The Assemblée Nationale (National Assembly) is the lower house of the bicameral parliament in France. It is made up of 577 members: 555 for mainland France and 22 for the country’s overseas territories. The Assemblée Nationale is responsible for passing laws and supervising the government. It shares legislative power with the Sénat, though in most instances final authority lies with the Assemblée Nationale.
Members are elected to the Assemblée Nationale by a two-ballot simple majority system. To be elected on the first ballot candidates must obtain an overall majority of votes (more than one-half of the votes). If this is not achieved, a second ballot is held one week later. Candidates must have obtained votes equal to those of 12.5% of the total electorate (not votes cast) to be allowed to proceed to the second round. The winner of the second round is the candidate who obtains the most votes, regardless of whether there is an absolute majority. Members are elected for a term of five years. The Assemblée Nationale can, however, be dissolved early by the President.
Following the most recent election to the Assemblée Nationale, held on 9 June (first ballot) and 16 June (second ballot) 2002, five main political groups were formed (number of seats in brackets). The Popular Movement (357), the Socialist Party (140), Union for French Democracy (29), the group of the Communist Party (21) and the Greens (3). In the 2002 Assemblée Nationale 70 (12.2%) of the 577 members are women.
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