Should Adrien Quatennens be expelled from the National Assembly? The question is debated, including within La France insoumise itself. The LFI deputy from the North has not sat in the hemicycle since he stepped down from the coordination of the movement, in mid-September, after acknowledging acts of domestic violence against his wife, who has since filed complaint against him.
“I do not believe that his place is in the hemicycle”released the president of the Renaissance group in the Assembly, Aurore Bergé, on 20 September on BFMTV, adding : “I’m not sure he’s welcome given the facts with which he is charged.” And the boss of the deputies of the presidential majority to go one better, on the 9 October, still on BFMTV : “Parliamentary immunity should only serve to protect what happens within the confines of the hemicycle.” The MP for Yvelines was also surprised that the LFI group had not already excluded the elected official at the heart of the controversy. But is it really possible to exclude a deputy from the National Assembly ?
“The Assembly, on its own, has no means of depriving one of its members of his mandate”reminds franceinfo Didier Maus, president emeritus of the French Association of Constitutional Law and former State Councilor. the regulation of the National Assembly clearly provides in its article 71 a list of internal sanctions which can go as far as the temporary exclusion of a parliamentarian. But it’s only about “disciplinary measures”, pronounced to allow the debates to run smoothly, explains the constitutionalist.
“The President and the Office of the National Assembly”responsible for supervising the functioning of the chamber, may dispense with sanctions “thoughts to deal with sitting incidents, like MPs singing, fighting, etc.”, confirms Benjamin Morel, lecturer in public law at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas. In the case of the most severe sanction, defined in article 73 of the regulations of the National Assembly, a deputy may be deprived of a chamber for a period not exceeding 30 sitting days.
A deputy can on the other hand be expelled from his parliamentary group, in the event of deep disagreement with the political line advocated by the latter. In 2020, the former MP Martine Wonner was thus excluded from the LREM group because of her positions against the containment strategy, then, in 2021, from the Freedoms and Territories group, for her opposition to the health pass. But even in this case, the deputy excluded from his group can continue to sit in the hemicycle until the end of his mandate, among the non-registered deputies, that is to say without being related to a group. parliamentary.
“The only possibility for a deputy to lose his mandate would be that he be sentenced to a significant sentence, and that the Constitutional Council then considers that this sentence is incompatible” with the performance of his duties, Judge Didier Maus. In 2021, the Minister of Justice had seized the Constitutional Council asking him to disqualify Mustapha Laabid as a deputy. This request for forfeiture was motivated by the conviction of the elected official for breach of trust. The LREM deputy had received an eight-month suspended prison sentence, 10 000 euro fine and three years ban on civil rights. A sentence confirmed in cassation. This motion for forfeiture of office had however been abandoned, the person concerned having himself resigned. “In this case, it is not an exclusion pronounced by the Assembly, but the consequence of a judicial condemnation”, specifies the former Councilor of State. Stripping a member of his mandate is therefore an extremely rare act.
“No definitive exclusion was pronounced during the entire 5th Republic.”
Benjamin Morel, lecturer in public lawat franceinfo
A Member of Parliament is in fact protected by the system of parliamentary immunity. He can obviously be prosecuted and sentenced, explains the site of the Assembly, but he cannot undergo custodial measures during the duration of his mandate without the consent of the office of the National Assembly, sexcept in the event of a flagrant crime or misdemeanor, or a final conviction.
Such protection is not intended to grant parliamentarians impunity for their actions, but to “protect” the exercise of the “function” deputy, comments Benjamin Morel. “Parliamentary immunity was enacted to protect parliamentarians from the executive, which could use the judiciary to expel MPs and build a majority at its heels”justifies the lecturer. But even in a situation where incarceration would still be permitted, “the office of the National Assembly always reserves the possibility of requesting the release of the parliamentarian so that he can participate in the sessions”specifies the constitutionalist.
In summary, to be banned from the Assembly, a deputy must be convicted, not be the subject of a request for release from the office of the National Assembly and, finally, be stripped of his mandate by the constitutionnal Council. “We are not there for Adrien Quatennens, a priori”decides Benjamin Morel, because “nothing in what has been mentioned so far [dans son affaire] should not lead to his incarceration”. An exclusion of the deputy is therefore for the moment “fundamentally impossible in law”concludes the specialist.
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