The French Constitution of 4 October 1958 provides the institutional basis for the Fifth Republic. It has been amended several times:

  election of the President of the Republic by direct universal suffrage (1962)
  introduction of a new title on the criminal liability of members of the Government (1993)
  establishment of a single parliamentary session and - broadening of the scope for referendum (1995)
  transitional provisions for New Caledonia (1998) establishment of the European Economic and Monetary Union, equal access for men and women to elective offices and positions, and recognition of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (1999)
  shortening of the President's term office (2000)
  reform of the Head of State's criminal liability, constitutional prohibition of the death penality, and reform on the autonomy of New Caledonia (2007)

The Constitutional Council

The nine-member Constitutional Council is responsible in particular for ensuring that elections are properly conducted and fair, and that constitutional bylaws and other legislation submitted to it are constitutional.

www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr (in French)

The President of the Republic

The Head of State is elected for a five-yeare term by direct universal suffrage (introduction of the five year term following the referendum of 24 Stepmber 2000).

Nicolas Sarkozy became the sixth President of the Fifth Republic on 6th May 2007.

The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister and, on the latter's recommendation, appoints the other members of the Government (Article 8 of the Constitution).

He presides over the Council of Ministers, promulgates Acts of Parliament and is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He may dissolve the National Assembly and, in an emergency, exercise special powers (Article 16).

www.elysee.fr (in French)

The Prime Minister and the Government

Under the direction of the Prime Minister, the Government defines and carries out national policy. It is answerable to Parliament (Article 20). The Prime Minister steers the Government's action and ensures the implementation of legislation (Article 21). François Fillon was appointed Prime Minister on 17th May 2007.

www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr (in French)

Parliament

Parliament is made up of two assemblies :

The Senate is elected by indirect universal suffrage for a six-year term (reduced from nine years in 2003). The house is renewable by half every three years. The last election took place in September 2004.

The National Assembly's members (deputies) are elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. The most recent general election was held in June 2007.

The two assemblies supervise the Government and draw up and pass legislation. In the event of disagreement on a law, the National Assembly makes the final decision.

The Senate

The Senate has 331 senators affiliated with the following groups since the September 2004 election:

  Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) group: 158
  Socialiste group: 96
  Union Centriste group: 30
  Communiste, Republican et Citoyen group: 23
  Rassemblement Démocratique et Social Européen (RDSE) group: 16
  Non-affiliated: 7

www.senat.fr (in French) The National Assembly

The National Assembly is made up of 577 deputies affiliated with the following groups since the general election of 10th and 17th June:

  Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) group: 314 (plus 6 allied)
  Socialiste, Radical et Citoyen group: 186 (plus 18 allied)
  Gauche Démocrate et Républicaine group: 24 (0 allied)
  Nouveau Centre group: 20 (plus 2 allied)
  Non-affiliated: 7

www.assemble-nationale.fr (in French)

Judicial system

The French legal system is the "guardian of individual liberty" (Article 66 of the Constitution). It operates with a clear-cut distinction between judicial courts, with jurisdiction in disputes between persons and administrative courts, with jurisdiction in all cases involving disputes between citizens and the public authorities.

There are two types of judicial courts

Civic courts

ordinary (district courts) or specialized (subdistrict courts, commercial courts, social security courts and industrial tribunals for disputes between employees and employers).

Criminal courts

which deal with three types of offence

  Minor offences, tried by the police courts
  Major or technical offences, tried by the criminal courts
  Serious crimes, tried by the Assize Court

There is also a special court, the Juvenile Court, for both civil and criminal cases.

The highest judicial body is the Cour de Cassation (Supreme Court of Appeal), which rules on appeals against court-of-appeal judgements.

The Conséil d'Etat is the supreme administrative court and court of final appeal on the legality of administrative acts. The Government also consults the Conseil d'Etat for its opinion on bills and certain draft decrees.

www.justice.gouv.fr (in French) www.conseil-etat.fr (in French)

National anthem and motto

The national anthem is the Marseillaise, composed in Strasbourg in 1792 and originally known as the Battle Hymn of the Army of the Rhine. It was made the national anthem on 14th July 1795.

The motto of the French Republic is "Liberty,Equality, Fraternity".

The French flag

In 1789, La Fayette added the color white, symbolizing royalty, to the red and blue cockade of the Paris National Guard.

The blue, white and red flag is the official standard of the French Republic.

National Defense

In 2007, the defense budget stood at € 36.25 billion or 2.02% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 10.82% of the State budget.

The 2003-2008 Defense Policy Act defines the resources and personnel targets required to meet the ambition of the President of the Republic and the Government to give France the defense resources it needs.

This is part of the drive to tailor the French defense system to today's goals and issues, as shown by:

  The scaling up of resources to combat terrorism
  The security and reliability of the French nuclear deterrent
  France's involvement in crisis prevention and resolution (operational deployment of 15,000 to 20,000 military personnel)
  Military co-operation within NATO and the European Union

In 2006, the French armed forces comprised 347,903 military and civilian personnel:

  Army: 133,627
  Air Force: 59,118
  Navy: 42,752
  Gendarmerie: 97,723
  Joint services (health, welfare etc.): 14,683

www.defense.gouv.fr(in French)