Charles de Gaulle

De Gaulle's 1962 reform gave France's president a direct electoral mandate, adding a powerful source of political legitimacy to the Fifth Republic created in 1958. He used the referendum procedure in Article 11 rather than securing prior approval through the ordinary parliamentary amendment route, making the method controversial as well as the result consequential. Presidential elections remain central to French politics, but the president's practical dominance still depends on the wider parliamentary situation.