A French history of the referendum

Local France

14-05-2025

Over the border in Switzerland, referendums are a regular occurrence with the country's tradition of 'direct democracy' meaning that residents are constantly being asked to vote on single topics, ranging from big changes like equal marriage or assisted dying to smaller and more local matters.
In France, however, national referendums are rare - although the city of Paris has been experimenting with this format, with locals being asked for their opinion on a ban on electronic scooters, plans to extend pedestrianised streets and an increase in parking prices for SUVs.
It's still unclear what
this year's referendum will be about
- Macron said only that it will be a series of questions, with the votes taking place on the same day, on "important social and economic reforms".
He said only that the votes would be "in the coming months", although autumn is thought to be a likely time frame.
Referendums in France don't always turn out well for the government that calls them, which perhaps explains their comparative rarity.
Here's a look at some of the key votes from the Fifth Republic, the period from 1958 to the present day;
May 2005 - EU Constitution changes
France's last major referendum was 20 years ago, and resulted in a bruising defeat for president Jacques Chirac. The subject was somewhat technical - changes to the governing mechanisms for the EU - but in what was widely interpreted as a rejection of the EU, rather than the specifics of the treaty change, the French people voted 'no' by 54 percent to 46 percent.
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The result was humiliating for Chirac, who was in favour of the changes but who had opted not to put them before parliament, and instead to ask the French people directly.
April 1972 and September 1992 - more EU
The 2005 referendum marked the third time the French people had been asked about in the EU - in 1972 they voted 68 percent in favour of expanding the European Economic Community, creating the body that became the European Union.
In 1992 they voted on ratifying the Maastricht Treaty, which created the framework of the modern EU with broader economic and security cooperation. After what was described as a "lively" campaign, France eventually voted yes by just 51 percent.
September 2000 - shorter presidential terms
Until 2000, French presidents were elected for a seven-year mandate. This was dropped down to five years after the French people agreed with the idea - 73 percent, albeit with a very low turnout, just thirty percent of the population felt strongly enough to vote.
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The change was proposed by Jacques Chirac who also became the first beneficiary of it - in 2002 he was re-elected, for a five-year term.
Any changes to the role of president requires a change of the Constitution, which can only be done
in a very narrow set of circumstances
, one of which is that a clear majority of the population has voted for it in a referendum.
The current system in which the president is directly elected via universal suffrage also came about after a referendum in 1962, called by Charles De Gaulle.
This brings us neatly to De Gaulle, who called three of the most consequential referendums in the history of the French firth republic.
January 1961 and April 1962 - Algerian independence
Independence for the French colony of Algeria came about after a brutal, years-long armed struggle in which many people died and the French republic itself came close to toppling. But it ended with two referendums.
The first, in 1961 asked the Algerian people themselves whether they wanted 'self determination' - by a large margin (75 percent) they voted yes. The following year France as a whole was asked if it agreed with the Evian Agreement, which laid out the conditions for a cease-fire and then negotiations with an Algerian government, effectively bringing the war to an end - 90 percent of people were in agreement.
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April 1969 - Reform of the Senate and regional government
But the most consequential reform for De Gaulle himself was perhaps the dullest topic ever subjected to a public vote in France - changes to the regional government organisation and reform of the French Senate.
Perhaps over-confident after winning three previous votes, De Gaulle called the vote on the changes, but the referendum rapidly became a vote of confidence in his presidency after a bruising series of crises. The French people voted 'non' to the changes by 52.41 percent, and De Gaulle resigned the following day.
After surviving major crises including weeks of nationwide strikes and protests in May 1968, the threat of a coup by military leaders over his Algeria peace plan, France's Resistance hero was eventually brought down by a vote on local government.