France

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Symbol of the French government

The government of France is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic, in which the nation declares itself to be "an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic". This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Politics of France take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic Republic, whereby the President of France The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining The preamble of the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic, founded in 1958 recalls the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced, Second French Republic (1848-1852 President of the Provisional Government of the Republic Jacques Charles Dupont de l'Eure (24 February 1848 The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers François Fillon (fʁɑ̃swa fijɔ̃ born 4 March 1954 in Le Mans, Sarthe) is the current Prime Minister of France, having been appointed to that Early Modern France Chief Ministers of the French Kings Armand Jean du Plessis Cardinal Richelieu 1624-1642 Jules Cardinal The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 This article is for the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. The French Congress (Congrès du Parlement français - Congress of the French Parliament is the name given to the body created when both houses of the present-day French This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi. The Court of Cassation ( Cour de cassation in French) is the main Court of last resort in France. Political parties in France lists political parties in France. Gaullism (Gaullisme is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Charles de Gaulle. The Left in France at the beginning of the 20th century was represented by two main Political parties, the Republican Radical and Radical-Socialist Party France is a Representative democracy. Public officials in the legislative and executive branches are either elected by the citizens (directly or indirectly or appointed by elected The French presidential election of 1958 the first of the French Fifth Republic, took place on December 21, 1958. The 1965 French presidential election was the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage of the French Fifth Republic. The 1969 French presidential election took place on 1 June and 15 June 1969 French legislative elections took place on March 4 and 11 1973 to elect the 5th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Presidential elections were held in France in 1974 following the death of President Georges Pompidou. The French legislative elections took place on March 12 and March 19, 1978 to elect the 6th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic The French presidential election of 1981 was won by François Mitterrand, the first Socialist President of the Fifth Republic. French legislative elections took place on June 14 and 21 1981 to elect the 7th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The French legislative elections took place on March 16 1986 to elect the 8th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Presidential elections were held in France on 24 April and 8 May 1988 French legislative elections took place on June 5 and 12 1988 to elect the 9th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, one month after the re-election of François French legislative elections took place on March 21 and 28 1993 to elect the 10th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Presidential elections took place in France on 23 April and 7 May 1995 to elect the fifth president of the Fifth Republic. French legislative election took place in May 25 and June 1 1997 to elect the 11th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002 and a runoff election between the top two candidates ( Jacques Chirac and The French legislative elections took place on June 9 and June 16, 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, |||} Metropolitan France As of January 1, 2008, Metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including Corsica, although France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy A charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of France, is the cabinet minister responsible for the Foreign relations of France. This is a list of major Political scandals in France: Until 1958 1816 - Shipwreck of and search for French Frigate Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent The semi-presidential system is a System of government in which a prime minister and a President are both active participants in the day-to-day administration The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on Laïcité (laisiˈte is the French concept of a Secular society, connoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Definition In the absence of agreement about its meaning the term "social" is used in many different senses referring among other things to attitudes A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its The constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims France's "attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789. Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining "

General principles

The national government of France is divided into an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State The President has a degree of direct executive power, but most executive power resides in his appointee, the Prime Minister. The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers The cabinet globally, including the Prime Minister , can be revoked by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, through a "censure motion"; this ensures that the Prime Minister is always supported by a majority of the house. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”)

Parliament comprises the National Assembly and the Senate. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. It passes statutes and votes on the budget; it controls the action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament and by establishing commissions of enquiry. The constitutionality of the statutes is checked by the Constitutional Council, members of which are appointed by the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly, and the President of the Senate. The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 Former Presidents of the Republic also are members of the Council.

The independent judiciary is based on a civil law system which evolved from the Napoleonic codes. Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français) is the French Civil code, established under It is divided into the judicial branch (dealing with civil law and criminal law) and the administrative branch (dealing with appeals against executive decisions), each with their own independent supreme court, the courts of cassation for the judicial branch and the Conseil d'Etat for the administrative branch. Civil law, as opposed to Criminal law, refers to that branch of Law dealing with disputes between Individuals and/or Organizations, in which The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential The Court of Cassation ( Cour de cassation in French) is the main Court of last resort in France. This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi. The French government includes various bodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies.

France is a unitary state. A unitary state is a State whose three Organs of state are governed Constitutionally as one single unit with one Constitutionally created However, the various legal subdivisions—the régions, départements and communes—have various attributions, and the national government is prohibited from intruding into their normal legal operations.

France is a founding member of the European Community and later the European Union. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in As such member, France has transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions, as provided by its constitution. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself The French government therefore has to abide by European treaties, directives and regulations. The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the Union's member states which sets out the counstitutional basis of the A directive is a legislative act of the European Union which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving A regulation is a Legislative act of the European Union which becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously

Constitution

Main article: Constitution of France

A popular referendum approved the constitution of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, greatly strengthening the authority of the presidency and the executive with respect to Parliament. The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The constitution does contain a bill of rights in itself, but its preamble mentions that France should follow the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, as well as those of the preamble to the constitution of the Fourth Republic. A Bill of Rights is a list or summary of rights that are considered important and essential by a group of people The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining The founding of the Fourth Republic (1944-47 See also Three Parties, Third Force (France European Unity The creation of the This has been judged to imply that the principles laid forth in those texts have constitutional value, and that legislation infringing on those principles should be found unconstitutional if a recourse is filed before the Constitutional Council. The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 ^[1] Also, a recent modification of the Constitution has added a reference in the preamble to an Environment charter that has full constitutional value. ^[2]

Among these foundational principles, one may cite: the equality of all citizens before law, and the rejection of special class privileges such as those that existed prior to the French Revolution; presumption of innocence; freedom of speech; freedom of opinion including freedom of religion; the guarantee of property against arbitrary seizure; the accountability of government agents to the citizenry. Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The presumption of innocence being innocent until proven guilty is a legal Right that the Accused in Criminal trials has Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. Freedom of religion is the freedom of an individual or community in public or private to manifest religion or belief in teaching practice worship and observance ^[3]

The main processes of the French national government (most of the justice system excluded for clarity)

Executive branch

France has an original system with an executive branch headed by two officials: the President and the Prime Minister. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers

President of the Republic

Main article: President of the French Republic

Under the constitution,^[4] the President was originally elected for a seven-year term; this has been reduced to five years. The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected There is no term limit. The President names the Prime Minister, presides over the gouvernement (cabinet of ministers), commands the armed forces, and concludes treaties. The President may submit questions to national referendums and can dissolve the National Assembly. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”)

All his powers are subject to countersigning ("contreseing") by the Minister, except in a few cases such as the dissolution of the National Assembly. ^[5]

In certain emergencies the President may assume special, comprehensive powers. ^[6] However, in normal times, the President may pass neither legislation nor regulations, though, of course, if the Parliament is from his political side, he may strongly suggest the adoption of certain legislation, or request his Prime Minister to take such or such regulation.

In the original 1958 constitution, the President was elected by an electoral college of elected officials. An electoral college is a set of many electors who are empowered to elect a candidate to a particular Office. However, in 1962, Charles de Gaulle obtained, through a referendum, an amendment to the constitution whereby the president would be directly elected by citizens. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French ^[7] Given France's runoff voting system,^[8] this means that the presidential candidate is required to obtain a nationwide majority of non-blank votes at either the first or second round of balloting, which presumably implies that the president is somewhat supported by at least half of the voting population; this gives him considerable legitimacy. The two-round system (also known as the second ballot or runoff voting) is a Voting system used to elect a single winner Despite his somewhat restricted de jure powers, the president thus enjoys considerable aura and effective power.

As a consequence, the President is the preeminent figure in French politics. He appoints the Prime Minister;^[9] though he may not de jure dismiss him, if the Prime Minister is from the same political side, he can, in practice, have him resign on demand (and it is known that Prime Ministers are asked to sign a non-dated dismissal letter before being nominated). He appoints the ministers, ministers-delegate and secretaries. When the President's political party or supporters control parliament, the President is the dominant player in executive action, choosing whomever he wishes for the government, and having it follow his political agenda (parliamentary disagreements do occur, though, even within the same party).

However, when the President's political opponents control parliament, the President's dominance can be severely limited, as he must choose a Prime Minister and cabinet who reflect the majority in parliament, and who will implement the agenda of the parliamentary majority. When parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum control parliament and the presidency, the power-sharing arrangement is known as cohabitation. Cohabitation in government occurs in Semi-presidential systems such as France 's system when the President is from a different Political party Cohabitation used to happen from time to time before 2002, because the mandate of the President was 7 years and the mandate of the Assemblée Nationale was 5 years. Now that the mandate of the President has been shortened to 5 years, and that the elections are separated by only a few months, this is less likely to happen.

Nicolas Sarkozy became President on 2007 May 16, succeeding Jacques Chirac. Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced, Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.

The Gouvernement

The gouvernement is headed by the Prime Minister. ^[10] It has at its disposal the civil service, the government agencies, and the armed forces. The French Civil Service (fonction publique française is the set of civil servants ( fonctionnaires) working for the French government. The Military of France encompasses an army, a navy, an air force and a military police force. ^[11] (The term "cabinet" is rarely used to describe the gouvernement, even in translation, as it is used in French to mean a minister's private office, composed of politically-appointed aides. A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. In French, the word gouvernement can refer to government in general, but generally refers to the group of ministers. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people )

The gouvernement is responsible to Parliament,^[12] and the National Assembly may pass a motion of censure,^[13] forcing the resignation of the cabinet. This, in practice, forces the gouvernement to be from the same political stripe as the majority in the Assembly. Ministers have to answer questions from members of Parliament, both written and oral; this is known as the questions au gouvernement (questions to the government). ^[14] In addition, ministers attend meetings of the houses of Parliament when laws pertaining to their areas of responsibility are being discussed.

Government ministers cannot pass legislation without parliamentary approval, though the Prime Minister may issue autonomous regulations or subordinated regulations (décrets d'application) provided they do not infringe on the Parliament domain, as detailed in the constitution. French government ministers are members of the Prime Minister 's Government or cabinet although in French the term " Cabinet " is rarely used to describe Ministers, however, can propose legislation to Parliament; since the Assembly is from the same political stripe as the ministers, such legislation is, in general, very likely to pass. However, this is not guaranteed, and, on occasion, the opinion of the majority parliamentarians may differ significantly from those of the executive, which often results in a large number of amendments.

The Prime Minister can engage the responsibility of his government on a law, under article 49-3 of the Constitution. The law is then considered adopted unless the National Assembly votes a motion of censure, in which case the law is refused and the government has to resign. As of 2006, the last time this article was invoked was for the "First Employment Contract" proposed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin,^[15] a move that greatly backfired. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The contrat première embauche ( CPE) translated first employment contract, was a new form of employment contract pushed in spring 2006 in France ^[16]

Traditionally, the gouvernement comprises members of three ranks. Ministers are the most senior members of the government; ministers-delegate (ministres délégués) assist ministers in particular areas of their portfolio; secretaries of state (secrétaires d'État) assist ministers in less important areas, and attend cabinet meetings only occasionally. Before the Fifth Republic, some ministers of particular political importance were called "ministers of state" (ministres d'État); the practice has continued under the Fifth Republic in a purely honorific fashion: ministers styled Minister of State are supposed to be of a higher importance in the gouvernement. See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on

The number of ministries and the splitting of responsibilities and administrations between them varies from government to government. While the name and exact areas of responsibility of each ministry may change, one generally finds at least:

• Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry (taxes, budget),
• Ministry of the Interior (law enforcement, relationships with local governments),
• Ministry of Justice and Keeper of the Seals (prisons, running the court system, supervision of the prosecution service)
• Ministry of National Education,
• Ministry of Defence,
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
• Ministry of Transportation. The Minister for the Economy Industry and Employment ( ministre de l'Économie de l'Industrie et de l'Emploi) or Minister of Finance for short is one of the The Minister of the Interior (full title Ministre de l’Intérieur et de l’Aménagement du Territoire) in France is one of the most important governmental The French Minister of Justice ( Ministre de la Justice) is an important cabinet member in the Government of France. The Ministry of National Education Advanced Instruction and Research (Ministre de l'Éducation nationale de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche or simply "Minister of The Minister of Defence ( Ministère de la Défense) is the French Government cabinet member charged with running the Military of France The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of France, is the cabinet minister responsible for the Foreign relations of France. The Minister of Transport is a cabinet member in the Government of France.

(For more on French ministries, see French government ministers)

The gouvernement has a leading role in shaping the agenda of the houses of Parliament. French government ministers are members of the Prime Minister 's Government or cabinet although in French the term " Cabinet " is rarely used to describe It may propose laws to Parliament, as well as amendments during parliamentary meetings. It may make use of some procedures to speed up parliamentary deliberations.

The cabinet has weekly meetings (usually on Wednesday mornings), chaired by the President, at the Élysée Palace.

Following the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as President of the French Republic, François Fillon replaced Dominique de Villepin as the French Prime Minister on May 17, 2007. Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced, The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected François Fillon (fʁɑ̃swa fijɔ̃ born 4 March 1954 in Le Mans, Sarthe) is the current Prime Minister of France, having been appointed to that Dominique de Villepin (born Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (dɔminik də vilpɛ̃ &mdash) on 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Executive-issued regulations and legislation

The French executive has a limited power to establish regulation or legislation. (See below for how such regulations or legislative items interact with statute law. )

Decrees and other executive decisions

Only the President and Prime Minister sign decrees (décrets), which are akin to US executive orders. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. executive order in the United States is a Directive issued by the President, the head of the executive branch of the federal government Decrees can only be taken following certain procedures and with due respect to the constitution and statute law.

• The President signs decrees appointing and dismissing most senior civil and military servants, for positions listed in the Constitution or in Statutes. He also signs decrees establishing some regulations (décrets en conseil des ministres). All such decrees must be countersigned by the Prime Minister and the ministers concerned.
• The Prime Minister signs decrees establishing regulations, which the concerned ministers countersign. This article is for the legal term For regulation of genes see Regulation of gene expression. In some areas, they constitute primary legislation, in some others they must be subordinate to an existing statute. Primary legislation is Legislation made by the Legislative branch of Government. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. In some cases, statutes impose a compulsory advisory review by the Conseil d'État (décrets en Conseil d'État), as opposed to décrets simples. This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi. ^[17]

The individual ministers take administrative decisions (arrêtés) in their fields of competence, subordinate to statutes and decrees.

Contrary to a sometimes used polemical cliché, that dates from the third republic, with its decrees-law (décrets-lois), neither the president nor the prime minister may rule by decree (outside of the narrow case of presidential emergency powers). A cliché (from French, klɪ'ʃe or cliche is a phrase expression or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group and is used primarily by Dictators and Absolute monarchs

Ordinances

The executive cannot issue decrees in areas that the Constitution puts under the responsibility of legislation, issued by Parliament. Still, Parliament may, through a habilitation law, authorize the executive to issue ordinances (ordonnances), with legislative value, in precisely defined areas. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. ^[18] Habilitation laws specify the scope of the ordinance. After the ordinance is issued, Parliament is asked whether it wants to ratify it. If Parliament votes no to ratification, the ordinance is cancelled. Most of the time, ratification is made implicitly or explicitly through a Parliament act that deals with the subject concerned, rather than by the ratification act itself. ^[19]

The use of ordinances is normally reserved for urgent matters, or for technical, uncontroversial texts (such as the ordinances that converted all sums in French Francs to Euros in the various laws in force in France). The franc (represented by the franc sign ₣ or more commonly just F) is a former Currency of France. Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e ^[20] There is also a practice to use ordinances to transpose European Directives into French law, in order to avoid late transposition of Directive, which is often happening and is criticized by the EU Commission. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. A directive is a legislative act of the European Union which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. Ordinances are also used to codify law into codes, in order to rearrange them for the sake of clarity without substantially modifying them. They are also sometimes used to push controversial legislation through, such as when Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin created new forms of work contracts in 2005. Dominique de Villepin (born Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (dɔminik də vilpɛ̃ &mdash) on 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco ^[21] The use of ordinances in such contexts is then criticized by the opposition as anti-democratic, and demeaning to Parliament. It must be said, however, that since the National Assembly can dismiss the government through a motion of censure, the government necessarily relies on a majority in Parliament, and this majority would be likely to adopt the controversial law anyway.

Internal limits of the executive branch; checks and balances

The general rule is that government agencies and the civil service are at the disposal of the gouvernement, or cabinet. However, various agencies^[22] are independent agencies (autorités administratives indépendantes)^[23] that have been statutorily excluded from the executive's authority, although they belong in the executive branch.

These independent agencies have some specialized regulatory power, some executive power, and some quasi-judicial power. A quasi-judicial body is an individual or organization which has powers resembling those of a Court of law or Judge and is able to remedy a situation or impose legal They are also often consulted by the government or the French Parliament seeking advice before regulating by law. They can impose sanctions that are named "administrative sanctions" sanctions administratives. However, their decisions can still be contested face to a judicial court or an administrative court.

Some examples of independent agencies:

• The Banque de France, the central bank, is independent (financial and economic code, L141 and following). The Banque de France is the Central bank of France; it is linked to the European Central Bank (ECB This was a prerequisite for integrating the European System of Central Banks. The European System of Central Banks ( ESCB) is composed of the European Central Bank (ECB and the national Central banks (NCBs of all 27 European
• The Electronic Communications & Posts Regulation Authority (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes (ARCEP)), which was previously named Telecommunication Regulation Authority (Autorité de régulation des télécommunications (ART)), is an independent administrative authority for the open markets of telecommunications and postal services.
• The Energy Regulation Commission (Commission de régulation de l’énergie (CRE)) is an independent administrative authority for the open markets of gas and electricity.
• The Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)) regulates securities markets.
• The Higher Council of the Audiovisual (Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA)) supervises the granting and withdrawing of emission frequencies for radio and TV, as well as public broadcasting. Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Public broadcasting refers to radio television and other electronic media outlets that receive some or all of their funding from the public
• The National Commission on Campaign Accounts and Political Financing ( Commission Nationale des Comptes de Campagne et des Financements Politiques) regulates the financing and spending of political parties and political campaign.

Public media corporations should not be influenced in their news reporting by the executive in power, since they have the duty to supply the public with unbiased information. For instance, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) is an independent public corporation. Agence France-Presse ( AFP) is the oldest News agency in the world and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. Its resources must come solely from its commercial sales. The majority of the seats in its board are held by representatives of the French press. "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press"

The government also provides for watchdogs over its own activities; these independent administrative authorities are headed by a commission typically composed of senior lawyers or members of the Parliament. Each of the two chambers of the Parliament often has its own commission, but sometimes they collaborate to create a single Commission nationale mixte paritaire. For example:

• The National Commission for Computing & Freedom (Commission nationale informatique et libertés (CNIL)); public services must request authorization from it before establishing a file with personal information, and they must heed its recommendations; private bodies must only declare their files; citizens have recourse before the commission against abuses.
• The National Commission for the Control of Security Interceptions (Commission nationale de contrôle des interceptions de sécurité (CNCIS)); the executive, in a limited number of circumstances concerning national security, may request an authorization from the commission for wiretaps (in other circumstances, wiretaps may only be authorized within a judicially-administered criminal investigation).

In addition, the duties of public service limit the power that the executive has over the French Civil Service. The French Civil Service (fonction publique française is the set of civil servants ( fonctionnaires) working for the French government. For instance, appointments, except for the highest positions (the national directors of agencies and administrations), must be made solely on merit or time in office, typically in competitive exams. Certain civil servants have statuses that prohibit executive interference; for instance, judges and prosecutors may be named or moved only according to specific procedures. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law Public researchers and university professors enjoy academic freedom; by law, they enjoy complete freedom of speech within the ordinary constraints of academia. Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy

Some important directorates and establishments

The government also provides specialized agencies for regulating critical markets or limited resources, and markets created by regulations. Although, as part of the administration, they are subordinate to the ministers, they often act with high independence.

• The General Directorate of Competition, Consumption & Repression of Frauds (Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF)) regulates and controls the legality and safety of products and services available on the markets open to competition for all economical actors and private consumers, and can deliver administrative sanctions in case of abuses.
• The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC)) regulates the traffic in the national air space and delivers the authorizations for airways companies and other private or public organizations and people.
• The National Agency for Employment (Agence nationale pour l’emploi (ANPE)) maintained a public registry for the allocation of social benefits to unemployed people (but now a single registry is shared with the independent ASSEDIC paying them, a joint association of employers and workers unions), assists them as well as employers seeking people, and controls them. The French State names its general director and the Paliament provides for its finances and personnel, but it only owns one third of the seats at its decision board of directors (the other seats are shared equally by unions of employers and workers).
• The National Agency of Frequencies (Agence nationale des fréquences (ANFR)), a public establishment of an administrative character,^[24] regulates and maintains the allocation of spectral radiofrequencies resources along with other international frequencies regulators and national regulators (the CSA and ARCEP) or public ministries, controls the operators on the national territory, and publishes compliance standards for manufacturers of radioelectric equipments.

Organization of government services

Each ministry has a central administration (administration centrale), generally divided into directorates. These directorates are usually subdivided into divisions or sub-directorates. Each direction is headed by a director, named by the President in Council. The central administration largely stays the same regardless of the political tendency of the executive in power.

In addition, each minister has a private office, which is composed of members whose nomination is politically determined, called the cabinet. They are quite important and employ numbers of highly qualified staff to follow all the administrative and political affairs. They are powerful, and have been sometimes considered as a parallel administration, especially, but not only, in all matters that are politically sensitive. Each cabinet is led by a chief of staff named directeur de cabinet.

The state also has distributive services spread throughout French territory, often reflecting divisions into régions or départements. France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division The prefect, the representative of the national government in each région or département, supervises the activities of the distributive services in his jurisdiction. Prefect (from the Latin praefectus, perfect participle of praeficere: "make in front" i Generally, the services of a certain administration in a région or département are managed by a high-level civil servant, often called director, but not always; for instance, the services of the Trésor public (Treasury) in each département are headed by a treasurer-paymaster general, appointed by the President of the Republic. The Trésor public ("Public treasury" is the national administration of the Treasury in France. In the last several decades, the departmental conseil général (see "Local Government" below) has taken on new responsibilities and plays an important role in administrating government services at the local level.

The government also maintains public establishments. These have a relative administrative and financial autonomy, in order to accomplish a defined mission. They are attached to one or more supervising authorities. These are classified into several categories:

• public establishments of an administrative character, including, for instance:
  • universities, and most public establishments of higher education;
  • etablishments of a research and technical character, such as CNRS or INRIA;
• public establishments of an industrial and commercial character, including, for instance, CEA and Ifremer. The Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique ( INRIA) ( English National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control) is The Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (Atomic Energy Commission or CEA, is a French “public establishment of an industrial and commercial character” whose Ifremer is the "Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer" an oceanographic institution in France, whose name translates

One essential difference is that in administrations and public establishments of an administrative character operate under public law, while establishments of an industrial and commercial character operate mostly under private law. A consequence is that in the former, permanent personnel are civil servants, while normally in the latter, they are contract employees.

In addition, the government still owns and controls all the shares or the majority of shares of some companies, like Electricité de France, SNCF or Areva. Électricité de France ( EDF) is the main Electricity generation and distribution company in France. SNCF ( Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) (French National Railway Company is a French public enterprise AREVA ( is a French public Multinational industrial conglomerate that is mainly known for Nuclear power; it also has interests in other

Social security organizations, though established by statute and controlled and supervised by the state, are not operated nor directly controlled by the national government. Social security primarily refers to a Social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions including poverty old Instead, they are managed by the "social partners" (partenaires sociaux) – unions of employers such as the MEDEF and unions of employees. The Mouvement des Entreprises de France or MEDEF (in English "Movement of the French Enterprises" is the largest Union of employers Their budget is separate from the national budget.

Legislative branch

Main article: Parliament of France

The Parliament of France, making up the legislative branch, consists of two houses: the National Assembly and the Senate; the Assembly is the pre-eminent body. This article is for the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation

Parliament meets for one 9-month session each year: under special circumstances the president can call an additional session. Although parliamentary powers have diminished from those existing under the Fourth Republic, the National Assembly can still cause a government to fall if an absolute majority of the total Assembly membership votes to censure. The founding of the Fourth Republic (1944-47 See also Three Parties, Third Force (France European Unity The creation of the

The cabinet has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its term to a legislative text which it proposes, and unless a motion of censure is introduced (within 24 hours after the proposal) and passed (within 48 hours of introduction - thus full procedures last at most 72 hours), the text is considered adopted without a vote.

Members of Parliament enjoy parliamentary immunity. Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity is a system in which members of the Parliament or Legislature are granted partial immunity from ^[25] Both assemblies have committees that write reports on a variety of topics. If necessary, they can establish parliamentary enquiry commissions with broad investigative power.

National Assembly

The National Assembly sits in the Palais Bourbon, by the Seine. Palais Bourbon, a Palace located on the left bank of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concorde, Paris (which is on the right bank is The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie

Main article: French National Assembly

The National Assembly is the principal legislative body. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The National Assembly is either a Legislature, or the Lower house of a Bicameral legislature in some countries Its 577 deputies are directly elected for 5-year terms in local majority votes, and all seats are voted on in each election.

The National Assembly may force the resignation of the executive cabinet by voting a motion of censure. For this reason, the prime minister and his cabinet are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the assembly. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. In the case of a president and assembly from opposing parties, this leads to the situation known as cohabitation. Cohabitation in government occurs in Semi-presidential systems such as France 's system when the President is from a different Political party While motions of censure are periodically proposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, they are purely rhetorical; party discipline ensures that, throughout a parliamentary term, the government is never overthrown by the Assembly.

Latest election

Senate

The Senate's amphitheater

Main article: French Senate

Senators are chosen by an electoral college of about 145,000 local elected officials for 6-year terms, and one half of the Senate is renewed every 3 years. The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. Before the law of 30 July 2004, senators were elected for 9 years, renewed by thirds every 3 years. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " There are currently 321 senators, but there will be 346 in 2010; 304 represent the metropolitan and overseas départements, five the other dependencies and 12 the French established abroad. For the film see 2010 The Year We Make Contact. For the book see 2010 Odyssey Two. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division

The Senate's legislative powers are limited; on most matters of legislation, the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreement between the two houses.

Since the beginning of the Fifth Republic, the Senate has always had a right-wing majority. See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on This is mostly due to the over-representation of small villages compared to big cities. This, and the indirect mode of election, prompted socialist Lionel Jospin, who was prime minister at the time, to declare the Senate an "anomaly". Lionel Jospin (born 12 July 1937 is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France, during the third " cohabitation " ^[26]

Legislation adoption procedures

Statute legislation may be proposed by the government (council of ministers), or by members of Parliament. In the first case, it is a projet de loi; in the latter case, a proposition de loi. All projets de loi must undergo compulsory advisory review by the Conseil d'État before being submitted to parliament. This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi. ^[27] Propositions de loi cannot increase the financial load of the state without providing for funding. ^[28]

Projets de loi start in the house the government chooses (except in some narrow cases^[29]), propositions de loi start in the house where they originated. After the house has amended and voted on the text, it is sent to the other house, which can also amend it. If the houses do not choose to adopt the text in identical terms, it is sent before a commission made of equal numbers of members of both houses, which tries to harmonize the text. If it does not manage to do so, the National Assembly can vote the text and have the final say on it (except for laws related to the organization of the Senate). ^[30]

The law is then sent to the President of France for signature. The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected ^[31] At this point, the President of France, the speaker of either house or a delegation of 60 deputies or 60 senators can ask for the text to undergo constitutional review before being put into force;^[32] it is then sent before the Constitutional Council. The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 The President can also, only once per law and with the countersigning of the Prime minister, send the law back to parliament for another review. ^[33] Otherwise, the President must sign the law. After being countersigned by the Prime minister and the concerned ministers,^[34] it is then sent to the Journal Officiel for publication. JORF redirects here For the radio station in Japan see Radio Nippon. ^[35]

Budget

See also: Taxation in France. See Government of France for a wider perspective of French government

The Finance Bills (lois de finances) and the financing law of social security (lois de financement de la sécurité sociale) are special bills, voted following specific procedures.

Because of the importance of allowing government and social security organizations to proceed with the payment of their suppliers, employees, and recipients, without risk of a being stopped by parliamentary discord, these bills are specially constrained. In the past, parliamentarians would often add unrelated amendments (cavaliers budgétaires) to the finance bills, in order to get such amendments passed – because of the reduced time in which the budget is examined. However, these are nowadays considered unconstitutional. If Parliament cannot agree on a budget within some specified reasonable bounds, the government is entitled to adopt a budget through ordinances: this threat prevents parliamentarians from threatening to bankrupt the executive. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law.

The way the Finance Bill is organized, and the way the government has to execute the budget, were deeply reformed in 2001 by the Loi organique n°2001-692 du 1er août 2001 relative aux lois de finances, generally known as the LOLF. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Because of the major changes involved, the application of the law was gradual, and the first budget to be fully passed under LOLF will be the 2006 budget, passed in late 2005.

The LOLF divides expenses according to identifiable "missions" (which can be subdivided into sub-missions etc. ). The performance of the administration and public bodies will be evaluated with respect to these missions.

The budget of the national government was forecast to be 288. 8 billion Euro in 2005. Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e This includes neither Social Security, nor the budgets of local governments.

Multiple mandates

It has long been customary for members of parliaments to have, in addition to their mandate as deputy or senator, some local mandate, such as mayor of a city; thus, the phrases "deputy-mayor" (député-maire) and "senator-mayor" (sénateur-maire). This is known as the cumul of electoral mandates. Proponents of the cumul allege that having local responsibilities ensures that members of parliament stay in contact with the reality of their constituency; also, they are said to be able to defend the interest of their city etc. better by having a seat in parliament.

In recent years, the cumul has been increasingly criticized. Critics contend that lawmakers that also have some local mandate cannot be assiduous to both tasks; for instance, they may neglect their duties to attend parliamentary sittings and commission in order to attend to tasks in their constituency. The premise that holders of dual office can defend the interest of their city etc. in the National Parliament is criticized in that national lawmakers should have the national interest in their mind, not the advancement of the projects of the particular city they are from. Finally, this criticism is part of a wider criticism of the political class as a cozy, closed world in which the same people make a long career from multiple positions.

As a consequence, laws that restrict the possibilities of having multiple mandates have been enacted.

Economic and Social Council

Main article: French Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council is a consultative assembly. The Economic and Social Council of France is a Consultative assembly It does not play a role in the adoption of statutes and regulations, but advises the lawmaking bodies on questions of social and economic policies.

The executive may refer any question or proposal of social or economic importance to the Economic and Social Council.

The Economic and Social Council publishes reports, which are sent to the Prime Minister, the National Assembly, and the Senate. The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. They are published in the Journal Officiel. JORF redirects here For the radio station in Japan see Radio Nippon.

Judiciary

Main article: Justice in France

France's political system, in keeping with rule of law, has an independent judiciary, meaning that it has court systems whose decisions are not de jure controlled by the executive or legislative branches. Glossary and basic concepts Note There exist significant problems with applying non-French terminology and concepts related to law and justice to the French justice system The rule of law, in its most basic form is the principle that no one is above the law In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State France has a system of civil law, but jurisprudence plays an important role similar to that of case law. Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Case law' (also known as decisional law or judicial precedent) is that body of reported Judicial opinions in countries that have Common law

The most distinctive feature of the French judicial system is that it is divided into the judicial and the administrative orders of courts.

Judicial Order

The judicial order of courts judges civil and penal cases. It consists of, in first instance: courts, courts of appeal, and the Cour de cassation at its helm. The Court of Cassation ( Cour de cassation in French) is the main Court of last resort in France.

Judges are civil servants, but enjoy special statutory protection from the executive. They may not be moved or promoted without their consent. Their careers are overseen by the High Council of the Magistracy.

The prosecution service, on the other hand, responds to the Minister of Justice. This has in the past led to suspicions of pressures to drop litigation against politicians suspected of corruption, and the topic of the status of the prosecutors comes up regularly in political discussions.

Trial by jury is used in the judgment of the most severe crimes, by the Courts of Assizes. A jury a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial Verdict (a finding of fact on a question officially submitted to them The full court – 3 judges and 9 jurors (12 jurors on appeal) – determines first guilt, then, if guilty, the sentence. Jurors are drawn at random from voters' rolls.

Pre-judgment proceedings are inquisitorial, but the actual court appearance is rather adversarial. This article is about the inquisitorial system for organizing court proceedings The adversarial system (or adversary system) of law is the system of law generally adopted in Common law countries that relies on the skill of each advocate

The burden of proof in criminal proceedings is on the prosecution, and the accused is constitutionally presumed innocent until declared guilty. Burden of proof (onus probandi is the obligation to prove Allegations which are presented in a Legal action. The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law

Certain specialized courts of first instance are staffed with elected judges. For instance, courts deciding cases of labor law are staffed with an equal number of judges from employers' unions and employees' unions. A similar arrangement holds for courts dealing with rural land leases.

Administrative Order

The Conseil d'État sits in the Palais Royal

The Administrative Order of Courts judges most litigations against public bodies. It consists of administrative tribunals, administrative courts of appeals, and the Conseil d'État at litigation at its helm. This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi.

The Conseil d'État hears cases against executive decisions and has the power to squash governmental decisions and regulations if they do not conform to applicable constitutional or statutory law, or to the general principles of law. This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi.

The proceedings are essentially written and inquisitorial, with both parties being called by the judges to explain themselves in writing. This article is about the inquisitorial system for organizing court proceedings

Conflicts between the judicial order of courts and the administrative order of courts are settled by a special court named Tribunal des conflits, made up of a same number of judges from the Cour de cassation and from the Conseil d'Etat. This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi.

Constitutional Council

Main article: Constitutional Council of France

Neither the judiciary nor the administrative courts can rule upon the constitutionality of statutory law. The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 Constitutionality is the status of a law, a procedure or an act's accordance with the laws or guidelines set forth in the applicable Constitution. Statutory law or statute law is written Law (as opposed to oral or Customary law) set down by a Legislature or other governing While technically not part of the judiciary, the Constitutional Council examines legislation and decides whether it conforms to the constitution and treaties, prior to its promulgation: in all cases for organic laws, and only under referral from the President of the Republic, the President of the Senate, the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister or 60 senators or 60 members of the National Assembly for normal laws. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity A Treaty is an agreement under International law entered into by actors in international law namely States and International organizations. The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers The National Assembly is either a Legislature, or the Lower house of a Bicameral legislature in some countries The Constitutional Council may refuse statutes as unconstitutional, including if they contradict the principles of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (cited in the preamble of the Constitution) or the European Convention on Human Rights (accepted by treaty). The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (also called the "European Convention on Human Rights" and "ECHR" was adopted under the A Treaty is an agreement under International law entered into by actors in international law namely States and International organizations.

The Constitutional Council comprises members appointed for nine years (three every three years): three members appointed by the President, three members appointed by the President of the National Assembly, and three appointed by the President of the Senate.

Financial jurisdictions

The Court of Accounts (Cour des Comptes), assisted by regional accounting courts, audits the finances of the State, public institutions (including other jurisditions) and public bodies. The Cour des Comptes ( French for "Court of Accounts" is a French government Quasi-judicial body charged with conducting Audits of most It publishes a yearly official report and may refer criminal matters to prosecutors. It can also directly fine public accountants for mishandling of funds, and refer civil servants who misused funds to the Court of Financial and Budgetary Discipline.

The Court and the chambers do not judge the accountants of private organizations. However, in some circumstances, they may audit their accounting, especially when they are candidate to, or are operating have a concession of a public service or a service requiring the permanent use of the public domain, or when they are candidates for public markets open to competition though calls of offers. The Court is often sollicitated by various state agencies, parlementary commissions and public regulators, but it can also be invoked by any French citizen or organization operating in France.

The Court itself is controlled by financial commissions of the two chambers of the French Parlement who provides its working budget in the yearly Act of finances.

Ombudsman

In 1973 the position of médiateur de la République (the Republic's ombudsman) was created. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. An ombudsman ( English plural conventionally ombudsmen) is an official usually (but not always appointed by the government or by parliament who is charged with The ombudsman is charged with solving, without the need to a recourse before the courts, the disagreements between citizens and the administrations and other entities charged with a mission of a public service; proposing reforms to the Government and the administrations in order to further these goals; and actively participating in the international promotion of human rights. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled

The ombudsman is appointed for a period of 6 years by the President of the Republic in the Council of Ministers. He cannot be removed from office and is protected for his official actions by an immunity similar to parliamentary immunity. Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity is a system in which members of the Parliament or Legislature are granted partial immunity from He does not receive or accept orders from any authority. The current ombudsman is Jean-Paul Delevoye.

French law

Basic principles

The basic principles that the French Republic must respect are found in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining

France uses a civil law system; that is, law arises primarily from written statutes; judges are not to make law, but merely to interpret it (though the amount of judge interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalent to case law). Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Case law' (also known as decisional law or judicial precedent) is that body of reported Judicial opinions in countries that have Common law

Many fundamental principles of French Law were laid in the Napoleonic Codes. The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français) is the French Civil code, established under Basic principles of the rule of law were laid in the Napoleonic Code: laws can only address the future and not the past (ex post facto laws are prohibited); to be applicable, laws must have been officially published (see Journal Officiel). The rule of law, in its most basic form is the principle that no one is above the law JORF redirects here For the radio station in Japan see Radio Nippon.

In agreement with the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the general rule is that of freedom, and law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining As Guy Canivet, first president of the Court of Cassation, said about what should be the rule in French law:^[36]

Freedom is the rule, and its restriction is the exception; any restriction of Freedom must be provided for by Law and must follow the principles of necessity and proportionality. Guy Canivet (born September 23, 1943 in Lons-le-Saunier) is a French Judge. The Court of Cassation ( Cour de cassation in French) is the main Court of last resort in France.

That is, law may lay out prohibitions only if they are needed, and if the inconveniences caused by this restriction do not exceed the inconveniences that the prohibition is supposed to remedy.

France does not recognize religious law, nor does it recognize religious beliefs as a motivation for the enactment of prohibitions. In some Religions law can be thought of as the ordering principle of Reality; Knowledge as revealed by God defining and governing all human affairs As a consequence, France has long had neither blasphemy laws nor sodomy laws (the latter being abolished in 1789). Blasphemy is the disrespectful use of the name of one or more gods. A sodomy law is a Law that defines certain Sexual acts as sex crimes.

Statute law vs executive regulations

French law differentiates between statutes (loi), generally adopted by the legislative branch, and regulations (règlement, instituted by décrets), issued by the prime minister. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation This article is for the legal term For regulation of genes see Regulation of gene expression. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. There also exist secondary regulation called arrêtés, issued by ministers, subordinates acting in their names, or local authorities; these may only be taken in areas of competency and within the scope delineated by primary legislation. There are also more and more regulations issued by independent agencies, especially relating to economic matters.

According to the Constitution of France (article 34):

Statutes shall concern:

• Civic rights and the fundamental guarantees granted to citizens for the exercise of their public liberties; the obligations imposed for the purposes of national defence upon citizens in respect of their persons and their property;
• Nationality, the status and legal capacity of persons, matrimonial regimes, inheritance and gifts;
• The determination of serious crimes and other major offences and the penalties applicable to them; criminal procedure; amnesty; the establishment of new classes of courts and tribunals and the regulations governing the members of the judiciary;
• The base, rates and methods of collection of taxes of all types; the issue of currency. The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual "Heir" and "Heiress" redirect here For the men and women fragrances endorsed by Paris Hilton see Heiress (fragrance. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated Criminal law. Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is

Statutes shall likewise determine the rules concerning:

• The electoral systems of parliamentary assemblies and local assemblies;
• The creation of categories of public establishments;
• The fundamental guarantees granted to civil and military personnel employed by the State;
• The nationalization of enterprises and transfers of ownership in enterprises from the public to the private sector. A voting system allows voters to choose between options often in an Election where candidates are selected for public office. This article is for the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government

Statutes shall determine the fundamental principles of:

• The general organization of national defence;
• The self-government of territorial units, their powers and their resources;
• Education;
• The regime governing ownership, rights in rem, and civil and commercial obligations;
• Labour law, trade-union law and social security. Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency Labour law (also known as employment or labor law is the body of Laws administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of and restrictions A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Social security primarily refers to a Social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions including poverty old

Finance Acts shall determine the resources and obligations of the State in the manner and with the reservations specified in an institutional Act. Social Security Finance Acts shall determine the general conditions for the financial balance of Social Security and, in light of their revenue forecasts, shall determine expenditure targets in the manner and with the reservations specified in an institutional Act. Programme Acts shall determine the objectives of the economic and social action of the State.

The provisions of this article may be enlarged upon and complemented by an organic law.

Other areas are matters of regulation. This article is for the legal term For regulation of genes see Regulation of gene expression. This separation between law and regulation is enforced by the Conseil constitutionnel: the government can, with the agreement of the Conseil constitutionnel, modify by decrees the laws that infringe on the domain of regulations. At the same, the Conseil d'État nullifies decrees that infringe on the domain of the law.

Hierarchy of norms

When courts have to deal with incoherent texts, they apply a certain hierarchy: a text higher in the hierarchy will overrule a lower text. The general rule is that the Constitution is superior to laws which are superior to regulations. However, with the intervention of European law and international treaties, and the quasi-case law of the administrative courts, the hierarchy may become somewhat unclear. Case law' (also known as decisional law or judicial precedent) is that body of reported Judicial opinions in countries that have Common law The following hierarchy of norms should thus be taken with due caution:

1. The French Constitution (includes the general principles of constitutional values recognized by the laws of the Republic (as defined by the Constitutional Council))
2. European Union Treaties, Directives and Regulations
3. International Treaties and Agreements
4. organic laws
5. normal laws
6. general principles of law (as defined by the Conseil d'État)
7. decrees taken with advisory review by the Conseil d'État
8. decrees taken without review by the Conseil d'État
9. arrêtés
   • of several ministers
   • of a single minister
   • of other authorities
10. regulations and decisions by independent agencies. This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi.

Local government

Traditionally, decision-making in France used to be highly centralized, with each of France's départements headed by a prefect appointed by the central government, in addition to the conseil général, a locally elected council. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division A prefect (préfet in France is the State's representative in a department or region. However, in 1982, the national government passed legislation to decentralize authority by giving a wide range of administrative and fiscal powers to local elected officials. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) __FORCETOC__ Decentralization or Decentralisation (see Spelling differences) is the process of dispersing Decision-making governance closer to the people In March 1986, regional councils were directly elected for the first time, and the process of decentralization has continued, albeit at a slow pace. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) In March 2003, a constitutional revision has changed very significantly the legal framework towards a more decentralized system and has increased the powers of local governments.

Administrative units with a local government in Metropolitan France (that is, the parts of France lying in Europe) consist of:

• about 36,000 communes, headed by a municipal council and a mayor, grouped in
• 96 départements, headed by a conseil général (general council) and its president, grouped in
• 22 régions, headed by a regional council and its president. Metropolitan France (France métropolitaine or la Métropole, or colloquially l'Hexagone) is the part of France located in Europe, including The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, A regional council (conseil régional is the elected assembly of a region of France. In France, the president of the regional council (French Président du conseil régional) is the elected official who heads the Conseil régional

The conseil général is an institution created in 1790 by the French Revolution in each of the newly created departments (they were suppressed by the Vichy government from 1942 to 1944). A conseiller général (departmental councillor) must be at least 21 years old and either live or pay taxes in locality from which he or she is elected. (Sociologist Jean Viard noted [Le Monde, Feb. 22, 2006] that half of all conseillers généraux were still fils de paysans, i. e. sons of peasants, suggesting France's deep rural roots). Though the central government can theoretically dissolve a conseil général (in case of a dysfunctional conseil), this has happened only once in the Fifth Republic.

The conseil général discusses and passes laws on matters that concern the department; it is administratively responsible for departmental employees and land, manages subsidized housing, public transportation, and school subsidies, and contributes to public facilities. It is not allowed to express "political wishes. " The conseil général meets at least three times a year and elects its president for a term of 3 years, who presides over its "permanent commission," usually consisting of 5-10 other departmental councillors elected from among their number. The conseil général has accrued new powers in the course of the political decentralization that has occurred past in France during the past thirty years. There are in all more than 4,000 conseillers généraux in France.

Different levels of administration have different duties, and shared responsibility is common; for instance, in the field of education, communes run public elementary schools, while départements run public junior high schools and régions run public high schools, but only for the building and upkeep of buildings; curricula and teaching personnel are supplied by the national Ministry of Education.

The 3 main cities, Paris, Lyon and Marseille have a special statute. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ Paris is at the same time a commune and a département with an institution, the Conseil de Paris, that is elected at the same time as the other conseil municipaux, but that operates also as a conseil général. The 3 cities are also divided into arrondissement each having its conseil d'arrondissement and its mayor.

French overseas possessions are divided into two groups:

• 4 overseas départements, with some strong similarity of organization to their metropolitan counterparts; in these overseas départements all laws of France are automatically applicable, except if a specific text provides otherwise or provides some adaptation. The French Overseas Departments and Territories ( French: départements d'outre-mer and territoires d'outre-mer or DOM-TOM) consist broadly of Overseas department (départements d’outre-mer or DOM) is a designation under the 1946 Constitution of the Fourth Republic that was given to the The 4 départements belong to the European Union, as "overseas regions", which means that European law is applicable;
• Territories, generally having greater autonomy. In general, French laws are not applicable, except if a specific text provides otherwise. A new Territory has been created in February 2007: Saint-Barthélemy. Saint Barthélemy (Saint-Barthélemy officially the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy) is an Overseas collectivity This Territory used to be part of the overseas département of Guadeloupe. The statute of Saint-Barthélemy provides the automatic application of French law, except mostly in the domain of taxes and immigration, which are left to the Territory. The Territories do not belong to the European Union. However, as "overseas territories" they have association agreements with the EU and may opt-in to some EU' provisions. EU law applies to them only insofar is necessary to implement the association agreements.

All inhabited French territory is represented in both houses of Parliament and votes for the presidential election.

References

All texts in French unless otherwise noted.

Specific

1. ^ See decisions 71-44 DC of July 16, 1971 and 73-51 DC of December 27, 1973 citing the preamble of the Constitution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
2. ^ Constitutional law 2005-205 of March 1, 2005
3. ^ See preamble of the Constitution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
4. ^ Title II of the Constitution
5. ^ Constitution, article 19
6. ^ Constitution, Article 16
7. ^ Constitutional law 62-1262 of November 6, 1962
8. ^ Constitution, article 7
9. ^ Constitution, article 8
10. ^ Constitution, article 21
11. ^ Constitution, article 20
12. ^ Constitution, article 20
13. ^ Constitution, article 49
14. ^ Constitution, article 48
15. ^ National Assembly, transcripts of the sitting of February 9, 2006: appearance of Dominique de Villepin announcing the application of article 49-3; adopted text
16. ^ The "first employment contract" was cancelled by a law of April 21, 2006 following massive street protests; see First Employmenty Contract.
17. ^ Le rôle consultatif du Conseil d'État
18. ^ Constitution, article 38
19. ^ On the legal regime of ordinances and explicit and implicit ratification, see Les ordonnances : bilan au 31 décembre 2006 by the legal service of the French Senate. The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.
20. ^ Law 2000-517 authorized the government to adopt ordinances to convert sums from Francs to Euros in various legislative texts.
21. ^ Ordinance of August 2, 2005 regarding the "new employment contract"
22. ^ See this list
23. ^ See bibliography
24. ^ Code of postal services and electronic communications, article L43
25. ^ This immunity is called for in article 26 of the Constitution, as defined by the Constitutional law of August 5, 1995. See: National assembly, L'immunité parlementaire.
26. ^ L'Humanité, April 21, 1998; L'Humanité, April 23, 1998; L'Humanité, August 13, 2002
27. ^ Constitution, article 39
28. ^ Constitution, article 40
29. ^ Constitution, article 39
30. ^ Constitution, article 46
31. ^ Constitution, article 10
32. ^ Constitution, article 61
33. ^ Constitution, article 10
34. ^ Constitution, article 19
35. ^ Civil Code, article 1
36. ^ Guy Canivet was saying how the rules governing prisons disregarded the basic rule of law that liberty is the general case and prohibition the exception. See Jacques Floch, Report of the enquiry commission of the French national assembly on the situation in French prisons.

General

• Legal reference texts
  • General reference
    • General government web site with all texts, including some that are translated to English
  • Constitution
    • Constitution de la République Française
    • original text
    • official English translation)
    • Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French text, English translation)
  • Rules of procedure
    • Rules of procedure of the National Assembly (original text, English version)
  • Justice
    • Code civil (official English translation)
    • Code des juridictions financières
    • Code de procédure pénale (official English translation)
    • Code de justice administrative
  • Budget
    • The LOLF (official English translation)
  • Ombudsman
    • Law 73-6 of January 3, 1973, creating the position of the Ombudsman (updated version)
  • Justice
    • Civil Code, statutory part
    • Code of Civil Procedure, statutory part (official English translation)
    • Criminal Code, statutory part official English translation)
    • Code of Criminal Procedure, statutory part (official English translation)
    • Code of Administrative Justice, statutory part

• Official documentation
  • General
    • Vie publique : découverte des institutions
    • Les pouvoirs publics. The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining Textes essentiels 2005. , La Documentation française, ISBN 2-11-005961-3
  • Financial jurisdictions
    • La Cour des Comptes, The Court of Accounts (English)
  • Budget
    • Alain Lambert, Didier Migaud, Réussir la LOLF, clé d'une gestion publique responsible et efficace. The Documentation française is a French public administration charged with publishing general documentation on major newsworthy problems for French administrations and the French Alain Lambert (born in Alençon, on July 20, 1946) is a French Politician. Rapport au Gouvernement, September 2005, ISBN 2-11-095515-5 (page, PDF)
    • Presentation of the LOLF
    • Edward Arkwright, Stanislas Godefroy, Manuel Mazquez, Jean-Luc Bœuf, Cécile Courrèges, La mise en oeuvre de la loi organique relative aux lois de finances, La Documentation Française, 2005, ISBN 2-11-005944-3
  • Independent administrative authorities
    • Conseil d'État, rapport public 2001, Les autorités administratives indépendantes (PDF) ISBN 2-11-004788-7

Further reading

• Frédéric Monera, L'idée de République et la jurisprudence du Conseil constitutionnel - Paris: L. The Documentation française is a French public administration charged with publishing general documentation on major newsworthy problems for French administrations and the French This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi. G. D. J. , 2004 [1]-[2];

See also

• Journal Officiel de la République Française
• Légifrance

External links

All external sites in French but most of them have pages in English. JORF redirects here For the radio station in Japan see Radio Nippon. Légifrance is the official website of the Government of France for the publication of legislation regulations and juridical information

• General
  • Service Public, Official portal to public services
• Law
  • Official online repository of laws and regulations (Légifrance)
  • Official online repository of treaties in which France is a party
• Executive Branch
  • Official site of the Presidency
  • Official site of the Government
• Legislative Branch
  • Official site of the French National Assembly
  • Official site of the French Senate
• Judiciary
  • Official site of the Cour de Cassation
  • Official site of the Conseil d'État
  • Official site of the Constitutional Council
  • Official site of the Court of Auditors
  • Official site of the High Council of the Magistracy
• Others
  • Official site of the Ombudsman
  • Official site of the French Economic and Social Council