French Fifth Republic members of the Senate. From that date, the opposition has been able to have controversial new statutes examined for constitutionality. Source: Source: 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
Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic The Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic ("Chef d'état-major particulier du président de la République") is a role in the military and government of France, heading the president's military staff until the French Fifth Republic. The President's 'military household' ("maison militaire") was formed by president Mac-Mahon but not insititutionalised until 1880. This group of officers advised the president on army matters, especially (under the French Third Republic) matters of ceremony. Such an allocation was useful since it allowed its officers to nourish political contacts