France: Talkative MPs under Control

Abstract

French plenary debates are considered in the literature to present an intermediary case where individual members have access to the floor while being under the control of frontbenchers. This chapter confirms the assessment regarding the parliamentary rules. However, it shows that debates tend to be dominated by holders of key institutionalized positions. The results should be related to the somewhat contradictory incentives provided by the electoral rules: A single-member district system on the one hand that may incentivize to cultivate a personal vote. On the other hand, it is a dominating presidential election that gives a determining national feature to parliamentary elections. The paper also questions the view that the politics of parliamentary debates is mainly driven by electoral logic, showing that concerns of efficiency also matter in a talking parliament such as the French one.