CONSTITUTION OF OCTOBER 4, 1958
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WARNING
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By virtue of the Constitutional Law no. 2008-724 of July 23, 2008:
1° The versions in italics of articles 11, 13, 25 subject to 4° below, 34-1, 39, 44, 56, 61-1, 65, 69, 71-1 and 73 of the Constitution will come into effect in the manner determined by statutes and Institutional Acts necessary for their application ;
2° The versions in italics of articles 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50-1, 51-1 and 51-2 of the Constitution will come into effect on March 1, 2009 ;
3° The versions in italics of the title of Title XV and articles 88-1, 88-2, 88-4, 88-5, 88-6, 88-7 will come into effect upon the coming into effect of the Treaty of Lisbon, amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed on December 13, 2007 ;
4° The provisions of the version in italics of article 25 of the Constitution concerning the temporary nature of the replacement of Members of the National Assembly and of Senators accepting governmental positions, applies to Members of the National Assembly and to Senators having accepted such positions prior to the date of coming into effect of the Institutional Act provided for in this article, if, on this same date, they still hold such a position and if the parliamentary term of office for which they were elected has not yet expired ;
5° The two versions of article 88-5 are not applicable to accessions that result from an Intergovernmental Conference whose meeting was decided by the European Council before July 1, 2004.
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CONTENTS
PREAMBLE
TITLE I - On Sovereignty (art. 2 to 4)
TITLE II - The President of the Republic (art. 5 to 19)
TITLE III - The Government (art. 20 to 23)
TITLE IV - Parliament (art. 24 to 33)
TITLE V - On Relations between Parliament and the Government (art. 34 to 51)
TITLE VI - On Treaties and International Agreements (art. 52 to 55)
TITLE VII - The Constitutional Council (art. 56 to 63)
TITLE VIII - On Judicial Authority (art. 64 to 66-1)
TITLE IX - The High Court (art. 67 and 68)
TITLE X - On the Criminal Liability of Members of the Government (art. 68-1 to 68-3)
TITLE XI - The Economic, Social and Environmental Council (art. 69 to 71)
TITLE XI A - The Defender of Rights (art. 71-1)
TITLE XII - On Territorial Communities (art. 72 to 75)
TITLE XIII - Transitional Provisions relating to New Caledonia (art. 76 to 77)
TITLE XIV - On Association Agreements (art. 88)
TITLE XV - On the European Communities and the European Union (art. 88-1 to 88-5)
- The European Union (art. 88-1 to 88-7)
TITLE XVI - On Amendments to the Constitution (art. 89)
TITLE XVII (Repealed)
CHARTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
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CONSTITUTION
The Government of the Republic, in accordance with the Constitutional statute of June 3rd 1958, has proposed,
The French people have adopted,
The President of the Republic hereby promulgates the Constitutional statute worded as follows :
PREAMBLE
The French people solemnly proclaim their attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789, confirmed and complemented by the Preamble to the Constitution of 1946, and to the rights and duties as defined in the Charter for the Environment of 2004.
By virtue of these principles and that of the self-determination of peoples, the Republic offers to the overseas territories which have expressed the will to adhere to them new institutions founded on the common ideal of liberty, equality and fraternity and conceived for the purpose of their democratic development.
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ARTICLE 1. France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs. It shall be organised on a decentralised basis.
Statutes shall promote equal access by women and men to elective offices and posts as well as to professional and social positions.
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Title I
ON SOVEREIGNTY
ARTICLE 2. The language of the Republic shall be French.
The national emblem shall be the blue, white and red tricolour flag.
The national anthem shall be La Marseillaise.
The maxim of the Republic shall be “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”.
The principle of the Republic shall be: government of the people, by the people and for the people.
