AMENDMENT: Modification of a draft (tabled by the

Government) or of a proposal (tabled by a deputy) of law

presented either by a deputy, or by the Government, or on
behalf of a committee, to the vote of the Assembly.

ARTICLES: Parts of a law corresponding to its various

provisions. The articles are numbered in order and themselves
divided, if necessary, into paragraphs. The number of articles in
a law varies widely: from one to several hundred. The
assemblies vote on each article.

B
BICAMERALISM OR BICAMERALISM: Method of organizing a
Parliament consisting of its division into two assemblies whose
members are designated separately. In France, the Parliament
includes the National Assembly and the Senate.

BUDGET:

OFFICE: The Office of the National Assembly is composed as

follows: the President of the National Assembly, 6 vice-
Presidents, 3 quaestors, 12 secretaries define ????. The
President is elected at the start of each legislature, for the
duration of the latter. The other members of the Bureau are
elected at the start of each legislature and renewed each year.
The vice-presidents replace the President, in particular to chair
the meetings of the Assembly. The Bureau has all powers to
regulate the organization of debates and to organize and direct
the services.
The President is elected at the start of each legislature, for the
duration of the latter. The other members of the Bureau are
elected at the start of each legislature and renewed each year.
The vice-presidents replace the President, in particular to chair
the meetings of the Assembly. The Bureau has all powers to
regulate the organization of debates and to organize and direct
the services.

VS
BUDGETARY CAVALIER: Legislative provision which has no
place within the framework of a finance law. Budget riders are
proscribed in order to avoid a "swelling" of finance bills and an
indiscriminate lengthening of budget debates.

CENSORSHIP: Censorship motion

DISTRICT: Fraction of the national territory which serves as a

framework for the election of each deputy. There are 577
constituencies to elect 577 deputies.

COMMISSION: Organ of the National Assembly responsible for

preparing the discussion in public session of draft laws or
proposals. There are two types of commissions defined by the
Constitution:
- the special committees set up on the occasion of the
examination of a particular text,
- the permanent committees, the number of which is fixed at six
by the Constitution, examining, in the absence of a special
committee, the texts falling within their competence. In practice,
most texts are examined by the standing committees.
BOARD OF INQUIRY: Temporary committee created for a
period of six months to investigate and report on specific facts.
The commissions of inquiry have special powers of
investigation.

JOINT JOINT COMMITTEE: Committee composed of 5

deputies and 5 senators in Cote d’Ivoire, appointed whenever
necessary, responsible for achieving joint drafting on the
provisions of a text remaining under discussion between the
National Assembly and the Senate after two readings, or only
one in case of "emergency" ..

CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS: To be defined

The Government is represented in the Conference. This

examines the order of work, taking into account the priority
agenda transmitted by the Government. It plays an essential
role in organizing the work of the Assembly.

Congress :
Joint meeting of the National Assembly and the Senate, on the
premises of the Parliament in Versailles, in order to definitively
approve a draft constitutional revision by a majority of three-
fifths of the votes cast, to hear a statement by the President of
the Republic or authorize the accession of a State to the
European Union

CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL: To be defined

The Council rules, in the event of dispute, on the regularity of
the election of the deputies. Seized by the President of the
Republic, by the Prime Minister, the President of the National
Assembly, the President of the Senate or by 60 deputies or 60
senators, the Council verifies the conformity with the
Constitution of the laws adopted by the Parliament, before their
promulgation. A provision declared unconstitutional cannot be
promulgated or applied.

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS: Weekly meeting, in principle, of the

members of the Government at the Palais de l'Élysée, under
the chairmanship of the President of the Republic. During this
meeting, the policy of the Government is decided, in particular
by the adoption of bills, after consulting the Council of State. It
is after deliberation by the Council that the Prime Minister can
engage the responsibility of his Government.

CONSTITUTION: Set of fundamental laws which determine the

form of government of a country (the political regime), the
relations between rulers and citizens as well as fundamental
rights and freedoms.
Policy statement: déclaration de politique générale
Address to the National Assembly, delivered by the Prime
Minister, who generally announces the Government’s work
program. If the Council of Ministers authorizes it, the Prime
Minister can engage the responsibility of the Government on a
declaration of general policy before the National Assembly.

DECREE: Text of general or individual scope, taken either by

the President of the Republic, or by the Prime Minister, in
particular with a view to specifying the conditions of application
of a law. Decrees are not submitted to Parliament: the
Constitution precisely defines the area of intervention of the
legislator. The decrees are all published, as well as the laws, in
the Official Journal of the French Republic.

PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION: Information and / or

investigation and advice body specific to each assembly
(delegation for women's rights and equal opportunities for men
and women) or common to both assemblies (parliamentary
office of evaluation of scientific and technical choices).

DEPOSIT: Under article 39, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, the

Government has the power to table bills in the office of the
National Assembly or the Senate. The draft finance law and
social security financing law must first be submitted to the
National Assembly. The legislative proposals presented by
deputies are only tabled after acceptance by the office
delegation responsible for examining financial admissibility. The
deposit, in the legal sense of the term, takes the form of an
announcement in the Official Journal.

DEVICE: (dispositif)Normative part written in numbered articles

and subject to the examination of the assemblies, located after
the explanatory memorandum.

DISSOLUTION: Act of the President of the Republic by which

he refers deputies to voters before the normal end of the
legislature.

E
ELECTIONS: Under article 24 of the Constitution, deputies are
elected by direct universal suffrage. The organic law fixes the
duration of the deputies' mandate at 5 years. Since 1958, with
the exception of the general elections of 1986, deputies have
been elected in constituencies, by first-past-the-post majority
voting by 2 rounds. With regard to the election of deputies, we
commonly speak of legislative elections.

STATE OF EMERGENCY: Exceptional measure providing for a

strengthening of the powers of the police; it gives civil (and not
military) authorities exceptional powers. It is contained in a law
dating from 1955 used repeatedly. It can only be triggered in
the event of damage to territory and national security.
It is supposed to last fifteen days in Côte d'Ivoire since the 2016
Constitution. This extension must be authorized by a law
passed by the Parliament.
SEAT STATE: corresponds to a higher degree than the state of
emergency. It corresponds to the article of the Constitution and
establishes a transfer of power from the civil authorities to the
military authorities. This means that the army provides security
for citizens in place of the police force. The state of siege is
decided in the Council of Ministers and can be extended by
Parliament.
STATE OF WAR: It corresponds to an official declaration of war
from one state to another. The Parliament can then decide to
declare the State at war in order in particular to involve the
armed forces abroad, at the latest within three days after the
start of the intervention. The last time France was officially
declared at war dates back to 1939.
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM : (exposé des motifs) Part of
a law which explains its reasons and objectives. It precedes the
device.
SUMMARY STATEMENT: Brief text justifying the operative part
of an amendment.

G
GROUP: Deputies group themselves by political affinity; no
group can include less than 20 deputies, not counting the
deputies "related" to this group. Currently, there are 4 groups:
Communist and Republican, Socialist, UDF, UMP groups.
Friendship groups:
Friendship groups bring together deputies who have a particular
interest in a country, in order to forge links between French and
foreign parliamentarians. They are actors in France's foreign
policy and in interparliamentary cooperation.
Study groups:
Working groups open to all deputies, in order to ensure a legal
and technical watch on matters too specialized to be the subject
of a review followed by the standing committees. Special
interest groups, local or professional, are prohibited. The
creation of study groups is subject to an approval procedure by
the Bureau.
Political group: Deputies group themselves by political affinity;
no group can include less than 15 deputies in France, without
counting the deputies "related" to this group. Under the Under
the Third Republic, there are 4 groups in the Assemb
Policy
Traductions de policy
H
Hemicycle:
Room in the shape of a semicircle where the deputies meet
during public meetings. The political labels of right and left
correspond to the place occupied in the hemicycle by the
members of parliament in view of the President facing them.
Official newspaper :
Since 1848, the "Official Journal of the French Republic" (J.O)
publishes in particular:
- laws, decrees, decrees and certain administrative texts;
- the full report of the debates of the National Assembly and the
Senate, in application of article 33 of the Constitution;
- the text of the questions asked by the deputies and the replies
of the ministers;
- parliamentary information (agenda, committee meetings,
publication of parliamentary documents, etc.).

I
IMMUNITY: Legal regime enjoyed by parliamentarians in order
to be able to exercise their mandate independently. There are
two kinds of parliamentary immunity:

IRRESPONSABILITY: the deputy or the senator cannot be

prosecuted, sought, arrested, detained or judged for his
opinions or his votes cast in the exercise of his functions;

INVIOLABILITY: a measure restricting liberty can only be taken

against a parliamentarian for acts performed outside the
exercise of his functions with the authorization of the Bureau of
his assembly (waiver of immunity parliamentary).
INCOMPATIBILITY: Ban on parliamentarians from combining
their mandate with other public or private functions.

INADMISSIBILITY: Restriction on the right of private initiative

which prohibits the discussion of bills or amendments:
- which would result in a decrease in the financial resources of
the State or an increase in public expenditure (article 40 of the
Constitution),
- which are not within the domain of the law defined by the
Constitution (article 41 of the Constitution) and which fall within
the regulatory domain, that is to say on the sole initiative of the
Government.

J
OFFICIAL JOURNAL: Since 1848, the "Official Journal of the
French Republic" (J.O.) publishes in particular:
- laws, decrees, decrees and certain administrative texts,
- the full report of the debates of the National Assembly and the
Senate, in application of article 33 of the Constitution,
- the text of the questions asked by the deputies and the
answers of the ministers.

The
READING: Phase of examination of a text of law tabled before
an assembly. This examination continues at second, third or
even fourth reading (if the Government does not decide to
convene a joint joint committee) until all the articles have been
adopted in identical terms by the two assemblies. See “Shuttle”.
LEGISLATURE: Duration for which the National Assembly is
elected (in principle 5 years, except in the event of dissolution).

LAW: Text adopted by the Parliament and promulgated by the

President of the Republic, if necessary after decision of the
Constitutional Council. Under the Fifth Republic, the people can
also adopt the law by referendum. According to article 11 of the
Constitution, the bill on which the people are consulted
concerns the organization of public powers, reforms relating to
the economic or social policy of the Nation and the public
services which contribute to or tend to authorize the ratification
of a treaty which, without being contrary to the Constitution,
would affect the functioning of the institutions. The French
people, consulted in May 2005, rejected the bill authorizing the
ratification of the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Amends the Constitution. It must be

adopted by the two assemblies in identical terms. The revision
is final after having been approved by referendum (last
example: the bill reducing the duration of the presidential
mandate from seven to five years in September 2000).
However, when it is a bill, the President of the Republic may
decide not to submit it to a referendum, but to the approval of
the Congress of Parliament (Assembly and Senate together),
which must decide by a majority of three fifths of the votes cast:
thus the Congress approved, for example, on February 28,
2005 two draft constitutional laws, one relating to Title XV of the
Constitution (Of the European Communities and the European
Union) and the other to the Environmental Charter.

FINANCES LAW (OR BUDGET): The annual finance law fixes

the expenditure and the receipts of the State for the following
year (or for the current year: finance law known as "corrective")
The bill of finance is first submitted to the National Assembly.
The Parliament must decide within 70 days.

SOCIAL SECURITY FINANCING LAW: Determines the general

conditions for the social security financial balance. Established
by the constitutional reform of 1996, it is examined in the fall,
within 50 days.
M
MANDATE: Mission entrusted by the electors to an elected
representative for a fixed term. The 1958 Constitution prohibited
the imperative mandate: in their functions, the elected
representative spoke and acted freely on behalf of the entire
Nation.

MESSAGE: Communication sent by the President of the

Republic to the two assemblies. The message is read by the
Chairman of each meeting. The President of the Republic
cannot directly intervene within the walls of the National
Assembly or the Senate.

MOTION OF CENSORSHIP: Initiative taken by the deputies, at

the rate of at least a tenth of the members of the Assembly, that
is to say 58 deputies, who wish to question the responsibility of
the Government. If it is voted by the absolute majority of the
deputies (that is to say 289), the Government must resign.

MOTION OF PROCEDURE: There are three procedural

motions which may be considered during the proceedings:
- the objection of inadmissibility,
- the preliminary question,
- the motion to refer back to committee.
They can be discussed before examining the articles of a text.
The adoption of a procedural motion leads to the end of the
examination of the text to which they were opposed.

P
Promulgation:
Signature of the President of the Republic which has the effect
of enforcing the law definitively voted by the Parliament,
possibly after referral and decision of the Constitutional Council.
The promulgated law is published in the Official Journal of the
French Republic.
Law proposition :
Text signed by one or more parliamentarians intended to
become law if it is entered on the agenda and adopted by the
two assemblies.

Plenary session :
Term designating the sessions held by the National Assembly in
the hemicycle. The public is allowed to attend, except in
exceptional cases where the Assembly decides to sit in secret
committee. The plenary sessions are the subject of a full report,
published in the Official Journal. An audiovisual retransmission
of the debates can be ensured, under the conditions decided by
the Bureau.

SHUTTLE: Back and forth of a draft or a bill between the

National Assembly and the Senate until the adoption of an
identical text. Each of the successive exams is called a
"reading".

O
OFFICE: Joint reflection body for the two chambers of
Parliament (office for the evaluation of scientific and
technological choices, office for the evaluation of legislation,
office for the evaluation of health policies).

AGENDA: List of texts and subjects that deputies must examine

in public session. The agenda is set each week by the
Conference of Presidents, and first retains the texts for which
the Government requests priority.

P
PERCH: Office of the President of the National Assembly in the
hemicycle, located high and dominating the entire meeting
room.

PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: The President

is elected for the duration of the legislature, ie for 5 years,
unless the Assembly is dissolved. The election takes place
during the first session of the legislature, by secret ballot in the
gallery, by an absolute majority of the votes in the first two
ballots, by the majority relative to the third ballot. The President
of the National Assembly directs the debates, chairs and
convenes the meetings of the Assembly, the Bureau and the
Conference of Presidents. He oversees the internal and
external security of the Assembly. It is consulted by the
President of the Republic, in the event of the dissolution of the
National Assembly or when exceptional powers are applied by
the Head of State (article 16 of the Constitution). He appoints
three members of the Constitutional Council. He can submit to
the Constitutional Council any law passed before its
promulgation. He also appoints a member of the Supreme
Judicial Council. Finally, it appoints or participates in the
designation of the members of the Monetary Policy Council, the
college of the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the Superior
Council of the Regional Chambers of Accounts, the Superior
Council of the administrative courts and administrative courts of
appeal, of the Superior council of audio-visual, of the college of
the Authority of regulation of the electronic communications and
the posts (ARCEP), as well as other authorities.

DRAFT LAW: (projet de loi) Text emanating from the

Government, adopted in the Council of Ministers and submitted
to the examination and the vote of the two assemblies.

PROMULGATION: Signature of the President of the Republic

which has the effect of enforcing the law definitively voted by
the Parliament, possibly after referral and decision of the
Constitutional Council. The promulgated law is published in the
Official Journal of the French Republic.

PROPOSAL FOR A LAW: Text signed by one or more

parliamentarians intended to become law if it is entered on the
agenda and adopted by the two assemblies.

Q
QUESTION OF TRUST:
Procedure allowing the Prime Minister to engage the
responsibility of the Government s
NomFréquence
lapolitique
policy, politics
Définitions de policy
Nom
1
a contract of insurance.
With-profits policies are a type of insurance policy used by
many people to save for a
 
AMENDMENTəˈmen(d)mənt