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
- NOVEMBER 8, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
The Council of Europe (COE) Ministers Committee approved...
The Council of Europe (COE) Ministers Committee approved a statement which targets making Europe a continent totally free of capital punishment
- NOVEMBER 5, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
A state prosecutor in Bali sought the death penalty...
A state prosecutor in Bali sought the death penalty for Frenchman Michael Loic Blanc, who was charged with trying to smuggle in hashish
- OCTOBER 25, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
The EU's External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten...
The EU's External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten slammed the widespread use of the death penalty around the world and vowed no letup in the EU's campaign for a global moratorium
- OCTOBER 21, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
Several hundred European politicians, lawmakers and...
Several hundred European politicians, lawmakers and international activists gathered in Paris to urge the United States to abolish the death penalty
- SEPTEMBER 26, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
A draft European Union charter of fundamental rights,...
A draft European Union charter of fundamental rights, which some politicians believe could one day form the basis of a European constitution, rules out extraditing someone to a state where there is a "serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
Ex-hippie guru Ira Einhorn appealed to French Prime...
Ex-hippie guru Ira Einhorn appealed to French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to tear up an extradition order for his return to the United States to face trial for the murder of his girlfriend, his lawyers said
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
France, as the current president of the European Union,...
France, as the current president of the European Union, called on the Governor of Virginia, James Gilmore, to spare the life of Rocco Derek Barnabei, scheduled to be executed on September 14 in Virginia
- AUGUST 28, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
Leading French politician Raymond Forni visited death...
Leading French politician Raymond Forni visited death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal and urged both US presidential candidates to "take a chance and be brave" enough to abolish the death penalty
- AUGUST 10, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
France voiced shock at the execution in Texas of a...
France voiced shock at the execution in Texas of a convicted murderer said to have been mentally retarded
- JULY 27, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
The European Union, in a demarche made at the White...
The European Union, in a demarche made at the White House with President Clinton's Chief Counsel Beth Nolan, called on the federal authorities not to break a de facto moratorium on the federal death penalty of almost forty years and to grant Juan Raul Gar
- JULY 21, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
More than 100 French deputies sent a letter to each...
More than 100 French deputies sent a letter to each member of the US Congress asking them to abolish the death penalty, the president of the Franco-American Friendship Committee said
- JULY 1, 2000FranceDEATH PENALTY
Henri Hadjenberg, head of the French Jewish organisation...
Henri Hadjenberg, head of the French Jewish organisation and President of the European Jewish Congress President, said that the 10 Jews sentenced to jail in Iran were innocent victims of fabricated charges in a "medieval" trial