France’s Political Institutions at 50

Fifty years after the creation of the Fifth Republic, French politics is undergoing profound changes. The election of Nicolas Sarkozy has announced a general review of the French political system. A special committee – the comité constitutionnel – is currently drafting a catalogue of potential reforms. Debates focus on issues like presidentialization, parliamentary scrutiny of the executive or the creation of a popular initiative to trigger constitutional review of given legislative texts.

These discussions reflect long-standing trends in the Fifth Republic. This volume aims at analysing those trends and at outlining the major perspectives for future development. In particular it puts the French political system in comparative perspectives and provides in-depth analysis of the evolution of the major political institutions and their relations. The volume argues that substantial reforms have helped to partially reshape French politics. Yet, it also shows that the fundamental characteristics of semi-presidential government have stood firm. The question is whether current debates and subsequent reforms are likely to alter the current pattern.

Table of contents:

1. Introduction: The Institutions of the French Republic at 50
Emiliano Grossman and Nicolas Sauger

2. Duverger, Semi-presidentialism and the Supposed French Archetype
Robert Elgie

3. The President’s Choice? Government and Cabinet Turnover under the Fifth Republic
Emiliano Grossman

4. The French National Assembly’s Oversight of the Executive: Changing Role, Partisanship and Intra-Majority Conflict
Sebastien G. Lazardeux

5. Party Discipline and Coalition Management in the French Parliament
Nicolas Sauger

6. MPs under the Fifth Republic: Professionalisation within a Weak Institution
Olivier Costa and Eric Kerrouche

7. The French Electoral System and its Effects
Andre Blais and Peter John Loewen

8. The Evolution of the French Political Space and Party System
Simon Bornschier and Romain Lachat

9. The Politics of Constitutional Veto in France: Constitutional Council, Legislative Majority and Electoral Competition
Sylvain Brouard

10. Public Budgeting in the French Fifth Republic: The End of La Republique des partis?
Frank R. Baumgartner, Martial Foucault and Abel Francois

11. The End of Ambiguity? Presidents versus Parties or the Four Phases of the Fifth Republic
Emiliano Grossman and Nicolas Sauger