Back to their roots: French MPs in their district

Abstract

International audienceThe aim of this article was to investigate the district work of members of the French National Assembly (MPs), namely their contacts with citizens and other kinds of actors on the ground. Based on original data, our results show that the MPs’ constituency work is somewhat disconnected from the national political debate. They are close to their constituents and meet them regularly in surgeries or during local celebrations and events. Issues discussed are mainly oriented towards individual and local needs (housing, employment, etc.). A multivariate analysis highlights the different patterns of district work. Overall, this article suggests that district features and the MPs’ individual characteristics shape their behaviour in their constituency. By exploring the concrete practices of French MPs at home, this article offers new insights into parliamentary representation and into the different logics that underlie district work

Working at home: French MEPs’ day-to-day practice of political representation in their district

“…Five reasons may explain this lack: First, the size of the district leads to a limited accessibility to the MEP. As observed at the national level, surgeries are not as frequent in large rural districts as they are in the small urban ones (Costa & Poyet, 2016).…”

“…Second, it facilitates the comparison between MEPs. The typology of events is based on previous studies about French and German MPs through the CITREP project (Costa & Poyet, 2016). Our hypotheses are based on these categories.…”

“…In France, this pattern is observed at the national level. The literature considers the weakness of the house as a key element explaining why MPs focus more on district work than on their legislative tasks (Costa & Kerrouche, 2009;Costa & Poyet, 2016). Also, the institution itself incites MEPs to spend time in their district by organizing weeks that can be dedicated to district work (but not only).…”

“…In France, the primary activity in the district is casework namely when MPs take care of citizens individual issues (Costa & Poyet, 2016). As argued by Kerrouche (2009), MPs and their staff are considered as last chance administrative shelter for housing, working and financial problems.…”

“…In France, MPs contacts with these groups in the constituency are rather limited. These activities represent only 9% of the time spent in the district by French MPs (Costa & Poyet, 2016). In the case of the EP, the expectation is that these meetings are much more frequent than in the national context.…”