President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (French: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the position is the highest office in France. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, in addition to their relation with the prime minister and government of France, have over time differed with the various constitutional documents since the Second Republic.
For a list, see List of presidents of France.President of the French Republic
Mr President (informal)
His Excellency (diplomatic)
Paris, France
Five years, renewable once consecutively
- 1848 (Second Republic)
- 4 October 1958 (Fifth Republic)
€182,000 per annum[1]
The president of the French Republic is the ex officio co-prince of Andorra, grand master of the Legion of Honour and of the National Order of Merit. The officeholder is also honorary proto-canon of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, although some have rejected the title in the past.
The current president is Emmanuel Macron, who succeeded François Hollande on 14 May 2017, and was inaugurated for a second term on 7 May 2022.
History[edit]
The presidency of France was first publicly proposed during the July Revolution of 1830, when it was offered to the Marquis de Lafayette. He demurred in favour of Prince Louis Phillipe, who became King of the French.[2][3]
Eighteen years later, during the opening phases of the Second Republic, the title was created for a popularly elected head of state, the first of whom was Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, nephew of Emperor Napoleon. Bonaparte served as president until he staged an auto coup against the republic, proclaiming himself Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.[4]
Under the Third Republic the president was at first quite powerful, mainly because the royalist party was strong when the constitutional laws of 1875 were established, and it was hoped that a member of one of the two branches of the royal family would be able to serve as president and turn France into a constitutional monarchy. However, the next legislature was dominated by Republicans, and after President Patrice de MacMahon had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a new royalist majority by dissolving the Chambre des Députés, his successor Jules Grévy promised in 1879 that he would not use his presidential power of dissolution, and therefore lost his control over the legislature, effectively creating a parliamentary system that would be maintained for 80 years until the accession of Charles de Gaulle as president in 1959.[5]
Indeed, when the Fourth Republic was created, after the Second World War, it was a parliamentary system, in which the office of President of the Republic was a largely ceremonial one.
The Constitution of the Fifth Republic, adopted in 1958, greatly increased the president's powers. A 1962 referendum changed the constitution, so that the president would be directly elected by universal suffrage and not by the electoral college established in 1958.[6][7] In 2000, a referendum shortened the presidential term from seven years (Septennat) to five years (Quinquennat). A maximum of two consecutive terms was imposed after a 2008 constitutional reform.[8]
Criminal responsibility and impeachment[edit]
Articles 67 and 68 organize the regime of criminal responsibility of the president. They were reformed by a 2007 constitutional act[15] in order to clarify a situation that previously resulted in legal controversies.[16] The president of the Republic enjoys immunity during their term: they cannot be requested to testify before any jurisdiction, they cannot be prosecuted, etc. However, the statute of limitation is suspended during their term, and enquiries and prosecutions can be restarted, at the latest one month after they leave office. The president is not deemed personally responsible for their actions in their official capacity, except where their actions are indicted before the International Criminal Court (France is a member of the ICC and the president is a French citizen as another following the Court's rules) or where impeachment is moved against them. Impeachment can be pronounced by the Republican High Court, a special court convened from both houses of Parliament on the proposal of either House, should the president have failed to discharge their duties in a way that evidently precludes the continuation of their term.
Four French presidents have died in office:
The president of the Republic is paid a salary according to a pay grade defined in comparison to the pay grades of the most senior members of the French Civil Service ("out of scale", hors échelle, those whose pay grades are known as letters and not as numeric indices). In addition they are paid a residence stipend of 3%, and a function stipend of 25% on top of the salary and residence indemnity. This gross salary and these indemnities are the same as those of the prime minister, and are 50% higher than the highest paid to other members of the government,[20] which is itself defined as twice the average of the highest (pay grade G) and the lowest (pay grade A1) salaries in the "out of scale" pay grades.[21] Using the 2008 "out of scale" pay grades,[22] it amounts to a monthly pay of 20,963 euros, which fits the 19,000 euros quoted to the press in early 2008.[23] Using the pay grades starting from 1 July 2009,[24] this amounts to a gross monthly pay of €21,131. The salary and the residence stipend are taxable for income tax.[25] The official residence and office of the president is the Élysée Palace in Paris. Other presidential residences include:
Pension and benefits[edit]
According to French law, former presidents of the Republic have guaranteed lifetime pension defined according to the pay grade of the Councillors of State,[26] a courtesy diplomatic passport,[27] and, according to the French Constitution (Article 56), membership of the Constitutional Council. They also get personnel, an apartment and/or office, and other amenities, though the legal basis for these is disputed. The current system for providing personnel and other amenities to the former French presidents was devised in 1981 by Michel Charasse, then advisor to President François Mitterrand, in order to care for former president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and the widow of former President Georges Pompidou.[28] In 2008, according to an answer by the services of the prime minister to a question from René Dosière, a member of the National Assembly,[29] the facilities comprised: a security detail, a car with a chauffeur, first class train tickets and an office or housing space, as well as a two people who service the space. In addition, funds are available for seven permanent assistants. President Hollande announced a reform of the system in 2016. Former presidents of France will no longer receive a car with chauffeur and the personnel in their living space was cut as well. Additionally, the number of assistants available for their use has been reduced, but a state flat or house remains available for former officeholders. Train tickets are also available if the trip is justified by the office of the former officeholder as part of official business. The security personnel around former presidents of France remained unchanged.[30]
