chapter 4: France Flashcards
absolute monarchy
the stage in the evolutionary development of Europe between the more decentralized feudal monarchies of the Middle Ages and the constitutional governments of the modern era
estates general
weak french assembly before the french revolution, representing the clergy, nobles, and commoners
national assembly
the 577-member lower house of the french parliament
reign of terror
seizure of power and class war launched by radical Jacobins in revolutionary France (1793-94)
prime minister
leader appointed by the french president and approved by the majority of the lower house of the legislature, selects a cabinet and presides over the day-to-day affairs
events of may
Parisian riots of 1968 in which students and workers called for educational and social reforms
Nicolas Sarkozy
conservative president from 2007 to 2012
François Hollande
socialist president from 2012 to 2017
Emmanuel Macron
a young relatively inexperienced centrist economist, elected president in 2017
semi-presidential
a legislative-executive system that divides political power among the legislature, a directly elected president, and a prime minister responsible to both the legislature and the president
council of ministers
the cabinet selected by the prime minister
François Mitterand
leader of french socialist party starting in 1971, president of France 18981-1995
Jacques Chirac
president of France, 1995-2007
motion of censure (vote of no confidence)
an act of legislature against the government, requiring new elections when proposed legislature submitted as matters of confidence are not passed
cohabitation
an arrangement in which presidents lacking the majority of legislative power appoint an opposition prime minister who can gain a majority of support in the legislature
parlement
France’s bicameral legislature
sénat
France’s 348 upper house of the legislature
blocked vote
a vote that forces legislature to accept bills in their entirety and allows amendments only if they are approved by the government
code law
law derived from detailed legal codes rather than from precedent
constitutional council
the highest judicial authority on constitutional and electoral matters
prefect
government appointed local official
école nationale d’administration (ENA)
national administrative school; a state institution who primary mission is to train civil servants
pantouflage (putting on slippers)
refers to the move of the administrative elite from the bureaucracy to the top echelons of the private sector
four party, two-bloc system
a system requiring coalition building in the second round of the two-round single member district system
national front (FN)/ national rally (NR)
a political party on the far right that was created by Jean-Marie Le pen in 1972, renamed NR in 2018
Marine Le Pen
daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen and leader of the National Front ( National Rally) since 2011
general confederation of labor (CGT)
most powerful french union confederation, linked to french communist party (PCF)
french democratic labor confederation (CFDT)
a smaller confederation backed by the socialist party
laïcité (secularism)
the subordination of religious identity to state and national identity (state over church)
populism
a political view that does not have a consistent ideological foundation, but that emphasizes hostility towards elites and established state and economic institutions and favors greater power in the hands of the public
regime
norms and rules that govern politics
french revolution
overthrow in 1789-1799 french absolute monarchy and establishment of first republic
ancien régime
European “old order” of absolute monarchy reinforced by religious authority
coup d’etat
forceful and sudden overthrow of the governmet
fifth republic
France’s current regime (1958 to present)
yellow vests movement
mass protest that began in late 2018 in opposition to tax reforms and reductions in subsidies for gasoline, the movement was named for the safety vests that french motorists are required to carry in their vehicles
