Chapter 7 (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
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 precedent
Cohabitation
An arrangement in which presidents lacking a majority of legislative power appoint an opposition prime minister who can gain a majority of support in the legislature
Constitutional Council
The highest judicial authority on constitutional and electoral matters in France
Council of Ministers
The Cabinet selected by the Prime Minister
Dirigisme
An emphasis on statue authority in economic development; a combination of social-democratic and mercantilist ideas
Events of May
Parisian riots of 1968 in which students and workers called for educational and social reforms
Fifth Republic
France’s current regime (1958 - present)
Four-party, two-bloc system
A system requiring coalition building in in the second round of the two-round single-member district system
French Communist Party (FCP)
One of the dominant parties of the French left since the end of WWII
French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT)
A smaller confederation backed by the socialist party
French Revolution
Overthrow in 1789-99 of French absolute monarchy and establishment of the First Republic
French Socialist Party (PS)
Dominant party of the French left
General Confederation of Labor (CGT)
Most powerful French union confederation; linked to the French Communist Party
François Hollande
Socialist president of France from 2012 to 2017
laicite
The subordination of religious identity to state and national identity-state over church
Marine Le Pen
Daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen and leader of the National Front (now called National Rally) since 2011
Emmanuel Macron
A young and inexperienced centrist economist elected president in 2017
Motion of Censure
An act of legislature against the government, requiring new elections when proposed legislation submitted as matters of confidence are not passed
National Assembly
The 577-member lower house of French Parliament
National Rally/National Front
A political party on the far right created by Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972, renamed to National Rally in 2018
Parlement
France’s bicameral legislature
Populism
A political view that does not have a consistent ideological foundation but emphasizes hostility towards elites and established state and economic institutions and favors greater power in the hands of the public
Prefect
Government appointed local official
President
The head of state
Prime Minister
Leader appointed by the French president and approved by the majority of the lower house, selects a cabinet and presides over the day-to-day affairs of government
Rally for the Republic
Party formed by Jacques Chirac as the more nationalist, socially conservative, Euroskeptic force of the French right
Reign of Terror
Seizure of power and class war led by Robespierre (1793-94)
Republicans
The main party of the French right, previously named the Union for a Popular Movement
Nicolas Sarkozy
President from 2007 to 2012
Semi-Presidential
A legislative-executive system that divides political power among the legislature, a president, and a prime minister
Senat
France’s 348-member upper house
Union for a Popular Movement
A single cohesive party of the center-right formed in 2002
Union for French Democracy
An alliance of five center-right parties founded in 1978 by Chirac’s rival and former president Valery Giscard d’Estaing as a more neoliberal force of the French right
Yellow Vests Movement
Mass protests that began in late 2018 in opposition to tax reforms and reductions in subsides for gasoline; the movement was named for the safety vests that French motorists are required to carry in their vehicles
