File n° 16

The conception and the organization of the reception are prepared by a small working group which is made up of parliamentary civil servants working in the departments most concerned by the operation. This group, which is under the authority of the two secretaries general, is coordinated by the two director generals of legislative and administrative departments.

It begins its work 18 months before the beginning of the new Parliament. Basing itself on the experience of previous receptions, but also taking into account certain innovations particularly in the field of new communication techniques, the working group, over the course of its meetings, checks the main features of the organization of the reception.

I. –    preparatory procedures for the reception of M.P.s

Good relations with the Ministry of the Interior are essential for the transmission of results and for the information of the M.P.s, especially the newly elected ones.

1. –   The gathering of results

Computer files with data (surname, first name, date of birth, department and constituency number) concerning all the candidates are sent to the National Assembly by the ministry around 2 weeks before polling day.

The results are transmitted during the night of the election by means of a specially installed computer link which requires the support of a civil servant of the Ministry and the setting-up of additional computers on top of the usual teams and material provided by the National Assembly.

During the general elections of June 2002, this procedure concerned around ten extra computers being connected to the internal network.

As the polls close at 8pm in cities and large towns, the gathering of results for continental France finishes between 2 and 3 am. For overseas departments and territorial units the results have been obtained, up till now, by telephone, by directly contacting the chiefs of staff of the prefects.

As the results are being transmitted during the night by the Ministry of the Interior, a list of those elected is processed in preparation for the reception procedure.

2. –   The distribution of an information circular on the reception

Two weeks before polling day, an information circular, signed by the secretaries general of the National Assembly, concerning the reception of M.P.s is sent by the President of the National Assembly to the Ministry of the Interior.

The latter must in turn send it to all Prefects so that they may distribute it, as soon as the results are made known, to all M.P.s in their Department. This letter provides practical information on the reception procedure at the Palais Bourbon. It also informs the M.P. of the documents he must bring and includes a provisional timetable for the opening of the new Parliament.

For the 2007 general elections, an important innovation was added: an internet portal dedicated to the reception was set up for M.P.s. There they could find general information about the National Assembly and the reception procedure and also fill in their administrative “reception file” from a distance. The physical reception procedure at the Palais Bourbon was substantially lightened as a result.

II. –   the reception procedure

From the morning following each round of polling, M.P.s can arrive at the Palais Bourbon where they are met by the civil servants mobilized for the reception procedure. Most  M.P.s come between the second round of polling and the first sitting of the new Parliament (around nine days).

1. –   The reception

Since 2002 a significant innovation has been implemented during the reception of M.P.s: a distinction is drawn between “old” and “newly-elected” M.P.s. Returning M.P.s. already know the working of the National Assembly and their personal administrative details are known by the administrative departments of the institution, thus they need only an updating. Newly-elected M.P.s need both to provide and to gain much more information.

First both “old” and “new” M.P.s are welcomed by “first contact” civil servants, who lead them to clerks, deputy-clerks or personnel from the Report Department. These civil servants fill out or update the personal administrative file of each M.P. If the latter has been re-elected, his file is normally up-to-date and the M.P.s must only check the accuracy of the content. If the M.P. has been elected for the first time and has filled out his administrative file on line on the “Reception” website mentioned above, the accuracy of the information is checked. Otherwise the M.P.s and the civil servant fill the file out together directly on the computer.

Following this, new M.P.s can meet “specialist” civil servants who can provide information on more specific questions about their status, their social security and pension schemes, or the material means of their office (staff, transport, telephone, mail etc.)

The end of the “reception lap” is common to both “new” and “old” M.P.s: a digital photograph of the M.P. is taken in a studio. This will be used for the M.P.s’ identity pass which allows him to automatically open the access doors of the Palais Bourbon. It will also be published in the new edition of the ‘Notices et Portraits’ (the photographic directory of M.P.s) and on the internet site of the National Assembly.

The final phase of the reception procedure is given over to providing the M.P.s with a ‘hold-all’ bag and a briefcase containing material and documentation.

2. –   The material and documentation given to the M.P.s

In addition to this oral information, M.P.s receive written (and now also electronic) documentation.

―  A practical guide summing up all the information given orally by the “specialists”. Forms included in this guide are to be filled in by the M.P.s and sent back to the various administrative departments. Both the information and forms have been shortened for the reception procedure ;

―  The book “l’Assemblée nationale dans les institutions françaises” ;

―  The documentation mentioned above on a digital memory stick (an innovation for the 2007 reception procedure) ;

―  The briefcase with the symbols of the M.P.: the scarf, the “barometer” (an emblem, so called because of its shape, and worn for official ceremonies), the official cockade for the car; his personal official M.P.’s identity card and his personal access code for the Extranet site of the National Assembly.