Principles, institutions and law of political governance in France
This article is about the current constitution. For a more general article, see List of constitutions of France.
Constitution of France
Overview
Original title
(in French) Constitution française du 4 octobre 1958
Jurisdiction
France
Ratified
28 September 1958; 65 years ago (1958-09-28)
Date effective
4 October 1958; 65 years ago (1958-10-04)
System
Unitary semi-presidential republic
Government structure
Branches
Three (executive, legislative and judiciary)
Chambers
Two (Senate and National Assembly)
Executive
President-led Council of Ministers responsible to the National Assembly; Prime minister as head of government
Judiciary
High Court is established for presidential Impeachment purposes; an extra-judicial body, the Constitutional Council, reviews the constitutionality of laws; no other part of the court system is referenced.
Federalism
Unitary
Electoral college
No, but senate elections mandated to be indirect
Last amended
2024
Supersedes
French Constitution of 1946
Full text
Constitution of the Fifth French Republic at Wikisource
Wikisource
French Constitution of October 4th, 1958 (1960)
Politics of France
Constitutions
Fifth Republic
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Executive
President (list)
Emmanuel Macron (LREM)
Prime Minister (list)
Gabriel Attal (LREM)
Government
Attal
Legislature
National Assembly: Membership
President: Yaël Braun-Pivet
Senate
President: Gérard Larcher
Congress of the French Parliament
Judiciary
Constitutional Council
Council of State
Court of Cassation
Court of Audit
Cour de Justice de la République
Administrative divisions
Regions
Metropolitan regions
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Brittany
Centre-Val de Loire
Corsica
Grand Est
Hauts-de-France
Île-de-France
Normandy
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Occitania
Pays de la Loire
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Overseas regions
French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Mayotte
Réunion
Overseas country
French Polynesia
Departments
Elections
Referendums
Presidential
Legislative
Senate
Municipal
Political parties
Foreign relations
Africa
Americas
Asia
France and the United Nations
Foreign alliances
Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Politics of the European Union
Related topics
Centirism
Human rights
Political scandals
France portal
Other countries
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The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic(French: la Constitution de la Cinquième République),[1] and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a 1971 decision of the Constitutional Council.[2] The current Constitution regards the separation of church and state, democracy, social welfare, and indivisibility as core principles of the French state.[3][non-primary source needed]
Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth Republic, while the text was drafted by Michel Debré. Since then, the constitution has been amended twenty-five times, through 2024.[4]
^"Élysée Palace". Official website of the President of France. 20 November 2012.
^République française; Secrétariat général du gouvernement (19 October 2022). "Légifrance Le service public de la diffusion du droit" [The public service for dissemination of the law]. Légifrance. Direction de l'information légale et administrative. Const. Council dec. 71-44 DC of 16 July 1971. ISSN 2270-8987. OCLC 867599055.
^Cite error: The named reference Conseil-const was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Les révisions constitutionnelles". Conseil Constitutionnel. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
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Global Information
Constitution of the Fifth French Republic at Wikisource
