See also special areas

At a glance

Structure of Parliament: Bicameral

Are there legislated quotas...

  • Yes for the Single/Lower House?
  • Yes for the Upper House?
  • Yes at the Sub-national level?

Are there voluntary quotas...

  • Yes adopted by political parties?

France

(French Republic)

Single/Lower house

Assemblée nationale / National Assembly

Total seats:577
Total women:109
% women: 19%
Election year:2007
Electoral system:TRS
Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
Election details: IDEA Voter Turnout
IPU Parline
Legal sourceDetails
Quota type:
Legislated Candidate Quotas		 ConstitutionThe political parties are instructed to contribute in the exercise of suffrage and in the implementation of equal access by men and women to elective positions (Constitution, Article 4).
Electoral law The difference between the numbers of candidates a party or group present of each sex can not be greater than two percent in the single member constituencies, taken nationwide (Law n°88-227, Article 9-1).
Legal sanctions for non-compliance: Electoral law If the difference between the numbers of candidates a party or group present of each sex is greater than two percent, the party or group will have their subsidies cut with 75 percent of the difference (Law n°88-227, Article 9-1).  E.g: if only 40 percent women are presented, the difference between the numbers of candidates presented by each sex is 20 percent. Since the fine is 75 percent of these 20 percent, the subsidy is cut by 15 percent.
Rank order/placement rules: N/A No data available

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Last updated 2009-11-23

Upper house

Sénat / Senate

Total seats: 343
Total women:75
% women: 22%
Election year:2008
Electoral system:Indirectly elected
Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
Election details: IPU Parline
Legal sourceDetails
Quota type:
Legislated Candidate Quotas
 Electoral law For the list PR election to the Senate (the larger districts) a strict alteration between men and women on the lists is required (Electoral Code, Article L300).
Constitution The political parties are instructed to contribute in the exercise of suffrage and in the implementation of equal access by men and women to elective positions (Constitution, Article 4).
Legal sanctions for non-compliance: Electoral law If a party does not abide to the rule of parity, the list is invalidated.
Rank order/placement rules: Electoral law For the list PR election to the Senate (the larger districts) a strict alteration between men and women on the lists is required (Electoral Code, Article L300).

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Last updated 2010-06-10

Quota at the Sub-National Level

Quota type:Legislated Candidate Quotas
Legal sourceDetails
Quota type:
Legislated Candidate Quotas
 Constitution Strict alternation on candidate lists is required for regional councils, municipal councils in towns with more than 3 500 inhabitants, in elections to the local bodies in Corsica and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the council of Paris and the municipal arrondissement councils of Paris, Lyons, and Marseille (Electoral Code, Articles L264, L331-2, L346, L370).
Legal sanctions for non-compliance: Electoral law If a party does not abide to the rule of parity on local levels, the list is invalidated.
Rank order/placement rules: Electoral law Strict alternation on candidate lists is required for regional councils, municipal councils in towns with more than 3 500 inhabitants, in elections to the local bodies in Corsica and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the council of Paris and the municipal arrondissement councils of Paris, Lyons, and Marseille (Electoral Code, Articles L264, L331-2, L346, L370).

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Last updated 2010-06-10

Voluntary Political Party Quotas*

PartyAcronymOfficial NameDetails, Quota provisions
Socialist Party PS Parti Socialiste The PS has a 50 percent quota for electoral lists (1990).

* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. In case of legislated quotas, only political parties that have quotas beyond the national quota legislation are presented in this table.

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Last updated 2009-11-30

Additional information

The PS was the first party to initiate quotas in 1974, with 10 percent. It was then gradually increased and reached 30 percent in 1990. The Greens had a parity principle from their formation in 1984. The first attempt of legal quotas occurred in 1982, when a quota bill was passed. It was however overturned by the constitutional council (Krook, et. al. 2006, p. 210; Sineau 2008, p. 52)

The legal quotas do not apply to any other organs than those already mentioned. Half of the senators - those elected in smaller departments in single member constituencies; the departmental assemblies; and the municipal councils in towns with less than 3,500 inhabitants, have no legal gender provisions (Sineau 2008, p. 54).

Last updated 2009-11-24

Sources

  • Constitution of France
  • Electoral Code, amended 2009 (Code électoral, version consolidée au 7 août 2009)
  • Krook, Mona Lena; Lovenduski, Joni & Squires, Judith (2006), ?Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand: gender quotas in the context of citizenship models?, in The Implementation of Quotas: European Experiences, Quotas Report Series no. 4, Julie Ballington & Francesca Binda (eds.), Stockholm: International IDEA
  • Law n° 2000-493 on Equal Access, amended 2009 (Loi n°2000-493 du 6 juin 2000 tendant à favoriser l'égal accès des femmes et des hommes aux mandats électoraux et fonctions électives, version consolidée au 14 mai 2009)
  • Law n°88-227 on Finance in Politics, amended 2009 (Loi n°88-227 du 11 mars 1988 relative à la transparence financière de la vie politique, version consolidée au 14 mai 2009)
  • Sineau, Mariette (2008), ?France: Parité under the law?, in Dahlerup & Freidenvall (eds.) Electoral Gender Quota Systems and Their Implementation in Europe, Brussels: European Parliament

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