IVG in the Constitution: how does the Congress, convened on March 4, work?

Following the vote by the Senate this Wednesday on the bill aimed at including the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) in the Constitution, Emmanuel Macron announced that he would convene the Congress this Monday, March 4. A meeting which should, barring any major surprises, result in the final adoption of the bill, four days before International Women's Rights Day. The convening of the Congress is a rare fact of the Fifth Republic, of which Le Figaro provides you with the details.

Congress refers to the joint meeting of the two houses of Parliament: the National Assembly and the Senate. The 925 parliamentarians who make it up are gathered in a single hemicycle, within the Palace of Versailles. Built in 1875, this mecca of the Republic is nevertheless teeming with monarchical references. The Congress Hall is located in a part of the castle closed to the public, the Midi Wing, which was the place of residence of the children of Louis XIV.

Always convened by decision of the President of the Republic, the Congress can occur in three cases: to authorize the accession of a State to the European Union, to hear a declaration from the Head of State or, as is the case next Monday, to revise the Constitution.

Since 1958, he has been summoned 20 times. Four times during a declaration by a president and 16 during a constitutional revision. “Out of twenty-four constitutional revisions, twenty-one were approved by Congress, during sixteen meetings,” specifies the National Assembly website. The meeting on March 4 will therefore be the 25th revision, the bill aimed at including in article 34 of the Constitution, the freedom guaranteed to women to have recourse to abortion.

Modifying the founding text of the Fifth Republic requires a more complex process than changing “ordinary law”. Thus, as stated in article 89 of the Constitution, “the revision belongs concurrently to the President of the Republic” or “to the members of Parliament”. Whether it is a presidential or parliamentary initiative, the text of the revision “must be examined (...) and voted on by both assemblies in identical terms”. Once validated by the two assemblies, either the revision is submitted to a referendum or to a vote by Congress. Emmanuel Macron's choice fell on the second option. A vote which he will not be able to attend, under the separation of powers.

On Monday, deputies and senators will therefore have the responsibility to vote once again on the text. After the Prime Minister's speech, a speaker from each parliamentary group (18 in total) will speak for five minutes. Then, the vote will take place in the rooms neighboring the hemicycle “by means of electronic ballot boxes” and will be open for 45 minutes. To be approved, the draft revision must obtain a three-fifths majority of the votes cast. Of the 925 parliamentarians, at least 555 will therefore need to vote in favor of the text. A formality with regard to the votes of each assembly. At the end of January, 493 deputies supported the revision for 267 senators this Wednesday.