From the seven-year term to the five-year term

For more than forty years, the President of the Republic was elected for seven years. The referendum of 24 September 2000 reduced this term to five years, and a 2001 law then scheduled legislative elections just after the presidential election.

The seven-year term, a legacy of the Third Republic

The seven-year term dates back to 1873. It was set for Marshal Mac Mahon, pending a possible restoration of the monarchy. It was retained under the Third and Fourth Republics, and then by the Constitution of 1958.

With election by direct universal suffrage from 1965, the seven-year term became long compared with that of deputies, who were elected for five years. This gap could lead to cohabitation, when voters chose a parliamentary majority opposed to the president.

A reform debated since 1973

As early as 1973, Georges Pompidou proposed moving to five years. The text was adopted by both chambers but was never submitted to Congress, for lack of the three-fifths majority required. The idea has since returned regularly to public debate.

The cohabitations of 1986, 1993 and especially 1997, the longest, revived the discussion. In 2000, former president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing tabled a bill to this effect. President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin agreed on a revision proposal.

The referendum of 24 September 2000

The proposal was adopted by both chambers and then put to a referendum under Article 89. The results were as follows:

• Yes: 73.21% of votes cast;
• No: 26.79%;
• Abstention: 69.81% of registered voters, a record for a referendum under the Fifth Republic;
• Blank or spoiled ballots: about 16% of voters.

The constitutional law of 2 October 2000 amended Article 6: the president is now elected for five years. Jacques Chirac, re-elected in 2002, was the first to serve a five-year term.

The high abstention rate is partly explained by the consensus among the main parties. The president and the prime minister, although in cohabitation, both called for a yes vote. The vote therefore mobilised few voters, even though it changed a central element of the institutions.

The reversal of the electoral calendar

In 2002, legislative elections were due to take place in March, before the presidential election in April and May. The organic law of 15 May 2001 extended the term of deputies until June 2002. The legislative elections were therefore held a few weeks after the presidential election.

This calendar has direct effects. Voters elect deputies just after choosing the president. In 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017, the newly elected president won an absolute majority in the wake of the presidential vote. In 2022, his camp won only a relative majority.

The limit of two consecutive terms

The constitutional revision of 23 July 2008 added a rule: "no one may hold more than two consecutive terms of office". Emmanuel Macron, elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2022, therefore cannot stand in 2027.

A contested record

For supporters of the five-year term, the reform reduced the risk of cohabitation and aligned the terms of the president and deputies. For its critics, it strengthened the president's place at the expense of the prime minister and turned legislative elections into a confirmation vote. The 2024 dissolution, which disconnected the two calendars, revived this debate. Some political leaders propose a return to the seven-year term, sometimes non-renewable. Others defend the current system.