The Staff of the Parliamentary Assemblies in France

Abstract

The staff of the French Parliament has traditionally been independent of the civil service and under the supervision of the officers of the Assemblies. Its functions consisted originally of maintaining the physical facilities required by Parliament, accounting for its expenditures, and providing transcripts of its debates. The Finance Committee was the first to have a committee staff, early in this century, but committee staffs really developed only after 1945. A research staff also expanded considerably at this time, in response to the growing complexity of the subject matter with which Parliament dealt. Recently each member of Parliament has also been permitted to have two personal assistants. The goal of these developments is to give parliamentarians information and technical assistance independent of the governmental administration.