Today was arguably one the busiest day we have had in Paris.  We were to visit and have tours of the two bodies that comprise France’s bicameral legislature, the Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) and Sénat (Senate).  Before delving into photos and giving a personal analysis of the experience, I believe it imperative that I give some background information about the two bodies.

The National Assembly is called the “lower house” of the bicameral legislature and is comprised of 577 members who are elected by direct universal suffrage amongst the people in their respective constituency/district.  They meet in Palais Bourbon in Paris and their meetings are presided over by a president who is aided by six vice-presidents.  The Assembly can be dissolved by the President and, likewise, the Assembly can pass a “vote of no confidence” and take over the executive.  Something interesting about the Assembly’s weekly agenda is a session that takes place at 3pm every Wednesday where members of the Assembly can ask “questions to the Government”.  These sessions are broadcasted on national TV and are opportunities for the opposition party to challenge the majority.  If it’s anything like the British parliament, it’s probably very entertaining.

The Senate, also known as the “upper house” of the legislature, is comprised of 348 members who are elected indirectly by various political officials like mayors, city councilors, members of the National Assembly, etc.  The Senate, like the Assembly, is presided over by a president and is the first in line for succession to the Presidency of the Republic.  Senators meet in the Luxembourg Palace and houses the most impressive hallway/room I’ve ever been in (pictures can be scene below).

Background info out of the way, now for today’s venture.  We started out with a tour of the National Assembly and were given ample time to gaze upon the magnificence of its interior.

National Assembly Main Chamber

The sheer magnitude of the Roman columns and decorative, rotunda ceilings was awe inspiring.  The various symbols of law and liberty covering the chamber and number of statues and busts throughout the building, pay homage to the liberal ideas of the once great Roman Republic/Empire.  France, a formerly known as Gaul in Roman times, over the last millennium has grown from a territory of Rome, to one of the last surviving enclaves of Roman power.  From the structure of the architecture and decoration of government buildings, to their legal system of Napoleonic Code or Civil Law derived from Roman Law, France has become one of the many countries attempting to claim the inheritance of the Roman Empire.

Our next stop would take us to the Senate at Luxembourg Palace where we would have another guided tour by a Senator and then have our visit capped off with a peak into the main chamber to watch these politicians in action.  Like the previous stop, the Senate was also adorned with symbols of liberty and democracy.  Paintings and statues illustrated famous philosophers and popular myths, but the most impressive part of the entire visit came when we walked into this massive room decorated top to bottom in gold and priceless works of art.

If there ever was a room that could manage to put on such a display of power, I have yet to see it.  The room is covered in gold and velvet, two symbols of wealth, power over consumption.  The walls are covered in drapes and paintings of religious figures and depictions of myths, a display of supernatural power.  Finally, in the center of the room, rests the throne of Napoleon, a symbol of power over man.  The fact this room is housed in the same place as the Senate is symbolic in that it represents that all the power of the state, rests in the hands of the Republic.

The weather may have been brutal with temperatures in the upper 90s and I may have been coughing up a storm, but the sight of that one room made the entire trip worth it.  I am immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to visit the legislative branch of the French Republic and I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with those less fortunate.

Picture this: 24 Georgia Tech students and various professors madly speedwalking through the streets of Paris at noon, hungry, tired, and sweaty but determined to reach their destination.

Our day began at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Quoi

Outside the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Before our briefings in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

d’Orsay (please don’t ask me how to say that) where we had a brief tour of the gorgeous grounds. Then we went inside to a blessedly air conditioned room and heard about France’s relationship with the EU from a member of the EU Directorate. His talk focused on the ministry’s functions, current issues, and France’s role in the EU. He covered a lot of interesting material, but I’ll share what I feel is the highlight reel because you probably don’t want an outline of the briefing. Apparently, the French civil servants in the MFA are very young, on average 28-30 because of how demanding the work is. Policy areas are fairly divided, but there are some shared competencies amongst the EU Directorate and regional directorates. What was most interesting to me was our speaker’s perspective on France’s role in the EU and the world. He seemed extremely proud of France’s military prowess and determined that France needs neither NATO nor the EU for security. He also said that French authority and the EU are not in conflict, but that France has not transferred competence on anything not specifically in the treaties.

Next, we were briefed by a panel of three people from the Center for Analysis Planning and Strategy (CAPS), a think tank-like body within the MFA made up of diplomats and academics that makes recommendations to the ministry. We heard a general summary of the work of CAPS and discussed with an advisor on climate negotiations global and French trends in confronting climate change, especially in light of the upcoming COP 21 meeting in Paris.

Then came the hurried transition that you may remember reading about at the beginning of this post, when we rushed to the American embassy to meet a Georgia Tech (and EU Study Abroad Program) alumnus who serves there. Unfortunately, we had to turn in our phones at the gate so I don’t have pictures of the inside of the building, but it was absolutely gorgeous. We were seated in another wonderful, air conditioned conference room where we had the privilege of speaking to five diplomats. The panel included an economic officer specializing in macroeconomics and the financial sector, especially the Eurozone, a security expert from the Regional Affairs Office, a veteran political counselor, a member of the US mission ot the OECD, and a political officer focused on the Middle East and Northern Africa. After brief introductions from each, we had free reign to ask them questions for almost two hours, which we took full advantage of. We discussed Ukraine, Greece, NATO vs. EU security measures, the Middle East, and France’s role in transatlantic relations among a host of other topics. This session was my favorite of the summer so far because it was so open for us to ask questions about what interests each of us, and the speakers were all candid and detailed. Though we were all tired by the end, it was an absolutely outstanding day and I think we all learned a lot.

To conclude our week in Ireland, a few of us took Friday to visit Kilmainham Gaol, an old Irish jail famous for its role in the prison reform movement and in imprisonment and execution of the leaders of the Irish uprising in 1916. The reforms this jail exemplified were separate cells, silence and supervision, meant to encourage reform instead of punishment for those it housed. The simplicity of these reforms surprised me because I had no idea of how prisons were run before the time of cells and guards. I also visited St. Patrick’s cathedral and was surprised to learn the role of Jonathan Swift in the church’s history because his works Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal didn’t strike me as religious.

Read More

Thursday, we took a fantastic bus tour of Northern Ireland. Amidst the awe-inspiring natural scenery and the seemingly cheerful towns, it was very easy to forget the magnitude of violence and strife that occurred there just a couple of decades ago. Our tour guide, Mac, described to us in detail the atrocities committed between unionists and nationalists in the adorable towns we passed. As we drove into Belfast, a seemingly peaceful city, he told us about the horrors experienced by a friend of his from university who spent his young adult life in jail after “getting caught up in that mess.” And as we soaked in the beauty of the Northern Irish coast, he told us how Protestants and Catholics, two sects of the same religion, two sides of the same coin, brutally murdered one another for years.

Read More