Magazine / Current / France / Pictures | 07/08/2008

The Presidents of France

The State President is the most powerful person in France. He appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister, is Commander-in-Chief and can dissolve the National Assembly. Who has been the President? How has the position developed since 1945? Some headlines in its history.

From the provisional government to IV Republic

After France had been liberated by the American Troops on 6th June 1944, Général de Gaulle returned to France from being in exile in London. After the occupation of France by the German troops, he ran an exile government in London. It is thanks to the resistance movement and the de Gaulle's persistence that France was recognised as the fourth victorious power at the end of the war. Thus, de Gaulle was head of a provisional government which consisted of left-wing parties. When he was defeated in a debate about a new constitutional law, he retired from politics in January 1946: The General championed a strong executive and a powerful Presidency. The left-wing interim government insisted that the parliament should direct the fate of the nation.

After the resignation of de Gaulle, the French voted in a referendum on 13th October on the parliamentary constitutional system. On the 27th October the IV Republic was brought in being. Differently from today – where the people vote for the President directly – a committee of delegates selected the State President. Power lay with parliament and the government equally similar to a committee. In the former constitution, a system of proportional representation was laid down. A fragmentation of the parties resulted: Over 12 years, 21 different governments took office.

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Domestic Policy, » History, » Germany, » France, » United Kingdom, » Europe, » U.S.