Two heads,
one executive.

President of the Republic · Emmanuel Macron

Elected for five years, in two rounds

• Elected by direct universal suffrage; a candidate needs more than half the votes cast, or a run-off between the top two two weeks later (Art. 7).
• No more than two consecutive terms (Art. 6, since 2008).
• Appoints the Prime Minister and, on the PM's proposal, the ministers (Art. 8). Chairs the Council of Ministers.
• May dissolve the National Assembly, at most once a year (Art. 12); may put certain bills to a referendum (Art. 11).
• Commander of the armed forces; negotiates treaties; emergency powers under Art. 16.
• Not answerable to Parliament; can be removed only by the High Court for a breach of duty (Art. 68).

Prime Minister · Sébastien Lecornu, since 10 October 2025

Answerable to the Assembly

• The government "determines and conducts the policy of the nation" (Art. 20); the Prime Minister directs it (Art. 21).
• Needs no vote of investiture: a government stands until an absolute majority of deputies censures it (Art. 49–50).
• Can force a text through with Article 49.3, at the risk of a censure motion.

Key ministers

• Interior Laurent Nuñez
• Justice Gérald Darmanin
• Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin
• Europe & Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot
• Economy & Finance Roland Lescure
• Public Accounts David Amiel
• Labour & Solidarity Jean-Pierre Farandou
• Health & Families Stéphanie Rist
• Ecological Transition Monique Barbut
• G National Education Édouard Geffray
• Agriculture Annie Genevard
• Culture Catherine Pégard

Photos: Laurent Nuñez — Ministère de l'Intérieur, Licence Ouverte · Gérald Darmanin — UK Home Office, CC BY 2.5 · Catherine Vautrin — G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jean-Noël Barrot — Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 from Belgium, CC BY 2.0 · Roland Lescure — Lukasz Kobus / European Union, 2022 / EC - Audiovisual Service, CC BY 4.0 · David Amiel — B.MODIFICATEUR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jean-Pierre Farandou — Maxime Huriez, CC BY 4.0 · Stéphanie Rist — Antoine Lamielle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monique Barbut — Arnaud Bouissou / Terra, Licence Ouverte · Catherine Pégard — Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, CC BY 4.0 . Others public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Who sits

Nine members for one nine-year term each, a third renewed every three years: three appointed by the President of the Republic, three by the President of the Assembly, three by the President of the Senate (Art. 56). Former Presidents of the Republic are members by right. President: Richard Ferrand, since 8 March 2025.

What it does

Reviews laws before promulgation (Art. 61) and, since 2010, on referral from the courts when a citizen challenges a law already in force (QPC, Art. 61-1). It is also the election court: it oversees the presidential election and proclaims its result (Art. 58), rules on disputed parliamentary elections (Art. 59) and oversees referendums (Art. 60).