French Fifth Republic French Fifth Republic The Fifth Republic, France's current republican system of government, was established by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the Fourth Republic, replacing the former parliamentary republic with a semi-presidential, or dual-executive, system that split powers between a Prime Minister as head of government and a President as head of state. De Gaulle, who was the first French President elected under the Fifth Republic in December 1958, believed in a strong head of state, which he described as embodying ("the spirit of
President of the Senate with Senators ("Senatoren") being the holders of ministerial portfolios. In Danzig the President of the Senate ("Präsident des Senats") was an office equivalent to that of prime minister in other countries. The Senate of France elects a president from among its own number. The President of the French Senate stands first in line of succession in case of death or resignation of the President of the Republic, becoming acting president until a presidential election can be held. This most recently occurred with Alain Poher, who was senate president from 1968 to 1992 and who served as interim president on two