Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-14
France Tries Again to Plug
Constitutional LoophoIes
By Crosby S. Moves
foreign Correspondent Of The sios

France would have had I'VE govern
ments since l947. It has actually
had Is. But of these only seven
resigned after losing votes Of conf
dence: and of the seven, only four
were overthroWn by absolute ma
jorities as the constitution requires.
The question Of dissolving the As
sembly hasenever arisen.
Rules ignored
The fact is that the French
haven't been playing according to
the rules. Although the constitu-
ton makes no reference to the
right of government to resign
voluntarily. the governments have
assumed that right whenever the
going got sticky. And the Assembly,
with no worries about the possibility
Of having to answer to the cleo
torate, has been blithely unco-op-
erative almost as a matter Of course.
Facing up to this fact, the con-
stitutional reformers tried to apply
the simple remedy of making the
rules conform to the practice. They
suggested change in Article 40 Of
the constitution providing that q
vote Of no-confidence by q simple
majority of the members present
and voting would force the resigna-
ton of the government. Since the
governments were resigning anyway
under these circumstances, the sug-
gestion seemed logical enough.
The gimmick was that If, under
this liberalized system Of firing, two
Governments fell within Is months,
the provision for dissolving the
Assembly would apply. 1t was q
frank attempt to saddle the Assem-
bly, more firmly with the responsible
ity for its actions-to make the
deputies think twice before they
precipitated a governmental crisis
which had been the original inten-
ton Of the constitution.
Streomlining
A second proposed reform aimed
at streamlining the complicated
business of getting a new govern
ment accepted by the Assembly.
Today. after new Premier is picked
by the President, he must be voted
in by an absolute majority of depu-
ties. Then. after the Premier picks
his cabinet. the whole team has to
face a second test.
Since absolute majorities are hard
to come by. the forming of new and
acceptable governments has taken
months. The proposed amendment,
which calls for a single vote by a
simple majority for the whole
cabinet would go far toward solving
this chronic embarrassment of
French politics. In theory, at least,
it also opens up the possibility of
minority governments and an end to
the unwieldly hodge-podge cabinets
which the present system requires.
In most countries the business of
changing the constitution is a pom
derous parliamentary procedure and
France is no exception. As first
step. a resolution must be drawn
up naming the articles that are to
be revised. This must be passed in
both houses by absolute majorities
or, If rejected by the Senate. passed
a second time by an absolute ma
jority of the Assembly.
New Bill Comes Next
Then the Assembly draws up
bill spelling out the amendments.
Like any other law, this bill can be
passed by simple majority in the
Assembly before going to the
Senate. If the Senate rejects it by
an absolute majority, the House. on
a second reading, can override the
senatorial veto" by an absolute ma
jority. If the Senate changes TIN
bill, the Assembly can accept or
reject the changes on the same
terms.
Finally, depending on how the
voting went, the amendments are
put to a popular referendum. This
last step can be avoided only if
the bill clears both houses with a
three-flfths majority or. in case of
disagreement, passes the Assembly
with two-thirds majority. If you
happen to be certified public &C
countant. there's really nothing to it.
In the course of three years
progress through this mill, the petit
train has become somewhat tattered.
There was no particular problem in
getting the original resolution
through both houses But in draw
ing up the law last spring, the
Assembly saw fit to emasculate it
by cutting out the revision of Article
49-the one change that held any
real promise of Stabilizing the
French government. Then, approx
ing the measure by humping 46S-
to-127 vote. the deputies handed it
over to the Senate.
The Senate was expected to re-
store this crucial article and make
a number of other changes in the
bill before sending it back for its
second reading in the Assembly.
Even as it stands. the reform bill
is not completely insignificant.
There Is great interest in the eff
feet of the new investiture formula
and general approval of the other
steps to greasefthe movement of the
governmental machinery.
More to Follow
There is also a second section of
the petit train in the works-a far
more radical series of changes which
would bring France more into line
with the German parliamentary
system by requiring the formation
Of new government before an ex-
listing one could be ousted. This de-
vice which has on at least one oc-
casion saved the political bacon of
Germany's Chancellor Adenauer
would amount to a bold effort to