What happened in South Korea? Tuesday, December 3 in the evening, conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law during a televised speech. He said he made this decision « to protect liberal South Korea from threats posed by North Korean communist forces and eliminate elements hostile to the state ». The opposition is in fact in the middle of a battle with the presidential party over the draft budget for 2025. He described the members of the Democratic Party, who are opposed to him, as « forces hostile to the State intending to overthrow the regime.”
Concretely, the decree proclaiming martial law prohibited all political activity, « false propaganda »strikes as well as “ gatherings that incite social unrest “. The media were also placed under martial law, and medical staff, some of whom were on strike, were threatened with serious sanctions if they did not return to work within 48 hours.
The army also invaded Parliamentwhere the elected officials had barricaded themselves. The latter succeeded in voting for the repeal of martial law, which the president had to cancel. The opposition and part of public opinion, which demonstrated most of the night, are now calling for the dismissal of President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Does the President of the Republic have the same powers in France?
In France, martial law has already been used in the past, in 1789, 1791, 1871 (which bloodily repressed the Paris Commune), or even during the two world wars. But the 1958 Constitution does not provide for martial law as seen in South Korea.
On the other hand, other “exceptional regimes” are provided for by the texts.
The one that has established itself in the daily lives of the French is thestate of emergency, which emerged in 1955, during the Algerian War. It was widely talked about in 2015, when it was brought back into fashion at the time of the terrorist attacks, as well as in 2024 at the time of the riots in New Caledonia. It is decided by decree in the council of ministers, « in the event of imminent danger resulting from serious breaches of public order »as the site specifies Vie-publique.fr, or in the event of a natural disaster of an unprecedented scale, for example. It allows more power to be given to civil authorities and can also restrict certain public freedoms such as house arrest or the ban on demonstrations, for example.
No “martial law” in France, but…
The closest thing to martial law is the state of siege. Provided for in article 36 of the Constitution, it is put in place in the event of imminent danger, “if there is a war for example or an armed insurrection”, as explained by Anne-Laure Sagon, lecturer at Lyon III, specializing in constitutional law and fundamental freedoms. It is planned in the Council of Ministers for a period of 12 days, but its extension beyond that must be voted upon by Parliament, which has the last word.
Concretely, this means that civil powers are militarized, « disputes are judged by military courts »as Anne-Laure Sagon explains. If the decision is taken in the council of ministers“it may be the subject of an appeal for abuse of power before the administrative judge”. Unlike South Korea where Parliament was able to defuse martial law, Parliament in France cannot cancel it, but is dependent on whether it is extended or not. The use of a state of siege can result in a limitation of public rights and freedoms of the same magnitude as those seen in South Korea.
Full powers to the President of the Republic
We can also mention article 16 of the Constitution which provides that “ when the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the nation, the integrity of its territory or the execution of its international commitments are threatened in a serious and immediate manner and the regular functioning of constitutional public powers is interrupted », the President of the Republic can assume all powers (executive, legislative and judicial).
At the end of 30 days of exercising full powers, Parliament can refer the matter to the Constitutional Council in order to determine whether all the conditions are met for the latter to continue to use them. By definition, its use can only be temporary. It was drawn once, between April 23 and September 29, 1961, during the generals' attempted putsch in Algiers, in the middle of the Algerian War.
