France elections: What is cohabitation?

Here is all you need to know.

France is a semi-presidential, representative parliamentary democracy, with clearly defined roles for the President and the Prime Minister.

The current political regime, called the Fifth Republic, first came into effect in 1958, replacing the former parliamentary republic system with what political scientist Jean V Poulard calls a “double-headed executive” (“The French Double Executive and the Experience of Cohabitation”, 1990).

The Fourth Republic, in place from 1946 to 1958, was a parliamentary system with power effectively concentrated in the lower house of the Parliament. In the absence of an absolute majority, a series of coalition cabinets replaced one another around every six months — in 12 years, France saw 16 Prime Ministers come and go, and a total of 24 cabinets.

The new constitution of 1958, which introduced the Fifth Republic, restored executive power. Since 1962, the French President has been directly elected by popular vote, while the Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party/coalition in the National Assembly.

The President, elected for a term of five years, serves as the head of the state and Commander of the Armed Forces. She enjoys regulatory power, exercising control of all decisions on matters of foreign policy and defence. Until 2000, the President enjoyed seven-year terms, which was then reduced to five-year terms.

In contrast, the parliament, headed by the Prime Minister, is responsible for all domestic policy decisions. Article 21 of the French constitution allows the PM the power to “direct the actions of the government.” The cabinet is appointed by the President under the PM’s recommendation.

The Prime Minister himself cannot be dismissed by the President, but his resignation can be requested. The President can be impeached by the Parliament for willfully violating the Constitution or the national laws. This requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of the French Parliament, as well as in a joint session of both Houses.

This system can lead to situations where the French legislature is dominated by a coalition/party opposing the President. In such instances, the President is obliged to appoint a leader from the opposing party as Prime Minister, who enjoys the support of a parliamentary majority.

Cohabitation is very rare in France, and has historically been marred with controversy. There have only been three such instances in the French Fifth Republic: President François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac heading the right-wing RPR/UDF coalition (1986-88); President Mitterrand and Prime Minister Edouard Balladur of the RPR/UDF coalition (1993-95); and President Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin of the Socialist Party (1997-2002).

Each of these periods was marked by administrative logjam and friction between the executive and the state. President Mitterrand in 1986 had refused to sign ordinances on denationalisation that Chirac’s government had proposed. The move would have ensured the privatisation of over 60 industrial groups, reversing the work done by the previous Socialist government. While this legislation would eventually take the form of a bill and be passed in Parliament, it allowed Mitterand to reiterate his status as a Leftist leader.

A similar outcome appears to be likely following the upcoming polls. All opinion polls project a slim chance of victory for President Emmanuel Macron’s liberal-centrist Renaissance Party-led Ensemble coalition, which trails both the far-right National Rally of Marine le Pen, and the left-wing New Popular Front headed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

The French parliament is a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the National Assembly. The upcoming polls will elect legislators for 577 seats in the National Assembly, including 13 overseas districts and 11 constituencies that represent French expats abroad.

A party needs 289 seats to secure an absolute majority.

The elections will be held in two rounds. The first, scheduled for June 30, serves as an eliminator for those candidates who fail to win 12.5% of locally registered votes. Additionally, any candidate with 50% of the vote and at least 25% local electoral turnout wins automatically in a few constituencies.

The second round, scheduled for July 7, will feature close contests between two to four candidates, with alliances usually coming to light at this point.