ABSTRACT
The importance of the Presidency to an understanding of contemporary French politics is obvious. The reasons for the emergence in the Fifth Republic of a strong presidency are complex and cannot be limited to an enumeration of the formal powers granted it by the 1958 constitution. This chapter examines why the defenders of democracy came to fear a strong President, and analyses the ‘Republican model’ of the presidency which resulted. It considers the attempts made before 1958 to increase presidential authority and the reasons for their failure. The chapter shows that the contributions of historical traditions, individuals and circumstances are also important, and so too is the constitutional amendment of 1962 establishing the direct election of the President. The directly elected presidency has become a central element in France’s claim to be a democracy. In France, as elsewhere, the theory and the practice of democracy have a long history, several meanings and many critics.
