Government+and+Economy-+Overview

= France- General Overview of Government and Economy =

From Clans to the Revolution
Before France had a King or Queen, there were many self governing tribes and clans, which ruled themselves until William the Conqueror solidified the monarchy when he took control of both France and England. Up until the French Revolution, the system of government was a monarchy- a system of government that was led by the King or Queen. There were many Kings and Queens, and each held the most power while they ruled. During the Medieval period, feudalism played an important role in how money and food were distributed, as well as which social class each person fell into. Obviously the King/Queen was at the top, then the Church, followed by Nobles and Lords, Knights, and at the very bottom, the Peasants. The monarch generally received legitimacy from being an heir and because the monarch was believed to be the figurehead of God, therefore all laws and decrees made by the monarch were to be taken as the will of God. Following this period, the French Revolution happened, and The First Republic is established. Under this new system of government, the people created a constitution. This constitution included rights of citizens, as well as how the government was to be run. While this was put in place, many figures fought for power during this time, and the government shifted between an authoritarian government and oligarchy.

Napoleon to the Beginning of the EU
This ended when Napoleon came to power, and the government then switched to a dictatorship, because Napoleon had complete and absolute power. When Napoleon is overthrown, the country goes back to a monarchy, until 1848, when Louis-Napoleon is elected the president of the second republic. Four years after he is elected president, Louis-Napoleon takes complete control, like his uncle, and declares himself the emperor of the second empire, taking France back to a dictatorship again. The Second Empire ends at the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian war, in which France lost, and the third republic is established. The third republic established a firm parliamentary republic- this was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, phase of the French government. The Third Republic was formed in 1870, and lasted 70 years until 1940, when Nazi Germany invaded and took over France. At this point, France’s economy is pretty much trash from the unstable fluctuation of government and war efforts to defeat Germany in WWII. France also had not yet fully recovered from WWI, and in 1946, the Fourth Republic starts, bringing a new era of economic stability due to socialist policies and laws, which were mainly due to Felix Gouin, the newly elected president of the Fourth Republic. Not only was the economy exploding due to new socialist policies, but because France started the European Union (then known as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), later known as the EEC or European Economic Community) with Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands, and West Germany, money flowed abundantly throughout all six of the EU founders.

The Fifth Republic to Now
The Fifth Republic starts in 1958 after Algeria tries to gain independence. Charles de Gaulle, the president before Gouin, returns to power as the president, and makes the president stronger with his return. Because of the increased presidential powers, de Gaulle shapes the government from a parliamentary constitutional republic to a semi-presidential constitutional republic. France is now a Unitary state, meaning it’s weird to French people when Americans talk about their states or how something is either the state’s fault or the federal government’s. Currently there are two houses of parliament (like the two houses of congress, aka the senate and the house of representatives): the national assembly, and the senate. the senate has 348 seats, meaning 348 people from various political parties are in the senate, and 577 people in the national assembly. That is a heck ton of people, so making laws usually takes a long time. The judiciary system is setup like this: there are two types of courts, ones that determine if the government is allowed to make certain laws, and the other is the ones that determine if someone is innocent or guilty of breaking the law. From there, they branch out into the three different levels: the lowest level, or inferior courts that have original jurisdiction, then the middle level, or intermediate appellate courts, which look at cases from the lowest court to make sure they made the right decision, and then finally the highest court, which is given cases because the people or person that is involved in the specific case thinks that the low and medium level courts still both made the wrong decision. This is known as the court of last resort. The prime minister is Manuel Valls, and the current president is François Hollande. The president has been in office since 2012, and the prime minister since 2014. Like the United States president has a cabinet, there are many ministers that specialize in certain aspects of policy, called the Council of Ministers.

Key Words, People, and Ideas
__Coup/coup d'é·tat__- Similar to a revolution, a coup happens when the citizens quickly and violently overthrow the government

__Monarch__- The King or Queen of a monarchy

__French Revolution-__ see page _____

Napoleon- __ See page ___

__First Republic-__ Oligarchy that was somewhat guided by a constitution from 1792-1804

__First Empire-__ Empire led by Napoleon after he takes control 1804-1814

__Second Republic-__ Presidential republic (has a parliament but is mainly led by the president) led by Louis-Napoleon 1848-1852

__Second Empire-__ Empire led by Napoleon’s nephew, Louis-Napoleon, after he gains power and trust from being elected president of the Second Republic from 1852-1870

__Third Republic-__ Parliamentary Republic (has a parliament and prime minister like the UK) from 1870-1940

__Fourth Republic-__ Parliamentary Republic from 1946-1958 (Germany was in charge of France from 1840-1846)

__Fifth Republic-__ semi-presidential Republic from 1958-present

__Foreign Policy-__ Laws that deal with how France will deal with other countries. Ex- laws on issues in Palestine, Economic aid (giving money to help other countries economies)

__Domestic Policy-__ Laws that deal with issues going on inside the borders of a countr. Ex- gay marriage laws, public housing, immigration laws

__Executive-__ A branch of government that serves as the head Ex- president, prime minister

__Legislature-__ A branch of government that is comprised of many people; most commonly makes laws. Ex- American congress,UK parliament

__Judiciary-__ A branch of government that determines if laws are right, or if people are innocent or guilty of committing a crime. Ex- Judge Judy, Supreme Court

__Feudalism-__ A system of hierarchy (who is higher than who on a social and governmental scale)

__Legitimacy-__ The right to rule (Governments are only legitimate when the citizens think they are)

__Authoritarian government-__ A system of government where there is one main figurehead (not necessarily a King/Queen) who makes most laws. The legislature and judiciary have little power.

__Oligarchy-__ A system of Government where the country is ruled by a few very wealthy people.

__Dictatorship-__ A system of government where the there is one main figurehead that has all power. The judiciary and legislature either don’t exist, or have zero power what-so-ever.

__Socialism-__ Opposite of Capitalism. People that believe in socialism believe that high inequality between the rich and poor is bad, and that it is the government’s responsibility to try to reduce this inequality.

__Capitalism-__ Opposite of Socialism. People that believe in Capitalism believe that the government should stay away from policies that benefit the poor and make the economy more equal.

__Unitary State-__ A country that doesn’t have subunits (like American states) that have a substantial amount of power; The main or central government has jurisdiction of the country.

__Jurisdiction-__ Precedent/control, official power to make decisions for the country.

Works Cited [|__http://library.brown.edu/cds/paris/chronology1.html__] [|__http://www.britannica.com/topic/Second-Republic-French-history__] [|__http://www.britannica.com/topic/Third-Republic-French-history__] [|__http://www.britannica.com/topic/Fourth-Republic-French-history__] [|__http://www.britannica.com/topic/Fifth-Republic-French-history__] [|__http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17299605__] [|__http://www.diffen.com/difference/Capitalism_vs_Socialism__] __ [] __

(Katie Moran)