We explain to you what the parliamentary groups are for in the National Assembly

After their election, the deputies gather in parliamentary groups, according to their political camps. From the left to the far right, these groups play a key role in the functioning of the Assembly, particularly in monitoring the government’s action.

It is not only the battle for the post of Prime Minister that has been stirring up the various political camps since the second round of the legislative elections. Other negotiations are taking place within the left, the right and the centre, the stakes of which are certainly less known to the general public, but just as important: the distribution of the 577 elected deputies in the various parliamentary groups that will be officially constituted in the National Assembly on Thursday 18 July.

With a threshold of only 15 deputies to create a group, and in the absence of an absolute majority, the landscape looks very different from the previous legislature. For example, a new group called “A droite” and composed of 17 deputies has already been formed by the contested president of the Republicans Eric Ciotti. Having a group at the Palais-Bourbon or being part of one gives parliamentarians certain significant prerogatives.

Influencing the functioning of the National Assembly

If forming a parliamentary group is useful for deputies, it is in particular because many functions within the Assembly are distributed proportionally to the size of each formation. This is particularly the case for positions within the standing parliamentary committees (economic, foreign, social, defence, finance, etc.), as well as in the bureau of the Assembly, the highest authority of the institution. The various positions in this bureau (vice-presidents, quaestors, secretaries) are distributed on the basis of an agreement between the groups.

Groups also have priority in sharing posts, proportionally to their size, at many times during the work of the lower house: such as the European Affairs Committee, special committees or committees of inquiry… Other parliamentary functions are also distributed while respecting the pluralism of political groups. This is particularly the case for joint committees, representations in extra-parliamentary bodies, or the attributions of the presidencies of study groups.

The influence of a parliamentary group is expressed in particular by its president, who sits on the conference of presidents of the National Assembly, a body responsible for establishing part of the agenda, the institution recalls on its website.

Have more weight in the discussion of laws

Parliamentary groups therefore carry more weight than non-registered deputies in the parliamentary committees that discuss laws, but they also have reinforced prerogatives while the draft laws or proposed laws pass through the chamber.

During the debates in public session, each parliamentary group receives, for example: “a time [de parole] flat rate of 5 to 10 minutes according to the texts”also explains the Assembly website. The same goes for question sessions with the government, where each party is allocated a number of questions based on its political weight.

Here too, group presidents have special powers. For example, they can request a suspension of the session, propose (or oppose) the initiation of a simplified examination procedure for a law, where only the articles subject to amendments are submitted to a vote, or request the establishment of a special committee to examine a draft or proposed law in more detail. Another attribution: group leaders have the possibility of obtaining an exceptional extension of the examination period of a submitted text to the “programmed legislative time” (a procedure which fixes in advance the time spent studying the whole of a text).

Participate in monitoring government action

Parliamentary groups also have greater room for manoeuvre in holding the government to account. Groups that do not belong to the majority camp are considered “minority” groups, unless they decide to declare themselves “opposition”. A group can also change status during the same legislature. These blocs, which are necessarily disadvantaged in the distribution of positions based on the size of the groups, have specific rights.

The position of Chairman of the Finance Committee is assigned to a member of the main opposition group, as is one of the positions of Quaestor in the Bureau of the Assembly, as provided for in its rules. In public session, the minority and opposition groups have one day per month on which the agenda is reserved for one of them. Again, these reserved days are shared between the minority or opposition groups, depending on their size.

At least half of the questions to the government are put to opposition groups. During the week dedicated to monitoring government action, a group may also include on the agenda a proposal to set up a commission of inquiry or a fact-finding mission. A parliamentary group may also ask the government to make a statement on a specific subject, without incurring any liability.