The National Assembly of Quebec has still not formally regulated the clothing of deputies, four years after the arrival of jeans, sneakers and boots Dr Martens of the Solidarity at the Blue Salon. In France, elected officials have just decided for the compulsory jacket and the recommended tie.
• Read also: Jeans, sneakers and Dr Martens for Québec solidaire at the National Assembly
Since November 14, the wearing of shorts and Bermuda shorts has been officially prohibited in the French Parliament. “The clothing adopted by the deputies in the hemicycle must be neutral and in line with the solemnity of the place. As such, it must remain suitable, neither relaxed nor, a fortiori, neglected”, also specifies the recent decision of the Bureau of the National Assembly of France.
Photo: AFP
The clothing of elected officials has given rise to heated debates in recent months in France, mainly opposing the left and the right. Here, the deputy of La France insoumise Louis Boyard in the French Parliament.
The clothing of elected officials has given rise to heated debates in recent months in France, mainly opposing the left and the right.
Faced with the proliferation of casual outfits worn by certain deputies from La France insoumise by Jean-Luc Mélanchon, the Republican deputy Éric Ciotti had called for a tightening. After discussions, it was decided that the jacket would now be appropriate and the tie recommended.
In Quebec, the status quo continues, four years after Catherine Dorion and Sol Zanetti took advantage of the absence of a strict dress code to dust off mores by sporting a more relaxed look at the National Assembly.
File photo, Simon Clark
Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing in the dress regulations for Members except that they must contribute to the maintenance of decorum and wear clothing that resembles business attire. “I dress to feel myself, not to feel disguised”, had then pleaded the ex-MP for Taschereau.
The president at the time, François Paradis, had been forced to intervene. But he had refused to determine alone the clothes that could be worn in the conventional Blue Salon and entrusted the delicate task to a committee of parliamentarians. In the meantime, the elected officials were invited to respect the “street attire”, namely a suit and tie for men and an occasional outfit for women. But the deputies ultimately never addressed the issue.
No need to decide
“For the time being, the rule set out in the decision of the presidency of February 5, 2019 remains unchanged. The standard required for the dress of parliamentarians is therefore “business attire”, underlines the communications adviser of the Parliament, Béatrice Zacharie.
“The committee never met because the whips at the time agreed among themselves that it was not necessary and that we would maintain the decorum beforehand,” said the press secretary of the parliamentary wing. of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Karl Fillion.
And the subject is still not on the agenda of the Bureau of the National Assembly (BAN), a sort of board of directors for parliamentarians. For Quebec solidaire, the supervision of the dress of the deputies “is not a priority”. “But if another party wishes to bring the discussion to the BAN, we are completely open to discussing to modernize the practices”, we specify in solidarity.
At the CAQ, we let the presidency take care of this file. “We will collaborate in time and place, reports the spokesperson for the Government Whip. When the presidency sees fit to call the committee and talk to the BAN about it, we will talk about it”.