A Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe, First Edition
Cohabitation is the term used to describe the situation in French politics that occurs when the President and the government represent opposing parties. This phenomenon occurs because there are separate elections for the President and the Assemblée Nationale.
During periods of cohabitation the power of the executive President is reduced and that of the Prime Minister enhanced.
There have been three periods of cohabitation in France’s Fifth Republic (1958–). The first was in 1986–88 between the socialist President François Mitterrand and a right-wing government under the leadership of Jacques Chirac. In the years 1993–95 there was a second period of cohabitation when François Mitterrand was President and Edouard Balladur was Prime Minister. Finally, in 1997–2002 there was a period of cohabitation between a right-wing President, Chirac, and a socialist government under the leadership of Lionel Jospin.
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