France has been governed as a republic since 1792, three years after the Revolution. Since 1870 the government has been led by a directly elected president with a prime minister and two houses of parliament, the National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) and Senate (Senat). The president appoints the prime minister and government, and wields a great deal of power. Following his re-election in 2002 the current French president is Jacques Chirac.

The Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) party, incorporating the Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR), currently dominates the political scene. Other main parties are the conservative Gaullist party, the Democratie Liberale party and the Parti Radical. There is also the Nouvelle Union pour la Democratie Francaise (UDF), which now incorporates the Parti Republicain, founded by former president Giscard d'Estaing. Other parties include the Parti Socialiste, Parti Communiste Francais, Parti Radical de Gauche and the extreme right-wing Front National, plus fringe parties Les Verts (Green Party) and Generation Ecologie.

As a NATO member and Western Europe's leading military power, France has sizeable armed forces and spends 15% of its budget on defence. Military service was compulsory for young men, but is being phased out. Its replacement is a one-day training course for men and women, including lectures on France's defence systems and literacy/numeracy tests. Proof of course attendance is vital - without it, you face sanctions such as being unable to obtain a driving licence or sit exams at school or university.