French Fifth Republic

{{Short description|Government of France since 1958}} {{hatnote|This article describes the origins and historical development of the current French state. For information on its organization and structure, see [[Politics of France]].}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox country | native_name = {{lang|fr|République française}} | conventional_long_name = French Republic | common_name = France | life_span = 1958–present | p1 = French Fourth Republic | flag_p1 = Flag of France.svg | image_flag = Flag of France.svg | flag_type = [[Flag of France|Flag]] | national_motto = "''[[Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité]]''" | englishmotto = "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" | national_anthem = "''[[La Marseillaise]]''" {{center|[[File:La Marseillaise.ogg]]}} | image_map = World-EU-France.svg | map_caption = {{map caption |location_color=dark green |country=France |region=the [[European Union]] |region_color=green}} | capital = [[Paris]] | coordinates = {{Coord|48|51.4|N|2|21.05|E|type:city}} | largest_city = capital | religion = [[Secular state]]{{efn|Excluding Alsace-Moselle}} In [[Concordat in Alsace-Moselle|Alsace-Moselle]] *[[Roman Catholicism]] *[[Calvinism]] *[[Lutheranism]] *[[Judaism]] | demonym = [[French people|French]] | government_type = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[Republic|constitutional republic]] | title_leader = [[President of France|President]] | leader1 = [[Charles de Gaulle]]{{efn|name=transitional|[[René Coty]], the last president of the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]], served briefly in a transitional capacity between the promulgation of the Constitution and the election of de Gaulle as the "proper" first president of the fifth Republic. De Gaulle was the last prime minister of the Fourth Republic and continued to serve as such during Coty's transitional presidency; upon becoming president, he appointed Debré in his place as prime minister.}} | leader2 = [[Emmanuel Macron]] | year_leader1 = 1959–1969 (first) | year_leader2 = 2017–present (current) | title_deputy = [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister]] | deputy1 = [[Michel Debré]]{{efn|name=transitional}} | deputy2 = [[Sébastien Lecornu]] | year_deputy1 = 1959–1962 (first) | year_deputy2 = {{nowrap|Sep 2025–present (current)}} | legislature = [[French Parliament|Parliament]] | upper_house = [[Senate (France)|Senate]] | lower_house = [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] | established_event1 = {{nowrap|[[Constitution of France|Current constitution]]}} | established_date1 = {{nowrap|4 October 1958 {{small|({{Age|1958|10|4}} years)}}}} | established_event2 = [[Independence of Algeria]] | established_date2 = 5 July 1962 | established_event3 = [[1962 French presidential election referendum|Direct presidential elections]] | established_date3 = 28 October 1962 | established_event4 = [[Decision 71-44 DC of 16 July 1971|Decision on Freedom of Association]] | established_date4 = 16 July 1971 | established_event5 = First [[Cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]] | established_date5 = 20 March 1986 | established_event6 = [[2000 French constitutional referendum|Presidential term reduced to five years]] | established_date6 = 24 September 2000 | established_event7 = [[French constitutional law of 23 July 2008|2008 institutional reform]] | established_date7 = 23 July 2008 | area_km2 = 643,801 | area_rank = 42nd | languages_type = Official language {{nobold|and national language}} | languages = [[French language|French]]{{efn-ur|name=one|For information about regional languages see [[Languages of France]].}} | GDP_PPP = $4.74 trillion | GDP_PPP_year = 2026 | HDI = 0.920 | HDI_year = 2026 | currency = {{unbulleted list |[[Euro]] ([[ISO 4217|EUR]]) |[[CFP franc]] (XPF)}} ([[French Polynesia]], [[New Caledonia]], and [[Wallis and Futuna]]) | cctld = [[.fr]]{{efn-ur|name=ten|In addition to [[.fr]], several other Internet TLDs are used in French overseas ''départements'' and territories: [[.re]], [[.mq]], [[.gp]], [[.tf]], [[.nc]], [[.pf]], [[.wf]], [[.pm]], [[.gf]] and [[.yt]]. France also uses [[.eu]], shared with other members of the European Union. The [[.cat]] domain is used in [[Catalan Countries|Catalan-speaking territories]].}} | calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in France|+33]]{{efn-ur|name=eleven|The overseas regions and collectivities form part of the [[French telephone numbering plan]], but have their own country calling codes: [[Guadeloupe]] +590; [[Martinique]] +596; [[French Guiana]] +594, [[Réunion]] and [[Mayotte]] +262; [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]] +508. The overseas territories are not part of the French telephone numbering plan; their country calling codes are: [[New Caledonia]] +687, [[French Polynesia]] +689; [[Wallis and Futuna]] +681.}} | date_format = dd/mm/yyyy ([[Anno Domini|AD]]) | iso3166code = FR | notes = }} {{History of France}} The '''Fifth Republic''' ({{langx|fr|Cinquième République}}) is [[France]]'s current [[republic|republican system]] of [[government]]. It was established on 4 October 1958 by [[Charles de Gaulle]] under the [[Constitution of France|Constitution of the Fifth Republic]].<ref name="loi constitutionnelle">{{cite French law|number or usual name=constitutionnelle|date in French=3 juin 1957 |full name=portant dérogation transitoire aux dispositions de l'article 90 de la Constitution|language=French|URL=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580604&numTexte=&pageDebut=05326&pageFin=}}.</ref>

The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]], replacing the former [[parliamentary republic]] with a [[semi-presidential republic|semi-presidential]] (or dual-executive) system<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lessig |first=Lawrence |author-link=Lawrence Lessig |date=1993 |title=The Path of the Presidency |url=http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11679&context=journal_articles |journal=East European Constitutional Review |volume=Fall 1993 / Winter 1994 |issue=2/3 |page=104 |via=Chicago Unbound, University of Chicago Law School}}</ref> that split powers between a [[President of France|president]] as [[head of state]] and a [[Prime Minister of France|prime minister]] as [[head of government]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Richburg |first=Keith B. |author-link=Keith Richburg |date=25 September 2000 |title=French President's Term Cut to Five Years |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/09/25/french-presidents-term-cut-to-five-years/c988b212-2e37-4e49-818f-7a33862f32f5 |access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref> [[Charles de Gaulle]], who was the [[List of Presidents of France#French Fifth Republic (1958–present)|first French president elected under the Fifth Republic]] in December 1958, believed in a strong head of state, which he described as embodying {{lang|fr|l'esprit de la nation}} ("the spirit of the nation").<ref name="Kubicek2015">{{Cite book |last=Kubicek |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d9uoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 |title=European Politics |publisher=Routledge |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-317-34853-5 |pages=154–156, 163}}</ref> Under the Fifth Republic, the president has the right to dissolve the national assembly and hold new parliamentary elections. If the president has a majority in the national assembly, the president sets domestic policy and the prime minister puts it into practice. During a presidential mandate, the president can also change prime ministers and reshuffle the government. If there is a different majority in the national assembly, the president is forced to nominate a prime minister from a different party, which is called a ''cohabitation''. In the beginning of the Fifth Republic, presidential elections were held every seventh year and parliamentary elections every fifth year. Starting in the year 2002, the [[Presidential elections in France|presidential elections (in April)]] and [[Legislative_elections_in_France#Fifth_Republic|parliamentary elections (in June)]] were synchronized to be held every fifth year, which ended in the [[2024 French legislative election|2024 French snap election]].

The Fifth Republic is France's third-longest-lasting political regime, after the [[hereditary monarchy|hereditary]], [[feudal monarchy]] of the [[Ancien Régime]] and the parliamentary [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] ([[French Third Republic|4 September 1870]]–[[French Constitutional Law of 1940|10 July 1940]]).

== Origins == === Instability of the Fourth Republic === {{Main|French Fourth Republic}} [[File:Colonization 1945 Spanish script.png|thumb|right|400px|France and its colonial empire (shown in blue)]] The [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]] had suffered from a lack of political consensus, a weak executive, and governments forming and falling in quick succession since 1946. With no party or coalition able to sustain a parliamentary majority, prime ministers found themselves unable to risk their political position with unpopular reforms.<ref>Philip M. Williams, ''Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic'' (1958)</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}}

=== May 1958 crisis === {{Main|May 1958 crisis in France}} The trigger for the collapse of the [[French Fourth Republic]] was the [[May 1958 crisis in France|Algiers crisis of 1958]]. France was still a [[colonialism|colonial]] power, although conflict and revolt had begun the process of [[decolonization]]. [[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 [[Metropolitan France]]. The situation was complicated by those in Algeria, such as [[Pied-Noir|European settlers]], native [[Algerian Jews|Jews]], and [[Harkis]] (native Muslims who were loyal to France), who wanted to maintain the union with France. The [[Algerian War]] was not just a [[Separatism|separatist]] movement but had elements of a [[civil war]].

Further complications came when a section of the [[French Army]] rebelled and openly backed the {{Lang|fr|[[Algérie française]]}} movement to defeat separation.<ref>John E. Talbott, ''The War Without a Name: France in Algeria, 1954–1962'' (1980).</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}} [[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. The parliament was unable to choose a government amid popular protest, and De Gaulle was carried to power when the last parliament of the Fourth Republic voted for its own dissolution and the convening of a constitutional convention.<ref>Jonathan Fenby, ''The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved'' (2010) pp 375–408.</ref>

=== Transitional period ===

De Gaulle and his supporters proposed a system of strong [[President of France|president]]s 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 of France|prime minister]] whom he would appoint. On 1 June 1958, Charles de Gaulle was appointed [[Head of government|head of the government]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580602&numTexte=&pageDebut=05279&pageFin=|title=Fac-similé JO du 02/06/1958, page 05279 – Legifrance|website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref> on 3 June 1958, a constitutional law empowered the new government to draft a new [[constitution of France]],<ref name="loi constitutionnelle"/> and another law granted Charles de Gaulle and his cabinet the power to [[rule by decree]] for up to six months, except on matters of criminal law, electoral law, matters related to the basic rights and freedoms of citizens, and the activities of trade unions.<ref>{{cite French law|number or usual name=no 58–520|date in French=3 juin 1958|full name=relative aux pleins pouvoirs|language=French|URL=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580604&numTexte=&pageDebut=05327&pageFin=}}.</ref> These plans were approved by more than 80% of those who voted in [[1958 French constitutional referendum|the referendum of 28 September 1958]].<ref>[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&numTexte=&pageDebut=09177&pageFin= Proclamation] des résultats des votes émis par le peuple français à l'occasion de sa consultation par voie de référendum, le 28 septembre 1958</ref> The new constitution was signed into law on 4 October 1958.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&pageDebut=09151 |title=Constitution |work=[[Journal Officiel de la République Française]] |date=5 October 1958 |via=Légifrance |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603011239/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jo_pdf.do?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&pageDebut=09151 |archive-date= Jun 3, 2020 }}</ref> Since each new constitution established a new republic, France moved from the Fourth to the Fifth Republic.

=== 1958 constitution === {{Main|Constitution of France}}

The new constitution contained transitional clauses (articles 90–92) extending the period of rule by decree until the new institutions were operating. [[René Coty]] remained 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19590109&numTexte=&pageDebut=00673&pageFin=|title=Fac-similé JO du 09/01/1959, page 00673 – Legifrance|website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref> The provisional constitutional commission, acting in lieu of the [[Constitutional Council (France)|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.

The 1958 constitution also replaced the French Union with the [[French Community]], which allowed fourteen member territories (excluding Algeria) to assert their independence.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cooper | first1 = Frederick | title = Possibility and Constraint: African Independence in Historical Perspective | doi = 10.1017/S0021853708003915 | journal = Journal of African History | volume = 49 | issue = 2| pages = 167–196|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2300612| date = July 2008 | s2cid = 145273499 | url-access = subscription }}</ref> 1960 became known as the "[[Year of Africa]]" because of this wave of newly independent states.<ref>Abayomi Azikiwe, "[http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2010/04/50th-anniversary-of-of-africa-1960.html 50th Anniversary of the 'Year of Africa' 1960]", ''Pan-African News Wire'', 21 April 2010.</ref> [[Algeria]] became independent on 5 July 1962.

== Evolution ==

=== Election of the president ===

The president was initially elected by an electoral college but in 1962 de Gaulle proposed that the president be directly elected by the citizens and held a referendum on the change. Although the method and intent of de Gaulle in that referendum were contested by most political groups except for the [[Gaullism|Gaullists]], the change was approved by the French electorate.<ref>Constitutional Council, [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/resultats-referendum-octobre-1962/decision-resultats-referendum-octobre-1962-du-06-novembre-1962.6422.html Proclamation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221232406/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/resultats-referendum-octobre-1962/decision-resultats-referendum-octobre-1962-du-06-novembre-1962.6422.html |date=21 February 2012 }} 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</ref> The Constitutional Council declined to rule on the constitutionality of the referendum.<ref>Constitutional Council, [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/62-20-dc/decision-n-62-20-dc-du-06-novembre-1962.6398.html Decision 62-20 DC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510064946/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/62-20-dc/decision-n-62-20-dc-du-06-novembre-1962.6398.html |date=10 May 2013 }} of 6 November 1962</ref>

The president is now elected every five years, changed from seven by [[2000 French constitutional referendum|a constitutional referendum in 2000]], to reduce the probability of [[Cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]] due to former differences in the length of terms for the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] and presidency. The president is elected in [[Two-round system|one or two rounds of voting]]: if one candidate gets a majority of votes in the first round that person is president-elect; if no one gets a [[majority]] in the first round, the two candidates with the greatest number of votes go to a second round.

=== Separation of powers ===

Two major changes occurred in the 1970s regarding constitutional [[Separation of powers#Checks and balances|checks and balances]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morton |first=F. L. |date=Winter 1988 |title=Judicial Review in France: A Comparative Analysis |journal=American Journal of Comparative Law |volume=36 |issue=1 |doi=10.2307/840185 |jstor=840185 |pages=89–110}}</ref> Traditionally, France operated according to [[Parliamentary sovereignty|parliamentary supremacy]]: no authority was empowered to rule on whether statutes passed by Parliament respected the constitutional rights of the citizens.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Letourneur |first1=M. |last2=Drago |first2=R. |date=Spring 1958 |title=The Rule of Law as Understood in France |journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law |volume=7 |issue=2 |doi=10.2307/837562 |jstor=837562 |pages=147–177}}</ref> In 1971, however, the [[Constitutional Council (France)|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 so declared partially unconstitutional a statute because it violated [[freedom of association]].<ref>Constitutional Council, [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1971/71-44-dc/decision-n-71-44-dc-du-16-juillet-1971.7217.html Decision 71-44 DC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510051424/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1971/71-44-dc/decision-n-71-44-dc-du-16-juillet-1971.7217.html |date=10 May 2013 }} of 16 July 1971</ref>

Only the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, or the president of either house of Parliament could ask for a constitutional review {{Emphasis|before}} a statute was signed into law—which greatly reduces the likelihood of such a review if all these officeholders happened to be from the same side of politics, which was the case at the time. Then in 1974, a [[Constitutional amendments under the French Fifth Republic#1974: Reform of the method of referral to the Constitutional Council|constitutional amendment]] widened this prerogative to 60 members of the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] or 60 members of the [[Senate (France)|senate]].<ref>{{cite French law|number or usual name=constitutionnelle no 74-904|date in French=29 octobre 1974|full name=portant révision de l'article 61 de la Constitution|language=French|URL=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19741030&numTexte=&pageDebut=11035&pageFin=}}.</ref> From that date, the opposition has been able to have controversial new statutes examined for constitutionality.<ref>[[:fr:Alain Lancelot|Alain Lancelot]], ''[http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/root/bank_mm/pdf/Conseil/reforme_1974.pdf La réforme de 1974, avancée libéral ou progrès de la démocratie ?]''</ref>

== Presidents of the Fifth Republic == {{Main|List of presidents of France#French Fifth Republic (1958–present)}}

{{legend2|pink|Socialist ([[Socialist Party (France)|PS]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|Democratic Centre (France)}}|Centrist ([[Democratic Centre (France)|CD]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|La République En Marche!}}|Centrist ([[La République En Marche!|REM]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|lightblue|Republican ([[Union for French Democracy|UDF]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#1E90FF|[[Gaullism|Gaullist]] ([[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]]; [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#6495ED|Neo-Gaullist ([[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! No. ! President ! Lived ! from ! to ! colspan="2" | Party |- | 1 | [[Charles de Gaulle]] | 1890–1970 | 8 January 1959 | 28 April 1969 (resigned) | style="width: 4px; background:#1E90FF"| |''[[Independent politician|Independent]]'' |- | align=center| – | [[Alain Poher]] | 1909–1996 | 28 April 1969 | 15 June 1969 (''interim'') | style="background:{{party color|Democratic Centre (France)}}"| | [[Democratic Centre (France)|CD]] |- | 2 |[[Georges Pompidou]] | 1911–1974 | 15 June 1969 | 2 April 1974 (died in office) | style="background:#1E90FF" | | [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]] |- | align=center| – | [[Alain Poher]] | 1909–1996 | 2 April 1974 | 19 May 1974 (''interim'') | style="background:{{party color|Democratic Centre (France)}}" | | [[Democratic Centre (France)|CD]] |- | 3 |[[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] | 1926–2020 | 19 May 1974 | 21 May 1981 | bgcolor=lightblue | | [[Union for French Democracy|UDF]] |- | 4 |[[François Mitterrand]] | 1916–1996 | 21 May 1981 | 17 May 1995 | style="background:pink" | | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] |- | 5 |[[Jacques Chirac]] | 1932–2019 | 17 May 1995 | 16 May 2007 | bgcolor=#6495ED | | [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]] then [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]] |- | 6 |[[Nicolas Sarkozy]] | b. 1955 | 16 May 2007 | 15 May 2012 | bgcolor=#6495ED | | [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]] |- | 7 |[[François Hollande]] | b. 1954 | 15 May 2012 |14 May 2017 | style="background:pink" | | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] |- | 8 |[[Emmanuel Macron]] |b. 1977 |14 May 2017 |''Incumbent'' | style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" | |[[La République En Marche!|REM]] |} Source: {{cite web |url=http://www.elysee.fr/la-presidence/les-presidents-de-la-republique-depuis-1848/ |title=Les présidents de la République depuis 1848 |trans-title=Presidents of the Republic Since 1848 |publisher=Présidence de la République française |language=fr}}

==President image gallery== <gallery> File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F010324-0002, Flughafen Köln-Bonn, Adenauer, de Gaulle-cropped.jpg|'''[[Charles de Gaulle]]''' (1890–1970) Served 1959–1969 File:23.04.1969. A Poher. (1969) - 53Fi3443 (cropped).jpg|'''[[Alain Poher]]''' (1909–1996) Served 1969, 1974 (as ''interim'') File:Georges Pompidou (cropped 2).jpg|'''[[Georges Pompidou]]''' (1911–1974) Served 1969–1974 File:Valéry Giscard d’Estaing 1978(2).jpg|'''[[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]''' (1926–2020) Served 1974–1981 File:President Mitterand bij slotzitting Europa Congres Mitterand, kop, Bestanddeelnr 934-2444 (portrait crop).jpg|'''[[François Mitterrand]]''' (1916–1996) Served 1981–1995 File:Jacques Chirac, 1999.jpg|'''[[Jacques Chirac]]''' (1932–2019) Served 1995–2007 File:Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010.jpg|'''[[Nicolas Sarkozy]]''' (b. 1955) Served 2007–2012 File:Francois Hollande 2015.jpeg|'''[[François Hollande]]''' (b. 1954) Served 2012–2017 File:Emmanuel Macron (cropped).jpg|'''[[Emmanuel Macron]]''' (b. 1977) Incumbent since May 2017 </gallery>

== Prime Ministers of the Fifth Republic == {{main|List of Prime Ministers of France#Fifth French Republic (1958–present)}}

[[File:François Bayrou (Législatives 2024).jpg|thumb|263x263px|Prime minister [[François Bayrou]] of the [[Democratic Movement (France)|Democratic Movement]]]] {{legend2|pink|Socialist ([[Socialist Party (France)|PS]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|La République En Marche!}}|Centrist ([[Renaissance (French political party)|RE]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|lightblue|Republican ([[Union for French Democracy|UDF]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#1E90FF|[[Gaullism|Gaullist]] ([[Union for the New Republic (France)|UNR]]; [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]]; [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|#6495ED|Neo-Gaullist ([[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]; [[Les Républicains|LR]])|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! Name ! Term start ! Term end ! colspan="2" | Political party ! colspan="2" | President |- | [[Michel Debré]] | 8 January 1959 | 14 April 1962 | [[Union for the New Republic (France)|UNR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | | rowspan="3" bgcolor=#1E90FF | | align="center" rowspan="3" | [[Charles de Gaulle]] (1959–1969) |- | [[Georges Pompidou]] | 14 April 1962 | 10 July 1968 | [[Union for the New Republic (France)|UNR]] then [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | |- | [[Maurice Couve de Murville]] | 10 July 1968 | 20 June 1969 | [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | |- | [[Jacques Chaban-Delmas]] | 20 June 1969 | 6 July 1972 | [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | | rowspan="2" bgcolor=#1E90FF | | align="center" rowspan="2" | [[Georges Pompidou]] (1969–1974) |- | [[Pierre Messmer]] | 6 July 1972 | 27 May 1974 | [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | |- | [[Jacques Chirac]] (1st term) | 27 May 1974 | 26 August 1976 | [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|UDR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | | rowspan="2" bgcolor=lightblue | | align="center" rowspan="2" | [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] (1974–1981) |- | [[Raymond Barre]] | 26 August 1976 | 21 May 1981 | ''[[Independent politician|Independent]]'' | bgcolor=lightblue | |- | [[Pierre Mauroy]] | 21 May 1981 | 17 July 1984 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | | rowspan="7" bgcolor=pink | | align="center" rowspan="7" |[[François Mitterrand]] (1981–1995) |- | [[Laurent Fabius]] | 17 July 1984 | 20 March 1986 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | |- | [[Jacques Chirac]] (2nd term) | 20 March 1986 | 10 May 1988 | [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | |- | [[Michel Rocard]] | 10 May 1988 | 15 May 1991 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | |- | [[Édith Cresson]] | 15 May 1991 | 2 April 1992 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | |- | [[Pierre Bérégovoy]] | 2 April 1992 | 29 March 1993 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | |- | [[Édouard Balladur]] | 29 March 1993 | 18 May 1995 | [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | |- | [[Alain Juppé]] | 18 May 1995 | 3 June 1997 | [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]] | bgcolor=#1E90FF | | rowspan="4" bgcolor=#6495ED| | align="center" rowspan="4" | [[Jacques Chirac]] (1995–2007) |- | [[Lionel Jospin]] | 3 June 1997 | 6 May 2002 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | |- | [[Jean-Pierre Raffarin]] | 6 May 2002 | 31 May 2005 | [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]] | bgcolor=#6495ED | |- | [[Dominique de Villepin]] | 31 May 2005 | 17 May 2007 | [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]] | bgcolor=#6495ED | |- | [[François Fillon]] | 17 May 2007 | 15 May 2012 | [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]] | bgcolor=#6495ED | | bgcolor=#6495ED | | align="center" rowspan="1"|[[Nicolas Sarkozy]] (2007–2012) |- | [[Jean-Marc Ayrault]] | 15 May 2012 | 31 March 2014 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | | rowspan="3" bgcolor=pink| | align="center" rowspan="3"|[[François Hollande]] (2012–2017) |- | [[Manuel Valls]] | 31 March 2014 | 6 December 2016 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | |- | [[Bernard Cazeneuve]] | 6 December 2016 | 10 May 2017 | [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] | bgcolor=pink | |- | [[Édouard Philippe]] | 15 May 2017 | 3 July 2020 | [[Les Républicains|LR]] then ''[[Independent politician|Independent]]'' | bgcolor=#6495ED | | rowspan="7" bgcolor="#FFE25A" | | rowspan="7" align="center" | [[Emmanuel Macron]] (since 2017) |- | [[Jean Castex]] | 3 July 2020 | 16 May 2022 | [[Renaissance (French political party)|RE]] | style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" | |- | [[Élisabeth Borne]] | 16 May 2022 | 9 January 2024 | [[Renaissance (French political party)|RE]] | style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" | |- | [[Gabriel Attal]] | 9 January 2024 | 5 September 2024 | [[Renaissance (French political party)|RE]] | style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" | |- | [[Michel Barnier]] | 5 September 2024 | 13 December 2024 | [[Les Républicains|LR]] | bgcolor=#6495ED | |- | [[François Bayrou]] | 13 December 2024 | 9 September 2025 | [[Democratic Movement (France)|MoDem]] | bgcolor=#EF5327 | |- | [[Sébastien Lecornu]] | 9 September 2025 | TBD{{efn|As of October 6, 2025, Lecornu is still serving as prime minister in a demissionary capacity despite announcing his resignation.}} | [[Renaissance (French political party)|RE]] | style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" | |} Source: {{cite web |url=https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/former-prime-ministers-of-the-fifth-republic |title=Former Prime Ministers of the Fifth Republic |publisher=Government of France}}

==Institutions of the Fifth Republic== {{unreferenced section|date=September 2022}} [[File:Institutions of the Fifth Republic.svg|thumb|center|800px|{{center|Institutions of the Fifth Republic}}]]

== Timeline diagram == [[File:Chronologie constitutions françaises.svg|910px]]

== See also == *[[1958 Guinean constitutional referendum]] *[[French colonial empire]] *[[List of French possessions and colonies]] *[[Politics of France]] *[[Republican Front (French Fifth Republic)]] *[[Proposed French Sixth Republic]]

==Notes== {{reflist|group=upper-roman}} {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References == {{reflist}}

== Further reading == {{More|Charles de Gaulle#Further reading}} * Atkin, Nicholas. ''The Fifth French Republic'' (European History in Perspective) (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/French-Republic-European-History-Perspective/dp/0333650573/ excerpt and text search] * Bell, David S. and John Gaffney, eds. ''The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic'' ([[Palgrave Macmillan]], 2013) * Bell,David, et al. ''A Biographical Dictionary of French Political Leaders since 1870'' (1990) * Bell, David S., and Byron Criddle. ''Exceptional Socialists: The Case of the French Socialist Party'' (2014) * Berstein, Serge, and Jean-Pierre Rioux. ''The Pompidou Years, 1969–1974'' (The Cambridge History of Modern France) (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/Pompidou-1969-1974-Cambridge-History-Modern/dp/0521580617/ excerpt] * Brouard, Sylvain et al. ''The French Fifth Republic at Fifty: Beyond Stereotypes'' (French Politics, Society and Culture) (2009) * Chabal, Emile, ed. ''France since the 1970s: History, Politics and Memory in an Age of Uncertainty'' (2015) [https://www.amazon.com/France-since-1970s-Politics-Uncertainty/dp/1472509773/ Excerpt] * Cole, Alistair. ''François Mitterrand: A study in political leadership'' (1994) * Corbett, Anne, and Bob Moon, eds. ''Education in France: continuity and change in the Mitterrand years 1981–1995'' (Routledge, 2002) * Fenby, Jonathan ''The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved'' (2010) pp. 375–635. * Fenby, Jonathan ''France: A Modern History from the Revolution to the War with Terror'' (2016) pp. 359–484 * Gaffney, John. ''France in the Hollande presidency: The unhappy republic'' (Springer, 2015). * Gaffney, John. ''Political Leadership in France. From Charles de Gaulle to Nicolas Sarkozy'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) * {{cite journal | last1 = Gaffney | first1 = John | year = 2012 | title = Leadership and Style in the French Fifth Republic: Nicolas Sarkozy's Presidency in Historical and Cultural Perspective |url=http://publications.aston.ac.uk/19947/1/Leadership_and_style_in_the_French_Fifth_Republic.pdf| journal = French Politics | volume = 10 | issue = 4| pages = 345–363 | doi=10.1057/fp.2012.18| s2cid = 143199648 }} * Jackson, Julian. ''De Gaulle'' (2018) 887pp; the most recent major biography * Kuhn, Raymond. "Mister unpopular: François Hollande and the exercise of presidential leadership, 2012–14." ''Modern & Contemporary France'' 22.4 (2014): 435–457. [https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/7840/Khun%20Mister%20unpopular%20Fran%C3%A7ois%202014%20Accepted.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y online] * Kulski, W. W. ''De Gaulle and the World: The Foreign Policy of the Fifth French Republic'' (1966) [https://archive.org/details/degaulleworld00kuls online free to borrow] * Lewis-Beck, Michael S., et al. eds. ''French Presidential Elections'' (Palgrave Macmillan; 2012) * Nester, William R. ''De Gaulle's Legacy: The Art of Power in France's Fifth Republic'' (2014) * Praud, Jocelyne and Sandrine Dauphin, eds. ''Parity Democracy: Women's Political Representation in Fifth Republic France'' (2011) * Raymond, Gino G., ''The French Communist Party During Fifth Republic: A Crisis of Leadership and Ideology.'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) * Rogoff, Martin A. ''French Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials'' (Durham, Carolina Academic Press, 2010. * Short, Philip. ''Mitterrand: A Study in Ambiguity'' (2013) * [[Philip Thody|Thody, Philip]]. ''The Fifth French Republic: Presidents, Politics and Personalities: A Study of French Political Culture'' (1998) [https://www.amazon.com/Fifth-French-Republic-Presidents-Personalities/dp/0415187532/ excerpt and text search] * Wall, Irwin. ''France Votes: The Election of François Hollande'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.) * Williams, Charles. ''The Last Great Frenchman: A Life of General De Gaulle'' (1997)

; In French * {{cite book |last1=Chevallier |first1=Jean-Jacques |author-link=Jean-Jacques Chevallier |author2=Guy Carcassonne |author3=Olivier Duhamel |title=Histoire de la Ve République: 1958–2017 |edition=16th |year=2017 |publisher=Dalloz |location=Paris |language = fr |isbn = 978-2247169221 }} * {{cite book |last=Mayaffre |first=Damon |author-link=Damon Mayaffre|date=2012 |title= Le Discours présidentiel sous la Ve République. Chirac, Mitterrand, Giscard, Pompidou, de Gaulle |trans-title= |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Presses de [[Sciences Po]] |isbn=978-2724612448}}

==External links== {{Commons category|French Fifth Republic| French Fifth Republic}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140927022227/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/english/constitution/constitution-of-4-october-1958.25742.html LegiFrance: French Constitution of 1958] {{in lang|en}}

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