Transcription
Since the French Revolution, France has had some 15 different constitutional texts. Its current constitutional setup, known as the Fifth Republic, has been in place for nearly 70 years, making it one of France's longest-lasting political regimes. But with the country in deep political paralysis since at least last year's legislative election and President Emmanuel Macron cycling through prime ministers at an unprecedented rate, is the Fifth Republic no longer fit for purpose?
In this video, we're going to explain France's political system, why it's in crisis, why some want to build a new Sixth Republic, and whether it could actually happen.
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A sensible place to start is the foundation of the Fifth Republic. Its predecessor, the Fourth Republic, established in 1946, had lurched from crisis to crisis, and its parliamentary system was characterized by political instability and immobility. It saw 24 governments in its 12-year lifespan, as stable majority coalitions in the powerful legislature proved elusive. Against this backdrop and ultimately triggered by the Algerian crisis, in 1958, General Charles de Gaulle returned from the political wilderness to found a new republic, France's fifth, and oversaw the creation of a new constitution that was designed to correct the flaws of the previous one.
De Gaulle charged Michel Debré with drafting the new constitution, which established a semi-presidential system, one famously dubbed a "republican monarchy," in which the president has considerable power, very different from the parliamentary system of the Fourth Republic. As head of state, the president commands the military, has significant influence over foreign policy and national security, and while it's the prime minister who runs things domestically day-to-day, it's the president who can appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet, as well as dissolve the National Assembly and call early elections.
The Constitution of the Fifth Republic contains other provisions designed to prevent or avoid some of the instability of the previous republic. Most notable of these is Article 49.3, which gives the government the ability to force the passage of a law through parliament without a vote, with lawmakers only being able to prevent this by toppling the government through a vote of no confidence.
While the system has worked well when either the president's party has a parliamentary majority or the opposition does, a situation known as cohabitation, the fractured parliament of today is putting the Fifth Republic under strain like never before, with parliamentary deadlock contributing to a growing budgetary crisis. Macron's alliance lost its parliamentary majority at the 2022 legislative elections, with parties and alliances to his left and right gaining ground at his expense. The lack of majority meant that his prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, repeatedly resorted to using Article 49.3 to push through legislation and budgets, using it 23 times in just 1 year and 7 months, including to push through unpopular measures like the pension reforms of 2023.
Macron's decision to call a snap legislative election in summer 2024 only worsened the situation, as his alliance fell into third place behind the pan-leftwing New Popular Front and Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally, leaving the National Assembly deadlocked and split between three opposing blocs. Since then, a succession of prime ministers appointed by Macron has tried to govern the country and pass a budget but have all ultimately failed. Michel Barnier was toppled last year after using Article 49.3. His successor, François Bayrou, suffered the same fate last month, and Macron's latest appointee, Sébastien Lecornu, abruptly resigned this month, mere hours after announcing his cabinet. This churn of prime ministers, five since Macron was reelected in 2022, is reminiscent of the chronic instability of the Fourth Republic.
So, is it now time for the Fifth Republic to end? Well, calls for a Sixth Republic are actually nothing new. They've been coming mostly from the left for some time now. For example, La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been a longtime advocate and pledged to create a Sixth Republic during his previous presidential campaigns. Especially in recent years, these calls from the left have focused on what it sees as the undemocratic nature of the current constitution, things like Article 49.3, for example. Given that basically all of France's major constitutional changes have taken place amid or after serious crises of some kind, one can make the case that this current crisis should precipitate a move to a new constitution and republic.
So what could a Sixth Republic actually look like? Well, if Jean-Luc Mélenchon had his way, it would have a stronger parliament, weaker president, and greater power for citizens to initiate legislation and referendums. Reverting to something closer to a parliamentary system wouldn't necessarily solve the problems at hand. For example, a parliamentary system could still be gridlocked by a three-way divided National Assembly. In fact, that's sort of what France has ended up with already: a weak president, strong parliament, and political gridlock. What would really be needed, either now in the Fifth or a potential Sixth Republic, are more inclusive mechanisms of coalition building and interparty dialogue to break impasses. But this is not an easy fix for a system that's historically been structured around presidential dominance.
Hypothetically though, a Sixth Republic could take France in the opposite direction, embracing full presidentialism, à la the United States. Although, given current attitudes towards presidential powers in France, this seems unlikely. And presidentialism, of course, has its own perils. Ultimately, the obvious obstacle is this: It's far easier to get the French to agree that the current system needs change than to agree what those changes should actually be, especially considering current levels of polarization. Take a look at Chile's experience, for example. Despite overwhelmingly voting to draft a new constitution, Chileans in 2022 and 2023 comprehensively rejected two draft documents that were drawn up.
Another option is the fact that you really need a figure with significant stature and broad support to drive through the process of wholesale constitutional change, in the style of de Gaulle in 1958. It's hard to imagine a modern French figure that could play this role. Macron certainly doesn't have the political capital, and large chunks of the country would be deeply unhappy with the thought of either Mélenchon or Le Pen leading the process.
But even if you put aside the prospect of a Sixth Republic for now, France does still want to change. An Ipsos poll from March 2025 found an astonishing 95% in favor of reforming the country's current institutions, with 36% supporting thorough reform and 59% supporting adaptation without radical transformation. As such, a more viable route to some kind of political change might be amending the constitution. With the current constitution having been amended 25 times since 1958, introducing a form of proportional representation for legislative elections could be on the table. It's supported by parties on both the left and the right and was being considered early this year under then-Prime Minister Bayrou. However, even among PR proponents, there are disagreements over which model is best, and it's up for debate as to whether or not it would foster a new atmosphere of political cooperation and coalition building that is needed to break impasses.
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