Night sessions, thousands of amendments to be examined, deputies who can no longer return to their constituencies… In the National Assembly, the last few months have been very hard, preventing certain deputies from “doing their job well”, says an elected Renaissance. official. Yaël Braun-Pivet is investigating this issue on Tuesday with the presidents of the groups.
“They sold me to be in Paris from Tuesday to Friday and the rest of the week in my constituency to listen to the field. And in fact, it is permanent non-stop with sometimes 9 am midnight in the chamber”, the deputy is surprised. RN Thomas Ménagé, elected last June, with BFMTV.com.
“Twice 35 hours a week in the good months”
Christine Pirès-Beaune, a socialist elected since 2012, even took out the calculator. “In October I worked 297 hours,” says this member of the Finance Committee.
And to do the precise count: 13 nocturnal sessions, including 2 that continue beyond midnight, 198 hours of work in the chamber and 32 hours on the train.
“Actually, I work almost double, 35 hours a week, in good months,” the parliamentarian remarks again.
“You would never see that in a company”
If the conductors of Parliament say they see in this heavy rhythm “nothing new” according to an elected LR who has been sitting for several decades, it is especially for the macronistas that the situation is more complicated.
In the absence of an absolute majority, each vote counts for the government, forcing the deputies to be very present. To overcome the withdrawal, the pillars of the group have a tool: a common conversation through the Telegram application that allows the troops to gather. To the chagrin of some, who denounce “almost harassment.”
“It is true that before we could afford to only have half of our group seated. Well, that’s over,” admits Anne Genetet, vice president of the Renaissance group.
10 revolutionary parliamentary groups
Although he refuses to “complain”, he judges “that we will never see that in a company”.
But the end of the absolute majority for the Executive is not the only reason that explains the fatigue. With ten parliamentary groups, the sessions also last longer than during the previous term.
It is difficult now that the general discussions -which introduce the study of the texts- or the explanations of vote last less than an hour at a rate of 5 minutes per group, incomprehensible deadlines.
Finally, with much more opposition since the last legislative elections, the number of amendments tabled and therefore considered in session has skyrocketed.
“We say no to the amendments we find in session to say no again. We lose a lot of time with this kind of redundancy,” laments Horizons deputy Frédéric Valletoux.
“Everything goes wrong very quickly”
Consequence of this exhaustion: sessions that become a rat race, like last Thursday during the draft evaders bill to reinstate unvaccinated caregivers. An elected LIOT asked a Renaissance MP to “shut it down”.
“You have to be aware that everything goes wrong very quickly when you have been sitting at 9 in the morning and it is 11:30 p.m. And we can also ask ourselves how the law is well enforced in these conditions,” acknowledges the elect close to Édouard Philippe.
Last great disadvantage of the situation: the weight that it puts on the family life of the deputies. “I go from one place to another at night to kiss my children. But I’m in Île-de-France. If I lived somewhere else, I wouldn’t have seen them in almost two weeks. Not to mention my wife,” he laments. a chosen Renaissance.
One week in Paris, one week riding
With a National Assembly among the youngest in the Fifth Republic, the number of parliamentarians with children has increased considerably in recent years. In the field of the President of the National Assembly, sensitive to the issue when she is the mother of 5 children, we recognize “the need to put the working time of the deputies on the table.”
Among the avenues for reflection, we find in the first place the one that has the preference of the majority: devoting a week in the National Assembly and a week in the constituency. Problem: This option would greatly delay the parliamentary calendar.
Another possibility: to be able to work on the texts and vote on them from Tuesday to Thursday, reserving the other days for the constituency. This setup is favored by several elected officials interviewed by BFMTV.com, including Thomas Ménagé.
Question time with the government can be shorter
“First, it allows us to be in the field. It’s important to have ceremonies and markets on the weekends, but we don’t meet with business leaders on Sundays. And it also gives us time for ourselves. I don’t even have time.” to do my laundry, the shopping and the papers”, says the deputy from Loiret.
The return of an hour of questions to the Government two days a week instead of a 2:15 session on Tuesdays could also be put on the table.
Source: BFM TV
