French Fifth Republic

The Fifth Republic is France's current republican system of government. It was established by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on October 5, 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the Fourth Republic, replacing the former parliamentary republic with a semi-presidential (or dual executive) system that split powers between a Prime Minister as Head of Government and a President as Head of State. De Gaulle, who was the first President elected under the Fifth Republic in December 1958, believed in the strong Head of State, which he described as embodying l'esprit de la nation ("spirit of the nation").

The Fifth Republic is France's third-longest-lasting political regime, after the hereditary and feudal monarchies of the Ancien Régime (Late Middle Ages - 1792) and the parliamentary Third Republic (1870 - 1940). The Fifth Republic will overtake the Third Republic as the second-longest-lasting regime and the longest French republic it it survives to July 11, 2028.

The trigger for the collapse of the Fourth French Republic was the Algiers crisis of 1958. France was still a 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 largestFrench population, saw rising pressure for separation from Metropolitan France. The situation was complicated by those in Algeria, such as European settlers and many native Jews, who wanted to maintain the union with France. The Algerian War was 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.

The Fourth Republic 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.

De Gaulle and his supporters proposed a system of strong presidents elected for seven-year terms (amended to five-year terms to prevent cohabitation). The President, under the proposed constitution, would have executive powers to run the country in consultation with a Prime Minister whom he will appoint. On June 1, 1958, Charles de Gaulle was appointed Head of Government; on June 3, 1958, a constitutional law empowered the new government to draft a new constitution of France, and another law granted Charles de Gaulle and his cabinet to rule by decree for up to six months, except for certain matters related to the basic rights of citizens (e.g. criminal law, etc.). These plans were approved by more than 80% of those who voted in the referendum of September 28, 1958. The new constitution was signed into law on October 4, 1958. Since each new constitution established 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 remained President of the Republic until the new president was proclaimed. On December 21, 1958, Charles de Gaulle was elected President of France by an electoral college (amended later in favor of popular voting). The provisional constitutional commission, acting in lieu of the constitutional council, proclaimed the results of the election on January 9, 1959. The new President began his term 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. The year 1960 became known as the "Year of Africa" because of this wave of newly independent states. Algeria eventually gained independence on July 5, 1962.

x-----x

This blog entry is sponsored by Samsung Galaxy Watches.