France
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- semi-presidential republic
- CONSTITUTION
- October 4, 1958; amended several times, last in 2008
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on civil law; administrative acts can be reviewed but not legislative ones; has not submitted to the jurisdiction of the ICJ
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- Bicameral Parliament (Parlement), Senate (Senat) and National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (composed of the president of the court, 6 division presidents, 120 merit judges, and 70 substitute judges organized into 6 divisions: 3 civil, 1 commercial, 1 labor, and 1 criminal); Constitutional Council (composed of 9 members); Courts of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Regional Courts or Tribunal de Grande Instance; First Instance Courts or Tribunal d'instance; Administrative Courts
RELIGIONS
Roman Catholic 47%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 2%, Buddhist 2%, Orthodox 1%, Jewish 1%, Other 1%, None 33%, Not specified 9% (estimate 2021)
From the country
- OCTOBER 26, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing...
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing of a gynaecologist lost his last judicial appeal against an order for his extradition
- OCTOBER 26, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing...
A US anti-abortion activist wanted for the 1998 killing of a gynaecologist lost his last judicial appeal against an order for his extradition
- OCTOBER 18, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Michel Peyrard, the Paris Match journalist arrested...
Michel Peyrard, the Paris Match journalist arrested by the Taleban has spoken from captivity for the first time, saying he knew the risk before he slipped into Afghanistan
- OCTOBER 11, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia charged a French...
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia charged a French journalist and two Pakistani colleagues with spying, a crime that carries the death penalty
- OCTOBER 11, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
President Jacques Chirac came to the defence of a French...
President Jacques Chirac came to the defence of a French reporter held by the Taliban and accused of spying after entering Afghanistan disguised as a woman
- OCTOBER 10, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
The French journalist who was captured disguised in...
The French journalist who was captured disguised in a burka after entering Afghanistan was pelted with stones as the Taleban paraded him through the streets of Jalalabad
- OCTOBER 9, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Michel Peyrard, who works for the French news magazine...
Michel Peyrard, who works for the French news magazine Paris Match, and two Pakistani guides identified as Mohammed Irfan and Mukkaram Khan were arrested in the east of the country wearing a full-length women's veil, or burqa
- OCTOBER 5, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
A Paris-based human rights group said that most of...
A Paris-based human rights group said that most of those on death row in the United States had not received a fair trial and called on US Supreme Court judges to declare the death penalty unconstitutional
- JULY 20, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Ira Einhorn, the ex-hippie guru at the centre of a...
Ira Einhorn, the ex-hippie guru at the centre of a controversial extradition case between France and the United States arrived back in the US to face trial for the murder of his former girlfriend
- JUNE 28, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
The court in Rennes ruled that James Kopp, 46, an American...
The court in Rennes ruled that James Kopp, 46, an American fugitive wanted in New York for the murder of Barnett Slepian, an abortion doctor, there in 1998, can be extradited to the United States as long as he would not face the death penalty if convicted
- JUNE 23, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Former death row inmates, human rights activists and...
Former death row inmates, human rights activists and legislators joined thousands of marchers in silence to protest against capital punishment
- JUNE 22, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
Speakers of parliaments from four continents called...
Speakers of parliaments from four continents called for a global ban on capital punishment at the first world congress against the death penalty