French Parliament
French Parliament Parlement français | |
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Bicameral | |
| Houses | |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats |
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| political groups | |
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National Assembly political groups | Government (251)
Opposition (326) |
| Elections | |
Château de Versailles (joint session) | |
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| Palais du Luxembourg, meeting place of the French Senate | |
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| Palais Bourbon, meeting place of the French National Assembly | |
| Website | |
| parlement.fr | |
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The French Parliament (French: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (Sénat) and the National Assembly (Assemblée nationale). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: the Senate meets in the Palais du Luxembourg and the National Assembly convenes at Palais Bourbon.
Each house has its own regulations and rules of procedure. However, occasionally they may meet as a single house known as the Congress of the French Parliament (Congrès du Parlement français), convened at the Palace of Versailles, to revise and amend the Constitution of France.
History and name
The French Parliament, as a legislative body, should not be confused with the various
The word "Parliament", in the modern meaning of the term, appeared in France in the 19th century, at the time of the constitutional monarchy of 1830–1848. It is never mentioned in any constitutional text until the
| Date | Constitution | Upper chamber | Lower chamber | Other chamber | Joint sitting | Single chamber |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1791 | French Constitution of 1791 | Assemblée législative | ||||
| 1793 | French Constitution of 1793 | Assemblée Nationale | ||||
| 1795–1799 | Constitution of the Year III | Conseil des Anciens | Conseil des Cinq-Cents | |||
| 1799–1802 | Constitution of the Year VIII | Sénat conservateur | Corps législatif | Tribunat | ||
| 1802–1804 | Constitution of the Year X | Sénat conservateur | Corps législatif | Tribunat | ||
| 1804–1814 | Constitution of the Year XII | Sénat conservateur | Corps législatif | Tribunat[Note 1] | ||
| 1814–1815 | Charter of 1814 | Chamber of Peers | Chambre des députés des départements | |||
| 1815 | Additional Act to the Constitutions of the Empire | Chamber of Peers | Chamber of Representatives | |||
| 1830–1848 | Charter of 1830 | Chamber of Peers | Chamber of Deputies | |||
| 1848–1852 | French Constitution of 1848 | Assemblée Nationale | ||||
| 1852–1870 | French Constitution of 1852 | Sénat |
Corps législatif | |||
| 1871–1875 | Assemblée Nationale | |||||
| 1875–1940 | French Constitutional Laws of 1875 |
Sénat | Chamber of Deputies | Assemblée Nationale | ||
| 1940–1944 | French Constitutional Law of 1940 | |||||
| 1944–1946 | Provisional Government of the French Republic | Assemblée Nationale | ||||
| 1946–1958 | French Constitution of 1946 |
Conseil de la République | Assemblée Nationale | Parliament | ||
| since 1958 | French Constitution of 1958 |
Sénat | Assemblée Nationale | Parlement réuni en Congrès |
Election of representatives
The current Parliament is composed of two chambers: the upper Senate (French: le Sénat) and the lower National Assembly, which have 349 and 577 members respectively.
Deputies, who sit in the National Assembly, are elected by first past the post voting in two rounds for a term of five years, notwithstanding a dissolution of the Assembly. Each constituency has around 100,000 residents, though some variance of size exists between rural and urban constituencies. For example, the Val-d'Oise constituency has 188,000 electors, while Lozère has just 34,000.[1]
Senators are elected by indirect universal suffrage by the grands électeurs, who consist of deputies, regional councillors, departmental councillors and representatives of municipal councillors. The latter constitute 95% of the electoral body.
Organization and powers
Normally, the parliament meets for a single nine-month session each year but under special circumstances the
The
The government (or, when it sits in session every Wednesday, the cabinet) exerts considerable influence on the agenda of Parliament. The government can link its term to a legislative text which it proposes, and unless a motion of censure is introduced within 24 hours of the proposal and passed within 48 hours of introduction – thus full procedures last at most 72 hours – the text is considered adopted without a vote. However, this procedure was limited by a 2008 constitutional amendment. Legislative initiative rests with the National Assembly.
Legislators enjoy parliamentary immunity.[2] Both assemblies have committees that write reports on a variety of topics. If necessary, they can establish parliamentary commissions of inquiry with broad investigative power. However, this is almost never exercised because the majority can reject a proposition by the opposition to create an investigatory commission. Also, such a commission may only be created if it does not interfere with a judicial investigation, meaning that in order to cancel its creation, one just needs to press charges on the topic concerned by the investigatory commission. Since 2008, the opposition may impose the creation of an investigative commission once a year, even against the wishes of the majority. However, they still cannot lead investigations if there is a judicial case in process already (or that starts after the commission is formed).
List
See also
- Constitution of France
- Government of France
- History of France
- Politics of France
- Member of Parliament (France)
- List of French legislatures
Notes
- ^
- ^
- MoDem (45)
- Renaissance (3)
- DVG(3)
- ^
- Horizons (26)
- LFA (1)
- CCB (1)
- Renaissance (1)
- ^
- ^
- ^
- ^
- March 2023 votes of no confidence, the LR leadership declared their voting intentions were to abstain, with 42 deputies following the party line which granted continued support to the government, and as such can be classified as granting unofficial confidence and supply, although they haven't ruled out voting for a motion of no confidenceor even tabling one in the future. Additionally, at the beginning of the 16th National Assembly, the Republicans' group submitted a declaration of opposition affiliation to the Chamber's Presidency, granting them the opposition group official statute.
- ^
- ^
- ^
- ^
- UDI (5)
- PS dissidents (5)
- Femu (2)
- DVG(2)
- DVD(2)
- PRV dissidents (1)
- AD (1)
- LC (1)
- PNC (1)
- REG (1)
- ^
- ^ The Tribunate was abolished by a decree of the Senate in 1807, with its remaining functions and members absorbed into the Corps législatif.
References
- ^ Source in French: Stéphane Mandard (2007) Un rapport préconisait le remodelage des circonscriptions avant les législatives de 2007, Le Monde. 7 juin 2007.
- ^ In France, for nearly a century, article 121 of the Penal Code punished with civic degradation all police officers, all prosecutors and all judges if they had caused, issued or signed a judgment, an order or a warrant, tending to a personal process or an accusation against a member of the Senate or of the legislative body, without the authorization prescribed by the Constitutions: Buonomo, Giampiero (2014). "Immunità parlamentari: Why not?". L'Ago e Il Filo. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
Further reading
- Frank R. Baumgartner, "Parliament's Capacity to Expand Political Controversy in France", Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Feb. 1987), pp. 33–54. JSTOR: 440044
- Marc Abélès, Un ethnologue à l'Assemblée. Paris: Odile Jacob, 2000. An anthropological study of the French National Assembly, of its personnel, lawmakers, codes of behaviors and rites.
