the French president is elected by all French aged 18 and above every five years. This is a two-round direct election (the first round being used to weed out all but the two strongest candidates).
He is the head of the armies and has a constitutional remit to represent France abroad.
The prime minister heads the government. He is nominated by the president and answers to the parliament. The government is formed of members of the strongest party in the national assembly (otherwise it does not last very long...). In the last 25 years a left-wing president had to endure a right-wing government, and vice-versa. The president cannot fire his PM, only the parliament can achieve that, but in practice Prime Ministers often decide "freely" to resign.
The fact that parliamentary elections are now held just after the presidential one, gives the elected president a strong base. The president holds much more power and the prime minister had his role reduced (PM were often said to be the "fuse" protecting the president from popular discontent)
The current prime minister, François Fillon, has an even more reduced role due to the activity (some say frantic activity) of the president Nicolas Sarkosy. He accepted that, saying that the PM's role had to evolve into a kind of vice-presidency. :- Your momma is a fatty
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