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
- MARCH 15, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. US MULLS ENDING QUEST FOR MOUSSAOUI DEATH PENALTY
prosecutors pondered on whether to abandon their quest for the death penalty in the US government's only case connected to the September 11 hijackings, after a federal judge banned crucial testimony. Shortly after US District Judge Leonie Brinkema deliver
- MARCH 6, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. DEATH PENALTY CALL FOR MAN WHO 'COULD HAVE STOPPED 9/11'
lawyers for the US government demanded the death penalty in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui who they said could have chosen to prevent the September 11 attacks.
- MARCH 3, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
FRANCE. FRANCE OBTAINS U.S. GUARANTEES ON MOUSSAOUI TRIAL - MINISTER
the French justice minister reiterated the US had guaranteed France none of the information it provided for the US case against al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui would be used to seek the death penalty.
- FEBRUARY 24, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
FRANCE. AUTHORITIES REFUSES TO EXTRADITE SYRIAN OVER HARIRI MURDER
French legal authorities refused to extradite to Lebanon an ex-Syrian intelligence officer to answer questions about the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq el-Hariri.
- FEBRUARY 5, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
UNITED STATES. JURY SELECTION BEGINS FOR MOUSSAOUI TRIAL
Zacarias Moussaoui returns this week to the courtroom where a jury will determine whether he should be executed for his crimes.
- JANUARY 25, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
FRANCE. INMATES REQUEST DEATH OVER LIFE
ten inmates in France’s Clairvaux prison, one of the harshest prisons in the country, asked for “the reintroduction of the death penalty” for themselves in a letter sent to the France Presse.
- JANUARY 4, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
the President of France’s communist party, Nicole Borvo...
the President of France’s communist party, Nicole Borvo, welcomed as a “positive step by France” the decision taken by President Chirac to review the constitution in order to include the abolition of the death penalty “under all circumstances”.
- JANUARY 1, 2006FranceDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was abolished in France on September 9, 1981, mainly through the efforts of then Socialist Justice Minister, Robert Badinter.
The death penalty was abolished in France on September 9, 1981, mainly through the efforts of then Socialist Justice Minister, Robert Badinter.
- AUGUST 11, 2005FranceDEATH PENALTY
FRANCE. PARIS PROTEST OVER IRANIAN HANGING OF TWO GAY TEENAGERS
some 150 protestors rallied in central Paris to condemn the July 19 execution of two teenagers who were sentenced to public hanging in Iran because they were gay, event organizers said. Gathered in front of the Pompidou Centre, demonstrators chanted "Iran
- APRIL 24, 2005FranceDEATH PENALTY
FRANCE. FAMILY HOPE MOUSSAOUI CAN AVOID DEATH PENALTY
Francois Roux, a French lawyer advising the family of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States over the September 11 attacks, said his family still hoped he would avoid the death penalty. Roux said that although Moussaoui had plead
- APRIL 22, 2005FranceDEATH PENALTY
VIRGINIA, USA. 9/11 SUSPECT FACES DEATH PENALTY AFTER PLEADING GUILTY
Zacarias Moussaoui, the man who investigators believed could have unraveled the al-Qaida plot before the September 11 2001 attacks, pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges carrying the death penalty.
- APRIL 20, 2005FranceDEATH PENALTY
France was a cosponsor and voted in favour of the resolution on the death penalty at the 61st UN Commission on Human Rights.
France was a cosponsor and voted in favour of the resolution on the death penalty at the 61st UN Commission on Human Rights.