President of the French Senate

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Employment.png President of the French Senate 
Logo du Sénat Republique française.png

The President of the Senate is the head of the Senate, the upper house of the French Parliament.

He is the third state figure in the order of precedence, after the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, and before the Speaker of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. As such, he has significant power of appointment.

In the Senate, he chairs the plenary sessions and can influence the legislative procedure. He chairs the Senate office and the Conference of Presidents, responsible for the organization of legislative work. The presidency of the Senate is nicknamed the "plateau".

Role

The role of the President is to represent the Senate and to direct the debates of the assembly. He chairs the Conference of Presidents (which notably brings together the presidents of political groups and committees), responsible for setting the agenda for plenary sittings. It must be consulted by the President of the Republic when the latter wishes to dissolve the National Assembly or to implement exceptional powers (Article 16 of the Constitution)

The President of the Senate assumes the interim in the event of the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic (but without the right to resort to the referendum, to dissolve the National Assembly or to request a revision of the Constitution). This interim period is then exercised until the investiture of the newly elected President of the Republic (Article 7 of the Constitution) 5. This situation has arisen twice: in 1969, after the resignation of Charles de Gaulle, and in 1974, after the death of Georges Pompidou; in both cases, the interim was provided by Alain Poher. During this interim, the President of the Senate is the first personage of the State in the protocol order.

The President of the Senate appoints:


 

An Office Holder on Wikispooks

NameFromTo
Alain Poher2 October 19682 October 1992
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References