Congress of the French Parliament

The Congress of the French Parliament (French: Congrès du Parlement français) is the name given to the body created when both houses of the present-day French Parliament—the National Assembly and the Senate—meet at the Palace of Versailles to vote on revisions to the Constitution or to listen to an address by the President of the French Republic.

Historically, during the Third Republic, the reunion of both houses of the French Parliament — the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate — was called the National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) and gathered in Versailles to elect the President of France and to amend the Constitution. During the Fourth Republic, the Congress of the French Parliament was the reunion of the National Assembly and the Council of the Republic (Conseil de la République); it used to gather to elect the President of France. The last president elected this way was René Coty who was elected on 23 December 1953.

The Congress is composed of senators and deputies who come together in the meeting hall (salle des séances) of the southern wing of the Château of Versailles. Its officers and its president are those of the National Assembly.

According to Article 89^[1] of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, revisions to the constitution may be instigated by either deputies or senators (this is called "proposition de révision"), or by the President of the Republic through proposals submitted by the Prime Minister (this is called "projet de révision").

The normal procedure of constitutional revision is through national referendum. However, in the case of "projet de révision", the President may turn to a more flexible and less demanding procedure. The constitution stipulates that However, a Government Bill to amend the Constitution shall not be submitted to referendum where the President of the Republic decides to submit it to Parliament convened in Congress; the Government Bill to amend the Constitution shall then be approved only if it is passed by a three-fifths majority of the votes cast. The Bureau of the Congress shall be that of the National Assembly.

The Congress traditionally takes place in Versailles.

Desde la reforma constitucional de 2008 , el artículo 18 ^{[ 1 ]} establece que el Presidente «... podrá tomar la palabra ante el Parlamento reunido en Congreso para tal fin. Su declaración podrá dar lugar, en su ausencia, a un debate sin votación». Este Congreso, al igual que el Constitucional, se reúne en Versalles.

El primer presidente en utilizar este nuevo derecho constitucional fue Nicolas Sarkozy el 22 de junio de 2009. El discurso presidencial anterior ante el parlamento francés se pronunció en 1873, antes de que los legisladores prohibieran esta práctica para proteger la separación de poderes y controlar al presidente. ^{[ 2 ]}

François Hollande pronunció un discurso ante el Congreso en virtud de esta disposición el 16 de noviembre de 2015 en relación con los atentados de París de noviembre de 2015. ^{[ 3 ]}

Emmanuel Macron pronunció un discurso ante el Congreso el 3 de julio de 2017 ^{[ 4 ]} y planea hacerlo todos los años. ^{[ 5 ]}

La reunión del Congreso francés da pie a la creación de una oficina de correos provisional y un matasellos especial . El correo enviado desde esta oficina es muy codiciado por los filatelistas, quienes a menudo solicitan a su senador o diputados que les envíen correspondencia del Congreso.

• "Revisión Constitucional" en el sitio web de la Asamblea Nacional francesa (en francés)