Protocol order of precedence in France
The protocol-based order of precedence of the French Republic is determined by order of the President of the Republic for all events of state institutions. It differs according to the location of the event ( Paris , various overseas territories and other territories of France) and according to whether the event is carried out by the President, the Prime Minister or a member of the government appointed by him.
When the President or Prime Minister is hosting an event or an event is taking place in Paris, the ranking in the first places is:
- The President of the Republic ( Emmanuel Macron );
- The Prime Minister of France ( Edouard Philippe ) or a member of the Government representing him;
- The President of the Senate ( Gérard Larcher );
- The President of the National Assembly ( Richard Ferrand );
- Former Presidents of the Republic in the order in which they took office (currently Valéry Giscard d'Estaing , Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande );
- The other members of the government in the order of priority determined by the President of the Republic;
- Former Prime Ministers in order of their inauguration;
- The President of the Constitutional Council (the French Constitutional Court );
- The Vice-President and Chairman of the Council of State (the highest French administrative court);
- The President of the Economic and Social Council ;
- The Ombudsman of the Republic;
- The members of the National Assembly;
- The senators;
- The French Members of the European Parliament;
- The judiciary, represented by the First President and the Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation ;
- The first President and the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Auditors ( Cour des Comptes );
- The Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor , the Chancellor of the Order of Merit and the Councilors of these Orders;
- The Chancellor of the Ordre de la Liberation and the Councilors of that Order;
- The chief of staff of the French armed forces.
In Paris, the prefect of the Île-de-France region (who is also the prefect of the Paris department) follows ; if neither the president nor the members of the government are present, the prefect takes the place of the president of the national assembly. He is followed in Paris by the Prefect of Police, the Mayor of Paris and the President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France. Outside Paris, the Prefect of the relevant department or territory or, in New Caledonia and French Polynesia, the High Commissioner accompanies the President or, if he does not attend, the Prime Minister; This is followed by the respective president of the regional council, the département council and the mayor of the municipality in which the event takes place. In some overseas territories, special regulations apply in accordance with the local institutions.
This is followed by representatives of the region, the département (or territory) and the municipality in which the event is taking place, as well as state authorities and institutions, the military and the judiciary located there, regardless of the territory.
If an event is not held in Paris and not by the President or Prime Minister, the protocol order is always given by the Prefect as the representative of the state (in New Caledonia and French Polynesia the High Commissioner), who can be represented by the respective sub-prefect in the absence of members of the government; if government members participate in an official capacity, they move to first place in the ranking, but are again subordinate to an official representation of the president. After the prefect, there are the members of the National Assembly, the Senate and the European Parliament and then the presidents of the respective regional council and the respective departmental council, the mayor of the respective municipality and then further representatives of the military, the judiciary as well as state institutions and authorities and further representatives of the Region, department and commune. In French Polynesia, the head of government and the speaker of parliament of the territory rank differently and the other members of the government of the territory rank immediately after the national and European MPs. In Wallis and Futuna followed by the deputies, the three kings.
Foreign ambassadors, if invited, are ranked according to the members of the government or the representative of the state. Representatives of the European Commission or foreign state bodies are placed with their respective French counterparts at ceremonies where their presence is provided.
For official events that are not carried out by order of the government, the highest representative of the implementing institution (e.g. the mayor) follows immediately after the representative of the state.