Modern meaning of ‘Preamble to the Constitution of the Fourth French Republic of 1946’ : Focusing on the political, economic, and social principles particularly necessary in modern times

Although the Preamble of the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic of 1958 refers to the Preamble of the Constitution of the Fourth French Republic of 1946, the Founding Fathers of the Fifth French Republic did not intend to recognize the Preamble as a norm. Once a historical document, the Preamble to the Constitution of the Fourth French Republic of 1946 is now a living constitutional norm, thanks to a July 16, 1971 decision of the French Constitutional Court. The “political, economic, and social principles particularly necessary in modern times” from the Preamble of the Constitution of the Fourth French Republic of 1946 serve as social fundamental rights in the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic of 1958, which does not provide for many fundamental rights, and is the current criteria for the French Constitutional Court's power to review unconstitutional laws. In exercising its powers of ex ante and ex post unconstitutionality, the French Constitutional Court does not actively interpret “political, economic, and social principles particularly necessary in modern times” but uses them sparingly and with respect for the legislator's freedom to shape legislation, as can be seen in the case of the right to strike or the principle of worker participation. In the case of the right to work, the French Constitutional Court is currently shaping its jurisprudence from a liberal perspective, contrary to the wishes of the founders of the Fourth French Republic, who were strongly socialist. In the case of gender equality and the right to asylum, constitutional amendments have been made in a different direction from the intentions of the the Founding Fathers of the French Fourth Republic. This was done in order to overcome the interpretation of the French Constitutional Court, which was faithful to the intent of the constitutional provisions.