Scene inside a polling station during the French presidential election of 2007: election officials and a standard transparent ballot box. The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France

France

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of France

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France is a representative democracy. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Politics of France take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic Republic, whereby the President of France The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining The preamble of the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic, founded in 1958 recalls the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on The government of France is a Semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic, in which the nation declares The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced, Second French Republic (1848-1852 President of the Provisional Government of the Republic Jacques Charles Dupont de l'Eure (24 February 1848 The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers François Fillon (fʁɑ̃swa fijɔ̃ born 4 March 1954 in Le Mans, Sarthe) is the current Prime Minister of France, having been appointed to that Early Modern France Chief Ministers of the French Kings Armand Jean du Plessis Cardinal Richelieu 1624-1642 Jules Cardinal The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 This article is for the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. The French Congress (Congrès du Parlement français - Congress of the French Parliament is the name given to the body created when both houses of the present-day French This article is about the present-day French institution For institutions with the same name during the Ancien Régime in France see Conseil du Roi. The Court of Cassation ( Cour de cassation in French) is the main Court of last resort in France. Political parties in France lists political parties in France. Gaullism (Gaullisme is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Charles de Gaulle. The Left in France at the beginning of the 20th century was represented by two main Political parties, the Republican Radical and Radical-Socialist Party The French presidential election of 1958 the first of the French Fifth Republic, took place on December 21, 1958. The 1965 French presidential election was the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage of the French Fifth Republic. The 1969 French presidential election took place on 1 June and 15 June 1969 French legislative elections took place on March 4 and 11 1973 to elect the 5th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Presidential elections were held in France in 1974 following the death of President Georges Pompidou. The French legislative elections took place on March 12 and March 19, 1978 to elect the 6th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic The French presidential election of 1981 was won by François Mitterrand, the first Socialist President of the Fifth Republic. French legislative elections took place on June 14 and 21 1981 to elect the 7th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The French legislative elections took place on March 16 1986 to elect the 8th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Presidential elections were held in France on 24 April and 8 May 1988 French legislative elections took place on June 5 and 12 1988 to elect the 9th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, one month after the re-election of François French legislative elections took place on March 21 and 28 1993 to elect the 10th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Presidential elections took place in France on 23 April and 7 May 1995 to elect the fifth president of the Fifth Republic. French legislative election took place in May 25 and June 1 1997 to elect the 11th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002 and a runoff election between the top two candidates ( Jacques Chirac and The French legislative elections took place on June 9 and June 16, 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, |||} Metropolitan France As of January 1, 2008, Metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including Corsica, although France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy A charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of France, is the cabinet minister responsible for the Foreign relations of France. This is a list of major Political scandals in France: Until 1958 1816 - Shipwreck of and search for French Frigate Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives Public officials in the legislative and executive branches are either elected by the citizens (directly or indirectly) or appointed by elected officials. Referendums may also be called to consult the French citizenry directly on a particular question, especially one which concerns a proposed amendment to the Constitution. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958.

Generalities

France elects on its national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature:

• The president is elected for a five-year term (previously, seven years), directly by the citizens (see Election of the President of the French Republic). Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected
• The Parliament (Parlement) has two chambers. This article is for the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral
  • The National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) has 577 members, elected for a five-year term in single seat-constituencies directly by the citizens. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty
  • The Senate (Sénat) has 321 members, 304 of which are elected for six-year terms by an electoral college consisting of elected representatives from each département, five of which are elected from other dependencies, and 12 of which are elected by the French Assembly of French Citizens Living Abroad (Assemblée des Français de l'étranger) which has replaced the High Council of French Citizens Living Abroad (Conseil Supérieur des Français de l'Étranger) a 150-member assembly elected by citizens living abroad. The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. In the Terminology of Political geography and Historiography a National department (département departamento is an administrative

See Government of France for more details about these political structures. The government of France is a Semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic, in which the nation declares

In addition, French citizens elect a variety of local governments. There also are public elections for some non-political positions, such as those for the judges of courts administering labor law (tribunaux de prud'hommes), elected by workers and employers, or those for judges administering cases of rural land leases. Labour law (also known as employment or labor law is the body of Laws administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of and restrictions

France does not have a full-fledged two-party system; that is, a system where, though many political parties exist, only two parties have a chance of getting elected to major positions. A two-party system is a form of Party system where two major Political parties dominate voting in nearly all Elections at every However French politics displays some tendencies characterizing a two-party system in which power alternates between relatively stable coalitions, each being led by a major party: on the left, the French Socialist Party, on the right, the UMP and its predecessors. The Socialist Party ( Parti Socialiste, PS is the largest left-wing political party in France. In Politics, right-wing, the political right, and the Right are positions that uphold traditional values and/or authorities See politics of France for more details. The Politics of France take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic Republic, whereby the President of France

Elections are always held on Sundays in France. The campaigns end at midnight the Friday before the election; by law, no polls can be published, no candidate can speak on TV, on Saturday or the Sunday of the election. The voting stations open at 8am and close at 6pm in small towns or at 8pm in cities, depending on prefectoral decisions. A prefect (préfet in France is the State's representative in a department or region. By law, publication of results or estimates is prohibited prior to that time; such results are however often available from the media of e. g. Belgium and Switzerland, or from foreign Internet sites, prior to that time. The first estimate of the results are thus known at Sunday, 8pm, Paris time; one consequence is that voters in e. g. French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe knew the probable results of elections whereas they had not finished voting, which allegedly discouraged them from voting. French Guiana (Guyane française officially fr ''Guyane'' is an Overseas department (French département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France Martinique is an Island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1128 km² Guadeloupe is an island group or Archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at, with a land area of 1628 square kilometres (629  sq For this reason, since the 2000s, elections in French possessions in the Americas, as well as embassies and consulates there, are held on Saturdays as a special exemption.

Voters

The voters are French citizens over the age of 18 registered on the electoral rolls. The electoral roll (or electoral register) is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area For municipal and European elections, citizens aged 18 or older of other European Union countries may decide to vote in France. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Registration is not compulsory, but the absence of registration precludes the possibility of voting. Currently, all youths reaching the age of 18 are automatically registered.

Standard transparent ballot box used in France. The voter puts the envelope containing the name or the list of people for whom he or she votes and then signs the electoral roll to avoid double votes. The electoral roll (or electoral register) is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area

Some French cities used voting machines. Voting machines are the total combination of mechanical electromechanical or electronic equipment (including Software, Firmware, and documentation required to program

Citizens may register either in their place of residence or in a place where they have been on the roll of taxpayers for local taxes for at least 5 years. A citizen may not be legally registered in more than one place. Citizens living abroad may register at the consulate responsible for the region in which they live.

Only citizens legally registered as voters can run for public office.

There are exceptions to the above rules. Convicted criminals may be deprived of their civic rights, which include the right to vote, for a certain period of time depending on the crime. In particular, elected officials who have abused public funds may be deprived of the right to run for national public office for as long as 10 years. The application of such rules in the case of certain politicians has been controversial; see for instance the case of Alain Juppé. Alain Marie Juppé (born 15 August 1945 is a French right-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac

Voting by proxy is possible when the citizen cannot easily come to vote (reasons include: health problems, the citizen does not live in the voting consistuency, he or she is away for work or vacations, he or she is jailed yet has not been sentenced and deprived of civic rights etc. ). The citizen designates a proxy, who must be a voter from the same commune. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The designation of the proxy must be made before a legally capable witness: a judge, a judicial clerk, or an officier of judicial police, or, outside of France, before an ambassador or consul. Organizations Agencies France has two national general-purpose law enforcement agencies: the Police Nationale (civilian force In the case of handicapped or severely ill people, an officer of judicial police or delegate thereof can be sent to the home of the citizen to witness the designation. The procedure is meant to avoid pressures on voters.

Voting procedures

Isolation booth

In general, voting is done using paper and manual counting. The voter gets pre-printed bulletins from a table at the entrance of the voting office (they are also provided through the mail), as well as an envelope. He or she enters the isoloir, or isolation booth, where he is hidden from sight, and inserts the appropriate bulletin into the envelope. He or she walks to the ballot box and shows his voter registration card (not compulsory) and is required to prove his identity ^[1] (in towns of more than 5000 inhabitants, an identification document must be shown^[2]). After the officials have acknowledged his or her right to vote, the ballot box is opened and the voter inserts the envelope. He then signs the voters' list, and his registration card is stamped.

Procedures differ when electronic voting, not widespread in France, is used.

Latest election

Presidential

Main article: French presidential election, 2007

Legislative

Main article: French legislative elections, 2007

Past elections and referendums

Other elections

As well as Presidential and legislative elections, France also has municipal, cantonal, regional, European, and (indirect) Senatorial elections. The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic,

Regional

Regional elections have been held since 1986 to elect regional councillors and regional presidents: all elected to serve 6-year terms.

• 2004

European Parliament

Elections for the French delegation to the European parliament are held every five years. Regional elections were held in France on March 21 and March 28, 2004.

• 2009
• 2004
• 1999

Senate

French senators are renewed by halves every six years through an indirect electoral college composed of general and regional councillors. European elections to elect 72 French MEPs will be held in mid-June 2009 on a Sunday Elections to the European Parliament were held in France on June 13, 2004. On June 13, 1999 the fifth direct elections to the European Parliament were held in the France.

• 2004
• 2001

Municipal

Municipal elections to elect city mayors and councillors are held every six years. Following the end of the 9-year terms of 127 "series C" senators indirect senatorial elections were held in France on September 26 2004

• 2008
• 2001
• 1995

Cantonal

• 2008
• 2004

See also

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system
• French Embassy in the United Kingdom

References

1. ^ Electoral code, R58
2. ^ Electoral code, R60

External links

• Official results from the Ministry of the Interior
• thematic files from the Constitutional Council, including election results
• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• Polarization and crisis - the French elections and the radical Left
• Président2007.biz A wiki web site dedicated to the 2007 french presidential election, for the replacement of the currentPrésident de la République Française, Jacques Chirac. The French municipal elections of 2008 were held on 9 March in that year (with a second round of voting taking place where necessary one week later on 16 March Municipal elections were held in France on March 11 and 18 2001 Municipal elections were held in France on June 11 and 18 1995, more or less than one month after Jacques Chirac 's election Cantonal elections to elect half the membership of the general councils of France 's 100 departments were held on 9 and 16 March 2008 Cantonal elections to elect half the membership of the general councils of France 's 100 departments were held on 21 and 28 March 2004 A voting system allows voters to choose between options often in an Election where candidates are selected for public office. A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content using a simplified Markup language. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages