France is to cut the number of members of parliament by 30% and ensure 15% of lawmakers will be elected via a proportional representation system in the next election, the prime minister, Édouard Philippe, has announced. However, Macron’s promises of institutional and constitutional change in France have proved a thorny issue and the government could still face opposition. François Bayrou, the centrist leader of the MoDem party, who backed Macron’s presidential campaign and was briefly justice minister, immediately suggested that electing 15% of lawmakers via proportional representation was not enough. Bayrou, a long-term campaigner for proportional representation, had wanted the figure to be 25%. The cuts to lawmaker numbers and the introduction of proportional representation will initially be presented as standard legislation in parliament.

Source: The Guardian April 04, 2018 18:39 UTC