Famous French Presidents

Jacques Chirac was a French politician who served as France's prime minister on two occasions, first from 1974 to 1976 and then from 1986 to 1988. He also served as France's president from 1995 to 2007. Because of his long career in prominent government positions, Chirac was often caricatured or parodied. He was also depicted in films, such as W.

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, created history on May 14, 2017 when at age 39 he became the youngest person to occupy the chair in the history of the country. He was initially a member of the Socialist Party, but fought the presidential elections under the banner of En Marche, a centrist political movement founded by him in 2016.

Charles de Gaulle was a French statesman and army officer. Charles de Gaulle fought against Nazi Germany in the Second World War by leading the Free French Forces. He also worked towards re-establishing democracy in France. He founded the Fifth Republic, France's current republican system, and rewrote the Constitution of France. He then served as the president of France.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was a seasoned French politician who served as President of France. During his presidency, Giscard d'Estaing promoted nuclear power and liberalisation of trade, pushed for development of projects like TGV, and took a more liberal attitude on social issues like divorce, abortion and contraception. He emerged as the longest-lived president in the history of France.

François Hollande served as the president of France from 2012 to 2017. He has earlier been the president of the General Council of Corrèze and the First Secretary of the Socialist Party. Of the many significant policies undertaken by him was the legalization of same-sex marriage through Bill 344.

Born to a furniture maker in Paris, Félix Faure initially worked as a tanner. After gaining considerable wealth as a merchant later, he became the deputy mayor of Le Havre and then the president of France. He is remembered for his reluctance to reopen the case of Alfred Dreyfus.

Former French president and three-time prime minister Raymond Poincaré was a qualified lawyer and the co-founder of the Democratic Republican Alliance. He suggested a retrial in the Dreyfus Affair and was also largely responsible for France’s entry into World War II. He also introduced a highly debated denaturalization law.

Georges Pompidou was a French politician whose tenure as prime minister of France between 1962 and 1968 was the longest in the history of France. From 1969 to 1974, Pompidou served as president of France. He is credited with mending France's relationship with the US and maintaining positive relations with many other countries. 

A qualified lawyer, René Coty had been the last president of the Fourth French Republic. His presidency was plagued by issues such as the Algerian question, and his threat to resign during the May 1958 crisis accelerated the election of Charles de Gaulle as the prime minister of France.

Integrity of French statesman Marie François Sadi Carnot led him to get elected as fourth president of the Third French Republic. He assumed office in 1887 at a critical juncture when the republic was almost openly attacked by General Boulanger. Carnot served as the President of France until he was assassinated by Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio in 1894.

The last French president of the Third Republic, Albert Lebrun had been a skilled mining engineer before venturing into politics. A moderate conservative, he served more as a mediator between the right and the left and called for French unity during World War II, but wasn’t a strong leader.

Vincent Auriol, former French president, was initially a lawyer and also headed the Association of Journalists in Toulouse. A Socialist Party member, he had also served as more of a conciliatory agent between the left and the right wings, as a minister in Charles de Gaulle’s cabinet.

After studying engineering and law, Alain Poher entered politics, as part of the Christian Democratic movement. He had been the acting president of France twice, first after the resignation of Charles de Gaulle and then after the death of Georges Pompidou. He was also the president of the European Parliament.

Paul Doumer initially worked as a math professor and an editor. He had a successful stint as the governor general of French Indochina and later became the president of France. He was assassinated by a French anarchist, who shot him at a book fair event in Paris.

A qualified lawyer, Alexandre Millerand had served as both the president and the prime minister of France. He had also held important portfolios, such as the ministries of war and commerce. He once attempted to increase presidential powers by revising the constitution. His published works include Le Socialisme réformiste.

Gaston Doumergue, the only Protestant to hold office as President of France was counted among the most popular French presidents. He also emerged as the first President of France to marry in office. He served as Prime Minister of France briefly from December 1913 to June 1914 and again following his presidency from February 1934 to November that year.

Son of a French army man, Jules Grévy was a lawyer before he joined politics. He later became the president of France and pushed for a strong legislature. He adopted moderate foreign policies and was against colonial expansion. He resigned in the wake of a corruption scandal involving his son-in-law.

Son of Émile Deschanel, a professor exiled due to his opposition to Napoleon III, Paul Deschanel grew up to study law. Before becoming the president of France, he had also been the president of the Chamber of Deputies. A skilled author, too, he was part of the Académie Française.

A qualified lawyer and a skilled orator, Émile Loubet had been the mayor of Montélimar, before becoming the prime minister and then the president of France. He was responsible for improving France’s relationship with Britain. He also accelerated the separation of the Church and the French government.

Great-grandson of Bank of France co-founder Claude Périer and the son of a minister, Jean Casimir-Périer was an affluent businessman. He later became the president of France, but frustrated by internal politics and the opposition’s slander, he quit politics after 6 months and focused on his mining business.

Armand Fallières began as a town councillor in Nérac and later became the president of France. Prior to this, he had been the prime minister of France, too, but he was forced to resign after just 21 days, owing to his stand on the expulsion of the pretenders to French throne.

Son of Irish immigrants in France, Patrice de Mac-Mahon was a distinguished military general before he became the president of France. His military victory at Magenta earned him the title of the Duke of Magenta. His presidency witnessed the formation of the 1875 constitutional laws and the Third Republic.

Roland Bonaparte was the grandson of Lucien Bonaparte, who was the brother of Emperor Napoleon I. A geographer and photographer, he was part of the research on the Sami community of Norway and the Australian Aborigines. He also headed the Société de Géographie and the Société Astronomique de France.

Son of an army officer, Édouard Herriot grew up to become a talented teacher, scholar, and literary critic. He began his political career as the municipal councillor of Lyon and won hearts with his urban development plans. He gradually rose through the ranks to become the prime minister of France.

Nguyen Van Thinh had been the first president of Cochinchina, the French controlled part of south Vietnam. Born to an aristocratic Vietnamese family, Thinh was a qualified physician and one of the rare Vietnamese to be granted a French citizenship. He apparently committed suicide while still in office.