November 5, 1986

After nearly eight months of the power-sharing arrangement known as ''cohabitation,'' real authority and initiative in France have fallen into the hands of Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, officials and others say. They add that President Francois Mitterrand, a Socialist, has come to play a secondary role to the conservative Prime Minister. The events of recent weeks, in particular the intense French efforts to deal with terrorism, have seen Mr. Chirac moving to the forefront in France's unusual two-headed ruling arrangement, which began when a coalition of conservative parties led by Mr. Chirac won a parliamentary majority in elections in March. Mr. Mitterrand, by contrast, has remained largely in the background, speaking only once in recent weeks to indicate apparent disagreement with some of Mr. Chirac's policies.

Friedman Linked to Bribes A former debt-collection official testified that Stanley M. Friedman demanded a $35,000 bribe to grant a New York City contract.

''BEAUTIFUL Soup! Who cares for fish, game, or any other dish? Who would not give all else for two pennyworth only of beautiful soup?'' Whether it's the chilly night air nipping at our ears or the welcoming aromas pervading the warmth of the kitchen, now is the time that many of us, like the Mock Turtle in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,'' yearn for soups. Particularly desirable are those thick, garlicky, herbaceous soups made with autumn's harvest vegetables. Autumn vegetables - varyingly gold, orange, purple and brown -rival the leaves now blanketing the ground. Displayed at farmers' markets and local produce stores, they tempt with color and possibilities. Especially enticing are the winter squashes such as sugar pumpkins, butternut, buttercup, hubbard and acorn squashes, all of which yield a bright orange flesh.

Many corporations cite the drowsy economy for their mediocre profits. The nation's biggest banks, however, largely have themselves to blame for another quarter of lackluster results. In the three months ended Sept. 30, these giant institutions failed for the most part to offset continued declines in their core lending businesses with new areas of growth, analysts say. At the same time, they let their costs climb at rates more appropriate for a highly inflationary economy. And they continued to pay the price for overly optimistic credit decisions made years ago in the farm, energy and real estate sectors. Loan writeoffs rose sharply.

Despite a strong push in the closing days of the campaign, President Reagan was unable to hold enough of his supporters in the Republican column to retain control of the Senate, and he had only partial success in his effort to make the Republican Party fully competitive in the South. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll of thousands of voters who had just cast their ballots yesterday, one of three self-described Reagan supporters voted Democratic despite the President's entreaties in perhaps the last campaign of his career, but only one Reagan critic in six voted Republican. The White House had hoped for much better. The Democrats, who have been losing strength in the South and West for the last two decades, made a strong comeback in those regions in voting for the Senate and the House of Representatives.