Explain to us the role of MPs

French deputies will be elected during the legislative elections which take place on June 30 and July 7. We explain to you what their function is.

The 577 deputies sit in the National Assembly and are elected during legislative elections. Their first mission is to draw up laws. Deputies are responsible for debating, voting for or against bills, and tabling legislative proposals or amendments. The deputies also sit in one of the eight permanent committees of the Assembly, to prepare, in advance, the debate which will take place in public session. Once the law has been passed, if there are 60 of them, they can refer the matter to the Constitutional Council to verify its compliance. This is what happened in December 2023 for the immigration law.

Their second mission is to control government action. They can resort to written or oral questions, commissions of inquiry, or even exercise control over the use of public money. They can also, by signing a motion of censure submitted to a vote, call into question the responsibility of the government, which can go so far as to make it resign.

Even if an MP is elected in one of the 577 constituencies, he speaks and acts in the name of the general interest and not just his constituents. On the other hand, he remains involved at the local level, with offices or public meetings and by raising the concerns of his constituents at the national level. To help him in his work and precisely maintain the link with his constituency, each MP has the right to recruit one to five parliamentary assistants. Since 2017, it has been prohibited to hire a close family member as a collaborator.

The deputies receive several allowances, the equivalent of a salary, for a total of 7,600 euros gross, or 5,900 euros net, according to the National Assembly website. Elected officials also have a material allocation of nearly 19,000 euros per year for taxis, telephone subscriptions, and even computer equipment. Those who do not come from the Paris region can take the train for free. The Assembly provides them with rooms, some even have a bed in their office.

The mandate of a deputy lasts five years, except in the event of resignation, incapacity or dissolution of the National Assembly. It is infinitely renewable. The former presidential candidate for Les Républicains, François Fillon, for example, sat for 36 years at the Palais Bourbon. On the other hand, it has been impossible since 2014 to combine mandates, while simultaneously holding a mandate as senator or MEP. It is also not possible to be mayor or president of a local or regional assembly. But the deputy can, on the other hand, be a municipal councilor in a municipality of less than 1,000 inhabitants.