The capacity of political opposition to compete in France in Fifth Republic

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the capacity of the political opposition to compete against the government in France in the Fifth Republic. Today, the existence of political opposition and its ability to fulfill its functions effectively is the most prominent feature of democratic regimes, and this feature is an essential element for the sustainability of such regimes. The existence of political opposition and its ability to fulfill its functions effectively is closely related to constitutional / legal regulations and the democratic and pluralistic nature of the political culture of the society. Within the scope of this thesis, the conceptual and theoretical foundations of political opposition in democratic regimes are investigated, constitutional and political developments in France are discussed, and the evolutionary journey of the political regime into democracy in the context of power-opposition relations is included, and finally, in the context of the democracy-opposition relationship in France, the constitution, parliamentary standing orders, electoral and political party practices and political culture are examined and the competitiveness capacity of the political opposition in France in the Fifth Republic is revealed. It is seen that in France in the Fifth Republic, the political opposition is equipped with strong and effective legal instruments that would enable it to fulfill its functions effectively, and that it has a political culture that would make these tools meaningful and sustainable and ensure the maintenance of power-opposition relations on a democratic ground. As a democratic regime, it is determined that the democratic and pluralistic character of the political culture with constitutional / legal regulations in France is quite evident and prioritizing the opposition, and that there is a suitable environment for the political opposition to fulfill its functions effectively in the current system, to exist and to compete against the government. In this context, it is concluded that in France in the Fifth Republic, the political opposition had a high capacity to compete against the government. However, it is noteworthy that there is a significant threat in terms of the existence of both democracy and political opposition and the capacity to compete, as the democratic character of political culture in France tends to weaken.