Comparision of the French and German Political Systems

France and Germany are two of the most powerful nations in Europe. At one time bitter rivals, recently these two nations have come to a time of cooperation. Both nations are members of the European Union (EU), both are proactive and modern states, with strong economies. This paper will discuss the similarities and differences of the French and German political systems. Areas to be discussed will be the branches of government that is to say the executive, legislative and judiciary levels of government. Their will also be brief discussions on the history of the development of the present states of France and Germany.

The country of France is governed by a presidential republic with a centralized national government (capital Paris). The French Republic has been living under the same constitutional regime since 1958, with the introduction of the Fifth Republic as introduced by President Charles Degaulle. The constitutional amendments increased the powers of the president and decreased the control of the parliament. More on the roles of the executive branch and legislative branch in later sections. With a bicameral parliament legislature powers are divided between the National Assem

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The two houses are known as the National Assembly and the Senate. In terms of the partnership in the French dual executive the Prime Minister has been described as the “junior partner” (Mahler, MacInnis). The Federal Republic of Germany has been living under their constitution known as Basic Law since October 1990, though the constitution was introduced in Western Germany in 1949 and then became the constitution of the united Germany. presidential republic, electoral process singular plurality with proportional representation (Germany) vs singular plurality two vote system (France),

. France’s judicial functions are controlled by the Supreme Court of Appeals (Cour de Cassation). The domination of the executive in the legislature is most noticeable in the “functions of direct limitation on the power of the legislature” (Mahler, MacInnis 269). The German lander are illustrated in the following map.

On the other side of the executive branch is the Prime Minister. The German constitution dictates that “”the Lander shall participate through the Bundesrat in the legislation and administration of the Federation” (Mahler, MacInnis 295). Members of the senate are “elected for nine-year terms by an electoral-college. Common German ballots have two columns. The German judicial branch is represented through the Federal Constitutional Court. The committees discuss and modify appropriate bills, but nearly all bills originate with the chancellor’s cabinet” (Microsoft Encarta).

Approximate Word count = 2154
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

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