Several proposals promoted by France’s Rassemblement national (RN), including national priority measures, immigration policies and provisions concerning identity, could require changes to the Constitution. Winning the 2027 presidential election and securing a majority in the National Assembly would not necessarily be enough to implement them.
Article 89 sets out the standard procedure for constitutional revision. A proposed amendment must first be approved in identical terms by both the National Assembly and the Senate. This gives senators the power to block a revision, even when the president has the backing of a majority of deputies.
The amendment must then be approved either by referendum, with a simple majority of votes cast, or by Parliament meeting in Congress. In the latter case, approval requires a three-fifths majority of the combined National Assembly and Senate.
These requirements have led the RN to consider Article 11, another referendum procedure that does not require Congress to be convened. However, most constitutional experts consider using Article 11 to revise the Constitution irregular. The issue therefore raises broader questions about why constitutional changes are subject to such demanding rules and how democratic those safeguards are.
Sources: Le Monde Politique.