ABSTRACT
On September 28 1958, General de Gaulle, who had been recalled to power in early June by President René Coty because the leaders of the dominant parties of the Fourth Republic were incapable of handling the rebellion in Algeria, had a new constitution of the republic approved by the French people, with a majority of four-fifths of the votes cast. As is well known, the practice of the Fifth Republic has been oriented toward the preponderance of presidential powers. The development that the functioning of the French institutions has undergone from late 1962 to early 1982 has confirmed and increased presidential preeminence by broadening its scope. The restricted councils are held at the Elysee, under the chairmanship of the president of the republic. The Elysee can constantly monitor the orientation of governmental activities and, if necessary, change it in accordance with the intentions of the president of the republic.
