The French Congress (French: Congrès du Parlement français) is the name given to the body created when both houses of the present-day French Parliament – the French National Assembly and the French Senate – reunite at the Château of Versailles to vote on revisions to the French constitution. The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on October 5, 1958. ... Symbol of the French government The government of France is a semi-presidential system based on the French Constitution of the fifth Republic, in which the nation declares itself to be an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic. The constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims Frances... Symbol of the French government The President of the French Republic (French: ) colloquially referred to as President of France, is Frances elected Head of State and also the ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the Légion dhonneur. ... Jacques René Chirac (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician and the current President of the French Republic. ... The Prime Minister of France (Premier ministre de la France) is the functional head of the Cabinet of France. ... Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (born 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco) simply known as Dominique de Villepin ( — , is a French diplomat and politician. ... This page is a list of French prime ministers. ... The Parlement of France is bicameral, and consists of the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and the Senate (Sénat). ... This article concerns the modern National Assembly. ... The Senate (in French : le Sénat) is the upper house of the Parliament of France. ... A republican guard giving directions to visitors at the front entrance of the Constitutional Council The Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. ... The Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation in French) is the main court of last resort in France. ... Political parties in France lists political parties in France. ... Charles de Gaulle, in his generals uniform Gaullism (from French Gaullisme) is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Charles de Gaulle. ... France is a representative democracy. ... The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates (Jacques Chirac and Jean-Marie Le Pen) on 5 May 2002. ... The 2007 French presidential election will be the ninth such election of the Fifth French Republic. ... These are the results of the French legislative election of 2002 Category: ... The French legislative election will take place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a few weeks after the French presidential election run-off on 6 May. ... France is named The Country of the Human Rights. In the Constitution and in the laws, the Human Rights are respected. ... France is divided into 26 régions, further subdivided into départements. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties and are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas régions. ... The European Union or EU is a supranational and international organization of 27 member states. ... A charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies. ... In 1589, the four French Secretaries of State became specialized, with one of the secretaries responsible for foreign affairs. ... This is a list of major political scandals in France: 1816 shipwreck of and search for French frigate Medusa off the west coast of Africa Dreyfus Affair, 1894 treason conviction of Alfred Dreyfus - exposed by writer Emile Zola on January 13, 1898 The Ben Barka affair, 1965 disappearance of the... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The Parlement of France is bicameral, and consists of the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and the Senate (Sénat). ... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ... The Senate amphitheater in the Luxembourg Palace The Senate (in French :le Sénat) is the upper house of the Parliament of France. ... The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958, and has been amended 17 times, most recently on March 28, 2003. ...

Composition and organization

The Congress is composed of senators and deputies (representatives) reunited in the meeting hall (salle des séances) of the southern wing of the Château of Versailles. Its office and its president are those of the French National Assembly.

Constitutional revision

According to Article 89 of the constitution of the French Fifth Republic, revisions to the constitution may be instigated by either deputies or senators (this is called "proposition de révision"), or by the French president through proposals submitted by the French Prime Minister (this is called "projet de révision"). The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on October 5, 1958. ... The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... Categories: French government | France-related stubs | Prime ministers of France ...

The normal procedure of constitutional revision is through national referendum. However, in the case of "projet de révision", the French President may turn to a more flexible and less demanding procedure: the vote of Congress. Reunited at Versailles, the members of parliament can approve constitutional revisions with a three-fifths majority vote, after which the head of state enacts the changes within fifteen days. Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

Stamp collecting

The reuniting of the French Congress is the occasion for the creation of a temporary post office and a special cancellation mark. Mail sent from this office is highly sought after by stamp collectors who often ask their senator or deputies to send them mail from the Congress. Small-town post office and town hall in Lockhart, Alabama A post office is a facility (in most countries, a government one) where the public can purchase postage stamps for mailing correspondence or merchandise, and also drop off or pick up packages or other special-delivery items. ... A machine cancellation On mail, a cancellation (or cancel for short) is a postal marking applied to a postage stamp or postal stationery indicating that the item has been used. ... A small thematic collection of stamps featuring birds Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects, such as covers (envelopes or packages with stamps on them). ...

References

This article is based on the article Congrès du Parlement français from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on October 20, 2006.

The French Wikipedia is the French language edition of Wikipedia, spelled Wikipédia. ...

External link

• "Constitutional Revision" on the French National Assembly website (in French)