Cumul des mandats
Encyclopedia
The cumul des mandats is a political practice that has evidenced itself in modern French politics
. It consists of holding several political offices at multiple levels of government. This can cover a wide array of elected offices, encompassing local, regional, and national levels: mayors of towns, deputies in the National Assembly, Senators, Members of the European Parliament, and President of the General Council
in their home regions. Sometimes, officials hold as many as four positions. While officials cannot hold multiple offices in the same level (like Deputy and Senator), they can hold offices in any combination of the communal, departmental, regional, national, and European levels.
The accumulation of mandates with parliamentary mandates
Parliamentary mandates are incompatible with each other:
A member from one of the above assemblies can not combine its mandate with more than one of the following mandates :
Exceptions: They can hold a third office in a town of less than 3,500 inhabitants.
They may also hold a third office as a councillor, vice-president or president of an Urban community, an Agglomeration community or a Communauté de communes
, as these terms are elected by indirect universal suffrage, by municipal councils from among the councillors.
For example, a member of the National Assembly has the right to be general/regional councillor or President
of a regional/general council. He cannot hold a third office unless he is the mayor, deputy mayor or municipal councillor of a city of less than 3,500 inhabitants.
Currently, 87% of members of the National Assembly and 74% of senators have one or several local warrants.
The accumulation of local mandates
They can't have more two local mandates.
The following mandates are incompatible each other:
For example, an elected official cannot be mayor and President of the Regional Council. However, all other local mandates are cumulative. A mayor can also be a general councillor and a president of a Regional Council can also be deputy-mayor of a city.
Exceptions are the same as those for parliamentarians (Cities of less than 3 500 inhabitants and the intercommunalities)
The accumulation of mandates and governmental functions
A member of the French government cannot be a member of any assembly. However, he may retain any local mandate he/she holds. A cabinet minister can exercise a maximum of 2 local mandates in addition to its government function.
For example, the Prime Minister, a Minister or Secretary of State can be mayor, President of a general, regional or intercommunal council or sit in one of these assemblies.
Currently, over two-thirds of the members of the French government engaged in one or two more local mandates.
It is common practice in France since the French Third Republic
(1870). But there are also many cases of "cumul" before this period, for example, the writer Alexis de Tocqueville
was a member from 1839 to 1851. In 1849 he was appointed Foreign Affairs minister, and at the same time he was elected President of the General Council
of Manche
from 1849 to 1851 (councillor from 1842 to 1852).
There are several reasons for this phenomenon, and one of them is that France has a long tradition of centralization, on the contrary of countries such as Germany, Italy, and Spain. Local governments have less power and skills that the "Lander" of Germany, or "Autonomous Communities" of Spain. The local mandates in France are less important than in other countries, politicians have more time to devote to a parliamentary mandate.
The cumul is a widespread practice and has grown much more prevalent in modern France. In 1946, 36 percent of deputies in the National Assembly held an additional office. By 1956, this number had already increased to 42 percent and by 1970, 70 percent of deputies held an additional elected office; in 1988, 96 percent did.
Many of the most prominent politicians in France make use or have made use of the cumul. Jacques Chirac
served as Mayor of Paris
between 1977 and 1995. During this same time, Chirac also served as a deputy in the National Assembly from Corrèze
, briefly as Member of the European Parliament
, and even as Prime Minister
between 1986 and 1988. Former Prime Minister Pierre Bérégovoy
served concurrently as mayor of Nevers
and deputy of Nièvre
in the mid-1980s. There is widespread acceptance of this practice among French politicians and without legislation, the cumul is likely to continue.
should have resigned from one of the following mandates before the 21st of April 2010 (one month after the Regional elections) :
But giving as a pretext a legal complaint from the Front National
's candidates, he hold the three of them during more than one year, plus his local mandate of president of the « communauté de communes
des deux fleuves » (CC2F
).
(Prime Minister from 1997 to 2002) imposed on his government ministers an unwritten rule of having no local office. For example, Catherine Trautmann
stepped down as Mayor of Strasbourg
(while remaining a member of the city council) to become Minister of Culture
; conversely, Martine Aubry
stepped down from the Ministry of Labour when elected Mayor of Lille
in 2001. This rule was more or less upheld by Jacques Chirac
during the governments of Jean-Pierre Raffarin
and Dominique de Villepin
for the 2002-2007 term, with a few notable exceptions (Jean-François Copé
was mayor of Meaux
, Nicolas Sarkozy
was President
of the Hauts-de-Seine
General Council); for instance, Philippe Douste-Blazy
had to step down from the Toulouse
mayorship upon joining the government.
, no such rule was stated for the François Fillon
government: Alain Juppé
, former Minister for Development was mayor of Bordeaux
, and was defeated in his National Assembly constituency (a third cumulative mandate) by 50.9% to 49.1% of the votes by the Socialist
candidate. Additionally, Hervé Morin
, the Minister of Defense, is mayor of Épaignes
, and Éric Besson
, Minister of Immigration and National Identity, is the mayor of Donzère
.
Politics of France
France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
. It consists of holding several political offices at multiple levels of government. This can cover a wide array of elected offices, encompassing local, regional, and national levels: mayors of towns, deputies in the National Assembly, Senators, Members of the European Parliament, and President of the General Council
President of the general council
In France, the President of the General Council is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly governing a departments in France. The position is elected by the general councillors from among their number. If there is a tie, the senior Councillor is elected.The President of the...
in their home regions. Sometimes, officials hold as many as four positions. While officials cannot hold multiple offices in the same level (like Deputy and Senator), they can hold offices in any combination of the communal, departmental, regional, national, and European levels.
Conditions on the accumulation of mandates in France
- The President of the Republic cannot hold any other office during his tenure.
The accumulation of mandates with parliamentary mandates
Parliamentary mandates are incompatible with each other:
- Member of the National Assembly of France
- Member of the Senate of France
- Member of the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
A member from one of the above assemblies can not combine its mandate with more than one of the following mandates :
- Member, vice-president or president of a General CouncilGeneral councils (France)The General councils are assemblies of the French departments. They are elected by universal suffrage.-List of the Presidents of the General councils:-External links:*...
- Member, vice-president or president of a Regional Council
- Councillor, deputy-mayor, or mayor of a commune of more than 3,500 inhabitants
Exceptions: They can hold a third office in a town of less than 3,500 inhabitants.
They may also hold a third office as a councillor, vice-president or president of an Urban community, an Agglomeration community or a Communauté de communes
Communauté de communes
A communauté de communes is a federation of municipalities in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together...
, as these terms are elected by indirect universal suffrage, by municipal councils from among the councillors.
For example, a member of the National Assembly has the right to be general/regional councillor or President
President of the regional council
In Italy, the President of the Regional Council is the Speaker who heads the consiglio regionale of a regione, a state-level territory....
of a regional/general council. He cannot hold a third office unless he is the mayor, deputy mayor or municipal councillor of a city of less than 3,500 inhabitants.
Currently, 87% of members of the National Assembly and 74% of senators have one or several local warrants.
The accumulation of local mandates
They can't have more two local mandates.
The following mandates are incompatible each other:
- Mayor
- President of the General CouncilPresident of the general councilIn France, the President of the General Council is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly governing a departments in France. The position is elected by the general councillors from among their number. If there is a tie, the senior Councillor is elected.The President of the...
- President of the Regional CouncilPresident of the regional councilIn Italy, the President of the Regional Council is the Speaker who heads the consiglio regionale of a regione, a state-level territory....
For example, an elected official cannot be mayor and President of the Regional Council. However, all other local mandates are cumulative. A mayor can also be a general councillor and a president of a Regional Council can also be deputy-mayor of a city.
Exceptions are the same as those for parliamentarians (Cities of less than 3 500 inhabitants and the intercommunalities)
The accumulation of mandates and governmental functions
A member of the French government cannot be a member of any assembly. However, he may retain any local mandate he/she holds. A cabinet minister can exercise a maximum of 2 local mandates in addition to its government function.
For example, the Prime Minister, a Minister or Secretary of State can be mayor, President of a general, regional or intercommunal council or sit in one of these assemblies.
Currently, over two-thirds of the members of the French government engaged in one or two more local mandates.
Purpose and frequency
The purpose of holding multiple offices are multiple. Holding a seat in the Senate, National Assembly, or European Parliament gives local mayors a valuable method of tapping funds to develop their home cities and regions. It also can give many opportunities to curry favor with other important officials, with opportunities at each level. Salaries for positions can be combined to a point as well, for greater wage compensation as an additional reward for building a political safety net. For politicians with national ambitions, retaining a position in a local town can give them a down-to-earth aura that can appeal to voters. These advantages have made politicians very wary of reducing the practice of the cumul with legislation despite other moves to end perceptions of favoritism and corruption among politicians.It is common practice in France since the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
(1870). But there are also many cases of "cumul" before this period, for example, the writer Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution . In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in...
was a member from 1839 to 1851. In 1849 he was appointed Foreign Affairs minister, and at the same time he was elected President of the General Council
President of the general council
In France, the President of the General Council is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly governing a departments in France. The position is elected by the general councillors from among their number. If there is a tie, the senior Councillor is elected.The President of the...
of Manche
Manche
Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
from 1849 to 1851 (councillor from 1842 to 1852).
There are several reasons for this phenomenon, and one of them is that France has a long tradition of centralization, on the contrary of countries such as Germany, Italy, and Spain. Local governments have less power and skills that the "Lander" of Germany, or "Autonomous Communities" of Spain. The local mandates in France are less important than in other countries, politicians have more time to devote to a parliamentary mandate.
The cumul is a widespread practice and has grown much more prevalent in modern France. In 1946, 36 percent of deputies in the National Assembly held an additional office. By 1956, this number had already increased to 42 percent and by 1970, 70 percent of deputies held an additional elected office; in 1988, 96 percent did.
Many of the most prominent politicians in France make use or have made use of the cumul. Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
served as Mayor of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
between 1977 and 1995. During this same time, Chirac also served as a deputy in the National Assembly from Corrèze
Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
, briefly as Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
, and even as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
between 1986 and 1988. Former Prime Minister Pierre Bérégovoy
Pierre Bérégovoy
Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy was a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.-Early career:...
served concurrently as mayor of Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
and deputy of Nièvre
Nièvre
Nièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
in the mid-1980s. There is widespread acceptance of this practice among French politicians and without legislation, the cumul is likely to continue.
An example : the accumulation of four electoral mandates
According to French law against accumulation of electoral mandates, Yves JégoYves Jégo
Yves Jégo is a French politician who was appointed Secretary of State for Overseas in the government of François Fillon on March 18, 2008. He was replaced by Marie-Luce Penchard on June 23, 2009 and was not given another portfolio...
should have resigned from one of the following mandates before the 21st of April 2010 (one month after the Regional elections) :
- Member of the National Assembly of France for Seine-et-MarneSeine-et-MarneSeine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...
- Regional councillor of Ile-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....
- Mayor of Montereau-Fault-YonneMontereau-Fault-YonneMontereau-Fault-Yonne, or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Name:...
But giving as a pretext a legal complaint from the Front National
Front National (France)
The National Front is a political party in France. The party was founded in 1972, seeking to unify a variety of French far-right currents of the time. Jean-Marie Le Pen was the party's first leader and the undisputed centre of the party from its start until his resignation in 2011...
's candidates, he hold the three of them during more than one year, plus his local mandate of president of the « communauté de communes
Communauté de communes
A communauté de communes is a federation of municipalities in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together...
des deux fleuves » (CC2F
Communauté de communes des Deux Fleuves
The Communauté de communes des Deux Fleuves is a federation of municipalities in the Seine-et-Marne département and in the Île-de-France région of France.- Composition :...
).
Recent and current status of cumul in the French government
Lionel JospinLionel 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...
(Prime Minister from 1997 to 2002) imposed on his government ministers an unwritten rule of having no local office. For example, Catherine Trautmann
Catherine Trautmann
Catherine Trautmann is a former Minister of Culture of France and now Member of the European Parliament for the East of France.She was elected as mayor of Strasbourg in 1989, re-elected in 1995, then defeated in 2001....
stepped down as Mayor of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
(while remaining a member of the city council) to become Minister of Culture
Minister of Culture (France)
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture"...
; conversely, Martine Aubry
Martine Aubry
Martine Aubry is a French politician. She has been the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party since November 2008 and Mayor of Lille since March 2001...
stepped down from the Ministry of Labour when elected Mayor of Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
in 2001. This rule was more or less upheld by Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
during the governments of 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...
and 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....
for the 2002-2007 term, with a few notable exceptions (Jean-François Copé
Jean-François Copé
Jean-François Copé , is a French politician. He is currently Mayor of Meaux, Deputy for the 6th constituency of Seine-et-Marne, and acts as President of the Union for a Popular Movement Group in the French National Assembly...
was mayor of Meaux
Meaux
Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...
, Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
was President
President of the general council
In France, the President of the General Council is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly governing a departments in France. The position is elected by the general councillors from among their number. If there is a tie, the senior Councillor is elected.The President of the...
of the Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...
General Council); for instance, Philippe Douste-Blazy
Philippe Douste-Blazy
Philippe Douste-Blazy is a French centre-right politician. He served as Minister for Health , Minister of Culture and Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Dominique de Villepin .Douste-Blazy is also a cardiologist and Christian Democrat politician from Lourdes...
had to step down from the Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
mayorship upon joining the government.
, no such rule was stated for the 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...
government: Alain Juppé
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé is a French politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac and the Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs from 2010 to 2011...
, former Minister for Development was mayor of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, and was defeated in his National Assembly constituency (a third cumulative mandate) by 50.9% to 49.1% of the votes by 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...
candidate. Additionally, Hervé Morin
Hervé Morin
Hervé Morin is a French politician, leader of the New Center party and a former French Minister of Defence.-Member of National Assembly:...
, the Minister of Defense, is mayor of Épaignes
Épaignes
Épaignes is a commune in the Eure department in northern France. It is mainly a tourist town.-Population:-References:*...
, and Éric Besson
Éric Besson
Éric Besson is a French politician and Minister of Industry, Energy and the Digital economy under the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, Christine Lagarde...
, Minister of Immigration and National Identity, is the mayor of Donzère
Donzère
Donzère is a commune of the Drôme department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is a town located in the south of Drôme and on the left bank of Rhône river, next to Montélimar.-Geography:...
.