your guide to the french government · 8 your guide to the french government legislative branch...

Your Guide to the

French Government

The French-American Foundation is the principal non-governmentallink between France and the United States at leadership levelsand across the full range of the French-American relationship.

The purpose of the French-American Foundation is to strengthenthe French-American relationship as a vital component of thetrans-Atlantic partnership.

Founded in 1976, the French-American Foundation is alsocommitted to ensuring that the French-American relationshipshould be vivid and relevant for the new generations that havecome of age since the end of the Cold War.

Statement of Purpose

MAYA presswww.mayapress.net - t: 212-260-5869

Cover photos: Alain Mengus. All rights reserved.

French-American Foundation 1

France, a founding member of the European Union, has apopulation of 62.8 million (including overseas territories) andis the sixth largest economy in the world.

In spring 2007, a year before the highly anticipated Americanpresidential elections, France held its presidential and legislativeelections. Elected in May 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozyrepresents a generational shift in France’s leadership.

What follows is your guide to the French government and abrief overview of the French political system.

INTRODUCTION

Your Guide to theFrench Government

Your Guide to the French Government2

French President Nicolas Sarkozy

© P

hilip

pe W

arrin

– L

a D

ocum

enta

tion

Fran

çais

e


France is a republic of which theexecutive branch is led both by aPresident and a Prime Minister. CurrentPresident Nicolas Sarkozy and PrimeMinister François Fillon belong to theUnion for a Popular Movement (UMP),the center-right political party. Unlike the

U.S. President who is elected indirectlyby the Electoral College, the FrenchPresident is elected directly by universalsuffrage for a five-year term and servesas the Head of State. The Prime Ministeris appointed by the President and leadsthe Government.

The President names the PrimeMinister, presides over the Cabinet,serves as commander-in-chief of thearmed forces and concludes treaties.He may also dissolve the NationalAssembly, the more prominent of the twochambers of Parliament. Most of thePresident’s powers are subject tocountersignature by the Prime Minister.In the event of a national emergency,the President may assume comprehensivepowers. Under normal circumstances,

however, the President may not introducelegislation or regulations but instead mayonly make recommendations to bothParliament and the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister directs andsupervises the operations of theGovernment. The Prime Minister is alsoresponsible for the implementation oflaws and, unlike the President, has theauthority to introduce bills in Parliament.

Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, officially tookoffice as President of the Republic onMay 16, 2007, following his electionon May 6 with 53.06% of the votes.The son of a Hungarian immigrant,Sarkozy is an attorney by education andwent into politics at the age of 22.Throughout his political career, he hasheld many positions, including citycouncilor, mayor, Deputy in the NationalAssembly, Minister of the Budget,Finance Minister, and lastly, Minister of

the Interior under President Chirac.Elected on the promise of change andstrong leadership, he is recognized onboth the right and the left as a skilledpolitician and a commanding orator.Sarkozy is considered more pro-U.S.than most French politicians. Some viewhim as departing from traditional Frenchsocial and economic policies in favorof American-style economic reform. Nicolas Sarkozy is married and hasthree children.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

DIVISION OF POWERS

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY


Domestic Priorities• Loosen constraints on employment

laws, notably the 35 hour-work week.(France’s current unemployment rate isapproximately 8%.) Encourage overtimeand higher earnings. Ease hiring andlay-off restrictions. Reduce the durationof unemployment benefits.

• Implement tax cuts and incentives toencourage wealth creation and attractinvestors.

• Reduce the number of civil servants.• Adopt a rigorous immigration policy

by toughening measures on illegalimmigration.

• Promote educational success andsocial mobility for immigrant andminority populations.

International agenda: • Take the lead on climate change

issues.• Revitalize the European Union, which

has gained momentum towards reformat the EU Summit of June 2007.Strengthen ties with European partners,especially Germany. Create a unifiedEuropean defense identity.

• Invigorate the France-U.S. relationship. • Promote a Mediterranean union as a

link between Europe and Africa. Workwith Africa to design a policy ofcontrolled immigration and ambitiouseconomic development.

• Be at the forefront of the defense ofhuman rights at the international level.

PRESIDENT SARKOZY’S AGENDA

G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, June 2007

Lefe

uvre

© S

ervic

e Ph

otog

raph

ique

de

la P

résid

ence

de

la R

épub

lique


The CabinetThe third component of the executivebranch is the Cabinet. The Cabinet isa Council of Ministers appointed by thePresident based on recommendationsby the Prime Minister. Ministers (ministres)are the most senior members of theGovernment; Secretaries of State(secrétaires d'Etat) assist ministers inparticular areas of their portfolio. Thenumber of ministries as well as the natureof their responsibilities can vary.

Prime Minister François Fillon, 53,is a former Minister for National Education,Higher Education and Research (2004-2005), as well as a former Minister of SocialAffairs, Employment, and Solidarity (2002-2004). He has also held positions as Senatorand Deputy in the National Assembly, andwas the director of Mr. Sarkozy’s successfulpresidential campaign. A moderate, Mr. Fillon is said to believein social inclusiveness and has gained areputation as consensual reformer.

PRIME MINISTER FRANÇOIS FILLON AND THE CABINET

The New Cabinet

© D

avid

Men

dibo

ure

– M

atig

non


Appointed on June 19, 2007, PrimeMinister Fillon’s cabinet comprises15 ministers, 16 Secretaries of State andone High Commissioner. Affirming the presidential priority given toclimate issues, the Ministry of Environmentis the highest-ranking ministry in the currentgovernment. The cabinet demonstrates President Sarkozy’sdetermination to bring about gender parity

amongst its members. Women representhalf of the ministers, three of whom are incharge of high-profile ministries. The new cabinet reaches across party lines.Several socialists as well as members of thecenter party were appointed to governmentposts. Bernard Kouchner, a prominent figurein the Socialist party, is now Minister ofForeign and European Affairs, while HervéMorin, a key spokesperson of the centristUDF (Union for French Democracy) party,is Minister of Defense.This government also reflects a strong stanceon promoting diversity. Judge Rachida Dati,Minister of Justice, is the first person of NorthAfrican descent to hold such a high-rankingoffice. Other minority figures hold importantpositions in the cabinet.

COMPOSITION OF THE CABINET

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard KouchnerAn outspoken figure from the left, Bernard Kouchner, M.D., was health minister andminister of humanitarian affairs in the cabinets of the late President François Mitterrand,prior to becoming United Nations governor of Kosovo (1999-2001). Co-founderof the Nobel prize-winning medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (Médecinssans Frontières), Bernard Kouchner has always been a proponent of intervention inhumanitarian crises. In 2003, he took position in favor of the Iraq war. A popular political figure, Bernard Kouchner intends to give high priority tothe defense of human rights as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

CURRENT MINISTRIES AND THEIR MINISTERS ARE:

Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development, and Public WorksJean-Louis BorlooNumber two in Prime Minister Fillon’s cabinet, Jean-Louis Borloo is a formerlawyer and former Minister of Employment. This unprecedented super ministry of Environment was created to reconcilethe imperatives of sustainable development and economic growth, to implementenergy policy and to ensure the steady provision of energy resources in thecontext of the fight against global warming.

Ministry of the Interior and Overseas DepartmentsMichèle Alliot-Marie Former Minister of Defense (2002-2007), Michèle-Alliot Marie is the mostexperienced of President Sarkozy’s staff members. A former lawyer, she holds aPh.D. in law. She has held many positions throughout her political career, amongstthem: Deputy in the National Assembly and in the European Parliament.

Prime Minister François Fillon

© D

avid

Men

dibo

ure

– M

atig

non


Ministry of Justice Rachida DatiAs former advisor to then Minister of Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, Rachida Datispecialized in youth delinquency and immigration issues. She holds Master’sdegrees in law and economics, and graduated from the prestigious NationalCollege of Magistrates in 1997. Rachida Dati’s nomination is seen as a symbol of President Sarkozy’s commitmentto promote minorities and revitalize the French political landscape.

Ministry of Defense Hervé MorinA graduate of the Institute of Political Science of Paris, Hervé Morin madethe transition from civil servant to politician in 1989. He has held severalpolitical positions: mayor, Deputy in the National Assembly and special advisorto the Minister of Defense. In the outgoing National Assembly, Hervé Morinsat on the Defense Commission, and was spokesperson of the UDF (Unionfor French Democracy) center party group.

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries – Michel BarnierMinistry of Labor, Society, and Solidarity – Xavier BertrandMinistry of National Education – Xavier DarcosMinistry of Higher Education and Research – Valérie PécresseMinistry of Health, Youth and Sports– Roselyne Bachelot-NarquinMinistry of Housing and Urban Affairs – Christine BoutinMinistry of Culture and Communications – Christine AlbanelMinistry of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Service – Eric Woerth

OTHER MINISTRIES AND MINISTERS

Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment Christine LagardeChristine Lagarde was formerly the Minister of Trade (2005-2007), and as such,participated in key world trade negotiations. Prior to that, she was a senior corporatelawyer at US law firm of Baker and McKenzie in Chicago. A graduate of the Instituteof Political Science of Paris, Christine Lagarde is France’s first female Minister of Finance. Beyond its traditional prerogatives in economic policy, this ministry encompassesthe fields of industry and foreign trade. Christine Lagarde will represent France atthe World Trade Organization and other international conferences. On the domesticfront, she is to supervise Mr. Sarkozy’s economic reforms, including tax cuts andmeasures to liberalize the job market

Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity, and Co-DevelopmentBrice Hortefeux Brice Hortefeux was formerly Deputy Minister of Interior (2005-2007), andDeputy in the European Parliament. He graduated from the Institute of PoliticalScience of Paris, and holds a degree in law. This newly created ministry establishes a coherent design for and implementationof immigration policy, formerly the split purview of four different ministries. It emphasizes the notion of integration, and aims to promote French Republicanvalues and language as crucial vehicles to assimilation and French citizenship.Espousing a pragmatic approach, this ministry is also responsible for theconception of an ambitious policy of cooperation with African countries, in orderto have an upstream effect on immigration.


LEGISLATIVE BRANCHFrance’s Parliament consists of two chambers, the Senate and the National Assembly.Elected members pass statutes, vote on the budget and monitor the actions of theexecutive branch.

There are 577 deputies in the NationalAssembly. Like the Senate, the NationalAssembly is empowered to submit andamend bills and to vote on the budget.However, while both chambers mustpass a bill for it to become a law, inthe event of a disagreement betweenthe two chambers, the Government candecide to give the National Assemblythe last word in the legislative process.Unlike the Senate, the NationalAssembly has the power to cause agovernment to fall if a majority of the

total Assembly membership votes tocensure it. In this case, the Presidentforms a new Governement. However,this prodedure remains exceptional andhas only happened once since thefounding of the Fifth Republic byPresident de Gaulle in 1958.Deputies in the National Assembly areelected to five-year terms by directuniversal suffrage in a two-roundsystem of elections. Every five years,the full National Assembly is up for re-election.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY


The Senate's legislative powers are similarto those of the National Assembly. TheSenate submits and amends bills as wellas votes on the budget. However, theNational Assembly can overrule the Senatein the legislative process in the case of adisagreement. Unlike the NationalAssembly, the Senate cannot be dissolved.Members of the Senate are electedindirectly by electoral colleges in their

districts and serve six-year terms. Everythree years, half of the Senate is up forre-election. There are 331 seats in theSenate, including twelve senatorsrepresenting French nationals livingabroad. The next Senate elections willbe held in September 2008. Fifteennew seats will gradually be added tothe Senate over the next two electionsin 2008 and 2011.

SENATE

In the new National Assembly, thePresident’s party, the UMP, holds themajority of seats with 313 deputies outof 577. Its main rival party, the Socialistparty and its allies, holds 208 seats.The other political parties at theNational Assembly are: the UMPcenter-right allies (32 deputies); theindependent pro-European center

MoDem (3); the Communist party (15);the Green party (4). Two deputies areindependent. The current National Assembly shouldbe in place until the end of PresidentSarkozy’s first term of office in 2012.As the UMP holds the majority, theFrench President should be ensured areasonable degree of political stability.

THE NEWLY ELECTED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (JUNE 2007)


My dear compatriots, as I speak to youthis evening, at this time which, as everyoneunderstands, is exceptional in a man's life,I feel enormous, sincere, deep emotion.From a very young age I have feltincredible pride at belonging to a great,an old, a beautiful nation, that of France.I love France as you love someone dear,someone that has given me everything.Now it is my turn to give back to Francewhat France has given me.

National prideThe French people have spoken andhave chosen to make a break with theideas, the customs and the behaviourof the past. I am thus going to restorethe status of work, authority, standards,respect, merit. I am going to give theplace of honour back to the nation andnational identity. I am going to give backto the French people pride in France.

Getting France movingThe French people have opted forchange. I shall be implementing thischange because this is the mandate Ihave received from the people andbecause France needs it - but I shalldo this with all of the French people. Ishall do it in a spirit of unity and in aspirit of fraternity. I shall do it in sucha way that no one is left with thefeeling of being excluded, of being leftto one side.

'Back in Europe'I want to issue an appeal to ourEuropean partners, to whom ourdestiny is profoundly linked, to tell themthat my whole life I have been aEuropean, that I believe deeply, that Ibelieve sincerely in Europeanconstruction, and that tonight Franceis back in Europe.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM NICOLAS SARKOZY’S VICTORY SPEECH May 6, 2007 (as reported by the BBC)

>


America and climate changeI want to issue an appeal to ourAmerican friends, to tell them that theycan count on our friendship, which hasbeen forged in the tragedies of historywhich we have faced together.I want to tell them that France will always beby their side when they need it, but I alsowant to tell them that friendship meansaccepting that your friends may thinkdifferently and that a great nation such asthe United States has a duty not to putobstacles in the way of the fight againstglobal warming, but on the contrary to takethe lead in this fight, because what is atstake is the fate of humanity as a whole.France will make this battle its primary battle.

The Mediterranean and AfricaWhat was done for the union of Europe60 years ago, we are going to do todayfor the union of the Mediterranean.I want to issue a call to all Africans, abrotherly call, to tell Africa that we wantto help it, to help Africa to vanquish

illness, to vanquish famine, to vanquishpoverty, to live in peace. I want to tellthem that we are going to work togetheron decisions concerning a policy ofcontrolled immigration and a policy ofambitious development.

Tolerance and tyrannyI want to issue a call to everyone in theworld who believes in the values oftolerance, freedom, democracy,humanism, to all those who arepersecuted by tyranny, by dictatorships.I want to tell all of the children throughoutthe world, all of the ill-treated womenthroughout the world - I want to tell themthat it will be France's pride and its dutyto be at their side.France will not abandon the women whodo not have freedom. France will be onthe side of the oppressed of the world.This is France's message, it is France'sidentity, it is France's history.

(www. news.bbc.co.uk)


On July 1, 2008, France will take the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The EU Council Presidency is held by each Member State ona rotating basis for a period of six months. During this time, the Presidency represents the European Union, speaking on behalfof all Member States at major international conferences.

FRANCE’S INTERNATIONAL AGENDA

FranceFrench Presidency

www.elysee.fr Prime Minister

www.premier-ministre.gouv.frMinister of Foreign Affairs

www.diplomatie.gouv.frNational Assembly

www.assemblee-nationale.frSenate

www.senat.frEmbassy of France in the United States

www.ambafrance-us.org

European UnionEuropean Commission

www.europa.euEuropean Parliament

www.europarl.europa.euEuropean Central Bank

www.ecb.int/bcEU Council Presidency

www.eu2007.org

INSTITUTIONAL/OFFICIAL FRENCH AND EU SITES*

• contact us at:[email protected]

• or visit our website at:www.frenchamerican.org.

For further information or to inquire about membership of the French-AmericanFoundation, you may:

FURTHER INFORMATION

*all sites listed below are available in English

Honorary Chairman Walter J.P. CurleyChairman Michael E. PattersonVice-Chairmen François Bujon de l’Estang

Mrs. Anastassios Fondaras President Nicholas W. F-R. Dungan

Pierre AlbouyElizabeth Frawley BagleyAnne Cox Chambers Allan M. ChapinPaul B. ClemenceauAlain CoblenceBertrand CollombMichel David-WeillShannon FairbanksCharles FergusonMichel GarcinAdam GopnikRobert L. Gordon, IIICharles B. Grace, Jr.John H.J. GuthCatharine Hamilton Arthur A. HartmanJohn G. HeimannStanley HoffmannJanet HowardYves-André Istel

Tony R. JudtJean KaroubiRichard L. KauffmanHoward H. LeachTroland S. LinkJames G. LowensteinJoanne LymanDavid T. McGovernClare Tweedy McMorrisWilliam B. MattesonDouglas M. PriceFelipe Propper de CallejonFelix G. RohatynAlfred J. RossErnest A. SeillièreLeonard L. SilversteinAnthony A. SmithMarie-Monique SteckelElizabeth StriblingJohn A. ThainG. Richard Thoman

FOUNDINGDIRECTORS

James ChaceJames G. LowensteinNicholas Wahl

PAST CHAIRMEN

C. Douglas DillonJohn N. Irwin, IIWalter J.P. CurleyJohn D. Negroponte

PAST PRESIDENTS

Arthur King PetersSarah V. PaisEdward H. TuckMichael IovenkoAnthony A. Smith

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Tel:

(212

) 829

-880

0in

fo@

fren

cham

eric

an.o

rgw

ww

.fren

cham

eric

an.o

rg

Fren

ch-A

mer

ican

Fou

ndat

ion

28 W

est 4

4thSt

reet

, Sui

te 1

420

New

Yor

k, N

Y 10

036

your guide to the french government · 8 your guide to the french government legislative branch...

Documents