A constitutional referendum was held in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on 27 April 1969.
Dieter Nohlen
Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p674 The reforms would have led to government
decentralization
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
Conce ...
and changes to the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. It was rejected by 52.4% of voters, and failure of the amendments led to
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
's resignation.
Proposals
Government decentralization
![Carte ref 1969](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Carte_ref_1969.JPG)
The first part of the project aimed to classify the existence of
Regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
in the constitution as
Territorial Collectivities
A territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale, previously '), or territorial authority, is a chartered subdivision of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any subdivision (subnational entity) wi ...
. That would affect the regional ''circonscriptions'' created in 1960, and
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
.
The Region's jurisdiction would be enlarged, primarily with taking control of public utilities, housing and urbanization. In order to exercise these new powers, the Region would be able to borrow money, enter into contracts, create, manage or grant public organizations and enter into agreements with other Regions.
The Regional Councils would be composed of:
*three-fifths elected regional ''députés'' (deputies) and territorial regional councillors, elected by the
General Councils (one per
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
, for three years) and by the municipal councils or their ''délégués'', for six years;
*two-fifths regional councillors, designated by representative agencies, for six years.
Special arrangements would be taken for the
Parisian Region,
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
and the
overseas departments
The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...
.
Senate reform
The second part of the project would combine the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the
Economic and Social Council into one new Senate having a consultative function and no blocking power.
The necessity of a second consultative
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
representing the
territorial collectivities
A territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale, previously '), or territorial authority, is a chartered subdivision of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any subdivision (subnational entity) wi ...
and economic, familial and intellectual organizations had been announced by
de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
in his Bayeux speech, on 16 June 1946, and mentioned again during his
presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...
and to
Alain Peyrefitte
Alain Peyrefitte (; 26 August 1925 – 27 November 1999) was a French scholar and politician. He was a confidant of Charles de Gaulle and had a long career in public service, serving as a diplomat in Germany and Poland. Peyrefitte is remembered ...
.
The main changes in the role of the Senate would be the following:
*The acting
President of the Republic, in case of incapacity or death of the President, would be the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
rather than the
President of the Senate
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
;
*Declaration of war and prorogation of a state of siege would be authorized by the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
;
*Senators would no longer be able to make new laws;
*Bills of law would first be presented to the Senate, which would be able to propose their adoption, rejection or amendment, before being put before the National Assembly; after this, the Government or the National Assembly would be able to send them back to the senate;
*
Constitutional amendments
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...
would be passed only by an
absolute majority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
in the National Assembly before being voted on in a national referendum; they would then be submitted once more to the National Assembly, who would be able finally to ratify them only by a two-thirds majority of its members;
*Senators would no longer be allowed to question the government;
*In matters concerning the High Court of Justice, only a meeting of senators representing Territorial Collectivities would have a role (with the National Assembly), rather than the Senate.
Senators would be elected for six years, with elections held for half the house every three years (as has been the case since 2003). They would have to be over twenty-three, rather than the then minimum age of thirty-five.
The Senate's composition would be the following:
*173 senators representing territorial collectivities of
metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
(160) and its overseas territories (
DOM Dom or DOM may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Dom (given name), including fictional characters
* Dom (surname)
* Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto
* Dom people, an et ...
: 7,
TOM: 6), elected, the regions being the electoral constituencies, by deputies, territorial regional councilors, general councilors and representatives of the municipal councils;
*4 senators representing French citizens residing abroad, appointed by the
High Council of French Citizens Abroad;
*146 senators representing economic, social and cultural activities, appointed by representative agencies:
**42 senators for the working-class;
**30 for farmers;
**36 for businesses;
**10 for families;
**8 for accredited professionals;
**8 for higher education and research;
**12 for social and cultural activities.
Campaign
De Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
announced that if the reforms were refused, he would resign. The opposition urged people to vote no, and the general was equally hindered by popular former right-wing prime minister
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...
, who would stand as a presidential candidate if de Gaulle were to leave, reducing the fear of a
power vacuum
In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
felt by the right-wing Gaullist electorate. Also, former finance minister
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
declared that he would not vote yes. Only the
UDR campaigned for a yes.
Results
Aftermath
Following the referendum's failure, de Gaulle resigned as promised on 28 April 1969, at ten past midnight, and released a laconic statement from
Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
Colombey-les-Deux-Églises (, literally ''Colombey the Two Churches'') is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It is best known as the home of Charles de Gaulle.
The municipality of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises was creat ...
:
I cease to exercise my functions as president of the Republic. This decision will take effect today at midday.[In French: ''Je cesse d’exercer mes fonctions de président de la République. Cette décision prend effet aujourd’hui à midi.'']
Alain Poher
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher (; 17 April 1909 – 9 December 1996) was a French politician who briefly served as President of France twice, in 1969 and 1974. He held the office ''ad interim'' as President of the Senate following the resignati ...
,
president of the Senate
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
, became interim president of the Republic until the
next elections, when
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...
came to power.
References
{{French elections
Referendums in France
Constitutional amendments
1969 referendums
1969 in France
1969 elections in France
Decentralization
Constitutional referendums in France