View source for President of France

{{short description|Head of state of France}}
{{Further|List of heads of state of France}}
{{for|a list|List of presidents of France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = President
| body = the French Republic
| native_name = {{small|{{lang|fr|Président de la République française}}}}
| insignia = Armoiries république française.svg
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = [[Diplomatic emblem of France|Emblem of the French Republic]]
| flag = Standard of the President of France.svg
| flagsize = 120px
| flagcaption = [[Presidential standard of France|Presidential standard]]
| flagborder = yes
| image = Emmanuel Macron - June 2025 (3x4 cropped).jpg
| incumbent = [[Emmanuel Macron]]
| incumbentsince = 14 May 2017
| department = [[Politics of France|Executive branch of the French Government]]
| style = {{ubli|[[President (government title)|Mr. President]] (informal)|[[Excellency|His Excellency]] (diplomatic)}}
| status = {{ubl|[[Executive President]]|[[Head of state]]|[[Commander-in-chief]]}}
| member_of = {{ubl|[[Secretariat-General for National Defence and Security (France)|Defence and National Security Council]]|[[European Council]]}}
| residence = [[Élysée Palace]]
| seat = [[Paris]], France
| nominator = 
| appointer = [[Direct election|Popular vote]]
| termlength = Five years,
| termlength_qualified = renewable once consecutively<ref>This limit is not permanent; a former president who completed two terms may run again once at least one term has elapsed.</ref>
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of France]] (1958)
| precursor = 
| formation = {{ubl|{{start date and age|df=y|1848|12|20}} ([[French Second Republic|Second Republic]])|{{start date and age|df=y|1958|10|4}} ([[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]])}}
| inaugural = [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte]]
| salary = €{{round|182400|-3}} per annum<ref>[http://www.journaldunet.com/economie/magazine/le-salaire-des-politiques-et-des-elus/president-de-la-republique.shtml Président de la République: 14 910 € bruts par mois], Le Journal Du Net</ref>
| deputy = [[President of the Senate (France)|President of the French Senate]] (in the presidential line of succession)
| website = {{Official URL}}
| imagesize = 200px
}}
{{Politics of France}}

The '''president of France''', officially the '''president of the French Republic''' ({{langx|fr|Président de la République française|link=no}}, {{IPA|fr|pʁezidɑ̃ d(ə) la ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz|}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.un.org/dgacm/en/content/protocol/hshgnfa |website=Department for General Assembly and Conference Management |publisher=[[United Nations]] |access-date=19 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250919194822/https://www.un.org/dgacm/sites/www.un.org.dgacm/files/Documents_Protocol/hspmfmlist.pdf |archive-date=2025-09-19 |page=18 |language=en |quote=Head of State: {{lang|fr|Son Excellence, Monsieur Emmanuel Macron}}; Full Title: {{lang|fr|Président de la République française}} |url-status=live}}</ref> or '''president of the Republic'''<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution of October 4, 1958 &sect; Title II: The President of the Republic |url=https://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/langues/welcome-to-the-english-website-of-the-french-national-assembly#Title2 |website=[[National Assembly of France]] |access-date=4 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250825153608/https://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/langues/welcome-to-the-english-website-of-the-french-national-assembly |archive-date=2025-08-25 |language=en |quote=The President of the Republic shall [...] |url-status=live}}</ref> ({{lang|fr|Président de la République}}), is the executive [[head of state]] of [[France]], and the [[Chief of the Armed Forces (France)|commander-in-chief]] of the [[French Armed Forces]]. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the position is the highest office in France. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, in addition to their relation with the [[Prime Minister of France|prime minister]] and [[government of France]], have over time differed with the various constitutional documents since the [[French Second Republic|Second Republic]].

The president of France is the {{lang|la|[[Ex officio member|ex officio]]}} [[Co-Princes of Andorra|co-prince of Andorra]], grand master of the [[Legion of Honour]] and of the [[Ordre national du Mérite|National Order of Merit]], and protector of the [[Institut de France]] in Paris. The officeholder is also honorary proto-canon of the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]] in Rome, although some have rejected the title in the past.

The current president is [[Emmanuel Macron]], who succeeded [[François Hollande]] on 14 May 2017 following the [[2017 French presidential election|2017 presidential election]], and was inaugurated for a second term on 7 May 2022 following the [[2022 French presidential election|2022 presidential election]].

==History==
The presidency of France was first publicly proposed during the [[July Revolution]] of 1830, when it was offered to the [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]]. He demurred in favour of Prince [[Louis Philippe I|Louis Phillipe]], who became King of the French.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Louis Philippe, King of the French |publisher=[[University of Leeds]] Library Special Collections |url=https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections/collection/1709 |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=library.leeds.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cornick |first1=Martyn |title=A history of the French in London: liberty, equality, opportunity |last2=Kelly |first2=Debra |date=2013 |publisher=[[Institute of Historical Research]] |isbn=978-1-905165-86-5 |location=London |pages=115 }}</ref>

Eighteen years later, during the opening phases of the [[French Second Republic|Second Republic]], the title was created for a popularly elected head of state, the first of whom was [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte]], nephew of Emperor [[Napoleon]]. Bonaparte served as president until he staged a [[1851 French coup d'état|self-coup]] against the republic, proclaiming himself Napoleon III, [[Emperor of the French]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-15 |title=Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte |url=https://www.elysee.fr/en/louis-napoleon-bonaparte |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=President of France |language=en}}</ref>

Under the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] the president was at first quite powerful, mainly because the royalist party was strong when the constitutional laws of 1875 were established, and it was hoped that a member of one of the two branches of the royal family would be able to serve as president and turn France into a constitutional monarchy. However, the [[1877 French legislative election|next legislature]] was dominated by Republicans, and after President [[Patrice de MacMahon]] had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a new royalist majority by dissolving the {{lang|fr|Chambre des Députés}}, his successor [[Jules Grévy]] promised in 1879 that he would not use his presidential power of dissolution, and therefore lost his control over the legislature, effectively creating a [[parliamentary system]] that would be maintained for 80 years until the accession of [[Charles de Gaulle]] as president in 1959.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jules Grévy 1879–1887 |url=https://www.elysee.fr/en/jules-grevy |publisher=President of France |date=15 November 2018 |access-date=8 November 2022}}</ref>

Indeed, when the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]] was created, after the Second World War, it was a parliamentary system, in which the office of President of the Republic was a largely ceremonial one.

The Constitution of the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]], adopted in 1958, greatly increased the president's powers. A [[1962 French presidential election referendum|1962 referendum]] changed the constitution, so that the president would be directly elected by universal suffrage and not by the electoral college established in 1958.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=[[French National Assembly]] |title=Constitution of October 4, 1958 |url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/english/8ab.asp |access-date=2024-02-18 |archive-date=13 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313212736/http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/english/8ab.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web  |title=Décision n° 62-20 DC du 06 novembre 1962 |url=http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/62-20-dc/decision-n-62-20-dc-du-06-novembre-1962.6398.html |publisher=[[Constitutional Council (France)|Constitutional Council of France]] |access-date=2024-02-18 |archive-date=10 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510064946/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/depuis-1958/decisions-par-date/1962/62-20-dc/decision-n-62-20-dc-du-06-novembre-1962.6398.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2000, a [[2000 French constitutional referendum|referendum]] shortened the presidential term from seven years ({{lang|fr|[[Septennat (France)|Septennat]]}}) to five years ({{lang|fr|Quinquennat}}). A maximum of two consecutive terms was imposed after a [[French constitutional law of 23 July 2008|2008 constitutional reform]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elections: France Referendum 2000 |url=https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/80/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=[[International Foundation for Electoral Systems]] }}</ref>

==Election==
{{further|Presidential elections in France}}

=== Term limits ===
Since the [[1962 French presidential election referendum|1962 presidential referendum]], the president has been directly elected by [[universal suffrage]]; previously, an [[electoral college]] decided the head of state. The length of the presidential term was reduced from seven years to five years following a [[2000 French constitutional referendum|2000 referendum]]; the first election for a shorter term was held in [[2002 French presidential election|2002]]. Then-president [[Jacques Chirac]] was first elected in [[1995 French presidential election|1995]] and again in 2002, and would have been able to run in [[2007 French presidential election|2007]] had he chosen to, given the lack of term limits.

Following a further change, the [[French constitutional law of 23 July 2008|constitutional law of 2008 on the modernization of the institutions of the Fifth Republic]], a president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. [[François Mitterrand]] and [[Jacques Chirac]] were previously the only presidents to date who have served a full two terms (14 years for the former, 12 years for the latter). Incumbent Emmanuel Macron is the fourth president (after de Gaulle, Mitterrand, and Chirac) to win re-election, having [[2022 French presidential election|done so in 2022]].<ref>{{cite news |title=French election: Historic win but Macron has polarised France |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61209765 |date=24 April 2022 |work=[[BBC News Online]] }}</ref>

=== Electoral process ===
French presidential elections are conducted using [[two-round system|run-off voting]], which ensures that the elected president always obtains a majority: if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round of voting, the two highest-scoring candidates arrive at a run-off. After a new president is elected, they go through a solemn [[investiture]] ceremony called a {{lang|fr|passation des pouvoirs}} ("handing over of powers").<ref>{{cite web |title=Inauguration of the Presidents of the Republic |date=16 November 2012 |url=https://www.elysee.fr/en/french-presidency/inauguration-of-the-presidents-of-the-republic |publisher=President of France |access-date=7 October 2022 }}</ref>

In order to be admitted as an official candidate, potential candidates must receive signed nominations (known as {{lang|fr|parrainages}}, for "sponsors") from more than 500 elected local officials, mostly mayors. These officials must be from at least 30 {{lang|fr|[[departments of France|départements]]}} or [[overseas collectivities]], and no more than 10% of them should be from the same {{lang|fr|département}} or collectivity.<ref>{{cite French law |article=4 |number or usual name=n<sup>o</sup> 62-1292 |date in French=6 novembre 1962 |full name=relative à l'élection du Président de la République au suffrage universel |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=6D2C4BA80F84A2A0EC99E29519065953.tpdjo13v_2?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006068219&dateTexte=20130619#}}.</ref> Furthermore, each official may nominate only one candidate.<ref>{{cite French decree |article=6 |number or usual name=n<sup>o</sup> 2001-213 |date in French=8 novembre 2001 |full name=portant application de la loi n<sup>o</sup> 62-1292 du 6 novembre 1962 relative à l'élection du Président de la République au suffrage universel |url=http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/root/bank_mm/anglais/decree2001-213.pdf}}</ref>

There are exactly 45,543 elected officials, including 33,872 mayors. Spending and financing of campaigns and political parties are highly regulated. There is a cap on spending (at approximately €20&nbsp;million) and government public financing of 50% of spending if the candidate scores more than 5%. If the candidate receives less than 5% of the vote, the government funds €8,000,000 to the party (€4,000,000 paid in advance).<ref>[http://www.metrofrance.com/fr/article/afp/2007/04/24/070424142028_h2o7rf6h/index.xml Dépenses de campagne: énorme ardoise pour LO, la LCR s'en tire sans déficit]{{dead link |date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}, ''[[Metro International|Metro France]]'', 24 April 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Advertising on TV is forbidden, but official time is given to candidates on public TV. An independent agency regulates election and party financing.

==Powers==
The [[French Fifth Republic]] is a [[semi-presidential republic|semi-presidential system]]. Unlike most other European heads of state, the French president is quite powerful. Although the [[Prime Minister of France]], through their government as well as Parliament, oversees much of the nation's actual day-to-day domestic affairs, the French president wields significant influence and authority, especially in the fields of [[national security]] and [[foreign relations of France|foreign policy]]. The president's greatest power is the ability to choose the prime minister. However, since it is the [[National Assembly (France)|French National Assembly]] that has the sole power to dismiss the prime minister's government, the president is forced to name a prime minister who can command the support of a majority in the assembly. Since 2002, the legislative elections are held a few weeks after the presidential; a majority supporting the president's party or at the very least not opposing the president's choice is therefore very likely to be obtained. The president also has the duty of arbitrating the functioning of governmental authorities for efficient service, as the head of state of France.

* When a majority of the Assembly has opposite political views to that of the president, this leads to political {{lang|fr|[[cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]]}}. In that case, the President's power is diminished, since much of the {{lang|la|[[de facto]]}} power relies on a supportive prime minister and National Assembly, and is not directly attributed to the post of president.
* When the majority of the Assembly sides with them, the president can take a more active role and may further influence government policy. The prime minister is then a more personal choice of the president, and can be easily replaced if the administration becomes unpopular. This device has been used in recent years by [[François Mitterrand]], [[Jacques Chirac]], and [[François Hollande]].

Since 2002, the mandate of the president and the Assembly are both five years, and the two elections are close to each other. Therefore, the likelihood of a {{lang|fr|cohabitation}} is lower. Among the powers of the president:

* The president [[promulgation|promulgates]] laws.
** The president has a suspensive [[veto]]: when presented with a law, they can request another reading of it by the Parliament, but only once per law.
** The president may also refer the law for review to the [[Constitutional Council (France)|Constitutional Council]] prior to promulgation.
* The president may dissolve the [[National Assembly (France)|French National Assembly]].
* The president may refer treaties or certain types of laws to popular [[referendum]], within certain conditions (among them the agreement of the prime minister or the Parliament).
* The president is the [[Chief of the Armed Forces (France)|Chief of the Armed Forces]].
* The president may order the use of [[force de dissuasion|nuclear weapons]].
* The president names the prime minister. In theory, they cannot directly dismiss them, but at least a few recent PMs are known to have given an undated letter of resignation for themselves to the president upon taking office, and the president generally has some influence over the PM. The president also names and dismisses the other ministers, with the advice of the prime minister.
* The president names most officials (with the assent of the cabinet).
* The president names certain members of the Constitutional Council. (Former presidents are also members of this council)
* The president receives foreign ambassadors.
* The president may grant a [[pardon]] (but not an [[amnesty]]) to convicted criminals; the president can also lessen or suppress criminal sentences. This was of crucial importance when France still operated the death penalty: criminals sentenced to death would generally request that the president commute their sentence to life imprisonment.

All decisions of the president must be countersigned by the prime minister, except dissolving the National Assembly, choice of prime minister, and other dispositions referred to in Article 19.

===Detailed constitutional powers===
The constitutional attributions of the president are defined in Title II of the [[Constitution of France]].

'''Article 5''': The president of the republic shall see that the Constitution is observed. He shall ensure, by his arbitration, the proper functioning of the public authorities and the continuity of the State. He shall be the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity and observance of treaties.

'''Article 8''': The president of the republic shall appoint the prime minister. He shall terminate the appointment of the prime minister when the latter tenders the resignation of the Government. On the proposal of the prime minister, he shall appoint the other members of the Government and terminate their appointments.

'''Article 9''': The president of the republic shall preside over the Council of Ministers.

'''Article 10:''' The president of the republic shall promulgate acts of parliament within fifteen days following the final adoption of an act and its transmission to the Government. He may, before the expiry of this time limit, ask Parliament to reconsider the act or sections of the Act. Reconsideration shall not be refused. ''While the President has to sign all acts adopted by parliament into law, he cannot refuse to do so and exercise a kind of right of veto; his only power in that matter is to ask for a single reconsideration of the law by parliament and this power is subject to countersigning by the Prime minister.''

'''Article 11:''' The president could submit laws to the people in a referendum with advice and consent of the cabinet.

'''Article 12''': The president of the republic may, after consulting the prime minister and the presidents of the assemblies, declare the National Assembly dissolved. A general election shall take place not less than twenty days and not more than forty days after the dissolution. The National Assembly shall convene as of right on the second Thursday following its election. Should it so convene outside the period prescribed for the ordinary session, a session shall be called by right for a fifteen-day period. No further dissolution shall take place within a year following this election.

'''Article 13:''' The president of the republic shall sign the [[ordonnance|ordinances]] and [[decree#France|decrees]] deliberated upon in the Council of Ministers. He shall make appointments to the civil and military posts of the State. [...]

'''Article 14''': The president of the republic shall accredit [[ambassador]]s and envoys extraordinary to foreign powers; foreign [[ambassador]]s and envoys extraordinary shall be accredited to him.

'''Article 15''': The president of the republic shall be commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He shall preside over the higher national defence councils and committees.

'''Article 16''': Where the institutions of the republic, the independence of the nation, the integrity of its territory or the fulfilment of its international commitments are under serious and immediate threat, and where the proper functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted, the president of the republic shall take the measures required by these circumstances, after formally consulting the prime minister, the presidents of the assemblies and the Constitutional Council. He shall inform the nation of these measures in a message. The measures must stem from the desire to provide the constitutional public authorities, in the shortest possible time, with the means to carry out their duties. The Constitutional Council shall be consulted with regard to such measures. Parliament shall convene as of right. The National Assembly shall not be dissolved during the exercise of the emergency powers.

'''''Article 16''', allowing the president a limited form of [[rule by decree]] for a limited period of time in exceptional circumstance, has been used only once, by [[Charles de Gaulle]] during the [[Algerian War]], from 23 April to 29 September 1961.''

'''Article 17''': The president of the republic has the right to grant pardon.

'''Article 18''': The president of the republic shall communicate with the two assemblies of Parliament by means of messages, which he shall cause to be read and which shall not be the occasion for any debate. He can also give an address in front of the [[Congress of the French Parliament|Congress of France]] in Versailles. Outside sessions, Parliament shall be convened especially for this purpose.<ref>From 1875 to 2008, the President was prohibited from entering the houses of Parliament.</ref>

'''Article 19''': Acts of the president of the republic, other than those provided for under articles 8 (first paragraph), 11, 12, 16, 18, 54, 56 and 61, shall be countersigned by the prime minister and, where required, by the appropriate ministers.

===Presidential amnesties===
Before the 2008 constitutional reform forbidding them, there was a tradition of so-called "presidential amnesties", which are something of a misnomer: after the election of a president, and of a National Assembly of the same party, parliament would traditionally vote a law granting amnesty for some [[petty crime]]s (it was also a way of reducing jail overpopulation). This practice had been increasingly criticized, particularly because it was believed to inspire people to commit traffic offences in the months preceding the election. Such an amnesty law would also authorize the president to designate individuals who have committed certain categories of crimes to be offered amnesty, if certain conditions are met. Such individual measures have been criticized for the political [[patronage]] that they allow. The difference between an amnesty and a presidential pardon is that the former clears all subsequent effects of the sentencing, as though the crime had not been committed, while pardon simply relieves the sentenced individual from part or all of the remainder of the sentence.

==Criminal responsibility and impeachment==
Articles 67 and 68 organize the regime of criminal responsibility of the president. They were reformed by a 2007 constitutional act<ref>{{cite French law |number or usual name=constitutionnelle n<sup>o</sup> 2007-238 |date in French=23 février 2007 |full name=portant modification du titre IX de la Constitution |language=French |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000245803}}</ref> in order to clarify a situation that previously resulted in legal controversies.<ref>For all this section, see Articles 67 and 68 and {{lang|fr|[http://www.cairn.info/revue-francaise-de-droit-constitutionnel-2002-1.htm La responsabilité pénale du président de la République]}}, {{lang|fr|Revue française de droit constitutionnel|italic=no}}, n° 49 –2002/1, [[P.U.F.]], {{ISBN|978-2-13-052789-3}}</ref> The president of the Republic enjoys [[sovereign immunity|immunity]] during their term: they cannot be requested to testify before any jurisdiction, they cannot be prosecuted, etc. However, the [[statute of limitations]] is suspended during their term, and enquiries and prosecutions can be restarted, at the latest one month after they leave office. The president is not deemed personally responsible for their actions in their official capacity, except where their actions are indicted before the [[International Criminal Court]] (France is a member of the ICC and the president is a French citizen as another following the Court's rules) or where impeachment is moved against them. [[Impeachment]] can be pronounced by the Republican High Court, a special court convened from both houses of Parliament on the proposal of either House, should the president have failed to discharge their duties in a way that evidently precludes the continuation of their term.

==Succession and incapacity==
[[File:23.04.1969. A Poher. (1969) - 53Fi3443 (cropped).jpg|180px|left|thumb|[[Alain Poher]], who served as acting president in 1969 and 1974]]
{{Presidential orders of succession}}
Upon the death in office, removal, or resignation of the president, the [[Senate (France)|Senate]]'s president takes over as acting president.<ref>The exact title is "President of the Senate, exercising provisionally the functions of the President of the Republic"; see how Alain Poher is referred to on signing statutes into law, e.g. [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=19690510&numTexte=&pageDebut=04675&pageFin= law 69-412] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728094712/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jo_pdf.do?numJO=0&dateJO=19690510&numTexte=&pageDebut=04675&pageFin= |date=28 July 2020 }}</ref> [[Alain Poher]] is the only person to have served in this temporary position, and has done so twice: the first time in 1969 after [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s resignation and a second time in 1974 after [[Georges Pompidou]]'s death while in office. In this situation, the president of the Senate does not have to resign from their position while acting as president.

The first round of a new presidential election must be organized no sooner than twenty days and no later than thirty-five days following the vacancy of the presidency. Fifteen days can separate the first and second rounds of a presidential election; this means that the president of the Senate can only act as President of the Republic for a maximum period of fifty days.

During this interim period, acting presidents are not allowed to dismiss the national assembly, nor are they allowed to call for a referendum or initiate any constitutional changes. If there is no president of the Senate, the powers of the president of the republic are exercised by the {{lang|fr|Gouvernement}}, meaning the Cabinet. This has been interpreted by some constitutional academics as meaning first the prime minister and, if they are themselves not able to act, the members of the cabinet in the order of the list of the decree that nominated them. This is in fact unlikely to happen, because if the president of the Senate is not able to act, the Senate will normally name a new president of the Senate, who will act as President of the Republic.

During the [[French Third Republic|Third French Republic]] the president of the Council of Ministers acted as president whenever the office was vacant.<ref>{{cite French law |article=7 |date in French=25 février 1875 |full name=relative à l'organisation des pouvoirs publics |url=http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Lois_constitutionnelles_de_1875#Loi_du_25_f.C3.A9vrier_1875_relative_.C3.A0_l.27organisation_des_pouvoirs_publics}}: "In case of a vacancy due to a decease or for any cause, the two houses of Parliament elect a new president. In the meantime, the executive power is vested in the council of ministers."</ref> According to article 7 of the Constitution, if the presidency becomes vacant for any reason, or if the president becomes incapacitated, upon the request of the {{lang|fr|Gouvernement}}, the Constitutional Council may rule, by a majority vote,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexteArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006529987&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069199 |title=Ordonnance n<sup>o</sup> 58-1067 du 7 novembre 1958 portant loi organique sur le Conseil constitutionnel |language=French |website=Légifrance |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403104549/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexteArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006529987&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069199 |archive-date= Apr 3, 2019 }}</ref> that the presidency is to be temporarily assumed by the president of the Senate. If the Council rules that the incapacity is permanent, the same procedure as for the resignation is applied, as described above. If the president cannot attend meetings, including meetings of the Council of Ministers, they can ask the prime minister to attend in their stead (Constitution, article 21). This clause has been applied by presidents travelling abroad, ill, or undergoing surgery. During the [[French Second Republic|Second French Republic]], there was a [[vice President of France|vice president]]. The only person to ever hold the position was [[Henri Georges Boulay de la Meurthe]].

==Death in office==
Four French presidents have died in office:
* [[Sadi Carnot (statesman)|Sadi Carnot]], who was assassinated by [[Sante Geronimo Caserio]] on 25 June 1894, aged 56.
* [[Félix Faure]], who died on 16 February 1899, aged 58.
* [[Paul Doumer]], who was assassinated by [[Paul Gorguloff]] on 7 May 1932, aged 75, the oldest to die in office.
* [[Georges Pompidou]], who died on 2 April 1974, aged 62.

==Pay and official residences==
[[File:Secretary Pompeo Arrives to Meet with French Foreign Minister Le Drian in Paris (50610423656).jpg|thumb|The [[Élysée Palace]], the principal residence of the president]]
The president of the Republic is paid a salary according to a pay grade defined in comparison to the pay grades of the most senior members of the [[French Civil Service]] ("out of scale", {{lang|fr|hors échelle}}, those whose pay grades are known as letters and not as numeric indices). In addition they are paid a residence stipend of 3%, and a function stipend of 25% on top of the salary and residence indemnity. This gross salary and these indemnities are the same as those of the prime minister, and are 50% higher than the highest paid to other members of the government,<ref>{{cite French law |number or usual name=n<sup>o</sup> 2002-1050 |date in French=6 août 2002 |full name=de finances rectificative pour 2002 |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000005633238&dateTexte=20130619}} as amended</ref> which is itself defined as twice the average of the highest (pay grade G) and the lowest (pay grade A1) salaries in the "out of scale" pay grades.<ref>{{cite French decree |article=1 |number or usual name=n<sup>o</sup> 2002-1058 |date in French=6 août 2002 |full name=relatif au traitement des membres du Gouvernement |language=French |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000005633245}}.</ref> {{As of|2008|alt=Using the 2008 "out of scale" pay grades,}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110520183843/http://costkiller.net/salaires/salaires-fonction-publique.htm Grille de salaires de la fonction publique].</ref> it amounts to a monthly pay of 20,963 euros, which fits the 19,000 euros quoted to the press in early 2008.<ref>[http://www.politique.net/2008022801-le-salaire-du-premier-ministre-a-double-depuis-2002.htm Le salaire du Premier ministre a doublé depuis 2002], citing an interview given by [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] to ''[[Le Parisien]]''.</ref> Using the pay grades starting from 1 July 2009,<ref>{{cite French decree |number or usual name=n<sup>o</sup> 2009-824 |date in French=3 juillet 2009 |full name=portant majoration à compter du 1<sup>er</sup> juillet 2009 de la rémunération des personnels civils et militaires de l'État, des personnels des collectivités territoriales et des établissements publics d'hospitalisation et portant attribution de points d'indice majoré |language=French |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000020815910}}.</ref> this amounts to a gross monthly pay of €21,131. The salary and the residence stipend are taxable for [[income tax]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069577&idArticle=LEGIARTI000018620290&dateTexte=20090729 |title=General tax code, art. 80 undecies A |language=fr |publisher=Legifrance.gouv.fr |access-date=9 June 2011}}</ref> The official residence and office of the president is the [[Élysée Palace]] in Paris. Other presidential residences include:

* the [[Hôtel de Marigny]], standing next to the Élysée Palace, houses foreign official guests;
* the [[Château de Rambouillet]] is normally open to visitors when not used for (rare) official meetings;
* the Domaine national de [[Château de Marly|Marly]] is normally open to visitors when not used for (rare) official meetings;
* the [[Fort de Brégançon]], in Southeastern France, is the official presidential vacation residence. In 2013, it became a national monument and is opened to the public some moments since 2014. The French president's private quarters there are still available for their use;
* [[La Lanterne (Versailles)|La Lanterne]] became an official presidential vacation residence in 2007.

==Latest election==
{{main|2022 French presidential election}}

==Pension and benefits==
According to French law, former presidents of the Republic have guaranteed lifetime pension defined according to the pay grade of the [[Conseil d'État (France)|Councillors of State]],<ref>{{cite French law |number or usual name=n<sup>o</sup> 55–366 |date in French=3 avril 1955 |full name=relative au développement des crédits affectés aux dépenses du ministère des finances et des affaires économiques pour l'exercice 1955 |url=http://legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006068144&dateTexte=20130619}}.</ref> a courtesy [[diplomatic passport]],<ref>{{cite French arrêté |article=1 |date in French=11 février 2009 |full name=relatif au passeport diplomatique |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000020276619&dateTexte=20130619}}.</ref> and, according to the French Constitution (Article 56), membership of the Constitutional Council. They also get personnel, an apartment or office, and other amenities though the legal basis for these is disputed. The current system for providing personnel and other amenities to the former French presidents was devised in 1981 by [[Michel Charasse]], then advisor to President [[François Mitterrand]], in order to care for former president [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] and the widow of former President [[Georges Pompidou]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.senat.fr/seances/s200806/s20080619/s20080619005.html |title=19 June 2008 Proceedings |publisher=[[Senate of France]] }}</ref> In 2008, according to an answer by the services of the prime minister to a question from [[René Dosière]], a member of the National Assembly,<ref>[http://questions.assemblee-nationale.fr/q13/13-140QE.htm Question #140], answer published in the {{lang|fr|[[Journal officiel de la République française]]}} on 24 June 2008 page: 5368.</ref> the facilities comprised: a security detail, a car with a chauffeur, first class train tickets and an office or housing space, as well as two people who service the space. In addition, funds are available for seven permanent assistants. President Hollande announced a reform of the system in 2016. Former presidents of France will no longer receive a car with chauffeur and the personnel in their living space was cut as well. Additionally, the number of assistants available for their use has been reduced, but a state flat or house remains available for former officeholders. Train tickets are also available if the trip is justified by the office of the former officeholder as part of official business. The security personnel around former presidents of France remained unchanged.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://lemonde.fr/politique/article/2016/10/05/hollande-rabote-les-privileges-des-anciens-presidents_5008343_823448.html |title=Hollande rabote les privilèges des anciens présidents |work=[[Le Monde]] |date=5 October 2016 |language=fr }}</ref>

==Lists relating to the presidents of France==
{{Portal|Politics|France}}

* [[List of presidents of France]]
* [[List of presidents of France by tenure]]
* [[French presidential inauguration]]
* [[List of French non-presidential heads of state by tenure]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170422040244/http://www.cfr.org/france/powerful-frances-president/p38736 How Powerful Is France's President?] A primer from the Council on Foreign Relations
* John Gaffney. ''Political Leadership in France: From Charles de Gaulle to Nicolas Sarkozy'' (Palgrave Macmillan; 2012), {{ISBN|978-0-230-36037-2}}. Explores mythology and symbolism in French political culture through a study of the personas crafted by de Gaulle and his five successors.

==External links==
* {{official website}}

{{Presidents of France}}
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