List of prime ministers of France
Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:44:05 PM Wikipedia source
The head of the government of France has been called the prime minister of France (French: Premier ministre) since 1959, when Michel Debré became the first officeholder appointed under the Fifth Republic. During earlier periods of French history, the country's head of government was known by different titles. As was common in European democracies of the 1815–1958 period (the Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy, the Second, Third, and Fourth Republic, as well as the Vichy regime), the head of government was called "President of the Council of Ministers" (Président du Conseil des ministres), generally shortened to "President of the Council" (Président du Conseil). This should not be confused with the elected office of president of the French Republic, who, as head of state, appoints the prime minister as head of government.
Tables
· 16th century – 18th century › Kingdom of France (843–1792)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry II)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry II)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry II)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
11 August 1557
Term of office
10 July 1559
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry III)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry III)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Henry III)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
12 May 1588
Term of office
2 August 1589
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIII)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIII)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIII)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
15 December 1621
Term of office
12 August 1624
Louis XIV
(1643–1715)
Louis XIV
(1643–1715)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
Louis XIV
(1643–1715)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIV)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIV)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XIV)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
9 March 1661
Term of office
1 September 1715
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XV)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XV)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Louis XV)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
29 January 1743
Term of office
3 December 1758
Constitutional cabinet
(supervisioned by Legislative Assembly)
Constitutional cabinet
(supervisioned by Legislative Assembly)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
Constitutional cabinet
(supervisioned by Legislative Assembly)
Chief minister
(Lifespan)
3 September 1791
Term of office
21 September 1792
| Chief minister (Lifespan) | Term of office | King (Reign) | ||
| | Anne de Montmorency (1493–1567) | 1 January 1515 | 14 June 1541 | Francis I (1515–1547) |
| | Claude d'Annebault (1495–1552) | 1541 | 31 March 1547 | |
| | Anne de Montmorency (1493–1567) | 1 April 1547 | 10 August 1557 | Henry II (1547–1559) |
| Position vacant (absolute rule by Henry II) | 11 August 1557 | 10 July 1559 | ||
| | Francis, Duke of Guise (1519–1563) | 10 July 1559 | 5 December 1560 | Francis II (1559–1560) |
| | Michel de l'Hôpital (1507–1573) | 5 December 1560 | 13 March 1573 (Died in office) | Charles IX (1560–1574) |
| | René de Birague (1506–1583) | 30 May 1574 | 24 November 1583 (Died in office) | Henry III (1574–1589) |
| | Philippe Hurault de Cheverny (1528–1599) | 24 November 1583 | 12 May 1588 | |
| Position vacant (absolute rule by Henry III) | 12 May 1588 | 2 August 1589 | ||
| | Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully (1560–1641) | 2 August 1589 | 29 January 1611 | Henry IV (1589–1610) |
| | Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy (1543–1617) | 30 January 1611 | 9 August 1616 | Louis XIII (1610–1643) |
| | Concino Concini (1569–1617) | 9 August 1616 | 24 April 1617 (Died in office) | |
| | Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes (1578–1621) | 24 April 1617 | 15 December 1621 (Died in office) | |
| Position vacant (absolute rule by Louis XIII) | 15 December 1621 | 12 August 1624 | ||
| | Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) | 12 August 1624 | 4 December 1642 (Died in office) | |
| Louis XIV (1643–1715) | ||||
| | Cardinal Mazarin (1602–1661) | 5 December 1642 | 9 March 1661 (Died in office) | |
| Position vacant (absolute rule by Louis XIV) | 9 March 1661 | 1 September 1715 | ||
| | Guillaume Dubois (1656–1723) | 12 September 1715 | 10 August 1723 (Died in office) | Louis XV (1715–1774) |
| | Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1674–1723) | 10 August 1723 | 2 December 1723 (Died in office) | |
| | Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (1692–1740) | 2 December 1723 | 11 June 1726 | |
| | André-Hercule de Fleury (1653–1743) | 11 June 1726 | 29 January 1743 (Died in office) | |
| Position vacant (absolute rule by Louis XV) | 29 January 1743 | 3 December 1758 | ||
| | Étienne François de Choiseul, Duke of Choiseul (1719–1785) | 3 December 1758 | 24 December 1770 | |
| | René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou (1714–1792) | 25 December 1770 | 23 August 1774 | |
| | Jacques Turgot (1727–1781) | 24 August 1774 | 12 May 1776 | Louis XVI (1774–1792) |
| | Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, comte de Maurepas (1701–1781) | 14 May 1776 | 21 November 1781 (Died in office) | |
| | Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes (1717–1787) | 21 November 1781 | 13 February 1787 (Died in office) | |
| | Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne (1727–1794) | 1 May 1787 | 25 August 1788 | |
| | Jacques Necker (1732–1804) | 25 August 1788 | 11 July 1789 | |
| | Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier de Breteuil (1730–1807) | 11 July 1789 | 16 July 1789 | |
| | Jacques Necker (1732–1804) | 16 July 1789 | 3 September 1790 | |
| | Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin (1745–1792) | 3 September 1790 | 3 September 1791 | |
| Constitutional cabinet (supervisioned by Legislative Assembly) | 3 September 1791 | 21 September 1792 | ||
· 18th century – 19th century › French First Empire (1804–1815)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Napoleon)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Napoleon)
Chief minister
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Napoleon)
Term of office
1
Term of office
18 May 1804
Term of office
1 April 1814
Faction
Vacant
Faction
Napoleon
(1804–1814)
| Chief minister | Term of office | Faction | Emperor (Reign) | |||
| Position vacant (absolute rule by Napoleon) | 1 | 18 May 1804 | 1 April 1814 | Vacant | Napoleon (1804–1814) | |
· 18th century – 19th century › First Restoration (1814–1815)
| Chief minister | Term of office | Faction | King (Reign) | ||||
| | Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754–1838) (as President of the Council) | 1 | 1 April 1814 | 2 May 1814 | Independent | Louis XVIII (1814–1815) | |
| | Pierre Louis Jean Casimir de Blacas (1771–1839) | 2 | 2 May 1814 | 8 July 1815 | |||
· 18th century – 19th century › Hundred Days (1815)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Napoleon I)
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Napoleon I)
Chief Minister
Position vacant
(absolute rule by Napoleon I)
Chief Minister
2
Term of office
20 March 1815
Term of office
22 June 1815
Term of office
Vacant
Faction
Napoleon I
(1815)
| Chief Minister | Term of office | Faction | Emperor (Reign) | ||||
| Position vacant (absolute rule by Napoleon I) | 2 | 20 March 1815 | 22 June 1815 | Vacant | Napoleon I (1815) | ||
| | Joseph Fouché (1759–1820) (as President of the Executive Commission) | • | 22 June 1815 | 7 July 1815 | Bonapartist | Napoleon II (1815) | |
· 18th century – 19th century › Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830) › Presidents of the Council of Ministers
Louis XVIII
(1815–1824)
Louis XVIII
(1815–1824)
President of the Council of Ministers
(Lifespan)
President of the Council of Ministers
(Lifespan)
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
(1754–1838)
Term of office
•
Term of office
9 July 1815
Term of office
26 September 1815
Term of office
79 days
Faction
Independent
Legislature
(Election)
I
(Chambre introuvable)
(1815)
King
(Reign)
Louis XVIII
(1815–1824)
| President of the Council of Ministers (Lifespan) | Term of office | Faction | Legislature (Election) | King (Reign) | |||||
| Tenure | Duration | ||||||||
| | Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754–1838) | • | 9 July 1815 | 26 September 1815 | 79 days | Independent | I (Chambre introuvable) (1815) | Louis XVIII (1815–1824) | |
| | Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1766–1822) | 1 | 26 September 1815 | 29 December 1818 | 3 years, 94 days | ||||
| | Jean-Joseph, Marquis Dessolles (1767–1828) | • | 29 December 1818 | 19 November 1819 | 325 days | Doctrinaires | II (1816) | ||
| | Élie Decazes, duc de Glücksbierg and Decazes (1780–1860) | • | 19 November 1819 | 20 February 1820 | 93 days | ||||
| | Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1766–1822) | 2 | 20 February 1820 | 14 December 1821 | 1 year, 297 days | III (1820) | |||
| | Jean-Baptiste de Villèle (1773–1854) | • | 14 December 1821 | 4 January 1828 | 6 years, 21 days | Ultra-royalist | |||
| IV (1824) | Charles X (1824–1830) | ||||||||
| | Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac (1778–1832) | • | 4 January 1828 | 8 August 1829 | 1 year, 216 days | Doctrinaires | V (1827) | ||
| | Jules de Polignac, duc de Polignac (1780–1847) | • | 8 August 1829 | 29 July 1830 | 355 days | Ultra-royalist | |||
| | Casimir de Rochechouart, duc de Mortemart (1787–1875) | • | 29 July 1830 | 0 days | |||||
References
- Renamed from La République En Marche! in September 2022
- Resigned on 6 October 2025 after just 26 days in office, making his tenure as prime minister the shortest in the history
- A Certain Idea of France: The Life of Charles de Gaulle