E uno plures: A Republic With two Regimes?

Abstract

The V French Republic still carries characteristics from General Charles de Gaulle years. It is argued that, from its practices, it is not a mixed or semipresidential system, but a bimodal, which varies according to the capacity of the president to receive or not the support of the electorate. Thus, this situation could lead to changes in the president’s constitutional powers, especially if we take into account his political capacity to manipulate the Constitutional Council. At the same time, it is argued that conditions have changed for maintaining a harmonious relationship between political will and consensus, that is, between the uniqueness of the first one and the plurality of the second one.