France is an industrialized democracy that operates under a semi-presidential system. The French system is one that has gone through a great amount of change throughout the years, and is now onto their fifth republic. The semi-presidential system is one that causes serious issues within the French government, as the President’s position is ill defined and the Prime Minister position is in fact the one with more power. The semi-presidential system in France has sometimes led to political gridlock, especially when the President and Prime Minister either disagree, or are from different political parties. In contrast to the French system, China is a quasi-communist country that operates in a one party system, which means there is only one party …show more content…
Many libertarians in the west disagree with this political structure, as they believe democracy is the only successful political system. However, the Chinese government has been very involved in its country’s economics, and has not allowed the amount of free trade that many western countries demand, yet China’s economy has been growing steadily over the past 20 years . Moreover, China having a one party system allows the Chinese government to operate with almost no restrictions, leading to little to no gridlock within the Chinese government. This essay will illustrate the political cultures in both France and China, and how these political cultures have contributed to the characteristics of these countries’ political systems. These cultures and systems are fundamentally different, therefore have vastly different affects on the citizens living in each …show more content…
As previously stated, France has had 5 different republics since 1789 including the newest Fifth Republic that was established less than sixty years ago on October 4th 1958. The First Republic began in 1792 and ended when Napoleon declared himself emperor in 1804. The second republic began in 1848 when the election of the first president took place and Napoleon’s nephew, Napoleon the third became France’s first president. The Third Republic, was established in 1870 and lasted till 1940, and even though this was the longest republic it was one that had consistent government change. Through 1929 to 1939 there were 18 different governments in power. In 1946, after world war two the fourth republic was put into place, even though many considered it to be a continuation of the third republic. Then in 1958 the Fifth republic was put into place, and even though this is the Republic that still lasts today it has had 24 revisions to the original constitution. All these changes to government and Republic illustrate the fact that France has a conflictual nature. Moreover, the French have low trust in authority and this is another reason for the high turnover in governments and republics. The Fifth Republic has increased stability within France and is likely the most stable of the Rebublics. Yet in 2016 there have been massive protests with thousands of students workers and