France: Semi-Presidential Administrative System

4.1 The Dual Executive

France under the Fifth Republic (1958, de Gaulle's constitution) has a cohabitational dual executive:

• President (elected for 5 years, popular vote): Sets broad direction; commands armed forces; appoints PM; can dissolve Assembly; has emergency powers (Article 16).
• Prime Minister: Heads the government, accountable to the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) — the lower house.

Cohabitation occurs when the President and PM are from different parties (e.g., 1986–88: Socialist President Mitterrand with conservative PM Chirac). This mirrors some tensions seen in India's Centre-State relations.

4.2 The French Civil Service and ENA/INSP

France's civil service is characterised by:

• Grandes Écoles system: Elite educational institutions (ENA, École Polytechnique, Sciences Po) that supply top civil servants.
• ENA (École Nationale d'Administration, 1945): Founded by Charles de Gaulle; trained senior civil servants (called énarques). Graduates included Presidents Macron, Hollande, Chirac, and Giscard d'Estaing. Abolished and replaced by INSP (Institut National du Service Public) in 2022 — broader intake, less elitist.
• Corps system: Civil servants belong to specialist corps (Conseil d'État, Inspection des Finances, Cour des Comptes). Very centralised.

4.3 The Prefect System — Centre–Periphery Administration

France has 18 regions (13 in metropolitan France) and 101 departments. Each department is administered by a Préfet (Prefect):

• Appointed by the President (on PM's recommendation)
• Represents the central government
• Oversees law and order, implements national policy, coordinates decentralised services
• Analogous to India's Divisional Commissioner or District Collector

Decentralisation Acts (1982–83, Mitterrand): Transferred significant powers from Préfets to elected regional and departmental councils — France moved from extreme centralism toward modern decentralisation.

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