The Senate amphitheater in the Luxembourg Palace

The Senate (in French :le Sénat) is the upper house of the Parliament of France. A Sénat was also the upper house during the French Consulate of 1799-1804. Image File history File links French_Senate_amphitheater_050917_162927. ... Image File history File links French_Senate_amphitheater_050917_162927. ... An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. ... The Parlement of France is bicameral, and consists of the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and the Senate (Sénat). ... The Consulate marks a period of French constitutional history between 1799 and 1804—from the fall of the Directory until the start of the Napoleonic Empire. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Composition and election

Up until September 2004 the French Senate had 321 senators who were elected for a 9-year term. After this date, the mandate was reduced to 6 years while the number of senators will progressively increase to 346 in 2010 in order to reflect changes in the French demography. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the film, see 2010: The Year We Make Contact. ...

Senators are elected by approximately 150,000 representatives of local administrative councils (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 conservative since the foundation of the Fifth Republic, and it is expected that it will remain so in the forthcoming years. Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on October 5, 1958. ...

Following from a tradition started by the first French 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. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... A political spectrum is a way of comparing or visualizing different political positions, by placing them upon one or more geometric axes. ...

President

Senators elect among themselves a President. The current incumbent is Christian Poncelet. 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. Christian Poncelet (b. ... The President of the French Republic (French: Président de la République française) 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. ...

Powers

According to the French Constitution, the Senate has almost the same powers as the National Assembly. Bills may be submitted by the government ("projets de loi" or law projects) or by each house of the Parliament ("propositions de loi" or law proposals). Both houses must adopt the law before it can be promulgated. The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958, and has been amended 17 times, most recently on March 28, 2003. ... 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. ...

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 complex procedure called commission mixte paritaire, to give the final decision to the National Assembly, which 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.

The Senate also participates in controlling the government's action by publishing many reports every year on various topics.

An important power of the Senate relates to the position of its chairman. The French constitution provides that, in case of a vacancy of the presidency of the republic, the chairman of the Senate becomes the interim president until a new one is elected.

Controversy

Because the Senate represents rural areas in higher proportion than their importance in the French population, it has been criticized as an undemocratic institution; reform has been suggested.[1] This is especially compounded by the Senate consistently having a right-wing majority, regardless of the alternation of parties in the presidency and the National Assembly. Former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin denounced the Senate as an "anachronism". Rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Sheep eating grass in rural Australia Rural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. ... The Prime Minister of France (Premier ministre de la France) is the functional head of the Cabinet of France. ... Lionel Robert Jospin (born July 12, 1937 in Meudon, a suburb of Paris) is a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997-2002. ...

Location

Luxembourg Palace

The Senate is housed inside the Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris and is guarded by Republican Guards. In front of the building lay the Senate's garden, the Luxembourg Garden, open to the public. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 578 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 578 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden, is where the French Senate meets. ... The 6e arrondissement is one of the central arrondissements of Paris, France. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Two republican guards in ceremony uniform in front of a side entrance of the Élysée Palace The Republican Guard mans the honour guards welcoming foreign heads of state or government; here, president Jacques Chirac welcomes then king of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk to the Élysée Palace. ... The Luxembourg Palace seen from the garden The Luxembourg Garden (Jardin du Luxembourg, familiar nickname Luco) is a 224,500 m² public park in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. ...

See also

• Politics of France
• List of Presidents of the French Senate

// French politics under the Fifth Republic After Charles de Gaulle had the constitution of the French Fifth Republic adopted in 1958, France was ruled by successive right-wing administrations until 1981. ... The French Senate is the Upper House of the French Parliament. ...

External links

• Official web site.