Political Brief(France)

Governance System

The nation-state of France is under a republic form of governance. The head of government is the Prime Minister who is appointed by the President. The President is the head of the State. The President appoints as well ministers of State who are under the Prime Minister. Their primary role is to implement government policy[1]. There are senior and junior ministers in the government of France. The council of Ministers is presided by the President, I the powerful executive. President Emmanuel Macron leads the current government of France with Mr. Edouard Philippe as the prime minister. Both are from the ruling Social Democratic political party. Laurent Wauquirez is the official opposition leader[2]. The French government, in total, has sixteen ministries.

Electoral system

Elections are after every five years, and a president can only stay in power for a maximum. The republic has two rounds of the presidential election and the members of Parliament, and adult voters who are 18years and above participate. Repetition of presidential elections is if no one secures more than half the votes. Both men and women have equal to elect and be elected. Gender parity is considered at the national position and not in the local political positions[3]. Political candidates are required to secure 500 signatures from persons who are elected. Emmanuel Macron of the social Democratic political party won the 2017 presidential election against maritime let Pen by a divisive margin. He secures 66.1% of the total votes cast against Madam Mariner’s by 33.9%[4]. Fairness is high, although financial cheating is high. All political candidates are entitled to equal media coverage

Domestic and Economic Policies

French pension reforms were among the disliked policies by the citizens of the republic. It is one of the keys and current economic policies and sets to disadvantage many French Nationals. The economy reforms target vital aspects of the French population, such as creating jobs, competitive business environment, and workers’ increase, financial aids, and tax. Contemporary domestic monetary policies of France are a replica of the European Central Bank (ECB) and are implementing interest rate policies[5]. Like the ECB, Banque de France is adopting a negative deposit rate, through reverse transactions, thus controlling the supply of money.

Challenges to Government and Country

President Macron’s administration I facings a lot of problems at the start of 2020. The pension reforms that are popularized by the President have led to countrywide strikes since early December. The President faces a massive challenge if he dares to force his way with the pension scheme. The municipal elections are indirectly shaking the French government[6]. The polls will determine the popularity of Macron. This popularity paradox is likely to lead to his impeachment.

Religious groups, on the other hand, protested the bioethical bill, which extends the use of IVF treatment of lesbians. Closely related is the fact that spending is on lesbians, while at the same time, the government strives to give to shield the elderly in society and increased the tax summarizes. A significant number of French employees’ wages are below the standard wage, while the industrial have their revenues and bosses increment of compensation packages[7]. For instance, 20 percent of wealthy individuals were earning five times.

Terrorists are targeting France in an increasing measure. Through a press statement, President Macron said that the government had stopped 59 terrorist attacks for the past six years. The Police shot early 2019, a man who stabbed an innocent citizen and injured two other[8]. It was treated as a terroristic attack on French soil and stirred a lack of confidence in Macron’s government.

Bibliography

Colgrove, James. “Immunization and Ethics: Beneficence, Coercion, Public Health, and the State.”.” The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics, 2019: 435.

Durovic, Anja. “The French elections of 2017: shaking the disease?”.” West European Politics 42, no. 7 (2019): 1487-1503.

Emanuele, Vincenzo. “The hidden cleavage of the French election: Macron, Le Pen and the urban-rural conflict.” .” The year of challengers? , 2017: 91.

Hassenteufel, Patrick, and Bruno Palier. “Still the sound of silence? Towards a new phase in the Europeanization of welfare state policies in France.” In The Sovereign Debt Crisis, the EU and Welfare State Reform. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Kesselman, Mark, Joel Krieger, and William A. Joseph. Introduction to comparative politics: political challenges and changing agendas. Cengage Learning, 2018.

Mény, Yves. “A tale of party primaries and outsider candidates: the 2017 French presidential election.”.” French politics 15, no. 3 (2017): 265-278.

Nesser, Petter. “Military Interventions, Jihadi Networks, and Terrorist Entrepreneurs: How the Islamic State Terror Wave Rose So High in Europe.”.” CTC Sentinel 12, no. 3, (2019).

Van Gunsteren, Herman R. A theory of citizenship: organizing plurality in contemporary democracies. Routledge, 2018.

[1]Herman, Van, Gunsteren R. A theory of citizenship: organizing plurality in contemporary democracies. Routledge, 2018.

[2] Durovic, Anja. “The French elections of 2017: shaking the disease?.” West European Politics 42, no. 7 (2019): 1487-1503.

[3] Yves, Mény. “A tale of party primaries and outsider candidates: the 2017 French presidential election.” French politics 15, no. 3 (2017): 265-278.

[4] Vincenzo, Emanuele. “The hidden cleavage of the French election: Macron, Le Pen and the urban-rural conflict.” The year of challengers? (2017): 91.

[5] Patrick, Hassenteufel, and Palier, Bruno. “Still the sound of silence? Towards a new phase in the Europeanization of welfare state policies in France.” In The Sovereign Debt Crisis, the EU and Welfare State Reform, pp. 181-205. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2016.

[6] Kesselman, Mark, Krieger Joel, and Joseph William. Introduction to comparative politics: political challenges and changing agendas. Cengage Learning, 2018.

[7] James, Colgrove. “Immunization and Ethics: Beneficence, Coercion, Public Health, and the State.” The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics (2019): 435.

[8] Petter, Nesser. “Military Interventions, Jihadi Networks, and Terrorist Entrepreneurs: How the Islamic State Terror Wave Rose So High in Europe.” CTC Sentinel 12, no. 3, (2019).