French President Emmanuel Macron's government proposed measures seeking to reduce the number of Parliament members by a quarter and to prompt a one-off replacement of the Senate's entire roster in 2021, the Financial Times reported, citing a Cabinet statement.
Under the draft laws, the number of Senate seats would be lowered to 261 from 348, and the National Assembly, the lower house, would shrink to 433 seats from 577.
The proposed measures also aim to introduce proportional representation for the election of one-fifth of National Assembly members starting in 2022, according to the FT report.
The French Cabinet said the draft laws, which would require changes to the constitution, were a response to calls for more citizen participation in government. The Cabinet added that replacing the entire Senate is needed to keep the balance with the National Assembly.
