France, now in its fifth republic, has an elected president along with a parliament. It is the president that chooses the prime minister. The president has executive powers, he is chief of state. The prime minister is head of government and runs the it day to day. The fifth republic was created with the idea that both the president and prime minister would be from the same party. That has not worked out, twice there's been "co-habitation" governments, prime minister and president not from the same party. That all should change as the president's term has been shortened from seven to five years, the same length as parliament.

The Basics

Politics

Structure

Telling Time

General Thoughts

Little Known Facts