France's Fifth Republic is a political system unlike any other. Originally, in 1958, it was conceived as a parliamentary regime. The Constitution gives the prime minister the task of directing the "government's actions," with the government determining and leading "the nation's policy." The president's role is defined as being a guardian of the institutions and of the continuity of the state through his "arbitration."

So much for theory. In reality, in 2024, there's no doubt that President Emmanuel Macron sets the course for his various ministers, first and foremost his prime minister. In this three-minute video, Le Monde explains the distribution of power between the two heads of the executive branch. We interview Jean-Philippe Derosier, professor of public law at the University of Lille and an expert in the French Constitution.