See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/348167848

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE

Research Proposal · November 2017

CITATIONS READS
0 2,989

1 author:

Will Achina
Università degli Studi di Siena
4 PUBLICATIONS   0 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

China-Africa Relations: A neocolonialism? View project

Covid-19 The Missile of the East View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Will Achina on 03 January 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE
REPUBLIC OF FRANCE
(2002-2017)

NAME: ACHINA WILL YAO

STUDENT NUMBER: 077631

COURSE: COMPARATIVE POLITICS

PROFESSOR: MAURIZIO COTTA

UNIVERSITY OF SIENA

0
 PAPER│ 2017/2018
CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………….... 2

2. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT……………………………………………………………………. 3

2.1 Constitutional Framework……………………………………………………………………….3

2.2 Executive Branch………………………………………………………………………………...4

2.3 Cohabitation……………………………………………………………………………………...5

2.4 Legislative Branch……………………………………………………………………………….5

2.5 Judicial Branch…………………………………………………………………………………...5

3. PARTY SYSTEM……….................................................................................................................6

3.1 Identities of Major Political Parties...............................................................................................6

4. ELECTORAL SYSTEM……......................................................................................................... 9

4.1 Presidential Elections Summary………......................................................................................10

4.2 National Assembly Elections Summary……..............................................................................10

4.3 Electoral Volatility Rate……......................................................................................................12

4.4 Effective Number of Parties……................................................................................................14

4.5 Electoral Mobilization and Turnout………................................................................................15

5. ECONOMY………....................................................................................................................... 16

6. CONCLUSION………..................................................................................................................17

7. REFERENCES………................................................................................................................. 18

1
1. INTRODUCTION

French Republic is regarded as one of the advanced democratic state in the world. France has
undergone several political changes in the last five centuries. There have been numerous wars across
Europe before the establishment of a unified union in the shape of European Union. France was once
an absolute monarchical state until the state experienced the Renaissance and the Protestant
Reformation. Although the Greeks might claim that democracy originates from the ancient city state
of Athens, the French could plausibly argue that modern democracy emanates from the French
Revolution of 1789.

In the late 18th century, the monarchy and associated institutions were overthrown in the French
Revolution. In the wake of the Algerian Crisis of 1958, Charles de Gaulle set up the French Fifth
Republic. The fifth republic was established in 4th October 1958, and was largely the work of General
de Gaulle - its first president. France for a long period can be described as a unitary state but lately
such description is fading off. Since 2016 France is mainly divided into 18 administrative regions: 13
regions in metropolitan France (including the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and five
located overseas. The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments, which are numbered
mainly alphabetically.

The government of the French Republic exercises executive power in the state. It is composed of the
President of France who is the Head of State, the Prime Minister who is the Head of Government and
both junior and senior ministers. The current French Political system of the Fifth Republic is a semi-
presidential system with a President sharing power with a Prime Minister. Legislative power is vested
in both the government and the Senate and National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the
executive and the Legislature. Evidently, politics of France take place in a framework of a semi-
presidential representative democratic republic. Democracy in France support multi-party system
which has been adopted over a long period with many political parties. France was a founding
member of European Coal and Steel Community, later the European Union. As such, France has
transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions, as provided by its constitution. The French
government therefore has to abide by European treaties, directives and regulations.
The official language of the Republic of France is French. The capital city of the said country is Paris
and it’s the headquarters of the central government.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the political system of France and to analyze how this works
for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with such a governance system. My approach is to firstly
look into how the Constitution of France supports the semi-presidential system in the country. Also it
will entail how the various arms of government are instituted. The party system of the country is
considered in my paper, which I identified some important political parties over the last two decades.
Additionally, a look at the electoral results for both Presidential and National Assembly, the effective
number of parties and seats, the electoral volatility of each election will be considered.

2
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

‘Political activities in a country are dictated by the kind of political system it runs, and it is
these systems that direct the development of that nation. A political system consists of the
formal and informal structures which manifest the state's sovereignty over a territory and
people’ (Rummel R.J. 1976).
This section will be in five parts, which are the constitutional framework, the executive
branch, cohabitation, the legislative branch and the judiciary branch of government. I will
analytically discuss how they work and their implication on the democratic development of
the country.

CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

The current constitution of the Republic of France was adopted on 4th October 1958. It is
typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic and replaced that of the fourth republic
dating from 1946. Since then, the constitution has been amended twenty four times, most
recently in 2008. The preamble of the constitution recalls the declaration of the rights of man
and of the citizen from 1789 and establishes France as a secular and democratic country,
deriving its sovereignty from the people. The articles 2, 3 and 4 laid much emphasis on
sovereignty of the nation. According to article 2, “The language of the Republic shall be
French…” Also article 3 is quoted as “National sovereignty shall vest in the people, who
shall exercise it through their representatives and by means of referendum…”Article 4
entreats political parties and groups to contribute to the exercise of suffrage.

Article 58 states that “The Constitutional Council shall ensure the proper conduct of the
election of the President of the Republic.” The Council will however examine complaints and
shall proclaim the results of the vote. The duty of the Council is very important in the
democratic dispensation of the Republic as a mismanage election can ensure chaos. Article
66 focuses on the justice system of the Republic where it states that “No one shall arbitrarily
be detained”. I believe the justice system is effective to ensure the protection of individual’s
right in the state. And also article 66-1 states that “No one shall be sentenced to death.” The
Republic of France has one of the best judicial systems in the world and does not support
capital punishment. Article 88-(1-7) laid emphasis on France association to the European
communities and the European Union. France been a member of the European Union makes
her enjoy free trade of goods and services across members of the union. Therefore the
economies of France have relatively increased since being a member of the European Union.

3
EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The Executive arm of government is the administrative body that has the authority to manage
the day to day activities of the state. In the French Republic, the executive is made up of the
President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

i) THE HEAD OF STATE (PRESIDENT)

The President is selected into office by direct universal suffrage. The President has many
functions he or she perform as stated in the constitution of the French Republic. According to
article 5, “The President of the Republic shall ensure due respect for the Constitution…” The
President of the Republic is elected for a term of five years who will not hold office for more
than two consecutive terms. This is important as such provision shall prevent power drunk
leaders for being in power for long. According to article 8, “The President of the Republic shall
appoint the Prime Minister.” It must be noted that all members of the French government are
nominated by the President of the Republic on the advice of the Prime Minister. “The President
of the Republic shall preside over the Council of Ministers…, as stated in article 9 of the French
constitution. According to article 15, “The President of the Republic shall be Commander-in-
chief of the Armed Forces.”

Article 68 talks about “The President of the Republic shall not be removed from office during the
term thereof on any grounds other than a breach of his duties patently incompatible with his
continuing in office.” I believe such provision in the constitution ensures the effective
administration of the government. Article 68-1 states that “Members of the government shall be
criminally liable for acts performed in the holding of their office and classified as serious crimes
or other major offences at the time they were committed.” Such provision ensures accountability
in the country.

The President possesses an enormous amount of power over the rest of the French government as
well. The President may dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections whenever it
satisfies him or her, though in the interest of sound government this is not often done. In times of
emergency, it’s possible for the French President to become a virtual dictator, assuming
comprehensive control over the French government and armed forces. The President is also
limited in his control over legislation. Though the President has to sign each law before it can be
enacted, he or she cannot introduce legislation into the National Assembly under normal
circumstances. This is an important check on the President’s power.

4
 ii) THE HEAD OF GOVERNMENT (PRIME MINISTER)

The government determines and conducts the policy of the Republic of France. The Prime
Minister is the Head of Government in France. Members of the government are ranked in a
precise order which is established at the time of government formation. In this hierarchy, the
Prime Minister is the Head of Government. It is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to direct
the actions of the government. The Prime Minister can delegate certain of his or her powers to
Ministers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. A unique feature of the French
Constitution is that the Prime Minister is not necessarily the leader of the majority in the
Parliament.

In France, the Prime Minister is not necessarily to be a member of the Parliament and if a
member of the Parliament is appointed as Prime Minister, he or she must resign forthwith his or
her membership of the Parliament. The Prime Minister remains in office so long as he or she
enjoys the confidence of the parliament. The President can remove him or her only when the
Prime Minister, after having lost the confidence of the House, submits the resignation of the
government. The National Assembly can dismiss the government with a motion of censure. The
Prime Minister must propose a list of ministers to the President. Ministers are ranked by importance:

i) Ministers of State: They are senior ministers, and are members of the Council of Ministers. It
is an honorary rank, granted to some ministers as a sign of prestige.
ii) Ministers: They are senior ministers and are members of the Council of Ministers. They lead
government ministries.
iii) Secretaries of State: They are junior ministers. This is the lowest rank and work directly
under a minister or sometimes directly under the Prime Minister.

COHABITATION

This is a situation when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the
members of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the President to name a Prime
Minister that will be acceptable to the majority party within parliament. There have been only three
periods of cohabitation, but each is notable for demonstrating alternation of powers between the
President and Prime Minister. Though cohabitation can lead to political crisis, it can also help to
bridge ideological divides.

5
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Legislature arm of the French Republic is mandated by the constitution with legislative powers.
The French Parliament is a bicameral legislature with two chambers consisting of the Senate (Sénat)
and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale). Each chamber conducts legislative sessions at a
separate location in Paris. The lower house in the French political system is the National Assembly.
The members of the National Assembly are 577 parliamentarians who are directly elected for five
year terms. The National Assembly tends to specialize in scrutinizing the day-to-day government
business. The upper house in the French political system is the Senate. The Senate has 348 (the
number depends on population changes) members who are elected indirectly for nine year terms by
an electoral college. One-third of the Senate is elected every three years. It is the duty of French
Parliament to make laws. The Senate tends to specialize in constitutional matters and foreign affairs
including European integration. The legislature has an extended function of monitoring the action(s)
of the government. It monitors the action of the government by assessing public policies.

JUDICIAL BRANCH

The judiciary is strongly independent of the executive and legislative branches. The official handbook
of French civil law is the Code Civil.

6
PARTY SYSTEM OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

The political system of France has undergone series of changes since 1956. However, the entire
political structure is basically centered on the institution of political parties. The parties play major
role in every political life of a state.
France has a multi-party political system in which the numbers of competing political parties are
sufficiently large. The situation of many political parties makes it inevitable for parties to form
electoral alliances or coalition agreements.

IDENTITIES OF MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

Political parties are organized groups of similarly minded people competing for authoritative
positions through the electoral process. Political parties are not interest groups as such groups do not
intend to gain political power.
Parties can be roughly categorized as “Left” or “Right” in France.

On The Right

i) Rally for the Republic (RPR)

The Rally for the Republic originated from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was
founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of “Gaullist” politics. On 21st
September 2002, the RPR was merged into the Union for the Presidential Majority, later renamed
the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

ii) Union for a Popular Movement (UMP)

This is one of the largest parties in France. It was created by Jacques Chirac after he was re-elected as
president in 2002 and it united the Right in a single party. It describes itself as a “Gaullist” party,
upholding social conservatism which is patriarchal and nationalistic. Nicholas Sarkozy was the chair
and elected president of France in 2007. In May 2015, the party was renamed and succeeded by the
Republicans.

iii) Radical Party (Parti Radical)

The Parti Radical is the oldest political party in France. It is a progressive, liberal and humanist party
in France once of the Left, is now a corporate member of the UMP. Since 2007, the Radical Party’s
leader has been Jean-Louis Borloo.

iv) Union for French Democracy (UDF)

The Union for French Democracy was a centre-right political party in France. It was founded in 1978
as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in order to counterbalance the
Gaullist preponderance over the political right in France. The UDF ceased to exist by the end of 2007
and its membership and assets were transferred to its successor party, the Democratic Movement
(MoDem). The party’s last leader was Francois Bayrou, who transferred his leadership to MoDem.

v) New Centre
New Centre, also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in
France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy (UDF). The party foundation
was announced on 29th May 2007 during a press conference.

vi) Miscellaneous Right

7
Miscellaneous right refers to right-wing candidates that are not member of any large party.

In the Middle

i) Democratic Movement (MoDem)

The Democratic Movement is a centrist political party in France, which is characterized by a strong
pro-European stance. MoDem was founded by Francois Bayrou to succeed the Union for French
Democracy (UDF). Initially the party was named as Democratic Party and renamed “Democratic
Movement”, because there was already a “small” Democratic Party in France.

ii) Centrist Alliance

It was founded in June 2009 by Jean Arthuis, a former member of the Union for French Democracy
and currently member of European parliament, where he also serves as chair of the committee on
budgets.

iii) La République en marche

La République En Marche! , commonly known as En Marche! (whose official name
is Association pour le renouvellement de la vie politique ), is a French political party founded
in 2016 by Emmanuel Macron , then government minister of Manuel Valls and
later president of the French Republic .

On The Far Right

i) Movement for France (MDF)

The Movement for France is a French conservative and Eurosceptic political party, founded on 20 th
November 1994, with a marked regional stronghold in the Vendée. The party is considered
Eurosceptic, though not to the extent of leaving the European Union. It also strongly opposed to the
possible admission of Turkey into the European Union.

ii) National Front (FN)

The National Front is a socially conservative, nationalist political party in France. Its major policies
include economic protectionism and opposition to mass immigration. It was founded by Jean Marie
Le Pen in 1972 and is currently led by his daughter Marine Le Pen.

On The Left

i) Socialist Party (PS)

The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French
centre-left. The Socialist Party replaced the earlier French Section of the Workers’ International
(SFIO) in 1969 and is currently led by first secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadélis.

ii) Left Party (PG)

The Left Party is a French democratic socialist political party. It was founded in November 2008 by
former socialist senator Jean-Luc Melénchon.

8
 iii) French Communist Party (PCF)
The French Communist Party is a communist party in France. Although in recent decades the PCF
has lost a large electoral support, it still has strong influence in French politics especially at the local
level. Since 2009 the PCF has been a leading member of the Left front.

iv) The Greens (VEC or LV)

The Greens was a green-ecologist political party in France. The Greens had been in existence since
1984. On 12th November 2010, The Greens merged with Europe Ecology to become Europe Ecology.
As a green party, their main priorities are focused on environmental issues.

v) Miscellaneous Left
Miscellaneous left refers to left-wing candidates who are not members of a large party.

On The Far Left

i) Lutte Ouvriére (Worker’s Struggle)

Workers’ Struggle is the name by which the French Troskyist political party communist union is
usually known. Robert Barcia was its founder and central leader. It emphasizes workplace activity
and has been critical of such recent phenomena as alter-globalization.

ii) Revolutionary Communist League (LCR)

The Revolutionary Communist League was a Trotskyist political party in France. It was established in
1974 and became the leading party of the far left in the 2000’s. It officially abolished itself on
February 5, 2009 to merge with smaller factions of the far left and formed the New Anticapitalist
Party.

iii) New Anticapitalist Party (NPA)

The New Anticapitalist Party is a far-left French political party founded in February 2009. The
party’s stated aim is to “build a new socialist, democratic perspective for the twenty-first century”.

ELECTORAL SYSTEM IN FRANCE

France is a representative democracy. Public officials in the legislative and executive branches
are either elected by the citizens (directly or indirectly) or appointed by elected officials.
Referendum may also be called to consult the French citizenry directly on a particular question,
especially one which concerns amendment to the constitution. In order to be a candidate, a
politician needs to have the endorsement of 500 senators, deputies or mayors. In order to be
elected, a President needs to have the majority of the votes.

The President is elected by the people by absolute majority in a two-round ballot. He or she is in
power for five (5) years. This five-year period is called a quinquennat. He or she can be reelected
only one time. The Constitutional Council is mandated by the constitution of the French
Republic to ensure the proper conduct of elections. In the Senate, 331 members are indirectly
elected by an electoral college to serve 9-year terms. In the National Assembly, 577 members

9
are elected by absolute majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.
Electoral Colleges are 128 territorial constituencies (number of seats dependent on population)
comprising the departments of metropolitan France, overseas departments and territories,
territorial collectivities and French citizens residing abroad. One third of the Senate is renewable
every three years.

A candidate is elected in the first round if he/she obtains an absolute majority of the total votes
cast, provided this amount is equal to a quarter of the number of registered voters in the
particular constituency. In order to be eligible for the second round, candidates must have
obtained a number of votes equal to at least 12.5% of the total number of registered voters.
However, if only one candidate fulfills this condition, the person who polls the second largest
number of votes in the first ballot may also participate in the second at which, to be elected, a
simple majority is adopted.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS SUMMARY

This part seeks to illustrate the Presidential elections in 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 in France.
The President of the French Republic is elected to a five-year term in a two-round election under
Article 7 of the Constitution: if no candidate secures an absolute majority (including blank and
void ballots) of votes in the first round, a second round is held two weeks later between the two
candidates who received the most votes. Since 1965, when the current (direct) election system
was introduced, every election has gone to a second round.

2002
Took place on 21st April and on 5th May 2002. Jacque Chirac was seeking for a second term.
National Front’s leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen surprisingly appears in the run-off election. Jacque
Chirac won with a landslide victory of over 82% of the vote.

2007
Took place on 21st April and on 5th May 2007. It was an election to seek the successor to Jacques
Chirac as President. Nicholas Sarkozy and Ségoléne Royal had most votes to qualify for the
second round. Nicholas Sarkozy won the elections who contested on the ticket of Union for a
Popular Movement (rename of Rally for the Republic).

2012
Took place on 22nd April and on 6th May 2012. Nicholas Sarkozy was running for a second
successive term. First round ended with the selection of Francois Hollande and Nicholas Sarkozy
to contest in the second round. Francois Hollande won the run-off who contested on the ticket of
Socialist Party.

10
 2017
The 2017 French presidential election was held on 23 April and 7 May 2017. As no candidate
won a majority in the first round on 23 April, a run-off was held between the top two
candidates, Emmanuel Macron of En Marche! And Marine Le Pen of the National Front (FN),
which Macron won by a decisive margin on 7 May.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS SUMMARY

This section will elaborate on the national assembly elections in 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017. The
dynamics of each election will be critically looked at. It must be emphasized that the table below focus on
the first round electoral results and the total number of seats won at both the first and second round.

Table 1

NAMES OF POLITCAL YEAR 2002 YEAR 2007 YEAR 2012 YEAR 2017
PARTIES VOTE % SEATS VOTE % SEATS VOTE % SEATS VOTE% SEATS
La Republique En Manche - - - - - - 43.06 308
Socialist Party 24.11 140 24.73 186 29.35 280 5.20 30
French Communist Party/Left 1.73 10
Front 4.82 21 4.29 15 6.91 10
Europe Ecology (The Greens) 4.51 3 3.25 4 5.46 17 0.17 1
Miscellaneous Left 1.09 6 1.97 15 2.81 19 2.08 12
Radical- Socialist Party 1.54 7 1.32 7 1.24 6 0.53 3
Rally for the Republic/Union 19.41 112
for a Popular Movement 33.3 357 39.54 313 27.12 194
Union for French 7.28 42
Democracy/Democratic
Movement 4.86 29 2.37 22 2.2 12
Miscellaneous Right 3.65 8 2.47 9 3.51 15 1.04 6
National Front 11.34 0 4.29 0 13.6 2 1.37 8
Others 10.78 6 15.77 6 7.8 22 8.8 45
SOURCE: Author’s own construct with data from Wikipedia

The table shows the National Assembly results for the last four election years. These political parties have
been consistent with elections over these years; though it must be emphasized that some parties change
their names for instance Rally for the Republic was changed in 2002 to Union for a Popular Movement.
Again, Union for French Democracy changed its name to the New Centre. The Greens merged with the
Europe Ecology in 2012 and is one of the formidable parties as a result of such alliance. The La Republic
En Manche is a new party led by Emmanuel Macron who won the 2017 election in a landslide victory
with a 308 seats in the National Assembly. The huge number of seats won can be attributed to the fact

11
that it is a new party which formed alliance with other smaller parties such as MoDem. The Union for
Popular Movement in 2002 had the majority of seats but in 2017 had its seats reduced from 355 to 112,
which was a huge reduction for the party. The reduction was attributed to the various “disunity” of the
Left wing which was undermined. But in 2007 and 2012, the party improved their performance, where in
the last election the party had the highest number of seats. The party lost a number of seats and this was
because the Left was stronger which led to the “Plural Left” coalition and they proposed a program of
social reforms to reduce unemployment, limiting the length of the work week to 35 hours. In 2002 and
2007 the Union for a Popular Movement obtained the majority of seats in Parliament. But in 2012, the
party lost the majority of seats to the Socialist Party. From the table, one constant observation is that, the
National Assembly is virtually a two party dominated, even though there are other significant parties.
Therefore voters are beginning to trust new politicians. Hence environmental issues pertaining to the
world and in France to be specific have made The Europe Ecology (The Greens) gain appreciable
percentages over the years. Also, immigration issues and its effects such as terrorism have made the
National Front gain a significant percentage over the last eight years. From the table, from 2002, the
presidential elections have an effect on the parliamentary elections. In the sense that the parliamentary
election which is held after the presidential election is seen as a “third round” election of the presidential
election. For instance in 2002, Jacques Chirac won the elections and saw his party obtain the majority of
seats in Parliament. Also, in 2007, Nicholas Sarkozy won the elections and saw his party obtain the
majority of seats in Parliament. In 2012, Francois Hollande won the election and also his party obtains the
majority of seats in Parliament. The current trend is reducing the incidence of cohabitation from the
political scene in the country.

12
 ELECTORAL VOLATILITY RATE

This section illustrates the volatility in the years between 1997-2002, 2002-2007 and 2007-2012

Table 2

2002 2007 2007 2012 2012 2017

NAMES OF POLITCAL VOTE VOTE VOTE VOT VOTE VOTE PV
PARTIES % % PV % E% PV % %
La Republique En Manche - - - - - - - 43.06 43.06
Socialist Party 24.11 24.73 0.62 24.73 29.35 4.62 29.35 5.20 24.29
French Communist Party/Left 6.91 1.73 5.74
Front 4.82 4.29 0.53 4.29 6.91 2.62
Europe Ecology (The Greens) 4.51 3.25 1.26 3.25 5.46 2.21 5.46 0.17 5.29
Miscellaneous Left 1.09 1.97 0.88 1.97 2.81 0.84 2.81 2.08 0.73
Radical- Socialist Party 1.54 1.32 0.22 1.32 1.24 0.08 1.24 0.53 0.71
Rally for the Republic/Union 27.12 19.41 7.71
for a Popular Movement 33.3 39.54 6.24 39.54 27.12 12.4
Union for French 2.2 7.28 5.08
Democracy/Democratic
Movement 4.86 2.37 2.49 2.37 2.2 0.17
Miscellaneous Right 3.65 2.47 1.18 2.47 3.51 1.04 3.51 1.04 2.47
National Front 11.34 4.29 7.05 4.29 13.6 9.31 13.6 1.37 12.23
Others 10.78 15.77 4.99 15.77 7.8 7.97 7.8 8.8 1.0
25.5 41.3 108.3

Block
Volatili
ty % 12.7 20.6 54.15

NB: PV is Party Volatility

SOURCE: Author’s own construct with data from Wikipedia

The table shows the volatility of the various parties and the total volatility of the 2002-2007, 2007-2012
and 2012-2017 years. The volatility of the last years was the highest with 54.15%. The volatility kept
increasing from the first years to the last years. There are significant electoral changes within these years,
even though power circulates between the two dominant parties from the Left, Right and Center. It
increased steadly from 2012-2017 probably because there were more alliance to the previous years. In
another sense, the results of the block volatility show an appreciable increase for new parties. Therefore
voters are beginning to trust new parties and politicians.

13
Fig. 1

Total Volatility Rate

60

50

40

30

20
Total Volatility Rate
10

0
2002-2007 2007-2012 2012-2017

*Author’s Construct 2017

The figure confirms that from 2002 till date, the volatility continue to increase at a faster pace. This can
be attributed to the fact that the politics from 2012-2017 became high hence, making it possible for many
coalitions to be formed. Also, in 2007 to 2012 saw an increase quite above that of 2002-2007 in the
volatility rate. From this it can be said that the political system in the Republic of France is not stable
because the politics of a time have an impact on changes in government. Also, economic issues affect
governmental change. Electoral volatility can be related to the changing economic circumstances if a
government does not deliver on its electoral promises, it can be expected that voters will withdraw their
support for the governing parties and switch electoral preference (Powell and Tucker, 2014; Bischoff,
2013; Mainwaring and Zoco, 2007; Tavits, 2005; Roberts and Wibbels, 1999)

14
 EFFECTIVE NUMBER OF PARTIES

This part focuses on how fragmented the French National Assembly is in the last four electoral years
focused on.

Table 3

2002 2007 2012 2017

NAMES OF % seats % seats % seats % seats
POLITCAL PARTIES (x) x^2 (x) x^2 (x) x^2 (x) x^2
La Republique En
Manche - - - - - - 53.4 2851.6
Socialist Party 24.3 590.5 32.2 1036.8 48.5 2352 5.0 25
French Communist 1.5 2.3
Party/Left Front 3.6 12.96 2.6 6.76 1.7 2.89
Europe Ecology (The
Greens) 0.5 0.25 0.7 0.49 3 9 0 0
Miscellaneous Left 1 1 2.6 6.76 3.2 10.2 1.5 2.25
Radical- Socialist Party 1.2 1.44 1.2 1.44 1 1 0.5 0.3
Rally for the
Republic/Union for a
Popular Movement 61.9 3832 54.2 2937.6 33.6 1129 19.6 378.3
Union for French
Democracy/Democratic
Movement 5 25 4 16 2 4 7.3 53.3
Miscellaneous Right 1.3 1.69 1.5 2.25 2.5 6.25 1.7 2.9
National Front 0 0 0 0 0.3 0.09 1.4 1.9
Others 1 1 1 1 3.8 14.4 9.7 94.1
4465 4009.2 3529 3411.9
Laakso and Taagepera
(L&T) 2.24 2.49 2.8 2.9
Concentration index 57.41 64.27 56.5 58.4

SOURCE: Author’s own construct with data from Wikipedia

The table indicates the number of parties and how concentrated these parties have shown in the political
stage over the years of 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017. In 2007 as a result of the high political tension in
France, there were averagely two parties that dominated the National Assembly. But in 2002, 2012 and
2017 there is a level of stability in the number of parties that dominated. The power in the National

15
Assembly is enjoyed by the two dominant parties from the Left and Right wings until the new party; La
Republique En Manche won the elections in 2017 making the dominant parties to be averagely three.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EFFECTIVE NUMBER OF PARTIES AND

CONCENTRATION INDEX

Fig. 2

70

60

50

40
eff. Parties
30
con. Indx
20

10

0
2002 2007 2012 2017

*Author’s Construct 2017

The figure shows the effective number of parties and the concentrated index for the last four
parliamentary elections in France.

ELECTORAL MOBILIZATION AND TURNOUT

This section seeks to explain the voting behavior of electorates over the last four presidential elections in
France.

Table 4

YEAR VALID VOTES SPOILT VOTES TURNOUT ABSTENTIONS

% % % %
2002 96.62 3.38 71.60 28.40
2007 98.56 1.44 83.77 16.23
2012 98.08 1.92 79.48 20.52
2017 97.43 2.56 77.77 22.23

16
 Author’s construct with data from Wikipedia

From the table, 2002 and 2017 had a high level of spoilt or null votes. Also, both years had lower turnout
for the elections. Again, both years had higher absenteeism from the elections. These observations could
be attributed to the fact that political education was lower than the other years considered. Again,
economic implications affect the turnout of these elections. Therefore people decide to vote at the last
minute including the youth who are angry about unemployment.

ECONOMY OF FRANCE
Politics operate effectively with other indicators in a country. The economy of France cannot be
overlooked. France is the third-largest economy in Europe with Germany in first. The Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development is headquartered in Paris, the nation’s capital. The chemical
industry is a key sector for France, helping to develop other manufacturing activities and contributing to
economic growth. The tourism industry is a major component of the economy. According to the
International Monetary Fund, in 2016, France was the world’s 20th country by GDP per capita with
$42,400 per inhabitant. The gross domestic product (GDP) measures of national income and output for a
given country's economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) is equal to the total expenditures for all final
goods and services produced within the country in a stipulated period of time (World Bank Group, 2015).

Fig. 3

Source: World Bank Group (USD billion).

The figure above illustrates the Gross Domestic Product of France from 2006 to 2016 according
to the World Bank. Economic activities increased in 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2014. Virtually the
inability of the economy to grow causes a change of government or many political protests by
the inhabitants.

17
CONCLUSION
The Republic of France’s government and party system were very important in terms of its political and
social activities. France has had a long standing political system dating back to the 18 th century. The
current 1958 constitution includes some essential features such as separation of powers, checks and
balance which emphasizes the power and limitations of the various arms of government.

We learnt from this essay that the head of state serve his or tenure without external interference. But the
head of government who is appointed by the president and should be accepted by the legislature can be
given a vote of no confidence by the latter if he or she becomes unpopular. Power is alternatively enjoyed
by the two dominant parties from both the left and right wings. Again, the existence of many political
parties makes coalition agreements a common observation in France’s politics.

The French party system is a complex phenomenon characterized by continuous and rapid flux, involving
alignments, realignments and counter alignments. The remarks made by Dorothy Pickles that “parties
come and go in bewildering numbers, sometimes within a very short time” is an apt description of the
French party system. The political parties in France are far from being strong, well-structured and
organized parties with definite ideological commitments.

Low political volatility and relatively high concentration index are recorded in France because of the
dominance of the two big parties. There have been important parties that win an appreciable percentage of
votes due to the pertaining issue(s) during elections.

The electorates in France are discerning enough and have contributed to the strong political system in the
country.

18
REFERENCES

Almond G and Powell B (1966), Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach, Boston,

MA: Little Brown.

Bell, D., Presidential Power in Fifth Republic France, Oxford, Berg, 2000.

Bischoff, C.S. (2013) Electorally Unstable by Supply or Demand? An Examination of the

Causes of Electoral Volatility in Advanced Industrial Democracies, Public Choice
156(3): pp. 537-561

Duverger Maurice (1954), Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State,
London, UK: Methuen and Co Ltd.

Economy of France were assessed from

http://www.economist.com/topics/french-economy
World Bank report 2016

(Effective number of parties), and Michael Gallagher, ‘Proportionality, disproportionality and

electoral systems’, Electoral Studies10:1 (1991), pp. 33–51 (least squares index)

Electoral results were assessed from the following websites;

http://www.politicaldatayearbook.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/rubriques/b/b3_elections/b32_resultats

Frears, J., ‘The French Parliament: loyal workhorse, poor watchdog’, West European Politics, 13(3), July
1990, pp. 32-51.

Google Search

Hayward, J. and Wright, V., Governing from the Centre: Core Executive Coordination in France,
Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002.

Lane, J-E. (2008): Comparative Politics: the principal-agent perspective, London, New York:
Routledge

Lecture slides on “COMPARATIVE POLITICS” by Professor Maurizio Cotta (University of Siena-

Political Science Department.

19
 Mainwaring, S. and Zoco, E. (2007) Political Sequences and the Stabilization of Interparty
Competition: Electoral Volatility in Old and New Democracies. Party Politics 13(2): 155-178

Markku Laakso and Rein Taagepera, “Effective number of parties: a measure with
application to west Europe’, Comparative Political Studies (1979), pp. 3

The Constitution was assessed from;

http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/english/constitution/constitution-of-4-
october-1958.25742.html

The Political Parties were assessed from the following;

http://www.wikipedia.org/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html

Williams, P., The French Parliament, 1958-1967, London, George Allen and Unwin, 1969.

Pertersen, M.N. (1979): “The Dynamics of European Party System: Changing Patterns of
Electoral Volatility”, European Journals of Political Research, v. 7, pp. 1-26

20

View publication stats