French Fifth Republic

The Fifth Republic of France emerged from the ashes of the French Fourth Republic, replacing a weak and factional parliamentary government with a stronger, more centralized democracy.

The impetus behind the creation of the Fifth Republic was the Algerian Crisis. Although France had since parted with many of its colonies, such as many of those in West Africa and Southeast Asia, it still retained Algeria, which had a large French population. Algeria eventually became independent on July 5, 1962.

On November 26, 1965 at the Hammaguira launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launched a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board, becoming the third country to enter space.

The former general Charles de Gaulle used the crisis as an opportunity to create a new French government with the stronger office of President. French Presidents were given a very long term (7 years, now reduced to 5 years) and currently still have more internal power than most of their European counterparts.

De Gaulle was succeeded by Georges Pompidou (1969–1974), Valery Giscard d'Estaing (1974–1981), François Mitterrand (1981–1995), and Jacques Chirac (since 1995).

See also: Politics of France Constitution of France

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