Prime Minister of France
Prime Minister of France Premier ministre français | |
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Style | His/Her Excellency |
Residence | Hôtel de Matignon |
Nominator | King of the French |
Appointer | Chamber of Deputies and Senate |
Term length |
No fixed term Remains in office while commanding the confidence of the King of the French and the Parliament |
Formation | 6 January 1924 |
Salary | ₣178,920 a year |
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of France (French: Premier ministre du royaume de france ) is the head of government in France. During the French Third Republic and the Fourth Republic, the office was called the President of the Council of Ministers (French: Président du Conseil des Ministres), generally shortened to President of the Council (French: Président du Conseil). The title 'prime minister' became official in 1959 during the Orléans Restoration.
The Prime Minister of France is the head of the French Government and one of the two most powerful political figures along with the King of the French. However, the French monarch typically does not exercise his extensive political powers unless he believes it is necessary, and therefore in practice the Prime Minister is the most powerful political leader. The Constitution, the Charter of 1959, states that the prime minister will "direct the actions of the Government."
The Prime Minister is nominated by the King of the French on the recommendation of the Chamber of Deputies and serves indefinitely while having the confidence of the king and the parliament. He proposes a list of ministers to nominated for the Government. The prime minister implements policy and oversees the day-to-day administration of government, and consults with the king on political matters on a weekly basis, as the monarch has extensive political powers he could use if he chose to. The prime minister serves until either there is a new election and the previous majority party or coalition loses, or he could be removed in vote of no confidence by the two houses of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The king can also remove the prime minister from office but this power has never been used to date.
The current Prime Minister of France is Oscar de Saint-Just of the French Action party, appointed in April 2019.
Nomination
The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the King of the French, who can theoretically nominate anyone he chooses but because the Chamber of Deputies has the power to remove a government with a vote of no confidence, the monarch has always appointed the candidate put forward by the coalition or majority party in the legislature. The Prime Minister-candidate also proposes to the king a list of ministers in the new government.
History
Several different titles were used for the office during the Ancien Regime, Napoleon's French Empire, the regimes that followed the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, and the Second French Empire. The Constitution of the Third Republic in 1875 nominally granted the prime minister similar powers to those of the British prime minister. In practice, because the National Assembly was able to cause a government to fall by having a vote of no confidence, with the prime minister became a weak figure. During the Fourth Republic that began in 1944, the prime minister mainly focused on domestic affairs while the president focused on foreign policy and national defense, and had broad powers as the National Assembly was reduced to a rubber stamp organization.
After Great War II and the establishment of the Kingdom of France in 1959, the Prime Minister became one of the two leading figures in the government of the constitutional monarchy. Although King Henry VI took an active role in politics, he reduced his participation by the end of his reign and the office of Prime Minister took the leading role. Since then by tradition the king limits the use of his extensive powers, but he still consults with the prime minister on a regular basis on political affairs.
Role
Official residence
List of prime ministers
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No. | Name | Portrait | In office | Party | Cabinet | President |
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Jules Armand Dufaure (1798–1881) |
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19 February 1871 – 24 May 1876 | Opportunist Republicans | Dufaure | Adolphe Thiers | |
Jules Simon (1814–1896) |
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24 May 1876 – 13 December 1880 | Opportunist Republicans | Simon | Patrice de Mac Mahon | |
Charles de Freycinet (1828–1923) |
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13 December 1880 – 6 April 1887 | Opportunist Republicans | Freycinet | Jules Grévy | |
Henri Brisson (1835–1912) |
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6 April 1887 – 16 July 1890 | Radical Republicans | Brisson | Sadi Carnot | |
René Goblet (1828–1905) |
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16 July 1890 – 3 October 1894 | Radical Republicans | Goblet | ||
Alexandre Ribot (1842–1923) |
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3 October 1894 – 17 January 1898 | Opportunist Republicans | Ribot | Félix Faure | |
Charles Dupuy (1851–1930) |
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17 January 1898 – 29 November 1898 | Opportunist Republicans | Dupuy | ||
Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau (1846–1904) |
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29 November 1898 – 1 August 1900 | Radical Socialist Party | Waldeck-Rousseau | ||
Ferdinand Sarrien (1840–1919) |
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1 August 1900 – 25 October 1904 | Radical Socialist Party | Sarrien | Émile Loubet | |
Aristide Briand (1862–1932) |
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25 October 1904 – 13 February 1907 | Republican-Socialist Party | Briand | Armand Fallières | |
Raymond Poincaré (1860–1934) |
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13 February 1907 – 22 January 1910 | Democratic Republican Alliance | Poincaré | ||
Louis Barthou (1862–1934) |
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22 January 1910 – 31 December 1912 | Democratic Republican Alliance | Barthou | ||
Georges Leygues (1857–1933) |
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31 December 1912 – 20 March 1917 | Democratic Republican Alliance | Leygues | Raymond Poincaré | |
Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929) |
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20 March 1917 – 8 June 1924 | Republican Federation | Clemenceau | Raymond Poincaré | |
Paul Deschanel | ||||||
Frédéric François-Marsal (1863–1937) |
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8 June 1924 – 17 April 1929 | Republican Federation | François-Marsal | Gaston Doumergue | |
Paul Painlevé (1863–1933) |
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17 April 1929 – 15 October 1932 | Republican-Socialist Party | Painlevé | ||
17 | Alexandre Millerand (1859–1943) |
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15 October 1932 – 10 August 1933 | Independent | Millerand | Paul Doumer |
Joseph Paul-Boncour (1873–1972) |
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10 August 1933 – 2 November 1938 | Republican-Socialist Party | Paul-Boncour | Albert Lebrun | |
Paul Reynaud (1878–1966) |
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2 November 1938 – 23 December 1939 | Democratic Republican Alliance | Reynaud | ||
Vincent Auriol (1884–1966) |
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23 December 1939 – 15 May 1942 | French Socialist Party | Auriol | François Darlan | |
Georges Bidault (1899–1983) |
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15 May 1942 – 20 September 1944 | Republican Federation | Bidault | ||
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No. | Name | Portrait | In office | Party | Cabinet | President |
22 | Jacques Doriot (1898–1959) |
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30 September 1944 – 7 November 1958 | National Republican Movement | Doriot | Marcel Déat |
Jacques Benoist-Méchin | ||||||
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No. | Name | Portrait | In office | Party | Cabinet | |
Vincent Auriol (1884–1966) |
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12 September 1957 – 7 November 1958 | French Socialist Party | Auriol | N/A | |
– | François de La Rocque (1885–1970) |
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7 November 1958 – 31 March 1959 | Independent | La Rocque | N/A |
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No. | Name | Portrait | In office | Party | Cabinet | King |
François de La Rocque (1885–1970) |
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31 March 1959 – 9 August 1962 | Alliance Royale | La Rocque | Henry VI | |
André Malraux (1901–1976) |
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9 August 1962 – 10 January 1967 | Alliance Royale | Malraux | ||
Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour (1907–1989) |
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10 January 1967 – 26 September 1975 | Christian Democratic Party | Tixier-Vignancour | ||
Édouard Balladur (1929– ) |
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26 September 1975 – 4 June 1982 | Alliance Royale | Balladur | ||
Jean-Marie Le Pen (1928– ) |
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4 June 1982 – 21 February 1993 | Alliance Royale | La Pen | ||
Victor Andreoni (1940– ) |
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21 February 1993 – 19 October 2000 | French Socialist Party | Andreoni | ||
Jacques Faribault (1943– ) |
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19 October 2000 – 5 December 2008 | Christian Democratic Party | Attali | Henry VII | |
François de Montbrial (1942– ) |
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5 December 2008 – 24 April 2019 | Christian Democratic Party | Montbrial | ||
Oscar de Saint-Just (1974– ) |
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24 April 2019 – present | French Action | Saint-Just | Jean IV |