France's Political System & Government (Research Paper Sample)

FRANCE'S POLITICAL SYSTEM & GOVERNMENT
Student’s Name
Class
Date
Table of Contents
 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025394"
I-PROFILE  PAGEREF _Toc526025394 \h
2
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025395"
1.0 General presentation  PAGEREF _Toc526025395 \h
2
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025396"
Location  PAGEREF _Toc526025396 \h
2
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025397"
Land and Geography  PAGEREF _Toc526025397 \h
3
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025398"
Climate  PAGEREF _Toc526025398 \h
3
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025399"
Major Historical Events  PAGEREF _Toc526025399 \h
3
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025400"
The people (origin and ethnocultural characteristics)  PAGEREF _Toc526025400 \h
5
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025401"
2.1 Society and the economy: Sociological and economic data and characteristics  PAGEREF _Toc526025401 \h
5
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025402"
Population  PAGEREF _Toc526025402 \h
5
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025403"
Key Ethnic groups and Religions  PAGEREF _Toc526025403 \h
6
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025404"
Literacy Rate  PAGEREF _Toc526025404 \h
7
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025405"
GDP per Capita and Unemployment Rate  PAGEREF _Toc526025405 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025406"
3.1 The Political System  PAGEREF _Toc526025406 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025407"
4.1 Success and Failures with country key challenges  PAGEREF _Toc526025407 \h
9
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025408"
II- FRANCE'S POLITICAL SYSTEM & GOVERNMENT  PAGEREF _Toc526025408 \h
10
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025409"
Political structure  PAGEREF _Toc526025409 \h
10
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025410"
How the Government functions  PAGEREF _Toc526025410 \h
11
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025411"
The Constitution  PAGEREF _Toc526025411 \h
12
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025412"
Current and Future Politics  PAGEREF _Toc526025412 \h
13
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc526025413"
Bibliography  PAGEREF _Toc526025413 \h
13

“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.” Franklin D. Roosevelt could not explain better the significance of the power of people in the administration of a country’s affairs. Political systems are essential in determining the growth of individual nations. These systems define the procedures the government should adhere and aim to create political stability. Therefore, the success of the political systems along with their other policies, not only impact on the strength of a nation, but also the societal contentment. The principles each system exemplifies and influence the standards of the country where they exist. Although France is acknowledged as one of the powerful nations of the world, the state has experienced a rich history in its political and government systems, which have shaped its growth and development to what it is at the moment.
I-PROFILE
1.0 General Presentation
Location
The country is situated in Western Europe and is formally referred to as the Republic of France. The state has numerous foreign lands, but Metropolitan France forms its mainland. It extends south and north, from the North Sea to the Aegadean Isles and the Anglo-Saxon Waterway, and to the Northern Atlantic from the River Rhine (Briney 2017). France is among the global supremacies and has been a cultural and economic hub of Europe for centuries now.
Land and Geography
France is located on the Bay of Biscay, the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as along the English Channel. The nation has territories abroad including the South American French Guiana and the Martinique and Guadeloupe islands within the Caribbean Sea, the Southern Africa Reunion, and the Indian Ocean’s South Mayotte. Metropolitan France boasts of a diverse landscape that entails low undulating tor west and north, and level plains. The remaining regions of the state are rocky with the Eastern Alps and the Southern Pyrenees. The uppermost summit in France, Mont Blanc, is 4,807 meters (15,771 feet) (Briney 2017).
Climate
The typical weather of Metropolitan France changes from one location to the other, but a large part of the nation experiences mild summers and cold winters. The Mediterranean expanse, contrariwise, experiences hot summers and mild winters. The nation’s capital Paris, which is also the biggest city has the standard January 2.5ЛљC (36ЛљF) low temperature and a typical July 25ЛљC (77ЛљF) high (Briney 2017).
Major Historical Events
France has experienced numerous events globally. In the 1700’s, France had started experiencing economic crises as a result of convoluted spending by King Louis XIV and the leaders that came after him (Beaudonnet 2015). These financial problems alongside other social challenges ultimately triggered the French Revolution that started in 1789 to 794. France administration was transformed severally because of the revolution particularly from “complete rules or lawful monarchs."
France also took part in the 19th Century Franco-Prussian Battle that resulted in the nation instituting its Third Republic, which lasted to the 20th Century. During World War I, France was overwhelmed making it come up with the Maginot Line of boundary defenses in 1920 (Briney 2017). This move was aimed at safeguarding itself during that time from the steadily upcoming German power. In spite of these precautions, France was conquered by Germany early in the course of the Second World War.
In 1940, France was portioned to two territories - one directly administered by the Germans and the other was under the rule of France (famous as the Vichy Administration). However, by 940, the Axis powers conquered the whole of France (Beaudonnet 2015). Four years later, Allies gave back France its freedom.
Following the Second World War, a constitutional reform instituted the Fourth Republic of France, together with a legislature. This new government structure collapsed on 13th May 1958 because of the engagement of France in a battle with Algeria. General Charles de Gaulle consequently assumed leadership of the State in a bid to avoid a civil war. This set up led to the establishment of the Fifth Republic. France conducted a poll in 1965, making de Gaulle the President of the country (Briney 2017). Nonetheless, he resigned in 1969 following the rejection of numerous governmental proposals.
From the time de Gaulle left office, the country experienced several forms of government. The latest three, however, made it an agenda to establish strong ties with the European Union (Beaudonnet 2015). France was additionally among the EU's six pioneering states. In 2005, France went through one month of civil strife at a time its minority associations started a cycle of aggressive demonstrations. Nicolas Sarkozy got elected as the French Head of State in 2007 and initiated a sequence of social and economic reforms.
The People (Origin and Ethno -Cultural Characteristics)
Historical accounts show that the custom of the French citizens is principally of Roman and Celtic origin. This custom transcends downwards from the earliest and medieval populace of Ligures, Gauls, Iberians, Latins, and to a particular stretch, Germanic origins like Alamans, Franks, and Norsemen. The country has been for a long time a collage of local traditions and regional diversity. Most French citizens still use French as their native language, but dialects like Occitan, Norman, Catalan, Corsican, Auvergnat, Basque, Lorraine Franconian, French Flemish, Breton, and Alsatian are still primarily used in particular regions.
In the 21st century, the Arabic language has also been widely spoken in France making it the most prominent minority language (a position formerly held by Occitan and Breton). France claims several regional dialects, which are dissimilar from average French, like the Breton (a Celtic lingo near to Welsh and Cornish) and Alsatian-an Alemannic German language. Other regional jargons include the French Occitan mostly spoken by the Romans. The Basque dialect is unconnected to the French speech and any other lingos worldwide. Basque is spoken in a region that bestrides the boundary between the north of Spain and the southwest of France.
2.1 Society and the Economy: Sociological and Economic Data and Characteristics
Population
Table 1: Age Structure France as of 2017
Age Groups (Years)Percentages (%)Male (Number)Female(Number)0-1418.536,360,2186,076,59815-2411.794,045,9013,864,39525-5437.7812,773,90012,578,25655-6412.424,020,5074,315,40765≥
19.48
5,648,888
7,422,091
Note* Information retrieved from the World Fact Book by United States CIA 2018.
Table 1 indicates that a higher percentage of France population falls between the ages of 25-54 years (37. 78%). This age group constitutes the youth who determine the productivity of a nation. Male and female citizens are almost equally represented, in this age set as 12,773,900 and 12,578,256 respectively. Young adults between the ages of 15-24 constitute the least percentage of the population (11.79%), with males slightly dominating females (4,045,901 males, 3,864,395 women).
Key Ethnic Groups and Religions
The major ethnic groups in France are North African, Slavic, Latin, and Celtic. Others are the Teutonic, Basque marginal foreign units, including the Whites, Amerindian, Black, Mulatto, East Indian, and Chinese and Indochinese (Safari the Globe 2014). Christianity holds the greatest French religious affiliat...