France: Electoral Necessity and Presidential Leadership Beyond Parties

Coalition-making in France is under-studied, due to the peculiar way coalitions are formed, maintained, and terminated. Due to the majoritarian two-round electoral system, parliamentary elections often result in a one-party parliamentary majority, which barely leaves room for post-electoral coalition bargaining. Coalition agreements are negotiated prior to elections. They mostly consist of pre-electoral deals in which the coalition’s senior party grant a few seats to its potential partner, after both parties agree on a laconic policy document. Moreover, in a semi-presidential regime where the executive enjoys increasing powers, coalition members play a small role compared to the president (or the prime minister in times of cohabitation). Cabinet formation and portfolio allocation rest in the discretionary power of the chief of the executive and no real (in)formal coordination or negotiation takes place. Over the past few decades, France has undergone major institutional and political transformations that have reinforced those dynamics, effectively increasing the weight of the president in coalition bargaining and leaving minor parties quite powerless.