The last decade has seen the increasing integration of European financial markets due to a number of factors including the creation of a common regulatory framework, the liberalisation of international capital movements, financial deregulation, advances in technology and the introduction of the Euro. However, the process of integration has proceeded largely in the absence of any comprehensive legal regulation, and has rather been constructed on the basis of sectorial provisions dictated by the needs of cross-border transactions. This has meant that many legal barriers still remain as...

This is an examination of the foundations of the French Fifth Republic Constitution. It not only explores the dynamics and changes that have occurred during the last 50 years of the Constitution but also looks at the presence of older elements that create tensions within the constitutional text.