COHABITATION - POLITY
News: France elections: What is
cohabitation?
What's in the news?
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After two rounds of polling on June 30 and July 7,
France will elect a new National Assembly.
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For the first time in 22 years, there is a real
possibility that the President and the Prime Minister, leader of the National
Assembly, will not be from the same party.
France - Fifth Republic:
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France is a semi-presidential,
representative parliamentary democracy,
with clearly defined roles for the President and the Prime Minister.
●
The current political regime, called the Fifth
Republic, first came into effect in 1958,
replacing the former parliamentary republic system with what political
scientist Jean V Poulard calls a “double-headed executive” (“The French Double
Executive and the Experience of Cohabitation”, 1990).
●
The new constitution of 1958, which introduced the
Fifth Republic, restored executive power.
●
Since 1962, the French President has been directly elected by popular vote, while
the Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party/coalition in the National
Assembly.
President vs Prime
Minister:
●
The President,
elected for a term of five years, serves as the head of the state and Commander
of the Armed Forces.
○
He/She enjoys regulatory power, exercising control
of all decisions on matters of foreign policy and defence.
○
Until 2000, the President enjoyed seven-year terms,
which was then reduced to five-year terms.
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In contrast, the parliament, headed by the Prime Minister, is responsible for all
domestic policy decisions.
○
Article 21 of the French constitution allows the PM
the power to “direct the actions of the government.” The cabinet is appointed
by the President under the PM’s recommendation.
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The Prime Minister himself cannot be dismissed by the President, but his resignation can be requested.
●
The President
can be impeached by the Parliament for willfully violating the Constitution
or the national laws.
○
This requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of the French Parliament, as
well as in a joint session of both Houses.
Concept of Cohabitation
in France:
●
A situation where the President and the PM belong to different political
parties
●
The PM may choose his cabinet colleagues.
●
None of the members of the government can be a part
of the legislature.
●
The Cabinet is presided over by the President.
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The Lower House can pass the ‘Censure Motion’
against the PM and his CoM, which would imply that they must resign.
Instances of Cohabitation:
There have only been three such
instances in the French Fifth Republic:
●
President François Mitterrand of the Socialist
Party and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac heading the right-wing RPR/UDF
coalition (1986-88).
●
President Mitterrand and Prime Minister Edouard
Balladur of the RPR/UDF coalition (1993-95).
●
President Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
of the Socialist Party (1997-2002).