The
Senate ( ) is the
upper
house of the
Parliament of
France, presided over by a
president.
The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the
directly elected
National
Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and enjoy
generally less media coverage.
History
France's first experience with an upper house was under the
Directory from 1795 to 1799, when
the
Council of Ancients was the
upper chamber. There were Senates in both the
First and
Second Empires (the former being known
as the
sénat conservateur,
the latter as the French Senate), but these were only nominally
legislative bodies - technically they were not legislative, but
rather advisory bodies on the model of the
Roman Senate.
With the
Restoration in 1814, a new
Chamber of Peers was created, on
the model of the British House of Lords
. At first it contained hereditary peers, but
following the
July Revolution of
1830, it became a body to which one was appointed for life. The
Second Republic returned to a
unicameral system after 1848, but soon after the establishment of
the
Second French Empire in
1852, a Senate was established as the upper chamber. In the
Fourth Republic, the Senate
was renamed the Council of the Republic, but its function was
largely the same. With the new constitution of the
Fifth Republic enforced on October 4,
1958, the older name of Senate was restored.
Composition and election
Until September 2004, the Senate had 321 senators, each elected to
a nine-year term. On that date, the term was reduced to six years,
while the number of senators will progressively increase to 346 in
2010 to reflect changes in the country's demographics. Senators
were elected in thirds every three years; this will also change to
one-half of their number every three years.
Senators are
elected indirectly by
approximately 150,000 local elected officials ("grands électeurs"),
including regional councilors, department councilors, mayors, city
councilors and their delegates in large towns, and deputies of the
National Assembly. This system introduces a bias in the composition
of the Senate, which favors rural areas.
As a consequence,
while the political majority changes frequently in the National
Assembly, the Senate has remained politically conservative since the foundation of the
Fifth Republic, much to the
displeasure of the Socialists
,and some analysts are expecting that it will remain
so in the forthcoming years. This has spurred controversy,
especially after the September 2008 senatorial elections in which
the (left-wing) Socialist party, despite controlling all but two of
France's regions, a majority of départements, and communes
representing more than 50% of the population, still failed to
achieve a majority in the Senate.
Twelve senators are elected to represent French citizens living
outside the Republic.
Following from 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 thus indicates the
political
spectrum as represented in the Senate.
Composition and membership
President
Senators elect among themselves a
President. The
current incumbent is
Gérard
Larcher. The President of the Senate is also, according to the
constitution of the Fifth Republic, first in line of succession in
case of death, resignation or
impeachment (only for health reasons) of the
President of the
Republic, thus becoming Acting President of the Republic until
a new election can be held. This happened twice for
Alain Poher, once at the resignation of
Charles de Gaulle and once at the death of
Georges Pompidou.
Powers
According to the
Constitution,
the Senate has nearly the same powers as the
National Assembly.
Bills may be submitted by the government
(
projets de loi) or by either house of Parliament
(
propositions de loi). However, if the National Assembly
and the Senate cannot agree upon the language of a bill, the
Government can ask the National Assembly to make a final vote on
the bill, either using the original version that the National
Assembly voted on, or the edited version adopted by the
Commission mixte paritaire and including any
amendments put forth by the Senate that the National Assembly may
desire to adopt. During a period of social dominance, or
conflictual bicameralism, the Assembly can override a Senate
veto.
Because both houses may amend the bill, it may take several
readings to reach an agreement between the National Assembly and
the Senate. When the Senate and the National Assembly cannot agree
on a bill, the government can decide, after a procedure called
commission mixte paritaire, to give the final decision to
the National Assembly, whose majority is normally on the
government's side. This does not happen frequently: most of the
time both houses eventually agree on the bill, or the government
decides to withdraw it. However, this power gives the National
Assembly a prominent role in the law-making process, especially
since the government is necessarily of the same side as the
Assembly, for the Assembly can dismiss the government through a
motion of censure. The power to pass a vote of censure, or vote of
no confidence, is limited. As was the case in the Fourth Republic's
Constitution, new cabinets do not have to receive a vote of
confidence. Also, a vote of censure can only occur after 10 percent
of the members sign a petition; if rejected, those members who
signed cannot sign another petition until that session of
parliament had ended. If the petition gets the required support, a
vote of censure must gain an absolute majority of all members, not
just those voting. If the Assembly and the Senate have politically
distinct majorities, it is expected in most cases that the Assembly
will prevail, so that open conflict between the two houses is
uncommon.
The Senate also serves to monitor the government's actions by
publishing many reports every year on various topics.
Location
The Palais du Luxembourg
The Senate
is housed inside the Palais du Luxembourg
in the 6th arrondissement
of Paris
and is
guarded by Republican
Guards. In front of the building lies the Senate's
garden, the Jardin du
Luxembourg
, open to the public.
See also
References
External links