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Analysis: Trouble at the top
Uneasy partnership: The two leaders at an EU summit in October
By Stephen Jessel in Paris
The power-sharing system in France, known as cohabitation, in which the president and prime minister come from different political families, has come under serious strain after a clash over foreign policy.
On a visit to Israel, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who heads the socialist-dominated governing coalition in Paris, condemned actions by Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon against soldiers and civilians, describing them as terrorist acts.
In so doing, he appeared to mark a unilateral shift in French foreign policy which has traditionally been sympathetic to the Arab world and condemned the presence of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, implicitly recognising the right of local guerrillas to combat that presence.
The power-sharing system in France, known as cohabitation, in which the president and prime minister come from different political families, has come under serious strain after a clash over foreign policy.
On a visit to Israel, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who heads the socialist-dominated governing coalition in Paris, condemned actions by Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon against soldiers and civilians, describing them as terrorist acts.
In so doing, he appeared to mark a unilateral shift in French foreign policy which has traditionally been sympathetic to the Arab world and condemned the presence of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, implicitly recognising the right of local guerrillas to combat that presence.
 Was Jospin courting the Jewish vote?
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Although Mr Jospin later amended his words, substituting "acts of war" for acts of "terrorism", his declarations were seen as an infringement of the rights and prerogatives of the president in conducting the nation's foreign policy.
Various explanations have been advanced for Mr Jospin's declarations.
One is that he wished to make the point that as head of the government he was free to express his views on international issues, even if they ran counter to traditional policy.
A second is that he blundered in his choice of words.
A third is that, with important elections due to be held in 2001 and 2002, he was seeking to attract the Jewish vote in France, especially with an eye on the election next year of a new mayor of Paris, which has a large Jewish population.
Role reversal
France is living through its third period of cohabitation and all of them have been marked by tension between the president and the prime minister.
Various explanations have been advanced for Mr Jospin's declarations.
One is that he wished to make the point that as head of the government he was free to express his views on international issues, even if they ran counter to traditional policy.
A second is that he blundered in his choice of words.
A third is that, with important elections due to be held in 2001 and 2002, he was seeking to attract the Jewish vote in France, especially with an eye on the election next year of a new mayor of Paris, which has a large Jewish population.
Role reversal
France is living through its third period of cohabitation and all of them have been marked by tension between the president and the prime minister.
 Mitterrand: Made clear who was in charge
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In the first two, President Mitterrand, a socialist, had to co-exist with conservative prime ministers, in each case for a two-year period.
This third cohabitation sees the roles reversed; a conservative president co-exists with a socialist premier. If it runs its full term, it will last five years.
The division of rights and prerogatives has never been fully determined, though it has been accepted that defence and foreign policy are areas where the president has a degree of pre-eminence.
Thus in 1986, the prime minister of the time, Jacques Chirac, was humiliated at an international meeting in Tokyo when President Mitterrand made it clear he spoke for France, and there were even problems of finding a seat for his prime minister.
In 1994, during the second cohabitation, the then Prime Minister Edouard Balladur earned the hostility of the president when he spoke of "our foreign policy".
Success
Mr Jospin had until now been slightly more successful in challenging the presidential pre-eminence; disagreeing over a coup in the Ivory Coast and speaking openly of how he would have conducted a better foreign policy if free to do so.
This third cohabitation sees the roles reversed; a conservative president co-exists with a socialist premier. If it runs its full term, it will last five years.
The division of rights and prerogatives has never been fully determined, though it has been accepted that defence and foreign policy are areas where the president has a degree of pre-eminence.
Thus in 1986, the prime minister of the time, Jacques Chirac, was humiliated at an international meeting in Tokyo when President Mitterrand made it clear he spoke for France, and there were even problems of finding a seat for his prime minister.
In 1994, during the second cohabitation, the then Prime Minister Edouard Balladur earned the hostility of the president when he spoke of "our foreign policy".
Success
Mr Jospin had until now been slightly more successful in challenging the presidential pre-eminence; disagreeing over a coup in the Ivory Coast and speaking openly of how he would have conducted a better foreign policy if free to do so.
 Chirac: Has seen cohabitation from both sides
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Mr Chirac at once made known his lack of approval of Mr Jospin's remarks in Israel, summoning him to a meeting on his return.
Mr Jospin said he would not see the president until the regular pre-cabinet Wednesday session, but was telephoned late on Saturday night by Mr Chirac whose office that night issued a statement suggesting Mr Jospin had received a serious reprimand.
The initial evaluation of the affair is that Mr Jospin, expected to challenge Mr Chirac for the presidency in 2002, has been weakened by the incident.
Mr Jospin said he would not see the president until the regular pre-cabinet Wednesday session, but was telephoned late on Saturday night by Mr Chirac whose office that night issued a statement suggesting Mr Jospin had received a serious reprimand.
The initial evaluation of the affair is that Mr Jospin, expected to challenge Mr Chirac for the presidency in 2002, has been weakened by the incident.
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