Everything about National Assembly Of France totally explained
The
French National Assembly is the
lower house of the
bicameral Parliament of France under the
Fifth Republic. The other is the
Senate (
“Sénat”).
The National Assembly consists of 577 members known as
députés (deputies), each elected by a single-member constituency. Deputies are elected in each constituency through a
two-rounds system. 289 seats are required for a majority. It is presided over by a president (currently
Bernard Accoyer), normally from the largest party represented, assisted by vice-presidents from across the represented political spectrum. The term of the National Assembly is five years; however, the President of the Republic may dissolve the Assembly (for example, by calling for new elections) unless he's dissolved it in the preceding twelve months. This measure is becoming rarer since the
2000 referendum reduced the President's term from seven to five years : a President has its majority elected in the Assembly two months after him, and it would be useless for him to dissolve it.
The official seat of the National Assembly is the
Palais Bourbon on the banks of the river
Seine ; the Assembly also uses other neighbouring buildings, including the
Immeuble Chaban-Delmas on the rue de l’Université . It is guarded by
Republican Guards;
huissiers oversee the operations inside the meeting amphitheater and in other facilities.
Following a tradition started by
the first National Assembly during the
French Revolution, the “
left-wing” parties sit to the left as seen from the president’s seat, and the “
right-wing” parties sit to the right, and the seating arrangement thus directly indicates the
political spectrum as represented in the Assembly.
Relationships with the executive
The President of the Republic can decide to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new legislative elections. This is meant as a way to resolve stalemates where the Assembly can't decide on a clear political direction. This possibility is seldom exercised. The last dissolution was by
Jacques Chirac in
1997, following from the lack of popularity of prime minister
Alain Juppé; however, the plan backfired, and the newly elected majority was opposed to Chirac.
The National Assembly can overthrow the executive government (that is, the Prime Minister and other ministers) by voting a motion of censure. For this reason, the
prime minister and his cabinet are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the assembly. In the case of a president and assembly from opposing parties, this leads to the situation known as
cohabitation. While motions of censure are periodically proposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, they're purely rhetorical; party discipline ensures that, throughout a parliamentary term, the government is never overthrown by the Assembly. Officially there has never been censure.
The Government (the Prime Minister and the Minister of relationships with Parliament) sets the priority agenda for the Assembly’s sessions, except for a single day each month. In practice, given the number of priority items, it means that the schedule of the Assembly is almost entirely set by the executive; bills generally only have a chance to be examined if proposed or supported by the executive.
Elections
Since 1988, the 577 deputies are elected by the direct
universal suffrage with a
two-round system by
constituency, for a five-year mandate, subject to dissolution. The constituencies each comprise 100,000 inhabitants more or less. The electoral law of 1986 specifies that variations of population between constituencies should not, in any case, lead to a constituency exceeding more than 20% the average population of the constituencies of the
département. However, there are inequalities between the less populated rural districts and the urban districts. For example, the deputy for the most populated constituency, in the department of
Val-d'Oise, represents 188,000 voters, while the deputy for the least populated constituency, in the department of
Lozere, accounts for only 34,000.
To be elected in the first round of voting, a candidate must obtain at least 50% of the votes cast, with a turn-out of at least 25% of the registered voters on the electoral rolls. If no candidate is elected in the first round, those who poll in excess of 12.5% of the registered voters in the first-round vote are entered in the second round of voting. If no candidate comply such conditions, the two better voted candidates advance to second round. In the second round, it's the candidate who gains the most votes who is elected. Each candidate is enrolled along with a substitute, who takes the candidate's place in the event of inability to represent the constituency, when the deputy becomes minister for example.
The
organic law of
10 July 1985 established a system of
party-list proportional representation within the framework of the
département. It was necessary within this framework to obtain at least 5% of the vote to elect an official. However, the
legislative election of 1986, carried out under this system, gave France a new majority which returned to the
plurality voting system. There are 570 elected officials of the departments, five representatives of the
overseas collectivities (two for
French Polynesia, one for
Wallis and Futuna, one for
Saint Pierre and Miquelon and one for
Mayotte) and two for
New Caledonia since 1986.
Current membership
The
last legislative elections, held in June 2007 resulted in the following distribution of seats:
13th Assembly by parliamentary group
French National Assembly by parliamentary group>
| Group |
Leader |
Parties |
Seats |
Caucusing |
Total |
|
Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire |
Jean-François Copé |
UMP, DVD |
314 |
6 |
320 |
|
Socialist, Radical, and Citizen Group (Groupe socialiste, radical, et citoyen) |
Jean-Marc Ayrault |
PS, PRG, DVG, MRC |
186 |
18 |
204 |
|
Democratic and Republican Left (Gauche démocrate et républicaine) |
Jean-Claude Sandrier |
PCF, VEC, DVG, MIM |
24 |
0 |
24 |
|
New Centre-Presidential Majority (Nouveau Centre-Majorité Présidentielle) |
François Sauvadet |
NC-PSLE, MAJ, DVD |
20 |
3 |
23 |
|
Non-Inscrits |
|
MoDem, DLR, MPF |
6 |
0 |
6 |
|
Total |
|
577 |
Further Information
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