Humanities and Social Sciences

| Peer-Reviewed |

The Central-Local Relationship and Constitutional Operations in France

Received: 24 February 2016    Accepted: 02 March 2016    Published: 12 March 2016
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

This paper argues that the French model of Semi-presidentialism shows two features. One the one hand, the President is the head of both the central government and local affairs due to France’s historical background as a highly centralized state. On the other hand, the political struggle between the local executive heads and the central government influences not only the Executive power, but also the Executive-Legislative interaction from the bottom. Moreover, the Constitutional Amendment in 2008, in which the Presidential and the Parliamentary powers were reinforced, makes the central-local relationship a key to estimating the future development of the Constitutionalism in France.

DOI 10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11
Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 2, March 2016)
Page(s) 16-25
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Semi-presidentialism, France, Paris, Central-Local Relationship

References
[1] Belkind, L. (2013, June 12). “The Negotiated Urbanism of Grand Paris Express,” Metropolitics (France). Retrieved from http://www.metropolitiques.eu/The-Negotiated-Urbanism-of-Grand.html
[2] Brouard, S., Costa, O., Kerrouche, E., & Schnatterer, T. (2013). Why do French MPs Focus More on Constituency Work than on Parliamentary Work? The Journal of Legislative Studies, 19(2), 141-159. doi: 10.1080/13572334.2013.787194.
[3] Brouard, S., Kerrouche, E., Deiss-Helbig, E., & Costa, O. (2013). From Theory to Practice: Citizens’ Attitudes about Representation in France. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 19(2), 178-195. doi: 10.1080/13572334.2013.787196.
[4] Chen, Chwen-wen (2004). The Financial Supervision of Local Governments in France. Journal of Social Sciences and Philosophy 16(1), 43-72.
[5] Costa, O. (2013a). Conclusion: Challenging the Conventional Wisdoms about Parliamentary Representation in France. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 19(2), 278-283. doi: 10.1080/13572334.2013.787202.
[6] Costa, O. (2013b). Introduction: Parliamentary Representation in France. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 19(2), 129-140. doi: 10.1080/13572334.2013.787193.
[7] Costa, O., Lefébure, P., Rozenbergm, O., Schnatterer, T., & Kerrouche, E. (2012). Far Away, So Close: Parliament and Citizens in France. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 18(3-4), 294-313. doi: 10.1080/13572334.2012.706046.
[8] Duverger, M. (1970). Institutions Politiques et Droit Constitutionnel. (11th ed.). Paris, France: Presses Universitaires de France.
[9] Elgie, R. (2004). Semi-Presidentialism: Concepts, Consequences and Contesting Explanations. Political Studies Review, 2(3), 314-330. doi: 10.1111/j.1478-9299.2004.00012.x.
[10] Elgie, R. (2009). Duverger, Semi-presidentialism and the Supposed French Archetype. West European Politics, 32(2), 248-267. doi: 10.1080/01402380802670453.
[11] Elgie, R. (2011). Semi-Presidentialism: An Increasingly Common Constitutional Choice. In R. Elgie, S. Moestrup & Y. S. Wu (Eds.), Semi-Presidentialism and Democracy. Hampshire, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
[12] Elgie, R. & Moestrup, S. (2007). Semi-presidentialism outside Europe: A Comparative Study. London, England: Routledge Press.
[13] Grossman, E. & Sauger, N. (2009). Introduction: The Institutions of the French Republic at 50. West European Politics, 32(2), 243-247. doi: 10.1080/01402380802670438.
[14] Hao, Pei-Chih. (2010). The Evolution of French Semi-Presidentialism: The Constitutional and Political Implications of the French Constitutional Amendment in 2008. Issues and Studies, 49 (2), 65-98.
[15] Hao, Pei-Chih. (2103). The Evolution of Semi-presidentialism: Presidentialization and Cabinet Instability. Issues and Studies, 52 (1), 101-141.
[16] Kuhlmann, S. (2007). Trajectories and Driving Factors of Local Government Reforms in Paris: A ‘Deviant Case’ of Institutional Development? Local Government Studies, 33(1), 5-24. doi: 10.1080/03003930601081002.
[17] Liu, Wen-shih (2007). The Evolution and Future Prospects of the Decentralization System in France. Soochow Journal of Political Science 30 (2), 85-91.
[18] Przeworski, A. & Teune, H. J. (1970). Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry: Comparative Studies in Behavioral Science. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
[19] Roper, S. D. (2002). Are All Semipresidential Regimes the Same? A Comparison of Premier- Presidential Regimes. Comparative Politics, 34(3), 253-272.
[20] Rowland, O. (May 2013). How many jobs should an MP have? Connexion (Monaco), Retrieved from http://www.connexionfrance.com/MPs-France-jobs-cumul-mandats-reforms-15159-news-article.html
[21] Shugart, M. & Carey, J. M. (1992). Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
[22] Siaroff, A. (2003). Comparative Presidencies: the Inadequacy of the Presidential, Semi-Presidentialism and Parliamentary Distinction. European Journal of Political Research, 42(3), 287-312. doi: 10.1111/1475-6765.00084.
[23] Smith, A. & Heywood, P. (2000). Regional Government in France & Spain. London, England: Constitution Unit, University College London.
[24] Tiberj, V. & Kerrouche, E. (2013). Up and Down, Old and New: Values and Value Systems of MPs and Voters in France,” The Journal of Legislative Studies, 19(2), 160-177. doi: 10.1080/13572334.2013.787195.
[25] Weng, Y. C. (2013). Final Report of Resolving Disputes between Local Administration and Councils- France. Commissioned Research Report by Ministry of the Interior, Project NO. 102JCD02, Taipei, Taiwan: Ministry of the Interior.
[26] Wollmann, H. (2000). Local Government Systems: from Historic Divergence towards Convergence? Great Britain, France, and Germany as Comparative Cases in Point. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 18(1), 33-55. doi: 10.1068/c9867.
[27] Wollmann, H. (2004). Local Government Reforms in Great Britain, Sweden, Germany and France: Between Multi-Function and Single-Purpose Organisations. Local Government Studies, 30(4), 639-665.
[28] Zhao, X. M. (2007). Current Politics in Paris: The Analysis of Administrative Systems, Master’s dissertation, Shanghai, China: School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University.
Author Information
  • Department of Political Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Chun-Hao Chang. (2016). The Central-Local Relationship and Constitutional Operations in France. Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(2), 16-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Chun-Hao Chang. The Central-Local Relationship and Constitutional Operations in France. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2016, 4(2), 16-25. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Chun-Hao Chang. The Central-Local Relationship and Constitutional Operations in France. Humanit Soc Sci. 2016;4(2):16-25. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11,
      author = {Chun-Hao Chang},
      title = {The Central-Local Relationship and Constitutional Operations in France},
      journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
      volume = {4},
      number = {2},
      pages = {16-25},
      doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20160402.11},
      abstract = {This paper argues that the French model of Semi-presidentialism shows two features. One the one hand, the President is the head of both the central government and local affairs due to France’s historical background as a highly centralized state. On the other hand, the political struggle between the local executive heads and the central government influences not only the Executive power, but also the Executive-Legislative interaction from the bottom. Moreover, the Constitutional Amendment in 2008, in which the Presidential and the Parliamentary powers were reinforced, makes the central-local relationship a key to estimating the future development of the Constitutionalism in France.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Central-Local Relationship and Constitutional Operations in France
    AU  - Chun-Hao Chang
    Y1  - 2016/03/12
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11
    T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
    JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
    JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
    SP  - 16
    EP  - 25
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8184
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160402.11
    AB  - This paper argues that the French model of Semi-presidentialism shows two features. One the one hand, the President is the head of both the central government and local affairs due to France’s historical background as a highly centralized state. On the other hand, the political struggle between the local executive heads and the central government influences not only the Executive power, but also the Executive-Legislative interaction from the bottom. Moreover, the Constitutional Amendment in 2008, in which the Presidential and the Parliamentary powers were reinforced, makes the central-local relationship a key to estimating the future development of the Constitutionalism in France.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections