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FRENCH GOVERNMENT

The French Government operates as a unitary semi-presidential republic, with both a President and a Prime Minister. The President, elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term, holds the power to dissolve the National Assembly and call a legislative election. The Prime Minister, appointed by the President, is the head of government and responsible for domestic policy, with power concentrated in the office of the President. The French political system also comprises two legislative houses: the Senate (the upper house) and the National Assembly (the lower house). The government operates under a mixed legal system of civil and customary law, within the framework established by the constitution of the Fifth Republic adopted in 1958.