Entry
The first cohabitation — Jacques Chirac’s appointment by François Mitterrand, 1986
Four days after the lost legislative elections, Mitterrand appointed Chirac to Matignon: a president of one side, a government of the other — unheard of. “The Constitution, nothing but the Constitution”: the text held, the reserved domain, coined in 1959, was put to the test, and two more cohabitations followed — until the five-year term was cut to avoid them. (Editorial synthesis)
The first cohabitation took place on 20 March 1986. (source: Archives nationales)
The first cohabitation ended in a president of one side, a government of the other. (source: Conseil constitutionnel)
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