France
History : the fifth republic
The Fifth Republic is the period
of the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which
was introduced on October 5, 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from
the ashes of the French Fourth Republic, replacing a weak and
factional parliamentary government with a stronger, more
centralized democracy.
The impetus behind the creation of the Fifth Republic was the
Algerian Crisis. Although France had since parted with many of its
colonies, such as many of those in West Africa and Southeast Asia,
it still retained Algeria, which had a large French population.
Algeria eventually became independent on July 5, 1962.
The former general Charles de Gaulle used the crisis as an
opportunity to create a new French government with the stronger
office of President. French Presidents were given a very long term
(7 years, now reduced to 5 years) and currently still have more
internal power than most of their European counterparts. On
September 28, 1958, a referendum took place and 79.2% of those who
voted supported the new constitution.
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