I’d add that the mentioned acquaintances apparently aren’t calling for a 6th republic. Just believe that the country is "ripe for it" because of repeated abuse

I’d add that the mentioned acquaintances apparently aren’t calling for a 6th republic. Just believe that the country is "ripe for it" because of repeated abuses of the, exceptionally large for a western democracy, presidential powers. But people have been dissatisfied with that ever since the last constitution was enacted. Including, famously, Mitterrand, who despite his many earlier criticisms (describing the 5th republic as "Le Coup d’État Permanent" [1], which could be translated to "The Continuous Coup") was prompt to fully enjoy those powers once elected himself. So it’s quite old. [1]: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Coup_d%27%C3%89tat_permanent https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Coup_d%27%C3%89tat_permanen...