France - Government
Based on the etymolgy of France, it was name derives from the Latin "Francia" meaning "Land of the Franks"; the Franks were a group of Germanic tribes located along the middle and lower Rhine River in the 3rd century A.D. who merged with Gallic-Roman populations in succeeding centuries and to whom they passed on their name. The Government system in this country is the semi-presidential republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 18 regions (regions, singular - region); Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte (Burgundy-Free County), Bretagne (Brittany), Centre-Val de Loire (Center-Loire Valley), Corse (Corsica), Grand Est (Grand East), Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Hauts-de-France (Upper France), Ile-de-France, Martinique, Mayotte, Normandie (Normandy), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (New Aquitaine), Occitanie (Occitania), Pays de la Loire (Lands of the Loire), Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Reunion
National symbols
Gallic rooster, fleur-de-lis, Marianne (female personification of the country); national colors: blue, white, red.
The flag
The National flag of France has three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the "Le drapeau tricolore" (French Tricolor), the origin of the flag dates to 1790 and the French Revolution when the "ancient French color" of white was combined with the blue and red colors of the Parisian militia; the official flag for all French dependent areas.
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note: for the first four years, 1790-94, the order of colors was reversed, red-white-blue, instead of the current blue-white-red; the design and/or colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Netherlands
The National Anthem
| Title | "La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille) |
|---|---|
| Lyric/music | Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle |
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note: adopted 1795, restored 1870; originally known as "Chant de Guerre pour l'Armee du Rhin" (War Song for the Army of the Rhine), the National Guard of Marseille made the song famous by singing it while marching into Paris in 1792 during the French Revolutionary Wars
More about the government of France
| Date of Independence | no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship); 10 August 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 14 July 1789 (French monarchy overthrown); 22 September 1792 (First French Republic founded); 4 October 1958 (Fifth French Republic established) |
|---|---|
| National holiday | Fête de la Fédération, 14 July (1790); note - often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, the celebration commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 July 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are la Fête nationale (National Holiday) and le Quatorze Juillet (14th of July) |
| Legal system | civil law; review of administrative but not legislative acts |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Constitution | |
| History | Many previous; latest effective 4 October 1958 |
| Amendments | Proposed by the president of the republic (upon recommendation of the prime minister and Parliament) or by Parliament; proposals submitted by Parliament members require passage by both houses followed by approval in a referendum; passage of proposals submitted by the government can bypass a referendum if submitted by the president to Parliament and passed by at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament’s National Assembly; amended many times, last in 2008 |
| Citizenship | |
| Citizenship by birth | no |
| Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of France |
| Dual citizenship recognized | yes |
| Residency requirement for naturalization | 5 years |
| Executive Branch | |
| Chief of state | President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017) |
| Head of government | François BAYROU (since 13 December 2024) |
| Cabinet | Council of Ministers appointed by the president at the suggestion of the prime minister |
| Elections/appointments | president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 April 2022 with a runoff held on 24 April 2022 (next to be held in April 2027); prime minister appointed by the president |
| Election results | 2022: Emmanuel MACRON reelected in second round; percent of vote in first round - Emmanuel MACRON (LREM) 27.8%, Marine LE PEN (RN) 23.2%, Jean-Luc MELENCHON (LFI) 22%, Eric ZEMMOUR (Reconquête) 7.1%, Valerie PECRESSE (LR) 4.8%, Yannick JADOT (EELV) 4.6%, other 10.6%; percent of vote in second round - MACRON 58.5%, LE PEN 41.5% 2017: Emmanuel MACRON elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Emmanuel MACRON (EM) 24%, Marine LE PEN (FN) 21.3%, Francois FILLON (LR) 20%, Jean-Luc MELENCHON (FI) 19.6%, Benoit HAMON (PS) 6.4%, other 8.7%; percent of vote in second round - MACRON 66.1%, LE PEN 33.9% |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature name | Parliament (Parlement) |
| Legislative structure | Bicameral |
| Judicial branch | |
| Highest court(s) | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (consists of the court president, 6 divisional presiding judges, 120 trial judges, and 70 deputy judges organized into 6 divisions - 3 civil, 1 commercial, 1 labor, and 1 criminal); Constitutional Council (consists of 9 members) |
| Judge selection and term of office | Court of Cassation judges appointed by the president of the republic from nominations from the High Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the Court of Cassation and 15 appointed members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 3 appointed by the president of the republic and 3 each by the National Assembly and Senate presidents; members serve 9-year, non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years |
| Subordinate courts | Appellate courts or Cour d'Appel; regional courts or Tribunal de Grande Instance; first instance courts or Tribunal d'instance; administrative courts |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | |
| Chief of mission | Ambassador Laurent BILI (since 19 April 2023) |
| Chancery | 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 |
| Telephone | [1] (202) 944-6000 |
| FAX | [1] (202) 944-6166 |
| Email address and website | [email protected] https://franceintheus.org/ |
| Consulate(s) general | Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | |
| Chief of mission | Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires David R. McCAWLEY (since January 2025); note - also accredited to Monaco |
| Embassy | 2 avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris |
| Mailing address | 9200 Paris Place, Washington DC 20521-9200 |
| Telephone | [33] (1) 43-12-22-22, [33] (1) 42-66-97-83 |
| FAX | [33] (1) 42-66-97-83 |
| Email address and website | [email protected] https://fr.usembassy.gov/ |
| Consulate(s) general | Marseille, Strasbourg |
| Consulate(s) | Bordeaux, Lyon, Rennes |
| National heritage | |
| Total World Heritage Sites | 53 (45 cultural, 7 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in New Caledonia and one site in French Polynesia |
| Selected World Heritage Site locales | Chartres Cathedral (c); Palace and Park of Versailles (c); Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley (c); Pyrénées - Mont Perdu (m); Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay (c); Paris, Banks of the Seine (c); The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes (c); Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) (c); Amiens Cathedral (c); Palace and Park of Fontainebleau (c); Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne (c); Gulf of Porto: Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve (n) |
Key Political parties and their leaders in France
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International organization participation
All Important Facts about France
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