Citizen's Handbook (Livret du citoyen) 2026: summary of part 2, the institutional and political system

Part 2 of the Citizen’s Handbook (pages 15 to 23) explains how France is governed: its institutions, voting rights, how the territory is organised, and France’s place in the European Union. It corresponds to the “Institutions” topic of the civic exam. This summary follows the order of the handbook; if in doubt, the official handbook is the definitive source.

Democracy and the rule of law

France is a democracy and a state governed by the rule of law: everyone must obey the law, including the state. Article 2 of the Constitution sets out the principle of the Republic: “government of the people, by the people and for the people”.

The current Constitution is that of the Fifth Republic, adopted in 1958 by referendum. It can be amended by referendum or by a vote of Parliament meeting in Congress. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is mentioned in its preamble.

The rule of law is based on the protection of fundamental freedoms, an independent justice system and the separation of the three branches of power:

Power	Role	Who exercises it
Legislative	Drafting and passing laws	Members of the National Assembly and senators
Executive	Setting the Nation’s policy and enforcing laws	The Government
Judicial	Administering justice	Judges

Political parties are free to form and operate. The administration complies with the Constitution, the laws and republican principles, under the supervision of the courts.

The main institutions

• The President of the Republic is the head of state and the armed forces. They are elected by direct universal suffrage for five years, renewable once. To stand as a candidate, you must obtain 500 endorsements from elected officials. The President appoints the Prime Minister and, on the Prime Minister’s proposal, the ministers, who come from the majority elected in the legislative elections.
• The Government, led by the Prime Minister, determines and conducts the Nation’s policy.
• Parliament is made up of the National Assembly and the Senate. It passes laws and oversees the Government. The 577 members of the National Assembly are elected by direct universal suffrage every five years; the 348 senators are elected by indirect universal suffrage for six years.
• The justice system is administered by judges. It settles disputes between individuals or businesses, and between citizens and the administration. It punishes offences with penalties set out by law, such as prison or a fine.
• The Constitutional Council checks that laws comply with the Constitution and ensures that national elections are conducted properly.

The right to vote

In France, suffrage is universal: all citizens can vote. The first vote by universal suffrage took place in 1848, but only men could vote. Women gained the right to vote in April 1944 and voted for the first time in April 1945.

To vote, you must:

1. be a French national, or a national of an EU country for municipal and European elections;
2. be an adult, which means being at least 18 years old;
3. not have been deprived of your civil rights, a possible penalty for serious offences;
4. be registered on the electoral roll, online or at the town hall.

Voting is personal and secret. At the polling station, you go into a polling booth to put your ballot paper in an envelope, then place it in the ballot box. You are not allowed to enter a polling booth with other people. During the campaign, each local authority puts up election posters on display boards: damaging them is forbidden. You must show proof of identity at the polling station, except in towns with fewer than 1 000 inhabitants, where the presiding officer may still ask you to prove your identity.

Election	Who is elected	Term of office
Presidential	The President of the Republic	5 years
Legislative	Members of the National Assembly	5 years
Senatorial (by elected officials)	Senators	6 years
Municipal	The municipal council, which runs the local authority with the mayor	6 years
Departmental	Departmental councillors	6 years
Regional	Regional councillors	6 years
European	Members of the European Parliament	5 years

How local government is organised

Through decentralisation, the state gives powers and resources to local authorities: municipalities, departments, regions and overseas local authorities. In these areas, the state is represented by prefects for the region and department, or by high commissioners in some overseas local authorities.

Level	Number	Who leads it	What it is responsible for
Municipality	34 875 as at 1 January 2025	The mayor and municipal council, elected for 6 years	Public nursery and primary schools, sport and culture, municipal roads, civil registration (births, marriages, deaths)
Department	101, including 96 in mainland France and 5 overseas	The departmental council	Public secondary schools, social services, departmental roads, child protection, support for older people
Region	18: 13 in mainland France and 5 overseas	The regional council	Public transport, economic development, vocational training, public upper secondary schools

Municipalities also join together to form inter-municipal authorities (communities of municipalities, metropolitan authorities), which manage services such as water, sanitation, waste and urban transport. The most recent department is Mayotte, created in 2011. EU citizens can vote and stand in municipal elections.

Overseas France

France has 12 overseas territories:

• 5 are both departments and regions: Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte;
• 7 are local authorities with special status: New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, and Wallis and Futuna.

Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy make up the French West Indies. The handbook then shows the administrative map of France (page 21).

The European Union

France is one of the countries that helped to build the European project. After the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC, 1951), the Treaty of Rome of 1957 established the European Economic Community between six founding countries: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Its aim was to bring the peoples of Europe together and preserve peace after the Second World War. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty created the European Union. It now has 27 member states, and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, adopted in 2000, guarantees people’s rights.

Year	Countries joining (or leaving)
1957	France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg (6 founding countries)
1973	United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark (9 members)
1981	Greece (10 members)
1986	Spain, Portugal (12 members)
1990	Extension to the former GDR following German reunification
1995	Austria, Sweden, Finland (15 members)
2004	Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus (25 members)
2007	Romania, Bulgaria (27 members)
2013	Croatia (28 members)
2020	The United Kingdom leaves the Union (Brexit): 27 members

Other things to know about Europe:

• Since 1992, French citizens have also been European citizens. Every five years, they elect members of the European Parliament, which meets in Strasbourg.
• European citizens can travel, work, study and settle freely in other EU countries, and vote in local elections there.
• The European flag has 12 stars. The anthem is “Ode to Joy”, an excerpt from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, adopted in 1985. The motto is “United in diversity”.
• Euro coins and banknotes have been in circulation since 1 January 2002. France now shares this currency with 20 other EU countries.
• Europe Day is celebrated on 9 May, in memory of Robert Schuman’s declaration of 9 May 1950, considered the founding act of the European Union.
• The European Commission, the Union’s executive body, has been based in Brussels since 1958; the European Central Bank has been in Frankfurt since 1998.