法國第五共和體制向為半總統制的主要原型典範，並為穩定半總統制的代表，但法國各界對此一制度設計一直有著許多爭論與修改意見。2007 年法國總統大選前，各主要政黨候選人紛紛提出「第六共和」(la VIe République)的憲政倡議。法國新任總統薩科奇(Nicolas Sarkozy)於 2008 年進行自 1958 年第五共和以來最大規模的一次修憲。修憲主要方向同時強化總統與國會的權力，在總統權力部分修憲後強化總統的國會咨文權，形同間接賦予總統的行政優勢..

The French Fifth Republic (la Ve République) is not only the prototype of semi-presidentialism but also the typical model of “stable semi- presidentialism,” of which the French political circle and academia have never stopped their criticism over the design of the French Fifth Republic and have consistently expressed their opinions of modification. Even before the 2007 French presidential election, most of the major parties simultaneously advocated a new constitutional engineering plans of “la VIe Républiq..