2010 Redistricting of French Legislative Constituencies
Encyclopedia
The French
Constitutional Council
approved the redistricting
of electoral boundaries in February 2010 to reflect France's changing demographics
. The population ratio between the most populated and least populated constituencies was reduced from the 1986 redistricting results of 1:3.6 to 1:2 now. In effect, the number of seats increased in areas held by the center right coalition led by Union for a Popular Movement
at the expense of the Socialist
-led coalition.
are divided in proportion to their population, and based on 1986 census figures, each consisted of 108,000 inhabitants. In theory, the number of total constituencies lcoated within a département is supposed to be proportional to the larger population within that département compared to the total population of France. (In total, there are 101 départements, which are grouped into 22 metropolitan
and five overseas
region
s.) However, using French Republican tradition, each département must have at least two constituencies regardless of population. This, however, distorts the proportionality of national representation, with 23 départements being under-represented (including 5 of "two deputies" départements) and 28 départements over-represented. Effectively, 51 out of 101 départements were poorly represented based on the results of the most recent census
.
For instance, judging by representation in the National Assembly, the vote of someone in Lozère
is worth more than three times the vote of someone in Bouches-du-Rhône
; three votes in Saône-et-Loire
is worth five votes in Réunion
; and three votes in Moselle
is equivalent to five Haute-Garonne
. The 25 most populous départements which together hold more than 50% of the French population have one deputy in the National Assembly for every 114,512 inhabitants, while the 25 least populated départements have one deputy for every 80,220 inhabitants. This results in a ratio between the most and the least populated of 143 to 100, or, five residents for the smaller départements are worth seven resident in the major départements. The situation is exacerbated by demographic trends in the 1990s
and their resulting disparities within départements. For example, in the Var
, the population of the 1st constituency (the southern city of Toulon
) was 73,946 inhabitants while that of the 6th constituency (Brignoles
) was180,153 inhabitants, resulting in a ratio of 1 to 2.44. These causes result in the most extreme expression of representational inequality, where the votes of two people living in the least-populated constituency of France (excluding overseas communities), Lozère’s 2nd constituency, weigh as much as eleven people in the most populous constituency, Val-d'Oise
’s 2nd constituency.
In observations made in May 2003 regarding the 2002 parliamentary elections
as well as in July 2005 relating the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2007, the Constitutional Council highlighted the need to reshape electoral constituencies to better align with the principle of equal suffrage. The Council found disparities in representation resulting from the boundaries that were adopted in 1986 on the basis of population figures from the census of 1982. According to the Council, the constituencies were "incompatible with the combined clauses of Article 6 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
of 1789 and Articles 3 and 24 of the Constitution of France
," even though two national censuses took place in 1990 and 1999. However, the successive governments of Lionel Jospin
, Jean-Pierre Raffarin
, Dominique de Villepin
and François Fillon
did not alter electoral boundaries, despite the legal requirement of Law No. 86-825 as well as the recommendations of the Constitutional Council of France
. Thus, even the French legislative elections of 2007
used conscriptions defined based on the results of the 1982 census and had not incorporated the changes in population occurring in the intervening 25 years. The 2008 election of senators used the same 1982 population numbers, but the impact is not as pronounced in the French Senate
(Sénat), as its function is to represent local governments and not the population as a whole.
Dominique de Villepin formed a working group in order to asses the legal impact carrying out a redistricting of legislative districts and townships and to define a method that whereby any redistricting would be conducted in compliance with three legal requirements of "neutrality, transparency and fairness." Three months later, State Councillor Pierre Bordry issued his report to Dominique de Villepin - then the prime minister - and the new Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy. However, due to the very sensitive political nature of redistricting, neither de Villepin nor Sarkozy wanted to take the risk of subjecting the changing of constituencies borders to political wrangling ahead of the 2007 legislative elections. In fact, the former president of the Constitutional Council, Pierre Mazeaud
, even threatened to void the elections results of the constituencies that would be changed.
After the 2002 legislative elections, the Constitutional Council pointed out that since 1986, two national censuses occurred in 1990 and 1999 and disparities in representation were revealed that contradicted the constitutional principle that the National Assembly should be elected on the basis of population proportion. Also, the electoral law of 1986 specified that the population differences between districts should not result that a constituency is more than 20% of the average population of districts of the départment. But the report noted that, based on the 1999 national census
, 25 districts had a difference of more than 20%. A total of 41 départments (both in the Métropole
and overseas) were affected by "major imbalances" between districts.
The electoral law of 1986 specifies that the population differences between districts shall in no case result that a constituency is more than 20% of the average population of districts of the department. But the report noted that, based on the 1999 national census, 25 districts had a difference of more than 20%. The report proposed maintaining the number of constituencies at 577, but this time select a target maximum of 10% deviation in population in relation to the departmental average. According to the method of distribution segments of the population, a parliamentary seat would be awarded for every 116,200 inhabitants instead of for every 108,000 inhabitants, as was the case in the 1986 redistricting. However, the report did not assess the current law that a départment cannot have less than two members.
initiated a plan to redraw French constituencies in order to replace the previous constituency map from 1986. (Marliex was also put in charge of the overall redefinition of boundary delimitation
for the elections to the Assemblée Nationale.) In July 2008, the government launched the formal effort to redistrict the constituencies, with Prime Minister François Fillon consulting the representatives of political parties in Parliament
, and presented a bill to the Cabinet on September 24.
In accordance with French law, distribution of constituencies should respect the principle of population equality between dEpartments in Metropolitan France, overseas French territories, and French citizens abroad. For this reason, the previous proportioning of 108,000 inhabitants per constituency in 1986 consideration was raised to 125,000 inhabitants per constituency. The principle of territorial contiguity of constituencies was retained (except for a few enclaves), as well as the contiguity of cantons and communes. The changing of constituencies was planned by order of the Interior Ministry,
and was controlled by an ad hoc committee composed of one person appointed by the French President, a one person appointed by the President of the National Assembly, one person appointed by the President of the Senate, and three judges. All had to first be approved by the Committees of Laws (Commissions des lois) of the National Assembly and Senate.
Île-de-France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Constitutional Council
Constitutional Council of France
The Constitutional Council is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958, and its duty is to ensure that the principles and rules of the constitution are upheld.Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed...
approved the redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
of electoral boundaries in February 2010 to reflect France's changing demographics
Demographics of France
This article is about the demographic features of the population of France, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects....
. The population ratio between the most populated and least populated constituencies was reduced from the 1986 redistricting results of 1:3.6 to 1:2 now. In effect, the number of seats increased in areas held by the center right coalition led by Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
at the expense of the Socialist
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
-led coalition.
Demographic Differences
Since the last redistricting effort in 1986, 577 French National Assembly constituencies have been distributed among the départements of France. French constituenciesConstituency (France)
France is divided into 577 constituencies for the legislative elections . Members of Parliament to the National Assembly are elected in a two round system to a term fixed to a maximum of five years...
are divided in proportion to their population, and based on 1986 census figures, each consisted of 108,000 inhabitants. In theory, the number of total constituencies lcoated within a département is supposed to be proportional to the larger population within that département compared to the total population of France. (In total, there are 101 départements, which are grouped into 22 metropolitan
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France is the part of France located in Europe. It can also be described as mainland France or as the French mainland and the island of Corsica...
and five overseas
Overseas departments and territories of France
The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
s.) However, using French Republican tradition, each département must have at least two constituencies regardless of population. This, however, distorts the proportionality of national representation, with 23 départements being under-represented (including 5 of "two deputies" départements) and 28 départements over-represented. Effectively, 51 out of 101 départements were poorly represented based on the results of the most recent census
Census in France
From the mid-17th until the beginning of the 20th century, French censuses became increasingly more frequent and organized. This article focuses on the purposes of the first censuses , how the population was conceived of, and what variables were collected...
.
For instance, judging by representation in the National Assembly, the vote of someone in Lozère
Lozère
Lozère , is a department in southeast France near the Massif Central, named after Mont Lozère.- History :Lozère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
is worth more than three times the vote of someone in Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
; three votes in Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...
is worth five votes in Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
; and three votes in Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
is equivalent to five Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...
. The 25 most populous départements which together hold more than 50% of the French population have one deputy in the National Assembly for every 114,512 inhabitants, while the 25 least populated départements have one deputy for every 80,220 inhabitants. This results in a ratio between the most and the least populated of 143 to 100, or, five residents for the smaller départements are worth seven resident in the major départements. The situation is exacerbated by demographic trends in the 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
and their resulting disparities within départements. For example, in the Var
Var
Var, VAR, VAr, VaR or var can mean:VAR* Varna Airport IATA airport code* Vacuum arc remelting, a process for production of steel and special alloys...
, the population of the 1st constituency (the southern city of Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
) was 73,946 inhabitants while that of the 6th constituency (Brignoles
Brignoles
Brignoles is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.It was the summer residence of the counts of Provence...
) was180,153 inhabitants, resulting in a ratio of 1 to 2.44. These causes result in the most extreme expression of representational inequality, where the votes of two people living in the least-populated constituency of France (excluding overseas communities), Lozère’s 2nd constituency, weigh as much as eleven people in the most populous constituency, Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
’s 2nd constituency.
In observations made in May 2003 regarding the 2002 parliamentary elections
French legislative election, 2002
-12th Assembly by Parliamentary Group:...
as well as in July 2005 relating the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2007, the Constitutional Council highlighted the need to reshape electoral constituencies to better align with the principle of equal suffrage. The Council found disparities in representation resulting from the boundaries that were adopted in 1986 on the basis of population figures from the census of 1982. According to the Council, the constituencies were "incompatible with the combined clauses of Article 6 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid...
of 1789 and Articles 3 and 24 of the Constitution of France
Constitution of France
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...
," even though two national censuses took place in 1990 and 1999. However, the successive governments of Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
, Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin is a French conservative politician and senator for Vienne.Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as the Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005, resigning after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. However, after Raffarin...
, Dominique de Villepin
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin is a French politician who served as the Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007....
and François Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
did not alter electoral boundaries, despite the legal requirement of Law No. 86-825 as well as the recommendations of the Constitutional Council of France
Constitutional Council of France
The Constitutional Council is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958, and its duty is to ensure that the principles and rules of the constitution are upheld.Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed...
. Thus, even the French legislative elections of 2007
French legislative election, 2007
The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a few weeks after the French presidential election run-off on 6 May. 7,639 candidates stood for 577 seats, including France's overseas possessions...
used conscriptions defined based on the results of the 1982 census and had not incorporated the changes in population occurring in the intervening 25 years. The 2008 election of senators used the same 1982 population numbers, but the impact is not as pronounced in the French Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
(Sénat), as its function is to represent local governments and not the population as a whole.
2005 Report on Redistricting
In March 2005, Interior MinisterMinister of the Interior (France)
The Minister of the Interior in France is one of the most important governmental cabinet positions, responsible for the following:* The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes...
Dominique de Villepin formed a working group in order to asses the legal impact carrying out a redistricting of legislative districts and townships and to define a method that whereby any redistricting would be conducted in compliance with three legal requirements of "neutrality, transparency and fairness." Three months later, State Councillor Pierre Bordry issued his report to Dominique de Villepin - then the prime minister - and the new Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy. However, due to the very sensitive political nature of redistricting, neither de Villepin nor Sarkozy wanted to take the risk of subjecting the changing of constituencies borders to political wrangling ahead of the 2007 legislative elections. In fact, the former president of the Constitutional Council, Pierre Mazeaud
Pierre Mazeaud
Pierre Mazeaud is a French jurist, politician and alpinist.In February 2004, he was appointed president of the Constitutional Council of France by President of the Republic Jacques Chirac, replacing Yves Guéna, until he was succeeded by Jean-Louis Debré in February 2007...
, even threatened to void the elections results of the constituencies that would be changed.
After the 2002 legislative elections, the Constitutional Council pointed out that since 1986, two national censuses occurred in 1990 and 1999 and disparities in representation were revealed that contradicted the constitutional principle that the National Assembly should be elected on the basis of population proportion. Also, the electoral law of 1986 specified that the population differences between districts should not result that a constituency is more than 20% of the average population of districts of the départment. But the report noted that, based on the 1999 national census
Demographics of France
This article is about the demographic features of the population of France, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects....
, 25 districts had a difference of more than 20%. A total of 41 départments (both in the Métropole
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France is the part of France located in Europe. It can also be described as mainland France or as the French mainland and the island of Corsica...
and overseas) were affected by "major imbalances" between districts.
The electoral law of 1986 specifies that the population differences between districts shall in no case result that a constituency is more than 20% of the average population of districts of the department. But the report noted that, based on the 1999 national census, 25 districts had a difference of more than 20%. The report proposed maintaining the number of constituencies at 577, but this time select a target maximum of 10% deviation in population in relation to the departmental average. According to the method of distribution segments of the population, a parliamentary seat would be awarded for every 116,200 inhabitants instead of for every 108,000 inhabitants, as was the case in the 1986 redistricting. However, the report did not assess the current law that a départment cannot have less than two members.
Creating A Commission
In 2008, at the behest of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Alain MarleixAlain Marleix
Alain Marleix born on January 2, 1946 in Paris is a French politician. He was the Secretary of State for Veterans in the government of François Fillon from June 2007 to March 2008...
initiated a plan to redraw French constituencies in order to replace the previous constituency map from 1986. (Marliex was also put in charge of the overall redefinition of boundary delimitation
Boundary delimitation
Boundary delimitation, or simply delimitation, is the term used to describe the drawing of boundaries, but is most often used to describe the drawing of electoral boundaries, specifically those of precincts, states, counties or other municipalities...
for the elections to the Assemblée Nationale.) In July 2008, the government launched the formal effort to redistrict the constituencies, with Prime Minister François Fillon consulting the representatives of political parties in Parliament
Parliament of France
The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly . Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a separate location in Paris: the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate, the Palais Bourbon for the National Assembly.Each...
, and presented a bill to the Cabinet on September 24.
In accordance with French law, distribution of constituencies should respect the principle of population equality between dEpartments in Metropolitan France, overseas French territories, and French citizens abroad. For this reason, the previous proportioning of 108,000 inhabitants per constituency in 1986 consideration was raised to 125,000 inhabitants per constituency. The principle of territorial contiguity of constituencies was retained (except for a few enclaves), as well as the contiguity of cantons and communes. The changing of constituencies was planned by order of the Interior Ministry,
and was controlled by an ad hoc committee composed of one person appointed by the French President, a one person appointed by the President of the National Assembly, one person appointed by the President of the Senate, and three judges. All had to first be approved by the Committees of Laws (Commissions des lois) of the National Assembly and Senate.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
- Pas-de-Calais' 13th constituencyPas-de-Calais' 13th constituencyThe 13th constituency of the Pas-de-Calais is a French legislative constituency in the Pas-de-Calais département.-2007: -Sources:* Official results of French elections from 1998:...
(areas now merged with Pas-de-Calais' 3th constituency) - Pas-de-Calais' 14th constituencyPas-de-Calais' 14th constituencyThe 14th constituency of the Pas-de-Calais is a French legislative constituency in the Pas-de-Calais département.-2007: -Sources:* Official results of French elections from 1998:...
(areas now merged with Pas-de-Calais' 11th constituencyPas-de-Calais' 11th constituencyThe 11th constituency of the Pas-de-Calais is a French legislative constituency in the Pas-de-Calais département.-2007: -Sources:* Official results of French elections from 1998:...
) - Nord's 22nd constituency (areas now merged with Nord's 3rd constituency)
- Nord's 23rd constituency
- Nord's 24nd constituency (areas now merged with Nord's 12th constituency)
Île-de-FranceÎle-de-France (région)Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
- Val-de-Marne's 12th constituency (areas now merged with Val-de-Marne's 7th constituency)
- Seine-Saint-Denis' 13th constituency (areas now merged with Seine-Saint-Denis' 3rd constituency)
- Paris' 19th constituency (areas now merged with Paris' 1st constituency)
- Paris' 20th constituency (areas now merged with Paris' 2nd constituency and Paris' 3rd constituency)
- Paris' 21st constituency (areas now merged with Paris' 15th constituency and Paris' 16th constituency)
Other Areas
- Allier's 4th constituencyAllier's 4th constituencyThe 4th constituency of Allier is a French legislative constituency in the Allier département.-2007: -Sources:* Official results of French elections from 1998:...
(areas now merged with Allier's 3rd constituencyAllier's 3rd constituencyThe 3rd constituency of Allier is a French legislative constituency in the Allier département.-2007: -Sources:* Official results of French elections from 1998:...
) - Creuse's 2nd constituencyCreuse's 2nd constituencyThe 2nd constituency of the Creuse is a French legislative constituency in the Creuse département.-2007: -Sources:* Official results of French elections from 1998:...
- Deux-Sèvres' 4th constituency (areas now merged with Deux-Sèvres' 3rd constituency)
- Haute-Saône's 3rd constituency
- Charente's 4th constituency
- Corrèze's 3rd constituency
- Haut-Rhin's 7th constituency (areas now merged with Haut-Rhin's 4th constituency)
- Hautes-Pyrénées' 3rd constituency (areas now merged with Hautes-Pyrénées' 1st constituency)
- Haute-Vienne's 4th constituency (areas now merged with Haute-Vienne's 1st constituency)
- Indre's 3rd constituency
- Loire's 7th constituency (areas now merged with Loire's 6th constituency)
- Lozère's 2nd constituency
- Manche's 5th constituency (areas now merged with Manche's 4th constituency)
- Marne's 6th constituency (areas now merged with Marne's 3rd constituency)
- Meurthe-et-Moselle's 7th constituency (areas now merged with Meurthe-et-Moselle's 3rd constituency)
- Moselle's 10th constituency (areas now merged with Moselle's 8th constituency)
- Nièvre's 3rd constituency
- Puy-de-Dôme's 6th constituencyPuy-de-Dôme's 6th constituencyThe 6th constituency of Puy-de-Dôme is a French legislative constituency in the Puy-de-Dôme département in the Auvergne region of France.The 6th constituency of Puy-de-Dôme was eliminated based on 2010 redistricting mandated by Law No. 86-1197 of 24 November 1986...
(areas now merged with Puy-de-Dôme's 2nd constituency) - Saône-et-Loire's 6th constituencySaône-et-Loire's 6th constituencyThe 6th constituency of Saône-et-Loire is a French legislative constituency in the Saône-et-Loire département.Following the 2009 redistricting, the constituency is likely to be abolished.-Deputies:-2007: -Sources:...
(areas now merged with Saône-et-Loire's 4th constituency) - Seine-Maritime's 11th constituency (areas now merged with Seine-Maritime's 6th constituency)
- Seine-Maritime's 12th constituency
- Somme's 6th constituency (areas now merged with Somme's 4th constituency)
- Tarn's 4th constituency (areas now merged with Tarn's 1st constituency)