ABSTRACT
One of the principal themes of Chapter 4 related to the strengthening of executive government in the Fifth Republic is what are the checks and balances on the executive in France? In Chapter 5, we begin by focusing upon the role performed by the French parliament, the specific angle being to highlight the weakness of parliamentary checks and balances against uncontrolled executive power within the Fifth Republic. We then consider the judicialisation of French politics, concentrating on the Constitutional Council, the Council of State and the role of the investigating magistrates. We conclude that legal, constitutional and supranational factors have provided some checks and balances against the uses and abuses of executive authority that were not initially envisaged in the 1958 Constitution.
