How are elections in France conducted?
There are 577 seats in the French parliament, which include 13 overseas districts and 11 constituencies that represent French citizens abroad.
So to hold an absolute majority in parliament, a party needs 289 seats.
The first phase of the elections is equivalent to a qualifying round wherein candidates must at least get 12.5% of locally registered votes in order to stay in the race and not get eliminated.
If a candidate gets more than half of the total votes cast in the first round itself, they will automatically win.
If not, candidates who have met the qualifying criteria will move on to the second phase.
At this stage of the elections, ‘horse-trading’ is a common practice wherein parties form blocs among themselves and drop candidates in constituencies which may split the vote and favour a rival party/alliance
Comparing with India
In theory, the President can appoint anyone Prime Minister; in practice, the PM must have the support of the majority in the Assembly.
There are no specific provisions to appoint a PM in case of a hung house.
There is a clear separation of powers between the National Assembly and the PM, and the President.
The President enjoys regulatory power, and exercises control over foreign policy and defence
Parliament, headed by the PM, is responsible for all domestic policy decisions.
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