Constitutional Powers and Structure of the Republic

Posted on Oct 2, 2025 in International Relations

The Executive Branch

The President of the Republic: Head of State

The President of the Republic, the Head of State, is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of five years. He or she may not serve for more than two consecutive terms (Art. 6 Constitution). The voting system is the single-member two-round majority system (Art. 7).

The role of the President is to ensure, through his or her arbitration, the proper government and the continuity of the State (Art. 5). He or she is responsible for safeguarding national independence and territorial integrity, ensuring respect for treaties (Art. 5), and guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary (Art. 64). The President is vested with various powers that can be either own powers or shared powers, in which case they require the intervention of another body.

Presidential Powers: Own Powers

These powers are exercised without the need for a countersignature.

Guarantee and Arbitration Powers
  • Constitutional Matters: The President ensures adherence to the Constitution (Art. 5) and in practice has the power of interpretation (e.g., interpretation of referendums on constitutional amendments, refusal to sign orders during cohabitation). He or she appoints three members of the Constitutional Council (Art. 56) and may ask it to review the constitutionality of a law or a treaty (Arts. 54 and 61).
  • Judicial Matters: The President is responsible for the independence of the judiciary; he or she is assisted in this task by the Supreme Council of Justice (Art. 64).
Emergency Powers (Article 16)

For the President to have recourse to such powers, there must be a serious and immediate threat to the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the nation, the integrity of its territory, or the honoring of its international commitments, and the regular operation of constitutional government authorities must be interrupted.

Prerogatives Concerning Other Institutions
  • With the Government: The President appoints the Prime Minister and terminates this appointment (Art. 8); convenes, approves the agenda, and presides over the Council of Ministers (Art. 9).
  • With Parliament: The President communicates with Parliament by messages and may take the floor before Parliament meeting as a full assembly (Art. 18). He or she may freely dissolve the National Assembly, although he or she must first consult the Presidents of the two chambers and the Prime Minister (Art. 12).

Presidential Powers: Shared Powers

Shared powers are those which the President of the Republic may exercise solely with the countersignature of the Prime Minister.

Diplomatic and Military Prerogatives
  • Treaties are negotiated on behalf of the President and it is he or she who ratifies them, with parliamentary authorization when necessary (Art. 52).
  • He or she accredits ambassadors (Art. 14).
  • The President is head of the Armed Forces (Art. 15), but armed forces are at the disposal of the Government (Art. 20), and any declaration of war must be approved by Parliament (Art. 35).
  • The President presides over national defense councils and committees (Art. 15), but in exceptional cases may be replaced by the Prime Minister (Art. 21).
Relations with the Government
  • On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the President appoints and terminates the appointment of ministers (Art. 8).
  • He or she makes appointments to civil and military posts, sometimes following decisions of the Council of Ministers and sometimes following public consultations with the committees of the Parliament (Art. 13).
  • He or she signs ordinances as well as decrees deliberated by the Council of Ministers (Art. 13).
Relations with Parliament
  • The President may convene an extraordinary session of Parliament, at the request of the Prime Minister or of the majority of the members of the National Assembly (Art. 29).
  • He or she opens and closes all extraordinary sessions (Art. 30).
  • He or she may request further deliberation on legislation prior to its enactment (Art. 10).
Relations with the Judiciary
  • The President may grant pardons to individuals (Art. 17).
Relations with the People: Referendums
  • Constitutional Referendum: The power to propose constitutional amendments is vested concurrently in the President (who proposes such amendments at the request of the Prime Minister) and in the members of Parliament (Art. 89).
  • Legislative Referendums: The President may, on the recommendation of the Government or of the two chambers, submit to referendum any bill dealing with government structure or national economic, social, or environmental policy (Art. 11).
  • Referendums on Treaties: E.g., treaty on the accession of a State to the European Union (Art. 88-5).
  • Local Referendums: The President may consult the voters of an overseas territorial collectivity on a question.

The Government (Executive Organ)

The Government, the second organ of executive power, is composed inter alia of ministers appointed by the President of the Republic on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and of Ministers of State. The Government is a collegiate body. It is collectively answerable to Parliament in respect of its policy.

The Prime Minister guides the action of the Government and, with the exception of those powers granted to the President of the Republic, is vested with regulatory power (Art. 21).

The power to table legislation rests concurrently with the Government and with members of Parliament (Art. 39). The Government prepares and executes financial legislation, proposes legislative referendums (Art. 11), and declares a state of emergency (Art. 36).

The Legislative Branch

The National Assembly

The National Assembly is made up of deputies, whose number may not exceed 577 (Art. 24). They are elected every five years, except in the case of early elections when the Assembly has been dissolved, by direct universal suffrage in districts defined within each department. Deputies are elected by a uninominal majority vote in two rounds.

The Assembly discusses and enacts legislation, which it may also propose, as well as draft legislation submitted by the Government. The Assembly reviews and adopts the budget and financial legislation; it exerts control over the Government’s actions by holding ministers to account; it has the power to authorize the ratification of certain treaties and to authorize the declaration of war. It takes part in the constitutional amendment process; most of these powers are wielded jointly by the Senate.

The Senate

The 348 senators are elected for a six-year term by indirect universal suffrage, by 150,000 electors (deputies, senators, regional councillors, departmental councillors, councillors of the Assembly of Corsica, French Guiana and Martinique, municipal council delegates).

The Senate represents the territorial collectivities of the Republic, with the number of representatives varying in accordance with the population of each entity. The Senate debates and adopts legislation; however, in the event of disagreement between the Senate and the National Assembly, the Government may ask the Assembly to decide.

The Judiciary

The independence of the judiciary, a constitutional principle, is guaranteed under the Constitution (Art. 64). The independence of the judiciary derives largely from the status of judges, particularly sitting judges.

The Supreme Council of Justice

The Supreme Council of Justice is involved in the appointment of judges by submitting a proposal to the President of the Republic or by issuing a certified opinion.

The Constitutional Council

In addition to the powers vested in it with regard to the electoral process, the Constitutional Council rules on the constitutionality of a number of norms, in particular legislative texts, treaties, and parliamentary rules. The President of the Council is appointed by the President of the Republic.