Executive Branch
France has a semi-presidential system of government. This means that the presidential candidate is required to obtain a nationwide majority of non-blank votes at either the first or second round of balloting, which implies that the president 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; though he may not de jure dismiss him, if the Prime Minister is from the same political side, he can, in practice, have him resign on demand (and it is known that Prime Ministers are asked to sign a non-dated dismissal letter before being nominated). He appoints the ministers, ministers-delegate and secretaries. When the President's political party or supporters control parliament, the President is the dominant player in executive action, choosing whomever he wishes for the government, and having it follow his political agenda (parliamentary disagreements do occur, though, even within the same party).
However, when the President's political opponents control parliament, the President's dominance can be severely limited, as he must choose a Prime Minister and cabinet who reflect the majority in parliament, and who will implement the agenda of the parliamentary majority. When parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum control 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 National Assembly was five years. Now that the term of the President has been shortened to five years, and that the elections are 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 became president in 2012, succeeding Nicolas Sarkozy
| Candidates | Parties | 1st round | 2nd round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| François Hollande | Socialist Party (Parti socialiste) | PS | 10,272,705 | 28.63% | 18,000,668 | 51.64% | |
| Nicolas Sarkozy | Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un mouvement 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-Luc Mélenchon | Left Front (Front de gauche) | FG | 3,984,822 | 11.10% | |||
| François Bayrou | Democratic Movement (Mouvement démocrate) | MoDem | 3,275,122 | 9.13% | |||
| Eva Joly | Europe Écologie–The Greens (Europe Écologie–Les Verts) | EELV | 828,345 | 2.31% | |||
| Nicolas Dupont-Aignan | Arise the Republic (Debout la République) | DLR | 643,907 | 1.79% | |||
| Philippe Poutou | New Anticapitalist Party (Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste) | NPA | 411,160 | 1.15% | |||
| Nathalie Arthaud | Workers' Struggle (Lutte Ouvrière) | LO | 202,548 | 0.56% | |||
| Jacques Cheminade | 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 · First round result · Second round result |
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Read more about this topic: Government Of France
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