Francia Gobierno Perfil 2008

Capital

nombre: Paris
coordenadas geográficas: 48 52 N, 2 20 E
diferencia de tiempo: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Independencia

486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)

Feriado nacional

Fete de la Federation, 14 Julio (1790); note - although often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, the celebration actually commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 Julio 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are Fete Nationale (National Holiday) and quatorze juillet (14th of Julio)

Constitución

adoptada by referendum 28 Septiembre 1958, efectiva 4 Octubre 1958
note: modificada concerning election of president in 1962; modificada to comply with provisions of 1992 EC Maastricht Treaty, 1997 Amsterdam Treaty, 2003 Treaty of Nice; modificada to tighten immigration laws in 1993; modificada in 2000 to change the seven-year presidential term to a five-year term; modificada in 2005 to make the EU constitutional treaty compatible with the Constitution of France and to ensure that the decision to ratify EU accession treaties would be made by referendum

Sufragio

18 años de edad; universal

Poder Executivo

jefe de estado: Presidente Nicolas SARKOZY (desde 16 May 2007)
jefe de gobierno: Prime Minister Francois FILLON (desde 17 May 2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president at the suggestion of the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (changed from seven-year term in October 2000); election last held 22 April and 6 May 2007 (next to be held spring 2012); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly majority and appointed by the president
election results: Nicolas SARKOZY wins the election; First Round: percent of vote - Nicolas SARKOZY 31.18%, Segolene ROYAL 25.87%, Francois BAYROU 18.57%, Jean-Marie LE PEN 10.44%, others 13.94%; Second Round: SARKOZY 53.1% and ROYAL 46.9%