Constitution of France

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Constitution of France

Constitution of France (1958)

Original title (in French)  Constitution française du 4

octobre 1958

Jurisdiction France

Ratified 28 September 1958; 62 years ago

Date effective 4 October 1958; 62 years ago

System Semi-presidential indivisible, secular,

democratic and social republic

Branches Three (executive, legislature and judiciary)

Chambers Two (Senate and National Assembly)

Executive President-led cabinet responsible to

the National Assembly; Prime minister as
head of government

Judiciary High Court is established for presidential

Impeachment purposes; an extra-judicial
body, the Constitutional Council, reviews
the constitutionality of laws; no other part
of the court system is referenced.

Federalism Unitary

Electoral No, but senate elections mandated to be

college indirect
Last amended 2009

Supersedes French Constitution of 1946

French Republic

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The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically

called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and it replaced the Constitution of the
Fourth Republic, of 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing
the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth Republic, while the text was drafted
by Michel Debré. Since then, the constitution has been amended twenty-four
times, through 2008.[1]

Contents

 1Provisions
o 1.1Preamble
o 1.2Government institutions and practices
o 1.3Treaties and the EU
o 1.4Amendment
 2Principles
o 2.1"Constitutional block"
o 2.2Principles of the Republic
 3Amendments
 4Former constitutions
 5See also
 6Notes and references
 7Further reading
 8External links
Provisions[edit]
Preamble[edit]
The preamble of the constitution recalls the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen from 1789 and establishes France as a secular and democratic country,
deriving its sovereignty from the people.
Government institutions and practices[edit]
The French Constitution established a semi-presidential system of government, with
two competing readings.[2] On one hand, the executive branch has both a President of
the Republic and a Prime Minister, which is commonly seen in parliamentary
systems with a symbolic President and a Prime Minister who directs the government.
[2]
 This reading is supported by Articles 5 and 21 of the Constitution, which
respectively states that the President is a Guardian of the State and of the
Constitution, while the Prime Minister has the power to decide on Government’s
actions and policies.[2]
On the other hand, the Parliament is very weak for a parliamentary system.
[2]
 Parliament has a limited legislative competence: article 34 of the Constitution lists
domains exclusive to Parliamentary legislation, but the remaining domains are left to
the Executive's regulations.[2] The President also has the crucial powers to call
a referendum and to dissolve the National Assembly.[2] While Parliament may make a
vote of no confidence on the government, since 1962 a majority in the National
Assembly has supported the Government.[2]
Charles de Gaulle, the first President of the Fifth Republic, was instrumental in the
adoption of the new constitution, as he was called back from retirement and narrowly
avoided a coup resulting from the Algerian War.[3][2] De Gaulle always supported the
second interpretation of the constitution, in favor of a powerful President. [2] The first
socialist President François Mitterrand, elected in 1981, also supported this
interpretation.[2]
Beginning in 1986, elections have from time to time resulted in Parliaments with a
majority that did not support the President. [2] Such periods as known in France
as cohabitation, where a President appoints a Prime Minister from the new
parliamentary majority.[2] During cohabitation, besides powers reserved to the
President by the Constitution,[4] all other government powers would be exercised by
the Prime Minister.[2] In 2000, the Constitution was amended by shortening the
President's term of office from seven years to five, coinciding with the term of
Parliament.[2] The amendment means the Presidential election would take place
around the Parliamentary election, making it more likely to have winners who agree
with one another and make cohabitation less likely. [2]
The Constitution provides for the election of the President and the Parliament, the
selection of the Government, the powers of each and the relations between them. [2] It
ensures judicial authority and creates a High Court (a never-as-yet-convened court
for trying the Government),[5] a Constitutional Council (an innovation of the Fifth
Republic),[2] and an Economic and Social Council.
Treaties and the EU[edit]
It enables the ratification of international treaties [6] and those associated with the
European Union. It is unclear whether the wording, especially the reserves of
reciprocity, is compatible with European Union law.
Amendment[edit]
The Constitution also sets out methods for its own amendment: a referendum (article
11) or a Parliamentary process with Presidential consent. The normal procedure of
constitutional amendment is that the amendment must be adopted in identical terms
by both houses of Parliament and then must be adopted by a simple majority in a
referendum or by a three-fifths supermajority of the French Congress, a joint session
of both houses of Parliament (article 89).

Principles[edit]
Prior to 1971, though executive, administrative and judicial decisions had to comply
with the general principles of law (jurisprudence derived from law and the practice of
law in general), there were no such restrictions on legislation. It was assumed that
unelected judges and other appointees should not be able to overrule laws voted for
by the directly elected French parliament.
"Constitutional block"[edit]
In 1971, a landmark decision by the Constitutional Council (71-44DC[7]) cited the
preamble of the Constitution and its references to the principles laid in
the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as a reason for rejecting a law
that, according to the council, violated one of these principles. [3] Although considered
a juridical coup d’état at the time, the decision formed basis of the Constitutional
Council today.[3]
Since then, it is assumed that the "constitutional block" includes not only the
Constitution, but also the other texts referred to in its preamble:

 The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789

 The preamble of the Constitution of 1946 (which adds a number of "social rights", as
well as the equality of males and females)
 The Charter for the Environment of 2004
Since then, the possibility of sending laws before the council has been extended. In
practice, the political opposition sends all controversial laws before it.
Principles of the Republic[edit]
In the Constitution, are written the principles of the French Republic: [8]

 Social welfare, which means that everybody must be able to access free public
services and be helped when needed.
 Laïcité, which means that the churches are separated from the State and the freedom
of religion is protected.
 Democracy, which means that the Parliament and the Government are elected by the
people.
 Indivisibility, which means that the French people are united in a
single sovereign country with one language, the French language, and all people are
equal.

Amendments[edit]
Further information on amendments: Constitutional amendments under the Fifth French
Republic

The Constitution, in Article 89, has an amending formula. First, a constitutional bill
must be approved by both houses of Parliament. Then, the bill must either be
approved by the Congress, a special joint session of both houses, or submitted to
a referendum.
In 1962, Charles de Gaulle proposed that the President be elected by direct suffrage.
[2]
 He bypassed the amendment procedure by directly sending a constitutional
amendment to referendum (article 11). The Art. 11 procedure was envisioned as a
procedure for proposing legislation, including changing the organization of
constitutional institutions.[2] The 1962 referendum was approved by 62% of the vote
but only 46% of registered voters.[3][2] The amendment permitted the establishment of
a popularly-elected presidency, which would otherwise have been vetoed by the
Parliament.[9]
The referendum was highly controversial at the time, but the Constitutional
Council ruled that it can only review legislative acts for unconstitutionality, not
executive acts; since the referendum was proposed by the executive, it was
unreviewable.[3] Since a referendum expressed the will of the sovereign people, the
Council ruled that the amendment had been adopted. [10] Some scholars had regarded
the amendment as a post hoc manifestation of the constituent power, which is the
inherent power of the people to bypass an existing constitution to adopt a new
constitution.[3]
Article 11 was used for constitutional changes for the second and final time in 1969,
but the "No" prevailed, causing Charles de Gaulle to resign from the presidency. [9]
On 21 July 2008, Parliament passed constitutional reforms championed by
President Nicolas Sarkozy by a margin of two votes. The changes, when finalized,
introduced a consecutive two-term limit for the presidency, gave Parliament a veto
over some presidential appointments, ended government control over Parliament's
committee system, allowed Parliament to set its own agenda, allowed the president
to address P