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France - Prime Minister

The Constitution of 4 October 1958 governs the functioning of the institutions of the Fifth Republic. The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister, who proposes the members of government to the President, who then appoints them (Article 8 of the Constitution). The President chairs the Council of Ministers, enacts laws and is the head of the armed forces.

The President is under no legal obligation to choose someone from the largest group in the Assemblée Nationale, and there is no legal deadline. But the president is usually forced to appoint a prime minister from the party that won the legislative elections, to avoid seeing the government toppled immediately by the Assemblée.

The Prime Minister is accountable to the Parliament (Article 20 of the Constitution). He/she directs the actions of the Government action and ensures the implementation of legislation (Article 21 of the Constitution). Under Article 21 "The Prime Minister shall direct the actions of the Government. He shall be responsible for national defence. He shall ensure the implementation of legislation. Subject to article 13, he shall have power to make regulations and shall make appointments to civil and military posts. He may delegate certain of his powers to Ministers. He shall deputize, if the case arises, for the President of the Republic as chairman of the councils and committees referred to in article 15. He may, in exceptional cases, deputize for him as chairman of a meeting of the Council of Ministers by virtue of an express delegation of powers for a specific agenda."

The ministers are appointed by the President of the Republic, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (Article 8 of the Constitution). Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the Government determines and conducts the nation’s policies. Decided in the Council of Ministers, decrees are a regulatory act (which lays down a rule) signed by the president and do not require parliamentary approval. The prime minister can also dispense with the president's signature by issuing a simple decree, outside the Council of Ministers. To modify or repeal a law, however, requires a legislative measure, which therefore goes through Parliament.

The Government is made up of the Prime Minister, ministres d’État, full ministers, ministers delegate, ministers of state and high commissioners. The purview, competences, responsibilities and tasks of each minister are not fixed, unlike in other countries such as the United States. They are freely determined by the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic: as such, the team can be shaped to take into account current political balances, as well as the priorities they intend to implement.

The Chief of Staff is a senior public service executive who works on behalf of a Minister. As a leader, he or she directs the staff of a departmental office to carry out all its activities. He coordinates and manages projects. He is also the first advisor to the Minister. He is responsible for liaising between his ministerial office and that of the Prime Minister. This person supports and accompanies the minister in the exercise of his or her ceremonial and especially political functions. To do this, he organizes his travels, his appointments and his agenda. The Chief of Staff has a solid knowledge of French politics and its functioning. The selection of the person for this position is the responsibility of the Minister.

Ambiguity persists on the question of defense, because the Constitution makes the president the "head of the armed forces," the one who "presides over the councils and higher committees of national defense," while describing the prime minister as "responsible for national defense" and stating that the government "has at its disposal the administration and the armed force." This ambiguity obliges the prime minister and the president to reach a certain understanding, notably on the names of the foreign affairs and defense ministers.

Positioned at the heart of the executive branch, the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security [SGDSN General Secretariat for Defense and National Security] assists the Prime Minister in exercising his responsibilities regarding defense and national security. In particular, it supports political decision-making by providing secretariat services to the Defense and National Security Councils, chaired by the Head of State. The scope of intervention of the SGDSN covers all strategic defence and security issues, in the area of ??military planning, deterrence policy, internal security contributing to national security, economic and energy security, the fight against terrorism and crisis response planning.

There have been three periods of cohabitation, when the prime minister and president come from opposing sides (in 1986-1988 and 1993-1995 under François Mitterrand, then in 1997-2002 under Jacques Chirac). In all three, an absolute majority in the Assemblée Nationale had always emerged from the ballot box. All the president had to do was confirm the new configuration – with no room to appoint a prime minister other than the one the right or left had chosen at the time. In 2022, President Emmanuel Macron's coalition only had a relative majority, with 250 seats (289 required for an outright majority), but this group was clearly the only one with a majority in the Assemblée" and there was no alternative.

In order to be introduced, a motion of no confidence, which aims to bring down a government, must be signed by one-tenth of the total membership of the Assemblée – 58 members. To be adopted, however, the motion requires the support of an absolute majority in the chamber: in other words, 289 votes. If successful, the motion of no confidence forces the prime minister to submit the government's resignation to the president.

When a government resigns, the president may ask his ministers to remain in office temporarily to ensure the continuity of the state and its services, and also the essential day-to-day running of the administrations under their responsibility. No law specifically defines what a caretaker government may or may not do. A caretaker government in charge of day-to-day business has limited powers compared with a full-fledged government. In principle, it cannot take steps of a political nature. Given the scarcity of examples in the history of the French Republic, it's not always easy to anticipate what measures such a government might legally take. The dividing line is difficult to draw, because it's a matter for the Council of State to decide. The Council of State has the power to challenge a decree if it deems that the measure simply exceeds the objective of maintaining the continuity of public services.