Government & politics — France

name derives from the Latin "Francia" meaning "Land of the Franks"; the Franks were a group of Germanic tribes located along the middle and lower Rhine River in the 3rd century A.D. who merged with Gallic-Roman populations in succeeding centuries and to whom they passed on their name

• no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship)
• 10 August 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
• 14 July 1789 (French monarchy overthrown)
• 22 September 1792 (First French Republic founded)
• 4 October 1958 (Fifth French Republic established)

• Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1790)
• note - although often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, the celebration actually commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 July 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy
• other names for the holiday are Fete Nationale (National Holiday) and quatorze juillet (14th of July)

• history: many previous;
• latest effective 4 October 1958 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic (upon recommendation of the prime minister and Parliament) or by Parliament; proposals submitted by Parliament members require passage by both houses followed by approval in a referendum; passage of proposals submitted by the government can bypass a referendum if submitted by the president to Parliament and passed by at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament’s National Assembly; amended many times, last in 2008

• chief of state: Pre
• Prime Minister Gabriel ATTAL (since 9 January 2024) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president a
• t the suggestion of the prime minister elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 April 2022 with a runoff held on 24 April 2022 (next to be held in April 2027);
• prime minister appointed by the president election results: 2022: Emmanuel MACRON reelected in second round; percent of vote in first round - Emmanuel MACRON (LREM) 27.8%, Marine LE PEN (RN) 23.2%, Jean-Luc MELENCHON (LFI) 22%, Eric ZEMMOUR (Reconquete) 7.1%, Valerie PECRESSE (LR) 4.8%, Yannick JADOT (EELV) 4.6%, other 10.6%; percent of vote in second round - MACRON 58.5%, LE PEN 41.5% 2017: Emmanuel MACRON elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Emmanuel MACRON (EM) 24%, Marine LE PEN (FN) 21.3%, Francois FILLON (LR) 20%, Jean-Luc MELENCHON (FI) 19.6%, Benoit HAMON (PS) 6.4%, other 8.7%; percent of vote in second round - MACRON 66.1%, LE PEN 33.9%

• chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017) head of government: François BAYROU (since 13 December 2024) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president at the suggestion of the prime minister election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president most recent election date: 10 April 2022, with a runoff held on 24 April 2022

Election Results

• 2022: Emmanuel MACRON reelected in second round
• percent of vote in first round - Emmanuel MACRON (LREM) 27.8%, Marine LE PEN (RN) 23.2%, Jean-Luc MELENCHON (LFI) 22%, Eric ZEMMOUR (Reconquête) 7.1%, Valerie PECRESSE (LR) 4.8%, Yannick JADOT (EELV) 4.6%, other 10.6%
• percent of vote in second round - MACRON 58.5%, LE PEN 41.5% 2017: Emmanuel MACRON elected president in second round
• percent of vote in first round - Emmanuel MACRON (EM) 24%, Marine LE PEN (FN) 21.3%, Francois FILLON (LR) 20%, Jean-Luc MELENCHON (FI) 19.6%, Benoit HAMON (PS) 6.4%, other 8.7%
• percent of vote in second round - MACRON 66.1%, LE PEN 33.9% expected date of next election: April 2027

• highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (consists of the court president, 6 divisional presiding judges, 120 trial judges, and 70 deputy judges organized into 6 divisions - 3 civil, 1 commercial, 1 labor, and 1 criminal); Constitutional Counc
• il (consists of 9 members) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the president of the republic from nominations from the High Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the Court of Cassation and 15 appointed members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 3 appointed by the president of the republic and 3 each by the National Assembly and Senate presidents; members serve 9-year, non-renewable terms with one-thi
• rd of the membership renewed every 3 years subordinate courts: appellate courts or Cour d'Appel; regional courts or Tribunal de Grande Instance; first instance courts or Tribunal d'instance;
• administrative courts note: in April 2021, the French Government submitted a bill on judicial reform to Parliament

18 regions (regions, singular - region); Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte (Burgundy-Free County), Bretagne (Brittany), Centre-Val de Loire (Center-Loire Valley), Corse (Corsica), Grand Est (Grand East), Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Hauts-de-France (Upper France), Ile-de-France, Martinique, Mayotte, Normandie (Normandy), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (New Aquitaine), Occitanie (Occitania), Pays de la Loire (Lands of the Loire), Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Reunion note: France is divided into 13 metropolitan regions (including the "collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and 5 overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion) and is subdivided into 96 metropolitan departments and 5 overseas departments (which are the same as the overseas regions)

• Citizen and Republican Movement or MRC [Jean-Luc LAURENT]
• Debout la France or DLF [Nicolas DUPONT-AIGNAN]
• Democratic Movement or MoDem [Francois BAYROU]
• Ecologist Pole or PE Ensemble or ENS [Richard Ferrand] (electoral coalition including RE, MoDem, Horizons, PRV)
• Europe Ecology - the Greens or EELV [Marine TONDELIER]
• French Communist Party or PCF [Fabien ROUSSEL]
• Horizons [Hubert VALADE]
• La France Insoumise or FI [Jean-Luc MELENCHON]
• Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories or LIOT [Bertrand PANCHER, Christopher NAEGELEN]
• Movement of Progressives or MDP [Robert HUE]
• National Rally or RN [Jordan BARDELLA] (formerly National Front or FN)
• New Democrats or LND [Aurelien TACHE, Emilie CARIOU] (formerly Ecology Democracy Solidarity or EDS)
• New Ecological and Social People's Union or NUPES [collective leadership] (electoral coalition including FI, PE, PS, PCF)
• Radical Party of the Left or PRV [Laurent HENART]
• Reconquete or REC [Eric ZEMMOUR]
• Renaissance or RE [Stephane SEJOURNE]
• Resistons! [Jean LASSALLE]
• Socialist Party or PS [Olivier FAURE]
• The Patriots or LP [Florian PHILIPPOT]
• The Republicans or LR [Eric CIOTTI]
• Union of Democrats and Independents or UDI [Jean-Christophe LAGARDE]
• Union of Right and Center or UDC [Christian JACOB] (electoral coalition including LR, UDI)

• no citizenship by descent only: at least one p
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: applies to metropolitan France only; for its overseas regions the time difference is UTC-4 for Guadeloupe and Martinique, UTC-3 for French Guiana, UTC+3 for Mayotte, and UTC+4 for Reunion

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, FZ, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission

Ambassador Denise Campbell BAUER (since 5 February 2022); note - also accredited to Monaco embassy: 2 avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris mailing address: 9200 Paris Place, Washington DC 20521-9200

telephone

[33] (1) 43-12-22-22, [33] (1) 42-66-97-83

FAX

[33] (1) 42-66-97-83

Email address and website

• Citizeninfo@state.gov
• https://fr.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general

Marseille, Strasbourg consulate(s): Bordeaux, Lyon, Rennes

chief of mission

Ambassador Laurent BILI (since 19 April 2023)

chancery

4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone

[1] (202) 944-6000

FAX

[1] (202) 944-6166

Email address and website

• info@ambafrance-us.org
• https://franceintheus.org/

consulate(s) general

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC