Cohabitation (government)
Encyclopedia
Cohabitation in government occurs in semi-presidential system
s, such as France
's system, when the President is from a different political party
than the majority of the members of parliament
. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier
(prime minister
) that will be acceptable to the majority party within parliament. Thus, cohabitation occurs because of the duality of the executive: an independently elected President and a prime minister who must be acceptable both to this president and to the legislature.
, albeit an unintended one. This constitution
brought together a potent presidential position with manifold executive powers and a prime minister
, responsible before Parliament
. The president's task was primarily to end deadlock and act decisively to avoid the stagnation prevalent under the French Fourth Republic
; the prime minister, similarly, was to "direct the work of government", providing a strong leadership to the legislative branch and to help overcome partisan squabbles.
Since 1962, French presidents have been elected by popular vote, replacing the electoral college
, which was only used once. This change was intended to give Fifth Republic presidents more power than they might have had under the original constitution, while still seen as the symbol and embodiment of the nation, the president also was given a popular mandate. Of course, the majority party of the National Assembly retained power as well, but since the popularly-elected president appointed the prime minister, the former was seen as having the upper hand in any conflict between executive and legislature. Furthermore, the imbalance is further illustrated by the fact that the President of the Fifth Republic can dissolve the Assembly at any time (but not more than once in a year), whereas the legislature has no powers of removal against the president.
The sole caveat to this position of presidential pre-eminence was the fact that the president's selection to the premiership required approval by the National Assembly
, the lower house of Parliament: because the Assembly can dismiss the government by a vote of no confidence, it follows that the prime minister must be supported by the Assembly. This was not a problem whilst the legislative majority was aligned with the president, and indeed, de Gaulle
, who was responsible for inspiring much of the Constitution, never envisioned that such a conflict could exist; to him the French public would never permit such a situation. But because the president was elected to seven-year terms, and the Assembly to five-year terms, it was almost inevitable that such a situation would someday arise. Political scientists regarded it as a flaw in the constitution that had the potential to bring down the Fifth Republic.
The first "near miss" with cohabitation occurred with the election of Socialist
President François Mitterrand
in 1981. A coalition of the right controlled the Assembly at the time. Almost immediately, Mitterrand exercised his authority to call Assembly elections, and the electorate returned an Assembly with an absolute majority of Socialists, ending the presumed crisis. However, when Assembly elections were held, as required, five years later, the Socialists lost their majority to the right, precipitating the first experiment in cohabitation.
", cohabitation should not occur unless a President feels compelled to call for Assembly elections mid-term, a prospect which cannot be ruled out. It can also occur if the President dies during his term.
focuses on national security and international relations. The arrangement was originally a compromise between monarchists and parliamentarists: after the failure to institute a monarchy, a strong presidency was adopted. The new constitution of 2000 reduced the power of the President by transferring the power to choose a Prime Minister to the parliament. Cohabitation has occurred frequently, as Finland has multiple powerful parties and does not have such a deep split between the left and right, and as the terms of a parliament are shorter (four years) than the presidential terms (six years). Theoretically, the President should remain strictly nonpartisan, and Presidents have usually formally renounced party membership while in office.
n politics for several years witnessed a bitter struggle between the president and the prime minister, belonging to different parties and elected separately, over the negotiations with the LTTE to resolve the longstanding civil war
.
also existed in Ukraine
between 2006 and 2010. Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko
had to appoint Viktor Yanukovych
, his rival from the 2004 presidential election, as Prime Minister
in August 2006.
, a quasi-governmental organization responsible for administering the Palestinian territories
, has operated within the framework of a semi-presidential
republic
since the creation of the office of Prime Minister
in the spring of 2003. While the President
has the power to appoint anyone Prime Minister, there was an unspoken agreement upon the establishment of the office that the Prime Minister would be appointed from the majority party in the Legislative Council
. This arrangement led to a period of cohabitation after the 2006 legislative election
, in which Fatah
President Mahmoud Abbas
appointed Hamas
leader Ismail Haniyeh Prime Minister after Hamas' victory in the elections. The cohabitation did not last long, however, as funds were withheld from the Palestinian Authority and hostilities between Fatah and Hamas
broke out in December 2006, leading to the appointment of a caretaker government led by Salam Fayyad
on June 14, 2007.
s. While a number of presidential democracies, such as the United States
, have seen power shared between a president and legislature of different political parties, cohabitation is not a characteristic of such countries. In the French-type system, each minister is responsible to the legislature, not to the president personally as in presidential systems.
The theory of cohabitation is not limited to France
, but there are not many countries where the constitutional structure exists in which it could occur. However, many of the new democracies of eastern Europe have adopted institutions quite similar to France, and cohabitation may become more common. Still, if those countries elect their executives and legislature at the same time, as France is now starting to do, then cohabitation will be less likely.
See U.S. presidents and control of Congress
.
Semi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...
s, such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
's system, when the President is from a different political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
than the majority of the members of parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
(prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
) that will be acceptable to the majority party within parliament. Thus, cohabitation occurs because of the duality of the executive: an independently elected President and a prime minister who must be acceptable both to this president and to the legislature.
Origins
Cohabitation was a product of the French Fifth RepublicFrench Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
, albeit an unintended one. This constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
brought together a potent presidential position with manifold executive powers and a prime minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
, responsible before Parliament
Parliament of France
The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly . Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a separate location in Paris: the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate, the Palais Bourbon for the National Assembly.Each...
. The president's task was primarily to end deadlock and act decisively to avoid the stagnation prevalent under the French Fourth Republic
French Fourth Republic
The French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems...
; the prime minister, similarly, was to "direct the work of government", providing a strong leadership to the legislative branch and to help overcome partisan squabbles.
Since 1962, French presidents have been elected by popular vote, replacing the electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
, which was only used once. This change was intended to give Fifth Republic presidents more power than they might have had under the original constitution, while still seen as the symbol and embodiment of the nation, the president also was given a popular mandate. Of course, the majority party of the National Assembly retained power as well, but since the popularly-elected president appointed the prime minister, the former was seen as having the upper hand in any conflict between executive and legislature. Furthermore, the imbalance is further illustrated by the fact that the President of the Fifth Republic can dissolve the Assembly at any time (but not more than once in a year), whereas the legislature has no powers of removal against the president.
The sole caveat to this position of presidential pre-eminence was the fact that the president's selection to the premiership required approval by the National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
, the lower house of Parliament: because the Assembly can dismiss the government by a vote of no confidence, it follows that the prime minister must be supported by the Assembly. This was not a problem whilst the legislative majority was aligned with the president, and indeed, de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, who was responsible for inspiring much of the Constitution, never envisioned that such a conflict could exist; to him the French public would never permit such a situation. But because the president was elected to seven-year terms, and the Assembly to five-year terms, it was almost inevitable that such a situation would someday arise. Political scientists regarded it as a flaw in the constitution that had the potential to bring down the Fifth Republic.
The first "near miss" with cohabitation occurred with the election of Socialist
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
President François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
in 1981. A coalition of the right controlled the Assembly at the time. Almost immediately, Mitterrand exercised his authority to call Assembly elections, and the electorate returned an Assembly with an absolute majority of Socialists, ending the presumed crisis. However, when Assembly elections were held, as required, five years later, the Socialists lost their majority to the right, precipitating the first experiment in cohabitation.
Cohabitation in practice
There have been only three periods of cohabitation, but each is notable for illustrating the oscillation of powers between the President and Prime Minister.Mitterrand-Chirac Period (1986-1988)
- After the 1986 Assembly elections, Mitterrand was forced to nominate as a Prime Minister Jacques ChiracJacques ChiracJacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, the leader of the RPR, the largest party in the majority coalition. Throughout the cohabitation between MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
and ChiracJacques ChiracJacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, the President focused on his foreign duties and allowed Chirac to control internal affairs. Since Mitterrand was distanced from these policies, Chirac began to reverse many of Mitterrand’s reforms by lowering taxes and privatising many national enterprises.
- There were however tense moments, such as when Mitterrand refused to sign ordonnanceOrdonnance (French constitutional law)In the Government of France, an ordonnance is a statute passed by the Council of Ministers in an area of law normally reserved for statute law passed by the Parliament of France....
s, slowing down reforms by requiring Chirac to pass his bills through Parliament.
- This lasted for 2 years until 1988 when the newly-reelected François Mitterrand called for new legislative elections that were won by a leftist majority, which lasted five years.
Mitterrand-Balladur Period (1993-1995)
- In 1993 President Mitterrand found himself in a similar position when the Right won an 80% majority in the National Assembly elections. Once again he was forced to appoint an opposition member (RPRGaullist PartyIn France, the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claimed to transcend the left/right rift...
and UDFUnion for French DemocracyThe Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
parties), this time Édouard BalladurÉdouard BalladurÉdouard Balladur is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 29 March 1993 to 10 May 1995.-Biography:Balladur was born in İzmir, Turkey, to an Armenian Catholic family with five children and long-standing ties to France...
, to the post of Prime Minister, because Jacques Chirac focused rather on running for President instead of being Prime Minister for the third time. Balladur maintained this post through the cohabitation until May 18, 1995 when Jacques Chirac was elected president.
Chirac-Jospin Period (1997-2002)
- In 1995, rightist leader Jacques Chirac succeeded Mitterrand as President and since the majority in the National assembly was from his side, he was able to appoint his fellow RPR member Alain JuppéAlain JuppéAlain Marie Juppé is a French politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac and the Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs from 2010 to 2011...
as his Prime Minister, ending cohabitation by a change in the presidency. This alignment of President and Assembly should have lasted until at least the normally-scheduled 1998 Assembly elections.
- However, in 1997, President Chirac made the ill-fated strategic decision to dissolve parliament and call for early legislative elections. This plan backfired when the French electorate turned back to the leftists and removed the right-wing Assembly majority. Chirac was forced to appoint Socialist Lionel JospinLionel JospinLionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
to the premiership. Jospin remained Prime Minister until the elections of 2002, making this third term of cohabitation the longest ever—five years. Chirac called this a state of ‘Paralysis’, and found it particularly difficult to arrange campaign activities for the National Assembly.
- With Jospin holding the premiership, Chirac’s political influence was constrained and he had no say over certain major reforms being instituted by the left-wing majority. This included the 1998 legislation to shorten the working week from 39 to 35 hours, which came into effect in 2000.
Observations
- Some Scholars contend that French Fifth RepublicFrench Fifth RepublicThe Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
usually operates under a presidential systemPresidential systemA presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
, but when in cohabitation, this effectively changes, at least in terms of domestic policy, to a parliamentary systemParliamentary systemA parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
, in which the prime minister controls the legislative agenda and the president's powers are limited to foreign policy and defence. - A common problem during cohabitation is that each leader wants his or her own policies to be carried out so that the public is positive toward their strategies and will be elected when the time comes. Because each party is in competition, there is little room for progression since the friction between both sides holds each other back. Whilst leaders of the same political spectrum help each other in decision-making when in power simultaneously, cohabitation can lead to a decline in national authority and make the country appear outwardly insecure.
- Although originally believed to be improbable, France was governed under a cohabitation of leaders for almost half the period from 1986-2006, suggesting that French people no longer fear the prospect of having two parties share power.
Future Prospects
In 2000, with the support of President Chirac, the term of the President of the Fifth Republic was shortened from seven years to five years, a change accepted by a referendum. Because of this, cohabitation will almost certainly be much more rare. Unless French voters exercise "ticket splittingSplit-ticket voting
In American politics, a split-ticket refers to a ballot on which the voter has chosen candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single election...
", cohabitation should not occur unless a President feels compelled to call for Assembly elections mid-term, a prospect which cannot be ruled out. It can also occur if the President dies during his term.
Finland
The constitution of Finland as written after independence, was similar to the French system. It included explicit provisions that the PresidentPresident of Finland
The President of the Republic of Finland is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years....
focuses on national security and international relations. The arrangement was originally a compromise between monarchists and parliamentarists: after the failure to institute a monarchy, a strong presidency was adopted. The new constitution of 2000 reduced the power of the President by transferring the power to choose a Prime Minister to the parliament. Cohabitation has occurred frequently, as Finland has multiple powerful parties and does not have such a deep split between the left and right, and as the terms of a parliament are shorter (four years) than the presidential terms (six years). Theoretically, the President should remain strictly nonpartisan, and Presidents have usually formally renounced party membership while in office.
Sri Lanka
Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n politics for several years witnessed a bitter struggle between the president and the prime minister, belonging to different parties and elected separately, over the negotiations with the LTTE to resolve the longstanding civil war
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
.
Ukraine
A cohabitation in a semi-presidential systemSemi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...
also existed in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
between 2006 and 2010. Ukrainian President
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
had to appoint Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
, his rival from the 2004 presidential election, as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
in August 2006.
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
, a quasi-governmental organization responsible for administering the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, has operated within the framework of a semi-presidential
Semi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
since the creation of the office of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority
The Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority is the head of government of the Palestinian Authority government.The Prime Minister's Office was created in 2003 to manage day-to-day activities of the Palestinian government. The position was created because both Israel and the United...
in the spring of 2003. While the President
President of the Palestinian National Authority
The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority ....
has the power to appoint anyone Prime Minister, there was an unspoken agreement upon the establishment of the office that the Prime Minister would be appointed from the majority party in the Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...
. This arrangement led to a period of cohabitation after the 2006 legislative election
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
, in which Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
President Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
appointed Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
leader Ismail Haniyeh Prime Minister after Hamas' victory in the elections. The cohabitation did not last long, however, as funds were withheld from the Palestinian Authority and hostilities between Fatah and Hamas
Fatah–Hamas conflict
The Fatah–Hamas conflict , also referred to as the Palestinian Civil War , and the Conflict of Brothers , i.e...
broke out in December 2006, leading to the appointment of a caretaker government led by Salam Fayyad
Salam Fayyad
Salam Fayyad is a Palestinian politician and Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority of the Palestinian National Authority. His first appointment, on 15 June 2007, which was justified by President Mahmoud Abbas on the basis of "national emergency", has not been confirmed by the...
on June 14, 2007.
Other countries
Cohabitation does not occur within standard presidential systemPresidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
s. While a number of presidential democracies, such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, have seen power shared between a president and legislature of different political parties, cohabitation is not a characteristic of such countries. In the French-type system, each minister is responsible to the legislature, not to the president personally as in presidential systems.
The theory of cohabitation is not limited to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but there are not many countries where the constitutional structure exists in which it could occur. However, many of the new democracies of eastern Europe have adopted institutions quite similar to France, and cohabitation may become more common. Still, if those countries elect their executives and legislature at the same time, as France is now starting to do, then cohabitation will be less likely.
See U.S. presidents and control of Congress
United States presidents and control of congress
In United States history, the degree to which the President's political party has control over the House of Representatives and Senate often determines his or her political strength - such as the ability to pass sponsored legislation, ratify treaties, and have Cabinet members and judges approved...
.
Further reading
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3256649.stm
- Raymond, G (2000) The President: Still a ‘Republican Monarch’? in Raymond, G (ed) Structures of Power in Modern France, Macmillan Press, Basingstoke
- Sartori, G (1997) Comparative Constitutional Engineering, 2nd Ed., Macmillan Press, Basingstoke
- Elgie, R (2003) Political Institutions in Contemporary France, OUP, Oxford
- Knapp, A and Wright, V (2001) The Government and Politics of France, 4th Ed., Routledge, London
- Marrani, D (2009), ‘Semi- Presidentialism à la française: the Recent Constitutional Evolution of the “Two-Headed” Executive’, Constitutional FORUM constitutionnel, vol. 18, no. 2, 2009, available at: http://www.law.ualberta.ca/centres/ccs/publications/journals/constitutionalforum/Volume18overview
- Cohendet, M. (2005) ‘The French Cohabitation, A Useful Experiment?’ CEFC:China
- People’s Daily Online, (2002), France Bids Farewell to Right-Left 'Cohabitation’, Monday, June 17, 2002 (Last accessed 16 February 2006).
- Shiloh, T. (2002) Muted reaction as France heads right, Monday, June 10, 2002 (Last accessed 15 February 2006).