France:

Political institutions

The Fifth Republic

• Unitary – divided into 21 regions and 95 departments

• Semi-presidential:– President (head of state) is directly elected

for five year terms (until 2002, seven years)– Premier (head of government, is appointed by

the President, but must retain the confidence of the National Assembly (lower house of a bi-cameral parliament

France and its regimes:

• 1rst Empire (1796-1815) -- Napoleon

• Monarchy (1815-1848)

• 2nd Empire (1849-70) Louis Napoleon

• Vichy Republic (1940-1944) [puppet regime in unoccupied south}

• 1rst Republic (1791-1796)

• 2nd Republic (1848-49)

• 3rd Republic (1875-1940)

• 4th Republic (1946-1958)• 5th Republic (1958-

present)

Origins of the 5th Republic

• Liberation in 1944 > constitutional debate– General Charles de Gaulle, Leader of the

Free French Army, argues that France needs strong leadership and a presidential regime:

• The President, according to de Gaulle, must be above politics, the ‘arbiter’ of the constitution

• Resistance forces and political parties (Communists, Socialists, Christian Democrats) favour a parliamentary regime

• 4th Republic established in 1946

4th Republic

• Extreme multipartyism – – 6-8 parties represented in the National Assembly– Parties differ with each other – Have weak internal discipline

• Problems of cabinet instability: – from 1946-1958, a total of 26 cabinets– longest in office for 1.5 years, shortest 2-3 days

• Problems of de-colonization– Indochina– Algeria

From 4th to 5th Republic

• The Algerian crisis (1958):– France is trying to keep Algeria French– Army, defeated in Indochina, is bogged down – Paratroopers threaten to invade metropolitan France

unless General De Gaulle brought back to power– Politicians summon De Gaulle– De Gaulle returns on the condition that he can

propose a new constitution– Does so, new constitution approved overwhelmingly

in a referendum (80% in favour)

The Fifth Republic

• Constitution written for De Gaulle & to correct problems of the 3rd & 4th Republics

• Strengthens the executive by – giving the premier constitutional powers equivalent to

those enjoyed by a British Prime Minister– However in a multiparty context….– Weakening the National Assembly and limiting its

ability to block or remove the premier

• Not expected to outlast De Gaulle, but…

Features:

• Presidential: – President initially indirectly elected, above politics– From 1962, directly elected for 7 year term (from

2002, 5 years)

• Parliamentary:– Premier, appointed by president, can be censured

and removed by an absolute majority of the National Assembly (lower house)

• Thus semi-presidential – a hybrid regime

Presidential elections

• President is elected in a two ballot or runoff system:– To be elected on the first ballot, a candidate

must win an absolute majority (50%+1) of the vote cast

– If no candidate wins on the first ballot, a second ballot is held 2 weeks later:

• Lower candidates are dropped• Candidate with the most votes wins

Elections to the National Assembly

• Deputies are elected in single member districts on a two ballot or runoff system– In order to be elected on the first ballot, a

candidate must win an absolute majority– If no candidate has an absolute majority, then

a second runoff ballot is held one week later• Candidates winning less than 12.5 % (1/8) are

dropped• Candidate with the most votes – a plurality – wins

The Fifth Republic in practice

• New constitution provides political stability, governments which can govern

• New regime is semi-presidential:– Can be dominated by strong presidents if they

command a majority in the National Assembly– However, president’s ability to lead or

dominate weakens if opposition parties have a majority:

– If so, results in cohabitation – a form of power-sharing