So last month I’m sitting in a pub with my mate Pierre, who is from Lyon, and he goes, “Do you even know who our presidents have been?” And I’m like, mate, I barely know who’s the prime minister here half the time. But it got me thinking. Started Googling at 2 am when I couldn’t sleep. Went down a proper rabbit hole.
Turns out the list of French presidents is absolutely wild. Like, Britain’s had some drama over the years. Churchill, Thatcher, and the whole Brexit shambles. But France? They make us look boring. They’ve had emperors who just declared themselves rulers, governments collapsing every few decades, actual coups, and presidents ending up in prison. It’s mad.
Anyway, I learned loads. Figure I might as well share it, yeah?
The President’s Job – What’s That About Then?
First and foremost, being President of France is not like being the Queen, where you go around and smile and wave at stuff. These people have actual power. You know, they’re in charge of the military.’ Whenever they like, they can dissolve Parliament. They basically decide where France is heading. It’s a massive job.
France is on their fifth try at a republic. Fifth! The others all fell apart. This one began in 1958 when Charles de Gaulle, whom we’ll come back to, rewrote everything. It was he who made the president way more powerful than before.
They have been doing it for five years now. It was seven until one year, someone in 2000 said, “Whoa there, that’s too many.” You can do two terms max. That’s your lot. Then you’re done.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte – First Bloke (1848-1852)
So this guy Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte comes along. He was Napoleon’s nephew. Got elected president in 1848. Everyone thought, ‘Great, democracy’s happening.’ France is sorting itself out.
Three years later, he seizes power in a coup. Just goes, “Actually, nah, I’m in control now.” Then, he appoints himself Emperor Napoleon III. Democracy lasted about five minutes.
He was still the emperor in 1870 when Germany defeated them in a war. Then France went back to trying the republic thing again.
Third Republic—Loads of Them (1870-1940)
The Third Republic had lots of presidents. Most were forgettable. I mean, who even could name them now? But some stand out. Adolphe Thiers was first. Had to deal with workers taking over Paris in 1871. The Paris Commune thing. Thousands died. Bit of a nightmare start.
Raymond Poincaré was stuck being president during World War I. Stuck! More than a million men from your country are going down. Just horrible. He somehow made it through.
They were the last Albert Lebrun. Poor sod got besieged by the Nazis. The entire Third Republic came crashing down. France was occupied for years after that.
1940-1947—The Weird Bit
Right, so from 1940 to 1947, there wasn’t really a proper president. Nazis were running things. There was the Vichy government working with them.
After the war ended, Charles de Gaulle was temporarily in charge while they figured out what to do. The whole period was a mess.
Fourth Republic—Didn’t Last Long (1947-1958)
The Fourth Republic only managed eleven years. Two presidents: Vincent Auriol and René Coty. Neither did anything particularly memorable. The whole thing collapsed in 1958 over Algeria. Algeria wanted independence, the French military was threatening a coup, and everything was going mental.
That’s when they brought de Gaulle back in.
Fifth Republic—The Ones That Matter
1958 comes, and De Gaulle creates the Fifth Republic. New constitution. The president gets way more power. That’s the system France still uses. Since then, France has had eight presidents. Here’s the lot of them.
Charles de Gaulle (1959-1969)
De Gaulle’s the big one. The most famous French president ever. He fled to London during World War II after the French capitulated to the Nazis. Said, “Nah, we’re not finished,” and led the Free French forces. That’s proper courage.
1958: France is falling apart. Algeria crisis. Military threatening coups. They bring de Gaulle back. He proclaims the Fifth Republic, is elected president, and gives Algeria independence in 1962. Half of France hated his guts for it.
Made France a nuclear power. He resigned from NATO’s military command because he did not want America to dictate France’s policies. He was known for his stubborn nature.
1969: He has a referendum and loses. Immediately resigns. Just walks away. No fuss. That’s class, that is.
Died in 1970. Still the most respected French president. When people argue about the best French presidents, his name comes up first every time. No contest.
Georges Pompidou (1969-1974)
Pompidou was de Gaulle’s prime minister. Previously, Pompidou was employed as a teacher. Then a banker. Then the politician. He took an unconventional path to reach the top.
He modernised France. TGV trains were his idea. Then there’s the mental-looking Pompidou Centre in Paris with all its pipes on the outside. Everybody hated it when it opened. Now it’s iconic. Funny how that works.
Died in office in 1974. Cancer. Nobody even knew he was sick. Shocked everyone.
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (1974-1981)
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was only 48 when he became president. Seemed young then. Posh family. Fought in the Resistance during the war.
He tried to modernise things as he lowered the voting age to 18. Legalised abortion. Made divorce easier. Progressive for the 70s. The economy was struggling, though. Lost re-election in 1981. Died in 2020 from COVID.
François Mitterrand (1981-1995)
First Socialist president. Lasted 14 years. Longest-serving French president ever. Brought in loads of social reforms. Minimum income. Better parental leave. Abolished the death penalty.
He loved building stuff. That glass pyramid at the Louvre? Him. People hated it at first, obviously. Orsay Museum? Him. Bastille Opera? Also him. Left his mark everywhere.
But he was dodgy. Wiretapped journalists. His government bombed that Greenpeace ship in New Zealand. Killed someone. Had a secret family nobody knew about. Hid that he had terminal cancer for ages.
Died in 1996. Complex bloke.
Jacques Chirac (1995-2007)
Chirac was the Paris mayor before becoming president. Twelve years as president. Big personality. Everyone remembers him.
In 2003, he refused to support the Iraq War. Made him massively popular worldwide. Really annoyed George Bush, though.
He acknowledged France’s role in deporting Jews in World War II. Previous presidents avoided that. Took guts.
Tried reforming pensions. Sparked massive strikes. France basically shut down.
Got convicted of corruption after leaving office. Paris mayor stuff. Died in 2019. People remember him quite fondly now, despite everything.
Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012)
Sarkozy was different. More American-style. High energy. Always in the media. Married Carla Bruni, the supermodel. Big deal at the time.
Tried reforming the economy. Then the 2008 financial crisis happened. Everything went wrong.
Only lasted one term. Lost in 2012.
Now? He’s been convicted of corruption multiple times. Started serving a five-year prison sentence in 2025. Campaign finance conspiracy. Not a great legacy.
François Hollande (2012-2017)
Oh, Hollande. This poor bloke. Worst French president ever. Everyone agrees. His approval ratings hit 4%. Four per cent! That’s shocking.
Everything went wrong. Terrorist attacks. Economic problems. Refugee crisis. Yellow Vest protests. Nothing worked.
He was so unpopular that he didn’t even run for re-election. Just gave up. Can’t blame him really.
Emmanuel Macron (2017-Now)
He is the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron. Youngest French president in history at age 39. Never held elected office before. Was an investment banker. Then the economy minister briefly. He formed his own party and won. Mental.
He defeated Marine Le Pen in 2017 and 2022. She’s far-right.
Since becoming president? Constant protests. Yellow Vest movement. They were trashing Paris every weekend for months. He tried raising the pension age. Everyone hated it.
In 2024, his party was devastated in European Parliament elections. So he dissolved Parliament and held a snap election. Thought it would help. It didn’t. No party got a majority.
Since then? Four prime ministers in less than a year. Parliament keeps voting them down. Total chaos.
The French government hardly functions at this point. The far right is now more powerful than ever. By 2027, Macron can no longer seek the presidency – term limits. He’s effectively a lame duck president. Not great.
Prime Ministers Too?
Yeah, this confuses people. France has a president and a prime minister. The French Prime Minister List is way longer because prime ministers change more often.
The president picks the prime minister. But parliament has to approve them. If parliament says no, the president has to try again. That keeps happening to Macron. He suggests someone. Parliament votes them down. He tries again. Mess.
The prime minister handles day-to-day stuff. The president does big-picture things. Foreign policy. Defence. Usually works fine. Right now? Not so much.
Interesting Fact: Alain Poher briefly served as interim president twice but was never elected. Most people don’t count him on the official list of French presidents.
Who Was Best Then?
De Gaulle. Always de Gaulle. The French people worship him, basically. He’s untouchable.
Mitterrand usually comes second. Despite all the dodgy stuff. People remember the good things.
Chirac is remembered fondly now. Less popular when he was actually in office.
Worst? Hollande. No question. Everyone agrees. Sarkozy’s reputation is pretty rubbish now, too, with all the corruption stuff.
Why Should We Care?
You may ask, “Why should a French president interest me?” Fair. But France matters. Nuclear weapons. UN Security Council permanent seat. Big economy. Who runs France affects everyone.
Macron’s struggling. The extreme right is advancing. Marine Le Pen in 2027 may well be on her way to victory. That would be massive. She wants to fundamentally overhaul France’s relationship with Europe. That impacts us, whether we want it or not.
What I Reckon
After reading all of this stuff about these presidents, what I’m struck by is how mental French politics is. We’ve listened to Brexit, and it was a terrible dream. But France? They’re on another level.
Coups. Occupations. Governments collapsing. The president is going to prison. Never stops. But France keeps going. The Fifth Republic has lasted 67 years. In their world, that is actually impressive. The previous few lasted only a couple of decades.
The list of French presidents really tells France’s modern story. De Gaulle made sense of things after World War II. Mitterrand brought in social reforms. Chirac standing up to America. Macron is struggling with a divided country.
What happens next? No idea. French politics never gets boring. Whoever wins in 2027 gets a mess. The country’s divided. The economy’s struggling. Culture wars. Not an easy job.
But then, it’s never easy being the French president. All of them confronted enormous challenges. Some handled it well. Others didn’t. That’s politics. What does seem certain is this: France will remain France. Dramatic. Unpredictable. Sometimes infuriating. Never dull.
Honestly? We’d miss them if they weren’t like that.
