French Fifth Republic

{{Short description|Government of France since 1958}}

{{hatnote|This article describes the origins and historical development of the current French state. For information on its organization and structure, see Politics of France.}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox country

| native_name = {{native name|fr|Cinquième république française}}

| conventional_long_name = French Republic

| common_name = France

| p1 = French Fourth Republic

| flag_p1 = Flag of France.svg

| image_flag = Flag of France.svg

| flag_type = Flag

| image_coat = Armoiries république française.svg

| symbol_type = Emblem{{efn-ur|The current Constitution of France does not specify a national emblem.{{cite constitution|article=II|polity=France|date=1958 }} This emblem is used by the President, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs,{{Cite web |date=20 November 2012 |title=The lictor's fasces |url=https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/the-lictor-s-fasces |website=elysee.fr |language=en}} and is on the cover of French passports. For other symbols, see National symbols of France.}}

| other_symbol =

File:Great Seal of France.svg File:Great Seal of France (reverse).svg

| other_symbol_type = Great Seal:

| national_motto = "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité"

| englishmotto = "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

| national_anthem = "La Marseillaise"
{{center|File:La Marseillaise.ogg}}

| image_map = World-EU-France.svg

| map_caption = {{map caption |location_color=dark green |country=France |region=Europe |region_color=dark grey |subregion=the European Union |subregion_color=green}}

| capital = Paris

| coordinates = {{Coord|48|51.4|N|2|21.05|E|type:city}}

| largest_city = capital

| religion = Secular State
{{efn|Excluding Alsace-Moselle}}

In Alsace-Moselle

| government_type = Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic

| title_leader = President

| leader1 = René Coty

| leader2 = Emmanuel Macron

| year_leader1 = 1958–1959 (first)

| year_leader2 = 2017–present (current)

| title_deputy = Prime Minister

| deputy1 = Michel Debré

| deputy2 = François Bayrou

| year_deputy1 = 1949–1964 (first)

| year_deputy2 = {{nowrap|Dec 2024–present (current)}}

| legislature = Parliament

| upper_house = Senate

| lower_house = National Assembly

| established_event1 = {{nowrap|Current constitution}}

| established_date1 = {{nowrap|4 October 1958 {{small|({{Age|1958|10|4}} years)}}}}

| languages_type = Official language
{{nobold|and national language}}

| languages = French{{efn-ur|name=one|For information about regional languages see Languages of France.}}

| currency = {{unbulleted list |Euro (EUR) |CFP franc (XPF)}}

| cctld = .fr{{efn-ur|name=ten|In addition to .fr, several other Internet TLDs are used in French overseas départements and territories: .re, .mq, .gp, .tf, .nc, .pf, .wf, .pm, .gf and .yt. France also uses .eu, shared with other members of the European Union. The .cat domain is used in Catalan-speaking territories.}}

| calling_code = +33{{efn-ur|name=eleven|The overseas regions and collectivities form part of the French telephone numbering plan, but have their own country calling codes: Guadeloupe +590; Martinique +596; French Guiana +594, Réunion and Mayotte +262; Saint Pierre and Miquelon +508. The overseas territories are not part of the French telephone numbering plan; their country calling codes are: New Caledonia +687, French Polynesia +689; Wallis and Futuna +681.}}

| date_format = dd/mm/yyyy (AD)

| iso3166code = FR

| notes =

}}

{{History of France}}

The Fifth Republic ({{langx|fr|Cinquième République}}) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.{{cite French law|number or usual name=constitutionnelle|date in French=3 juin 1957

|full name=portant dérogation transitoire aux dispositions de l'article 90 de la Constitution|language=French|URL=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580604&numTexte=&pageDebut=05326&pageFin=}}.

The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the Fourth Republic, replacing the former parliamentary republic with a semi-presidential (or dual-executive) system{{Cite journal |last=Lessig |first=Lawrence |author-link=Lawrence Lessig |date=1993 |title=The Path of the Presidency |url=http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11679&context=journal_articles |journal=East European Constitutional Review |volume=Fall 1993 / Winter 1994 |issue=2/3 |page=104 |via=Chicago Unbound, University of Chicago Law School}} that split powers between a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government.{{Cite news |last=Richburg |first=Keith B. |author-link=Keith Richburg |date=25 September 2000 |title=French President's Term Cut to Five Years |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/09/25/french-presidents-term-cut-to-five-years/c988b212-2e37-4e49-818f-7a33862f32f5 |access-date=25 February 2017}} Charles de Gaulle, who was the first French president elected under the Fifth Republic in December 1958, believed in a strong head of state, which he described as embodying {{lang|fr|l'esprit de la nation}} ("the spirit of the nation").{{Cite book |last=Kubicek |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d9uoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 |title=European Politics |publisher=Routledge |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-317-34853-5 |pages=154–156, 163}} Under the fifth republic, the president has the right to dissolve the national assembly and hold new parliamentary elections. If the president has a majority in the national assembly, the president sets domestic policy and the prime minister puts it into practice. During a presidential mandate, the president can also change prime ministers and reshuffle the government. If there is a different majority in the national assembly, the president is forced to nominate a prime minister from a different party, which is called a cohabitation. In the beginning of the Fifth Republic, presidential elections were held every seventh year and parliamentary elections every fifth year. Starting in the year 2002, the presidential elections (in April) and parliamentary elections (in June) were synchronized to be held every fifth year, which ended in the 2024 French snap election.

The Fifth Republic is France's third-longest-lasting political regime, after the hereditary, feudal monarchy of the Ancien Régime and the parliamentary Third Republic (4 September 187010 July 1940).

Origins

= Instability of the Fourth Republic =

{{Main|French Fourth Republic}}

The Fourth Republic had suffered from a lack of political consensus, a weak executive, and governments forming and falling in quick succession since 1946. With no party or coalition able to sustain a parliamentary majority, prime ministers found themselves unable to risk their political position with unpopular reforms.Philip M. Williams, Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic (1958){{page needed|date=October 2020}}

= May 1958 crisis =

{{Main|May 1958 crisis in France}}

The trigger for the collapse of the French Fourth Republic was the Algiers crisis of 1958. France was still a colonial power, although conflict and revolt had begun the process of decolonization. French West Africa, French Indochina, and French Algeria still sent representatives to the French parliament under systems of limited suffrage in the French Union. Algeria in particular, despite being the colony with the largest French population, saw rising pressure for separation from Metropolitan France. The situation was complicated by those in Algeria, such as European settlers, native Jews, and Harkis (native Muslims who were loyal to France), who wanted to maintain the union with France. The Algerian War was not just a separatist movement but had elements of a civil war.

Further complications came when a section of the French Army rebelled and openly backed the {{Lang|fr|Algérie française}} movement to defeat separation.John E. Talbott, The War Without a Name: France in Algeria, 1954–1962 (1980).{{page needed|date=October 2020}} Charles de Gaulle, who had retired from politics a decade before, placed himself in the midst of the crisis, calling on the nation to suspend the government and create a new constitutional system. The parliament was unable to choose a government amid popular protest, and De Gaulle was carried to power when the last parliament of the Fourth Republic voted for its own dissolution and the convening of a constitutional convention.Jonathan Fenby, The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved (2010) pp 375–408.

= Transitional period =

De Gaulle and his supporters proposed a system of strong presidents elected for seven-year terms. The president, under the proposed constitution, would have executive powers to run the country in consultation with a prime minister whom he would appoint. On 1 June 1958, Charles de Gaulle was appointed head of the government;{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580602&numTexte=&pageDebut=05279&pageFin=|title=Fac-similé JO du 02/06/1958, page 05279 – Legifrance|website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}} on 3 June 1958, a constitutional law empowered the new government to draft a new constitution of France, and another law granted Charles de Gaulle and his cabinet the power to rule by decree for up to six months, except on matters of criminal law, electoral law, matters related to the basic rights and freedoms of citizens, and the activities of trade unions.{{cite French law|number or usual name=no 58–520|date in French=3 juin 1958|full name=relative aux pleins pouvoirs|language=French|URL=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19580604&numTexte=&pageDebut=05327&pageFin=}}. These plans were approved by more than 80% of those who voted in the referendum of 28 September 1958.[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&numTexte=&pageDebut=09177&pageFin= Proclamation] des résultats des votes émis par le peuple français à l'occasion de sa consultation par voie de référendum, le 28 septembre 1958 The new constitution was signed into law on 4 October 1958.{{cite web |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&pageDebut=09151 |title=Constitution |work=Journal Officiel de la République Française |date=5 October 1958 |via=Légifrance |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603011239/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jo_pdf.do?numJO=0&dateJO=19581005&pageDebut=09151 |archive-date= Jun 3, 2020 }} Since each new constitution established a new republic, France moved from the Fourth to the Fifth Republic.

= 1958 constitution =

{{Main|Constitution of France}}

The new constitution contained transitional clauses (articles 90–92) extending the period of rule by decree until the new institutions were operating. René Coty remained president of the Republic until the new president was proclaimed. On 21 December 1958, Charles de Gaulle was elected president of France by an electoral college.{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19590109&numTexte=&pageDebut=00673&pageFin=|title=Fac-similé JO du 09/01/1959, page 00673 – Legifrance|website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}} The provisional constitutional commission, acting in lieu of the constitutional council, proclaimed the results of the election on 9 January 1959. The new president began his office on that date, appointing Michel Debré as prime minister.

The 1958 constitution also replaced the French Union with the French Community, which allowed fourteen member territories (excluding Algeria) to assert their independence.{{cite journal | last1 = Cooper | first1 = Frederick | title = Possibility and Constraint: African Independence in Historical Perspective | doi = 10.1017/S0021853708003915 | journal = Journal of African History | volume = 49 | issue = 2| pages = 167–196|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2300612| date = July 2008 | s2cid = 145273499 | url-access = subscription }} 1960 became known as the "Year of Africa" because of this wave of newly independent states.Abayomi Azikiwe, "[http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2010/04/50th-anniversary-of-of-africa-1960.html 50th Anniversary of the 'Year of Africa' 1960]", Pan-African News Wire, 21 April 2010. Algeria became independent on 5 July 1962.

Evolution

= Election of the president =

The president was initially elected by an electoral college but in 1962 de Gaulle proposed that the president be directly elected by the citizens and held a referendum on the change. Although the method and intent of de Gaulle in that referendum were contested by most political groups except for the Gaullists, the change was approved by the French electorate.Constitutional Council, [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/resultats-referendum-octobre-1962/decision-resultats-referendum-octobre-1962-du-06-novembre-1962.6422.html Proclamation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221232406/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/resultats-referendum-octobre-1962/decision-resultats-referendum-octobre-1962-du-06-novembre-1962.6422.html |date=21 February 2012 }} of the results of the 28 October 1962 referendum on the bill related to the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage The Constitutional Council declined to rule on the constitutionality of the referendum.Constitutional Council, [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/62-20-dc/decision-n-62-20-dc-du-06-novembre-1962.6398.html Decision 62-20 DC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510064946/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/62-20-dc/decision-n-62-20-dc-du-06-novembre-1962.6398.html |date=10 May 2013 }} of 6 November 1962

The president is now elected every five years, changed from seven by a constitutional referendum in 2000, to reduce the probability of cohabitation due to former differences in the length of terms for the National Assembly and presidency. The president is elected in one or two rounds of voting: if one candidate gets a majority of votes in the first round that person is president-elect; if no one gets a majority in the first round, the two candidates with the greatest number of votes go to a second round.

= Separation of powers =

Two major changes occurred in the 1970s regarding constitutional checks and balances.{{Cite journal |last=Morton |first=F. L. |date=Winter 1988 |title=Judicial Review in France: A Comparative Analysis |journal=American Journal of Comparative Law |volume=36 |issue=1 |doi=10.2307/840185 |jstor=840185 |pages=89–110}} Traditionally, France operated according to parliamentary supremacy: no authority was empowered to rule on whether statutes passed by Parliament respected the constitutional rights of the citizens.{{Cite journal |last1=Letourneur |first1=M. |last2=Drago |first2=R. |date=Spring 1958 |title=The Rule of Law as Understood in France |journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law |volume=7 |issue=2 |doi=10.2307/837562 |jstor=837562 |pages=147–177}} In 1971, however, the Constitutional Council, arguing that the preamble of the constitution referenced the rights defined in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the preamble of the 1946 constitution, concluded that statutes must respect these rights and so declared partially unconstitutional a statute because it violated freedom of association.Constitutional Council, [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1971/71-44-dc/decision-n-71-44-dc-du-16-juillet-1971.7217.html Decision 71-44 DC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510051424/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1971/71-44-dc/decision-n-71-44-dc-du-16-juillet-1971.7217.html |date=10 May 2013 }} of 16 July 1971

Only the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, or the president of either house of Parliament could ask for a constitutional review {{Emphasis|before}} a statute was signed into law—which greatly reduces the likelihood of such a review if all these officeholders happened to be from the same side of politics, which was the case at the time. Then in 1974, a constitutional amendment widened this prerogative to 60 members of the National Assembly or 60 members of the senate.{{cite French law|number or usual name=constitutionnelle no 74-904|date in French=29 octobre 1974|full name=portant révision de l'article 61 de la Constitution|language=French|URL=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19741030&numTexte=&pageDebut=11035&pageFin=}}. From that date, the opposition has been able to have controversial new statutes examined for constitutionality.Alain Lancelot, [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/root/bank_mm/pdf/Conseil/reforme_1974.pdf La réforme de 1974, avancée libéral ou progrès de la démocratie ?]

Presidents of the Fifth Republic

{{Main|List of presidents of France#French Fifth Republic (1958–present)}}

{{legend2|pink|Socialist (PS)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|{{party color|Democratic Centre (France)}}|Centrist (CD)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|{{party color|La République En Marche!}}|Centrist (REM)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|lightblue|Republican (UDF)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#1E90FF|Gaullist (UDR; RPR)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#6495ED|Neo-Gaullist (UMP)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

class="wikitable"
style="background:#efefef;"

! No.

! President

! Lived

! from

! to

! colspan="2" | Party

1

| Charles de Gaulle

| 1890–1970

| 8 January 1959

| 28 April 1969 (resigned)

| style="width: 4px; background:#1E90FF"|

|Independent

align=center| –

| Alain Poher

| 1909–1996

| 28 April 1969

| 15 June 1969 (interim)

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Centre (France)}}"|

| CD

2

|Georges Pompidou

| 1911–1974

| 15 June 1969

| 2 April 1974 (died in office)

| style="background:#1E90FF" |

| UDR

align=center| –

| Alain Poher

| 1909–1996

| 2 April 1974

| 19 May 1974 (interim)

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Centre (France)}}" |

| CD

3

|Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

| 1926–2020

| 19 May 1974

| 21 May 1981

| bgcolor=lightblue |

| UDF

4

|François Mitterrand

| 1916–1996

| 21 May 1981

| 17 May 1995

| style="background:pink" |

| Socialist

5

|Jacques Chirac

| 1932–2019

| 17 May 1995

| 16 May 2007

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

| RPR then UMP

6

|Nicolas Sarkozy

| b. 1955

| 16 May 2007

| 15 May 2012

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

| UMP

7

|François Hollande

| b. 1954

| 15 May 2012

|14 May 2017

| style="background:pink" |

| Socialist

8

|Emmanuel Macron

|b. 1977

|14 May 2017

|Incumbent

| style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" |

|REM

Source: {{cite web |url=http://www.elysee.fr/la-presidence/les-presidents-de-la-republique-depuis-1848/ |title=Les présidents de la République depuis 1848 |trans-title=Presidents of the Republic Since 1848 |publisher=Présidence de la République française |language=fr}}

Prime Ministers of the Fifth Republic

{{main|List of Prime Ministers of France#Fifth French Republic (1958–present)}}

File:François Bayrou (Législatives 2024).jpg of the Democratic Movement]]

{{legend2|pink|Socialist (PS)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|{{party color|La République En Marche!}}|Centrist (RE)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|lightblue|Republican (UDF)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#1E90FF|Gaullist (UNR; UDR; RPR)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#6495ED|Neo-Gaullist (UMP; LR)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

class="wikitable"
Name

! Term start

! Term end

! colspan="2" | Political party

! colspan="2" | President

Michel Debré

| 8 January 1959

| 14 April 1962

| UNR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

| rowspan="3" bgcolor=#1E90FF |

| align="center" rowspan="3" | Charles de Gaulle
(1959–1969)

Georges Pompidou

| 14 April 1962

| 10 July 1968

| UNR then UDR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

Maurice Couve de Murville

| 10 July 1968

| 20 June 1969

| UDR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

Jacques Chaban-Delmas

| 20 June 1969

| 6 July 1972

| UDR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

| rowspan="2" bgcolor=#1E90FF |

| align="center" rowspan="2" | Georges Pompidou
(1969–1974)

Pierre Messmer

| 6 July 1972

| 27 May 1974

| UDR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

Jacques Chirac (1st term)

| 27 May 1974

| 26 August 1976

| UDR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

| rowspan="2" bgcolor=lightblue |

| align="center" rowspan="2" | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
(1974–1981)

Raymond Barre

| 26 August 1976

| 21 May 1981

| Independent

| bgcolor=lightblue |

Pierre Mauroy

| 21 May 1981

| 17 July 1984

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

| rowspan="7" bgcolor=pink |

| align="center" rowspan="7" |François Mitterrand
(1981–1995)

Laurent Fabius

| 17 July 1984

| 20 March 1986

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

Jacques Chirac (2nd term)

| 20 March 1986

| 10 May 1988

| RPR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

Michel Rocard

| 10 May 1988

| 15 May 1991

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

Édith Cresson

| 15 May 1991

| 2 April 1992

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

Pierre Bérégovoy

| 2 April 1992

| 29 March 1993

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

Édouard Balladur

| 29 March 1993

| 18 May 1995

| RPR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

Alain Juppé

| 18 May 1995

| 3 June 1997

| RPR

| bgcolor=#1E90FF |

| rowspan="4" bgcolor=#6495ED|

| align="center" rowspan="4" | Jacques Chirac
(1995–2007)

Lionel Jospin

| 3 June 1997

| 6 May 2002

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

Jean-Pierre Raffarin

| 6 May 2002

| 31 May 2005

| UMP

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

Dominique de Villepin

| 31 May 2005

| 17 May 2007

| UMP

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

François Fillon

| 17 May 2007

| 15 May 2012

| UMP

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

| align="center" rowspan="1"|Nicolas Sarkozy
(2007–2012)

Jean-Marc Ayrault

| 15 May 2012

| 31 March 2014

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

| rowspan="3" bgcolor=pink|

| align="center" rowspan="3"|François Hollande
(2012–2017)

Manuel Valls

| 31 March 2014

| 6 December 2016

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

Bernard Cazeneuve

| 6 December 2016

| 10 May 2017

| Socialist

| bgcolor=pink |

Édouard Philippe

| 15 May 2017

| 3 July 2020

| LR then
Independent

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

| rowspan="6" bgcolor="#FFE25A" |

| rowspan="6" align="center" | Emmanuel Macron
(since 2017)

Jean Castex

| 3 July 2020

| 16 May 2022

| RE

| style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" |

Élisabeth Borne

| 16 May 2022

| 9 January 2024

| RE

| style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" |

Gabriel Attal

| 9 January 2024

| 5 September 2024

|RE

| style="background:{{party color|La République En Marche!}}" |

Michel Barnier

| 5 September 2024

| 13 December 2024

|LR

| bgcolor=#6495ED |

François Bayrou

| 13 December 2024

| Incumbent

|MoDem

| bgcolor=#EF5327 |

Source: {{cite web |url=https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/former-prime-ministers-of-the-fifth-republic |title=Former Prime Ministers of the Fifth Republic |publisher=Government of France}}

Institutions of the Fifth Republic

{{unreferenced section|date=September 2022}}

File:Institutions of the Fifth Republic.svg

Timeline diagram

See also

Notes

{{reflist|group=upper-roman}}

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

{{More|Charles de Gaulle#Further reading}}

  • Atkin, Nicholas. The Fifth French Republic (European History in Perspective) (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/French-Republic-European-History-Perspective/dp/0333650573/ excerpt and text search]
  • Bell, David S. and John Gaffney, eds. The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013)
  • Bell,David, et al. A Biographical Dictionary of French Political Leaders since 1870 (1990)
  • Bell, David S., and Byron Criddle. Exceptional Socialists: The Case of the French Socialist Party (2014)
  • Berstein, Serge, and Jean-Pierre Rioux. The Pompidou Years, 1969–1974 (The Cambridge History of Modern France) (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/Pompidou-1969-1974-Cambridge-History-Modern/dp/0521580617/ excerpt]
  • Brouard, Sylvain et al. The French Fifth Republic at Fifty: Beyond Stereotypes (French Politics, Society and Culture) (2009)
  • Chabal, Emile, ed. France since the 1970s: History, Politics and Memory in an Age of Uncertainty (2015) [https://www.amazon.com/France-since-1970s-Politics-Uncertainty/dp/1472509773/ Excerpt]
  • Cole, Alistair. François Mitterrand: A study in political leadership (1994)
  • Corbett, Anne, and Bob Moon, eds. Education in France: continuity and change in the Mitterrand years 1981–1995 (Routledge, 2002)
  • Fenby, Jonathan The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved (2010) pp. 375–635.
  • Fenby, Jonathan France: A Modern History from the Revolution to the War with Terror (2016) pp. 359–484
  • Gaffney, John. France in the Hollande presidency: The unhappy republic (Springer, 2015).
  • Gaffney, John. Political Leadership in France. From Charles de Gaulle to Nicolas Sarkozy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)
  • {{cite journal | last1 = Gaffney | first1 = John | year = 2012 | title = Leadership and Style in the French Fifth Republic: Nicolas Sarkozy's Presidency in Historical and Cultural Perspective |url=http://publications.aston.ac.uk/19947/1/Leadership_and_style_in_the_French_Fifth_Republic.pdf| journal = French Politics | volume = 10 | issue = 4| pages = 345–363 | doi=10.1057/fp.2012.18| s2cid = 143199648 }}
  • Jackson, Julian. De Gaulle (2018) 887pp; the most recent major biography
  • Kuhn, Raymond. "Mister unpopular: François Hollande and the exercise of presidential leadership, 2012–14." Modern & Contemporary France 22.4 (2014): 435–457. [https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/7840/Khun%20Mister%20unpopular%20Fran%C3%A7ois%202014%20Accepted.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y online]
  • Kulski, W. W. De Gaulle and the World: The Foreign Policy of the Fifth French Republic (1966) [https://archive.org/details/degaulleworld00kuls online free to borrow]
  • Lewis-Beck, Michael S., et al. eds. French Presidential Elections (Palgrave Macmillan; 2012)
  • Nester, William R. De Gaulle's Legacy: The Art of Power in France's Fifth Republic (2014)
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; In French

  • {{cite book |last1=Chevallier |first1=Jean-Jacques |author-link=Jean-Jacques Chevallier |author2=Guy Carcassonne |author3=Olivier Duhamel |title=Histoire de la Ve République: 1958–2017 |edition=16th |year=2017 |publisher=Dalloz |location=Paris |language = fr |isbn = 978-2247169221 }}
  • {{cite book |last=Mayaffre |first=Damon |author-link=Damon Mayaffre|date=2012 |title= Le Discours présidentiel sous la Ve République. Chirac, Mitterrand, Giscard, Pompidou, de Gaulle |trans-title= |url= |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=Presses de Sciences Po |isbn=978-2724612448}}