VERSAILLES, France (AP) — The Latest on French President Emmanuel Macron’s priorities (all times local):
French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to speed up lawmaking to better adapt the process to a rapidly changing society.
In a speech Monday addressing lawmakers at the Palace of Versailles, Macron said he wants to simplify and accelerate the process of voting laws in both houses, the Senate and the National Assembly.
He proposed that some “simple” bills be voted in parliament’s commissions instead of in plenary sessions.
Macron also wants to reduce the number of seats in parliament — which now stand at 925 lawmakers — by one third.
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French President Emmanuel Macron will lay out his political, security and diplomatic priorities at an extraordinary joint session of parliament at the chateau of Versailles.
Critics who fear Macron is trying to amass too much power are staging protests over Monday’s event. After his new centrist party dominated parliamentary elections and split the opposition, political rivals are comparing Macron to Napoleon, or the Roman king-of-the-gods Jupiter.
They are especially angry that he wants to strip worker protections through a decree-like procedure, allowing little parliamentary debate.
Macron is also breaking with tradition in convening the Versailles parliament session before his prime minister has won his first confidence vote in parliament. Monday’s event is similar to a state of the union speech, and meant to set the tone for his five-year presidency.
