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Executive Power and Republican Principles at the Founding of the Fifth Republic
Author(s) -
ROHR JOHN A.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
governance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.46
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1468-0491
pISSN - 0952-1895
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0491.1994.tb00173.x
Subject(s) - executive power , constitution , cohabitation , legitimacy , power (physics) , law , the republic , political science , de facto , separation of powers , sociology , politics , theology , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics
This article examines the understanding of executive power in the debates at the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958. The examination discovered a concept of executive power quite different from the real executive power revealed in the history of the Fifth Republic. The framers of the constitution intended to place the prime minister at the head of the executive power and to shield him from removal by the President of the Republic. The direct election of the president, brought about by the problematic constitutional amendment of 1962, provided the legitimacy for the de facto dominant role of the president apart from the two cohabitation periods.