France is a unitary state which is a semi-presidential system based mainly on the French constitution of the fifth republic. The Prime Minister is the head of the government in which the president serves as the head of state. France is considered a democratic republic because it has a prime minister and a president. The French government is divided into three different branches. There is the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. The executive branch consists of the Prime Minister and the President. The Prime Minister is appointed by the majority party but must be voted in by the President for a lifetime term. The president commonly selects a member of the national assembly who will become the new prime minister. The prime minister's main goal is to manage the French government and national defense. The national assembly is one of the seats of the political system. There are 577 seats in this house. These members are voted in and remain in office for five years. They are important for the daily operations of the French government. They focus on all business activity and tend to win disagreements in the Senate. The Senate is the most important chamber in the French political system. Since the number of seats depends solely on the population, this number changes constantly, but currently there are 348 seats. These members are elected on the basis of an electoral college and remain in office for six years. These members focus on constitutional issues and foreign affairs. There are two main parts to the French legal system, public law and private law. Private law is made up of civil law and criminal law. Public law is made up of administrative law and constitutional law. Private civil law deals with corporate law and the law... middle of paper... standards and regulations when it is produced and sold for import. Products such as wood, packaging materials, refrigeration devices only need to meet regulations when they are imported. It is not possible to import potentially endangered or protected live animals. Food products must come from EU approved locations. Agricultural products must be approved before import. There are many areas in France where corruption can occur even when there are laws intended to prevent corruption from occurring. Some areas where most corruption occurs are elections, where political figures use public funds for their election campaigns. Corruption is also one of the most common forms of corruption occurring in France. Some companies and political figures have been investigated for making fraudulent payments to countries.