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The French must elect their president on April 10, or, in the case of a second round, on April 24, for a five-year term. But what exactly are the powers of the head of state? France 24 takes stock.
After the numerous upheavals of the Fourth Republic, General de Gaulle, who reconquered power in 1958, in the midst of the Algerian war, wanted to establish a stable regime and did so with the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.
Enacted on October 4, 1958 and later revised in 1962 to allow the election of the President of the Republic by direct universal suffrage, the Magna Carta established a strong Executive Power by granting the Head of State numerous powers.
France 24 explains what these powers consist of, ahead of the presidential elections on April 10 and 24, 2022.
- Head of the Army and diplomacy
Although the Constitution attributes a shared competence between the president and the prime minister in the fields of defense and diplomacy, these issues have become in practice “reserved domains” of the head of state. The latter is the guarantor of national independence and territorial integrity (article 5) and, as head of the armed forces (article 15), presides over the various superior national defense councils and committees that define the guidelines for military programming, deterrence, the conduct of foreign operations and the fight against terrorism. Furthermore, he only decides on the use of nuclear force.
However, the head of state cannot declare war alone. Article 35(1) stipulates that “the declaration of war shall be authorized by Parliament”. This provision has not been applied so far. However, the president decides on armed interventions abroad. The Government has three days to inform Parliament, which must decide whether or not to extend the intervention after four months.
The President of the Republic is also the head of French diplomacy. He meets with foreign heads of state and represents France internationally, both in his visits to foreign countries and in major institutions. He is also the guarantor of compliance with the treaties (article 5) that he negotiates and ratifies (article 52). Lastly, he has the power to appoint and accredit French ambassadors abroad.
The Constitution and the election by direct universal suffrage grant the President of the Republic important prerogatives to lead France. Elected on the basis of a program presented to the French during the electoral campaign, the president is the true head of the executive.
He appoints his prime minister and can dismiss him. He presides over the Council of Ministers, promulgates the laws, can submit a bill to a referendum and has the power to dissolve the National Assembly. Therefore, the head of state is the one who dictates the reform agenda to his government. He also has the power to convene Parliament in extraordinary session to deliberate on a specific agenda (article 29).
More than the constitutional text itself, it is the practice of power that has made the role of the President of the Republic so important. From the beginning, Charles de Gaulle, the first president of the Fifth Republic, set himself up as a “republican monarch”, as the jurist and law professor Maurice Duverger said in 1974. But the reform of the year 2000, which reduced the duration of the mandate from seven to five years, and the inversion of the electoral calendar in 2002 – legislative elections follow presidential ones – have also had an impact on the pre-eminence of the presidential role, since these two innovations of the 21st century drastically reduce the risks of cohabitation . From now on, and until proven otherwise, the newly elected head of state has, a few weeks later, a comfortable majority.
In addition to the powers described above, the President of the Republic has some so-called “shared” powers that require the signature of the Prime Minister or the corresponding minister. First, there is the power of appointment. Councilors of State, the Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour, ambassadors, senior councilors of the Court of Auditors, prefects, State representatives in overseas collectivities – governed by article 74 and in New Caledonia – officials general, the rectors of the academies and the directors of the central administrations are appointed by the Council of Ministers.
The head of state also shares regulatory power with the prime minister. He signs ordinances and decrees that allow him to establish norms in areas where the law is not necessary.
In matters of justice, the president has the right to grant a pardon to reduce or eliminate a prisoner’s sentence (article 17). The pardon decree must be countersigned by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice.
- The exceptional powers of article 16
In the event of a “serious and immediate threat” to “the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the Nation or the integrity of its territory” that causes the interruption of the “regular operation of public powers”, the President of the Republic may use of article 16 of the Constitution, which grants him “exceptional powers”: it allows him to have full executive and legislative powers.
However, to put it into practice, the head of state must first consult the prime minister, the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, and the Constitutional Council, and then inform the Nation through a message. Since the constitutional review of 2008, 30 days after the exercise of exceptional powers, “the Constitutional Council can be questioned” by the president of the National Assembly, the president of the Senate, 60 deputies or 60 senators, “in order to examine if the conditions established in the first paragraph continue to be fulfilled”. He will give his opinion as soon as possible in a public announcement. After 60 days, the Constitutional Council will proceed to this examination without the need for it to be submitted.
Until now, article 16 of the Constitution has only been applied once: by General de Gaulle, from April 23 to September 29, 1961, after the attempted military coup, also known as the “coup of the generals” in Algiers.
*Article translated from its original in French
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