France

By:
Ahmed Tarek (ID: 20160227)
Muhamed Alaa (ID: 20162414)
Hassan Magdy (ID: 20153772)
Abdulmagied Elghaish (ID: 20153028)

Future university

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We will choose France to be the country of this research.
France Republic is a country located in Western Europe and it’s a part of
European Union. Paris, its capital, France’s political and economic history is
worthy to talk about and discuss starting from the French revolution until its
modern history and how they developed.
France’s political system considered one of the Ancient systems in the world
and for sure on its richest due to the number of experience they came
through along the history.

The political and socio-economic system of the country

- Recent political system is Republican, representative and democratic

(mix between the Parliamentary and presidential)
- Administrative divisions 22 provinces divided into 96 departments,
and there are 101 prefectures
- Constitution (written) September 28 / 1958 regulated in 1962 and in
lastly in 2000
- Constitutional rules a system based on civil law and local concepts
administrative laws can be reviewed unlike the legislative laws
- The legal system 1. Multi-party 2. The liberal truth of the system

Regime: the French political system is (republican) and (democratic)

Republican because the law that governs the relations between the
state and citizens and the various spheres of life and democratic
because it is written, renewed and prepared by two elected political
bodies that represent the two main powers: the parliament which
exercises legislative power and the president who exercises executive
power along with the government.

Executive Authority: Is represented in both the President (5 years

period by direct elections) of the Republic and the Prime Minister the
authority of the president above the authority of the prime minister,

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 The President of the Republic exercises political power unlike the
Prime Minister, who exercises administrative power.
Some powers of the President according to the constitution
1- Dissolution of the National Assembly
2- In serious events that forms a danger to the country, according to
the Article 16 of the Constitution, the president may exercise
exceptional powers and seize the executive and legislative
branches.
3- The right to call the parliament to convene and adjourn it.
4- The right of objection to the laws issued by Parliament.
5- The right to bypass Parliament and address the people directly in
matters of legislation.
6- The decision maker of foreign policy is directly responsible for it.

The legislature (parliament): consists of two chambers boards

National Assembly: It consists of 577 deputies who are elected by direct
elections by a single majority vote in two rounds for five years.
1- permeant committees consist of 6 committees.
2- Specialized committees.
3- Conference of Presidents. Chaired by the President of the General
Assembly. It consists of the heads of the Political blocs. And members
of the Bureau. And government representatives. It sets out the
program of work and regulates deliberations
The Senate: It includes 322 members elected by indirect universal
suffrage for 9 years through the members of the (Shura) Council and the
municipalities, and renews one-third every 3 years.

Judiciary: Constitutional Council: It supervises elections and considers

the constitutionality of any draft law or treaty before it is officially
declared. (Three of them appointed by the President of the Republic)
The Supreme Council of Justice: Its members are elected through the
Parliament, consisting of an equal number elected from among the

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 members of the Senate and the National Assembly, and entitled to try the
President and the Ministers.
The Supreme Judicial Council: It consists of the President of the
Republic (presiding over the Council), the Minister of Justice (an agent)
and nine members (appointed by the President).

political parties: Every political direction is not represented by one party

but by a group of parties. The moderate tendencies are always converging
and governing together. There is also a system of multi-party.
most important of these parties:
• The French Socialist Party: It was founded in 1905
• Communist Party: Founded in December 1920 when the Socialists split
• Union for French Democracy
• National Front

Nature of the local system and Structure of the local system

In 1982 there were far-reaching reforms that gave a wide range of

administrative and fiscal powers out to local elected officials, currently in
France there are many different Administrative units each with at least a
basic form of local government that consist of approximately 36,500
communes, each commune has its own mayor and municipal council and
almost all (bar Paris and Corsica) have the same basic structure and legal
powers.

96 departments, headed by a general council (elected every six years) and a

president.

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There are 26 regions, with populations ranging from approximately
11,500,000 to 700,000
They lack legislative authority and cannot write their own taxes, although
central government takes most of what is taxes although central government
takes most of what is taxed.
There are regional elections, such as the ones on the 14thand the 21 st of
March 2010, where all 26 presidential seats were up for grabs. It resulted in
Signiant gains for the French socialist party who now control 21 of the 22
regions.

Local Institutions (elected vs. appointed)

– Functions of the local institutions
– Planning system at the local level
– Public finance at the local level
– Reforming the local system (Decentralization)
In France, the Local Units Act of 1982, which distributes power between the
central administration and local units, has three main levels of local
administration in France, regions, departments and commune.
Before 1982, each governorate had a certain governor from the central
government. It was headed by the provincial council. Then the president of
the elected provincial council was replaced. He was called the
"commissioner of the republic." At the local level in the governorate and
assisted by the designated employees of the governorate whose salaries and
expenses are paid by the Ministry of the Interior. The Governor is appointed
by decree issued by the President of the Republic on the proposal of the
Prime Minister
The central character of the Governor is that he is representative of the
central government and acts as a link between the ministers and the organs
in the governorate and he have the right of entitled to direct the activities of

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all branches of the ministries within the governorate. It shall implement the
general policies of the state and the laws and regulations issued by the
central government within the governorate. It shall have authority over the
public security and shall represent the state upon the conclusion of contracts
and litigation in its name and administrative control. It shall be responsible
for handing over identity cards and driving licenses, Work for foreigners,
registration of vehicles, registration of associations (establishment,
modification of situation, solution), police department and firefighters
department, The French law requires the governor's approval of the budget
of the municipal councils within the governorate to ensure that they are
included within the appropriations sufficient to carry out the services
provided by the law to the Council's practice and to ensure that they do not
include activities outside the jurisdiction of the municipal council. To
request the introduction of certain amendments and then return them again
for ratification and is entitled to introduce the amendment to the budget itself
without deciding what kind of taxes or fees or raise the proportions.

Local levels after 1982 changes

The regions were previously located and were not within the local levels and
became a local authority with a active character in 1982, where the regions
are the largest local units in France in terms of area, the average area of the
territory 25809 km 2, and have their own budgets administered by the
regional council and there are 27 in France, 22 of them within France and
five territories on the high seas. These regions were formed in 1955 for the
regional planning of various cities and towns and became a local authority
with a moral character in 1982. France is divided into the following regions:

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Departments
The provinces were located in the local division in both the old and the new
system. There are 100 governorates in France, 96 of which are in France and
four are in the high seas.
And they play an important role in state administration and geographic
organization, the province includes administrative centers called
Arrondissements, where in France there are 342 administrative centers for
the provinces and administered by the assistants to the governors. They are
not a moral figure and their administration is not elected but the French
president appoints them. These centers were called in the administrative
reform movement in France in 1775 to help governors in the administration
of the provinces. The governorate is elected directly by the citizens. The
members of the provincial council are elected for a term of six years. This is
done by electing half the members every three years to change half of the
council. The president of the council is elected by the members for a period
of 3 years.
The most important functions of the provinces
· Provide services to the province related to the intermediate education and
colleges.

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· Work and maintenance of highways within the governorate.
· Provide public assistance and welfare services.
· Development of rural areas and attention to environmental issues in the
governorate.
· Attention to the tourist places in the province
Communes
In 1789, the word "commune" appeared in France. It was in Latin
(communia), meaning a small crowd of people who shared a common life.
Usually governed by a mayor and a city council or a municipal council. The
Board of Directors is composed of a board and a president. The council is
elected by direct election from the population. The president is elected from
the elected members by a six-year term.
France has 36,781 municipalities, of which 3,569 are in France and 212 are
outside the French territory (the high seas). This makes the number of
municipalities in France much higher than in any other European country.
The average size of the municipality in France in 2004 is 14.88 square
kilometers.
(Side note some like Pairs has 2,000,000 citizens on it and in other
Municipalities there is only 200 or more citizens)
The Councils have a number of important functions to organize local unity
affairs. The most important of these functions are:
· Adoption of the local budget
· Attention to cultural activities.
· Providing basic education and nursery services.
· Maintenance of roads and planning of the municipality.
· Provision of social services
Legal Status of Municipalities
Revenue of French domestic Departments

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Revenue of any local Departments is a source of strength for this unit. The
nature of the revenues of French domestic units differs from one unit to
another but with the stability of the revenue structure for each level
throughout the French Republic. Revenues are usually allocated to support
certain areas within the local units. Approximately 55% of revenue structure
in local units while taxes constitute 45% of revenue structure for 2006.
The most prominent revenue for local units is:
· Building tax.
· Land and Property Tax.
· Housing tax.
· Business tax.
· Government grants and grants.

To actually compare this to the certain Egyptian model of papers we do look

a lot the same after all our laws and constitution like many States came
originally from the French model, but in the real-life Egypt has failed big
time achieving or even becoming like the French model we as we see in
France most of the powers regarding Localities and Governorates are giving
to the people in charge because France system is between Parliament with a
presidential bent unlike Egypt France local system allowed it to be more in
control over its laws and people at the end that gave it a powerful place
among nations.

References
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/France-LOCAL-GOVERNMENT.html
https://www.expatica.com/fr/about/The-French-political-system_107814.html
https://bizfluent.com/about-6684095-france-s-economic-system-.html
http://www.citymayors.com/france/france_gov.html
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-jurisdictions-roles-of-french-local-
government.html