what types of government does france have?
Semi-presidential system Constitutional republic Unitary state
entailment
 During the negotiations , two supervisory institutions were put forward to counterbalance the power of the High Authority . The " Common Assembly " proposed by Jean Monnet to act as a monitor , counterweight and to add democratic legitimacy was composed of 78 national parliamentarians . The second was the Council of Ministers , pushed by the smaller states also to add an intergovernmental element and harmonise national polices with those of the authority . 

entailment
 At the start of the 20th century , France , Switzerland and San Marino were the only European nations to have a republican form of government . The ascent of republicanism to the political mainstream started only at the beginning of the 20th century , facilitated by the toppling of various European monarchies through war or revolution ; as at the beginning of the 21st century , most of the states in Europe are republics with either a directly or indirectly elected head of state . 

entailment
 There are currently thirteen ( 13 ) sovereign monarchies in Europe : the Principality of Andorra , the Kingdom of Belgium , the Kingdom of Denmark , the Principality of Liechtenstein , the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , the Principality of Monaco , the Kingdom of the Netherlands , the Kingdom of Norway , the Kingdom of Spain , the Kingdom of Sweden , the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the State of the Vatican City . Ten of these are states where the head of state ( a monarch ) inherits his or her office , and usually keeps it for life or until they abdicate . As for the other two : in the Vatican City ( an elective monarchy , styled as an absolute theocracy ) , the head of state , the Sovereign ( who is a Pope ) , is elected at the papal conclave , while in Andorra ( technically a semi @-@ elective diarchy ) , the joint heads of state are the elected President of France and the Bishop of Urgell , appointed by the Pope . 

entailment
 After involving itself in the Seven Years ' War and the American Revolutionary War , France found itself financially ruined . Attempts to pass an economic plan to alleviate this in the Estates @-@ General of 1789 led instead to the third estate — the commoners — forking to form the National Assembly . Succeeded in turn by the National Constituent Assembly and the Legislative Assembly , the various legislative bodies succeeded in rendering the monarchy constitutional , limited by democratic institutions . Attempts to remove the monarch entirely , although thwarted on 20 June 1792 , led to the effective overthrow of Louis XVI on 10 August . On 21 October , France was formally declared a republic . 

entailment
 The politics and culture of France , meanwhile , were in upheaval . After reigning for six controversial years , King Charles X was forced to abdicate during the July Revolution of 1830 . He was replaced by Louis @-@ Philippe , who named himself " King of the French " ( rather than the usual " King of France " ) in an attempt to distance himself from the Ancien Régime . The July Monarchy brought an entrenchment of bourgeois attitudes , in which Balzac saw disorganization and weak leadership . 
