FRANCE COMPARATIVE POLITICS TEST REVIEW
MR. BAYSDELL
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The current Prim Minister of France is Francois Fillon.
The current President of France is Nicolas Sarzoky.
The French President is elected by a direct popular vote.
French Parliamentarians may simultaneously hold various regional political offices.
France does not posses a permanent seat without veto power on the United Nations Security Council.
The Constitutional Council can declare laws in France unconstitutional.
A Traditional element of stability in the French Government has been the bureaucracy.
A major constitutional innovation of the French Fifth Republic was a strong local governmental structure.
Since 1989 the French government wants European integration to proceed faster than does the British
government.
The principle that basic economic conditions determine political structures underlies Marxism.
The French political party that has advanced its political agenda by capitalizing on the racial intolerance
accompanying the influx of immigrants is the National Front.
The European Union (EU) challenges the sovereignty of member states in Europe because an increasing number
of decisions are now being made by the EU instead of being made solely by national government.
The right to call referenda most enhances the powers of the French President.
In France the national legislature consists of a directly elected National Assembly and an indirectly elected
Senate.
Unlike their British counterparts, when French Representatives in Parliament are named to cabinet posts they
must give up their seats in Parliament.
One reason the French Communist Party (FCP) lost support during the 1980s and 1990s was that the Socialist
Party was able to attract many voters who in the past had supported the FCP.
In Parliamentary democracies, the major parties of the Right and of the Left tend to disagree on the appropriate
degree of government involvement in the economy and in solving social problems.
In contemporary politics in France and Great Britain the military plays a minor political role.
Since becoming the President of France, Jacques Chirac has attempted to decrease the size of the public sector.
On direct consequence of ethnic and economic tensions in France in the 1980s and 1990s has been an increase in
extreme right-wing parties such as the National Front.
Compared to the nature of political power under the French fourth republic the nature of such power under the
fifth republic has changed in that Senators, now elected for nine-year terms, have been politically strengthened.
In France class distinctions are sustained by an educational system that channels students into career paths on
the basis of national examinations.
The founder of the Fifth Republic was Charles de Gaulle, who wanted France to gain “grandeur.”
Know the first 6 Presidents of the French 5th Republic.
France is the most centralized western democracy, as evidenced by: government determinationof legitimate
French vocabulary, the use of Paris as a hub for transportation and commerce, the appointment of prefects to
oversee city governments, and the funding mechanisms for local government (they are largely supplemented by
central government funds)
Since 1789, France has had 11 different regimes.
The French 3rd and 4th Republics were not stable, largely due to proportional representation. Bureaucrats were
left to fill the void formed by fragile coalitions that couldn’t rule
The ENA is the Grande Ecole that trains French bureaucrats and the business elite.
The Gaullist party was created in the 1950s.
The author of the 5th Republic’s constitution, and its 1st prime minister, was Michel Debre.
The more powerful house of the French Parliament is the National Assembly.
The fact that French cabinet members cannot be members of the legislature results in the presence of more
policy experts in the French cabinet than in the British cabinet
33. The French Constitutional Council can limit the National Assembly’s power by advising legislators about the
constitutionality of the laws they are considering. They do not have the direct power of judicial review once a law
is passed.
34. The role of the government in post-World War II economic growth was seen in large scale economic subsidies to
the largest corporations.
35. One of the most important policies enacted in the first years of the Mitterrand presidency was autogestion or
decentralization, which allowed local governments to have taxation powers.
36. Mitterrand’s success in creating a competitive Socialist Party (PS) can be attributed in large part to his
endorsement of the civil liberty goals and reforms of the protestors of May 1968, and his alliance with the French
communist party (PCF).
37. French political culture since 1958:
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there is more ideological division than before
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there is more alienation now
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there is more support for creating a new republic in recent years
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anti-clericalism has increased since then
high level of confidence in the President
General belief that politicians were held accountable
Level of civic trust comparable to U.S.
38. The events of May 1968 were a massive protest movement by students, workers, and others. Rapid economic
growth after then shut up most of these protestors.
39. The Fifth Republic’s governmental institutions have been weakened since De Gaulle’s presidency by all the
following:
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strengthening of civil society
presidents since De Gaulle have not commanded the personal respect he did
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the power of global and supranational forces
the absence of crises requiring profound changes
40. The 1999 Parity Law amended the constitution in order to guarantee women more places in the legislature.
41. Structural liberalization (moves to rely more on markets) was less thorough in France than in the UK because all
governments managed to retain control of many privatized companies.
42. The PCF had led resistance during WW2, and therefore got more votes than typical western European Communist
parties. They have lost the most support since 1958.
43. The French electoral system is multi-party, but creates a virtual two-party system through party alliances.
44. The President’s direct, two-ballot election, guarantees a 50% majority, legitimacy, and a national constituency.
45. The practice of state interference in economic affairs is known as dirigisme.
46. The French government’s ability to control the economy has, in recent years, been limited by all the following:
 the growing number of high tech entrepreneurial companies
 ENA graduates opting not to work in government or large-scale
industries
 the purchase of French companies by foreign investors
 increased regulation by the EU
47. The French presidency has been less "imperial" in the past two decades because of:
 Cohabitation
 Personalities of recent presidents—not charismatic
 Development of catch-all parties
 Globalization
 EU constraints
48. Know the Prime Ministers who have cohabitated and their Presidents.
49. High unemployment in France have been the rule over the last 25 years.
50. The practice of French public officials holding multiple offices simultaneously means that political leadership is
limited to fewer people.
51. In French politics, the iron triangle is formed by the ENA, personal friendships between
politicians/bureaucrats/business leaders, and regular job offers to bureaucrats from large businesses.
52. The major foreign policy dilemma for French leaders is how to maintain French leadership in a more integrated
Europe.
53. Cohabitation posed a threat to the 5th Republic because it offered the prospect of a repeat of the paralysis of
former regimes. It strengthened the 5th Republic because it required compromise and pragmatism, as well as a
division of labor for the executive branch.
54. Politicians in France supported the EU because they sought European solutions to French problems.
55. Religion in France is a major issue because Muslim immigrants and their offspring make up 8% of France.
ESSAYS:
French cohabitation
French political culture
French foreign policy