“The institutions of the French Republic are governed by the 1958 Constitution, which ushered in the Fifth Republic and strengthened the role of the executive branch (the president of the Republic and the prime minister) relative to the parliament.

“The president is elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. The government, led by a prime minister nominated by the president, develops and guides policy implementation. The prime minister is accountable to parliament, which exercises legislative power and is made up of the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly has 577 deputies elected by direct universal suffrage. Voting takes place based on a single majority vote (i.e. voting for one deputy only) in two rounds, within the framework of constituencies of variable size (one deputy for approximately 100 000 inhabitants). The National Assembly’s session is five years but can be shortened if the president decides to dissolve the National Assembly, as has happened five times since the inauguration of the Fifth Republic. The Senate consists of 348 senators who are elected for nine years by indirect universal suffrage through an electoral college consisting of elected officials in each department. One-third of its membership is renewed every three years. The method of polling, the senators’ term of office and the fact that the Senate cannot be dissolved give the Assembly a high degree of political stability.”

Source: Chevreul K, Berg Brigham K, Durand-Zaleski I, Hernández-Quevedo C. France: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2015; 17(3): 1–218.

“France is a civil law country whose laws and regulations (acts, ministerial decrees, administrative orders) are broken down into more than 60 codes by subject area. The codes that are directly related to health care are the social security code (code de la sécurité sociale), the mutual societies code (code de la mutualité), the public health code (code de la santé publique) and the social action and families code (code de l’action sociale et des familles). However, health care also falls under rules in other codes, such as the labour code (code du travail) and the commercial insurance code (code des assurances).

“Application of the health laws in the French overseas territories varies. For example, French Polynesia and New Caledonia are autonomous with respect to health matters, while Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna rely on the French national health authorities.

“For major reforms and annual decisions affecting the social security budget, health care laws are enacted by legislation (acts) after discussion in parliament. Following enactment, decrees (décrets) are issued by the prime minister. When specified in acts, some decrees must be assessed by the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat). Lower level regulations such as administrative orders (arrêtés) are signed by the relevant minister.”

Source: Chevreul K, Berg Brigham K, Durand-Zaleski I, Hernández-Quevedo C. France: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2015; 17(3): 1–218.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated Oct. 23, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.