| French Parliament | |
| Legislature: | 17th Legislature of the French Fifth Republic |
| Coa Pic: | Armoiries république française.svg |
| Coa Caption: | Emblem of the French Republic |
| Coa-Pic: | Paris Assemblee Nationale DSC00074.jpg |
| Coa-Res: | 250px |
| Session Room: | Garden facade of the Palace of Versailles, April 2011 (11).jpg |
| Session Room2: | Palais_Luxembourg_Sunset.JPG |
| Session Room3: | Concorde Assemblée Nationale.jpg |
| Session Res: | 250px |
| Session Res2: | 220px |
| Session Res3: | 220px |
| House Type: | Bicameral |
| Leader1 Type: | President of the Senate |
| Leader1: | Gérard Larcher |
| Party1: | LR |
| Election1: | 1 October 2014 |
| Leader2 Type: | President of the National Assembly |
| Leader2: | Yaël Braun-Pivet |
| Party2: | RE |
| Election2: | 28 June 2022 |
| House1: | Senate |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| House2: | National Assembly |
| Structure2 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups2: | Government (caretaker) (166)
Opposition (411)
|
| Voting System1: | Indirect election |
| Voting System2: | Two-round system |
| Last Election1: | 24 September 2023 |
| Last Election2: | 30 June and 7 July 2024 |
| Meeting Place: | Aile du Midi, Château de Versailles (joint session) |
| Meeting Place2: | Palais du Luxembourg, meeting place of the French Senate |
| Meeting Place3: | Palais Bourbon, meeting place of the French National Assembly |
| Next Election1: | By September 2026 |
| Next Election2: | By June 2029 |
The French Parliament (French: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the upper house, the Senate (French: Sénat), and the lower house, the National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: the Senate meets in the Palais du Luxembourg, the National Assembly convenes at the Palais Bourbon, both on the Rive Gauche.
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 (French: Congrès du Parlement français), convened at the Palace of Versailles, to revise and amend the Constitution of France.
The French Parliament, as a legislative body, should not be confused with the various parlements of the Ancien Régime in France, which were courts of justice and tribunals with certain political functions varying from province to province and as to whether the local law was written and Roman, or customary common law.
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 Constitution of the 4th Republic in 1946. Before that time, reference was made to "les Chambres" or to each assembly, whatever its name, but unlike in Great Britain, the legislature as a whole had no name as such.
Across the varied constitutional structures used in France since 1791, all have had a legislative body of varying names, which has for most of its history been bicameral (though at times unicameralism and more unorthodox forms with three or more chambers have existed)
| Date | Constitution | Upper chamber | Lower chamber | Other chamber | Joint sitting | Single chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1791 | Assemblée législative | ||||||
| 1793 | Assemblée Nationale | ||||||
| 1795 - 1799 | |||||||
| 1799 - 1802 | |||||||
| 1802 - 1804 | Sénat conservateur | Corps législatif | Tribunat | ||||
| 1804 - 1814 | Sénat conservateur | Corps législatif | Tribunat[1] | ||||
| 1814 - 1815 | |||||||
| 1815 | Chamber of Peers | ||||||
| 1830 - 1848 | Chamber of Peers | Chamber of Deputies | |||||
| 1848 - 1852 | Assemblée Nationale | ||||||
| 1852 - 1870 | Corps législatif | ||||||
| 1871 - 1875 | Assemblée Nationale | ||||||
| 1875 - 1940 | Sénat | Chamber of Deputies | Assemblée Nationale | ||||
| 1940 - 1944 | |||||||
| 1944 - 1946 | Assemblée Nationale | ||||||
| 1946 - 1958 | Assemblée Nationale | Parliament | |||||
| since 1958 | Sénat | Assemblée Nationale | |||||
| Jun. 9 2024 | Dissolution of the French Parliament |
The current Parliament is composed of two chambers: the upper Senate 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 Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon near Canada has just 6,000.[2]
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.
Normally, the parliament meets for a single nine-month session each year but under special circumstances the President of France can call an additional session. Parliamentary power was limited after the establishment of the Fifth Republic; however, the National Assembly can still cause a government to fall if an absolute majority of the legislators votes for a motion of no confidence. As a result, the government usually consists of members from the political party that dominates the Assembly and must be supported by a majority there to prevent a vote of no-confidence.
The Prime Minister and other government Ministers are appointed by the President, who is under no constitutional or other mandatory obligation to make governmental appointments from the ranks of the majority party in parliament. This is a safeguard that was introduced by the founder of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle, to attempt to prevent the disarray and horse-trading seen in the parliamentary regimes of the Third and Fourth Republics; however, in practice the prime minister and other ministers usually do belong to the majority party. A notable exception to this custom occurred during Nicolas Sarkozy's premiership when he appointed socialist ministers and Secretary of State-level junior ministers to his government. The rare periods during which the president is not from the same political party as the prime minister are usually known as cohabitation. The Cabinet of Ministers is led by the President rather than the Prime Minister.
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.[3] 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).
See main article: List of French legislatures.