Why does France's Executive Branch Have Two Leaders?

Recent news of French President Emmanuel Macron’s choosing of a new Prime Minister has sparked interest into how the executive authority is shared among the leadership in the country. France’s government is unique compared to other countries in the way the power of the executive is split in a system called “bicéphalisme” which roughly translates to “2-headed" and reflects the way the French Executive has two leaders: le Président et le Premier Ministre.  

In France, le Président has significantly more authoritative discretion than leaders of other democracies around the world. Directly elected by the citizens of France every five years, the President is the Head of State, setting the national political agenda, representing France in foreign relations, and acting as the Commander in Chief. However, at its core, the President is responsible for ensuring that the constitution is upheld throughout all governmental operations, including in the legislature. Notably, The President has the authority to dissolve or bypass the Legislature whenever they want and set a national referendum vote and/or propose a new constitutional amendment. 

While the President has a lot of broad powers, le Premier Ministre’s powers play a more nuanced role in the government. The Prime Minister is directly appointed by the President when there is a vacancy. Their job is to defend the President’s domestic agenda in the legislature while also overseeing the day-to-day operations of the executive bureaucracy. If the President feels the Prime Minister is doing a sub-par job in handling internal affairs, the President may request their resignation and replace them. 

Typically, the President is able to appoint a Prime Minister from their own party; however, because the Prime Minister must have majority support from the National Assembly (the Legislature), the President sometimes must share executive power with someone from the opposition party. Such cases are called “cohabitation”. During times of cohabitation in the past, the President and Prime Minister often work together well as their actions are always being compared to each other and neither wants to appear as the less effective executor. 

The relationship between the President and Prime Minister defines the effectiveness of public policy. While the President has a significant amount of unchecked, constitutional granted authority, the Prime Minister has the equally important role of ensuring agendas get done. Although untraditional, France’s executive system remains an effective way of remaining functional without jeopardizing the democracy of a nation.