French Word of the Day: Cohabitation
This is nothing to do with your untidy roommate.
Why do I need to know cohabitation?
Because it will help you talk about French politics.
What does it mean?
Cohabitation – pronounced koe-ha-bih-tah-see-ohn – technically translates to ‘cohabitation’ in English, and it can be used in many of the same ways as its anglophone counterpart, but in French it is more aptly defined as coexistence.
Typically, the phrase does not have to do with sharing a living space - the French word colocation is used to mean sharing a house or apartment.
The most common use of this term is political. When the president of the Republic is from one party, but the parliamentary majority is made up of the opposing party, then the French government enters a state of cohabitation - essentially a forced co-operation between two different parties.
So far, this has only occurred three times under the Fifth Republic, and France is bracing for a possible fourth occurrence, with the Left building an alliance to push back against Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming parliamentary elections) législatives.
Use it like this
L'objectif des opposants est d'imposer à Emmanuel Macron une cohabitation pour son nouveau mandat. – The opposing parties’ goal is to force a ‘cohabitation’ on Emmanuel Macron during his new term.
La réforme constitutionnelle de 2000 a fait passer le mandat présidentiel de sept à cinq ans, ce qui a été fait en partie pour éviter le risque de cohabitation. – The constitutional reform in 2000 changed the length of the presidential term from seven years to five years, which was partially done to avoid the risk of cohabitation.
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Why do I need to know cohabitation?
Because it will help you talk about French politics.
What does it mean?
Cohabitation – pronounced koe-ha-bih-tah-see-ohn – technically translates to ‘cohabitation’ in English, and it can be used in many of the same ways as its anglophone counterpart, but in French it is more aptly defined as coexistence.
Typically, the phrase does not have to do with sharing a living space - the French word colocation is used to mean sharing a house or apartment.
The most common use of this term is political. When the president of the Republic is from one party, but the parliamentary majority is made up of the opposing party, then the French government enters a state of cohabitation - essentially a forced co-operation between two different parties.
So far, this has only occurred three times under the Fifth Republic, and France is bracing for a possible fourth occurrence, with the Left building an alliance to push back against Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming parliamentary elections) législatives.
Use it like this
L'objectif des opposants est d'imposer à Emmanuel Macron une cohabitation pour son nouveau mandat. – The opposing parties’ goal is to force a ‘cohabitation’ on Emmanuel Macron during his new term.
La réforme constitutionnelle de 2000 a fait passer le mandat présidentiel de sept à cinq ans, ce qui a été fait en partie pour éviter le risque de cohabitation. – The constitutional reform in 2000 changed the length of the presidential term from seven years to five years, which was partially done to avoid the risk of cohabitation.
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