we explain the distribution of powers in the event of cohabitation

By choosing to dissolve the National Assembly, Emmanuel Macron exposes himself to the risk of having to cohabit with a Prime Minister from the opposition after the legislative elections on June 30 and July 7.

The last one was over twenty years ago. The organization of early legislative elections, on June 30 and July 7, raises the prospect of cohabitation between a President of the Republic and a Prime Minister from opposite political sides. If such a scenario has already occurred three times under the Fifth Republic, without having caused a major crisis, two reforms were adopted, in 2000 and 2001, to limit the risk of hindering government efficiency. The transition to a five-year term and the fact that the presidential election shortly precedes the election of deputies were supposed to reduce the risks of a fourth cohabitation.

Reduce, but not erase. Because the announcement of the dissolution of Emmanuel Macron’s National Assembly shattered this plan. By modifying the electoral calendar, the President of the Republic exposes himself to the possibility of not obtaining a majority. However, the head of state will have the obligation to appoint a Prime Minister from the party that won the elections. In view of the results in the European elections, the possibility that these anticipated legislative elections will result in cohabitation is on everyone’s minds. But how are institutions supposed to function with a head of state and a head of government who do not belong to the same party? Franceinfo explains how powers will be distributed in the event of defeat of the presidential party in the legislative elections.

The powers of the Prime Minister are extended

In times of cohabitation, we witness “a temporary erasure of the presidential function for the benefit of the Prime Minister”, writes the site Vie-publique.fr. This is in fact the only period where article 20 of the Constitution is applied “to the letter”according to the Constitutional Council. “The Prime Minister directs government action”which “determines and conducts the policy of the nation”specify articles 20 and 21. The political line of the executive would therefore be determined more by the head of government, supported by the parliamentary majority from which he comes, than by the head of state.

Article 39 of the Constitution specifies in particular that “the initiative for laws belongs concurrently to the Prime Minister and to the members of Parliament”. A legal text on which Jacques Chirac relied when he arrived at Matignon in 1986, when François Mitterrand was president. From the start of this first cohabitation of the Fifth Republic, the Prime Minister implemented his program, by voting for privatizations, electoral reform and audiovisual reform. En holding regulatory power, the head of government is responsible for enforcing the laws and steering the parliamentary procedure.

A task for which he is accompanied by his government, the composition of which is largely his responsibility. Under Article 8 of the Constitution, the President “appoints the other members of the government and terminates their functions”but only “on the proposal of the Prime Minister”. Thus, the law provides that the names of ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister and only appointed by the President. Even more so in times of cohabitation. In practice, certain nuances have been observed in the past and the president has the possibility to veto certain positions: François Mitterrand had refused in 1986 several names proposed by Jacques Chirac for sovereign portfolios.

The president can partially oppose the government

In the event of cohabitation, the head of state is not deprived of all his powers. For example, the President of the Republic remains the only one authorized to sign decrees and orders in the Council of Ministers. This gives him room to block an opposition government, at least temporarily. François Mitterrand resorted to it in 1986, says Vie-publique.fr, by refusing to sign the orders on denationalization submitted to him by the government of Jacques Chirac. However, this is primarily a symbolic blockage, because the Prime Minister can transform an ordinance into a bill and then have it adopted by the National Assembly.

If cohabitation limits the scope of action of the Head of State, he nonetheless remains endowed with his own powers, listed in article 19 of the Constitution. He can exercise them alone, without his Prime Minister or any member of the government. Among these purely sovereign prerogatives, there is the possibility of submitting a bill to a referendum, the appointment of three members to the Constitutional Council and its president or even the exercise of exceptional powers. Above all, the president can pronounce the dissolution of the National Assembly, which arbitrarily ends the mandate of the deputies. However, he must wait at least one year between each dissolution.

The Fifth Republic remains a regime characterized by “a strengthened executive”, according to the Constitutional Council. The tenant of the Elysée is not subject to any duty of reserve, he can absolutely use the platform given to him by his function to express himself on the political line of his Prime Minister. In 1997, Jacques Chirac, then head of state, for example used the traditional presidential intervention of July 14 to castigate the policies of his Prime Minister, the socialist Lionel Jospin.

The Elysée and Matignon share foreign policy

The President of the Republic may well be the head of the armed forces, hold the power to negotiate treaties and the possibility of using nuclear force, but action in matters of foreign policy does not fall within the sole competence of the head of the State. If Article 52 specifies that“he negotiates and ratifies treaties”nothing in the supreme law provides for the existence of“a reserved domain”especially since the The government also has constitutional prerogatives in these areas. For example, the Prime Minister is “responsible for defense national” and the government “has the administration and the armed force”according to article 20 of the Constitution.

Llecturer in public law Anne-Charlène Bezzina therefore explains to AFP that it is more relevant to talk about “shared domain”. Lhe French Constitution does not rule clearly in the event of cohabitation on the sharing of powers in matters of foreign policy and defense. “The role of the President of the Republic is essentially a role of representation.analyzes Thomas Perroud, professor of public law, on Mediapart, before specifying that“iHe can only commit to what has been decided upstream.” of cohabitation. He It is then up to the head of state to reach a compromise with the head of government so as not to paralyze France internationally.