Democracy & France by Samin Mohebbi

Democracy is a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.form of government Democracy allows citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws.laws It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.political self-determination

Karl PopperKarl Popper defined democracy in contrast to dictatorship or tyranny, thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders and to oust them without the need for a revolution dictatorship revolution

1)upward control, i.e. sovereignty residing at the lowest levels of authority 2) political equality 3) social norms by which individuals and institutions only consider acceptable acts that reflect the first two principles of upward control and political equality.

A democratic government power is either held by one, as in a monarchy a small number ofmonarchy individuals, as in an oligarchyoligarchy

Direct democracy in which all citizens have direct and active participation in the decision making of the government. representative democracy In most modern democracies, the whole body of all citizens remain the sovereign power but political power is exercised indirectly through elected representatives

Democracy has taken a number of forms, both in theory and practice. Some varieties of democracy provide better representation and more freedom for their citizens than others. However, if any democracy is not structured so as to prohibit the government from excluding the people from the legislative process, or any branch of government from altering the separation of powers in its own favor, then a branch of the system can accumulate too much power and destroy the democracy.separation of powers

Forms of Democracy Presidential Parliamentary Representative Direct Constitutional Hybrid A direct democracy gives Variants Republic the voting population the power to: Constitutional monarchy Socialist Anarchist Demarchy Consensus Supranational Non-governmental  Change constitutional laws,  Put forth initiatives, referendums and suggestions for laws,  Give binding orders to elective officials

Presidential republics Presidential republics 2 Semi-presidential republics Semi-presidential republics 2 Parliamentary republics Parliamentary republics 2 Single-party republics ParliamentaryParliamentary constitutional monarchiesconstitutional monarchiesAbsolute monarchies Military dictatorshipsParliamentary constitutional monarchies in which the monarch personally exercises power Republics with an executive president dependent on a parliament Countries which do not fit any of the above systems

the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the government, Senate and National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.President of Francehead of state Prime Minister of Francehead of governmentmulti-party systemExecutive powerLegislative powerSenateNational Assembly judiciary

At the beginning of the 20th century, the French Left divided itself into:French Left The Anarchists, who were more in active in trade unions (they controlled the CGT from 1906 to 1909).CGT Revolutionaries: the SFIO founded by Jean Jaurès, Jules Guesde etc.SFIOJean Jaurès Jules Guesde Reformists: the Republican, Radical and Radical- Socialist Party and non-SFIO socialists.Republican, Radical and Radical- Socialist Party.

The New Left (or Second Left) The Old Left was contested on its left by the New Left parties including the:Old LeftNew Left Cornelius Castoriadis's Socialisme ou Barbarie from 1948 to 1965 Advocates of new social movements (including Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Pierre Bourdieu) Michel FoucaultGilles DeleuzePierre Bourdieu Arlette LaguillerArlette Laguiller's Workers' StruggleWorkers' Struggle The Revolutionary Communist LeagueRevolutionary Communist League Others components of the New Left included the environmentalists (who would eventually found The Greens in 1982) environmentalistsThe Greens However, the emblem of the New Left was the Unified Socialist Party, or PSU. Unified Socialist Party

The Moderate Centre-Left The Radical Party, despite some ambiguities (support to Pierre Mendès-France's center-left Republican Front during the 1956 legislative elections), finally embraced economic liberalism and slid to the center-right. But in 1972, left-wing Radicals split to form the Left Radical PartyRadical PartyPierre Mendès-France Republican Front1956 legislative electionseconomic liberalismLeft Radical Party

The right-wing has been divided into three broad families by historian René Rémond.René Rémond Legitimists Counter-revolutionariesCounter-revolutionaries who opposed all change since the French Revolution. Today, they are located on the far-right of the French political spectrum.far-right These included: The ultra-royalists during the Bourbon Restorationultra-royalistsBourbon Restoration The Action française monarchist movement Action française The supporters of the Vichy regime's Révolution nationaleVichy regime Révolution nationale The activists of the OAS during the Algerian War (1954–1962)OASAlgerian War Most components of Jean-Marie Le Pen's National FrontJean-Marie Le PenNational Front Philippe de VilliersPhilippe de Villiers' conservative Movement for FranceMovement for France

Orleanists Orleanists had rallied the Republic at the end of the 19th century and advocated economic liberalism (referred to in French simply as libéralisme ). Today, they are broadly classified as centre-right or centrist parties.economic liberalism These included: The right-wing of the Radical PartyRadical Party The Democratic and Socialist Union of the ResistanceDemocratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance The Christian-democratic Popular Republican Movement (MRP)Popular Republican Movement Valéry Giscard d'EstaingValéry Giscard d'Estaing's Independent RepublicansIndependent Republicans The Union for a French DemocracyUnion for a French Democracy Today, a large majority of the politicians of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling Union for a Popular Movement can be classified in this family.Nicolas SarkozyUnion for a Popular Movement

Bonapartists These included: Charles de GaulleCharles de Gaulle's various parties: first the Rally of the French People,Rally of the French People then the Union of Democrats for the RepublicUnion of Democrats for the Republic But also Boulangisme or Poujadisme Boulangisme Poujadisme

The Gaullist UDR was then transformed by Jacques Chirac in the Rally for the Republic (RPR) in 1976, a neo-Gaullist party which embraced economic liberalism.Gaullist Jacques ChiracRally for the Republic In 2002, the Gaullist RPR and the Union for French Democracy merged into the Union for a Popular Movement(UPM), although some elements of the old UDF remained outside the new allianceUnion for a Popular Movement In 2007, a section of the remaining UDF, headed by François Bayrou, refused to align themselves on Nicolas Sarkozy and created the MoDem in an attempt to make space for a center-right party.François BayrouNicolas SarkozyMoDem