French Fifth Republic Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

French Republic

Cinquième république française (French)

1958–present

Flag

Emblem

Motto: "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité"

"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

Anthem: "La Marseillaise"

Great Seal:

Location of France (dark green)

– on the European continent (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)

Capital

and largest city

Paris
48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E / 48.8567°N 2.35083°E

Official language
and national language

French

Religion

Secular State

In Alsace-Moselle

Government

Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic

• President

• Prime Minister

Legislature

• Upper house

• Lower house

Establishment

History

• Current constitution

4 October 1958 (66 years)

• Established

1958

• Disestablished

present

Currency

Euro (EUR)
CFP franc (XPF)

Date format

dd/mm/yyyy (AD)

Calling code

+33

ISO 3166 code

Internet TLD

.fr

Preceded by

French Fourth Republic

The Fifth Republic (French: Cinquième République) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.

The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the Fourth Republic, replacing the former parliamentary republic with a semi-presidential (or dual-executive) system that split powers between a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Charles de Gaulle, who was the first French president elected under the Fifth Republic in December 1958, believed in a strong head of state, which he described as embodying l'esprit de la nation ("the spirit of the nation"). Under the fifth republic, the president has the right to dissolve the national assembly and hold new parliamentary elections. If the president has a majority in the national assembly, the president sets domestic policy and the prime minister puts it into practice. During a presidential mandate, the president can also change prime ministers and reshuffle the government. If there is a different majority in the national assembly, the president is forced to nominate a prime minister from a different party, which is called a cohabitation. In the beginning of the Fifth Republic, presidential elections were held every seventh year and parliamentary elections every fifth year, which meant the president and the majority elected in the national assembly could be from different parties. Starting in the year 2000, the presidential and parliamentary elections were synchronized and are held every fifth year, which means the president always has a majority. Cohabitation is still possible if the president dissolves parliament in the middle of a presidential term.

The Fifth Republic is France's third-longest-lasting political regime, after the hereditary, feudal monarchy of the Ancien Régime and the parliamentary Third Republic (4 September 1870–10 July 1940). It is expected that the Fifth Republic will overtake the Third Republic as the second-longest French regime and the longest-lasting French republic on 8 August 2028.