France

P R EPA R ED BY: M S . M E L
https://www.britannica.com/place/France
A Glimpse of France
France
• France has played a significant role in the world especially after the
Treaty of Westphalia was entered into in 1648.

• Some important events that occurred in France also made an impact

not only in the said country but outside its borders. Take for instance,
the French Revolution.
Treaty or Peace of Westphalia
- Entered into in the year 1648 that ended the so-called Thirty Years’
War in Europe.
- It has cemented the sovereignty of states.
- Diminished the power of the Roman Catholic Church.
- Establishment of the diplomatic relation among the states of Europe.
Treaty of Westphalia and France
The Peace of Westphalia resulted to the official establishment
of a European interstate system, in which France emerged as
the dominant power of the continent (Magone, J.).
French Revolution
French Revolution
The French citizens decided to alter their country’s political landscape
by uprooting absolute monarchy and the feudal system.
“Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times degenerated
into a chaotic bloodbath, the French Revolution played a critical role in
shaping modern nations by showing the world the power inherent in the
will of the people”(https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution).
Causes

• Widespread discontent with the French monarchy

• Poor economic policies of King Louis XVI, who met his death by
guillotine, as did his wife Marie Antoinette.
• Massive overspending by the King
Some Achievements of the French Revolution
– the institutionalisation of written constitutions;
– the roots of nationalism across Europe;
– the establishment of modern political parties based on a
left–right ideological spectrum;
– the establishment of the Napoleonic Code, exported to other
European countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium;
– the establishment of national education systems.
The French Government under the
Fifth Republic
THE PRESIDENT
Some of the Functions and Powers of the
President
• 1. Ensure due respect to the Constitution. (Art 5 Constitution)
• 2. Ensure the proper functioning of the public authorities and the
continuity of the State. Guarantor of national independence, territorial
integrity, and due respect for treaties. (ibid)
• 3. Power to appoint the Prime Minister and other members of the
government on the recommendation of the PM. (Art 8).
Some of the Functions and Powers of the
President
4. Preside over the Council of Ministers. (Art. 9)

5. Shall Promulgate Acts of the Parliament ( Art 10)

6. The power to declare the National Assembly dissolved
(Art. 13).
Some of the Functions and Powers of the
President
7. To sign ordinance and decrees deliberated upon by the Council of
Ministers. ( Art. 13)
8. Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (Art. 15)
“The President of the Republic shall be Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces. He shall preside over the higher national defence
councils and committees.” (Article 15)
Power of the President to Dissolve Parliament
Article 12 of the French Constitution provides:
The President of the Republic may, after consulting the Prime Minister
and the Presidents of the Houses of Parliament, declare the National
Assembly dissolved.
A general election shall take place no fewer than twenty days and no
more than forty days after the dissolution. The National Assembly shall
sit as of right on the second Thursday following its election. Should this
sitting fall outside the period prescribed for the ordinary session, a
session shall be convened by right for a fifteen-day period. No further
dissolution shall take place within a year following said election.
Was there a time in recent history that the French
President dissolved the National Assembly?
Yes. That was during the time of President Jacques
Chirac in 1997 and President Francois Mitterrand in
1988.
Article 16
Where the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the Nation,
the integrity of ts territory or the fulfillment of its international
commitments are under serious and immediate threat, and where the
proper functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted,
the President of the Republic shall take measures required by these
circumstances, after formally consulting the Prime Minister, the
Presidents of the Houses of Parliament and the Constitutional Council.
He shall address the Nation and inform it of such measures
Article 16
The measures shall be designed to provide the constitutional public
authorities as swiftly as possible, with the means to carry out their
duties. The Constitutional Council shall be consulted with regard to such
measures.
Parliament shall sit as of right.
The National Assembly shall not be dissolved during the exercise of
such emergency powers.
Article 16
After thirty days of the exercise of such emergency powers, the matter
may be referred to the Constitutional Council by the President of the
National Assembly, the President of the Senate, sixty Members of the
National Assembly or sixty Senators, so as to decide if the conditions
laid down in paragraph one still apply. The Council shall make its
decision publicly as soon as possible. It shall, as of right, carry out such
an examination and shall make its decision in the same manner after
sixty days of the exercise of emergency powers or at any moment
thereafter.
The Prime Minister
The Functions and Powers of the Prime
Minister
“The Prime Minister shall direct the actions of the Government. He shall
be responsible for national defence. He shall ensure the implementation
of legislation. Subject to article 13, he shall have power to make
regulations and shall make appointments to civil and military posts. •
Selection of active-duty commanders. He may delegate certain of his
powers to Ministers.
Functions and Powers of the Prime Minister
• He shall deputize, if the case arises, for the President of the Republic
as chairman of the councils and committees referred to in article 15.
He may, in exceptional cases, deputize for him as chairman of a
meeting of the Council of Ministers by virtue of an express delegation
of powers for a specific agenda”
References