Government of France 1

Government of FranceFor a history of how the current constitution was enacted, see French Fifth Republic.

The logo of the French government.

France

This article is part of a series onthe

politics and government ofFrance

France portal

•• Other countries•• Atlas

Politics portal

•• v•• t• e [1]

The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of thefifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic".[2] Theconstitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims France's "attachment to the Rights of Man and theprinciples of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789."The national government of France is divided into an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch. The President shares executive power with his or her appointee, the Prime Minister. The cabinet globally, including the Prime Minister, can be revoked by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, through a "censure motion"; this ensures that the Prime Minister is always supported by a majority of the lower house (which, on most topics, has

Government of France 2

prominence over the upper house).Parliament comprises the National Assembly and the Senate. It passes statutes and votes on the budget; it controlsthe action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament and by establishingcommissions of inquiry. The constitutionality of the statutes is checked by the Constitutional Council, members ofwhich are appointed by the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly, and the President ofthe Senate. Former Presidents of the Republic also are members of the Council.The independent judiciary is based on a civil law system which evolved from the Napoleonic codes. It is divided intothe judicial branch (dealing with civil law and criminal law) and the administrative branch (dealing with appealsagainst executive decisions), each with their own independent supreme court of appeal: the Court of Cassation forthe judicial courts and the Conseil d'Etat for the administrative courts. The French government includes variousbodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies.France is a unitary state. However, the administrative subdivisions—the régions, départements andcommunes—have various legal functions, and the national government is prohibited from intruding into their normaloperations.France was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community, later the European Union. As such,France has transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions, as provided by its constitution. The Frenchgovernment therefore has to abide by European treaties, directives and regulations.

ConstitutionA popular referendum approved the constitution of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, greatly strengthening theauthority of the presidency and the executive with respect to Parliament.The constitution does not contain a bill of rights in itself, but its preamble mentions that France should follow theprinciples of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, as well as those of the preamble to theconstitution of the Fourth Republic. This has been judged to imply that the principles laid forth in those texts haveconstitutional value, and that legislation infringing on those principles should be found unconstitutional if a recourseis filed before the Constitutional Council.[3] Also, recent modifications of the Constitution have added a reference inthe preamble to an Environment charter that has full constitutional value, and a right for citizens to contest theconstitutionality of a statute before the Constitutional Council.[4]

The foundational principles of the constitution include: the equality of all citizens before law, and the rejection ofspecial class privileges such as those that existed prior to the French Revolution; presumption of innocence; freedomof speech; freedom of opinion including freedom of religion; the guarantee of property against arbitrary seizure; theaccountability of government agents to the citizenry.

Government of France 3

The main processes of the French national government (most of the justice system excluded for clarity)

Executive branchFrance has a semi-presidential system of government. This means that the presidential candidate is required to obtaina nationwide majority of non-blank votes at either the first or second round of balloting, which implies that thePresident is somewhat supported by at least half of the voting population.As a consequence, the President is the pre-eminent figure in French politics. He appoints the Prime Minister;[5]

though he may not de jure dismiss him, if the Prime Minister is from the same political side, he can, in practice, havehim resign on demand (and it is known that Prime Ministers are asked to sign a non-dated dismissal letter beforebeing nominated[citation needed]). He appoints the ministers, ministers-delegate and secretaries. When the President'spolitical party or supporters control parliament, the President is the dominant player in executive action, choosingwhomever he wishes for the government, and having it follow his political agenda (parliamentary disagreements dooccur, though, even within the same party).However, when the President's political opponents control parliament, the President's dominance can be severelylimited, as he must choose a Prime Minister and cabinet who reflect the majority in parliament, and who willimplement the agenda of the parliamentary majority. When parties from opposite ends of the political spectrumcontrol parliament and the presidency, the power-sharing arrangement is known as cohabitation. Before 2002,Cohabitation was more common, because the term of the President was seven years and the term of the NationalAssembly was five years. Now that the term of the President has been shortened to five years, and that the electionsare separated by only a few months, this is less likely to happen.Nicolas Sarkozy became President on May 16, 2007, succeeding Jacques Chirac. Francois Hollande becamePresident in 2012, succeeding Nicolas Sarkozy.

Government of France 4

 Summary of the 21–22 April and 5–6 May 2012 French presidential election result

Candidates Parties 1st round 2nd round

Votes % Votes %

François Hollande Socialist Party & Radical Party of the Left(Parti socialiste - Parti radical de gauche)

PS /(PRG)

10,272,705 28.63% 18,000,668 51.64%

Nicolas Sarkozy Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour unmouvement populaire)

UMP 9,753,629 27.18% 16,860,685 48.36%

Marine Le Pen National Front (Front national) FN 6,421,426 17.90%

Jean-LucMélenchon

Left Front (Front de gauche) FG 3,984,822 11.10%

François Bayrou Democratic Movement (Mouvementdémocrate)

MoDem 3,275,122 9.13%

Eva Joly Europe Écologie–The Greens (EuropeÉcologie–Les Verts)

EELV 828,345 2.31%

NicolasDupont-Aignan

Arise the Republic (Debout la République) DLR 643,907 1.79%

Philippe Poutou New Anticapitalist Party (Nouveau Partianticapitaliste)

NPA 411,160 1.15%

Nathalie Arthaud Workers' Struggle (Lutte ouvrière) LO 202,548 0.56%

JacquesCheminade

Solidarity and Progress (Solidarité et Progrès) SP 89,545 0.25%

Total 35,883,209 100% 34,861,353 100%

Valid votes 35,883,209 98.08% 34,861,353 94.18%

Spoilt and null votes 701,190 1.92% 2,154,956 5.82%

Turnout 36,584,399 79.48% 37,016,309 80.35%

Abstentions 9,444,143 20.52% 9,049,998 19.65%

Registered voters 46,028,542 46,066,307

Table of results ordered by number of votes received in first round. Official results by Constitutional Council of France.Source: List of candidates [6] · First round result [7] · Second round result [8]

GovernmentThe government is headed by the President.[9] It has at its disposal the civil service, the government agencies, and thearmed forces.[10] (The term "cabinet" is rarely used to describe the gouvernement, even in translation, as it is used inFrench to mean a minister's private office, composed of politically appointed aides. In French, the wordgouvernement can refer to government in general, but generally refers to the group of ministers.) The government isresponsible to Parliament, and the National Assembly may pass a motion of censure,[11] forcing the resignation ofthe cabinet. This, in practice, forces the government to be from the same political party or coalition as the majority inthe Assembly. Ministers have to answer questions from members of Parliament, both written and oral; this is knownas the questions au gouvernement (questions to the government).[12] In addition, ministers attend meetings of thehouses of Parliament when laws pertaining to their areas of responsibility are being discussed.Government ministers cannot pass legislation without parliamentary approval, though the Prime Minister may issue autonomous regulations or subordinated regulations (décrets d'application) provided they do not infringe on the

Government of France 5

Parliament domain, as detailed in the constitution. Ministers, however, can propose legislation to Parliament; sincethe Assembly is usually politically allied to the ministers, such legislation is, in general, very likely to pass.However, this is not guaranteed, and, on occasion, the opinion of the majority parliamentarians may differsignificantly from those of the executive, which often results in a large number of amendments.The Prime Minister can engage the responsibility of his government on a law, under article 49-3 of the Constitution.The law is then considered adopted unless the National Assembly votes a motion of censure, in which case the law isrefused and the government has to resign. As of 2006, the last time this article was invoked was for the "FirstEmployment Contract" proposed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin,[13] a move that greatly backfired.[14]

Traditionally, the government comprises members of three ranks. Ministers are the most senior members of thegovernment; deputy ministers (ministres délégués) assist ministers in particular areas of their portfolio; ministers ofstate (secrétaires d'État) assist ministers in less important areas, and attend government meetings only occasionally.Before the Fifth Republic, some ministers of particular political importance were called "secretaries of state"(ministres d'État); the practice has continued under the Fifth Republic in a purely honorific fashion: ministers styledSecretary of State are supposed to be of a higher importance in the gouvernement.The number of ministries and the division of responsibilities and administrations between them varies fromgovernment to government. While the name and exact responsibility of each ministry may change, one generallyfinds at least:• Ministry for the Economy, Industry and Employment (taxes, budget),• Ministry of the Interior (law enforcement, relationships with local governments),• Ministry of Justice and Keeper of the Seals (prisons, running the court system, supervision of the prosecution

service)• Ministry of National Education,• Ministry of Defence,• Ministry of Foreign Affairs,• Ministry of Transportation.(For more on French ministries, see French government ministers)The government has a leading role in shaping the agenda of the houses of Parliament. It may propose laws toParliament, as well as amendments during parliamentary meetings. It may make use of some procedures to speed upparliamentary deliberations.The cabinet has weekly meetings (usually on Wednesday mornings), chaired by the President, at the Élysée Palace.Following the election of François Hollande as President, Jean-Marc Ayrault replaced François Fillon as the FrenchPrime Minister on 15 May 2012.

Statutory instruments and delegated legislationThe French executive has a limited power to establish regulation or legislation. (See below for how such regulationsor legislative items interact with statute law.)

Decrees and other executive decisions

Only the President and Prime Minister sign decrees (décrets), which are akin to US executive orders. Decrees canonly be taken following certain procedures and with due respect to the constitution and statute law.• The President signs decrees appointing and dismissing most senior civil and military servants, for positions listed

in the Constitution or in statutes. He also signs decrees establishing some regulations (décrets en conseil desministres). All such decrees must be countersigned by the Prime Minister and the ministers concerned.

• The Prime Minister signs decrees establishing regulations, which the concerned ministers countersign. In some areas, they constitute primary legislation, in some others they must be subordinate to an existing statute. In some

Government of France 6

cases, statutes impose a compulsory advisory review by the Conseil d'État (décrets en Conseil d'État), as opposedto décrets simples.[15]

The individual ministers issue ministerial orders (arrêtés) in their fields of competence, subordinate to statutes anddecrees.Contrary to a sometimes used polemical cliché, that dates from the third republic, with its decrees-law (décrets-lois),neither the President nor the Prime Minister may rule by decree (outside of the narrow case of presidentialemergency powers).

Ordinances

The executive cannot issue decrees in areas that the Constitution puts under the responsibility of legislation, issuedby Parliament. Still, Parliament may, through a habilitation law, authorize the executive to issue ordinances(ordonnances), with legislative value, in precisely defined areas.[16] Habilitation laws specify the scope of theordinance. After the ordinance is issued, Parliament is asked whether it wants to ratify it. If Parliament votes no toratification, the ordinance is cancelled. Most of the time, ratification is made implicitly or explicitly through aParliament act that deals with the subject concerned, rather than by the ratification act itself.[17]

The use of ordinances is normally reserved for urgent matters, or for technical, uncontroversial texts (such as theordinances that converted all sums in French Francs to Euros in the various laws in force in France).[18] There is alsoa practice to use ordinances to transpose European Directives into French law, to avoid late transposition ofDirective, which is often happening and is criticized by the EU Commission. Ordinances are also used to codify lawinto codes, to rearrange them for the sake of clarity without substantially modifying them. They are also sometimesused to push controversial legislation through, such as when Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin created newforms of work contracts in 2005.[19] The use of ordinances in such contexts is then criticized by the opposition asanti-democratic, and demeaning to Parliament. It must be said, however, that since the National Assembly candismiss the government through a motion of censure, the government necessarily relies on a majority in Parliament,and this majority would be likely to adopt the controversial law anyway.

Internal limits of the executive branch; checks and balancesThe general rule is that government agencies and the civil service are at the disposal of the gouvernement, or cabinet.However, various agencies[20] are independent agencies (autorités administratives indépendantes)[21] that have beenstatutorily excluded from the executive's authority, although they belong in the executive branch.These independent agencies have some specialized regulatory power, some executive power, and some quasi-judicialpower. They are also often consulted by the government or the French Parliament seeking advice before regulatingby law. They can impose sanctions that are named "administrative sanctions" sanctions administratives. However,their decisions can still be contested face to a judicial court or an administrative court.Some examples of independent agencies:• The Banque de France, the central bank, is independent (financial and economic code, L141 and following [22]).

This was a prerequisite for integrating the European System of Central Banks.• The Electronic Communications & Posts Regulation Authority (Autorité de régulation des communications

électroniques et des postes (ARCEP) [23]), which was previously named Telecommunication RegulationAuthority (Autorité de régulation des télécommunications (ART)), is an independent administrative authority forthe open markets of telecommunications and postal services.

• The Energy Regulation Commission (Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE) [24]) is an independentadministrative authority for the open markets of gas and electricity.

• The Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) [25]) regulates securities markets.• The Higher Council of the Audiovisual (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) [26]) supervises the granting and

withdrawing of emission frequencies for radio and TV, as well as public broadcasting.

Government of France 7

• The National Commission on Campaign Accounts and Political Financing ( Commission Nationale des Comptesde Campagne et des Financements Politiques [27]) regulates the financing and spending of political parties andpolitical campaign.

Public media corporations should not be influenced in their news reporting by the executive in power, since theyhave the duty to supply the public with unbiased information. For instance, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) is anindependent public corporation. Its resources must come solely from its commercial sales. The majority of the seatsin its board are held by representatives of the French press.The government also provides for watchdogs over its own activities; these independent administrative authorities areheaded by a commission typically composed of senior lawyers or members of the Parliament. Each of the twochambers of the Parliament often has its own commission, but sometimes they collaborate to create a singleCommission nationale mixte paritaire. For example:• The National Commission for Computing & Freedom (Commission nationale informatique et libertés (CNIL)

[28]); public services must request authorization from it before establishing a file with personal information, andthey must heed its recommendations; private bodies must only declare their files; citizens have recourse beforethe commission against abuses.

• The National Commission for the Control of Security Interceptions (Commission nationale de contrôle desinterceptions de sécurité (CNCIS)); the executive, in a limited number of circumstances concerning nationalsecurity, may request an authorization from the commission for wiretaps (in other circumstances, wiretaps mayonly be authorized within a judicially administered criminal investigation).

In addition, the duties of public service limit the power that the executive has over the French Civil Service. Forinstance, appointments, except for the highest positions (the national directors of agencies and administrations), mustbe made solely on merit or time in office, typically in competitive exams. Certain civil servants have statuses thatprohibit executive interference; for instance, judges and prosecutors may be named or moved only according tospecific procedures. Public researchers and university professors enjoy academic freedom; by law, they enjoycomplete freedom of speech within the ordinary constraints of academia.

Some important directorates and establishmentsThe government also provides specialized agencies for regulating critical markets or limited resources, and marketscreated by regulations. Although, as part of the administration, they are subordinate to the ministers, they often actwith high independence.• The General Directorate of Competition, Consumption & Repression of Frauds (Direction générale de la

concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) [29]) regulates and controls thelegality and safety of products and services available on the markets open to competition for all economical actorsand private consumers, and can deliver administrative sanctions in case of abuses.

• The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (Direction générale de l'aviation civile (DGAC) [30]) regulates thetraffic in the national air space and delivers the authorizations for airways companies and other private or publicorganizations and people.

• The National Agency for Employment (Agence nationale pour l'emploi (ANPE) [31]) maintained a public registryfor the allocation of social benefits to unemployed people (but now a single registry is shared with theindependent ASSEDIC paying them, a joint association of employers and workers unions), assists them as well asemployers seeking people, and controls them. The French State names its general director and the Parliamentprovides for its finances and personnel, but it only owns one third of the seats at its decision board of directors(the other seats are shared equally by unions of employers and workers).

• The National Agency of Frequencies (Agence nationale des fréquences (ANFR) [32]), a public establishment of an administrative character,[33] regulates and maintains the allocation of spectral radio frequencies resources along with other international frequencies regulators and national regulators (the CSA and ARCEP) or public ministries,

Government of France 8

controls the operators on the national territory, and publishes compliance standards for manufacturers ofradioelectric equipment.

Organization of government servicesEach ministry has a central administration (administration centrale), generally divided into directorates. Thesedirectorates are usually subdivided into divisions or sub-directorates. Each direction is headed by a director, namedby the President in Council. The central administration largely stays the same regardless of the political tendency ofthe executive in power.In addition, each minister has a private office, which is composed of members whose nomination is politicallydetermined, called the cabinet. They are quite important and employ numbers of highly qualified staff to follow allthe administrative and political affairs. They are powerful, and have been sometimes considered as a paralleladministration, especially, but not only, in all matters that are politically sensitive. Each cabinet is led by a chief ofstaff named directeur de cabinet.The state also has distributive services spread throughout French territory, often reflecting divisions into régions ordépartements. The prefect, the representative of the national government in each région or département, supervisesthe activities of the distributive services in his or her jurisdiction. Generally, the services of a certain administrationin a région or département are managed by a high-level civil servant, often called director, but not always; forinstance, the services of the Trésor public (Treasury) in each département are headed by a treasurer-paymastergeneral, appointed by the President of the Republic. In the last several decades, the departmental conseil général (see"Local Government" below) has taken on new responsibilities and plays an important role in administratinggovernment services at the local level.The government also maintains public establishments. These have a relative administrative and financial autonomy,to accomplish a defined mission. They are attached to one or more supervising authorities. These are classified intoseveral categories:•• public establishments of an administrative character, including, for instance:

•• universities, and most public establishments of higher education;• establishments of a research and technical character, such as CNRS or INRIA;

• public establishments of an industrial and commercial character, including, for instance, CEA and Ifremer.One essential difference is that in administrations and public establishments of an administrative character operateunder public law, while establishments of an industrial and commercial character operate mostly under private law.A consequence is that in the former, permanent personnel are civil servants, while normally in the latter, they arecontract employees.In addition, the government still owns and controls all, or the majority, of shares of some companies, like Electricitéde France, SNCF or Areva.Social security organizations, though established by statute and controlled and supervised by the state, are notoperated nor directly controlled by the national government. Instead, they are managed by the "social partners"(partenaires sociaux) – unions of employers such as the MEDEF and unions of employees. Their budget is separatefrom the national budget.

Government of France 9

Legislative branchThe Parliament of France, making up the legislative branch, consists of two houses: the National Assembly and theSenate; the Assembly is the pre-eminent body.Parliament meets for one nine-month session each year: under special circumstances the President can call anadditional session. Although parliamentary powers have diminished from those existing under the Fourth Republic,the National Assembly can still cause a government to fall if an absolute majority of the total Assembly membershipvotes to censure. It has never happened since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958.The cabinet has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its term to alegislative text which it proposes, and unless a motion of censure is introduced (within 24 hours after the proposal)and passed (within 48 hours of introduction - thus full procedures last at most 72 hours), the text is consideredadopted without a vote.Members of Parliament enjoy parliamentary immunity.[34] Both assemblies have committees that write reports on avariety of topics. If necessary, they can establish parliamentary enquiry commissions with broad investigative power.

National Assembly

The National Assembly sits in the Palais Bourbon, by the Seine.

The National Assembly is the principal legislativebody. Its 577 deputies are directly elected for five-yearterms in local majority votes, and all seats are voted onin each election.The National Assembly may force the resignation ofthe executive cabinet by voting a motion of censure.For this reason, the Prime Minister and their Cabinetare necessarily from the dominant party or coalition inthe assembly. In the case of a president and assemblyfrom opposing parties, this leads to the situation known as cohabitation. While motions of censure are periodicallyproposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, they are purelyrhetorical; party discipline ensures that, throughout a parliamentary term, the government is never overthrown by theAssembly.

Latest election

 Summary of the 10 and 17 June 2012 French National Assembly elections results

Parties and coalitions First round Second round Total

Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Seats % Swing

Socialist Party (Parti socialiste) PS 7,617,996 29.35% 22 9,420,426 40.91% 258 280 48.53% 94

Miscellaneous Left (Diversgauche)

DVG 881,339 3.40% 1 709,409 3.11% 21 22 3.81% 7

Europe Ecology – The Greens(Europe Écologie – Les Verts)

EELV 1,418,141 5.46% 1 828,916 3.60% 16 17 2.95% 13

Radical Party of the Left (Partiradical de gauche)

PRG 429,059 1.65% 1 538,324 2.34% 11 12 2.08% 5

Presidential majority (Left) 10,346,535 39.86% 25 11,497,075 49.93% 306 331 57.70% 119

Government of France 10

Union for a Popular Movement(Union pour un mouvementpopulaire)

UMP 7,037,471 27.12% 9 8,740,625 37.95% 185 194 33.62% 119

Miscellaneous right (Diversdroite)

DVD 910,392 3.51% 1 418,135 1.82% 14 15 2.60% 6

New Centre (Nouveau Centre) NC 569,890 2.20% 1 568,288 2.47% 11 12 2.08% 10

Radical Party (Parti radical) PRV 321,054 1.24% 0 311,211 1.35% 6 6 1.04% 12

Centrist Alliance (Alliancecentriste)

AC 156,026 0.60% 0 123,352 0.54% 2 2 0.35% 2

Total Parliamentary Right 8,994,833 34.67% 11 10,161,611 44.13% 218 229 39.69% 116

Left Front (Front de gauche) FDG 1,792,923 6.91% 0 249,525 1.08% 10 10 1.73% 8

National Front (Front national) FN 3,528,373 13.60% 0 842,684 3.66% 2 2 0.35% 2

Regionalists and separatists REG 145,825 0.56% 0 135,534 0.59% 2 2 0.35% 2

Centre for France (Le Centrepour la France)

MoDem 458,046 1.76% 0 113,196 0.49% 2 2 0.35% 1

Other far-right ExD 49,501 0.19% 0 29,738 0.13% 1 1 0.17% 1

Other far-left ExG 253,580 0.98% 0 – – – 0 0.00%

Other ecologists ECO 249,205 0.96% 0 – – – 0 0.00%

Others (Autres) AUT 133,729 0.52% 0 – – – 0 0.00%

Total 25,952,550 100% 36 23,029,183 100% 541 577 100%

Valid votes 25,952,550 98.40% 23,029,183 96.12%

Spoilt and null votes 420,749 1.60% 928,411 3.88%

Votes cast / turnout 26,373,299 57.23% 23,957,594 55.41%

Abstentions 19,709,961 42.77% 19,276,406 44.59%

Registered voters 46,083,260 43,234,000

Source: Ministry of the Interior [35]

Senate

Government of France 11

The Senate's amphitheater.

Senators are chosen by an electoral college of about145,000 local elected officials for five-year terms, andone third of the Senate is renewed every three years.Before the law of 30 July 2004, senators were electedfor nine years, renewed by thirds every three years.There are currently 321 senators, but there will be 346in 2010; 304 represent the metropolitan and overseasdépartements, five the other dependencies and 12 theFrench established abroad.

The Senate's legislative powers are limited; on mostmatters of legislation, the National Assembly has thelast word in the event of a disagreement between thetwo houses.Since the beginning of the Fifth Republic, the Senate has always had a right-wing majority. This is mostly due to theover-representation of small villages compared to big cities. This, and the indirect mode of election, promptedsocialist Lionel Jospin, who was Prime Minister at the time, to declare the Senate an "anomaly".[36]

Legislation adoption proceduresStatute legislation may be proposed by the government (council of ministers), or by members of Parliament. In thefirst case, it is a projet de loi; in the latter case, a proposition de loi.All projets de loi must undergo compulsory advisory review by the Conseil d'État before being submitted toparliament.[37] Since 2009, the bill submitted to Parliament must also come with a study of the possible impact of thelaw: other possible options, interactions with European law, economical, social, financial and environmentalconsequences.[38]

Propositions de loi cannot increase the financial load of the state without providing for funding.[39]

Projets de loi start in the house of the government's choice (except in some narrow cases). Propositions de loi start inthe house where they originated. After the house has amended and voted on the text, it is sent to the other house,which can also amend it. If the houses do not choose to adopt the text in identical terms, it is sent before acommission made of equal numbers of members of both houses, which tries to harmonize the text. If it does notmanage to do so, the National Assembly can vote the text and have the final say on it (except for laws related to theorganization of the Senate).[40]

The law is then sent to the President of France for signature.[41] At this point, the President of France, the speaker ofeither house or a delegation of 60 deputies or 60 senators can ask for the text to undergo constitutional review beforebeing put into force;[42] it is then sent before the Constitutional Council. The President can also, only once per lawand with the countersigning of the Prime Minister, send the law back to parliament for another review. Otherwise,the President must sign the law. After being countersigned by the Prime Minister and the concerned ministers,[43] itis then sent to the Journal Officiel for publication.[44]

Government of France 12

Budget

French government borrowing (budget deficits) as a percentage of GNP, 1960-2009.

Financing Acts (lois de finances) andthe Social Security Financing Acts(lois de financement de la sécuritésociale) are special Acts of Parliamentvoted and approved through specificprocedures.

Because of the importance of allowinggovernment and social securityorganizations to proceed with thepayment of their suppliers, employees,and recipients, without risk of a beingstopped by parliamentary discord,these bills are specially constrained. Inthe past, parliamentarians would oftenadd unrelated amendments (cavaliersbudgétaires) to the finance bills, to get such amendments passed – because of the reduced time in which the budgetis examined. However, these are nowadays considered unconstitutional. If Parliament cannot agree on a budgetwithin some specified reasonable bounds, the government is entitled to adopt a budget through ordinances: this threatprevents parliamentarians from threatening to bankrupt the executive.

The way the Finance Bill is organized, and the way the government has to execute the budget, were deeply reformedin 2001 by the Loi organique n°2001-692 du 1er août 2001 relative aux lois de finances, generally known as theLOLF. Because of the major changes involved, the application of the law was gradual, and the first budget to befully passed under LOLF will be the 2006 budget, passed in late 2005.The LOLF divides expenses according to identifiable "missions" (which can be subdivided into sub-missions etc.).The performance of the administration and public bodies will be evaluated with respect to these missions.The budget of the national government was forecast to be 290 billion Euro in 2011. This includes neither SocialSecurity, nor the budgets of local governments.

Multiple officesSee cumul des mandats

It has long been customary for Parliament members to hold, in addition to the office of deputy or senator, anotherlocal office such as city mayor, hence titles like "Deputy and Mayor" (député-maire) and "Senator and Mayor"(sénateur-maire). This is known as the cumul of electoral offices. Proponents of the cumul allege that having localresponsibilities ensures that members of parliament stay in contact with the reality of their constituency; also, theyare said to be able to defend the interest of their city etc. better by having a seat in parliament.In recent years, the cumul has been increasingly criticized. Critics contend that lawmakers that also have some localmandate cannot be assiduous to both tasks; for instance, they may neglect their duties to attend parliamentary sittingsand commission in order to attend to tasks in their constituency. The premise that holders of dual office can defendthe interest of their city etc. in the National Parliament is criticized in that national lawmakers should have thenational interest in their mind, not the advancement of the projects of the particular city they are from. Finally, thiscriticism is part of a wider criticism of the political class as a cozy, closed world in which the same people make along career from multiple positions.As a consequence, laws that restrict the possibilities of having multiple mandates have been enacted.

Government of France 13

Economic and Social CouncilThe Economic and Social Council is a consultative assembly. It does not play a role in the adoption of statutes andregulations, but advises the lawmaking bodies on questions of social and economic policies.The executive may refer any question or proposal of social or economic importance to the Economic and SocialCouncil.The Economic and Social Council publishes reports, which are sent to the Prime Minister, the National Assemblyand the Senate. They are published in the Journal Official.

Judicial BranchFrench law provides for a separate judicial branch with an independent judiciary which does not answer to or isdirectly controlled by the other two branches of government. France has a civil law legal system, the basis of whichis codified law; however, case law plays a significant role in the determination of the courts. The most distinctivefeature of the French judicial system is that it is divided into judicial and administrative streams.

Judicial courtsThe judicial stream of courts adjudicates civil and criminal cases. The judicial court stream consists of inferiorcourts, intermediate appellate courts, and the French Supreme Court.Judges are government employees but are granted special statutory protection from the executive. Judges havesecurity of tenure and may not be promoted (or demoted) without their consent. Their careers are overseen by theJudicial Council of France.The public prosecutors, on the other hand, take orders from the Minister of Justice. In the past, this has bredsuspiscion of undue political pressure to dismiss suits or claims against government officials charged withcorruption, and the status of public prosecutors and their ties to government are frequently topics of debate.Trial by jury is available only for severe criminal cases, which are the jurisdiction of the Courts of Assizes. A fullCourt is made up of a 3-judge panel and a petty jury of 9 jurors (vs. 12 jurors on appeal), who, together, renderverdicts, and if a conviction is handed down, also determine a sentence. Jurors are selected at random from eligiblevoters.In most other courts, judges are professional, except that the criminal court for minors is composed of oneprofessional and two lay judges. Also, several specialty courts of original jurisdiction are sat by judges who areelected into office. For instance, labor tribunals are staffed with an equal number of magistrates from employers'unions and employees' unions. The same applies to land estate tribunals.Pre-trial proceedings are inquisitorial by nature, but open court proceedings are adversarial. The burden of proof incriminal proceedings is on the prosecution, and the accused is constitutionally presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Government of France 14

Administrative courts

The Conseil d'État sits in the Palais Royal.

Courts of administrative law adjudicate on claims andsuits against government offices and agencies. Theadministrative stream is made up of administrativecourts, courts of administrative appeal, and the Councilof State as the court of last resort.

The Council of State hears cases against executivebranch decisions and has the power to quash or setaside executive-issued statutory instruments such asorders and regulations when they violate constitutionallaw, enacted legislation, or codified law.Court proceedings mostly involve written hearings and are inquisitorial, with judges having the parties submitwritten testimony or arguments.

Any jurisdictional dispute between the judicial and administrative streams are settled by a special court calledTribunal des conflits, or "Court of Jurisdictional Dispute", composed of an equal number of Supreme Court justicesand councillors of State.

Constitutional CouncilNeither judicial nor administrative courts are empowered to rule on the constitutionality of acts of Parliament. Whiletechnically not part of the judicial branch, the Constitutional Council examines legislation and decides whether ornot it violates the Constitution. This applies, prior to their enactment, to all forms of organic laws, but only byreferral from the French President, President of the Senate, President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister,or any of the 60 senators or 60 assembly members of the other types of laws or treaties. After their enactment, lawscan all be reviewed by referral from the highest administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat, or by the highest judicialcourt, the Cour de Cassation. The Constitutional Council may declare acts to be unconstitutional, even if theycontradict the principles of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (cited in the Preamble of theConstitution).Council members to the Constitutional Council are appointed for nine years (three every three years); three areappointed by the President, three by the President of the National Assembly, and three by the President of the Senate.The former presidents are also members for life of the Constitutional Council.

Financial courtsFrance's main Court of Audit (Cour des Comptes) and regional audit courts audit government finances, publicinstitutions (including other courts), and public entities. The court publishes an annual report and can refer criminalmatters to public prosecutors. It can also directly fine public accountants for mishandling funds, and refer civilservants who misused funds to the Court of Financial and Budgetary Discipline.The main and regional audit courts do not judge the accountants of private organizations. However, in somecircumstances, they may audit their accounting, especially when an organization has been awarded a governmentcontract over a public utility or a service requiring the permanent use of the public domain or if an organization is abidder on a government contract. The Court is often solicitated by various state agencies, parlementary commissions,and public regulators, but it can also petitioned to act by any French citizen or organization operating in France.The Court's finances are overseen by financial commissions of the two Houses of the French Parliament which alsoset the Court's working budget in the annual Act of finances.

Government of France 15

OmbudsmanIn 1973 the position of médiateur de la République (the Republic's ombudsman) was created. The ombudsman ischarged with solving, without the need to a recourse before the courts, the disagreements between citizens and theadministrations and other entities charged with a mission of a public service; proposing reforms to the Governmentand the administrations to further these goals; and actively participating in the international promotion of humanrights.The ombudsman is appointed for a period of 6 years by the President of the Republic in the Council of Ministers. Hecannot be removed from office and is protected for his official actions by an immunity similar to parliamentaryimmunity. He does not receive or accept orders from any authority. The current ombudsman is Jean-Paul Delevoye.

French law

Basic principles

The basic principles that the French Republic must respect are foundin the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

France uses a civil law system; that is, law arisesprimarily from written statutes; judges are not to makelaw, but merely to interpret it (though the amount ofjudge interpretation in certain areas makes it equivalentto case law).

Many fundamental principles of French Law were laidin the Napoleonic Codes. Basic principles of the rule oflaw were laid in the Napoleonic Code: laws can onlyaddress the future and not the past (ex post facto lawsare prohibited); to be applicable, laws must have beenofficially published (see Journal Officiel).

In agreement with the principles of the Declaration ofthe Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the general rule isthat of freedom, and law should only prohibit actionsdetrimental to society. As Guy Canivet, first presidentof the Court of Cassation, said about what should bethe rule in French law:[45]

Freedom is the rule, and its restriction is theexception; any restriction of Freedom must beprovided for by Law and must follow theprinciples of necessity and proportionality.

That is, law may lay out prohibitions only if they areneeded, and if the inconveniences caused by this restriction do not exceed the inconveniences that the prohibition issupposed to remedy.France does not recognize religious law, nor does it recognize religious beliefs as a motivation for the enactment ofprohibitions. As a consequence, France has long had neither blasphemy laws nor sodomy laws (the latter beingabolished in 1789).

Government of France 16

Statutory law versus executive regulationsFrench law differentiates between legislative acts (loi), generally passed by the legislative branch, and regulations(règlement, instituted by décrets), issued by the Prime Minister. There also exist secondary regulation called arrêtés,issued by ministers, subordinates acting in their names, or local authorities; these may only be taken in areas ofcompetency and within the scope delineated by primary legislation. There are also more and more regulations issuedby independent agencies, especially relating to economic matters.According to the Constitution of France (article 34):Statutes shall concern:• Civic rights and the fundamental guarantees granted to citizens for the exercise of their public liberties; the

obligations imposed for the purposes of national defence upon citizens in respect of their persons and theirproperty;

• Nationality, the status and legal capacity of persons, matrimonial regimes, inheritance and gifts;• The determination of serious crimes and other major offences and the penalties applicable to them; criminal

procedure; amnesty; the establishment of new classes of courts and tribunals and the regulations governing themembers of the judiciary;

• The base, rates and methods of collection of taxes of all types; the issue of currency.Statutes shall likewise determine the rules concerning:• The electoral systems of parliamentary assemblies and local assemblies;•• The creation of categories of public establishments;•• The fundamental guarantees granted to civil and military personnel employed by the State;• The nationalization of enterprises and transfers of ownership in enterprises from the public to the private sector.Statutes shall determine the fundamental principles of:•• The general organization of national defence;•• The self-government of territorial units, their powers and their resources;• Education;•• The regime governing ownership, rights in rem, and civil and commercial obligations;• Labour law, trade-union law and social security.Finance Acts shall determine the resources and obligations of the State in the manner and with the reservationsspecified in an institutional Act. Social Security Finance Acts shall determine the general conditions for the financialbalance of Social Security and, in light of their revenue forecasts, shall determine expenditure targets in the mannerand with the reservations specified in an institutional Act. Programme Acts shall determine the objectives of theeconomic and social action of the State.The provisions of this article may be enlarged upon and complemented by an organic law.Other areas are matters of regulation. This separation between law and regulation is enforced by the Conseilconstitutionnel: the government can, with the agreement of the Conseil constitutionnel, modify by decrees the lawsthat infringe on the domain of regulations. At the same, the Conseil d'État nullifies decrees that infringe on thedomain of the law.

Order of authority for sources of the lawWhen courts have to deal with incoherent texts, they apply a certain hierarchy: a text higher in the hierarchy willoverrule a lower text. The general rule is that the Constitution is superior to laws which are superior to regulations.However, with the intervention of European law and international treaties, and the quasi-case law of theadministrative courts, the hierarchy may become somewhat unclear. The following hierarchy of norms should thusbe taken with due caution:

Government of France 17

1.1. French Constitution, including the basic core constitutional values recognized by the laws of the Republic asdefined by the Constitutional Council

2.2. European Union treaties and regulations3.3. International treaties and agreements4.4. organic laws5.5. ordinary laws6.6. executive orders (advised on by the Council of State)7.7. other executive orders8.8. rules and regulations

•• of multiple ministers•• of a single minister•• of local authorities

9.9. regulations and decisions by independent agencies.

Local governmentTraditionally, decision-making in France is highly centralized, with each of France's departments headed by a prefectappointed by the central government, in addition to the conseil général, a locally elected council. However, in 1982,the national government passed legislation to decentralize authority by giving a wide range of administrative andfiscal powers to local elected officials. In March 1986, regional councils were directly elected for the first time, andthe process of decentralization has continued, albeit at a slow pace. In March 2003, a constitutional revision haschanged very significantly the legal framework towards a more decentralized system and has increased the powers oflocal governments. Albeit France is still one the most centralized major countries in Europe and the world.Administrative units with a local government in Metropolitan France (that is, the parts of France lying in Europe)consist of:• about 36,000 communes, headed by a municipal council and a mayor, grouped in• 96 départements, headed by a conseil général (general council) and its president, grouped in• 22 régions, headed by a regional council and its president.The conseil général is an institution created in 1790 by the French Revolution in each of the newly createddepartments (they were suppressed by the Vichy government from 1942 to 1944). A conseiller général(departmental councillor) must be at least 21 years old and either live or pay taxes in locality from which he or she iselected. (Sociologist Jean Viard noted [Le Monde, Feb. 22, 2006] that half of all conseillers généraux were still filsde paysans, i.e. sons of peasants, suggesting France's deep rural roots). Though the central government cantheoretically dissolve a conseil général (in case of a dysfunctional conseil), this has happened only once in the FifthRepublic.The conseil général discusses and passes laws on matters that concern the department; it is administrativelyresponsible for departmental employees and land, manages subsidized housing, public transportation, and schoolsubsidies, and contributes to public facilities. It is not allowed to express "political wishes." The conseil généralmeets at least three times a year and elects its president for a term of 3 years, who presides over its "permanentcommission," usually consisting of 5-10 other departmental councillors elected from among their number. Theconseil général has accrued new powers in the course of the political decentralization that has occurred past inFrance during the past thirty years. There are in all more than 4,000 conseillers généraux in France.Different levels of administration have different duties, and shared responsibility is common; for instance, in thefield of education, communes run public elementary schools, while départements run public junior high schools andrégions run public high schools, but only for the building and upkeep of buildings; curricula and teaching personnelare supplied by the national Ministry of Education.

Government of France 18

The 3 main cities, Paris, Lyon and Marseille have a special statute. Paris is at the same time a commune and adépartement with an institution, the Conseil de Paris, that is elected at the same time as the other conseilmunicipaux, but that operates also as a conseil général. The 3 cities are also divided into arrondissement each havingits conseil d'arrondissement and its mayor.French overseas possessions are divided into two groups:• Four overseas regions, with some strong similarity of organization to their metropolitan counterparts; in these

overseas regions all laws of France are automatically applicable, except if a specific text provides otherwise orprovides some adaptation. The four régions are fully incorporated parts of the territory of the French Republic,and as such belong to the European Union, which means that European law is applicable;

• Territories, generally having greater autonomy. In general, French laws are not applicable, except if a specific textprovides otherwise. A new Territory was created in February 2007: Saint-Barthélemy. This Territory used to bepart of the overseas department of Guadeloupe. The statute of Saint-Barthélemy provides the automaticapplication of French law, except mostly in the domain of taxes and immigration, which are left to the Territory.The Territories do not belong to the European Union. However, as "overseas territories" they have associationagreements with the EU and may opt into some EU provisions. EU law applies to them only insofar is necessaryto implement the association agreements.

All inhabited French territory is represented in both houses of Parliament and votes for the presidential election.

ReferencesAll texts in French unless otherwise noted.

Specific[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Politics_of_France& action=edit[2] Official English translation of the Constitution (http:/ / www. assemblee-nationale. fr/ english/ 8ab. asp) First sentence of Article I.[3] See decisions 71-44 DC of 16 July 1971 (http:/ / www. conseil-constitutionnel. fr/ decision/ 1971/ 7144dc. htm) and 73-51 DC of 27

December 1973 (http:/ / www. conseil-constitutionnel. fr/ decision/ 1973/ 7351dc. htm) citing the preamble of the Constitution and theDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

[4] Constitutional law 2005-205 of 1 March 2005 (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=JUSX0300069L)[5][5] Constitution, article 8[6] http:/ / www. conseil-constitutionnel. fr/ conseil-constitutionnel/ francais/ les-decisions/ acces-par-date/ decisions-depuis-1959/ 2012/

liste-candidats-2012/ decision-liste-candidats-2012-du-19-mars-2012. 105073. html[7] http:/ / www. conseil-constitutionnel. fr/ conseil-constitutionnel/ francais/ les-decisions/ acces-par-date/ decisions-depuis-1959/ 2012/

declaration-premier-tour-presidentielle-2012/ decision-declaration-premier-tour-presidentielle-2012-du-25-avril-2012. 105561. html[8] http:/ / www. conseil-constitutionnel. fr/ conseil-constitutionnel/ francais/ les-decisions/ acces-par-date/ decisions-depuis-1959/ 2012/

proclamation-presidentielle-2012/ communique-de-presse. 105665. html[9][9] Constitution, article 21[10][10] Constitution, article 20[11][11] Constitution, article 49[12][12] Constitution, article 48[13] National Assembly, transcripts of the sitting of 9 February 2006 (http:/ / www. assemblee-nationale. fr/ 12/ cri/ 2005-2006/ 20060143. asp):

appearance of Dominique de Villepin announcing the application of article 49-3; adopted text (http:/ / www. assemblee-nationale. fr/ 12/ ta/ta0534. asp)

[14] The "first employment contract" was cancelled by a law of 21 April 2006 (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=SOCX0609236L) following massive street protests; see First Employmenty Contract.

[15] Le rôle consultatif du Conseil d'État (http:/ / www. conseil-etat. fr/ ce/ missio/ index_mi_cg01. shtml#1)[16][16] Constitution, article 38[17] On the legal regime of ordinances and explicit and implicit ratification, see Les ordonnances : bilan au 31 décembre 2006 (http:/ / www.

senat. fr/ ej/ ej_ordonnance/ ej_ordonnance1. html) by the legal service of the French Senate.[18] Law 2000-517 (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=JUSX0000009L) authorized the government to adopt

ordinances to convert sums from Francs to Euros in various legislative texts.[19] Ordinance of 2 August 2005 (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=SOCX0500188R) regarding the "new

employment contract"

Government of France 19

[20] See this list (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ html/ sites/ sites_autorites. htm)[21][21] See bibliography[22] http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=& code=CMONFINL. rcv[23] http:/ / www. arcep. fr/[24] http:/ / www. cre. fr/[25] http:/ / www. amf-france. org[26] http:/ / www. csa. fr/[27] http:/ / www. cnccfp. fr/ index. php[28] http:/ / www. cnil. fr/[29] http:/ / www. finances. gouv. fr/ DGCCRF/[30] http:/ / www. aviation-civile. gouv. fr/[31] http:/ / www. anpe. fr/[32] http:/ / www. anfr. fr/[33] Code of postal services and electronic communications, article L43 (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/

UnArticleDeCode?commun=& code=CPOSTESL. rcv& art=L43)[34] This immunity is called for in article 26 of the Constitution, as defined by the Constitutional law of 5 August 1995 (http:/ / www. legifrance.

gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=JUSX9500101L). See: National assembly, L'immunité parlementaire (http:/ / www.assemblee-nationale. fr/ connaissance/ immunite. asp).

[35] http:/ / elections. interieur. gouv. fr/ LG2012/ FE. html[36] L'Humanité (http:/ / www. humanite. presse. fr/ journal/ 1998-04-21/ 1998-04-21-414447), 21 April 1998; L'Humanité (http:/ / www.

humanite. presse. fr/ journal/ 1998-04-23/ 1998-04-23-414616), 23 April 1998; L'Humanité (http:/ / www. humanite. presse. fr/ journal/2002-08-13/ 2002-08-13-38435), 13 August 2002

[37][37] Constitution, article 39[38] Loi organique n° 2009-403 du 15 avril 2009 relative à l'application des articles 34-1, 39 et 44 de la Constitution, article 8 (http:/ / legifrance.

gouv. fr/ affichTexteArticle. do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000020522653& cidTexte=LEGITEXT000020522634).[39][39] Constitution, article 40[40][40] Constitution, article 46[41][41] Constitution, article 10[42][42] Constitution, article 61[43][43] Constitution, article 19[44] Civil Code, article 1 (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnArticleDeCode?commun=& code=CCIVILL0. rcv& art=1)[45] Guy Canivet was saying how the rules governing prisons disregarded the basic rule of law that liberty is the general case and prohibition the

exception. See Jacques Floch, Report of the enquiry commission of the French national assembly on the situation in French prisons (http:/ /www. assemblee-nationale. fr/ 11/ rap-enq/ r2521-2. asp).

General•• Legal reference texts

•• General reference• General government web site with all texts, including some that are translated to English (http:/ / www.

legifrance. gouv. fr)•• Constitution

•• Constitution de la République Française• original text (http:/ / www. conseil-constitutionnel. fr/ textes/ c1958web. htm)• official English translation (http:/ / www. assemblee-nationale. fr/ english/ 8ab. asp)• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French text, English translation)

•• Rules of procedure• Rules of procedure of the National Assembly ( original text (http:/ / www. assemblee-nationale. fr/

connaissance/ reglement. asp#P31_233), English version (http:/ / www. assemblee-nationale. fr/ english/8ac. asp))

•• Justice• Code civil (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=& code=CCIVILL0. rcv) (

official English translation (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ html/ codes_traduits/ code_civil_somA.htm))

Government of France 20

• Code des juridictions financières (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=&code=CJURFINL. rcv)

• Code de procédure pénale (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=&code=CPROCPEL. rcv) ( official English translation (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ html/codes_traduits/ cppsomA. htm))

• Code de justice administrative (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=&code=CJUSADML. rcv)

•• Budget• The LOLF (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=ECOX0104681L) ( official

English translation (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ html/ codes_traduits/ lolf. htm))•• Ombudsman

• Law 73-6 of 3 January 1973 (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ texteconsolide/ PPEAP. htm), creating theposition of the Ombudsman (updated version)

•• Justice• Civil Code, statutory part (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=&

code=CCIVILL0. rcv)• Code of Civil Procedure, statutory part (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=&

code=CPROCIV0. rcv) ( official English translation (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ html/codes_traduits/ somncpca. htm))

• Criminal Code, statutory part (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/ UnCode?commun=&code=CPENALLL. rcv) official English translation (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ html/ codes_traduits/code_penal_soman. htm))

• Code of Criminal Procedure, statutory part (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/UnCode?commun=& code=CPROCPEL. rcv) ( official English translation (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv.fr/ html/ codes_traduits/ cppsomA. htm))

• Code of Administrative Justice, statutory part (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr/ WAspad/UnCode?commun=& code=CJUSADML. rcv)

•• Official documentation•• General

• Vie publique : découverte des institutions (http:/ / www. vie-publique. fr/ decouverte_instit/ sommaire. htm)• Les pouvoirs publics. Textes essentiels 2005., La Documentation française, ISBN 2-11-005961-3

•• Financial jurisdictions• La Cour des Comptes (http:/ / www. ccomptes. fr/ FramePrinc/ frame01. htm), The Court of Accounts

(http:/ / www. ccomptes. fr/ anglais/ anglais_1. htm) (English)

•• Budget• Alain Lambert, Didier Migaud, Réussir la LOLF, clé d'une gestion publique responsible et efficace.

Rapport au Gouvernement, September 2005, ISBN 2-11-095515-5 ( page (http:/ / www.ladocumentationfrancaise. fr/ rapports-publics/ 054000592/ index. shtml), PDF (http:/ / lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise. fr/ cgi-bin/ brp/ telestats. cgi?brp_ref=054000592& brp_file=0000. pdf))

• Presentation of the LOLF (http:/ / www. vie-publique. fr/ decouverte_instit/ approfondissements/approf_212. htm)

• Edward Arkwright, Stanislas Godefroy, Manuel Mazquez, Jean-Luc Bœuf, Cécile Courrèges, La mise enoeuvre de la loi organique relative aux lois de finances, La Documentation Française, 2005, ISBN2-11-005944-3

•• Independent administrative authorities

Government of France 21

• Conseil d'État, rapport public 2001, Les autorités administratives indépendantes ( PDF (http:/ / lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise. fr/ BRP/ 014000275/ 0000. pdf)) ISBN 2-11-004788-7

Further reading• Frédéric Monera, L'idée de République et la jurisprudence du Conseil constitutionnel - Paris: L.G.D.J., 2004

(http:/ / www. fnac. com/ Shelf/ article. asp?PRID=1601897& Mn=2& Ra=-1& To=0& Nu=2& Fr=3)- (http:/ /www. lgdj. fr/ rech_rapide. php?_Sess=c22f5de9dee93f9554d169596caad970& _Mots=monera& _TypeCode=)

External linksAll external sites in French but most of them have pages in English.

•• General• Service Public, Official portal to public services (http:/ / www. service-public. fr)

•• Law• Official online repository of laws and regulations (http:/ / www. legifrance. gouv. fr) (Légifrance)• Official online repository of treaties (http:/ / www. doc. diplomatie. fr/ pacte/ ) in which France is a party

•• Executive Branch• Official site of the Presidency (http:/ / www. elysee. fr)• Official site of the Government (http:/ / www. premier-ministre. gouv. fr)

•• Legislative Branch• Official site of the French National Assembly (http:/ / www. assemblee-nationale. fr)• Official site of the French Senate (http:/ / www. senat. fr)

•• Judiciary• Official site of the Cour de Cassation (http:/ / www. courdecassation. fr)• Official site of the Conseil d'État (http:/ / www. conseil-etat. fr)• Official site of the Constitutional Council (http:/ / www. conseil-constitutionnel. fr/ )• Official site of the Court of Auditors (http:/ / www. ccomptes. fr/ )• Official site of the High Council of the Magistracy (http:/ / www. conseil-superieur-magistrature. fr/ )

•• Others• Official site of the Ombudsman (http:/ / www. mediateur-republique. fr)• Official site of the French Economic and Social Council (http:/ / www. conseil-economique-et-social. fr)

• http:/ / upload. wikimedia. org/ skins/ common/ images/ button_media. png

Article Sources and Contributors 22

Article Sources and ContributorsGovernment of France  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=597366786  Contributors: 172, A. Parrot, Aaron Schulz, Ace of Spades, Achowat, Ahoerstemeier, Alain10, Alain2,Alansohn, Aleenf1, Alice Mudgarden, Alpha Quadrant, AmeriCan, Angela, Angie Y., Anthere, Avoided, AxelBoldt, AzaToth, BRUTE, Barticus88, Bencherlite, Benjamin, Bgwhite, Binary TSO,Biruitorul, Bjwebb, Bob247, Bobo192, Bruxism, Buttons, Bvrino, CPMcE, CR7, CSWarren, Caltas, Capricorn42, Captain-tucker, Cassowary, Chris the speller, Cjmnyc, Clarkcj12, Closedmouth,Cmdrjameson, Conorbrady.ie, Courcelles, Curtstew, D6, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, DDima, DJ Clayworth, DMCer, DWaterson, Dageman123, Danel2012, Daniel Olsen, Davehi1, David.Monniaux,Delaraha, Devilkid19, Diamond83197, DocWatson42, Don4of4, Dpr, Drmies, Duroy, E Wing, Ee79, Electionworld, Eliko, Eliz81, Epanalepsis, Epbr123, Eric, EvelinaB, Everyking, Exurbis67,Fat pig73, Flibjib8, Flyer22, GHe, Gaius Cornelius, Garzo, Geeteshgadkari, George The Dragon, Glacier Wolf, Glane23, GorillaWarfare, Grblomerth, Ground Zero, Hammersoft, Horatio, Hut8.5, IRP, IanBailey, Insane.kismanO, Insanity Incarnate, Iridescent, IronGargoyle, Ixfd64, J.Dain, J.delanoy, JaGa, Jabencarsey, JacobDyer08, JamesBWatson, Jayron32, Jeff3000, Jeltz,Jennavecia, Jorrell, Josve05a, Jrleighton, Ka Faraq Gatri, Karlthegreat, KathrynLybarger, Kbolino, Kelvinc, Kimse, KoshVorlon, Kozuch, Lam Kin Keung, Lankiveil, Lawsonrob, Liam987,LilHelpa, LittleOldMe, LittleWink, Lord Emsworth, Lord Roem, Lradrama, Lunokhod, M.nelson, MER-C, MG, Macaddct1984, Macy, Makeemlighter, Malcolm, Man vyi, Mandarax, MarkArsten, Mark Foskey, Mark K. Jensen, Marlow4, Marsupilamov, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, Materialscientist, Matthew Proctor, Matthew Stannard, Mauler90, Mboverload,MelbourneStar, Mentifisto, Mikelj, Mild Bill Hiccup, Mmmbeer, Mojo Hand, Moopinator, Myanw, NYArtsnWords, Nakor, Necrid Master, Neelix, Netscott, Neutrality, NewEnglandYankee,NoSeptember, Nv8200p, Obli, Olivier, Open2universe, Ospalh, Ouzotech, OwenBlacker, PabloX, Pahpaha, Parmaestro, Paul August, Perceval, Petrb, Phaedriel, Philip Trueman, Picus viridis,Pinethicket, Pixeltoo, Pperos, Proteins, Quantumstream, R, Radagast83, RadioFan, Rama, Recognizance, Reedy, Regibox, Revas, Roleplayer, Ronline, Rougher07, Rsrikanth05, SPQRobin,Sacham, Salt Yeung, Sam Blacketer, Sargdub, Savant1984, Scipius, Sean.hoyland, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Shadowjams, ShakingSpirit, Sims2aholic8, Skamecrazy123, Sketchmoose, Skyring,Slakr, Soumyasch, Spiritofthemusician, Spitfire, SqueakBox, Steve64, SteveStrummer, Storm Rider, Suresh 5, Susvolans, Swag123456789101112, THB, THEN WHO WAS PHONE?, TKD,Tarret, Taxman, Tgeairn, The Hybrid, The Thing That Should Not Be, TheTruthiness, Thing that goes on feet, Thingg, Thrissel, Tide rolls, Tim1357, Titodutta, Toddst1, Tommy2010, Tony1,Traxs7, Tsemii, Tulip19, Tuncay Tekle, Turnstep, Tyrth, UkPaolo, Ulric1313, V i P, Valmoer, Vanieter, Vanished User 8a9b4725f8376, Verdy p, Vinsfan368, VoluntarySlave, Voui, Wavelength,Wayne Slam, Weedwhacker128, Werdan7, Wester, Whpq, WikHead, Wild ride, Wilfried Derksen, Wilhelmina Will, Woohookitty, Xandybeaches83, Xhienne, Yonatan, Yotcmdr, Érico JúniorWouters, 541 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Logo de la République française.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Logo_de_la_République_française.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Aaker,Alkamid, AnonMoos, Bcnof, Beao, Blinking Spirit, Coyau, Cybercobra, Dahn, Draceane, Duduziq, E3.akpinar, Essam Sharaf, Fastily, Fry1989, Jack Phoenix, JenVan, Kyle the hacker,MSClaudiu, Mattbuck, PhiLiP, Razzairpina, Romain Rousseau, SRyll, Sarang, Tonym88, Ve4ernik, Writtenright, Wwooter, Zscout370, 30 anonymous editsFile:Armoiries république française.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Armoiries_république_française.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Dessiné par Jérôme BLUM le 5 septembre 2007. Készítette: Jérôme BLUM 2007.File:A coloured voting box.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:A_coloured_voting_box.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors:AnomieFile:French government.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:French_government.png  License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported  Contributors:User:David.MonniauxFile:Paris Assemblee Nationale DSC00074.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Paris_Assemblee_Nationale_DSC00074.jpg  License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: User:David.MonniauxFile:Increase2.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Increase2.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: SarangFile:Decrease2.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Decrease2.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: SarangFile:Steady2.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Steady2.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Tomchen1989File:French Senate amphitheater 050917 162927.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:French_Senate_amphitheater_050917_162927.jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors: David MonniauxFile:Public Deficit of France.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Public_Deficit_of_France.png  License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: Eumachia (talk) 22:51, 15 June 2013 (UTC) ; MaCRoEco 14:39, 19 May 2007 (UTC) (1st version)File:DSC00652 conseil etat.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:DSC00652_conseil_etat.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: User:David.MonniauxFile:Declaration of Human Rights.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Declaration_of_Human_Rights.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: -

LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/