France is divided into eighteen administrative regions, of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France, while the other five are overseas regions.
A popular initiative is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. The hurdles the petition has to meet vary between countries, typically signatures by a certain number of registered voters.
A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state and remains politically outside the controlling state's integral area. As such, a dependent territory includes a range of non-integrated not fully to non-independent territory types, from associated states to non-self-governing territories.
The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate. The National Assembly's legislators are known as députés, meaning "delegate" or "envoy" in English; etymologically, it is a cognate of the English word deputy, the standard term for legislators in many parliamentary systems.
The overseas departments and regions of France are departments of the French Republic which are outside the continental Europe situated portion of France, known as "metropolitan France". The distant parts have exactly the same status as mainland France's regions and departments. The French Constitution provides that, in general, French laws and regulations apply to French overseas regions the same as in metropolitan France, but can be adapted as needed to suit the region's particular needs. Hence, the local administrations of French overseas regions cannot themselves pass new laws. On occasion referendums are undertaken to re-assess the sentiment in local status.
The administrative divisions of France are concerned with the institutional and territorial organization of French territory. These territories are located in many parts of the world. There are many administrative divisions, which may have political, electoral (districts), or administrative objectives. All the inhabited territories are represented in the National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council and their citizens have French citizenship and elect the President of France.
A territorial collectivity, or territorial authority, in many francophone countries, is a legal entity governed by public law that exercises within its territory certain powers devolved to it by the State as part of a decentralization process. In France, it also refers to a chartered administrative division of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any territory with an elective form of local government and local regulatory authority. The nature of a French territorial collectivity is set forth in Article 72 of the Constitution of France (1958), which provides for local autonomy within limits prescribed by law.
France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with a bicameral legislature. Public officials in the legislative and executive branches are either elected by the citizens or appointed by elected officials. Referenda may also be called to consult the French citizenry directly on a particular question, especially one which concerns amendment to the Constitution.
The current Constitution of Bolivia came into effect on 7 February 2009 when it was promulgated by President Evo Morales, after being approved in a referendum with 90.24% participation. The referendum was held on 25 January 2009, with the constitution being approved by 61.43% of voters.
A referendum on becoming an overseas territory was held in Martinique on 10 January 2010. The proposal was rejected by 79% of voters, with a turnout of 55%. A simultaneous referendum was rejected in French Guiana.
Six referendums were held in Switzerland during 2010; three in March on pension funds, animal protection and a constitutional amendment, one in September on unemployment benefits, and two in November on deporting foreign criminals and introducing a canton tax.
An independence referendum was held in the Comoros on 22 December 1974. The overall result was a strong "yes" vote, with 94.57% of voters voting for independence and almost all the "no" votes being cast in Mayotte, where there was a majority for remaining under French control. In contrast, on Mohéli only five out of 6,059 votes were against independence. Voter turnout was 93.3%.
Overseas France consists of 13 French territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonization. Most, but not all, are part of the European Union.
A referendum on becoming an overseas territory was held in Wallis and Futuna on 27 December 1959. The proposal was approved by 94.37% of voters. Every voter on Wallis voted in favour, whilst all but three of the votes against the proposal were cast in the Futuna Islands.
A referendum on autonomy was held in Martinique on 7 December 2003, alongside an identical referendum in Guadeloupe. Voters were asked whether they wanted the island to become a territorial collectivity. The proposal was rejected by 50.48% of voters.
A constitutional referendum was held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 6 November 1995. Voters were asked whether they approved of two proposed amendments to the constitution; one limiting the rights to vote on constitutional amendments that affected land ownership to native islanders, and one on establishing an Office of Finance to regulate the spending of the Legislature. The first proposal was approved by voters and the second rejected.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.
A referendum on the approval of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy was held in Catalonia on Sunday, 2 August 1931. Voters were asked whether they ratified a proposed draft Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, also known as the "Statute of Núria". Article 12 of the Spanish Constitution of 1931 allowed for Spanish provinces to be organized into "autonomous regions", provided that a regional Statute was proposed by a majority of the provinces' municipalities comprising at least two-thirds of the provincial population and that two-thirds majority of all those eligible to vote accepted the draft Statute.
A statutory referendum on the approval of the Basque Statute of Autonomy was held in the Basque Country on Sunday, 5 November 1933. Voters were asked whether they ratified a proposed draft Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country. Article 12 of the Spanish Constitution of 1931 allowed for Spanish provinces to be organized into "autonomous regions", provided that a regional Statute was proposed by a majority of the provinces' municipalities comprising at least two-thirds of the provincial population and that two-thirds majority of all those eligible to vote accepted the draft Statute.
