France is a republican, democratic, secular state whose motto is'' Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité''.

The constitution of the 4th October 1988 of the 5 th Republic governs the running of the institutions. Thus, the constitutional body-'' Le Conseil Constitutionel'' stands as guarantor for the Constitution.

The President

The President of the Republic, the Head of the State and the army, who is  elected for 5 years by direct universal suffrage, selects the Prime Minister and through him the members of the Government. The French President presides over the Council of Ministers and promulgates laws. He can also dissolve the National Assembly and in a serious crisis can use special powers.

The Prime Minister

He directs the government and ensures law enforcement. Under his direction, the government determines and leads the politics of the Nation, remaining at all times accountable to Parliament.

The Parliament

The parliament is made of 2 assemblies: Le Sénat ( House of Lords) and l'assemblée Nationale ( House of Commons). The 2 assemblies in addition to their role of controlling the government, also propose and vote the laws. For this reason and in the case of a disagreement, The National Assembly rules definitively.

Belonging to the European Union, France acknowledges the role of European institutions ( European Comission, European Parliament and European Council) and includes European decisions into its way of working.

The French Territory includes the metropolis, the 4 french overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and the Reunion) the 4 oversees territories (French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, the French South and North Poles)  as well as collective territories with a special status: Mayotte and St Pierre et Miquelon.

In terms of local power 3 levels of collective territory overlap each other with distinct jurisdictions.

The Communes (towns)

36.763 communes, smaller administrative subdivisions, carry out local jurisdictions such as the construction of schools, town planning, social services, collection of household rubbish sanitation.

The Departments:

The departments (96 plus 4 oversees) created by the revolution in 1789 have considerable jurisdiction in terms of social services, construction and maintenance of schools , roads......

The regions

The regions ( 26 of which 4 are oversees)  more recent authorities whose area of jurisdiction is continually growing, run policies centered on economic development, vocational training and town and country planning.