The MPs, elected by all French citizens, form the National Assembly, which passes laws, monitors government action and evaluates public policies. It shares legislative power with the Senate, but if the two Chambers of Parliament do not reach an agreement on a particular bill, the National Assembly has the final say. It alone has the power to censure the Government, in other words, to force its resignation; it is the only governmental body that can be dissolved by the President of the Republic.
The MPs
The National Assembly consists of 577 MPs, who are elected to five-year terms. Since June 2012 (the 14th Parliament), 11 MPs are elected by French citizens living outside of France. They are national officials, but also represent local constituencies, and as such, act as intermediaries between citizens, who have delegated to them part of their sovereignty, and the power of the State.
While the Parliamentary institution works 52 weeks per year, the public meetings are only held during session. The Constitution stipulates a nine-month ordinary session, from the first working day of October to the last working day of June. Outside of this period, the President of the Republic can call an extraordinary session of the Assembly, with a specific agenda. The work in plenary sitting does not represent majority of an MP’s work. Each one is a member of one of the eight standing committees in charge of examining texts. They may also be part of a committee of enquiry, a fact-finding mission, a Parliamentary delegation or office or a study group on a specific topic. The MPs also meet within their own Parliamentary groups. Finally, some MPs represent the Assembly in public institutions or international organizations (the Council of Europe, the Western European Union, the Parliamentary Assembly of French-Speaking Countries and so on). MPs and senators may meet as one body in Versailles when they are brought together as a full Congress, to revise the Constitution or, in compliance with article 18 of the Constitution as revised on July 21, 2008, when the President of the Republic addresses the Parliament.
Organization of the Assembly
Elected by secret ballot at the beginning of the legislative session, the President represents the Assembly and directs discussion and debates. This major role includes other considerable prerogatives: the French President consults with him in the event the National Assembly is dissolved or if the emergency powers stipulated by article 16 of the Constitution are implemented; he appoints three of the nine members of the Constitutional Council, an institution that has the power to assess the compliance of a law or a treaty with the Constitution; and he appoints people to certain independent administrative authorities. In terms of protocol, he holds the fourth highest position in the State. The Bureau, a collegial institution responsible for the major decisions concerning the operation of the National Assembly, includes the President; six vice-presidents who can substitute for the President during plenary sittings, if necessary; three questeurs (Parliamentary administrators), responsible for the Assembly’s financial and internal management; twelve secretaries, whose primary task is to assist the President when votes are counted in the Chamber. At the start of the legislative session, most of the MPs choose to work with Parliamentary groups organized according to political affinity. The group designates the candidates who participate in the Bureau and on the committees. Each group chair has specific powers, such as the right to request a public vote or to verify the quorum. The Conference of Presidents consists of the President of the National Assembly, the six vice-presidents, the committee chairs, the chairman of the Finance Committee, the Chair of the European Affairs Committee and the chairs of the political groups. The Government is generally represented by a minister responsible for Parliamentary liaison. A Conference of Presidents is held each week during the open session to draw up the Assembly’s working schedule, or agenda. In compliance with the constitutional revision of July 21, 2008, “two of every four weeks of the session are set aside, by priority and in the order determined by the Government, to examine the laws and for the debates it has requested be included in the agenda.” One out of every four weeks, however, is reserved by priority to monitoring the Government’s actions and assessing public policies.
Passing a law
In a democracy, the law alone determines the most important rules and regulations of communal life (liberties, nationality, right of ownership, legal code, elections and so on). The law authorizes the Government to impose taxes and determine expenses: this is the purpose of the annual finance law, or budget. And finally, the law authorizes the President of the Republic to ratify treaties. Aside from limited cases in which a law may be submitted to a referendum, most laws are passed by the Parliament. Both Parliamentarians (who submit Member’s Bills and the Government (which submits Government Bills) can initiate legislation. Similarly, amendments, which are proposals to modify bills submitted for discussion, can be introduced by the executive branch as well as by Members of Parliament. The Government can submit bills to either of the two assemblies, with the exception of finance bills and bills for financing the Social Security system, which must first be submitted to the National Assembly. As soon as they are submitted, the bills are printed and distributed to all the MPs. Unless a special committee is created, the bill is sent to one of the standing committees for evaluation; other interested committees may also examine the text. The committee appoints a person (called the rapporteur) who gathers all the necessary information through consultation; this person then submits a report to his or her colleagues containing an analysis of the text, along with suggestions. The committee may call for hearings to obtain additional information about a text from, for example, members of Government or outside experts and specialists in the field. The report recording the sequence of this work is published and distributed to all the MPs. This report is available on the website of the National Assembly.
Since March 1, 2009, the discussion of draft bills must, in plenary sitting, be based on the text adopted in committee, with the exception of bills revising the constitution, bills for finance laws and bills for financing the Social Security system. A public discussion is held once the text has been placed on the agenda. This begins as a general discussion, with several participants: a member of the Government, the person who followed the bill in the committee (the rapporteur) along with others consulted for information, as well as the MPs who, either in the name of their group or as individuals would like to indicate their point of view. The Assembly examines the articles one by one, along with any amendments that may be attached to each. When all the articles have been examined and passed, a vote on the entire bill of law is taken. Political groups may sometimes intervene before the vote to explain a particular position. In order for a text under discussion to be definitively passed by the Parliament, the identical text must be voted by both Chambers. The text voted by one assembly is immediately sent to the other: these successive readings form the “shuttle,” which can by suspended by the creation of a Joint Committee. This committee, which consists of seven MPs and seven Senators, must negotiate to obtain a joint text that covers the elements for which the two houses could not reach an agreement. If this negotiation procedure is not successful, the Government can, after both chambers have read the text, give the “final say” to the National Assembly; in other words, request that it takes a final decision. After the law has been examined by the Constitutional Council to verify its compliance with the Constitution, if necessary, it must then be promulgated by the President of the Republic and published in the Journal Officiel. According to article 34-1 of the Constitution, added on July 21, 2008, the two houses can also vote on resolutions.
Government monitoring
Monitoring of the Government’s action is one of the chief functions of the Parliament. MPs can question ministers, either in writing or orally. The Assembly can create committees of enquiry and committees to collect information. According to article 35 of the Constitution, a declaration of war is authorized by the Parliament. In the event the armed forces intervene abroad, the Government—in compliance with the constitutional revision of July 21, 2008, must inform the Parliament within three days, by pointing out the specific goals to be achieved. When the intervention lasts more than four months, the government must submit an extension for authorization by the Parliament and can request the National Assembly to decide in case of last resort. Above all, the Government is accountable to the Assembly. The Prime Minister can request a vote of confidence concerning his program or a declaration of general policy. The intervention of the Prime Minister is followed by a debate in which the representatives of the various political parties participate. The program or declaration is then put to a vote by public ballot. The program or declaration is approved if the number of votes “for” exceeds the number of notes “against.”
The Assembly can force the Government to resign by voting a motion of censure, which means that the Government no longer has the support of the majority of the MPs. The motion of censure must be signed by at least one-tenth of the MPs. At the end of the discussion, only MPs in favor of the motion of censure participate in the vote. The motion is adopted if it receives the majority of votes of members of the Assembly, currently 289 out of 577. The Prime Minister can also can also call for confidence in his Government by requesting a vote on a particular text: this procedure is stipulated by article 49, paragraph 3 of the Constitution. A text is considered to be passed unless a motion of censure is voted. Once an “all or nothing” system, the recourse to the “49.3” is now strictly regulated by the constitutional revision of July 21, 2008: it is reserved to finance bills or finance laws for the Social Security, as well as to one Member’s Bill or one Government Bill or per session. When a motion of censure has been adopted (which has occurred only once since 1958), or if the program or declaration of general policy has not been approved, the Prime Minister must submit the resignation of his government to the President of the Republic.