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The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958, and has been amended 17 times, most recently on March 28, 2003. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from October 27, 1946. Charles de Gaulle was its main instigator; the constitution was drafted by Michel Debré.

Summary

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 republic, deriving its sovereignty from the people.

It provides for the election of the President and the Parliament, the selection of the Government, and the powers of each and the relations between them. It ensures judicial authority and creates a High Court of Justice, a Constitutional Council, and an Economic and Social Council. It was designed to create a politically strong President.

It enables the ratification of international treaties and those associated with the European Union. It is unclear whether the wording (especially the reserves of reciprocity) is compatible with European Union law.

The Constitution also sets out methods for its own amendment either by referendum or through a Parliamentary process with Presidential consent. The normal procedure of constitutional amendment is as follows: the amendment must be adopted in identical terms by both houses of Parliament, then must be either adopted by a simple majority in a referendum, or by 3/5 of a joint session of both houses of Parliament (article 89). However, president Charles de Gaulle bypassed the legislative procedure in 1962 and directly sent a constitutional amendment to a referendum (article 11), which was adopted. This was highly controversial at the time; however, the Constitutional Council ruled that since a referendum expressed the will of the sovereign people, the amendment was adopted.

Impact with respect to personal freedoms

Prior to 1971, though executive, administrative and judicial decisions had to comply with the general principles of law (jurisprudence derived from law and the practice of law in general), there was no such restrictions on legislation. It was assumed that unelected judges and other appointees should not be able to overrule laws voted by the directly elected French parliament.

In 1971, a landmark decision by the Constitutional Council (71-44DC) cited the preamble of the Constitution and its references to the principles laid in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as a reason for rejecting a law that, according to the Council, violated one of these principles. Since then, it is assumed that the "constitutional block" includes not only the Constitution, but also the other texts referenced in its preamble: the Declaration, but also the preamble of the 1946 Constitution (which adds a number of "social rights", as well as the equality of males and females).

Since then, the possibility of sending laws before the Council has been extended. In practice, the political opposition sends all controversial laws before it.

Past constitutions

France has had numerous past constitutions.

• The ancien régime was an absolute monarchy and lacked a formal constitution; the régime essentially relied on custom.

• The Revolutionary Era saw a number of constitutions:
  • A liberal monarchical constitution was adopted October 6, 1789 and accepted by the king on July 14, 1790.
  • The Constitution of 1791 or Constitution of September 3, 1791 established a limited monarchy and the Legislative Assembly.
  • The Constitution of 1793 or Constitution of June 24, 1793 (Fr. Acte constitutionnel du 24 juin 1793), or Montagnard Constitution (Fr. Constitution montagnarde) was ratified, but never applied, due to the suspension of all ordinary legality October 10, 1793 (French First Republic)
  • The Constitution of 1795, Constitution of August 22, 1795, Constitution of the Year III, or Constitution of 5 Fructidor established the Directory.
  • The Constitution of the Year VIII, adopted December 24, 1799, established the Consulate.
  • The Constitution of the Year X established a revised Consulate, with Napoleon as First Consul for Life.
  • The Constitution of the Year XII established the First French Empire.
• Following the restoration of the Monarchy
  • The Charter adopted on June 4, 1814 reestablished the Monarchy
  • The additional act to the Constitutions of the Empire during the Hundred Days, April 23, 1815 (brief return of Napoleon to power)
  • The Charter adopted on August 14, 1830 ("July Monarchy")
• 19th century
  • The constitution of the Second French Republic, November 4, 1848
  • The constitution of the French Second Empire, January 14, 1852
  • The constitution of the French Third Republic, February 24 and 25, and July 16, 1875
• 20th century
  • (Vichy France, Pétain's WWII government that collaborated with Nazi Germany, had no formal constitution.)
  • The constitutional law of November 2, 1945 – post-WWII provisional government
  • The constitution of the French Fourth Republic, October 27, 1946
  • The constitution of the French Fifth Republic (current), October 4, 1958

See also

• Politics of France
• Government of France

External links

• French Text - Constitutional Council
  • Decision nr. 71-44 DC (in french), granting constitutional authority to the preambles of 1789 and 1946
• English Text - National Assembly
• French Constitutional Council

• French law
• 1958 in law
• Constitutions
• History of France