Prezydenckie orędzia do izb parlamentu w rozwiązaniach konstytucyjnych i praktyce politycznej Francji
Presidential messages to the chambers of parliament in constitutional arrangements and political practice of France

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the presidential messages addressed to the chambers of parliament within the French political system. On the threshold of the Third Republic, the then regulations banned the President from speaking in parliament and this was also maintained under the constitutions of the Fourth and Fifth Republics. As a consequence, the presidential messages had to be read by the Presidents of the National Assembly and of the Senate. The constitutional changes introduced in 2008 created the opportunity to appear in person before the chambers of parliament assembled as Congress. This amendment has affected the practice of applying Article 18 of the 1958 Constitution, which currently regulates both forms of presidential messages. The aim of the article is to assess the impact of the 2008 amendment on the French presidency, as well as to analyze the practice of formulating messages by successive presidents of the Fifth Republic, in order to identify the basic similarities and differences between them. The wider institutional context is no less important in this respect. One of its components is the significantly strengthened position of the French head of state, compared to the Third and Fourth Republics. The latter feature of the existing system of government seems to considerably affect the presidential messages formulated from the beginning of Charles de Gaulle’s presidency until now.

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