Similarities Between Ancient Greek Democracy

Ancient Greek democracy and French democracy have some similarities, as well as some differences. On the one hand, both democracies have an Assembly, a Constitution and courts of law, although these factors may vary slightly between the two democracies. On the other hand, citizenship is not granted to the same people, the types of democracies are different, and warfare is handled differently.

There is a considerable resemblance between Ancient Greek democracy and French democracy. In 510 BCE, in Ancient Greek democracy, all adult male citizens had the right to go to the Assembly, speak, and debate. The Assembly set all of the laws for the city-state of Athens and was allowed to veto any proposition from the Council. In today’s French democracy, the Assemblée Nationale is the principal house of Parliament. The members, or députés, are elected by universal suffrage that take place every 5 years. Therefore, the citizens do not go directly to the Assembly ; instead they elect representatives to go for them. The Assemblée Nationale “pass(es) statutes”, “monitor(s) the action of the Government” and “assess(es) public policies” (extract from the French Constitution, article 24). In Ancient Greek democracy, citizens got payed to come to the Assembly ; in French …show more content…
In Ancient Greek democracy, citizenship was limited to those whose parents were also citizens. Women and foreigners were excluded. This meant only a tenth of Athenian residents were actually eligible to participate in politics. In France, anyone having lived in the country for a period of 5 years can be considered a citizen. Since men and women are equal in right, women are able to participate in political life to the same degree as men. In France, you are also considered a citizen if one of your parents is French, compared to Ancient Greece when both of your parents had to be Greek in order for you to be a