The president of France is the head of state of France. The first officeholder is considered to be Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who was elected in 1848 and provoked the 1851 self-coup to later proclaim himself emperor as Napoleon III. His coup, which proved popular as he sought the restoration of universal male suffrage previously abolished by the legislature, granted the newly established Second Empire firm ground.
A republican regime was given way again in 1870 through the Third Republic, after the fall of Napoleon III. A 1962 referendum held under the Fifth Republic at the request of President Charles de Gaulle transferred the election of the president of France from an electoral college to a popular vote. Since then, ten presidential elections have taken place. The 25th and current officeholder has been Emmanuel Macron since 14 May 2017.
See main article: French First Republic.
See main article: National Convention.
The National Convention (20 September 1792 – 26 October 1795) was led by the President of the National Convention; the presidency rotated fortnightly.
From 1793 the National Convention was dominated by its Committee of Public Safety, in which the leading figures were Georges Danton and then Maximilien Robespierre.
See main article: French Directory. The Directory was officially led by a president, as stipulated by Article 141 of the Constitution of the Year III. An entirely ceremonial post, the first president was Jean-François Rewbell, who was chosen by lot on 2 November 1795. The Directors conducted their elections privately, with the presidency rotating every three months.[1] The last President was Louis-Jérôme Gohier.[2]
The leading figure of the Directory was Paul Barras, the only director to serve throughout the Directory.
After the Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), Barras, Ducos, and Sieyès resigned.
Moulin and Gohier, refusing to resign, were arrested by General Moreau.
See main article: French Consulate.
Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of the French in 1804, reigning as Emperor Napoleon I 1804–1814 (First French Empire) and 1815 (Hundred Days).
The monarchy was restored 1814–1815 and 1815–1830 (Bourbon Restoration); again 1830–1848 (July Monarchy).
See main article: French Second Republic.
See also: French Provisional Government of 1848.
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure | 26 February 1848 | 9 May 1848 | Moderate Republicans | ||
| 1848 | |||||
See also: French Executive Commission (1848).
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| François Arago[3] | 9 May 1848 | 24 June 1848 | Moderate Republicans | ||
| 1848 | |||||
See also: Cabinet of General Cavaignac.
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis-Eugène Cavaignac[4] | 28 June 1848 | 20 December 1848 | Moderate Republicans | ||
| 1848 | |||||
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term of office; Electoral mandates | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte[5] | 20 December 1848 | 2 December 1852 | Bonapartist | ||
| 1848 | ||||||
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of the French in 1852, reigning as Emperor Napoleon III 1852–1870 (Second French Empire).
See also: Government of National Defense.
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Adolphe Thiers[7] | 31 August 1871 | 24 May 1873 | Moderate Monarchist (Orléanist); Opportunist Republican | ||
| 3 | Patrice de MacMahon[8] | 24 May 1873 | 30 January 1879 | Monarchist (Legitimist) | ||
| The Government of Jules Armand Dufaure deputized during the interim (30 January 1879). | ||||||
| 4 | Jules Grévy[9] | 30 January 1879 | 2 December 1887 | Opportunist Republican | ||
| The Government of Maurice Rouvier deputized during the interim (2–3 December 1887). | ||||||
| 5 | Sadi Carnot[10] | 3 December 1887 | 25 June 1894 | Opportunist Republican | ||
| The Government of Charles Dupuy deputized during the interim (25–27 June 1894). | ||||||
| 6 | Jean Casimir-Perier[11] | 27 June 1894 | 16 January 1895 | Opportunist Republican | ||
| The Government of Charles Dupuy deputized during the interim (16–17 January 1895). | ||||||
| 7 | Félix Faure[12] | 17 January 1895 | 16 February 1899 | Opportunist Republican; Progressive Republican | ||
| The Government of Charles Dupuy deputized during the interim (16–18 February 1899). | ||||||
| 8 | Émile Loubet[13] | 18 February 1899 | 18 February 1906 | Democratic Republican Alliance | ||
| 9 | Armand Fallières[14] | 18 February 1906 | 18 February 1913 | Democratic Republican Alliance; then Democratic Republican Party | ||
| 10 | Raymond Poincaré[15] | 18 February 1913 | 18 February 1920 | Democratic Republican Party; then Democratic Republican Alliance | ||
| 11 | Paul Deschanel[16] | 18 February 1920 | 21 September 1920 | Democratic Republican Alliance; then Democratic Republican and Social Party | ||
| The Government of Alexandre Millerand deputized during the interim (21–23 September 1920). | ||||||
| 12 | Alexandre Millerand[17] | 23 September 1920 | 11 June 1924 | Independent | ||
| The Government of Frédéric François-Marsal deputized during the interim (11–13 June 1924). | ||||||
| 13 | Gaston Doumergue[18] | 13 June 1924 | 13 June 1931 | Radical-Socialist and Radical Republican Party | ||
| 14 | Paul Doumer[19] | 13 June 1931 | 7 May 1932 | Independent | ||
| The Government of André Tardieu deputized during the interim (7–10 May 1932). | ||||||
| 15 | Albert Lebrun[20] | 10 May 1932 | 11 July 1940 | Democratic Alliance | ||
The office of President of the French Republic did not exist from 1940 until 1947.
See main article: Vichy France.
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Philippe Pétain | 11 July 1940 | 19 August 1944 | |||
| 1940 | ||||||
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles de Gaulle | 18 June 1940 | 3 June 1944 | |||
| 1940 | |||||
See main article: Provisional Government of the French Republic.
See also: Tripartisme. Political parties
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Charles de Gaulle | 3 June 1944 | 26 January 1946 | Independent | ||
| 1944 | ||||||
| — | Félix Gouin | 26 January 1946 | 24 June 1946 | French Section of the Workers International | ||
| 1945 | ||||||
| — | Georges Bidault | 24 June 1946 | 28 November 1946 | Popular Republican Movement | ||
| 1946 | ||||||
| — | Vincent Auriol | 28 November 1946 | 16 December 1946 | French Section of the Workers' International | ||
| 1946 | ||||||
| — | Léon Blum | 16 December 1946 | 16 January 1947 | French Section of the Workers' International | ||
| 1946 | ||||||
See main article: French Fourth Republic.
Political parties
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term of office; Electoral mandates | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Vincent Auriol [21] | 16 January 1947 | 16 January 1954 | French Section of the Workers' International | ||
| 1947 | ||||||
| 17 | René Coty[22] | 16 January 1954 | 8 January 1959 | National Centre of Independents and Peasants | ||
| 1953 | ||||||
See main article: French Fifth Republic.
Political parties:
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term of office; Electoral mandates | Time in office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Charles de Gaulle[23] | 8 January 1959 | 28 April 1969 | Union for the New Republic | ||
| 1958, 1965 | ||||||
| — | Alain Poher[24] | 28 April 1969 | 20 June 1969 | Democratic Centre | ||
| 19 | Georges Pompidou[25] | 20 June 1969 | 2 April 1974 | Union of Democrats for the Republic | ||
| 1969 | ||||||
| — | Alain Poher | 2 April 1974 | 27 May 1974 | Democratic Centre | ||
| 20 | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing[26] | 27 May 1974 | 21 May 1981 | Independent Republicans | ||
| 1974 | ||||||
| 21 | François Mitterrand[27] | 21 May 1981 | 17 May 1995 | Socialist Party | ||
| 1981, 1988 | ||||||
| 22 | Jacques Chirac[28] | 17 May 1995 | 16 May 2007 | |||
| 1995, 2002 | ||||||
| Nicolas Sarkozy[29] | 16 May 2007 | 15 May 2012 | Union for a Popular Movement | |||
| 2007 | ||||||
| François Hollande[30] | 15 May 2012 | 14 May 2017 | Socialist Party | |||
| 2012 | ||||||
| Emmanuel Macron[31] | 14 May 2017 | Incumbent | La République En Marche! | |||
| 2017, 2022 | ||||||