How Is Power Used?

Abstract

The mere outline of the powers of the principal institutions—the executive, the legislature, and the civil service—found in the constitution and the laws cannot adequately convey how policies in France are decided and implemented. The distinction between what the French have called “the legal country” and “the real country” can be seen, first, in the tendency of Fifth Republic presidents to interpret the constitution in such a way as to increase their power at the expense of that of the prime minister. This has applied not only to cabinet appointments, in which most presidents have had an almost free hand. Most important, it has also applied to the content of policy decisions. De Gaulle (who took little interest in economics) and Pompidou did give their prime ministers a great deal of discretion except, of course, in the areas of foreign and defense policies; but Giscard (an Énarque specialized in economic matters) took an active lead in almost all aspects of domestic policy (even while his government was headed by Barre, a professor of economics) and even “meddled” in the drafting of the language of government bills.