# French Fifth Republic

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Government of France since 1958

This article describes the origins and historical development of the current French state.  For information on its organization and structure, see [Politics of France](/source/Politics_of_France).

French Republic République française 1958–present Flag Motto: "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" Anthem: "La Marseillaise" Location of France (dark green) in the European Union (green) Capital and largest city Paris 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E / 48.8567°N 2.35083°E / 48.8567; 2.35083 Official language and national language French[I] Religion Secular state[a] In Alsace-Moselle Roman Catholicism Calvinism Lutheranism Judaism Demonym French Government Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic President • 1959–1969 (first) Charles de Gaulle[b] • 2017–present (current) Emmanuel Macron Prime Minister • 1959–1962 (first) Michel Debré[b] • Sep 2025–present (current) Sébastien Lecornu Legislature Parliament • Upper house Senate • Lower house National Assembly Establishment • Current constitution 4 October 1958 (67 years) • Independence of Algeria 5 July 1962 • Direct presidential elections 28 October 1962 • Decision on Freedom of Association 16 July 1971 • First cohabitation 20 March 1986 • Presidential term reduced to five years 24 September 2000 • 2008 institutional reform 23 July 2008 Area • Total 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) (42nd) GDP (PPP) 2026 estimate • Total $4.74 trillion HDI (2026) 0.920 very high Currency Euro (EUR) CFP franc (XPF) (French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna) Date format dd/mm/yyyy (AD) Calling code +33[II] ISO 3166 code FR Internet TLD .fr[III] Preceded by French Fourth Republic

Part of a series on the History of France Timeline Ancient Prehistory Greek colonies 600 BC – 49 BC Celtic Gaul until 50 BC Roman Gaul 50 BC – 486 AD Middle Ages Francia and the Frankish settlement Merovingians 481–751 Carolingians 751–987 West Francia 843–987 Kingdom of France 987–1792 Direct Capetians 987–1328 Valois 1328–1498 Early modern Ancien Régime Valois-Orléans kings 1498–1515 Valois-Angoulême kings 1515–1589 Bourbon kings 1589–1792 Long 19th century French Revolution 1789–1799 Kingdom of France 1791–1792 First Republic 1792–1804 First Empire 1804–1814 Restoration 1814–1830 July Monarchy 1830–1848 Second Republic 1848–1852 Second Empire 1852–1870 Third Republic 1870–1940 Belle Époque 1871–1914 20th century Third Republic 1870–1940 Interwar period 1919–1939 Années folles 1920–1929 Free France Vichy France 1940–1944 Provisional Republic 1944–1946 Fourth Republic 1946–1958 Fifth Republic 1958–present Topics Diplomacy Economy Health care Law LGBTQ Medicine Military Monarchs Consorts Politics Religion Taxation Territory France portal History portal v t e

The **Fifth Republic** ([French](/source/French_language): *Cinquième République*) is [France](/source/France)'s current [republican system](/source/Republic) of [government](/source/Government). It was established on 4 October 1958 by [Charles de Gaulle](/source/Charles_de_Gaulle) under the [Constitution of the Fifth Republic](/source/Constitution_of_France).[1]

The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the [Fourth Republic](/source/French_Fourth_Republic), replacing the former [parliamentary republic](/source/Parliamentary_republic) with a [semi-presidential](/source/Semi-presidential_republic) (or dual-executive) system[2] that split powers between a [president](/source/President_of_France) as [head of state](/source/Head_of_state) and a [prime minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_France) as [head of government](/source/Head_of_government).[3] [Charles de Gaulle](/source/Charles_de_Gaulle), who was the [first French president elected under the Fifth Republic](/source/List_of_Presidents_of_France#French_Fifth_Republic_(1958–present)) in December 1958, believed in a strong head of state, which he described as embodying *l'esprit de la nation* ("the spirit of the nation").[4] 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 April)](/source/Presidential_elections_in_France) and [parliamentary elections (in June)](/source/Legislative_elections_in_France#Fifth_Republic) were synchronized to be held every fifth year, which ended in the [2024 French snap election](/source/2024_French_legislative_election).

The Fifth Republic is France's third-longest-lasting political regime, after the [hereditary](/source/Hereditary_monarchy), [feudal monarchy](/source/Feudal_monarchy) of the [Ancien Régime](/source/Ancien_R%C3%A9gime) and the parliamentary [Third Republic](/source/French_Third_Republic) ([4 September 1870](/source/French_Third_Republic)–[10 July 1940](/source/French_Constitutional_Law_of_1940)).

## Origins

### Instability of the Fourth Republic

Main article: [French Fourth Republic](/source/French_Fourth_Republic)

France and its colonial empire (shown in blue)

The [Fourth Republic](/source/French_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.[5][*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*]

### May 1958 crisis

Main article: [May 1958 crisis in France](/source/May_1958_crisis_in_France)

The trigger for the collapse of the [French Fourth Republic](/source/French_Fourth_Republic) was the [Algiers crisis of 1958](/source/May_1958_crisis_in_France). France was still a [colonial](/source/Colonialism) power, although conflict and revolt had begun the process of [decolonization](/source/Decolonization). [French West Africa](/source/French_West_Africa), [French Indochina](/source/French_Indochina), and [French Algeria](/source/French_Algeria) still sent representatives to the French parliament under systems of limited suffrage in the [French Union](/source/French_Union). Algeria in particular, despite being the colony with the largest French population, saw rising pressure for separation from [Metropolitan France](/source/Metropolitan_France). The situation was complicated by those in Algeria, such as [European settlers](/source/Pied-Noir), native [Jews](/source/Algerian_Jews), and [Harkis](/source/Harkis) (native Muslims who were loyal to France), who wanted to maintain the union with France. The [Algerian War](/source/Algerian_War) was not just a [separatist](/source/Separatism) movement but had elements of a [civil war](/source/Civil_war).

Further complications came when a section of the [French Army](/source/French_Army) rebelled and openly backed the *[Algérie française](/source/Alg%C3%A9rie_fran%C3%A7aise)* movement to defeat separation.[6][*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] [Charles de Gaulle](/source/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.[7]

### Transitional period

De Gaulle and his supporters proposed a system of strong [presidents](/source/President_of_France) 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](/source/Prime_Minister_of_France) whom he would appoint. On 1 June 1958, Charles de Gaulle was appointed [head of the government](/source/Head_of_government);[8] on 3 June 1958, a constitutional law empowered the new government to draft a new [constitution of France](/source/Constitution_of_France),[1] and another law granted Charles de Gaulle and his cabinet the power to [rule by decree](/source/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.[9] These plans were approved by more than 80% of those who voted in [the referendum of 28 September 1958](/source/1958_French_constitutional_referendum).[10] The new constitution was signed into law on 4 October 1958.[11] Since each new constitution established a new republic, France moved from the Fourth to the Fifth Republic.

### 1958 constitution

Main article: [Constitution of France](/source/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](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Coty) remained president of the Republic until the new president was proclaimed. On 21 December 1958, Charles de Gaulle was elected [president of France](/source/President_of_France) by an [electoral college](/source/Electoral_college).[12] The provisional constitutional commission, acting in lieu of the [constitutional council](/source/Constitutional_Council_(France)), proclaimed the results of the election on 9 January 1959. The new president began his office on that date, appointing [Michel Debré](/source/Michel_Debr%C3%A9) as prime minister.

The 1958 constitution also replaced the French Union with the [French Community](/source/French_Community), which allowed fourteen member territories (excluding Algeria) to assert their independence.[13] 1960 became known as the "[Year of Africa](/source/Year_of_Africa)" because of this wave of newly independent states.[14] [Algeria](/source/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 [Gaullists](/source/Gaullism), the change was approved by the French electorate.[15] The Constitutional Council declined to rule on the constitutionality of the referendum.[16]

The president is now elected every five years, changed from seven by [a constitutional referendum in 2000](/source/2000_French_constitutional_referendum), to reduce the probability of [cohabitation](/source/Cohabitation_(government)) due to former differences in the length of terms for the [National Assembly](/source/National_Assembly_(France)) and presidency. The president is elected in [one or two rounds of voting](/source/Two-round_system): if one candidate gets a majority of votes in the first round that person is president-elect; if no one gets a [majority](/source/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 [checks and balances](/source/Separation_of_powers#Checks_and_balances).[17] Traditionally, France operated according to [parliamentary supremacy](/source/Parliamentary_sovereignty): no authority was empowered to rule on whether statutes passed by Parliament respected the constitutional rights of the citizens.[18] In 1971, however, the [Constitutional Council](/source/Constitutional_Council_(France)), arguing that the [preamble](/source/Preamble) of the constitution referenced the rights defined in the 1789 [Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen](/source/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](/source/Freedom_of_association).[19]

Only the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, or the president of either house of Parliament could ask for a constitutional review *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 amendment](/source/Constitutional_amendments_under_the_French_Fifth_Republic#1974:_Reform_of_the_method_of_referral_to_the_Constitutional_Council) widened this prerogative to 60 members of the [National Assembly](/source/National_Assembly_(France)) or 60 members of the [senate](/source/Senate_(France)).[20] From that date, the opposition has been able to have controversial new statutes examined for constitutionality.[21]

## Presidents of the Fifth Republic

Main article: [List of presidents of France § French Fifth Republic (1958–present)](/source/List_of_presidents_of_France#French_Fifth_Republic_(1958–present))

Socialist ([PS](/source/Socialist_Party_(France))) Centrist ([CD](/source/Democratic_Centre_(France))) Centrist ([REM](/source/La_R%C3%A9publique_En_Marche!)) Republican ([UDF](/source/Union_for_French_Democracy)) [Gaullist](/source/Gaullism) ([UDR](/source/Union_of_Democrats_for_the_Republic); [RPR](/source/Rally_for_the_Republic)) Neo-Gaullist ([UMP](/source/Union_for_a_Popular_Movement))

No. President Lived from to Party 1 Charles de Gaulle 1890–1970 8 January 1959 28 April 1969 (resigned) Independent – Alain Poher 1909–1996 28 April 1969 15 June 1969 (interim) CD 2 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) CD 3 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing 1926–2020 19 May 1974 21 May 1981 UDF 4 François Mitterrand 1916–1996 21 May 1981 17 May 1995 Socialist 5 Jacques Chirac 1932–2019 17 May 1995 16 May 2007 RPR then UMP 6 Nicolas Sarkozy b. 1955 16 May 2007 15 May 2012 UMP 7 François Hollande b. 1954 15 May 2012 14 May 2017 Socialist 8 Emmanuel Macron b. 1977 14 May 2017 Incumbent REM

Source: ["Les présidents de la République depuis 1848"](http://www.elysee.fr/la-presidence/les-presidents-de-la-republique-depuis-1848/) [Presidents of the Republic Since 1848] (in French). Présidence de la République française.

## President image gallery

		- **[Charles de Gaulle](/source/Charles_de_Gaulle)** (1890–1970) Served 1959–1969

		- **[Alain Poher](/source/Alain_Poher)** (1909–1996) Served 1969, 1974 (as *interim*)

		- **[Georges Pompidou](/source/Georges_Pompidou)** (1911–1974) Served 1969–1974

		- **[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing](/source/Val%C3%A9ry_Giscard_d'Estaing)** (1926–2020) Served 1974–1981

		- **[François Mitterrand](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Mitterrand)** (1916–1996) Served 1981–1995

		- **[Jacques Chirac](/source/Jacques_Chirac)** (1932–2019) Served 1995–2007

		- **[Nicolas Sarkozy](/source/Nicolas_Sarkozy)** (b. 1955) Served 2007–2012

		- **[François Hollande](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Hollande)** (b. 1954) Served 2012–2017

		- **[Emmanuel Macron](/source/Emmanuel_Macron)** (b. 1977) Incumbent since May 2017

## Prime Ministers of the Fifth Republic

Main article: [List of Prime Ministers of France § Fifth French Republic (1958–present)](/source/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_France#Fifth_French_Republic_(1958–present))

Prime minister [François Bayrou](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Bayrou) of the [Democratic Movement](/source/Democratic_Movement_(France))

Socialist ([PS](/source/Socialist_Party_(France))) Centrist ([RE](/source/Renaissance_(French_political_party))) Republican ([UDF](/source/Union_for_French_Democracy)) [Gaullist](/source/Gaullism) ([UNR](/source/Union_for_the_New_Republic_(France)); [UDR](/source/Union_of_Democrats_for_the_Republic); [RPR](/source/Rally_for_the_Republic)) Neo-Gaullist ([UMP](/source/Union_for_a_Popular_Movement); [LR](/source/Les_R%C3%A9publicains))

Name Term start Term end Political party President Michel Debré 8 January 1959 14 April 1962 UNR Charles de Gaulle (1959–1969) Georges Pompidou 14 April 1962 10 July 1968 UNR then UDR Maurice Couve de Murville 10 July 1968 20 June 1969 UDR Jacques Chaban-Delmas 20 June 1969 6 July 1972 UDR Georges Pompidou (1969–1974) Pierre Messmer 6 July 1972 27 May 1974 UDR Jacques Chirac (1st term) 27 May 1974 26 August 1976 UDR Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1974–1981) Raymond Barre 26 August 1976 21 May 1981 Independent Pierre Mauroy 21 May 1981 17 July 1984 Socialist François Mitterrand (1981–1995) Laurent Fabius 17 July 1984 20 March 1986 Socialist Jacques Chirac (2nd term) 20 March 1986 10 May 1988 RPR Michel Rocard 10 May 1988 15 May 1991 Socialist Édith Cresson 15 May 1991 2 April 1992 Socialist Pierre Bérégovoy 2 April 1992 29 March 1993 Socialist Édouard Balladur 29 March 1993 18 May 1995 RPR Alain Juppé 18 May 1995 3 June 1997 RPR Jacques Chirac (1995–2007) Lionel Jospin 3 June 1997 6 May 2002 Socialist Jean-Pierre Raffarin 6 May 2002 31 May 2005 UMP Dominique de Villepin 31 May 2005 17 May 2007 UMP François Fillon 17 May 2007 15 May 2012 UMP Nicolas Sarkozy (2007–2012) Jean-Marc Ayrault 15 May 2012 31 March 2014 Socialist François Hollande (2012–2017) Manuel Valls 31 March 2014 6 December 2016 Socialist Bernard Cazeneuve 6 December 2016 10 May 2017 Socialist Édouard Philippe 15 May 2017 3 July 2020 LR then Independent Emmanuel Macron (since 2017) Jean Castex 3 July 2020 16 May 2022 RE Élisabeth Borne 16 May 2022 9 January 2024 RE Gabriel Attal 9 January 2024 5 September 2024 RE Michel Barnier 5 September 2024 13 December 2024 LR François Bayrou 13 December 2024 9 September 2025 MoDem Sébastien Lecornu 9 September 2025 TBD[c] RE

Source: ["Former Prime Ministers of the Fifth Republic"](https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/former-prime-ministers-of-the-fifth-republic). Government of France.

## Institutions of the Fifth Republic

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Institutions of the Fifth Republic

## Timeline diagram

## See also

- [1958 Guinean constitutional referendum](/source/1958_Guinean_constitutional_referendum)

- [French colonial empire](/source/French_colonial_empire)

- [List of French possessions and colonies](/source/List_of_French_possessions_and_colonies)

- [Politics of France](/source/Politics_of_France)

- [Republican Front (French Fifth Republic)](/source/Republican_Front_(French_Fifth_Republic))

- [Proposed French Sixth Republic](/source/Proposed_French_Sixth_Republic)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-one_1-0)** For information about regional languages see [Languages of France](/source/Languages_of_France).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-eleven_4-0)** The overseas regions and collectivities form part of the [French telephone numbering plan](/source/French_telephone_numbering_plan), but have their own country calling codes: [Guadeloupe](/source/Guadeloupe) +590; [Martinique](/source/Martinique) +596; [French Guiana](/source/French_Guiana) +594, [Réunion](/source/R%C3%A9union) and [Mayotte](/source/Mayotte) +262; [Saint Pierre and Miquelon](/source/Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon) +508. The overseas territories are not part of the French telephone numbering plan; their country calling codes are: [New Caledonia](/source/New_Caledonia) +687, [French Polynesia](/source/French_Polynesia) +689; [Wallis and Futuna](/source/Wallis_and_Futuna) +681.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ten_5-0)** In addition to [.fr](/source/.fr), several other Internet TLDs are used in French overseas *départements* and territories: [.re](/source/.re), [.mq](/source/.mq), [.gp](/source/.gp), [.tf](/source/.tf), [.nc](/source/.nc), [.pf](/source/.pf), [.wf](/source/.wf), [.pm](/source/.pm), [.gf](/source/.gf) and [.yt](/source/.yt). France also uses [.eu](/source/.eu), shared with other members of the European Union. The [.cat](/source/.cat) domain is used in [Catalan-speaking territories](/source/Catalan_Countries).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Excluding Alsace-Moselle

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-transitional_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-transitional_3-1) [René Coty](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Coty), the last president of the [Fourth Republic](/source/French_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.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** As of October 6, 2025, Lecornu is still serving as prime minister in a demissionary capacity despite announcing his resignation.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-loi_constitutionnelle_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-loi_constitutionnelle_6-1) [*Loi constitutionnelle du 3 juin 1957 portant dérogation transitoire aux dispositions de l'article 90 de la Constitution*](http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580604&numTexte=&pageDebut=05326&pageFin=) (in French).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Lessig, Lawrence](/source/Lawrence_Lessig) (1993). ["The Path of the Presidency"](http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11679&context=journal_articles). *East European Constitutional Review*. Fall 1993 / Winter 1994 (2/3): 104 – via Chicago Unbound, University of Chicago Law School.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Richburg, Keith B.](/source/Keith_Richburg) (25 September 2000). ["French President's Term Cut to Five Years"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/09/25/french-presidents-term-cut-to-five-years/c988b212-2e37-4e49-818f-7a33862f32f5). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved 25 February 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Kubicek2015_9-0)** Kubicek, Paul (2015). [*European Politics*](https://books.google.com/books?id=d9uoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA154). Routledge. pp. 154–156, 163. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-317-34853-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-317-34853-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Philip M. Williams, *Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic* (1958)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** John E. Talbott, *The War Without a Name: France in Algeria, 1954–1962* (1980).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Jonathan Fenby, *The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved* (2010) pp 375–408.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Fac-similé JO du 02/06/1958, page 05279 – Legifrance"](http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580602&numTexte=&pageDebut=05279&pageFin=). *www.legifrance.gouv.fr*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [*Loi no 58–520 du 3 juin 1958 relative aux pleins pouvoirs*](http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580604&numTexte=&pageDebut=05327&pageFin=) (in French).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [Proclamation](http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&numTexte=&pageDebut=09177&pageFin=) des résultats des votes émis par le peuple français à l'occasion de sa consultation par voie de référendum, le 28 septembre 1958

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Constitution"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200603011239/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jo_pdf.do?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&pageDebut=09151). *[Journal Officiel de la République Française](/source/Journal_Officiel_de_la_R%C3%A9publique_Fran%C3%A7aise)*. 5 October 1958. Archived from [the original](http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&pageDebut=09151) on 3 June 2020 – via Légifrance.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Fac-similé JO du 09/01/1959, page 00673 – Legifrance"](http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19590109&numTexte=&pageDebut=00673&pageFin=). *www.legifrance.gouv.fr*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Cooper, Frederick (July 2008). ["Possibility and Constraint: African Independence in Historical Perspective"](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2300612). *Journal of African History*. **49** (2): 167–196. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0021853708003915](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0021853708003915). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [145273499](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145273499).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Abayomi Azikiwe, "[50th Anniversary of the 'Year of Africa' 1960](http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2010/04/50th-anniversary-of-of-africa-1960.html)", *Pan-African News Wire*, 21 April 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Constitutional Council, [Proclamation](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) [Archived](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) 21 February 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) 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

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Constitutional Council, [Decision 62-20 DC](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) [Archived](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) 10 May 2013 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) of 6 November 1962

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** Morton, F. L. (Winter 1988). "Judicial Review in France: A Comparative Analysis". *American Journal of Comparative Law*. **36** (1): 89–110. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/840185](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F840185). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [840185](https://www.jstor.org/stable/840185).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** Letourneur, M.; Drago, R. (Spring 1958). "The Rule of Law as Understood in France". *The American Journal of Comparative Law*. **7** (2): 147–177. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/837562](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F837562). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [837562](https://www.jstor.org/stable/837562).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Constitutional Council, [Decision 71-44 DC](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) [Archived](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) 10 May 2013 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) of 16 July 1971

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** [*Loi constitutionnelle no 74-904 du 29 octobre 1974 portant révision de l'article 61 de la Constitution*](http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19741030&numTexte=&pageDebut=11035&pageFin=) (in French).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** [Alain Lancelot](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Lancelot), *[La réforme de 1974, avancée libéral ou progrès de la démocratie ?](http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/root/bank_mm/pdf/Conseil/reforme_1974.pdf)*

## Further reading

Further information: [Charles de Gaulle § Further reading](/source/Charles_de_Gaulle#Further_reading)

- Atkin, Nicholas. *The Fifth French Republic* (European History in Perspective) (2005) [excerpt and text search](https://www.amazon.com/French-Republic-European-History-Perspective/dp/0333650573/)

- Bell, David S. and John Gaffney, eds. *The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic* ([Palgrave Macmillan](/source/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) [excerpt](https://www.amazon.com/Pompidou-1969-1974-Cambridge-History-Modern/dp/0521580617/)

- 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) [Excerpt](https://www.amazon.com/France-since-1970s-Politics-Uncertainty/dp/1472509773/)

- 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)

- Gaffney, John (2012). ["Leadership and Style in the French Fifth Republic: Nicolas Sarkozy's Presidency in Historical and Cultural Perspective"](http://publications.aston.ac.uk/19947/1/Leadership_and_style_in_the_French_Fifth_Republic.pdf) (PDF). *French Politics*. **10** (4): 345–363. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1057/fp.2012.18](https://doi.org/10.1057%2Ffp.2012.18). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [143199648](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID: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. [online](https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/7840/Khun%20Mister%20unpopular%20Fran%C3%A7ois%202014%20Accepted.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y)

- Kulski, W. W. *De Gaulle and the World: The Foreign Policy of the Fifth French Republic* (1966) [online free to borrow](https://archive.org/details/degaulleworld00kuls)

- 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)

- [Thody, Philip](/source/Philip_Thody). *The Fifth French Republic: Presidents, Politics and Personalities: A Study of French Political Culture* (1998) [excerpt and text search](https://www.amazon.com/Fifth-French-Republic-Presidents-Personalities/dp/0415187532/)

- 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**

- [Chevallier, Jean-Jacques](/source/Jean-Jacques_Chevallier); Guy Carcassonne; Olivier Duhamel (2017). *Histoire de la Ve République: 1958–2017* (in French) (16th ed.). Paris: Dalloz. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-2247169221](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-2247169221).

- [Mayaffre, Damon](/source/Damon_Mayaffre) (2012). *Le Discours présidentiel sous la Ve République. Chirac, Mitterrand, Giscard, Pompidou, de Gaulle* (in French). Paris: Presses de [Sciences Po](/source/Sciences_Po). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-2724612448](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-2724612448).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [French Fifth Republic](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:French_Fifth_Republic).

- [LegiFrance: French Constitution of 1958](https://web.archive.org/web/20140927022227/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/english/constitution/constitution-of-4-october-1958.25742.html) (in English)

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