FRENCH essay

· Which of de Gaulle's ideas was finally implemented by his old political foe François Mitterand?

· List three processes or practices which hold the central authority of the State and power of the French president in check?

· Is the lower turnout at the polls in recent elections in France necessarily a sign of voter apathy? What else could it signify?

In Chapter 22 N-B discuss democracy's coming of age in France. From de Gaulle's bold design to Mitterrand's implementation, France has created a more decentralized, participatory form of shared government planning through regionalization. Though many French might still long for new leaders with the stature of the icons of their history -- leaders like de Gaulle, Napoleon, Richelieu, and Colbert -- as N-B point out, '"democratic institutions make these kinds of 'great men' unnecessary and even undesirable (p. 315). Regionalization is in fact an effective check on the central authority and dominance of Paris.

French who are critical of regionalization find it "disorderly" yet these same critics may also find fault with the central government when it seems unwilling to relinquish power (p. 318). Some, however, particularly in the overseas departments and territories, find the prospect of increased local autonomy attractive. N-B cite Corsica as an example of a more autonomous region, but perhaps not a promising one as separatist sentiments tend to flare up frequently (p. 319).

N-B  go on to cite another check on the centralization of power within the French State -- the imposition of cohabitation, or the French president's practice of following tradition in selecting the prime minister from the majority party in the legislature. Since the French president is elected by popular suffrage, it stands to reason that the lawmakers of the land should also be led by someone who reflects their overall policies, at least as long as the president chooses to continue to work with parliament and not dissolve it.

The third check on power in France identified by N-B is the increasing independence of judges. The investigative magistrates retain the right to take their cases to the public against the politicians, and of course the politicians will strike back. The Conseil Constitutionnel  has a similar power to check the power of the legislature by ruling over the constitutionality of their proposed laws and amendments to laws.

In closing, N-B cite the absention rate of French voters, which has increased slightly in recent years but still remains relatively low. They explain this as a phenomenon that might be explained in a positive light -- that France has become a more stable society and that the voters do not feel themselves locked in a life-and-death struggle when it comes time to cast their ballot.

When the French went to the polls on May 6, 2012, 51.9% of the voters selected François Hollande over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy to be the next president of France. The Manchester Guardian reported that  the 57-year-old Socialist Party leader Hollande promised to  "push Germany to renegotiate Europe's budget discipline pact to include a clause on growth" [and] "vowed to push growth measures to the centre of Brussels' handling of the eurozone." (Note 1). The campaign was hard-fought, especially because in the first round Marine Le Pen garnered 17.9% of the vote, which made it clear that the far-right policies of immigration, securing the borders and fear of Islam were issues that Sarkozy's center-right policies had failed to address adequately during his term. Hollande was able to unite the left-wing factions on the basis of his "manifesto, " which promoted "...scrapping Sarkozy's tax-breaks for the rich and putting up taxes for high earners to finance what he deem[ed] essential spending, including creating 60,000 posts in France's under-performing school system. (Note 2). Hollande also  "pledged to keep the public deficit capped"  by enabling "a swift return to growth in France, despite economists warning of over-optimistic official growth forecasts (note 3). In the end Hollande's presidency was marked by high unemployment rates, an inability to bring about economic recovery, and a barrage of terrorist attacks.

Presidential Election 2017: Emmanuel Macron

On May 14, 2017 Emmanuel Macron assumed the office of President of the French Republic. A centrist, Macron is the youngest French president in history. His major challenges will include revitalizing the economy, navigating France's relationship with the European Union, addressing immigration and asylum issues in response to the refugee crisis, and handling terrorist threats on French soil. (Note 3).