1993 Socialist Party Édouard Balladur 29 March 1993 18 May 1995 Rally for the Republic Alain Juppé 18 May 1995 3 June 1997 Rally for the Republic Lionel Jospin 3 June 1997 6 May 2002 Socialist Party Jean-Pierre Raffarin 6 May 2002 31 May 2005 Union for a Popular Movement Dominique de Villepin 31 May 2005 17 May 2007 Union for a Popular Movement François Fillon 17 May 2007 Incumbent Union for a Popular Movement See also
- Government of France
- Politics of France
- List of French possessions and colonies
- French colonial empire
References
- ^ a b Loi du 3 juin 1958 portant dérogation transitoire aux dispositions de l'article 90 de la Constitution, fr:L'Assemblée nationale and the fr:Conseil de la République, Journal Officiel de la République Française, 3 June 1958
- ^ Décret du 1er juin 1958 portant nomination des membres du gouvernement
- ^ Loi n°58–520 du 3 juin 1958 relative aux pleins pouvoirs
- ^ Referenced to "Government and Politics of France" by Anne Stevens, Page 101
- ^ Proclamation des résultats des votes émis par le peuple français à l'occasion de sa consultation par voie de référendum, le 28 septembre 1958
- ^ Constitution, Journal Officiel de la République Française, 5 October 1958
- ^ Proclamation des résultats du scrutin du 21 décembre 1958 pour l'élection du Président de la République, Président de la Communauté; text version
- ^ Constitutional Council, Proclamation of the results of the 28 October 1962 referendum on the bill related to the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage
- ^ Constitutional Council, Decision 62-20 DC of 6 November 1962
- ^ F. L. Morton, Judicial Review in France: A Comparative Analysis, The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Winter, 1988), pp. 89–110
- ^ M. Letourneur, R. Drago, The Rule of Law as Understood in France, The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Spring, 1958), pp. 147–177
- ^ Constitutional Council, Decision 71-44 DC of 16 July 1971
- ^ Loi constitutionnelle 74-904 du 29 octobre 1974 portant révision de l'article 61 de la Constitution
- ^ Alain Lancelot, La réforme de 1974, avancée libéral ou progrès de la démocratie ?
Further reading
- Martin A. Rogoff, "French Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials" – Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2010.[1]
Categories:- Charles de Gaulle
- French Fifth Republic
- Government of France
- Republicanism in France
- 20th century in France
- 21st century in France
- States and territories established in 1958
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