President of Republic France, Fifth Republic, executive power, legislative power, international relations, treaties, Council of Ministers, Constitutional Council, armed forces, national defense, political responsibility, irresponsibility principle
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Abstract
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Abstract
The President of the Republic has significant prerogatives and powers in France, particularly when the parliamentary majority and the President are of the same political color.
Extract
[...] Next, the President is subject to penal responsibility, albeit lesser in comparison to his powers, but it still exists. We note that the political and penal responsibility we are referring to are relative to the President in his capacity as such and not as a citizen, since from this point of view he is inviolable, as we have previously clarified. As for penal responsibility, we distinguish between internal penal responsibility and international penal responsibility. Until 2007, from a penal point of view, the head of state was under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice, which was a political jurisdictional institution provided for by Articles 67 and 68 of the Constitution. [...]
[...] To continue, the President of the Republic has his own powers with regard to Parliament. He notably has the power to organize a legislative referendum. Article 11 states that 'the President of the Republic [ . ] may submit any bill to a referendum'. The scope of this referendum was clarified during the term of President Chirac. It may concern the organization of public authorities, economic, social or environmental policy. In addition, one of the greatest powers available to the President of the Republic is that of dissolving the National Assembly. [...]
[...] Indeed, according to Article 8 of the Constitution: 'The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister'. The chosen Prime Minister then formulates a proposal to the President for the members of the Government, but it is the Head of State who 'appoints the other members of the Government and terminates their functions', still according to the same article. This is the President's power of appointment; in addition to appointing them, he can also terminate their functions. Then, the President of the Republic also has the possibility of presiding alone over the Council of Ministers in accordance with Article 9 of the Constitution: 'The President of the Republic presides over the Council of Ministers'. [...]
[...] The President only gives the order to engage. For the conventional army, it is more complicated: Article 15 of the Constitution provides that 'the President of the Republic is the head of the armed forces', Article 21 states 'the Prime Minister [ . ] is responsible for national defense' and Article 20 provides that he 'has the administration and armed force'. Thus, national defense is ensured in part by the Minister of the Armed Forces and the President of the Republic, but also by the Prime Minister. [...]
[...] The President may have recourse to it in times of crisis. For this, it is necessary that France be in a period of crisis, that the situation falls within the conditions laid down by the Constitution, as soon as 'the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the nation, the integrity of its territory or the execution of its international commitments are seriously and immediately threatened and that the regular functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted', the President is within his right to 'activate' this article and take the necessary measures to resolve the ongoing crisis. [...]
