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The Fifth Republic is the period of the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on October 5, 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the ashes of the French Fourth Republic, replacing a weak and factional parliamentary government with a stronger, more centralized democracy.
The impetus behind the creation of the Fifth Republic was the Algerian Crisis. Although France had since parted with many of its colonies, such as many of those in West Africa and Southeast Asia, it still retained Algeria, which had a large French population. Algeria eventually became independent on July 5, 1962.
The former general Charles de GaulleCharles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( November 22, 1890 November 9, 1970), in France commonly referred to as general de Gaulle , was a French general and politician. Prior to the Second World War, he was mostly known as a tactician of tank battles and an used the crisis as an opportunity to create a new French government with a stronger office of PresidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae "before" + sedere "to sit"). Originally, the term usually referr, which before was largely that of a figureheadA figurehead is a person, usually in a political role, who may hold an important title or office yet executes little actual power. Common figureheads include constitutional monarchs, such as the Emperor of Japan, or presidents in parliamentary democracies. French Presidents, as in preceding constitutions, were given a very long term (7 years, now reduced to 5 years) and currently still have more internal power than most of their EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sean counterparts in parliamentary democracies. On September 28September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years). There are 94 days remaining. Events 480 BC The battle of Salamis is fought between the Persian and Greek navies exact date uncertain 48 BC Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King, 1958, a referendum took place and 79.2% of those who voted supported the new constitution. The president was initially elected by an electoral college, but in 1962 De Gaulle proposed that the president should be directly elected by the citizens in a referendum. Although the method and intents of de Gaulle in that referendum were highly contested by most political groups except for the Gaullists, the change was approved by the French electorate. Given the runoff voting system used in the presidential election, the president of the Republic has a high legitimacy, since he has to obtain a majority at either the first or second round of elections.
De Gaulle was succeeded by Georges Pompidou ( 1969– 1974), Valéry Giscard d'Estaing ( 1974– 1981), François Mitterrand ( 1981– 1995), and Jacques Chirac (since 1995).
See also: Politics of France Constitution of France
French government
