All of the legislation of the French Republic is available online at: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/
The site has many translations to different languages: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Traductions
The preamble to the Constitution of the V Republic (of 4 October 1958) quotes the preamble of the Declaration of Human and Civic Rights (Déclaration des droits de l’homme et of citoyen, August 1789), and the preamble of the Constitution of 27 October 1946. The 1946 preamble states that “The Nation shall provide the individual and the family with the conditions necessary to their development” (§ 10); “It shall guarantee to all, notably to children, mothers and elderly workers, protection of their health, material security, rest and leisure” (§ 11); and “The Nation guarantees equal access for children and adults to instruction, vocational training and culture” (§ 13). This foundational legal statement is part of the current Constitution.
The 1958 Constitution underlines that the conception of citizens’ rights and duties, and the conception of the State, of political power and representation, has remained stable in France despite the evolution of international and European laws. We can notice that the first article of this Constitution makes irrelevant any “community” feature (ethnic, religious…) of French citizens and citizens living in France.
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