List of prime ministers of France facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

France has a special leader for its government, called the Prime Minister. This role has been around since 1959. Before that, the person in charge of the government had different titles, like "President of the Council of Ministers." It's important not to confuse the Prime Minister with the President of France, who is the head of state and chooses the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister helps the President run the country every day.

Leaders in Early French History (16th to 18th Century)
Changes in Leadership (18th to 19th Century)
Leaders in More Recent French History (19th to 20th Century)
Prime Ministers of the Fifth French Republic (Since 1958)
Living Former Prime Ministers
Timeline of French Government Leaders
- Executive Prime Ministers (1814–1959)
- Semi-executive Prime Ministers (since 1959)
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Leaders in Early French History (16th to 18th Century)

For many centuries, France was a kingdom ruled by kings. These kings had important advisors who helped them make decisions and manage the country. While there wasn't an official "Prime Minister" title back then, some of these advisors, often called "chief ministers," were very powerful and acted like the head of the government. They helped the king with everything from laws to wars.

Changes in Leadership (18th to 19th Century)

France went through many big changes during this time, including revolutions and empires. The way the government was led changed often:

During the First Republic (1792–1804), leadership was shared by different groups, like the National Convention and the Directory. Later, Napoleon Bonaparte became the First Consul, taking charge.
Under the First Empire (1804–1815), Napoleon was both the head of state and the head of government as Emperor.
After Napoleon, France became a kingdom again during the Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848). During these times, the main government leader was called the "President of the Council of Ministers."
The Second Republic (1848–1852) also had Presidents of the Council of Ministers, but it was a short period before Napoleon III became Emperor, starting the Second Empire (1852–1870). During the Second Empire, Napoleon III was in charge, and there wasn't a separate head of government.

Leaders in More Recent French History (19th to 20th Century)

France continued to change its government structure.

The Third French Republic (1870–1940) was a long period where the "President of the Council of Ministers" was the main leader of the government. Many different people held this role, helping to shape modern France.
During the French State (1940–1944), Marshal Philippe Pétain was the Chief of State. For part of this time, Pierre Laval was named Chief of the Government.
After World War II, the Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944–1946) was set up to rebuild the country. Leaders like Charles de Gaulle served as Chairmen during this important time.
The Fourth French Republic (1946–1958) also had "Presidents of the Council of Ministers" who led the government. This period saw many changes in leadership.

Prime Ministers of the Fifth French Republic (Since 1958)

Since 1958, France has been under its Fifth Republic. In this system, the head of government is officially called the Prime Minister. The President of France chooses the Prime Minister, who then forms a government and works to carry out the country's policies.

S. No.	Portrait	Prime Minister (Lifespan)	Term of office			Political party (Political coalition)		Government	Legislature (Election)	President (Term)
S. No.	Portrait	Prime Minister (Lifespan)	Term of office		Duration	Political party (Political coalition)		Government	Legislature (Election)	President (Term)
77		Michel Debré (1912–1996)	8 January 1959	14 April 1962	3 years, 96 days		Union for the New Republic	Debré [fr]	I (1958)	18	Charles de Gaulle (1959–1969)
78		Georges Pompidou (1911–1974)	14 April 1962	7 December 1962	6 years, 87 days		Union for the New Republic	Pompidou I [fr]	I (1958)
			7 December 1962	8 January 1966				Pompidou II [fr]	II (1962)
			8 January 1966	7 April 1967				Pompidou III [fr]	II (1962)
			7 April 1967	10 July 1968				Pompidou IV [fr]	III (1967)
79		Maurice Couve de Murville (1907–1999)	10 July 1968	20 June 1969	345 days		Union of Democrats for the Republic	Couve de Murville [fr]	IV (1968)
80		Jacques Chaban-Delmas (1915–2000)	20 June 1969	5 July 1972	3 years, 15 days		Union of Democrats for the Republic	Chaban-Delmas [fr]		19	Georges Pompidou (1969–1974)
81		Pierre Messmer (1916–2007)	5 July 1972	5 April 1973	1 year, 326 days		Union of Democrats for the Republic	Messmer I [fr]
			5 April 1973	1 March 1974				Messmer II [fr]	V (1973)
			1 March 1974	27 May 1974				Messmer III [fr]
82		Jacques Chirac (1932–2019)	27 May 1974	25 August 1976	2 years, 90 days		Union of Democrats for the Republic	Chirac I [fr]		20	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1974–1981)
83		Raymond Barre (1924–2007)	25 August 1976	30 March 1977	4 years, 269 days		Miscellaneous right (Union for French Democracy)	Barre I [fr]
			30 March 1977	5 April 1978				Barre II [fr]
			5 April 1978	21 May 1981				Barre III [fr]	VI (1978)
84		Pierre Mauroy (1928–2013)	21 May 1981	23 June 1981	3 years, 57 days		Socialist Party	Mauroy I [fr]	VI (1978)	21	François Mitterrand (1981–1995)
			23 June 1981	22 March 1983				Mauroy II [fr]	VII (1981)
			22 March 1983	17 July 1984				Mauroy III [fr]
85		Laurent Fabius (b. 1946)	17 July 1984	20 March 1986	1 year, 246 days		Socialist Party	Fabius [fr]
(82)		Jacques Chirac (1932–2019)	20 March 1986	10 May 1988	2 years, 51 days		Rally for the Republic	Chirac II [fr]	VIII (1986)
86		Michel Rocard (1930–2016)	10 May 1988	28 June 1988	3 years, 5 days		Socialist Party	Rocard I	VIII (1986)
86		Michel Rocard (1930–2016)	28 June 1988	15 May 1991	3 years, 5 days		Socialist Party	Rocard II	IX (1988)
87		Édith Cresson (b. 1934)	15 May 1991	2 April 1992	323 days		Socialist Party	Cresson [fr]
88		Pierre Bérégovoy (1925–1993)	2 April 1992	29 March 1993	361 days		Socialist Party	Bérégovoy [fr]
89		Édouard Balladur (b. 1929)	29 March 1993	17 May 1995	2 years, 49 days		Rally for the Republic	Balladur [fr]	X (1993)
90		Alain Juppé (b. 1945)	17 May 1995	7 November 1995	2 years, 16 days		Rally for the Republic	Juppé I [fr]		22	Jacques Chirac (1995–2007)
90		Alain Juppé (b. 1945)	7 November 1995	2 June 1997	2 years, 16 days		Rally for the Republic	Juppé II [fr]
91		Lionel Jospin (b. 1937)	2 June 1997	6 May 2002	4 years, 338 days		Socialist Party	Jospin	XI (1997)
92		Jean-Pierre Raffarin (b. 1948)	6 May 2002	17 June 2002	3 years, 25 days		Liberal Democracy, later Union for a Popular Movement	Raffarin I [fr]	XI (1997)
			17 June 2002	31 March 2004				Raffarin II [fr]	XII (2002)
			31 March 2004	31 May 2005				Raffarin III [fr]
93		Dominique de Villepin (b. 1953)	31 May 2005	17 May 2007	1 year, 351 days		Union for a Popular Movement	Villepin [fr]
94		François Fillon (b. 1954)	17 May 2007	19 June 2007	4 years, 364 days		Union for a Popular Movement	Fillon I [fr]		23	Nicolas Sarkozy (2007–2012)
			19 June 2007	14 November 2010				Fillon II [fr]	XIII (2007)
			14 November 2010	15 May 2012				Fillon III
95		Jean-Marc Ayrault (b. 1950)	15 May 2012	21 June 2012	1 year, 320 days		Socialist Party	Ayrault I		24	François Hollande (2012–2017)
95		Jean-Marc Ayrault (b. 1950)	21 June 2012	31 March 2014	1 year, 320 days		Socialist Party	Ayrault II	XIV (2012)
96		Manuel Valls (b. 1962)	31 March 2014	26 August 2014	2 years, 250 days		Socialist Party	Valls I
96		Manuel Valls (b. 1962)	26 August 2014	6 December 2016	2 years, 250 days		Socialist Party	Valls II
97		Bernard Cazeneuve (b. 1963)	6 December 2016	15 May 2017	160 days		Socialist Party	Cazeneuve
98		Édouard Philippe (b. 1970)	15 May 2017	21 June 2017	3 years, 49 days		The Republicans, later Independent	Philippe I		25	Emmanuel Macron (2017–present)
98		Édouard Philippe (b. 1970)	21 June 2017	3 July 2020	3 years, 49 days		The Republicans, later Independent	Philippe II	XV (2017)
99		Jean Castex (b. 1965)	3 July 2020	16 May 2022	1 year, 317 days		Independent	Castex
100		Élisabeth Borne (b. 1961)	16 May 2022	4 July 2022	1 year, 238 days		Renaissance	Borne I
100		Élisabeth Borne (b. 1961)	4 July 2022	9 January 2024	1 year, 238 days		Renaissance	Borne II	XVI (2022)
101		Gabriel Attal (b. 1989)	9 January 2024	5 September 2024	240 days		Renaissance	Attal	XVI (2022)
102		Michel Barnier (b. 1951)	5 September 2024	13 December 2024	99 days		The Republicans	Barnier	XVII (2024)
103		François Bayrou (b. 1951)	13 December 2024	9 September 2025	270 days		Democratic Movement	Bayrou
104		Sébastien Lecornu (b. 1986)	9 September 2025	10 October 2025	31 days		Renaissance	Lecornu I
104		Sébastien Lecornu (b. 1986)	10 October 2025	Incumbent	31 days		Renaissance	Lecornu II

Living Former Prime Ministers

It's interesting to see how many former Prime Ministers are still with us today! Here's a list of those who are still alive:

Name	Mandate	Date of birth
Laurent Fabius	1984 – 1986	(1946-08-20) 20 August 1946 (age 79)
Édith Cresson	1991 – 1992	(1934-01-27) 27 January 1934 (age 91)
Édouard Balladur	1993 – 1995	(1929-05-02) 2 May 1929 (age 96)
Alain Juppé	1995 – 1997	(1945-08-15) 15 August 1945 (age 80)
Lionel Jospin	1997 – 2002	(1937-07-12) 12 July 1937 (age 88)
Jean-Pierre Raffarin	2002 – 2005	(1948-08-03) 3 August 1948 (age 77)
Dominique de Villepin	2005 – 2007	(1953-11-14) 14 November 1953 (age 71)
François Fillon	2007 – 2012	(1954-03-04) 4 March 1954 (age 71)
Jean-Marc Ayrault	2012 – 2014	(1950-01-25) 25 January 1950 (age 75)
Manuel Valls	2014 – 2016	(1962-08-13) 13 August 1962 (age 63)
Bernard Cazeneuve	2016 – 2017	(1963-06-02) 2 June 1963 (age 62)
Édouard Philippe	2017 – 2020	(1970-11-28) 28 November 1970 (age 54)
Jean Castex	2020 – 2022	(1965-06-25) 25 June 1965 (age 60)
Élisabeth Borne	2022 – 2024	(1961-04-18) 18 April 1961 (age 64)
Gabriel Attal	2024	(1989-03-16) 16 March 1989 (age 36)
Michel Barnier	2024	(1951-01-09) 9 January 1951 (age 74)
François Bayrou	2024 – 2025	(1951-05-25) 25 May 1951 (age 74)
Sébastien Lecornu	2025	(1986-06-11) 11 June 1986 (age 39)

The most recent death of a former prime minister was that of Jacques Chirac (who served from 1974–1976 and 1986–1988), who passed away on 26 September 2019 at the age of 86.