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The Republic of France

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The Palgrave Handbook of Comparative Public Administration

Abstract

France is a welfare state, characterized by a centralist administrative system. The evolution of the administrative system transited from local administrative customs to a unified central authority of the state. Its administrative system is rooted in the Napoleonic state, highly centralized and hierarchical, perceiving public administration as a mechanism featuring the state’s central power, based on the general will. The Fifth Republic, founded in 1958, strengthened the executive power and promoted modernization programs toward state stability. Significant aspect of the 1958 Constitution is the strong executive power given to the President. Although France is characterized by a strong central government and weak local government, civil service represents a strength. The National School of Administration (ÉNA), created in 1945, contributed to the education and training of civil servants, and notable laureates include top officials.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Graduate of ÉNA.

  2. 2.

    It could be interpreted in a weak sense as the President being an ultimate referee in times of crisis, but in normal circumstances remaining above politics, and in a strong sense as the President’s role to give direction to government action (Cole, 2005: 63).

  3. 3.

    In practice, Prime Ministers have been dismissed by the President (Stevens, 2003: 88).

  4. 4.

    The Secretariat is considered as a politico-administrative agent, staffed by career civil servants, who coordinate government policy, before and after decisions are endorsed by the Council of Ministers (Cole, 2005: 77).

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  1. Political Science and Public Administration, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

    Nadia Lahdili & Fella Djilaili

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  1. Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Boğaziçi/Bosphorus University, İstanbul, Turkey

    Murat Önder

  2. Faculty of Social Sciences, Egerton University, Njoro, Macao

    Israel Nyaburi Nyadera

  3. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey

    Md. Nazmul Islam

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Lahdili, N., Djilaili, F. (2022). The Republic of France. In: Önder, M., Nyadera, I.N., Islam, M.N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Comparative Public Administration. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1208-5_7

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