United States and French Governments Compared

While comparing United States government to French government there are many similarities and differences discovered. The topics covered and explained will be comparing French and United States institutions and political behaviors. The government of France is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The constitution provides for the separation of powers. This is very similar to the United States. The national government of France is divided into three different branches executive, a legislative and a judicial branch very similar to the United State’s structure. There is a difference between how power is divided in France compared to the United States. The president has some direct executive power, but most of the executive power resides in his appointee, the prime minister.
Executive Branch

France’s government system is made up of an executive branch headed by two officials, the president and the prime minister. The division of power is vastly different then the United States government, considering the United States has one official in power, the president. Originally under the French Constitution the President would be elected into a seven year term, it has now been reduced to a five year term. In the United States the President is only elected into a four year term. The president has the power to name the prime minister, command armed forces and conclude treaties. All of the president’s powers are subject to countersigning by the prime minister. In special emergencies the president may acquire comprehensive powers. Dealing with regular issues the president can’t pass either legislation or regulations, only if the Parliament is from his political side he can strongly suggest the adoption of certain legislation. The president is directly elected by the citizens.
The French voting system differs greatly from the American voting system. France’s voting system is a run off voting system, meaning the presidential candidate is required to obtain nationwide majority of non-blank votes at either the first or second round of balloting. The president appoints the ministers, ministers delegate and secretaries. When the president’s political party or supporters are in control of parliament, the president is dominant in executive action. He gets to choose who he wants for the government, and have parliament follow his political agenda.
The executive branch has issued regulations and legislation. The French executive has limited power to establish regulation or legislation. Only the president and prime minister can decrees which are similar to American executive orders. Decrees can only be taken following certain rules and following the constitution and statute law. The president signs decrees appointing and dismissing most senior and military servants, for positions listed in the Constitution or statues. All decrees must be countersigned by the prime minister and the ministers concerned. The prime minister signs decrees establishing regulations with the involved ministers countersign. The individual ministers take administrative decisions in their own fields. Each ministry has a central administration, usually divided into directorates. The directorates are subdivided into divisions or sub-divisions. Each one is headed by a director, the President in Council. The Central Administration stays the same regardless of the political change of the executive in power. Each minister has a private office, which is made up of a cabinet. Each cabinet is led by a chief, the director de cabinet.

Legislative Branch

The Parliament of France’s legislative branch is made up of two houses, the National Assembly and the Senate similar to the United States. Parliament meets for one nine month session each year. Under special circumstances the president can call an additional session. Similar to the United States the French cabinet has a large influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The National Assembly is the principal legislative body. It consists of five hundred seventy seven deputies elected for five year terms in local majority votes, all seats are voted on in each new election.The United States the National Assembly has the power to force the resignation of the executive cabinet by voting a motion of censure. Motions of censure are periodically proposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, party discipline ensures that throughout a parliamentary term, the government is never over thrown by the Assembly. Senators are chosen by an electoral college, for a six year term and one half of the Senate is renewed every three years. This is very different from the United States where voters choose the members of Senate. Also in the United States one third of Senate is voted on every two years. The Senate’s legislative powers are limited on most of the matters of legislation. The National Assembly has the most power in the event of disagreement between the houses. Since the beginning of the Fifth Republic the Senate has had a right wing majority.

Judicial Order

France’s judicial branch differs greatly from the United States. The judicial order of courts judges civil and penal cases. It consists of courts, courts of appeal and the Cour de cassation. Judges are civil servants, but have special statutory protection from the executive. These judges may not be moved or promoted without their consent. They are overseen by the High Council of the Magistracy. Trial by jury is used in the judgement of most severe crimes, by the Courts of Assizes. The full court consists of three judges and nine jurors. They determine guilt and if guilty then the sentence deserved. France uses a civil law system, law comes primarily from written statutes, judges are not to make law, but to interpret it. This vastly differs from the United States in which the United States uses the common law system. The United States also has the Supreme Court making law through judicial review which differs from France.

Political behavior

France is a representative democratic republic like the United States. France differs slightly from the United States in political organization. The difference is that the political power in France is split between the president and a prime minister, who leads the political party that holds majority in Parliament. Also France differs from the United States because France has more than two dominant political parties.

Political parties are organized on a long term basis and established throughout France. Political parties aim to exercise power or to take part in it. Pluralism and competition of various political groups are among the foundations of democracy and freedom of opinion. The organization of a party is set in an enactment. Parties need structures so that they can be introduced into the electorate. They want to be at a national level in a national office or council, led by a chairmen or national secretary. Or in a local level, branches or cells organized into departmental federations.
The role of political parties is to take part in conducting political life. They serve as intermediaries between the people and those who are in power. Political parties play a large leadership role and shaping and selecting political leaders. The multi-party system is at the center of French political culture. The left and right define each party’s role in government. Today parties have stabilized and seem to be creating longer lasting coalitions. Even though the left right division is still important, at least three of the major political parties have moderated their views and polices toward the center of the ideological spectrum.
In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. There are many interest groups in France but they tend to be weak. Unlike the United States interest groups who ally to become a strong force. French groups are split by ideology, religion, and profession. Interest groups exist for most professional groups, students, small businesses, farmers and many commercial groups.
France elects on its national level a head of state the president and a legislature. The president is elected for a five year term directly by the citizens. France doesn’t have a full two party system, which is a system where many parties exist but only two parties have a chance of getting elected to major positions. French politics consists of on the left the French Socialist Party and on the right the UMP. Unlike in the United States elections are always held on Sundays in France rather then on Tuesdays. The campaigns end at midnight the Friday before the election. By law in France no polls can be published, no candidate can speak on television, on Saturday or the Sunday of the election. This is a big difference between France and the United States because in the United States candidates are allowed to campaign and speak in public at any time and polls are published in practically every newspaper and magazine for publicity.
Voting stations are open from eight in the morning to six in the evening. The voters have to be over the age of eighteen and registered on the electoral rolls. Some French cities use voting machines but mostly just the standard transparent ballot box. Citizens may register in their place of residence or where they have been on the roll taxpayers for local taxes for at least five years.
French political culture is greatly influenced by economic, social, and geographical characteristics of France. Important characteristics of France have shaped the political culture. A very strong characteristic of the French political culture is the agreement to disagree. The division in political opinions into left and right goes back to the French Revolution, and remains an important force today.

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